1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Paul continues from the previous two passages on the gifts of the Spirit and introduces love, which is above all else. That although we can have all the gifts given to us, and be able to do amazing things with these gifts, if we don’t have the love of God then everything is meaningless and in vain.
Just like Abraham was propelled by his love for God and produced the fruit of faith, we also produce fruits of the the same Spirit: tongues, prophecy, knowledge, wisdom, faith, etc but love should be the forefront of why we do these things for other people.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Paul describes love with a list several attributes: patience, kindness, contentedness, humble, servant heart, honourable, slow to anger, forgiving, truthful, protecting, hopeful, and persevering. These are the attributes every believer in the Corinthian church should uphold while serving their brothers and sisters with their spiritual gifts. Without showing these attributes of love there is no point to exercising their gifts.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
Love never fails. No matter what the Christians do, if they go out with an intention to love then they won’t fail to accomplish their goals. If they go out with the intention to prophecy, to speak in tongues, or do great acts but without the intention to love then they may fail in what they do.
Paul continues to talk about the other gifts and how temporary they all are compared to love. All of them will pass away, be stilled, will eventually cease, but love lasts forever because love completes everything. And God completes everything.
11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Paul gives an analogy of a child who grows up to become a man in the process putting away the former to develop into maturity. In the same way, we only see in part just as a child, but when God makes all things known to us then we will know Him completely.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The three remaining gifts Paul seems to group together in importance. Faith in God with what was promised, hope in God with things unseen yet revealed, and the everlasting and abounding love of God, which is the greatest of all three gifts and all other gifts mentioned in this passage.
Filed under: 1 Corinthians, Apostle Paul, Bible study, Christianity, corinthians, God, Jesus, New Testament, Scripture
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