Alan Lewis
Elon, North Carolina
August 2024
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.
4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.
6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?
8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.
13 For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.
16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
20 Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 21 In the Law it is written: “With other tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”
22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?
24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” (I Corinthians 14:1-25 NIV)
We are in the middle of a series on spiritual gifts. Today, we come to a chapter devoted to two gifts: the gift of tongues and the gift of prophecy. It focuses on the gift of tongues.
It is mentioned in three books of the Bible: Mark, Acts and I Corinthians.[1] Tongues are mentioned by three different people. Jesus mentions tongues. Luke mentions tongues. Paul mentions tongues.
There are many myths about tongues. There is a lot of bad teaching on this topic in the church. It is the most controversial of all of the gifts.
Christians argue and fight over this gift. There are all kinds of questions that people have about the gift of tongues. Here are just some of them.
What is the gift? Is it a real language? Is it supernaturally speaking a foreign language that you have never studied? Is it some form of ecstatic utterance?
What was the purpose of this gift? Paul called it a sign. What is it a sign of? He doesn’t call it a sign of the baptism of the Spirit (the modern Pentecostal view).
What is the value of speaking in tongues? Paul answers that in this chapter. Does this gift still exist today? Has it ceased? Is it a gift that every Christian should have? Is it a gift we should all seek?
What does Paul think about the gift of tongues? Was he pro-speaking in tongues or was he anti-speaking in tongues? Did he love or hate this gift?
Paul tells us what he thought of the gift in this chapter. What he says, surprisingly, is the exact opposite of what some preachers say today.
While the gift of tongues is controversial, most of what Paul says in I Corinthians 14 is very clear. The tongues in this book seem a little different from the tongues in Acts.
The first case of tongues is on the day of Pentecost. The city of Jerusalem was packed with Jews who were there to celebrate a festival.
The disciples came together in one place and God’s Spirit showed up. He came in the form of wind and fire. They started speaking in tongues. They were clearly foreign languages.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? (Acts 2:5-8 NIV)
The disciples supernaturally spoke in foreign languages they had never studied. People heard their language spoken, understood it and were amazed that these uneducated hillbilly fishermen from Galilee could speak these languages perfectly.
There were no interpreters present at Pentecost. Believers spoke in tongues and people from all over the world instantly understood them without an interpreter.
In I Corinthians 14, Paul says that you speak tongues to God, not people. That is the exact opposite of a foreign language. Foreign languages are spoken to people.
Foreign languages can be understood. Tongues in this chapter are something that no one understands. They are a mystery.
For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. (I Corinthians 14:2 NIV)
Today, we want to look at this chapter practically. Not everyone has the gift of tongue or prophecy. There are some principles about spiritual gifts and worship found in these verses
Three Truths on Spiritual Gifts
1) All spiritual gifts are good
They all come from the Spirit. They are manifestations of the Spirit. Some are better than others. Some have greater value for edification (I Corinthians 14:5) but they are all good. We are to “eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit” (I Corinthians 14:1 NIV).
Many people today are against speaking in tongues. There are churches that believe it is bad. Some Christians think tongues are only for the mentally unstable. Others even think it is demonic.
Paul said this three times in this chapter. In case you didn’t get this, Paul said this once at the beginning of the chapter, once in the middle of the chapter and once at the end of the chapter.
Paul did not say that speaking in tongues was a mark of spirituality but he did say that it was good. He said, “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues” (I Corinthians 14:5 NIV).
John Calvin commented on that verse and said that “God bestowed undying honor on tongues in that verse.”[2] That is something that you will never hear a Baptist say but Paul said it.
Paul wanted everyone to speak in tongues. Does it mean that it is God’s will for everyone to speak in tongues? No. Paul also wanted everyone to be single (I Corinthians 7:7). All he is saying is that it is a good thing. It is a gift from God.
Paul thought speaking in tongues was a good thing. He was a tongues-speaker. Paul was not emotionally unstable.
He spoke in tongues a lot. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. (I Corinthians 14:18 NIV). The word “more” is an adverb, not an adjective.
Paul is not saying that he spoke in more languages than they did. He is saying that he spoke in tongues more often than they did.
Notice what he says at the end of the chapter. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do NOT forbid speaking in tongues. (I Corinthians 14:39 NIV).
That is interesting. The last thing that Paul said about tongues is “Don’t forbid it.” Even though the Corinthians were abusing the gift, and some were taking it to extremes, Paul said, “Don’t forbid it.”
That is not a suggestion. It is a command and yet that is exactly what many churches do today. They ban it. They outlaw it.
In fact, if you speak in tongues or even believe in speaking in tongues, you can’t join the church. It is in their church constitution.
Many pastors today think they know better than the miracle-working, scripture-writing, Spirit-filled apostle who encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road and was taken up to the third heaven.
It is sheer arrogance to think that you know better than inspired scripture. Paul anticipated modern ignorance. Notice what he said immediately before this verse.
If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. 38 But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored. (I Corinthians 14:37-38 NIV)
Many churches today claim to be NT churches. They boast that they are a NT church and want to follow the NT pattern. The only problem is that the early church was charismatic. The apostolic church spoke in tongues.
There is no denying this fact. Jews spoke in tongues in the Book of Acts. Gentiles spoke in tongues in I Corinthians.
2) Not all gifts are for a worship service
Every Christian was not meant to have a public ministry. Some Christians are terrible public speakers. They should never preach a sermon. Some should never be up front in the choir. My wife says that I am one of them.
Some are better at a one-on-one ministry. Every gift is not intended for public as well. We have different gifts and different ministries. Not all ministries are public.
Just because tongues are good does not mean that you should speak in tongues in church. What is appropriate in your devotions may not necessarily be appropriate in a worship service.
