1 Corinthians 13: The More Excellent Way
Paul exalts love as the indispensable heart of every gift, the virtue that never fails and remains greater even than faith and hope.
1 Corinthians 13 (WEB)
1 If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, 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 don’t have love, I am nothing.
3 If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,
5 doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;
6 doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
10 but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.
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, even as I was also fully known.
13 But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13 (KJV)
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
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.
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
1 Corinthians 13 (ASV)
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
2 And 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 have not love, I am nothing.
3 And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;
6 rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth;
7 beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
10 but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things.
12 For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known.
13 But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Summary
Paul shows the church the most excellent way: love. If he speaks in the tongues of men and angels but has no love, he is only noisy brass or a clanging cymbal. If he has prophecy, understands all mysteries and knowledge, and has faith to move mountains, but has no love, he is nothing. Even if he gives away all he owns and surrenders his body to be burned, without love it profits him nothing. Then Paul describes what love is: patient and kind, free of envy and boasting and pride; it does not behave shamefully, does not insist on its own way, is not provoked, and keeps no record of wrongs. It does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth; it bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. Love never fails. By contrast, the gifts the Corinthians prize so highly are temporary—prophecies will pass, tongues will cease, knowledge will fade—because we now know only in part. When the complete comes, the partial passes away, just as a child's ways are put aside in adulthood. For now we see only a dim reflection in a mirror, but then we shall see face to face; now we know in part, but then we shall know fully, even as we are fully known. So three things remain—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
Main Characters
- Paul — The apostle who, having ranked the gifts, now shows the church that love is the indispensable heart of them all.
- Love — The Christlike virtue Paul personifies—patient, kind, selfless, and enduring—without which every gift is empty and which never fails.
- The gift-focused church — Believers prizing tongues, prophecy, and knowledge, who must learn that these are partial and passing while love endures.
- Christ the pattern of love — Jesus, whose self-giving love is the unspoken model behind every line of Paul's description, the love poured out at the cross.
Key Verse
1 Corinthians 13:13 (WEB)
But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.
Lessons Learned
- Without love, even the most impressive gifts amount to nothing.
- Love is shown in concrete attitudes and actions, not mere sentiment.
- Spiritual gifts are partial and temporary; love is permanent.
- Of all that remains, love is the greatest.
- Gifts without love are empty. Without love, “I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2, WEB). The most dazzling abilities are worthless if love is absent.
- Love acts, it does not merely feel. “Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy” (1 Corinthians 13:4, WEB). Love is described by what it does and refuses to do.
- Love never fails. “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8, WEB). When gifts have served their purpose and ceased, love remains.
- Love is the greatest. “The greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13, WEB). Above even faith and hope, love is supreme and eternal.
- Why does Paul say that gifts without love amount to nothing?
- Which description of love in verses 4-7 most challenges you, and why?
- What does Paul mean that we now see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face?
- Why is love greater than even faith and hope?
- Where do you most need to grow in love, and what is one concrete way you could practice it this week?
- Gifts are means, but love is the end; eloquence, knowledge, faith, and even sacrifice are hollow without it (13:1-3). God measures us not by what we can do but by whether we love, for love alone reflects his own heart.
- Each trait—patience, kindness, humility, selflessness, forgiveness—exposes where our love falls short. Encourage honest reflection, and remember that this love is first God's love for us, which then flows through us by his Spirit.
- In this life our knowledge is partial and clouded, like a dim reflection, but in the life to come we will see God and know fully (13:12). This humbles our present certainties and fills us with hope for the clarity and intimacy to come.
- Faith and hope are vital now, but in heaven faith becomes sight and hope is fulfilled, while love continues forever (13:13). Love is the very nature of God and the substance of eternal life with him, so it is supreme.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to choose one quality of love from verses 4-7 and one relationship in which to practice it. As leader, point them to the cross as both the source and the model of the love they are called to.