1 Corinthianschapter 14
40 verses · Paul · AD 54 or 55 · Paul's letters
Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, 1 Corinthians Overview.
Paul wrote this chapter to a church whose meetings had grown loud and crowded with speakers. Many spoke at once, some in tongues no one could follow, and visitors went away thinking the church had lost its mind. He has just shown that love is greater than any gift. Now he shows what love does when a church gathers to worship. Listen for the one word he returns to again and again, the building up of others. Listen also for the outsider sitting in the room. Read it as the rule of love applied to a church service.
Context
- Who
- Believers who prized unintelligible speech, meeting in a house where outsiders could wander in.
- What
- Paul's comparison of prophecy with tongues, and his rules for how tongues, prophecy and questions are handled when the church meets.
- Where
- Written from Ephesus to the church at Corinth, which met in the houses of its members.
- When
- About AD 54 or 55, during Paul's long stay at Ephesus.
- Why
- To bring order to meetings in which many spoke at once and in tongues no one understood, so that the church and the outsider would be built up.
Historical context
Greek religion had a long tradition of inspired but unintelligible utterance. The Delphic oracle, only a day's travel from Corinth, delivered sayings through a priestess in a trance that priests then interpreted. A congregation impressed by ecstatic speech was behaving in a way its whole culture found normal and prestigious.
Show the rest of the historical context, 4 more paragraphs
Paul's test is comprehension, not authenticity. He says he speaks in tongues more than any of them, and then says he would rather speak five intelligible words in the assembly than ten thousand in a tongue, because the aim is to build others up.
The unbeliever or outsider walking in mattered because these were house meetings on ordinary streets. Neighbours, curious visitors, and household members could and did appear. A room full of people all speaking at once would look, Paul says, like madness.
His practical rules are strikingly ordinary: two or three at most, one at a time, with interpretation; prophets weighed by the others; the spirits of prophets subject to the prophets. Inspiration does not remove self-control.
The instruction about women keeping silence in this chapter has been debated since antiquity, not least because Paul has already assumed women pray and prophesy in the assembly. Readers differ on whether it addresses disruptive questioning, the weighing of prophecies, or something else, and the honest thing is to name the difficulty rather than paper over it.
Significance
The first hearers were given a governing principle they could apply to anything: let all things be done for building up, and let all things be done decently and in order, because God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
That reordered their whole value system. The gift they ranked lowest, prophecy in plain speech, was the one that actually reached the outsider, who might fall on his face and say that God was really among them.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Prophecy Builds the Church; Tongues Build the Speaker
Earnestly pursue love and eagerly: The chapter opens with two commands at once: pursue love, diokete, as a hunter pursues game, and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, zeloute. Prophecy is named first because Paul already knows where the comparison with tongues will land.
1 Corinthians 14:1
“Follow after charity - Pursue love 1Co 13:1; that is, earnestly desire it; strive to possess it; make it the object of your anxious and constant solicitude to obtain it, and to be influenced by it always. Cultivate it in your own hearts, as the richest and best endowment of the Holy Spirit, and endeavor to diffuse its happy influence on all around you.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
1 Corinthians 14:1
Now he assigns the first place to prophecy. Covet, therefore, spiritual gifts -- that is, "Neglect no gift, for I exhort you to seek after them all, provided only prophecy holds the first place."
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
1 Corinthians 14:2-4
he who speaks in a tongue: The first contrast is address: the tongue-speaker speaks to God and utters mysteries no hearer understands. The prophet speaks to men for their edification, encouragement, and comfort, so only his gift reaches beyond the speaker to the church.
1 Corinthians 14:2
“For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue - This chapter is crowded with difficulties. It is not likely that the Holy Spirit should, in the church, suddenly inspire a man with the knowledge of some foreign language, which none in the church understood but himself; and lead him to treat the mysteries of Christianity in that language, though none in the place could profit by his teaching. Dr. Lightfoot’s mode of reconciling these difficulties is the most likely I have met with.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:2
“He says in the outset -- He that speaketh in another tongue, speaketh not unto men, but unto God: that is, according to the proverb, "He sings to himself and to the Muses." In the use of the word tongue, there is not a pleonasm, as in those expressions -- "She spake thus with her mouth," and "I caught the sound with these ears." The term denotes a foreign language.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
he who prophesies speaks to men: Encouragement and comfort answer different needs in the church. Comfort translates paramythia, the word for consoling someone in grief, used of friends who came to Martha and Mary in John 11:19. Prophecy speaks to the hurting.
1 Corinthians 14:3
“But--on the other hand. edification--of which the two principal species given are "exhortation" to remove sluggishness, "comfort" or consolation to remove sadness [BENGEL].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:3
“But he that prophesieth - See the note at 1Co 14:1. He that speaks under the influence of inspiration in the common language of his hearers. This seems to be the difference between those who spoke in foreign languages and those who prophesied.”
