Everything Minus Love Equals Nothing Series

Where love is absent hate will reign. This is true in every area of life for individuals and

groups of all kinds. We are grateful for those who give their lives to protect us from enemy

forces, but we cannot thank God that their sacrifice was necessary, for we would not have

needed such sacrificial protection if love had reigned instead of hate. It is the lack of love

that causes the wicked, wasteful, worthless wars that force men to become dead heroes.

Woodrow Wilson said that World War I was "A war to end all wars." Such an ideal was

impossible in a loveless world. There are no end to the conflicts of classes and races because

of all the prejudice and hatred in the world. It is no wonder that even the life-long skeptic

Burtrand Russell said, "The only hope of the world is Christian love."

It is not because this was his conclusion, however, that we want to consider love, but

because his conclusion has always been the conviction of those who accept the Bible as God's

revelation. In this great love chapter Paul makes it clear that love is the supreme gift. All of

the human relation problems in the world are caused by a lack of love, and only love can lift

us above the hatreds in the hearts of mankind. Paul is writing to a church that is filled with

conflicts because of their immaturity, and lack of Christian love. The specific problem Paul

has been dealing with concerns the gifts of the spirit. The Corinthians, like so many

Christians since, were so preoccupied with the secondary that they lost sight of the primary.

They were losing the best for the sake of the good.

The external gifts such as speaking in tongues were coveted by them. Everyone want to

speak in tongues or interpret, or do something special and unique like doing miracles, and

this caused a great deal of excitement. The more sublime gifts of faith, hope, and love were

pushed to the back burner. Paul has to write and explain to them that not all Christians have

these more eternal gifts, like healing and tongues, but the greatest gifts are available to

everyone, and he urges them to covet these. He ends chapter 12 by saying that he wants to

show them a more excellent way. Chapter 13 is a great Psalm of Love in three stanzas. First

we see The Absence Of Love in verses 1-3. Second we see The Attributes of Love in verses

4-7. Thirdly we see The Absoluteness of Love in verses 8-13.

I. THE ABSENCE OF LOVE. vv. 1-3.

In these first 3 verses Paul says that according to divine mathematics, all gifts minus love

= nothing. Tongues, prophecy, knowledge, faith, and sacrifice, minus love = nothing. When

love is absent all is lost. Take away love and you eliminate the value of everything else.

A. TONGUES.

Paul begins his rebuke of the Corinthians with this reference to tongues because this was

apparently the most showy of the gifts, and had become the one to be most coveted in order

to gain prominence in the church. Paul warns them that the gift of tongues at its greatest

conceivable development is worthless if love is absent. Too much interest in tongues led

them to abuse the gift, and create such disorder that Paul had to counsel them to follow an

ordering pattern lest the world think them to be mad.

There is a great deal of disagreement as to whether the tongues here refer to language or

ecstatic praise to God. It is conceivable that both are true. The tongues of men being

foreign tongues, and the tongues of angels being sounds not known to human ears.

Whatever be the case, Paul says it is just so much racket without love.

Paul would have loved the hymn Love Lifted Me. He knew that the lost were not lifted by

languages, but by love. Even if you can break the language barrier, if you do not love, you

will not lift. Language will not convince where love has collapsed. Some of the most

eloquent polished sermons ever delivered in the great churches of England were listened to

by handfuls of people, while outside the city limits many thousands gathered to hear Wesley

and Whitefield. It was not because of their greater eloquence, but because of their greater

love. Goethe said, "But never hope to stir the hearts of men, and mould the souls of many

into one, by words which come not native from the heart."

The secret of effective communication is in the heart and not the tongue. That is why a

Christian need never fear that he will not say the right thing when he is witnessing, if his