1 Corinthians 13:1
KJV
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
NIV
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
Modern versions replace the specific word “charity” with the generic “love,” weakening the doctrinal distinction preserved in the KJV. In scripture, love can describe anything, from Christ loving the church to men loving money, themselves, or the world. Love can be sinful. But charity is always holy, always pure, and always directed horizontally toward others in the church. It is the virtue that binds believers together in the bond of perfectness and stands above all gifts (Col.3:14, 1Cor.13:2,13, 2Pet.1:7). This matters in passages like Rev.2:19, where Christ is commending not general love (which could be confused with love toward God), but specifically their charity toward one another.
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