“If Ye Have Not Charity, Ye Are Nothing”
Paul stated this same idea powerfully when he wrote: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 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. And though I bestow all may goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3.) It is true that service sanctifies, that service is essential to salvation. But charity is more than service; it is, in fact, a manifestation of the Spirit and as such is the proper motivation for service. As discussed under verse 48, though it is vital to be endowed with charity in order to bless the lives of others through Christian service, the overriding purpose of charity is to renew our souls and make us even like our exalted Lord.
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