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. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
In the midst of this section on spiritual gifts in 1
Corinthians 12-14, Paul includes a chapter on love. Why?
Because he wanted his readers to realize that without it, the gifts are
nothing.
In this passage, Paul uses hyperbole to make the
point that love is superior. He says in
v. 1 that languages without love are nothing—they are a big fat zero. He says, “If I can communicate Christ in multiple
languages and even speak Anglish (AKA
Angel Language) and do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."
In v. 2 Paul
says,
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.
First Paul talks about having “prophetic powers and
understanding all mysteries and having all knowledge.” In chapter 14, prophecy is considered one of the
greatest of the gifts, yet Paul says, “without love you got nothing.
He says, “If you have all faith—a faith that can
move mountains and do not have love, you are nothing.” In other words, if you believe and trust God
in every way and continually walk in the faith you have and do not have love
your spiritual life amounts to nothing.
Paul gives the ultimate example in v. 3. He says,
If I give away all I have, and if I
deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Paul says, “If I die a martyr's death, for the cause
of Christ, and die without love for others—I gain nothing—my reward is zero.” In other words, it doesn’t matter what you
bring to the table if you lack love, you got nothing. The loveless person produces nothing of
value—just noise.