The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself: Commentators divide over how the speaker is built up. Hodge holds that the speaker understood his own words, and Godet ties the benefit to the spirit's communion with God apart from the mind.
1 Corinthians 14:4
“He that speaketh in an unknown tongue - In the Hebrew for instance, the knowledge of the depth and power of which he has got by a Divine revelation, edifieth himself by that knowledge. But he that prophesieth - Has the gift of preaching. Edifieth the Church - Speaketh unto men to edification, exhortation, and comfort, 1Co 14:3.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:4
“He may understand and be affected with what he speaks; and so every minister should; and he that is most edified himself is in the disposition and fitness to do good to others by what he speaks; but he that speaks with tongues, or language unknown, can only edify himself; others can reap no benefit from his speech.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
I wish that all of you: Paul wishes all could speak in tongues yet would rather have them prophesy, ranking the gifts by what reaches the assembled church. The exception, unless he interprets, anticipates the rule of verse 27 for tongues in public.
1 Corinthians 14:5
“Greater is he who interprets scripture to edify the church than he who speaks tongues to recommend himself. And what other end he who spoke with tongues could have, unless he interpreted what he spoke, is not easy to say, Note, That makes most for the honour of a minister which is most for the church's edification, not that which shows his gifts to most advantage.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:5
“I would that ye all spake with tongues - “It is an important endowment, and is not, in its place, to be undervalued. It maybe of great service in the cause of truth, and if properly regulated, and not abused, I would rejoice if these extraordinary endowments were conferred on all.”
A Trumpet With No Clear Call
1 Corinthians 14:6-9
if I come to you speaking: Paul turns the argument on himself: tongues without revelation, knowledge, prophecy or teaching would bring them no benefit. Verses 7 and 8 draw on the flute or harp with no distinct notes and the trumpet sounding a muffled call, a garbled battle signal.
1 Corinthians 14:6
“Speaking with tongues - Without interpreting. What shall I profit you? - i.e. I shall not profit you; Except I shall speak to you either by revelation - Of some secret thing; or by knowledge, of some mystery; or by prophesying, foretelling some future event; or by doctrine, instructing you what to believe and practice. - See Whitby. These four words are taken in different acceptations by learned men. The general sense of the terms is that given above: but the peculiar meaning of the apostle is perhaps not easily discerned.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:6
“Revelation - Of some gospel mystery. Knowledge - Explaining the ancient types and prophecies. Prophecy - Foretelling some future event.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Corinthians 14:6
“So "knowledge" corresponds to "doctrine," which is the gift of teaching to others our knowledge. As the former pair refers to specially revealed mysteries, so the latter pair refers to the general obvious truths of salvation, brought from the common storehouse of believers.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Even in the case of lifeless instruments: The flute and harp, aulos and kithara, were the common instruments of Greek feasts and funerals. Distinct translates diastole, the clear spacing between one note and the next. Sound without spacing gives no tune.
1 Corinthians 14:7
“Translate, "And things without life-giving sound, whether pipe or harp, YET (notwithstanding their giving sound) if they give not a distinction in the tones (that is, notes) how?" &c. what is piped or harped--that is, what tune is played on the pipe or harp.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:7
“Things without life - Instruments of music. Whether pipe - This instrument (αὐλὸς aulos) was usually made of reeds, and probably had a resemblance to a flageolet. Or harp - This instrument (κιθάρα kithara) was a stringed instrument, and was made in the same way as a modern harp. It usually had ten strings, and was struck with the plectrum, or with a key. It was commonly employed in praise. Except they give a distinction in the sounds - Unless they give a difference in the “tones,” such as are indicated in the gamut for music.”
if the trumpet sounds a muffled call: Armies of the day moved by trumpet signals, one call to gather, another to advance, another to retreat. A soldier had to know the call at once. A muffled note left him guessing while the enemy came on.
1 Corinthians 14:8
“If the trumpet give an uncertain sound - If, when the soldier should prepare himself for the battle, the trumpet should give a different sound to that which is ordinarily used on such occasions, the soldier is not informed of what he should do, and therefore does not arm himself; consequently, that vague, unintelligible sound of the trumpet, is of no use.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue: Intelligible translates eusemos, well marked or easy to recognize, the quality the flute and trumpet lacked. Speaking into the air was a saying for wasted effort, like beating the air in 9:26. Words must land in a listener.
1 Corinthians 14:9
“So likewise ye ... - To apply the case. If you use a foreign language, how shall it be known what is said, or of what use will it be, unless it is made intelligible by interpretation? Utter by the tongue - Unless you speak. Words easy to be understood - Significant words (margin), words to which your auditors are accustomed. For ye shall speak into the air - You will not speak so as to be understood; and it will be just the same as if no one was present, and you spoke to the air.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:9
“Unless ye utter by the tongue - Which is miraculously given you. Words easy to be understood - By your hearers. Ye will speak to the air - A proverbial expression.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Corinthians 14:10-11
there are many different languages: Every one of the world's many languages carries meaning, so unintelligibility lies in the hearer's ignorance of a tongue. The Greek barbaros in verse 11 names the stammering sound foreign speech made to an untrained ear, making strangers of brothers.
