1 Corinthians 14:20-40

Applebury's Comments

Rules For Using Spiritual Gifts (20-40)

Text

1 Corinthians 14:20-40. Brethren, be not children in mind: yet in malice be ye babes, but in mind be men. 21 In the law it is written, By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers will I speak unto this people; and not even thus will they hear me, saith the Lord. 22 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to the unbelieving: but prophesying is for a sign, not to the unbelieving, but to them that believe. 23 If therefore the whole church be assembled together and all speak with tongues, and there come in men unlearned or unbelieving, will they not say that ye are mad? 24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one unbelieving or unlearned, he is reproved by all, he is judged by all; 25 the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed.

26 What is it then, brethren? When ye come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. 27 If any man speaketh in a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most three, and that in turn; and let one interpret: 28 but if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. 29 And let the prophets speak by two or three, and let the others discern. 30 But if a revelation be made to another sitting by, let the first keep silence. 31 For ye all can prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 let the women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as also saith the law. 35 And if they would learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home: for it is shameful for a woman to speak in the church. 36 What? was it from you that the word of God went forth? or came it unto you alone?
37 If any man thinketh himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, that they are the commandment of the Lord. 38 But if any man is ignorant, let him be ignorant.
39 Wherefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. 40 But let all things be done decently and in order.

Commentary

be not children in mind.They were to take a mature view of the purpose of the gifts. Gifts did belong to the childhood period of the church as indicated in 1 Corinthians 13:11; they were not marks of spiritual maturity. But more than this, some in the church were acting like children in the possession of the gifts. As a result, there was jealousy among brethren in the Lord. The possession of the gift was not a sign of God's preference of one above the other, for God is not partial. But it was well to be like babes in malice for babes have none, but in mind Paul wanted them to be mature men.

By men of strange tongues.That is, those who speak in foreign languages. This word defines speaking in tongues and justifies our assumption that speaking in tongues was not some unintelligible speech-like utterance, but rather that it was speaking in a foreign language. In calling upon the Corinthians to take a mature view of the gift of tongues, Paul reminds them that their primary purpose was to be a sign for the unbeliever, while prophecy was for the edification of the believer. He illustrated his point by a reference from the law (a general term for Old Testament). See Isaiah 28:11-12.

According to the quotation from Isaiah, the prophet was answering the quibbling of those who rejected the message of the prophet. They said it was childish, precept upon precept, line upon line. The Lord said that since they wouldn-'t listen to the prophet, they would have to listen to foreigners and then they really wouldn-'t understand. Paul uses this to show that tongues were not primarily for the church, for they couldn-'t understand without having the message translated. But just as in the time of the prophet when the stranger was to speak a foreign language, so those who used the gift of tongues were to speak a language capable of being translated for the edification of all.

Wherefore tongues are for a sign.The gift of tongues was for a sign to cause the unbeliever to see that God was speaking to him in his own language through one who would not be expected to know his native tongue. See Acts 2:11-13. Prophecy, on the other hand, was for the edification of the believers. Prophecy was not a sign for the believers. They needed no such sign since they were already believers. These words, given in italics in the American Standard Version do not occur in the Greek text and should not be inserted in the English translation.

will they not say that ye are mad?Paul assumes a situation in which the whole church is assembled and all are speaking in tongues. Into this assembly there came certain unlearned men or unbelievers. They were two classes who did not understand what was being said through the gift of tongues. The unlearned is the church member who did not possess the ability to speak in tongues. See comment on 1 Corinthians 14:16. Some have assumed that the unbeliever in this case was a foreigner who could have understood the foreign language since Paul had indicated that tongues were a sign for unbelievers. But it is a mistake to assume that all unbelievers were foreigners, and in this case it is evident that they were not, for they did not understand what was being said and therefore joined with the unlearned in saying that all were mad.

But if all prophesy.Paul then assumed a similar situation in which all were prophesying. In this case all understood and were edified. The result was that all declared that God was among them.

Let all things be done unto edifying.Whether one had a psalm, or a teaching, or a revelation, or a tongue, or an interpretation, his object should be to edify the church. This was the first of the list of important instructions given for the guidance of those who possessed spiritual gifts in Corinth.

If an man speaketh in a tongue.Instead of all speaking at once with the resulting confusion that would cause men to say, You are mad, they were to use common sense and Christian courtesy and limit the speakers to two or three and that in turn. One was to interpret, but if no interpreter was present the one with the gift of tongues was to be silent. He could, however, speak to God in private in the tongue.

let the prophets.The same rule of common sense was to govern the prophets. Others were to discern, that is, they could decide correctly concerning what was heard. It may, however, refer to the gift of discerning of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10). Courteous consideration for another who might have a message for the group was to determine which one was to speak. The gift was to be used that all might learn and be built up in the Christian life.

the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.The prophets own spiritsthat is, the prophets themselveswere used by the Holy Spirit to deliver the revelation from God, but the prophet could exercise self-control in the use of the gift. This is solid evidence that they were not involved in some ecstatic experience in which it was impossible to control their speaking. The reason for exercising such control was clear: God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.