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 BUT IN THE CHURCH I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. (I Corinthians 14:18-19 NIV)
Paul said that it is better to say five intelligible words than ten thousand words in a tongue in public. That is interesting.
How many words a minute does the average person speak? That may depend on whether a man or a woman is talking. It may vary from person to person.
On average, people speak about one hundred to one hundred thirty words a minute.[3] If we take the average, it would be one hundred fifteen words a minute.
You would speak ten thousand words in about an hour and a half. You can say more in two seconds than you could in an hour and a half babbling unintelligibly like an idiot for two hours.
A five-word paper may be better than a ten-thousand-word paper. Let’s think of five words that have meaning – “Christ died for your sins” or “I love the Lord Jesus.” That means more than ten thousand words of complete nonsense.
If you come to church and start babbling something and you don’t know what you said and no one else in the assembly knows what you said, it does absolutely no good, and Paul says this.
Paul believed in tongues. He spoke in tongues a lot, but when you speak in tongues, your mind is bypassed, and no one understands what you are saying.
Paul said that tongues are unintelligible. Paul said, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful” (I Corinthians 14:14 NIV). When Paul speaks in tongues, his spirit is involved but not his mind. Your mind is not involved in the process.
He says that tongues do not edify anyone in the church and can actually drive unbelievers away. Speaking in tongues in church can be a bad testimony to unbelievers.
So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” (I Corinthians 14:24-25 NIV)
In a public setting, prophecy benefits the church more and it benefits unbelievers more who visit the church. Many think that tongues are an evangelistic tool. One of the most common myths about tongues is that they are for evangelizing people.
This would have been a good time for Paul to show they are for evangelism. Instead, he says the exact opposite. People walk into church, hear tongues speaking, and think they are crazy.
Think about this. Here are some unchurched pagans. They have never set foot in a church before. They enter it for the first time.
They want to hear a message from God and instead they hear some fool speaking gibberish, acting crazy and it drives them away. They are supposed to enter church and notice that God is at work in their midst.
God could use someone speaking in tongues to preach the gospel. There is just no biblical example of this. The three thousand were saved by Peter’s sermon and not his tongues speaking.
3) Spiritual gifts are to edify the body
That is the whole point of the chapter. The word “edification” occurs several times in this chapter. Some translate it “building up.”
Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the EDIFICATION of the church that you seek to excel. (I Corinthians 14:12 NKJV)
Paul says, “How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let ALL THINGS be done for EDIFICATION” (I Corinthians 14:26 NKJV).
Paul says three basic things in this chapter. Pursue love. Pursue spiritual gifts and pursue edification. The Corinthians were big on pursuing spiritual gifts. They were not big on pursuing love or pursuing edification.
Edification Principles
To edify means to build up. For Paul, this requires two things.
1. The mind has to be engaged for edification.
Paul makes this point clear over and over again in the chapter. If something is not intelligible, it does not edify.
Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, WHAT GOOD WILL I BE TO YOU, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? (I Corinthians 14:6 NIV)
If you do that, no one gets a blessing from it. It does not benefit anyone else. It may benefit you. Paul said, “Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves” (I Corinthians 14:5 NIV) but it does not edify anyone else.
Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.
11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. (I Corinthians 14:11 NIV)
When you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, BUT NO ONE ELSE IS EDIFIED. (I Corinthians 14:16-17 NIV)
Paul emphasizes the importance of intelligibility in worship. It is still important to learn today. The Roman Catholic Church used to have their entire service in Latin and many people in the church didn’t even speak Latin. People have to understand what is said to be edified.
14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.
Paul spoke in tongues, presumably in private. He didn’t just speak in tongues, he prayed in tongues. He sang in tongues. He prayed in the Spirit. He sang in the Spirit but at church, he did all of these things WITH UNDERSTANDING.
What does that tell us? It tells us that you can have control over your spiritual gifts. Paul knew when to use it and how to use it.
It also tells us that public worship involves the mind. It involves the intellect. We are to love God with our heart and soul, but we are also to love God with our mind (Mark 12:30).
Many pastors preach against reason and logic. Paul was not against using his mind. He prayed with his spirit, but he also prayed with his mind.
In some churches, worship is all emotional. Some preachers appeal solely to emotions. They work people up. They use emotions to manipulate people.
Worship should not be based on emotions and feelings. It should be based on truth. It should involve the mind. There should also be genuine feelings and emotions in worship.
2. Edification is intended not just for yourself
Gifts were given primarily not just to edify yourself but to edify the body. Spiritual gifts are for the common good (I Corinthians 12:7). It is not wrong to be edified in private, but the goal of spiritual gifts is to edify the body.
God does not give a gift solely for private use. He did not give people the gift of healing just to heal themselves when they are sick. It was for the body.[4]
One way to use tongues in a local church is through an interpreter but an interpreter is not always present in church.
These are two separate gifts. Just because you have the gift of tongues, does not mean that you have the gift of the interpretation of tongues.
Paul said if you don’t have that gift, you can pray for it (I Corinthians 14:13) but without that gift present, the tongue speaker should remain silent in church. Paul says without an interpreter, the tongue-speaker is to remain silent in church (I Corinthians 14:28).
[1] Scholars debate if the passage in Mark is authentic but, assuming it is authentic, tongues are mentioned in three books of Scripture.
[2] David W. Torrence & Thomas F. Torrance, ed, Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, trans. John W. Fraser (Eerdmans, 1980), p. 287.
[3] https://wordcounter.net/blog/2016/06/02/101702_how-fast-average-person-speaks.html
[4] William Hixson, Sermon on I Corinthians 14:21-22 (cassette), n.d.
