Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCharles Simeon Commentary - 1 Corinthians 13:9 - 13:12
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
THE SAINTS’ VIEWS IN HEAVEN
IN the chapter before us, the Apostle expatiates upon the nature of true charity; developing it in all its properties, and in all its operations. And, having done this with a singular felicity of thought and expression, he declares the superiority of this grace above every thing else, whether gifts or graces; and that too, not only on account of its own intrinsic excellence, but on account of its duration; because, when all other things shall have passed away, this will endure through eternal ages.
To enter fully into the Apostle’s views, we must notice, in succession,
I. His statement of the subject—
Whatever we possess here, we have it only “in part”—
[God, in his mercy, has given us a revelation: but this revelation contains but a very small part of what God might have revealed, if it had pleased him to do so. And the knowledge which we have of what he has revealed, is extremely partial and superficial. What know we of God, and his perfections? of Christ, and his offices? of the Holy Spirit, and his operations [Note: Mat_11:27.]? What know we of the human heart, and its unsearchable depravity [Note: Jer_17:9.]? What know we of the “riches of Christ [Note: Eph_3:8.],” and of all the wonders of redemption, “the length and breadth, and depth and height, of which surpass” all finite comprehension [Note: Eph_3:18-19.]? — — —]
And even what knowledge we do possess shall in the eternal world “be done away”—
[We shall have no need of the written word to teach us, when once we are brought into the presence of God; nor will our present imperfect conceptions of it abide with us. The word, which at present is to us as the polar star, will then vanish from our sight; and the views which we now have of it, like those of the early dawn, will be dispelled; both the one and the other giving way, as darkness before the noon-day sun — — — To what purpose would a man carry a taper in the day-time? Even so the light within us, and the light without, will add nothing to the brightness of the objects in heaven, or to the clearness of our perception of them, when once we shall behold them in their “perfect” state.]
But this will receive additional light from,
II. His illustration of it—
We all know how imperfect the conceptions of a child are, in comparison of what he possesses when he is become a man—
[A child speaks without reflection, chooses [Note: ἐ ö ñ ü í ï õ í , sapiebam. Compare Rom_8:5. the Greek.] without judgment, reasons [Note: ἐ ë ï ã é æ ü ì ç í .] without solidity: but, when he becomes a man he exercises all his faculties in a more appropriate and becoming manner. He no longer utters the unmeaning and senseless sounds which emanated from him in his infant state, or makes the trifling observations that befitted him when he first began to speak. Nor does he set his mind on things which are of no value, in preference to those that are of real and important use. Nor, though he still may err in his reasonings, does he any longer found his conclusions on premises which have no apparent connexion with them. His intellectual powers being expanded by use and exercise, he dismisses, as unworthy of him, the puerilities which he once affected.]
Still more imperfect are our present views of eternal things, in comparison of what they will be in a future state—
[Now “we see them all as in a mirror, darkly:” they appear to us as a riddle or enigma, which we cannot without great difficulty comprehend [Note: See the Greek.]. The incarnation of God’s only dear Son, his substitution in the place of sinful man, the atonement offered by him for sin, his intercession for us at the right hand of God, his appointment to be the Head of vital influence to his Church and people, our union with him by faith—what know we of these, and ten thousand other mysteries of our holy religion? the darkest riddle that ever was propounded is more level with our apprehension than these mysterious truths. And what know we of the felicity of heaven? What conception can we form of the soul’s exercises in its disembodied state; or of the glory of the Godhead, as shining forth to the view of the glorified saints and angels? Even the resurrection of the body, what know we about it? or what notion have we of a spiritual body? We must all confess, that our present views are so indistinct, as scarcely to deserve the name of knowledge. But when we shall behold God “face to face,” and “see the Lord Jesus Christ as he is,” then will our faculties be wonderfully enlarged, and our perceptions be infinitely more clear. O what views shall we then have of our own sinfulness, and of the Redeemer’s love! What an apprehension shall we then have of the perfections of our God, as united and harmonizing in the great work of redemption! Our knowledge will then arise, not, as now, from a variety of ideas communicated in succession to the mind, but from one intuitive perception: we shall see God, and the things of God, in some measure as God himself sees us: he sees the whole of us, even the inmost recesses of our souls, all at once, with equal clearness in every part: and somewhat of the same kind will be our knowledge of him, though, of course, in an infinitely lower degree: for “then shall we know even as also we are known.”]
See, then,
1. In what light we should regard death—
[To an ungodly man, indeed, death will be terrible, beyond all conception; because it will introduce him to a perfect knowledge of all those terrors, which, in this world, he would not believe. But to the true Christian, death is the door of entrance into glory. It is the friendly messenger sent to us by God, in answer to that prayer of our blessed Saviour; “Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me [Note: Joh_17:24.].” Who, then, would deprecate it? Who should not account it gain, and number it amongst his treasures [Note: 1Co_3:22.]? Who should not desire to depart, that he may be with Christ [Note: Php_1:21; Php_1:23.]?” Methinks it is a shame to Christians to be wedded to life, except for the purpose of honouring God, and advancing in a meetness for the heavenly inheritance — — —]
2. In what light we should regard this present life—
[This is a state of childhood; and, as children are educated for the purpose of acting their part as men upon earth, so should we be preparing daily to act our part in heaven. We should now be searching into all those truths which will there be more fully revealed to us, and be obtaining those dispositions which will qualify us for the enjoyment of them — — — And here let me say, that the great and learned will do well to remember what they are; and the poor and unlearned will do well to look forward to what they will be. Our felicity above will be proportioned, not to our intellectual, but moral, attainments: and as, even in this world, “God often reveals to babes and sucklings what he has hid from the wise and prudent,” so much more, in the eternal world, will he most largely impart both knowledge and happiness to those who, in the present state, evince most fully the teachableness and humility of little children [Note: Mat_18:1; Mat_18:4.].
To all then I say, If ye will be men indeed, “put away childish things.” Put away your foolish communications, your corrupt affections, and your vain reasonings. Form your judgment, and exercise your inclinations, in accordance with the word of God. Begin to view things, here, as you will view them hereafter. Be no longer children, but men. If you look at the world around you, what are they but children of a larger growth? The dispositions and habits of those most advanced in life are, for the most part, not at all different from what they were in the earlier stages of their existence: earthly vanities still retain their ascendant over their minds; and the realities of the eternal world have as little influence over them as ever. Let it not be so, my brethren; but now begin to obtain those views, to cherish those desires, and to follow those pursuits, which a more enlightened judgment will dictate, and which will approve themselves as wise in the eternal world.]