1 Corinthians 13
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have {the gift of} prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 And if I give all my possessions to feed {the poor,} and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
Paul makes it clear that spiritual gifts, in their best and most powerful expression, have no value if they are not expressed with love.
Realize that Satan, knowing this, will do his best to ensure that spiritual gifts are not expressed in love.
Therefore, when we express spiritual gifts, we need to do this check: am I expressing my spiritual gift right now in love?
4 Love is patient, love is kind {and} is not jealous; love does not brag {and} is not arrogant,
5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong {suffered,}
6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Paul now describes what love is.
8 Love never fails; but if {there are gifts of} prophecy, they will be done away; if {there are} tongues, they will cease; if {there is} knowledge, it will be done away.
Love will always be needed. All gifts will at some point become unnecessary. But not love.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part;
10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.
Paul was humble enough to admit that he didn’t know it all. And that therefore, when he encouraged others (using prophecy) he couldn’t do it perfectly.
Most people stop loving others when there is a disagreement or a difference of opinion. And many disagreements occur over topics about God and about how to do things in the church.
If we understand that right now our understanding of God is not perfect then we will be less contentious and more easily able to love others.
When Jesus returns and we receive our glorified bodies, we will be like Him (1 Jn 3:2) and then we will have a perfect understanding of theology and will not have any disagreement.
11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
A child is selfish. If it sees a toy that it wants in your hands it will try to take it from you. Such behavior is the opposite of love. When we stop loving others because they disagree with us then we are acting just like a child. Paul’s point is that we need to stop acting like a child and now act like a mature disciple who loves others. Jesus said that all men will know that we are His disciples when we love each other (Jn 13:35).
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
Paul repeats that the reason why we should not stop loving those who disagree with us is because our understanding is not perfect. That is, we see God dimly, as if in an unpolished mirror. But when we enter into glory we will understand God as perfecting as a human can.
13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
For a Christian waiting for Jesus to return, there are just three things to focus on: faith, hope and love. But the most important thing to focus on is love.
Faith – what we believe, or our theology – is not the most important thing!
Hope – what we are looking for expectantly – is also the most important thing!
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