All 'Spiritual' Activity Is Devoid Of Value If Love Is Lacking (13:1-3)
'If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding bronze, or a clanging cymbal.'
We note immediately Paul's movement to the first person. He is following his own suggestion. He is revealing true love. He does not want anyone to think that this is a direct attack on them, and so he directs any criticism against himself. He is not questioning their love, he is theoretically questioning his own. None can accuse him of discrimination. Yet all know that he is speaking of all.
The fact that he opens this section by referring to tongues confirms that tongues was an issue in the Corinthian church (previously it has come last). Some were seemingly making great claims on the basis that they spoke the language of angels, and they considered that this was setting them apart from ordinary believers (and from the world). And they were seeking to encourage all to speak in tongues suggesting that it would indicate that they lived on a higher plane and were special. Or Paul may have in mind certain Jewish literature in which speaking in the tongues of angels was spoken of. So Paul gets to the heart of the matter. He declares that it is not tongues of whatever kind which show whether they are living on a higher plane, but love for God and for each other.
He does not argue about the nature of tongues, which he later himself declares can be a spiritual gift. He later even encourages the use of genuine tongues in private prayer. But he says that what tongues are, whether the tongues of men or of angels, matters little if they are not accompanied by love, by love for God and by true love and concern for God's people. Tongues themselves, without the love that should go with them, both upwards and outwards, are just a loud and meaningless noise.
The 'sounding bronze', was possibly a gong as used in pagan worship. The clanging cymbal was associated with the mystery religions, especially with the cult of Cybele. Thus both indicate that what Paul is suggesting is that tongues without love can come from the empty air, or from spirits other than the Holy Spirit. But the main emphasis is on the fact that they are empty and meaningless, merely a loud noise, not something which is significant. However, what is certain is that they are no proof of spirituality. They are emotional gimmicks which actually say nothing but simply make a noise, like gongs and cymbals do, rather than genuine vehicles of God's truth.