1 Corinthians 13:2

'And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.'

And this is not only true of tongues, it is true of the other manifestations as well. It is not only tongues that are in his sights. He does not call such manifestations gifts in this chapter, nor does he say they are manifestations of the Spirit. Indeed, without love they clearly are not, for it is love which is the hallmark of those whom God has chosen. He merely mentions them by description.

I 'have prophecy', that is the ability to prophesy devoid of love, (note how 'have prophecy' contrasts with 'have love'), I may appear to know all mysteries and all knowledge, I may appear to have an abundance of faith so that I can work miracles and deal with great problems, but if I am lacking in love then, as far as God is concerned, I am nothing. Indeed both Jesus and John confirmed this, for Jesus said that love is the basis of all the commandments, including the commandments to honour and worship God (Mark 12:29), and John stressed that if we do not have love we do not know God at all (1 John 4:8; 1 John 3:10).

We should note that this is not just Paul's idea. Jesus Himself confirms that prophecy and miracles are no proof that a man is truly a Christian. He declared quite specifically that men could think that they were prophesying in His name and could do 'miracles', professedly in His name, and yet not ever have been known by Him (Matthew 7:22). Such manifestations are no proof of genuine faith in God.

Paul's case is, of course, deliberately exaggerated for emphasis. Note the use of 'all'. And he does not use the words 'appear to have', for he is speaking of outward manifestations which can be seen. They have the manifestations whether they are of God or not. We have used the words 'appear to have' because no one who truly has these  as gifts from God through His Spirit  will be lacking in love. It is rather a warning to those who outwardly appear to have 'gifts', but whose gifts may be imitations and may have come from another source, that they need to consider the true source and value of their gifts.

'If I have prophecy.' Prophecy without love is empty. It is thus self-induced, or worse, induced by false spirits. I may 'have prophecy' almost as though it were mine to do what I like with, but I may not have the Spirit. Here we have a clear indication that outward manifestations are not necessarily a proof of spirituality.

'And know all mysteries and all knowledge.' This was probably exaggerating a claim that some Corinthians were making as a result of still being influenced by their previous background in the mystery religions (compare 1 Corinthians 8:1). There men claimed wisdom and knowledge and an understanding of mysteries. These Corinthians saw themselves as achieving the same in the Christian church. They saw themselves as above the rest, as not needing the rest. 'All mysteries and all knowledge' probably parallels 'wisdom and knowledge' for in 1 Corinthians 2:7 it is made clear that mystery is a part of wisdom, the mystery that is linked with the crucified Lord of glory.

Yet the same ideas can be transformed and seen to be true for the Christian as the 'word of wisdom' and the 'word of knowledge' indicate, although there the wisdom and knowledge (and mystery - 1 Corinthians 2:1; 1 Corinthians 2:7) are closely associated with the full revelation of Christ, and with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8 with 1Co 1:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 Corinthians 2:6; 1 Corinthians 2:11). And Daniel declares in Daniel 2:21 (see especially LXX) that true wisdom, and knowledge and revealed mystery are given by God.

'And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains.' Paul almost certainly has indirectly in mind the words of Jesus in Mark 11:23 and Matthew 17:20, although 'moving mountains' may well have been a proverbial saying. Here he is depicting not only faith as depicted in 1 Corinthians 12:9 but an extreme of faith, 'all faith', and therefore certainly sufficient to remove mountains. (Jesus said that it would only need the faith of a grain of mustard seed, but Paul is looking at it as seen by men. He is thinking of 'faith' as exalted by men, not true faith in God which is hardly possible without love).