1 Corinthians 12:31 - 13:1
But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
The acts of worship in today's local church vary from region to region and denomination to denomination. Paul, in this letter, is both correcting and instructing the church at Corinth. Because of their pagan background, the church had begun to incorporate parts of their pagan worship into their current worship (something that is true of the church, today). Paul is giving them instruction and guidance as to what they should be doing in a corporate worship setting. The above couple of verses connect a chapter on correction (Chapter 12), with the chapter on the guiding principal behind corporate worship (chapter 13). Paul knows that the church had started to promote one gift over the other. Those with the gift of tongues had thought they had a "special" gift and were boasting about their giftedness. In chapter 12 Paul nullifies that thought process and begins to instruct them as to proper understanding of the gift they have been given by God. However, to make sure that "use" the gift properly, He introduces the overriding gift principle: LOVE. Paul is less concerned about the gift you have than he is of how you use it. Operating with the highest of gifts in a way that does not demonstrate love, is wrong ... that is Paul's message. Tongues, prophesy, or interpretations, all have their place in the church, but the over-arching guideline is that they are using their gift, giving by the Spirit, in a spirit of Love. We might preach well from the pulpit but if we are holding anger in our hearts for another member of the leadership team, that is the wrong use of the gift of preaching. We might be the most articulate of all speakers, yet, to hold envy and bitterness in our hearts is to nullify the blessings of the gift. If we have the gifts of helps but we do so out of guilt and wanting affirmation we nullify the gift's work and will find ourselves lacking true spiritual fruit. The truth is God is concerned about the heart of our worship and the heart of why we are using the gift and how we use the gifts He gives us, more than what gift He gives us. In our corporate worship we need to use the gifts we have in the Love He provides to allow the gifts to reach their full spiritual blessings.
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