1 Corinthians 14:10
“There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices,.... לשנא, "tongues", or "languages", as the Syriac version renders it; that is, as many as there are nations in the world; there may be seventy of them, as the Jews say there were at the confusion of languages at Babel; there may be more or less: and none of them is without signification: every language, and every word in a language, has a meaning in it, an idea annexed to it, which it conveys to him that understands it, and that cannot be done without a voice ordinarily speaking.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:10
“That is, so many languages appeared in the world—Scythian, Indian, Thracian, and those of other peoples—and all tribes say something, for they are not without language.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on 1 Corinthianspatristic
I am a foreigner to the speaker: At Pentecost the gift of tongues let foreigners in Jerusalem hear the works of God in their own languages. In the Corinthian assembly the same kind of speech, left without interpretation, turned fellow believers into foreigners. Hodge treats both as one gift.
1 Corinthians 14:11
“Therefore--seeing that none is without meaning. a barbarian--a foreigner (Ac 28:2). Not in the depreciatory sense as the term is now used, but one speaking a foreign language.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:11
“For thus says the polite Ovid, when banished into Pontus, Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli, I am a barbarian here, none understand me. To speak in the church in an unknown tongue is to talk gibberish; it is to play the barbarian; it is to confound the audience, instead of instructing them; and for this reason is utterly vain and unprofitable.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 14:11
“The meaning of the voice - Of the language that is uttered, or the sounds that are made. I shall be unto him ... - What I say will be unintelligible to him, and what he says will be unintelligible to me. We cannot understand one another any more than people can who speak different languages. A barbarian - See the note at Rom 1:14. The word means one who speaks a different, or a foreign language.”
1 Corinthians 14:12-13
you are eager to have: Paul redirects the zeal he commanded in verse 1 toward gifts that build up the church. Verse 13 gives the tongue-speaker a remedy, to pray that he may interpret, so the gift already given can serve the assembly.
1 Corinthians 14:12
"Forasmuch as you are zealous of spiritual gifts, this way it will become commendable zeal, be zealous to edify the church, to promote Christian knowledge and practice, and covet those gifts most that will do the best service to men's souls." This is the great rule he gives, which, 2.
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
should pray that he may interpret: Interpretation is its own gift in the list of 12:10, and one person may ask for both. Prayer is the means Paul names. Hodge reads the verse as a call to seek from God the power to make the tongue useful to others.
1 Corinthians 14:13
“Pray that he may interpret - Let him ask of God ability that he may explain it clearly to the church. It would seem probable that the power of speaking foreign languages, and the power of conveying truth in a clear and distinct manner, were not always found in the same person, and that the one did not of necessity imply the other.”
3 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:13
“If the one who speaks in tongues does not have the power to interpret them, others will not understand, but he will know what he was moved by the Spirit to say. When this is understood by others as well, there will be fruit from it. Here as elsewhere, we are taught to seek the common good of the church.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on 1 Corinthians 4.61-62patristic
1 Corinthians 14:13
“That these were different gifts, see ch. xii. Those might speak and understand a foreign language who could not readily translate it into their own: and yet was this necessary to the church's edification; for the church must understand, that it might be edified, which yet it could not do till the foreign language was translated into its own.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 14:13
“Explain, "Let him who speaketh with a tongue [unknown] in his prayer (or, when praying) strive that he may interpret" [ALFORD]. This explanation of "pray" is needed by its logical connection with "prayer in an unknown tongue" (1Co 14:14).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Corinthians 14:14-17
if I pray in a tongue: In a tongue the spirit prays while the mind is unfruitful, so verse 15 keeps both, praying and singing with spirit and with mind. The uninstructed hearer of verses 16 and 17 cannot say Amen to thanks he never understood.
1 Corinthians 14:14
“For if I pray in an unknown tongue - If my prayers are composed of sentences and sayings taken out of the prophets, etc., and in their own language - my spirit prayeth, my heart is engaged in the work, and my prayers answer all the purpose of prayers to myself; but my understanding is unfruitful to all others, because they do not understand my prayers, and I either do not or cannot interpret them. See the note on 1Co 14:19.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
I will sing with my spirit: Singing formed part of the Corinthian gathering, and verse 26 lists a psalm among what members brought. Paul applies the same rule to songs as to prayers. Worship engages both the spirit and the mind.
