And if 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 have not love, I am
nothing. 3 And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I
give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth
not itself, is not puffed up, 5 doth not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; 6
rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; 7
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things. 8 Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies,
they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease;
whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away. 9 For we know in
part, and we prophesy in part; 10 but when that which is perfect is
come, that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child,
I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that
I am become a man, I have put away childish things. 12 For now we see
in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but
then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known. 13 But now
abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is
love.

PAUL'S PRAISE OF CHRISTIAN LOVE.

1. Paul's purpose in this chapter is to silence and humble haughty
Christians, particularly teachers and preachers. The Gospel gives much
knowledge of God and of Christ, and conveys many wonderful gifts, as
Paul recounts in Romans 12 and in First Corinthians 12. He tells us
some have the gift of speaking, some of teaching, some of Scripture
exposition; others of ruling; and so on. With Christians are great
riches of spiritual knowledge, great treasures in the way of spiritual
gifts. Manifest to all is the meaning of God, Christ, conscience, the
present and the future life, and similar things. But there are to be
found few indeed who make the right use of such gifts and knowledge;
who humble themselves to serve others, according to the dictates of
love. Each seeks his own honor and advantage, desiring to gain
preferment and precedence over others.

2. We see today how the Gospel has given to men knowledge beyond
anything known in the world before, and has bestowed upon them new
capabilities. Various gifts have been showered upon and distributed
among them which have redounded to their