"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:2)

Part two on the topic of love. Last time we talked about people who had the gift of tongues. This week we're talking about people who have the gifts of prophecy, wisdom, and faith. Again, as in 1 Corinthians 13:1, if the recipient of the gift doesn't have a heart of love, the gift doesn't amount to much.

The gift of prophecy doesn't just mean the ability to predict the future. All throughout the Scripture, the prophets were people who spoke for God; they were God's mouthpieces to Israel. Now each time a prophet was called he would have to prove his worthiness by either performing a wonder or predicting the future. But the bulk of the prophet's ministry was to transmit the will of God to the people of Israel; usually beginning with the dramatic proclamation "Thus saith the LORD...." Now what good would a prophet be if he spoke the truth of God without a love toward those to whom he was speaking? Look at the prophet Jeremiah, who was known as the "weeping prophet." He had a heart for the people of Judah. Read Romans 9:1-3 and see the heart of the apostle Paul as he laments over his fellow Israelites. These men had a true love for the people to whom they were ministering. Contrast that with Jonah who was called to prophesy to the Ninevites (non-Jewish people). His contempt for the Ninevites was so strong he attempted to flee from God rather than preach to gentiles. A prophet who has love desperately wants to get into the hearts of others.

The gift of wisdom is the ability to easily discern the mysteries of God. The word mystery has a different connotation in the Bible than it does in common speech. A mystery is something that was kept hidden in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament. For example, the trinity is hinted at in the Old Testament, but clearly stated in the New Testament. Now the trinity is still mysterious because it's hard for the human mind to conceptualize, but it is still clearly revealed in the New Testament. The gift of wisdom would be for those who teach the truths of Scripture, and what Paul is saying that even if a person had all knowledge and understood all mysteries yet did not have love, what is he? Nothing! A teacher who is not committed to disseminating what he knows to his pupils in a spirit of love has no concern for making sure his pupils know the right things, or going that extra mile to try to explain a difficult topic. Without love he is nothing.

The final gift mentioned in this verse is the gift of faith. This is not to be misunderstood as saving faith. When Paul talks about the faith that could remove mountains, he is referring to the kind of faith that can withstand any kind of hardship or trial. The person with this gift is the type of person who can stand in the midst of the worst kind of persecution and remain strong when other people would wither away. Paul had this kind of faith. He withstood lashings, whippings, stonings, shipwreck, persecution, you name it he withstood it. He had the faith of a ROCK. Again without love, this faith is nothing. If you have this kind of faith and you don't have a compassion for others who don't, what good are you?

Love is the crucial element of the Christian faith. It was love that motivated Jesus Christ to take on human form and die on the cross to redeem sinful humanity. Without love our faith is worthless.

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