1 Corinthians 14:15
“For our mind would not even be able to pray unless the Spirit prayed for it as if obeying it, so that we cannot even sing and hymn the Father in Christ with proper rhythm, melody, measure and harmony unless the Spirit who searches everything, even the depths of God, first praises and hymns him whose depths he has searched out and has understood as far as he is able.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · On Prayer 4patristic
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:15
“I will sing with the spirit, &c. He does not forbid their praying or singing under a divine afflatus, or when they were inspired for this purpose, or had such a spiritual gift communicated to them; but he would have them perform both so as to be understood by others, that others might join with them. Note, Public worship should be performed so as to be understood.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 14:15
“A prescient warning, mutatis mutandis, against the Roman and Greek practice of keeping liturgies in dead languages, which long since have become unintelligible to the masses; though their forefathers spoke them at a time when those liturgies were framed for general use.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
how can someone who is uninstructed: Uninstructed translates idiotes, a private person without special training, here someone who lacks the gift. In Greek the word carries the article, the Amen, a response the congregation spoke aloud as Israel did in Nehemiah 8:6. Assent needs understanding.
1 Corinthians 14:16
“He that occupieth the room of the unlearned - One who is not acquainted with the language in which you speak, sing, or pray. Say Amen - Give his assent and ratification to what he does not understand. It was very frequent in primitive times to express their approbation in the public assemblies by Amen. This practice, soberly and piously conducted, might still be of great use in the Church of Christ.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:16
“Otherwise how shall he that filleth the place of a private person - That is, any private hearer. Say Amen - Assenting and confirming your words, as it was even then usual for the whole congregation to do.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Corinthians 14:16
“He who fills up or occupies the place of the unlearned, that is, as the ancients interpret it, the body of the people, who, in most Christian assemblies, are illiterate; how should they say Amen to prayers in an unknown tongue? How should they declare their consent and concurrence? This is saying Amen, So be it.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
You may be giving thanks well enough: Paul grants that the thanksgiving itself can be right and good. The fault lies in speaking it in a tongue where the church gathers, and the words edify no one else. Edification is the test for anything spoken in church.
1 Corinthians 14:17
“For thou verily givest thanks well,.... In very proper words, and pertinent expressions, with great affection and devotion, suitable to the service; but the other is not edified; the rest of the people, who do not understand the language in which thanks are given; "thy friend", as the Syriac version reads it; or thy next neighbour, he that stands by thee, receives no manner of profit by it, because he does not understand what is said.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:17
“For thou verily givest thanks well - That is, even if you use a foreign language. You do it with the heart; and it is accepted by God as your offering; but the other, who cannot understand it, cannot be benefited by it.”
1 Corinthians 14:18-19
I thank God that I: Paul speaks in tongues more than all of them, which removes any suspicion that his ranking of prophecy comes from lacking the gift. Verse 19 sets five coherent words that instruct others over ten thousand words in a tongue.
1 Corinthians 14:18
“I speak with tongues more than ye all - He understood more languages than any of them did: and this was indispensably necessary, as he was the apostle of the Gentiles in general, and had to preach to different provinces where different dialects, if not languages, were used. In the Hebrew, Syriac, Greek, and Latin, he was undoubtedly well skilled from his education; and how many he might understand by miraculous gift we cannot tell. But, even literally understood, it is very probable that he knew more languages than any man in the Church of Corinth.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:18
“When we combine this testimony of Paul's with the other examples given in the book of Acts, it is reasonable to conclude that Paul first began to speak with tongues when Ananias laid his hands upon him for the infilling of the Spirit.”
Derek Prince · I Thank My God I Speak with Tongues More than You All... (devotional)Pentecostal-Charismatic
five coherent words to instruct others: Instruct translates katecheo, to teach by sounding words into the ear, the root of the English word catechism. Ten thousand is myrioi, the largest Greek number word. The contrast sets instruction in the church far above speaking in a tongue.
1 Corinthians 14:19
“I had rather--The Greek verb more literally expresses this meaning, "I WISH to speak five words with my understanding (rather) than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue"; even the two thousandth part of ten thousand. The Greek for "I would rather," would be a different verb.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:19
“Note, A truly Christian minister will value himself much more upon doing the least spiritual good to men's souls than upon procuring the greatest applause and commendation to himself. This is true grandeur and nobleness of spirit; it is acting up to his character; it is approving himself the servant of Christ, and not a vassal to his own pride and vanity.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 14:19
“Yet in the church - In the Christian assembly. The word “church” does not refer to the “edifice” where Christians worshipped, but to the organized body of Christians. I had rather ... - It is probable that in the Christian assembly, usually, there were few who understood foreign languages. Paul, therefore, would not speak in a foreign language when its only use would be mere display. With my understanding - So as to be intelligible to others; so that I might understand it, and so that at the same time others might be benefitted.”
Tongues Signal Outsiders; Prophecy Exposes the Heart
Brothers, stop thinking like children: The rebuke, stop thinking like children, names a taste for the spectacular mistaken for maturity. Paul keeps the image and turns it with two words, kakia and phrenes: infants in evil, mature in thinking.
