1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13

New American Standard Bible

²⁷ Now you are ^(A)Christ’s body, and ^(B)individually parts of it. ²⁸ And God has ^[a](C)appointed in ^(D)the church, first ^(E)apostles, second ^(F)prophets, third ^(G)teachers, then ^[b](H)miracles, then ^(I)gifts of healings, helps, ^(J)administrations, and various ^(K)kinds of tongues. ²⁹ All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of ^[c]miracles, are they? ³⁰ All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not ^(L)interpret, do they? ³¹ But ^(M)earnestly desire the greater gifts.

And yet, I am going to show you a far better way.

The Excellence of Love

13 If I speak with the ^(N)tongues of mankind and of ^(O)angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a ^(P)clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of ^(Q)prophecy and know all ^(R)mysteries and all ^(S)knowledge, and if I have ^(T)all faith so as to ^(U)remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ And if I ^(V)give away all my possessions to charity, and if I ^(W)surrender my body so that I may ^[d]glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.

⁴ Love ^(X)is patient, love is kind, it ^(Y)is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not ^(Z)arrogant. ⁵ It does not act disgracefully, it ^(AA)does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, ^(AB)does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, ^6 (AC)it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but ^(AD)rejoices with the truth; ⁷ it ^[e](AE)keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never fails; but if there are gifts of ^[f](AF)prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are ^(AG)tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. ⁹ For we ^(AH)know in part and prophesy in part; ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with. ¹¹ When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I ^[g]became a man, I did away with childish things. ¹² For now we ^(AI)see in a mirror ^[h]dimly, but then ^(AJ)face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also ^(AK)have been fully known. ¹³ But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the ^[i]greatest of these is ^(AL)love.