1 Corinthians 13:3

1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 13

A Psalm of Love. 1 Cor. 13,1-13.

The high worth of love: V. 3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Paul refers to a second gift: And if I have prophecy, and if I know all the mysteries and all the knowledge, — prophecy in its widest stretch amounts to nothing without love. The gift of prophecy is a higher gift than that of speaking with tongues, since its purpose is directly to edify the congregation by unfolding the future and combining earnest admonitions with this form of proclamation of the secrets of God. Some of the early Christians had this gift to such a degree that they had an insight into the mysteries of God and could expound the glories of His essence.

"One might be a prophet and know very few mysteries; and one might know all mysteries and yet lack some other point of knowledge" (Lenski, St. Paul, 127).

If such a person were not actuated by the love that finds its supreme delight in serving his neighbor, then his work might indeed have salutary effects, but he himself would be cast out as unworthy.

And just so with the gift of the heart: And if I had all faith, to remove one mountain after the other, but had no love, I should again amount to nothing in the sight of God. One might have heroic faith, the confidence that works miracles, Matt. 17, 20; 21, 21, and yet be personally worthless. For such a faith apprehends Christ only in His wonder-working power, and is not necessarily the result of saving faith. But without love, though endowed with these most remarkable gifts, which are also so highly esteemed and may be of such wonderful value and seem to indicate a special divine favor, a person is in fact a mere nonentity in the eyes of God.

There may even be manifestations that seem to have all the earmarks of real charity: And if I should distribute all my property to the poor, if I should give it away, bit by bit, until I had nothing left; and if the sacrifice that I make rises to its climax in that of offering life itself, of suffering martyrdom in its worst form, but the motive for all this were not love, it would have absolutely no value in the sight of God. As Jerome writes: "It is terrible to say, but it is true: If we endure martyrdom in order to be admired by our brothers, then our blood was shed in vain." That a person gives all his goods to the needy, that he sacrifices body and life, may look like an act of pure love, but it may also flow from selfish motives and seek the person's own ends, and will therefore result in his condemnation.

Note: What the apostle here teaches and very impressively urges the Christians of today should also heed. The most extraordinary gifts of the apostolic days are not found in our congregations today, but there are still the gifts mentioned in the previous chapter. One possesses a rich treasure of Christian knowledge, another has the gift of speaking of divine things in a clear, interesting, comforting way, a third has been given an unusual measure of strength of faith, of Christian energy.

And therefore it may easily happen that a Christian or a Christian preacher or teacher may feel a certain amount of pride in his understanding and knowledge, a measure of gratification at his ability to make an impression by his speaking, at his good works, his gifts to the poor, his zeal for God's kingdom and honor, instead of having in mind only the edification of his brethren. Such a one should remember that before God, with all his knowledge and works, he is nothing, amounts to nothing, and will gain nothing, unless his one motive is an unselfish love, which flows out of true faith. (Compare, for the whole passage, Hom. Mag., XVII (1893), 40).