1 Corinthians 14:20
“Be not children in understanding - There are three words here to which we must endeavor to affix the proper sense. 1. παιδια signifies children in general, but particularly such as are grown up, so as to be fit to send to school in order to receive instruction; 2. νηπιος, from νη, not, and ειπω, I speak, signifies an infant; one that cannot yet speak, and is in the lowest stage of infancy; 3. τελειοι, from τελεω, I complete or perfect, signifies those who are arrived at perfect maturity, both of growth and understanding.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:20
“Be not children in understanding - This is an admirable stroke of true oratory! to bring down the height of their spirits, by representing that wherein they prided themselves most, as mere folly and childishness.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Corinthians 14:20
“The Greek for "understanding" expresses the will of one's spirit, Ro 8:6 (it is not found elsewhere); as the "heart" is the will of the "soul." The same Greek is used for "minded" in Ro 8:6. men--full-grown.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Corinthians 14:21-22
It is written in the Law: Paul cites Isaiah 28:11-12, where foreign tongues were Israel's sign of judgment, Assyrian speech overtaking a people who would not hear their prophets. Verse 22 applies that judgment-sign inside Corinth's assembly: tongues are a sign for unbelievers.
1 Corinthians 14:21
“It is written in the Law - The word here, as frequently, means the Old Testament. In foreign tongues will I speak to this people - And so he did. He spake terribly to them by the Babylonians, when they had set at nought what he had spoken by the prophets, who used their own language.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:21
“Note that Paul refers to the prophetic writings also as the "law." In this passage he is quoting Isaiah [28:11] according to Aquila's translation, and not according to the Septuagint.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on 1 Corinthians 4.65patristic
1 Corinthians 14:21
“In the law it is written,.... In Isa 28:11 for the word law is not be confined to the five books of Moses, but includes all the writings of the Old Testament; and this entirely agrees with the sense of the Jews. Says R.”
Cross references
1 Corinthians 14:21
- QuotingIsaiah 28:11“Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues, He will speak to this people”
'With men of other tongues... will I speak' ('in the law it is written')
Tongues, then, are a sign: Believers have long divided over the kind of sign meant. Wesley reads tongues as a sign that catches the attention of unbelievers and convinces them. Hodge and Godet read tongues through Isaiah 28, the passage quoted in verse 21, as a sign of judgment on people who will not listen.
1 Corinthians 14:22
“Tongues are intended for a sign to unbelievers - To engage their attention, and convince them the message is of God. Whereas prophecy is not so much for unbelievers, as for the confirmation of them that already believe.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:22
“Wherefore tongues are for a sign,.... Of wrath and punishment inflicted on a rebellious and unbelieving people, and not of grace and kindness, as prophesying, or speaking to them by the prophets, was; and so this is an inference from what is said in the preceding verse, and shows, that there was no reason why believers should be so very desirous of them.”
1 Corinthians 14:22
“If, when they were all assembled for Christian worship, their ministers, or all employed in public worship, should talk unintelligible language, and infidels should drop in, they would conclude them to be mad, to be no better than a parcel of wild fanatics. Who in their right senses could carry on religious worship in such a manner?”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 14:23-25
if the whole church comes together: If everyone speaks in tongues, a visiting outsider will say the church is out of its mind. Under prophecy the same outsider is convicted, the secrets of his heart made known, and he falls facedown and worships God.
1 Corinthians 14:23
“Yet - Sometimes prophecy is of more use, even to unbelievers, than speaking with tongues. For instance: If the whole church be met together - On some extraordinary occasion. It is probable, in so large a city, they ordinarily met in several places.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:23
“Be come together into one place - For public worship. And all speak with tongues - All speak with a variety of unknown tongues; all speak foreign languages. The idea is, that the church would usually speak the same language with the people among whom they dwelt; and if they made use of foreign languages which were unintelligible to their visitors, it would leave the impression that the church was a bedlam. And there come in - those that are “unlearned.” Those that are unacquainted with foreign languages, and to whom, therefore, what was said would be unintelligible.”
he will be convicted and called to account by all: Convicted translates elenchetai, the verb Jesus uses in John 16:8 for the Spirit convicting the world of sin. Called to account is anakrinetai, a legal word for examining a case. Each prophet in turn searches the visitor's conscience.
1 Corinthians 14:24
“But if all prophecy,.... That is, all that speak publicly in the church, not together, but in their order, one after another, as is hereafter directed: and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned; an unbeliever that has only the knowledge of his mother tongue, in which prophesying or preaching is used: he is convinced of all, he is judged of all; of all the prophets or preachers; they all reprove him, and detect his secret, as the Arabic version renders the words; and to the same purport the Ethiopic.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:24
“Note, Religious exercises in Christian assemblies should be such as are fit to edify the faithful, and convince, affect, and convert unbelievers. The ministry was not instituted to make ostentation of gifts and parts, but to save souls.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the secrets of his heart will be made known: Prophecy makes the secrets of the heart known, the way Jesus told the Samaritan woman her own story in John 4. Falling facedown was the posture of worship before God. Matthew Henry sees here plain preaching doing its work on an unbeliever's conscience.
