THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD (1 Corinthians 13)
1 Corinthians 13, known popularly as “the love chapter,” reads like this:
If I could speak with the tongues of men or even of angels, but did not have love in my heart, my words would be no more than the clanging of a cymbal or the echo of empty metal. If I had the gift of prophecy and could understand every mystery and all knowledge, and if I had faith so strong that it could move mountains, but did not have love, I would be nothing. If I gave away everything I owned to feed the poor, or even offered my body to be burned, but did not have love, it would gain me nothing at all.
Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not proud or rude. It does not insist on its own way. Love is not easily provoked and keeps no record of wrongs. It does not rejoice in evil but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. But prophecies will come to an end, tongues will be stilled, and knowledge will vanish away. For we know only in part, and we prophesy in part. But when the perfect comes, the partial will disappear. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see only a dim reflection, as in a mirror, but one day we will see face to face. Now I know only in part, but then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now remain faith, hope, and love—these three—but the greatest of these is love.
Let’s consider the words of Paul carefully:
The Priority of Love
If the Bible is a mountain range of divine truth, then 1 Corinthians 13 is its highest peak—the Mount Everest of Scripture. Here Paul lifts our eyes to the summit of Christian living: love. He has just spoken of spiritual gifts, yet he pauses to say, “But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). That way is love—the very life of God flowing through the heart of man.
Paul begins with a theological thunderbolt: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (v. 1). Words without love are just noise. A cymbal can draw attention, but it cannot make a melody. So our speech, no matter how polished, is meaningless without grace. “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). When love fills the heart, the mouth becomes an instrument of healing.
Then Paul lifts the standard even higher. “Though I understand all mysteries and all knowledge…but have not love, I am nothing” (v. 2). Knowledge can puff up, but love builds up (1 Corinthians 8:1). You can memorize the map and never take the journey. You can know about God and still not know God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7), and “if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him” (1 Corinthians 8:3).
Even sacrifice, Paul says, can be empty. “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (v. 3). You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Love is the motive that Heaven honors. “Let all that you do be done with love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). The true measure of a ministry—or a life—is not how much we do, but how much we love while doing it.
The Portrait of Love
Paul does not leave love undefined. He paints its portrait with living color. Every brushstroke reveals the likeness of Jesus.
“Love suffers long and is kind” (v. 4). It has a long fuse and a gentle touch. Think of Jesus before His accusers. He could have called twelve legions of angels to rescue Him, but He bore the cross with patience and grace. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, but is longsuffering toward us” (2 Peter 3:9). “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
Then Paul describes love’s purity of motive: “Love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own” (vv. 4–5). True love doesn’t strut or compete. It rejoices when others are blessed. It reflects God’s glory without claiming it for itself—like the moon shining only with borrowed light. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth” (Proverbs 27:2).
Finally, Paul shows love’s perseverance: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (v. 7). Love never quits. It believes the best, hopes through the worst, and endures the hardest. “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “Above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Like a mother’s heart that refuses to give up on a wandering child, divine love keeps believing when all others have stopped. The truest test of love is not how we act when people are kind, but how we respond when they are cruel.
The Permanence of Love
“Love never fails” (v. 8). Every gift and talent will one day be silent, but love will sing forever. “Whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.” Spiritual gifts are like scaffolding around a cathedral—they serve a purpose while the building rises, but when the work is done, the scaffolding is removed, and the beauty remains. Love is the finished structure that will stand eternally.
“For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part will be done away” (vv. 9–10). The principle is that in this world, we see through a glass darkly, but one day we will see face to face. “Beloved, now we are children of God, though it has not yet been revealed what we shall be like. But we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). On that day, knowledge will give way to perfect understanding, and love will be complete.
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (v. 13). Faith will turn to sight. Hope will be fulfilled. But love will never end. Why? Because “God is love” (1 John 4:8). “Above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14). Heaven will not be a place of preaching or prophecy—it will be a place of perfect love forever.
The Measure of a Life
When God weighs a soul, He does not measure the size of our ministry but the size of our heart. The truest proof of discipleship is not eloquence or knowledge but love. “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Love is the oil that keeps the machinery of ministry running smoothly, the heartbeat of the Church, and the fragrance of Christ in a cold world. Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
A pastor once said, “When I get to Heaven, I don’t want God to ask, ‘How big was your church?’ I want Him to ask, ‘How big was your heart?’” That is the measure of a life well lived. Love is not weakness—it is the strongest force in Heaven or on earth. It breaks chains, heals wounds, and draws the lost to the Savior.
Lord Jesus, teach us to love as You love. Fill our hearts with Your Spirit until patience replaces pride and grace replaces anger. Let our words be gentle and our actions sincere. Deliver us from selfishness and from the desire to be seen. Help us to bear, believe, hope, and endure with the love that never fails. May Your love flow through us to a hurting world. For without love, we are nothing—but with Your love, we have everything. Amen.
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
