2 and if I have prophecy, and know all the secrets, and all the knowledge, and if I have all the faith, so as to remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing;
and if I give away to feed others all my goods, and if I give up my body that I may be burned, and have not love, I am profited nothing.
And Jesus said to them, `Through your want of faith; for verily I say to you, if ye may have faith as a grain of mustard, ye shall say to this mount, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you,
if any one doth not love the Lord Jesus Christ -- let him be anathema! The Lord hath come!
And Jesus answering said to them, `Verily I say to you, If ye may have faith, and may not doubt, not only this of the fig-tree shall ye do, but even if to this mount ye may say, Be lifted up and be cast into the sea, it shall come to pass;
And now, brethren, if I may come unto you speaking tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either in revelation, or in knowledge, or in prophesying, or in teaching? yet the things without life giving sound -- whether pipe or harp -- if a difference in the sounds they may not give, how shall be known that which is piped or that which is harped? for if also an uncertain sound a trumpet may give, who shall prepare himself for battle? so also ye, if through the tongue, speech easily understood ye may not give -- how shall that which is spoken be known? for ye shall be speaking to air.
if any one may say -- `I love God,' and his brother he may hate, a liar he is; for he who is not loving his brother whom he hath seen, God -- whom he hath not seen -- how is he able to love? and this `is' the command we have from Him, that he who is loving God, may also love his brother.
and, confessedly, great is the secret of piety -- God was manifested in flesh, declared righteous in spirit, seen by messengers, preached among nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory!
and in behalf of me, that to me may be given a word in the opening of my mouth, in freedom, to make known the secret of the good news,
in regard to which ye are able, reading `it', to understand my knowledge in the secret of the Christ,
And the fruit of the Spirit is: Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,
And I say: In the Spirit walk ye, and the desire of the flesh ye may not complete;
so that, brethren, earnestly desire to prophesy, and to speak with tongues do not forbid;
And he taketh up his simile, and saith: `An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor -- And an affirmation of the man whose eyes `are' shut -- An affirmation of him who is hearing sayings of God -- And knowing knowledge of the Most High; A vision of the Almighty he seeth, Falling -- and eyes uncovered: I see it, but not now; I behold it, but not near; A star hath proceeded from Jacob, And a sceptre hath risen from Israel, And hath smitten corners of Moab, And hath destroyed all sons of Sheth. And Edom hath been a possession, And Seir hath been a possession, `for' its enemies, And Israel is doing valiantly; And `one' doth rule out of Jacob, And hath destroyed a remnant from Ar.' And he seeth Amalek, and taketh up his simile, and saith: `A beginning of the Goyim `is' Amalek; And his latter end -- for ever he perisheth.' And he seeth the Kenite, and taketh up his simile, and saith: `Enduring `is' thy dwelling, And setting in a rock thy nest, But the Kenite is for a burning; Till when doth Asshur keep thee captive?' And he taketh up his simile, and saith: `Alas! who doth live when God doth this? And -- ships `are' from the side of Chittim, And they have humbled Asshur, And they have humbled Eber, And it also for ever is perishing.'
If with the tongues of men and of messengers I speak, and have not love, I have become brass sounding, or a cymbal tinkling;
And some, indeed, did God set in the assembly, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, afterwards powers, afterwards gifts of healings, helpings, governings, divers kinds of tongues;
for to one through the Spirit hath been given a word of wisdom, and to another a word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; and to another faith in the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healings in the same Spirit; and to another in-workings of mighty deeds; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits; and to another `divers' kinds of tongues; and to another interpretation of tongues:
Concerning the eating then of the things sacrificed to idols, we have known that an idol `is' nothing in the world, and that there is no other God except one;
the circumcision is nothing, and the uncircumcision is nothing -- but a keeping of the commands of God.
And to Him who is able to establish you, according to my good news, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the secret, in the times of the ages having been kept silent,
For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, of this secret -- that ye may not be wise in your own conceits -- that hardness in part to Israel hath happened till the fulness of the nations may come in;
And Jesus answering saith to them, `Have faith of God; for verily I say to you, that whoever may say to this mount, Be taken up, and be cast into the sea, and may not doubt in his heart, but may believe that the things that he saith do come to pass, it shall be to him whatever he may say.
and having seen a certain fig-tree on the way, he came to it, and found nothing in it except leaves only, and he saith to it, `No more from thee may fruit be -- to the age;' and forthwith the fig-tree withered.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, lord, have we not in thy name prophesied? and in thy name cast out demons? and in thy name done many mighty things? and then I will acknowledge to them, that -- I never knew you, depart from me ye who are working lawlessness.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 13
In this chapter the apostle goes on to show more particularly what that more excellent way was of which he had just before been speaking. He recommends it,
1Cr 13:1-3
Here the apostle shows what more excellent way he meant, or had in view, in the close of the former chapter, namely, charity, or, as it is commonly elsewhere rendered, love-agapeµ: not what is meant by charity in our common use of the word, which most men understand of alms-giving, but love in its fullest and most extensive meaning, true love to God and man, a benevolent disposition of mind towards our fellow-christians, growing out of sincere and fervent devotion to God. This living principle of all duty and obedience is the more excellent way of which the apostle speaks, preferable to all gifts. Nay, without this the most glorious gifts are nothing, of no account to us, of no esteem in the sight of God. He specifies,
1Cr 13:4-7
The apostle gives us in these verses some of the properties and effects of charity, both to describe and commend it, that we may know whether we have this grace and that if we have not we may fall in love with what is so exceedingly amiable, and not rest till we have obtained it. It is an excellent grace, and has a world of good properties belonging to it. As,
1Cr 13:8-13
Here the apostle goes on to commend charity, and show how much it is preferable to the gifts on which the Corinthians were so apt to pride themselves, to the utter neglect, and almost extinction, of charity. This he makes out,