愛算不算是恩賜的一種？上周五小組查經時，我們查到歌林多前12，13章，大夥各有己見，吵成一團。有人認為愛是一種恩賜，有人說愛是命令，不是恩賜。

Even though love can be an integral part of many gifts, but love as expressed in 1Corinthians 13 is not a gift per se, in the context of 1Corinthians 12-14. Here is why.

After Paul enumerated the many spiritual gifts in chapter 12, and before he further elaborated on the proper usage of two of these gifts (prophesying and speaking in tongue) in chapter 14, he sandwiched the discourse on love (the LOVE principle of using spiritual gifts) between these two chapters. The transition sentence after he finished listing the gifts in chapter 12 is this: now I tell you the most excellent WAY (note: he did not use the word gift here). That most excellent WAY of using spiritual gifts is LOVE.

He clearly stated the importance of LOVE in using spiritual gifts in the beginning of chapter 13 by using the refrain: we can do this or that with our gifts, but without LOVE, we are nothing. Then he proceeded to describe what love is and is not, and what love does and does not. In the end, he reaffirmed the forever enduring nature of love, long after faith and hope turn into heavenly reality and cease to exist any more.

In a nutshell, LOVE is the right kind of WAY or glue that bonds all of the members of the body of Christ together in all we are and do with our spiritual gifts. In fact, it will outlive even faith and hope and all spiritual gifts. All gifts are to be exercised with love, the most excellent way of exercising gifts. This is easy to understand. For example, if I lack love and yet I possess spiritual gift of healing, I may misuse or abuse the gift.

Paul was saying the LOVE principle of using spiritual gifts: Use spiritual gifts in LOVE.

有人認為這裡所講的愛，是一種和行為無關的東西，有人認為愛絕對和行為有關係。聖經里所講的愛，是什麼性質的愛？

The love principle eloquently expressed by Paul in chapter 13 has much to do with who we are and what we do. Some of the verses speak about what love is and is not, others speak about what love does or does not.