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Suppose I speak in the languages of human beings or of angels. If I don't have love, I am only a loud gong or a noisy cymbal. 2 Suppose I have the gift of prophecy. Suppose I can understand all the secret things of God and know everything about him. And suppose I have enough faith to move mountains. If I don't have love, I am nothing at all. 3 Suppose I give everything I have to poor people. And suppose I give myself over to a difficult life so I can boast. If I don't have love, I get nothing at all. 4 Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not boast. It is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour other people. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people's wrongs. 6 Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. 7 It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up.
8 Love never fails. But prophecy will pass away. Speaking in languages that had not been known before will end. And knowledge will pass away. 9 What we know now is not complete. What we prophesy now is not perfect. 10 But when what is complete comes, the things that are not complete will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I had the understanding of a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror. But someday we will see clearly. We will see face to face. What I know now is not complete. But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely.
13 The three most important things to have are faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.
13:1–13 The gifts and abilities that the Spirit gives believers must be used with love. Love isn't a spiritual gift. Love is a way of living. It's the way that Jesus taught his followers to live. Paul called it the law of Christ. He mentioned several ways that people don't show love. These ways include wanting what belongs to others and bragging. They include people being full of pride and taking care of themselves before others. The Corinthian believers were doing all these things. Then Paul described the ways of thinking, feeling and acting that are based on love. Love lasts for ever. Spiritual gifts won't last for ever. They are part of the world people live in now that isn't yet complete. Paul talked about a time when what is complete will come. He was talking about the new creation. There is a big difference between the world now and the new creation. It's the difference between looking through a mirror that isn't clear and looking straight at something. Believers wait with faith and hope for the new creation. As they wait, they follow Jesus' way of love.