“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 do not have love, I am nothing.”

Spiritual gifts (prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, faith) are given by God for use among believers (12:8-10)—but they are not enough if expressed without love. Not even close! In fact, they count for nothing. Zilch. Nada. The gifts are to be useful, but theoneexercising those gifts is useless. I am completely superficial—nothing, no matter how great my spiritual gifting might be—if I am not acting in love. At the risk of overstating, over-explaining, and over-emphasizing this point, if I use my spiritual gift for my own benefit and my self-promotion, not completely and totally for the benefit of others, then I am not being a giftto the fellowship of believers! For the one who has a spiritual gift is at the same time the spiritual gift to his brothers and sisters in Christ. In other words, spiritual gifts are mediated through individuals.

Notice this extended passage speaks of “love” as a thing to have, possess. The literary flow is the contrast of “having” the various spiritual gifts, but not “having” love. Literary expressions. Paul had just liaised from the topic of spiritual gifts in chapter 12 to the topic of love. His transition was, “But earnestly desire the greater gifts. AndI show you a still more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31). Clearly love is pictured as thespiritual gift, par excellence.

Popular Christianity today exalts the celebrity superstars of the church. The different-sized ponds have different sizes of populations, but each has its big fish. This is the influence of the world and of Satan, who has it in his nature to exalt himself. But this tendency also resides in our own fallen nature. We gravitate to the superficial. The most exalted preachers who fill stadiums and garner thousands, even millions, of internet followers are superficial; the purported faith-healers that pander to huge audiences are shallow; the ones who have great, audacious, risky faith that brings in millions for special projects, those noted for being prayer warriors because when they pray, things happen—all are absolutely trivial, artificial, hollow without love.

The greatest works of love are typified by the self-sacrificing attitude of the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us on an obscure cross, dying like a criminal, in an obscure country two thousand years ago. We are told, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:5 NKJV). That is love—sacrificial, unconcerned about self. Rather we have love than all the giftedness in the world without it.

O Lord, I am humbled by the awareness of my own conceit. Forgive my attitude