1 Corinthians 13:1 Commentary and Bible Study

The chapter heading really belongs in front of verse 31 of the previous chapter, or perhaps right there before the ‘and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.’ Love is going to be seen as the pinnacle of all the gifts; it must be the driving motive for everything else. The particular kind of love which is in mind, translated charity by our King James translators refers particularly to giving love, outflowing love, love which reflects the divine love. Without love, though I may have what to the Corinthians was the supreme gift – they loved the gift of tongues because, they were great lovers of oratory and it swept them away. They preferred skilled oratory to sound truth. They would be carried away by the most fluent speakers, the most eloquent, and if it came in the form of what might be called a spiritual gift, that for them was surely the highest gift. So it is not surprising that in addressing the Corinthians, the apostle Paul begins with this reference to tongues: ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men’ – the languages of men, numerous languages – ‘and of angels’ – which is impossible, but the apostle is arguing from that extreme position. If it were possible, even if I had such a magnificent gift that I understood angelic language, and had not outflowing love, unselfish love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. Some translations try to find ways of improving on this and in doing so, some of them lose the sense, because the idea of sounding brass is just an over loud gong. Someone has made a gong that will wake the dead almost. But in doing so, they have lost all tone and pleasantness, and it is a horrible thing. It is a terrible and a harsh noise. Paul is going in his language from the highest to the lowest. Without love, even the impossible acquisition of an angelic language would sound like a harsh over-loud gong, which has lost its musicality. To God that is how it will sound. ‘Oh, but he's a fine preacher!’ The charismatics often have a taste for preachers who speak like a machine gun, and with great energy and velocity of delivery. But if there is no love, it doesn't matter how you speak; it's just a harsh sound. ‘Or a tinkling cymbal’, and the translators try different ways of doing that too, but the best idea is a kind of crashing cymbal, a deeply unpleasant sound like the gong. To God, that is what we are like if we are not motivated by love.