THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL

So we come to the sublime! However, we must resist the temptation to treat this chapter as a detachment from its context in Corinth and the struggles of the Christian community whom Paul has been addressing. While this wonderful poem takes a different literary form from what has preceded it, every aspect of the description of love in these verses relates directly to Paul’s concerns about the aforementioned divisions in the church. The connection becomes obvious in the opening reference to the gifts of tongues and prophecy, but the discussion moves on to a deeper level. Paul goes to the heart of the problem by insisting on the emptiness and futility of the gifts of the Spirit apart from love when used for purposes of self-aggrandizement.

It is important to note that, although the misuse of particular charismatic gifts is a central concern of Paul’s letter, he is also clear that there are forms of theological knowledge which, in the absence of love, may be used to boost our egos at the expense of others in the church. Perhaps the most striking of all the statements in these verses is the contrast between present knowledge, which is partial, dim and childish, and that knowledge accompanying the unveiling of ultimate reality when we “see face to face” (9–12). Christians on both sides of the modern divide between charismatic and non-charismatic traditions would do well to heed the warnings of this overly familiar chapter. As Lewis Smedes (1921–2002), author of Love within Limits: Realizing Selfless Love in a Selfish World, says, “The Corinthians assumed anybody could love but only special people spoke in tongues or knew the secrets of God: Paul knew better. An ‘ordinary’ person, set in motion by another person’s need, is in a class with God. The gifts that put a person on stage are second-class. This gift [love] is always absolute; the others will someday be obsolete.”

Re-read this chapter prayerfully, seeking deeper knowledge of the love that “never fails” (8).