Once more Paul pauses to insert a section that interrupts his direct reply in order to clarify the grounds on which his response rests. He has said that the gifts are given for the “common good” (12:7), but this goal will not be reached apart from a motive to guide and direct their exercise. Thus, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, and love does not motivate the control of my speech, “I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (13:1; instruments used to produce a variety of sounds that command attention but only frustrate their audience unless accompanied by music or words that interpret their meaning). Similarly, to have “the gift of prophecy” (which conveys insight into the mysteries of God’s activity [1 Cor. 2:7] and knowledge about God himself [1 Cor. 8:4]) or a “f…