If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Parallel translations
- WEB If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing.
- KJV And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
- NKJV And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
- NASB If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
- NLT If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Prophecy, knowledge of all mysteries, and mountain-moving faith amount to nothing without love. The gift-bearer himself is nothing apart from love.
Overview
Paul escalates the point: even the most extraordinary spiritual endowments are worthless without love. Knowledge and faith, gifts the Corinthians admired, leave a person 'nothing' if love is absent. This exposes the emptiness of gifting pursued for self rather than for the good of others in Christlike love.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 31
- 1 Jn 4:8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
- 1 Cor 13:3If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.
- 1 Jn 4:20–21If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
- Matt 17:20“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
- Matt 21:21“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.
- 1 Cor 16:22If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!
- 1 Cor 12:8–10To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit,
- 1 Cor 13:1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal.
- 1 Cor 14:1–2Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
- Gal 5:16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
- Eph 3:4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
- Col 1:26the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints.
- 1 Cor 7:19Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts.
- Mark 11:22–23“Have faith in God,” Jesus said to them.
- 1 Cor 12:28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.
- Gal 6:3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
- 1 Cor 14:6–9Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?
- Matt 7:22–23Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
- Gal 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
- Luke 17:5–6The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
- 1 Tim 3:16By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.
- Matt 21:19Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.
- Num 24:15–24Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying, “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,
- Rom 16:25Now to Him who is able to strengthen you by my gospel and by the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery concealed for ages past
- Matt 13:11He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- 1 Cor 4:1So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
- Rom 11:25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
- Eph 6:19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,
- 1 Cor 8:4So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.
- 1 Cor 14:39So, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
- 2 Cor 12:11I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 13:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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