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1 Corinthians 13:1–3
“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” (v. 2).
Continuing our look at the fruit that God expects Christians to produce in their lives, we have seen the preeminent importance of love. Standing at the head of the list of the fruit of the Spirit that Paul gives us in Galatians 5:22–23, love is the foundational Christian virtue and animates all the others. Paul’s focus on love in 1 Corinthians 13 is also a key indicator of the importance of love, as the detail with which he covers this fruit of the Spirit and the amount of space devoted to it show that love should be the chief characteristic of the believer.
Before giving us a list of all the things that define Christian love in 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle makes clear that apart from love all other good things are ultimately nothing. In verses 1–3, he mentions several gifts or abilities of great significance. Few would discount the utility of being able to speak in the languages of the world or in the languages of the angels. Knowledge, likewise, is greatly prized. Yet these things and other goods are worthless in the sight of God if they are not accompanied by and fueled by love. Paul does not want us to see the goods he lists as utterly without value; instead, by speaking of them as nothing without love, he relativizes their importance. One can speak in other languages, gain knowledge, show generosity, and even exhibit a kind of nonsaving faith without love, but since God is love (1 John 4:8), a good thing done apart from love is not a mark of godliness.
The centrality of love is also seen in Christ’s presentation of the two greatest commandments. As Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:34–40, all the Law and the Prophets depend on the commandment to love God with our entire being and the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. What we might call the horizontal dimension of the Christian life (love of neighbor) and the vertical dimension of the Christian life (love of God) are interconnected and inseparable. True love for God bears fruit in a love for other people because God loves people (John 3:16; 1 John 4:7–8). Such love for others should especially characterize our relationships in the church, because we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love our brothers, whom we do see (1 John 4:20–21). Yet how often do we fail to give love the place it deserves? Surely we will find it easier to keep love central if we remember that we have nothing without love.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
When we say that nothing is more important than love, we are not talking about love as mere sentimentality or a vague feeling of affection. We are talking about the love that is patient and kind, that rejoices in goodness and truth, and so forth, as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13. As Christians, let us pursue that kind of love in our own lives and seek to foster it in our churches.
for further study
- Leviticus 19:18
- Deuteronomy 11:1
- Romans 13:8–10
- 1 John 2:7–11
the bible in a year
- Psalms 4–6
- Acts 16:16–40