“Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.”
Love never fails.
Gifts will disappear, but love will never fail. A gift is good only for time, not eternity. Love never fails because of the four “all things” of the previous verse and because of verses 8 to 13. Love outranks all else and abides for time and eternity.
The word “fails” means to fall. We cannot defeat love. Three gifts of this verse will end, as we will see in the next three phrases. There is a temporary nature to gifts. Love is superior to all gifts in permanence. Love cannot fall because it shares God’s nature; God is love (1 Jn 4:16).
PRINCIPLE:
Love will never go out of usage.
APPLICATION:
Love is no panacea that resolves all problems for all time. Jesus and the apostles loved with agape love, but they faced persecution and abuse. However, love is essential for true ministry and essential quality of ministry.