As in all the churches of the saints.This refers to those who made up the church. See comment on 1 Corinthians 1:2. Saints were those who had been separated from a life of sin and who had dedicated themselves to the service of the Lord. There was no place among saints for jealousy and discourtesy that led to the sin of strife and division. It would be well to restore the use of this term in the church and live up to its evident meaning.

let the women keep silence in the churches.This was to apply to all the churches of the saints. See notes on 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 about the relation between man and woman while praying or prophesying in the church. This, however, has to do with wives and their husbands. Several things are indicated for their guidance: (1) Wives are to be in subjectionhave respect for their own husband (1 Peter 3:1-6). This is not the subjection of a slave, but the giving of honor that is due the husband who in turn is to love his wife (Genesis 1:16; Ephesians 5:21-33). (2) Let them ask their husbands at home. This implies the necessity of the husband assuming his responsibility in the matter of Christian teaching in the home. (3) This was to be observed because of the culture of that day, for it was a shameful thing for a woman to speak in the church. In our culture, it is not a shame for a woman to speak in public provided she can do so and maintain her womanly dignity. (4) The instruction seems to have involved the misuse of gifts. Just what the problem was, we may not know, but the Corinthians did. Paul gave the regulations to protect the church from the misuse of the gifts. Perhaps some would disagree with him, but he reminded them that the gospel did not originate with them nor did it come to them alone.

the commandment of the Lord.What was said by the inspired apostle was the commandment of the Lord and it was to be obeyed by His church. In all probability, there were some in Corinth who were claiming that they were prophets or even apostles, but if such a one disregarded this truth and failed to agree with what God said through the inspired apostle Paul, he was not to be recognized as a true leader of the church. Ignorance of this fact did not change the matter; God's commandments for the church were delivered through His apostle.

desire earnestly to prophesy, forbid not to speak with tongues.As the chapter began, so it closes: the gifts were for the benefit of the church in the absence of the completed revelation of God's will and were to be used to accomplish the task for which they were distributed by the Holy Spirit. They were not to forbid the use of the gift of tongues; it was to be used in accordance with its purpose and the rules given to regulate its use. In this way, all things could be done decently and in order.

Summary

Chapter fourteen concludes the three-chapter discussion of the subject of spiritual gifts. It is the longest of any of the discussions of problems with which the apostle deals in the epistle except that of division. These two issues were related in that the misuse of the gift of tongues was causing jealousy and strife in the church.
In attacking the problem, the apostle did not discourage the use of the gifts, but argues for the necessity of correcting the misuse of them. In the thirteenth chapter he had pointed out the most excellent way of love that would correct the sin of jealousy over the possession of the gift of tongues. In this chapter he presents two more corrective measures to overcome the misuse of the gift of tongues. The gifts were to be used to edify the church, whether prophecy or tongues. The gift of tongues was not to be used unless the message spoken in a foreign language was translated so that all the church might receive edification. Prophecy which required no interpretation was to be preferred in the church. Tongues were primarily intended as a sign for the unbeliever.
Paul presents two series of arguments in support of these corrective measures. Each series has three steps in it. The first series shows the necessity of using the gifts to edify the church. Even Paul wouldn-'t benefit the church by using the gift of tongues unless he translated so that the church might be edified. Then he shows how such instruments as the flute or harp must give understandable sounds if they are to benefit those who hear. Just so, the gift of speaking in foreign languages had to be accompanied with the gift of interpretation (translation) to be of benefit to the church. His third argument indicated that the human tongue must be used to speak a message that can be understood or the one speaking will be speaking into the air and those who hear will be like foreigners to him. Therefore, he declares, Seek that ye may abound unto edification of the church.
In the second series, he argues for the necessity of translating the message delivered in a foreign language. He assumes a case in which he might be praying in a foreign language. Unless he understands what he is saying, his spirit is praying under the control of the Holy Spirit, but he is not benefitted. Therefore, he argues that the one speaking in a tongue must translate in order for the gift to be used in a profitable manner for the speaker and for those who hear. In his second argument in this series, he thinks of those who may not have the giftsthe unlearnedand who are not able to say Amen to what is being said because they do not understand the language. Therefore, it must be translated for the benefit of those who do not have the gift. Then he adds a word about his own experience in using the gift of tongues. He thanked God that he spoke in tongues more than all, but adds, in the church, I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. The message simply had to be translated to make it profitable for the whole church.
With this basic issue established, Paul proceeded to present certain rules and regulations to govern the use of gifts. They were to be used in accord with God's purpose. The church was to take a mature view of them instead of the childish attitude they had allowed to govern their thinking. The gifts were not a mark of maturity; they belonged to the childhood period of the church, but they were not to be allowed to become a source of jealousy and strife in the church. Christian courtesy toward others was to regulate their use. If all spoke at once and no one understood, the unlearned and the unbeliever would say that they were mad. But if the rules were observed, all would know that God was in their midst. For this reason they were to limit those who spoke to two or three, and these were to speak in turn; others were to listen and be benefitted by the message. No one was to speak in tongues unless there was one present to translate. Paul plainly pointed out that the prophets could control themselves in the use of these gifts. He reminded them that God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.
A difficult problem is presented in his reference to women who were to keep silence in the church. This was the rule in all the churches of the saints. There was, in all probability, some trouble that had arisen in connection with the misuse of the gift of tongues. Wives were to have proper consideration for their own husbands who were to assume the responsibilitynot authorityfor teaching at home. Respect for each other in public and at home was necessary then and now. It is a shame for a wife or a husband to be discourteous to each other at home or in the church. What Paul wrote was the commandment of the Lord.
He closed the chapter with this exhortation, Desire earnestly to prophesy, and adds, forbid not to speak in tongues. These gifts had a place in the early church, and when their purpose was fulfilled they were done away. Now we have the whole revelation of the Lord in the Bible. Let us follow Paul's closing word also by doing all things decently and in order.