1 Corinthians 14:25
“Let Marcion then exhibit, as gifts of his god, some prophets, such as have not spoken by human sense, but with the Spirit of God, such as have both predicted things to come, and have made manifest the secrets of the heart; let him produce a psalm, a vision, a prayer -only let it be by the Spirit, in an ecstasy, that is, in a rapture, whenever an interpretation of tongues has occurred to him; let him show to me also, that any woman of boastful tongue in his community has ever prophesied from amongst those specially holy sisters of…”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
3 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:25
“And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest - Made manifest to himself in a surprising and remarkable manner. He shall be led to see the “real” designs and motives of his heart. His conscience would be awakened; he would recall his former course of life; he would see that it was evil; and the present state of his heart would be made known to himself. It is possible that he would “suppose that the speaker was aiming directly at him, and “revealing” his feelings to others; for such an effect is often produced.”
1 Corinthians 14:25
“The secrets of his heart are made manifest - Laid open, clearly described; in a manner which to him is most astonishing and utterly unaccountable. How many instances of it are seen at this day!”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Corinthians 14:25
“Rather, as the Greek is, "He will worship God, announcing," that is, openly avowing then and there, "that God is in you of a truth," and by implication that the God who is in you is of a truth the God.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Two or Three, in Turn, With an Interpreter
What then shall we say, brothers?: Each worshiper brings a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation, gifts competing for the floor. The closing rule, that all must build up the church, governs the rest of the chapter as one test for every gift.
1 Corinthians 14:26
“How is it - every one of you hath a psalm, etc. - Dr. Lightfoot understands this in the following manner: When the congregation came together, some were for spending the time in psalmody; others in explaining particular doctrines; others in reading, praying, or speaking in the Hebrew tongue; others were curious to hear of farther revelations; and others wished to spend the time in the interpretation of what had already been spoken. This may be specious, but to me it is not satisfactory.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:26
“Everyone hath a psalm - That is, at the same time one begins to sing a psalm; another to deliver a doctrine; another to speak in an unknown tongue; another to declare what has been revealed to him; another to interpret what the former is speaking; every one probably gathering a little company about him, just as they did in the schools of the philosophers.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Corinthians 14:27-28
If anyone speaks in a tongue: Tongues in one meeting are limited to two, or at most three, in turn, with someone to interpret. With no interpreter the speaker keeps silent in church and speaks to himself and God, the gift redirected to private prayer.
1 Corinthians 14:27
“If any man speak in an unknown tongue,.... He begins with the gift of tongues, with speaking in an unknown tongue, as the Hebrew language, because this they were desirous of: and the rule for this he would have observed is, let it be by two, or at most by three, and that by course.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:27
“Let it be by two, or at the most by three - That is, two, or at most three in one day, or in one meeting. So Grotius, Rosenmuller, Doddridge, Bloomfield, and Locke, understand it. It is probable that many were endowed with the gift of tongues; and it is certain that they were disposed to exercise the gift even when it could be of no real advantage, and when it was done only for ostentation.”
if there is no interpreter: The rule assumes the speaker can hold the gift back until he knows an interpreter is present. Tongues come under the will of the one who speaks. Speaking to himself and God means quiet prayer with no audience.
1 Corinthians 14:28
“But if there be no interpreter - If there be none present who can give the proper sense of this Hebrew reading and speaking, then let him keep silence, and not occupy the time of the Church, by speaking in a language which only himself can understand.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Corinthians 14:29-31
Two or three prophets should speak: Prophecy has the same limit and a further check: the others weigh what is said, the testing of spirits from 12:10 put into practice. A prophet interrupted by a fresh revelation stops, ranking order above the urgency of a new word.
1 Corinthians 14:29
“Let the prophets - See the note at 1Co 14:1. Speak two or three - On the same days, or at the same meeting; see the note at 1Co 14:27. And let the other judge - The word “other” (οἱ ἄλλοι hoi alloi, “the others”), Bloomfield supposes refers to the other prophets; and that the meaning is, that they should decide whether what was said was dictated by the Holy Spirit, or not.”
if a revelation comes to someone who is seated: Revelation here means a message God discloses suddenly to a prophet seated among the listeners. The first speaker stops and yields, and no prophet holds the floor by right. Two prophets speaking at once help no one.
