爱算不算是恩赐的一种？上周五小组查经时，我们查到歌林多前12，13章，大夥各有己见，吵成一团。有人认为爱是一种恩赐，有人说爱是命令，不是恩赐。

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.

有人认为这里所讲的爱，是一种和行为无关的东西，有人认为爱绝对和行为有关系。圣经里所讲的爱，是什么性质的爱？

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.