The greatest is love...

1 Corinthians 13

If I speak with the tongues of men and angles, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

In the church at Corinth spiritual gifts were present and right doctrine was even in place, however there was a massive void of love. This absence of love resulted in arguments, selfishness, and pride.

Instead of desiring love for one another they desired “showy” spiritual gifts. Instead of love they desired knowledge and wisdom that led to selfishness and pride.

1 Corinthians 13:1 Tongues of Men and Angels

No matter how linguistically gifted one is, no matter how amazing one speaks his own language or how capable he is to speak a foreign language, if he does not love it is noise only. Even if a man can speak with angelic tongue, if he does not have love he is just noise resounding.

1 Corinthians 1:2 Know all mystery and all knowledge and all Faith

If a man has all knowledge, all wisdom, and all discernment but fails to love he has missed the most important thing. What good is it to know all doctrine, all theology if you are prideful? What good is it to know the word of God and not love? To know truth and not love is useless. If you have truth but do not love you are of no use to the kingdom of God.

If you have all the faith in the world, enough to move and remove mountains but you do not love, your faith means nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:3 Burned

A man could give up his life, and it profit him nothing if he does not love. We could give up our lives, but if we do not love it helps us not.

You can speak all languages in order to spread the fame of God’s name, but if you do not love you are like a gong, which pagans rang when worshipping false gods.

You can have all knowledge, all wisdom, all discernment, but if you do not love all your words are as empty noise.

You can have all faith, enough to remove mountains, but if you do not love you are of no use to the kingdom of God. You can lay your life down for Christ, but if you do not love, your life is lost for not.

Three things should exist within the fellowship of Christ, faith, hope, and love, but the greatest is love.

Lets not be like the Corinthians and gain knowledge, wisdom, faith, and forget the things that ties all these together, love. Lets not be puffed of with pride, but let us be filled with love for almighty God, and for each other.