1 Corinthians 14:30
“Be revealed to another that sitteth by - Probably those who were teachers sat on a particular seat, or place, from which they might most readily address the people; and this may be the meaning of sitting by. If such a person could say, I have just received a particular revelation from God, then let him have the liberty immediately to speak it; as it might possibly relate to the circumstances of that time and place.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:30
“Indeed, it is by many understood that the former speaker should immediately hold his peace. But this seems unnatural, and not so well to agree with the context. For why must one that was speaking by inspiration be immediately silent upon another man's being inspired, and suppress what was dictated to him by the same Spirit?”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 14:30
“If any thing--Translate, "But if any thing." another that sitteth by--a hearer. let the first hold his peace--Let him who heretofore spoke, and who came to the assembly furnished with a previous ordinary (in those times) revelation from God (1Co 14:26), give place to him who at the assembly is moved to prophesy by a sudden revelation from the Spirit.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
you can all prophesy in turn: Hodge limits all here to those who had the gift of prophecy, each taking a turn. The purpose clause widens the benefit to the whole church. Everyone present learns, and everyone is strengthened.
1 Corinthians 14:31
“For ye may all prophesy one by one,.... Not every member of the church, but everyone that had the gift of prophecy; so that they were not confined to two or three prophets at a meeting, but as many as would, or as had anything to deliver, and as time would allow; only care must be taken that confusion be avoided, and order preserved by exercising in turns one after another.”
1 Corinthians 14:32-33
The spirits of prophets are: subject to prophets, so a genuine gift leaves its holder in self-control, where compulsion marked the pagan oracle. Verse 33 grounds this order in God's own character and in the practice of all the churches.
1 Corinthians 14:32
“And the spirits of the prophets, etc. - Let no one interrupt another; and let all be ready to prefer others before themselves; and let each feel a spirit of subjection to his brethren. God grants no ungovernable gifts.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:32
“Evil spirits threw their prophets into such ungovernable ecstasies, as forced them to speak and act like madmen. But the Spirit of God left his prophets the clear use of their judgment, when, and how long, it was fit for them to speak, and never hurried them into any improprieties either as to the matter, manner, or time of their speaking.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
For God is not a God of disorder: Disorder translates akatastasia, the word James 3:16 uses for the turmoil that comes with selfish ambition. Translations divide over the last phrase, which the Berean joins to verse 33 and several others join to the rule of verse 34. Order in worship reflects God's peace.
1 Corinthians 14:33
“God is not the author of confusion - Margin, “Tumult,” or “unquietness.” His religion cannot tend to produce disorder. He is the God of peace; and his religion will tend to promote order. It is calm, peaceful, thoughtful. It is not boisterous and disorderly. As in all churches of the saints - As was everywhere apparent in the churches. Paul here appeals to them, and says that this was the fact wherever the true religion was spread, that it tended to produce peace and order. This is as true now as it was then.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:33
“To do otherwise was to destroy the end of a Christians ministry, and all assemblies for Christian worship. Note, Manifest indecencies and disorders are to be carefully kept out of all Christian churches, and every part of divine worship.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 14:33
In all the churches of the saints God is a God of peace; let Him not among you be supposed to be a God of confusion [ALFORD]. Compare the same argument in 1Co 11:16. LACHMANN and others put a full stop at "peace," and connect the following words thus: "As in all churches of the saints, let your women keep silence in your churches."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Let Everything Be Done Decently and in Order
1 Corinthians 14:34-35
Women are to be silent: The command that women be silent stands in a chapter about order, and 11:5 assumes women praying and prophesying in the gathered church. Verse 35, asking their husbands at home, fits married women interrupting the weighing of prophecy in verses 29 to 33.
1 Corinthians 14:34
“Let your women be silent in the churches - Unless they are under an extraordinary impulse of the Spirit. For, in other cases, it is not permitted them to speak - By way of teaching in public assemblies. But to be in subjection - To the man whose proper office it is to lead and to instruct the congregation.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:34
That a woman ought to be silent in the church. In the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Let women be silent in the church. But if any wish to learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home." Also to Timothy: "Let a woman learn with silence, in all subjection. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to be set over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve; and Adam was not seduced, but the woman was seduced."
Cyprian · written before 258 · Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jewspatristic
1 Corinthians 14:34
“Let your women keep silence in the churches - This was a Jewish ordinance; women were not permitted to teach in the assemblies, or even to ask questions. The rabbins taught that “a woman should know nothing but the use of her distaff.” And the sayings of Rabbi Eliezer, as delivered, Bammidbar Rabba, sec. 9, fol.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
If they wish to inquire about something: The instruction to ask husbands at home concerns women who wish to inquire during worship. Hodge and Barnes read verses 34 and 35 as a standing rule, and Clarke applies them to questioning and debate during worship.
1 Corinthians 14:35
“Anticipation of an objection. Women may say, "But if we do not understand something, may we not 'ask' a question publicly so as to 'learn'? Nay, replies Paul, if you want information, 'ask' not in public, but 'at home'; ask not other men, but 'your own particular (so the Greek) husbands.'" shame--indecorous.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:35
“And if they will learn anything - If anything has been spoken which they do not understand; or if on any particular subject they desire more full information, let them inquire of their husbands in their own dwelling. They may there converse freely; and their inquiries will not be attended with the irregularity and disorder which would occur should they interrupt the order and solemnity of public worship. For it is a shame - It is disreputable and shameful; it is a breach of propriety.”
