¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

^14 (A)Let all that you do be done with love.

^14 (A)But above all these things ^(B)put on love, which is the ^(C)bond of perfection.

The Greatest Gift

13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of ^(A)prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, ^(B)so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And ^(C)though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body ^[a]to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

^4 (D)Love suffers long and is ^(E)kind; love ^(F)does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not ^[b]puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, ^(G)does not seek its own, is not provoked, ^[c]thinks no evil; ^6 (H)does not rejoice in iniquity, but ^(I)rejoices in the truth; ^7 (J)bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

Knowing God Through Love^(A)

^7 (B)Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who ^(C)loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ^9 (D)In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten ^(E)Son into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(F)not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son ^(G)to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, ^(H)if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

^12 (I)No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ^13 (J)By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(K)we have seen and testify that ^(L)the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ^15 (M)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and ^(N)he who abides in love abides in God, and God ^(O)in him.

The Consummation of Love

¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that ^(P)we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

⁶ For ^(A)in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but ^(B)faith working through love.

²⁹ Jesus answered him, “The ^[a]first of all the commandments is: ^(A)‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall ^(B)love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ^[b]This is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second, like it, is this: ^(C)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than ^(D)these.”

⁹ And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,

⁵ Now ^(A)the purpose of the commandment is love ^(B)from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from ^[a]sincere faith,