Corinthians 14:1-5 (Part 1)
Outline:
I. \\#1:1-4:21\\ In Answer to Chloe’s Report
II. \\#5:1-6:20\\ In Answer to Common Reports
III. \\#7:1-16:4\\ In Answer to the Church’s Requests
A. \\#7:1-40\\ Counsel Concerning Marriage
B. \\#8:1-10:33\\ Meat Offered to Idols
C. \\#11:2-16\\ God’s Authority
1. \\#2-3\\ God’s Authority over Others
2. \\#4-6\\ God’s Authority Displayed
3. \\#7-16\\ God’s Authority Explained
D. \\#11:17-34\\ Abuse with the Lord’s Supper
E. \\#12:1-14:40\\ Spiritual Gifts
1. \\#12:1-3\\ Marks of the Holy Ghost
2. \\#12:4-11\\ Lessons about the Holy Ghost
3. \\#12:12-26\\ Believers, like gifts, Are Many, Different,
and One
4. \\#12:27-31\\ See Among Yourselves
5. \\#13:1-13\\ The Better Way
(a) \\#1-3\\ The Missing Ingredient
(b) \\#4-8\\ Characteristics of Love
(c) \\#8-13\\ All Gifts Will Cease
6. \\#14:1-40\\ Tongues Is Not the Best Gift
(a) \\#1-25\\ Prophecy Is the Better Gift
(1) \\#1-4\\ Three Commands, Two Reasons
(2) \\#5\\ Paul’s Conclusion
(3) \\#6-25\\ The Problems with Tongues (as the
Corinthians were practicing the gift)
i. \\#6\\ Tongues did not profit the church.
ii. \\#7-20\\ Tongues had no meaning.
iii. \\#21-25\\ Tongues was for the lost.
(b) \\#14:26-40\\ Tongues Should Be Practices Properly
\\#12:1-14:40\\ Spiritual Gifts
I. \\#14:1-40\\ Tongues Is Not the Best Gift
A. As we begin this chapter, we must point out that we have not
found any Bible reason to think that the word "tongues" means
anything other than another earthly language.
1. Word Study: We are still looking at the Greek word used
most often for tongue, "glossa."
a. It is used 48 times.
b. 25 times it is clearly used to mean a human language
or the organ we call a tongue within the mouth.
c. 23 times, it used in more vaguely, with no clear
meaning that the gift is either an earthly language
or a heavenly language.
d. There just isn’t enough information given in those
uses to make ANY determination about how the gift
manifested itself; but it is from those 23 vague
occurrences that some seek to establish the modern-
day practice of tongues as a Bible doctrine.
e. We have looked at seven of the vague uses:
(1) 3 are not in the book of 1 Corinthians.
(2) 20 are, 2 in chapter 12 and 2 in chapter 13.
(3) The last 16 uses of the word are found in this
chapter.
2. So far, we have seen the word used to represent earthly
languages, and we have NOT seen the word used in a way
that describes the gift as it is being practiced today.
3. This chapter does not help to define the meaning of
tongues at all.
a. The gift is not defined in this chapter and anything
that can be said about it gift being an earthly
language can also be said if the gift were an angelic
language and vice-versa.
b. The point is that there is no Biblical evidence here
or anywhere else within the Bible to support the gift
being practiced today IS the Biblical gift of
tongues.
B. \\#1Cor 14:1-25\\ Prophesy Is the Better Gift
1. \\#1-4\\ Three Commands, Two Reasons
1Cor 14:1 Follow after charity, and desire
spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
a. The three commands:
(1) \\#1\\ "Follow after charity"
(a) Paul had spent chapter 13 teaching us that
the most important thing we can do is to
love as God loves.
(b) Here he commanded the church to seek after
that attribute.
(2) "desire spiritual gifts" - He also commanded them
to want spiritual gifts.
(3) "but rather that ye may prophesy."
(a) BUT the gift PAUL commanded the people to
seek after the most was the gift of
prophesy NOT the gift of tongues.
(b) The fact that some have made the gift of
tongues a determining factor in being
filled with the Holy Ghost or being saved
is not Biblical at all.
(c) Indeed, until this point the readers have no
reason to suppose that Paul was about to
bring up the gift of tongues, but he
quickly did.
b. (NOTE - Four phrases that are badly misrepresented.)
(1) For some reason, some take the use of these
phrases to be definitive proof that today’s
practice of tongues is Biblical. Paul had no
knowledge of how tongues would be used today and
did not speak to that issue at all. For that
reason, although not part of the actual study of
this book, I will deal point out the faulty
thinking in this section.
(2) Note the word "unknown" is used 6 times in the
KJB.
1Cor 14:2 For he that speaketh in an unknown
tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for
no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit
he speaketh mysteries.
(a) Some will argue that the word "unknown"
being in these verse is proof that the gift
being practiced today is the Biblical gift
of tongues.
(b) Note that the word is in italics, meaning it
is not in the original language at all.
(c) It was added by the translators to help us
understand the text; but even if it were in
the original language, it would not prove
today’s practice to be the gift of tongues.
(d) Any earthly language we do not know is
"unknown" to us.
(2) \\#2\\ With the gift of tongues, "no man can
understand him."
(a) Some also see this statement as instant
proof that the gift referred to by Paul in
this passage is the kind of tongues that is
practiced today, but it is not.
i. If someone stood in our church and
started speaking in Russian, no one
would understand him without an
interpreter.
ii. This was one of the problems of the
gift.
iii. It was not a "stand alone" gift.
