1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NKJV):
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
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, but have not love, I am nothing.
And 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.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 is a continuation of 1 Corinthians 12 which talks about operating spiritual gifts. One day, the Lord spoke this: “Jesus is the platform, and Holy Spirit is the factor”. The Bible says the Holy Spirit is the source of all spiritual gifts (read 1 Corinthians 12:3-11), and in TiC, we encourage & teach each one in the operation of his/her spiritual gifts. No problem with that. However, this operating of spiritual gifts should first be founded on the ‘platform’, i.e. on Jesus. Every ministry of a believer is in effect Jesus’ ministry. It’s His ‘platform’, not men’s, no matter how ‘anointed’ he or she may be.
This is exactly what 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 means. Jesus is always your ‘rock’, the ‘platform’ on which your ministry is founded on. In other words, your ‘feet’ should be firmly on this ‘platform’ as you move and serve in the Spirit. When you are founded on Him, your ministry will flow out with love and grace in abundance! Why? Because Jesus Himself is love & grace personified. In other words, as you behold and receive more of Him, His love & grace will flow out as you minister with spiritual gifts!
You see, spiritual gifts are not for us to ‘parade ourselves’, or telling others how ‘anointed’ we are. Spiritual gifts are definitely not meant for us to ‘show off’ how accurate we are in ministering (though it’s important to minister with accuracy) compared to others. It’s never meant for us to feel ‘mean’ when we are ‘better’ in the operation of certain spiritual gifts than other ministers, or ‘miserable’ when we are not. It’s also not for us to abuse it and use it to judge or condemn others.
Notice Paul wrote about ‘love’ (1 Corinthians 13) right after he wrote about ‘spiritual gifts’ (1 Corinthians 12), and he wrote it very aptly ‘have not love’ (where the word ‘love’ is a noun), instead of ‘do not love’ (where ‘love’ becomes an ‘act’ you do). “What is the difference, pastor?” One is about ‘having’ or ‘beholding’ love, the other is about ‘doing the act of love’. In short, one is ‘beholding’, the other is ‘doing’. I believe there’s no mistake in God’s Word. So, when it is written ‘have not love’, Paul really meant ‘have not love’, not ‘do not love’. The whole context of 1 Corinthians 13 is actually about the word ‘love’ being a noun, i.e. having or beholding love.
Back to the question: “Who then is this noun ‘love’ in 1 Corinthians 13?” He is the Person of Jesus. As I’ve said, Jesus is love & grace personified. You see, JESUS IS LOVE (1 John 4:8), not just ‘loving in action’. By the way, what does it mean by ‘beholding Jesus’? To ‘behold Jesus’ is to receive the fullness of Him, to let Him embrace you in all His loveliness (like the father embracing the prodigal son in Luke 15:20), or being conscious of His love, grace, and goodness always. So, ‘love’ here is never a ‘task’ of trying to love, or forcing yourself to love. Now, let me ‘qualify’ what I’ve just written. I’m not saying I don’t believe in ‘love in action’, but I’m saying ‘love in action’ comes supernaturally as you first behold the Person of ‘love’, i.e. Jesus!
And as you behold Jesus in all His loveliness and His perfect work on the cross, love flows out through you as you minister to other lives! As 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, you (or your ministry) are being transformed from glory to glory as you behold Jesus more, and many lives will be touched, restored, healed, and set free as ‘love’ flows out through you. Hallelujah!
If you read further in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, you’ll see Jesus (who is the noun ‘love’ Himself) fits so perfectly here:
Jesus suffers long and is kind; Jesus does not envy; Jesus does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jesus never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
Amen!
