Topical Bible: Love to Man: Supernatural Gifts are Nothing Without

◄ Love to Man: Supernatural Gifts are Nothing Without ►

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In the Christian faith, love is considered the greatest of all virtues, surpassing even the most extraordinary supernatural gifts. The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, emphasizes the supremacy of love over spiritual gifts, underscoring that without love, these gifts are rendered meaningless.

Biblical Foundation

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 provides a profound insight into the necessity of love: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing."

This passage highlights that the most impressive spiritual gifts—speaking in tongues, prophecy, knowledge, faith, and even acts of charity—are devoid of true value if not accompanied by love. Paul uses hyperbolic language to stress that without love, these gifts are as empty as a "clanging cymbal," lacking substance and purpose.

The Nature of Love

The love Paul describes is agape love, a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love that mirrors the love of God for humanity. This love is not merely an emotion but an active choice to seek the well-being of others. It is patient, kind, and devoid of envy or pride (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This love rejoices in truth and bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things.

The Primacy of Love

The primacy of love is further emphasized in 1 Corinthians 13:13 : "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love." Here, Paul places love above faith and hope, the foundational elements of Christian life. Love is the enduring virtue that will persist even when faith becomes sight and hope is fulfilled.

Implications for Believers

For believers, this teaching serves as a reminder that the exercise of spiritual gifts should always be motivated by love. The gifts of the Spirit, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12, are given for the edification of the church and the common good. However, their effectiveness and authenticity are contingent upon being rooted in love.

The absence of love can lead to division, pride, and self-aggrandizement, contrary to the unity and humility that should characterize the body of Christ. Therefore, believers are called to pursue love earnestly (1 Corinthians 14:1) and to let it govern their interactions and service within the church and the broader community.

Conclusion

In summary, the biblical teaching on love underscores its indispensable role in the life of a believer. Supernatural gifts, while valuable, are ultimately hollow without the foundation of love. This principle calls Christians to prioritize love in all aspects of their spiritual journey, ensuring that their actions reflect the love of Christ to the world.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

1 Corinthians 13:1,2
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Spiritual Gifts.
... significant sign, [618] arresting their attention to the supernatural power in ... far
more comprehensive and enduring, embracing both God's love to man and man ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 45 the spiritual gifts.htm

The Fifty-Fourth Chapter: the Different Motions of Nature and ...
... This grace is a supernatural light, a certain special gift of God, the proper mark
of the elect ... It raises man up from earthly things to love the things ...
/.../kempis/the imitation of christ/the fifty-fourth chapter the different.htm

Fruits and the Two Works.
... When man possesses the love of God he does not ... service to God if acceptable must
be actuated by love. Supernatural gifts are nothing without love.1 Cor.13:1, 2 ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/the gospel day /chapter vi fruits and the.htm

Of Three Kinds of Most Inward Practices
... because of the abundance of its supernatural torrents of ... reason of this nought; for
surely I love it much ... conception of the dual life which man possesses in ...
/.../john/the adornment of the spritual marriage/chapter lxv of three kinds.htm

On the Effects of the Redemption
... without God's grace we cannot do any supernatural thing ... We should love our neighbor
also on another account: namely ... Suppose, for example, I see a poor man and am ...
/.../kinkead/baltimore catechism no 4/lesson 10 on the effects.htm

That we Ought to Acknowledge all the Love we Bear to God to be ...
... received all from God, but especially the supernatural goods of ... place of its starting,
and not from man's will the ... Theotimus, if we have any love for God, his ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter vi that we ought.htm

Definition of Actual Grace
... pure benevolence, from no other motive than sheer love. ... definition: Grace is a
gratuitous, supernatural, internal gift ... of Jesus Christ, by which man is rendered ...
/.../pohle/grace actual and habitual/section 1 definition of actual.htm

The Dispensation of the Spirit.
... The supernaturally gifted man was no mere machine, no ... sense were lower in another;
as supernatural gifts they would ... a utility whose measure was love, charity. ...
/.../robertson/sermons preached at brighton/iii the dispensation of the.htm

Man Now Deprived of Freedom of Will, and Miserably Enslaved.
... of the disease of self-love and ambition ... the writings of Augustine, that man's natural
gifts ... corrupted by sin, and his supernatural gifts withdrawn; meaning by ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 2 man now deprived.htm

To Urban vi
... she wrote: "Mitigate a little, for the love of Christ ... way you will have both natural
and supernatural gifts"for the ... you can do no more than one man; so your ...
/.../benincasa/letters of catherine benincasa/to urban vi 2.htm