If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 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. And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good. (vv. 1-3)

Agape means self-sacrificing, unconditional love. Agape does not originate in human beings; only God is love (1 John 4:8). We often hear stories of remarkable people who show love by sacrificing their bodies, time, effort, or money. Yet such love, though admirable, is limited. It is neither consistent nor eternal. We easily and quickly turn back to self-love.

Agape was not present in human nature from the beginning, as we see in Adam and Eve. True agape comes from God, and only those united with Him can love with the power of the Holy Spirit. Perfect love was revealed at the cross of Christ. Those whom Christ has redeemed live the life of Christ. Loving others is not something we merely decide to do or not do. If we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, we cannot choose not to love our fellow Christians.

Now when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” (John 21:15)

In John 21, Christ asks Peter three times whether he loves Him. Twice, Christ uses the word agape, asking if Peter loves Him with sacrificial love. Peter, however, responds that he loves Him with philos, a brotherly love. There can be many interpretations, but it appears that Peter did not yet understand what Christ was asking of him. Philos is not agape. God desires that we have agape. The love mentioned in this chapter is agape, and the love discussed in this post is also agape. No human can truly possess this love on their own. Therefore, the church is a congregation of those who have been reborn.

Resurrection and rebirth are inseparable. Just as Christ died and was raised, the church also died and rose again as a completely new creation. It is therefore misguided to say that the cross concerns only atonement. People often interpret the cross with the law in view, but we must remember that the cross was ordained before the law was given. Thus, the law must be interpreted through the lens of the cross. The cross is not merely about atonement, but about rebirth. The Lord’s Supper was instituted before Christ’s death, showing that Christ and the church, united as one, died and rose together. Thus, through the cross we receive not only atonement, but rebirth and eternal life. As Christ lives forever, so the church lives forever. Christ, the only Son of God, became human for this very purpose—to die and rise together with His church as its head.

Love is also the essence of the law. Therefore, love before the law.

 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

When we think about love, we must not treat it as merely one attribute among many gifts given by God. In this chapter, Paul describes the supremacy of agape. Yet in truth, agape is not just superior to other gifts; it is the root of every gift. Whether prophecy, tongues, teaching, faith, or any other spiritual gift, love is the foundation. There is no true prophecy without love. There is no genuine faith without love. And so on.

Paul emphasizes agape because the church in Corinth was marked by factions and disharmony. They possessed various gifts from God, yet conflicts and even lawsuits arose among them. Although love is often mentioned in churches today, I think we have lost the true meaning of love. True love comes only from God, and we learn and understand love through what God has done for us.

Love is tied to the gospel. Love is tied to the Word of God, which is truth. Therefore, love is Christ. Speaking the truth is an act of love. And before this love, we remain humble because it does not originate from us. With this love, we proclaim the gospel, for it is God’s will. The end is the kingdom of God—the true Sabbath.

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)