We depend on it. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In the first three verses, Paul talks about the importance of love as a fruit of God s Holy Spirit. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Nothing is less than something.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Paul points out in these first three verses how important fulfilling the new command of Jesus is by displaying the fruit of love in our lives. In verse 4, Paul gives us the characteristics of sacrificial and unconditional love. The degree to which we express these characteristics is a degree to which we have yielded individually to the indwelling of Jesus Christ. Love is patient, love is kind.