1 Corinthians 13 - God's Love NEVER Fails!

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13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

This is the famous "love" chapter that is read at almost wedding you go to. Since this chapter comes in the middle of two chapters on spiritual gifts, we know that his chapter is related to how we use spiritual gifts. The issue in the Corinthian church was that they were valuing supernatural gifts like speaking in tongues above the other more practical gifts. Paul reminds them that without love the gifts have no value to build up the body of Christ. They can create division and dissension  in the church, which happened in the Corinthian church. 

When Paul says, "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels", the question is what does it mean to speak in the tongues of angels? It is obviously not in English. But is it the gift of "tongues"? He will go in detail about the gift of tongues in chapter fourteen, but it is not clear that the term "tongues of angels" is referring to the gift of "tongues".

In Paul’s day, many Jews believed angels had their own language, and by the Spirit, one could speak it. The reference to tongues of… angels shows that though the genuine gift of tongues is a legitimate language, it may not be a “living” human language, or may not be a human language at all. Apparently, there are angelic languages men can speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. - Guzik

Other scholars feel Paul is just using this term metaphorically. I.e. "Even if I could speak in the tongues of angels", which he infers is not possible. Thus, they don't think this has anything to do with speaking in tongues. 

Paul’s reference to speaking in “the tongues of angels” doesn’t support the idea of Christians being given an individual prayer language. Paul didn’t have one and neither can we. Regardless of what the Pentecostals and other similar denominations allege, there is no Biblical evidence in support of their claims. Biblical tongues were real human languages that could be understood by other humans who either 1) knew the language being spoken or, 2) were given the gift of interpretation of tongues.

Paul’s use of hyperbole here can’t be missed. But then again you’re not likely to find something you’re not looking for or you don’t want to see. My question is this: how many people’s blindness in regards to speaking in tongues is caused by a failure to see the truth or a refusal to? Are we sincerely ignorant of the topic or are we refusing to allow the text to dictate our beliefs because we can’t allow our denominational traditions to be wrong? - Spirit Speaks

I can see both sides of the argument but tend to agree with the latter. I think teaching on the spiritual gift of tongues is given by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14. In that teaching it really does not mention angels at all, as tongues is solely a gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Paul goes on to talk about other supernatural gifts like prophecy which can fathom all mystery, knowledge, faith that moves mountains, give all I possess to the poor, and give my body to hardship but HAVE NOT LOVE I gain nothing. 

Prophecy, knowledge, and faith to do miracles are likewise irrelevant apart from love. The Corinthian Christians missed the motive and the goal of the gifts, making them their own goal. Paul draws the attention back to love. - Guzik

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Having now defined what love is like, he now defines what it is. Note all of the adjectives he gives. They are not feelings. but character qualities which are expressed in action. As I tell the couples I do pre-marital counseling with, if you emulate these qualities in your marriage, your marriage cannot fail. Why? Because God's love never fails. 

Some people say, "Wait a minute I see love failing all the time." Well, is it God's love, or human love? The Greek word for "love" here is "agape", which means "sacrificial love". It is the same kind of love Jesus exhibited when he went to the cross. Sacrificial love is not about what I can get out of a relationship, but what can I give to it. It is always asking the question, "What do this person need right now even if it is not convenient for me."

Note the only words which are positive are patience and kindness. The rest describe what love is not: envy, boasting, proud, self-seeking, easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, doesn't delight in evil.  Then it goes back to the positive applications. Love rejoices with the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Wow this is quite a list. Love sure involves a lot! 

The are not just words or emotions, but faith and love in action. It's what we all need in a parent, partner, and friend. It is impossible to show this kind of love without first experiencing this type of love in Christ. We cannot give what we don't have.  It is also the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, who works these gifts through us. Note the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 is related to many of these attributes. I.e. love, peace,joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. 

So obviously you can do any of this without the Holy Spirit. 

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

We see again love never fails. God's love never fails. God proved his love while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 

Paul then goes through some of the supernatural gifts like prophecies, tongues, and knowledge. Though they are really important to the body of Christ, they are not eternal. They have use for this life but not for the next unlike love. Paul once again is trying to balance the Cornithians church which has overemphasized the supernatural gifts, while not diminishing their importance. 

Paul addresses the over-emphasis the Corinthian Christians had on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He shows they should emphasize love more than the gifts, because the gifts are temporary “containers” of God’s work; love is the work itself. - Guzik

We will talk more about the gift of prophecy in chapter 14 tomorrow, but this gift is to edify believers so the sense I believe is less about predictive prophecy like the Old Testament prophets predictions about Jesus but more about a revelation of God's Word for today. 

To summarize: For Paul, prophecy was not extraordinary. Prophecies were common occurrences in church meetings. The prophetic gift was ranked lower than that of the apostles but higher than teachers. Its purpose was to minister to the church for its edification, rather than to speak out publicly to correct the behavior of kings, public officials, cities or nations. Paul's churches left no written record of their individual prophets' ministries or oracles. According to Paul, Christian prophecies, though often inspired by the spirit, were sometimes "imperfect" and would "pass away." We can conclude that when Paul spoke of prophecy, he had in mind a less lasting and absolute type of prophecy than was recorded in the OT reports of the prophets' ministries, as well as the OT books of prophecy. - https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Why do these gifts remain, and why is love the greatest? Here are two really good explanations. 

Love is greatest because it will continue, even grow, in the eternal state. When we are in heaven, faith and hope will have fulfilled their purpose. We won’t need faith when we see God face to face. We won’t need to hope in the coming of Jesus once He comes. But we will always love the Lord and each other, and grow in that love through eternity.

Love is also the greatest because it is an attribute of God (1 John 4:8), and faith and hope are not part of God’s character and personality. God does not have faith in the way we have faith, because He never has to “trust” outside of Himself. God does not have hope the way we have hope, because He knows all things and is in complete control. But God is love, and will always be love. - Guzik