(b) Some things that this verse does seem to
tell us:
i. The gift of tongues was not just the
ability to hear and understand
another in the language one was born
with, but the ability to be able to
speak a different earthly language.
aa. Although clearly stated to be the
gift of "tongues" in
\\#Acts 2:4\\, it is difficult
to know whether the gift
affected the speaker’s speech or
the hearers’ ears.
bb. This verse makes it clear that
tongues was the gift of
speaking, but it also
teaches us that there was
another corresponding gift
called "interpreting"
\\#1Cor 14:5, 13, 26, 27, 28\\.
cc. In \\#1Cor 14:27\\, Paul will
teach the believers that the
gift of interpretation must be
present when the gift of tongues
was practiced.
ii. The gift of tongues (once given) did
not depart. Apparently once the gift
was given, the receiver of the gift
could speak in language they were
blessed with when they desired, even
if no one who spoke that language was
present.
aa. \\#1Cor 14:18\\ Paul stated that
he could "speak" in more
languages than any of the
Corinthians.
1Cor 14:18 I thank my God, I speak with tongues
more than ye all:
bb. He did not say that he had
"spoken" but that he could
presently speak in more tongues
than they.
cc. The fact that the gift did not
depart when it was no longer
needed is what may have caused
some of the problems at Corinth.
(c) But Paul’s point was that the gift to
prophesy is a better gift than to speak
with an unknown tongue because all of those
present could understand what was being
spoken with prophesy while a translator
would be required with the gift of tongues.
(3) "speaketh not unto men, but unto God," and "in
the spirit he speaketh mysteries."
(a) Again, some take these phrases to mean the
gift practiced by the Corinthians was the
gift practiced today.
(b) But that is not the case either.
(c) If someone stood in our church and spoke
Russian, only God would know what he said
and whatever the Holy Ghost wanted to
reveal through that gift would be a
mystery to everyone present.
(4) The reality is Paul was not attempting to define
a "new" tongue or language in this text.
(a) He was pointing out that even the gift as it
was practiced in the book of Acts was very
limited to the other gifts.
(b) If it was the only gift being used within
the church, it had no usefulness.
(c) To be used at all, it required the
accompanying gift to interpret the language
in which the message was given
\\#1Cor 14:5\\.
c. The Two Reasons
(1) \\#2\\ With the gift of tongues, "no man can
understand him."
(a) Although we have already looked at this
phrase as one of the four that are badly
misrepresented, Paul was actually listing
reasons why the gift of tongues was NOT the
better gift.
(c) Prophesy was a better gift than tongues
because it was a "stand-alone" gift but for
the gift of tongues to be practiced INSIDE
the church and WITHOUT an interpreter as
the Corinthian church was doing, no one
would understand what was being said.
(c) Paul will mention this several more times in
this section and even give a rule for the
practice of tongues if it was going to be
practiced as the Corinthians were using the
gift.
(2) \\#3-4\\ The gift of tongues (without an
interpreter) only builds up the user while the
gift of prophecy builds up the church.
1Cor 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto
men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth
himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the
church.
(a) Paul was not criticizing the gift of
tongues.
i. He had the gift.
ii. He used the gift.
iii. The fact that God gave the gift means
the gift was needed and important, but
there was a danger that came with the
improper use of the gift.
(b) But no matter what you think the gift is,
when it was used without an interpreter, it
exalted the user and not the body of
believers.
i. That sounds hard, but it is what Paul
said.
ii. Just as the non-charismatics can use
their knowledge of the Bible to exalt
themselves so the charismatics use
their gift of tongues to exalt
themselves.
iii. At this point, Paul was not just
teaching the advantages of prophesy
over the gift of tongues.
aa. He was beginning to correct this
church for their incorrect use
of the gift of tongues.
bb. As they had become proud in other
areas, so they had allowed their
pride to abuse the gift of
tongues.
cc. And that is true no matter what
one thinks the gift was.
iv. So the church at Corinth was using this
God-given gift to build up the user
and not the body of believers.
aa. No spiritual gift should be used
for selfish gain or purposes,
although most all can.
bb. Balaam of the Old Testament
attempted to use his spiritual
gifts of knowledge and prophecy
for personal profit.
cc. Doing so cost him his life.
2. \\#5\\ Paul’s Conclusion
1Cor 14:5 I would that ye all spake with
tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for
greater is he that prophesieth than he that
speaketh with tongues, except he interpret,
that the church may receive edifying.
a. "I would… ye all spake with tongues"
(1) Paul would have been happy if everyone at Corinth
spoke in tongues.
(2) Paul NEVER spoke badly of God’s gift!
(3) Although it was a limited gift, if God gave it,
it had to be a good gift!
b. "BUT RATHER that ye prophesied"
(1) But the better gift and the gift Paul would
rather the Corinthians had was the gift to
prophesy.
(2) Paul NEVER encouraged this church or any church
to seek after the gift of tongues.
(a) His thought was, "If God gives it, use it;
but if you want to get a gift, seek the
gift of prophesy."
(b) Yet some have twisted this gift to say that
one is not spiritual and does not even have
the Holy Ghost if he has not spoken in
tongues.
i. Paul never even said that about the
gift of prophesying.
ii. He surely did not say it about the
gift of tongues.
(c) Is this chapter shedding any light on what
the gift of tongues is?
i. No.
ii. But it is sharing the pride that even
the true gift of tongues could
create.
iii. Pride is a terrible thing in all of
us.
(3) "greater is he that prophesieth than he that
speaketh with tongues"
(a) One who prophesies is not greater in
position but in usefulness to God and the
church.
(b) "except he interpret" - Unless he or another
interprets so that the entire church can
be exalted.
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