AP

1 Corinthians 14:2-5  For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.  On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.  The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.  Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy.  The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

To understand what Paul is saying here we need to understand the particular situation of the Church in Corinth at the time.  It was a fledgling Church consisting of people recently converted from paganism/humanism, and we can see from his two letters to them that we have in the Canon of Scripture that they were still more influenced by their surrounding culture than was healthy for their fellowship in Christ and their mutual edification.

Human ‘wisdom’, with its tendency to pride, competion and hubris, is what dominated their normal thinking, instead of the selfless, other-person-centred humility that should flow from embracing the Gospel of Christ.  Paul had to write to them things like: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1:18); “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1:20-21); and “I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (2:1-5)

This is why the Corinthian correspondence is so relevant to us in our culture today.  I have never experienced the gift of ‘speaking in tongues’, but from what Paul says it sounds like it is a very spiritually uplifting personal experience for which he thanks God (verse 18).  Without having the gift myself I will just have to take his word for it.  But his burden in 1 Corinthians 14 is that the ‘spectacular’ nature of ‘tongues speaking’, impressive as it is, in combination with the pervading Corinthian culture, is not conducive to the development of humble Christian maturity.  Let us always strive to build each other up by humbly sharing together the clear teaching of Scripture as we sit under faithful, instructive preaching from those who have the ‘gift of prophecy’ and from regular, listening-sharing Bible study in small groups.

– Bruce Christian