1 Corinthians 13.1-3
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
Chapter 13 of the book of 1 Corinthians is one of the most famous chapters in the bible. Because it is a sweeping and dramatic declaration of the characteristics of love, it has been read at countless wedding ceremonies for many generations.
Notwithstanding its massive popularity at weddings, this chapter was not written for the general public; rather, it was written for the followers of Jesus so they would understand just how important love is in the kingdom of God.
The context of 1 Corinthians 13 matters. Paul wrote this chapter as part of his teaching on spiritual gifts. In chapter 12, Paul instructed about the giving of the gifts and the way God has distributed them in the church so that it can function. Chapter 14 addresses the proper exercise of the gifts. And right in the middle is a chapter on why love is the proper motive, the proper power, and the proper environment in which the gifts are designed to operate.
The problem was that the Corinthians were selfish about spiritual gifts; they were coveting the more dramatic, showy gifts. Paul’s message is this: Be content with the gifts the Lord has given you, and do everything in love.
Love, Paul says, is the more excellent way.
Galatians 5.22-23 says that the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” If there is no love, then what is being done is being done without the fruit of the Spirit. If you don’t have the fruit of the Spirit, then you are operating in yourself and your old nature.
In other words, just having spiritual gifts doesn’t make you spiritual. Without love, nothing works the way the Lord intends.
More tomorrow …
