1 Corinthians 14

What’s Happening?

The Corinthian church is trying to use the words of the Holy Spirit in the same way pagans use the words of demons. In Corinthian culture, pagan religious experiences often involved drunkenness, wild revelry, and incoherent babbling. These were signs of spiritual possession; spiritual beings uttering words through human mouths. Those who exhibited these signs were seen as more spiritually mature. Now, as the Spirit of God is genuinely speaking among Corinthian believers, they assume their gatherings could look the same as pagans. They are using their spiritual gifts to shout what they are hearing from God over one another and speaking in unintelligible languages, called tongues. 

Paul wants to correct their practice of the two spiritual gifts that deliver the words of God—tongues and prophecy. He begins with tongues. He explains that for the church to be built up those who speak in a Spirit-inspired language need an interpreter to be understood (1 Corinthians 14:6-12). So, if there is no one who understands the language being spoken, the speaker should keep that language between him and God, praying privately (1 Corinthians 14:13-17). But if there is an interpreter, he can speak his language publicly so all may clearly understand through the interpretation (1 Corinthians 14:26-28). The gifts of the Spirit are meant to be used in an orderly way to build up the church (1 Corinthians 14:4-5,26). 

Prophecy, on the other hand, is when the Holy Spirit enables people to hear God’s voice and speak to others on his behalf. These Spirit-inspired words can be understood and, so, should be used to publicly build up the church (1 Corinthians 14:1,19). Yet, as with tongues, Paul prescribes the orderly use of this gift as well. The Corinthians should not speak out of order, jockeying for position or status, but should humbly wait in silence to hear the word of God from each other (1 Corinthians 14:27-31). In this way, an orderly church gathering will grow its people to look more and more like Jesus, and less and less like the disordered gatherings of their pagan neighbors.

Prophecy can be understood, so it should be used publicly. Uninterpreted tongues cannot be understood, and should be used privately (1 Corinthians 14:2-3). Paul compares the situation in Corinth to ancient Israel. Israel was crumbling into disorder because they refused to listen to the Spirit-inspired words of God’s prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 28:11-12). So God would speak to unbelieving Israel through the nation of Babylon, who spoke a foreign tongue (1 Corinthians 14:21). Israel could have listened to the intelligible words of the prophet and been saved, but they were destroyed under the threat of the foreign tongues of foreign invaders. His point is that an uninterpreted tongue in the house of God can tear down God’s people, while a believed word of prophecy can build them up. 

Continuing his instructions on what should be said in private and in public, Paul discusses how men and women can submit to God’s word spoken over them in an orderly way. Unlike the surrounding culture, where women were often excluded from public instruction, Paul affirms their role in public prophecy and prayer (1 Corinthians 11:5). However, in public, just like men, they are to exercise their gifts in an orderly way, learning and participating without disrupting the gathering. In private, husbands should instruct their wives, answering their questions so they may be built up into the body as well (1 Corinthians 14:34-35).

Where is the Gospel?

When we listen to God’s word, he brings order into our lives. When we refuse to listen, disorder and chaos take over. This truth can be seen in the first words of the Bible. In the beginning, the uncreated world was in disorder and chaos. But God spoke his word. Through his Spirit, he inspired order and built up the world (Genesis 1:1-3). Then, through his Spirit, he inspired humans and gave them the task to spread order and build up the world (Genesis 1:27-28). Instead, the first humans refused to listen to God’s words and listened to the voice of a different spiritual being. This brought disorder to the world they were meant to build up. 

This was the Corinthians’ problem as well. They were treating the voice of God in their church the same way pagans treated the voice of demons in their temples. But Jesus gave his Spirit to the church to overturn their disorder and build them up. After his ascension, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enabled the first disciples to speak in Spirit-inspired languages and to prophesy about Jesus (Acts 2:4). Through the Spirit these words were intelligible to a multi-lingual multitude (Acts 2:6-7). In this way, 3,000 people were built into the church (Acts 2:41). From this Spirit-filled crowd of foreign nations, the words of God about Jesus spread throughout the earth. Through the Spirit, the mission of creation continues to build the body of Jesus in the world. 

So, in the local church, we now get to hear the words of God through the Spirit. As we share this word with each other, we build each other up into a body that looks like Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:11,19-20). As the body of Christ, filled with the words of the Spirit, we get to join Jesus in bringing order to the chaotic world around us. We get to partner with the Spirit through his gifts in bringing the good news of Jesus to all nations (Acts 1:8). God’s Spirit is building up the body of Christ in thousands of languages around the world. In doing so, Jesus is creating order and beauty out of disorder and chaos. 

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who involves his people in bringing beauty and order to a chaotic world. And may you see Jesus as the one who lives among his people and spreads his worldwide kingdom through them.