Episode 207 - "Got love?" 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
1Cor. 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
We left off last week with the question, “What could be more excellent than the gifts of the Holy Spirit?” Paul was confronting the idea that some believers at Corinth had the idea that some spiritual gifts were more important than others. Paul does not want to undermine the value of the gifts. On the contrary, he desires believers to value the gifts distributed by the Holy Spirit for the mutual edification of believers and to serve God’s purpose and mission through the church. But he left us with, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Cor. 12:31b) What is that more excellent way? He answers that question right away, doesn’t he? The answer is love.
In 1 Corinthians 13:1, Paul writes, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” There are few things that Christians today can be divided over as much as the gift of tongues. People disagree over whether this gift is still valid for today. Some assert that one cannot be truly “saved” if they don’t speak in tongues. Some who claim to have it instruct others to start mumbling in order to “prime the pump,” so to speak. There are disagreements over exactly what it looks like and the Biblical guidelines for this gift.
First, Paul has clearly stated that Christians do not all have the same gifts. So, if we believe that this letter is inspired by God (as the church has believed since its early years), we believe that God cannot/does not contradict himself. Therefore, one cannot argue this gift is absolutely required or that it is evidence of one being a true Christian. Paul also wrote that gifts are distributed according to the will of the Spirit. So, one cannot decide that they will get the gift of tongues. That is God’s decision. In Acts, we find on the day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit filled the apostles, and they spoke in tongues. The context explains that there were people present from all over the known world who spoke and understood in their own languages what the apostles were saying. It seems reasonable to understand that in that instant, the apostles were speaking God’s truth in languages they had not learned because the Holy Spirit was enabling that. There are other places in the Scriptures where the “tongue” spoken may not be known by anyone without someone being present who can interpret the speech.
However, the point here is that this gift is nothing but a distraction if the speaker does not have love. The argument builds in verse 2 when he writes that one who has prophetic powers or amazing faith is “nothing” if they do not have love. Finally, he argues that one could even forfeit everything they have and suffer harm to death. But if they do not have love, there is no advantage.
What is the takeaway on this? First of all, while everyone may not have the gift of tongues, prophecy, or some other gift that people think is very important, it seems evident that Paul is suggesting that every single believer is capable of having the love of Christ to show to others.
The gifts are important. Paul has established that. However, they are utterly useless if they are exercised without love. God does not limit who among his people can show love to others. This makes sense when we understand that we have appropriated God’s love toward us when we trusted in Christ Jesus.
It seems to me the lesson for us is that the question before us is not “What spiritual gifts do I have?” but “How can I demonstrate God’s love to others around me?” It’s my opinion that our spiritual gifts will manifest themselves when we consider ways in which we can do that, and it won’t matter if we can’t speak in tongues because God has led us to show his love in a way that is genuine to our identity and the mission he has for each of us to the church and the world.