13:1
This is perhaps the best known chapter in 1 Corinthians (and arguably one about which a whole load of sentimental rubbish is spoken!?). Some see it as not really fitting in with the context of chapters 12 and 14, but this shows a lack of appreciation. Throughout the letter Paul has been both dealing with details of various issues, but also concerned with the heart of the matter. John tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8), and Paul is really doing the same thing. We are called to be holy as God is holy (Lev 11:45, 1 Pet 1:16), and the fundamental principle of our lives is to be love, love for God and love for each other. The Corinthians were too prone to be motivated by self interest, or self-advancement. The gifts are important and useful, part of the equipment that God provides us with, but they must be used in love.
So Paul starts by naming some of the gifts and declaring that without love they are useless, or worse than useless. First he mentions tongues. There is argument over whether his reference to “tongues of angels” is just an example of hyperbole, or whether some tongues actually are the tongues of angels. It really does not matter much. The point is that if you use tongues as a sign of your giftedness then you are going down the wrong track altogether. Without love tongues are just a “clanging cymbal”.
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