1 Corinthians 13
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1If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. 2If 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. 3If I give away 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. 4Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, 5doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; 6doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8Love 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. 9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; 10but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with. 11When 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. 12For 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. 13But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.
World English Bible (public domain)
Listen to this chapter summary · ~1 min
“"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."”
1 Corinthians 13:13
Summary
1 Corinthians 13 is often known as the 'Love Chapter' and serves as a profound exposition on the nature and supremacy of love. In this chapter, Paul emphasizes that love surpasses all spiritual gifts and is foundational to Christian conduct. He begins by asserting that even remarkable spiritual abilities, like speaking in tongues or having prophetic powers, are meaningless without love. Paul goes on to describe the attributes of love, portraying it as patient and kind, and highlighting what it is not – envious, boastful, or arrogant. He concludes by underscoring the eternal nature of love, contrasting it with temporary gifts that will cease when perfection comes. The chapter culminates with the assertion that love is the greatest of all virtues, enduring forever beyond faith and hope.
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