1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Love outlasts all gifts and remains the greatest virtue of the Christian life.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part;
10 but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.
12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.
13 But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.
Love outlasts all gifts and remains the greatest virtue of the Christian life.
Paul concludes his teaching on love by contrasting the temporary nature of spiritual gifts with the enduring supremacy of love.
This passage completes Paul's argument that began in chapter 12 regarding spiritual gifts. After demonstrating that gifts are meaningless without love (13:1–3) and defining the character of love (13:4–7), Paul now explains why love must govern all spiritual life. Gifts belong to the present, partial stage of God's redemptive plan, whereas love continues into the fullness of God's kingdom. The section also transitions toward Paul's renewed discussion of spiritual gifts in chapter 14.
The Corinthian church had placed excessive emphasis on certain spiritual gifts, particularly those that appeared dramatic or prestigious. Paul addresses this imbalance by teaching that spiritual gifts belong to the present stage of God's redemptive plan and will eventually cease, whereas love reflects the enduring nature of God's kingdom.
The More Excellent Way of Love
Love is the indispensable mark of true Christian maturity, the necessary atmosphere for every spiritual gift, and the enduring virtue that outlasts all partial manifestations in the present age.