Love - The Greatest Spiritual Gift

"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. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love 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. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.  And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:1-8, 13)

"WHAT is the greatest spiritual gift?", you may ask. Is it preaching the Word of God with eloquence? Is it great knowledge and understanding of the Word of God? Is it faith that moves mountains? Or is it sacrificial giving of oneself to the poor or even to be a martyr for Christ? The Bible says that if you have or do all these things without a spirit of love, you are nothing and it profits you nothing. The Bible puts great emphasis on the gift of love, even placing it above the gift of faith and hope. The Greek word for “love” in this passage is “agape” which means “affection” or “benevolence.” Why is love so elevated in the Bible above all other gifts? It was because of unconditional love that prompted God to give up His Son, the Lord Jesus, for us. The Bible says:  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), and God demonstrated “His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Love is the very nature and the very essence of God. The Bible says:  “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:7-10). It was pure love that prompted the Lord Jesus to give up His life for us. We read:  “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13) and “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). 

God puts great emphasis on love in the Bible. The two greatest commandments are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39) for “on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:40). “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10). Before Christ went to the cross to die, He left his disciples with only one new commandment and that commandment had to do with love. He said:  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). People will see that we are true Christians and true followers of Christ when they observe the love of Christ that is in us. One of the marks of a true disciple of Christ is love. The Bible says that “we know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). 

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 we have a description of the love that we ought to have. First, our love should be longsuffering. We should endure any evil and provocation. Second, our love should be kind and courteous. Third, our love should not envy but should rejoice in the good of others. Fourth, our love should not contain pride and arrogance. Fifth, our love should not be rude but rather be considerate of others. Sixth, our love should not be selfish but have the interest of others in mind (Phil. 2:4). Seventh, our love should not be easily provoked but we should be willing to endure the insults of others. Eighth, our love should not think evil of others but should always see the best motives behind others. Finally, our love should bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things (1 Cor. 13:7).

Love is the only gift that will never fail. All other temporal gifts will fail, cease, and vanish. “Love” is mentioned first in the list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Everything that we should do should “be done with love” (1 Cor. 16:14). Our love should always be abounding (Phil. 1:9) and “fervent” (1 Peter 4:8). Paul’s ultimate prayer and desire for all believers is that they “being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height” and “to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” and “to be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:17-19). Friend do you want to be filled with such love? Than go to God today and ask Him to fill you with that “agape” Christ-like love.

Peter Sarkis