Did the word of God originate: Two sharp questions, whether the word of God originated with them or reached only them, address the whole congregation's self-importance. Corinth was neither the gospel's source nor its only recipient, so its customs answer to a wider church, as at 11:16.
1 Corinthians 14:36
“Came the word of God out from you? - Was it from you that other Churches received the Gospel? Are you the mother Church? that you should have rules, and orders, and customs, different from all others; and set yourselves up for a model to be copied by all the Churches of Christ? Or came it unto you only? - Are you the only Church of God? Are there not many others founded before you that have no such customs, and permit no such disorders?”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:36
“Did Christianity come our of Corinth? was its original among you? Or, if not, is it now limited and confined to you? are you the only church favoured with divine revelations, that you will depart from the decent usages of all other churches, and, to make ostentation of your spiritual gifts, bring confusion into Christian assemblies?”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 14:37-38
If anyone considers himself a prophet: Paul closes with apostolic authority: anyone who considers himself a prophet or spiritual must acknowledge that his writing is the Lord's command. The claim answers any Corinthian tempted to set personal revelation above the apostle's instruction.
1 Corinthians 14:37
“If any man think himself to be a prophet - See the note at 1Co 14:1. If any man claim to be divinely endowed. Macknight renders it, “be really a prophet.” But the more correct meaning here is, doubtless, “If any man “profess” to be a prophet; or is “reputed” to be a prophet.” Bloomfield. The proper meaning of the word δοκέω dokeō is to seem to oneself; to be of opinion, to suppose, believe, etc.; and the reference here is to one who should “regard himself,” or who should believe and profess to be thus endowed.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:37
“The followers of Apollos prided themselves as "spiritual" (1Co 3:1-3; compare Ga 6:1). Here one capable of discerning spirits is specially meant. things that I write . . . commandments of the Lord--a direct assertion of inspiration. Paul's words as an apostle are Christ's words.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
But if anyone ignores this: Greek copies differ by one letter here. Some read a command that leaves the one who ignores this in his ignorance, and others read that he will be ignored, the Berean wording.
1 Corinthians 14:38
“But if any man be ignorant - If he affect to be so, or pretend that he is ignorant; let him be ignorant - let him be so at his peril.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Corinthians 14:39-40
So, my brothers, be eager: The closing command holds both gifts in one sentence: be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. Verse 40 gives the rule governing every instruction since verse 26, a proper and orderly manner, euschemonos kai kata taxin.
everything must be done in a proper and orderly manner: Proper translates euschemonos, the opposite of the rude conduct love refuses in 13:5. Orderly is kata taxin, a phrase used of soldiers in their ranks and of priests who served in turn, as Zechariah did in Luke 1:8. Everything in worship has its order.
1 Corinthians 14:40
“Let all things be done decently - Ευσχημονως· In their proper forms; with becoming reverence; according to their dignity and importance, Every thing in the Church of God should be conducted with gravity and composure, suitable to the importance of the things, the infinite dignity of the object of worship, and the necessity of the souls in behalf of which those religious ordinances are instituted. And in order - Κατα ταξιν· Every thing in its place, every thing in its time, and every thing suitably.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 14:40
“Paul is referring to the decent and well-ordered way of life in the society of the faithful, where the relationship which obtains among the members of the body is maintained.”
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · The Long Rules 24patristic
How this psalm is built
The form: The third part of Paul's answer on spiritual gifts: prophecy preferred to tongues for the building up of the church (verses 1 to 25), then rules for order in the assembly (verses 26 to 40), as Hodge classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Building up | The Berean text carries edify, edification or build up seven times, at verses 3, 4 (twice), 5, 12, 17 and 26. Every rule in the chapter is measured by it, so the gift that builds up the church is set above the gift that builds up the speaker alone.The chapter's text counted from the store, The Berean Standard Bible text of 1 Corinthians 14 (translation id 3). | 1 Corinthians 14:3, 1 Corinthians 14:12, 1 Corinthians 14:26 |
| Flute, harp and trumpet | Verses 7 to 11 argue from sounds a Corinthian heard every day. A tune needs distinct notes, a trumpet call must be clear for soldiers to prepare, and a foreign language makes speaker and hearer strangers to each other.Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 1 Corinthians 14:7 to 11. | 1 Corinthians 14:7, 1 Corinthians 14:8, 1 Corinthians 14:11 |
| Two or three, in turn | Verses 27 to 31 give the same shape of rule to tongues and to prophecy: two or three speakers, one at a time, and a check on each, interpretation for tongues and weighing for prophecy. Verse 40 gathers them into one rule of order.Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, on 1 Corinthians 14:27 to 31. | 1 Corinthians 14:27, 1 Corinthians 14:29, 1 Corinthians 14:40 |
The debated reading: the silence of women
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verses 34 and 35 say that women are to be silent in the churches, and 11:5 has already spoken of a woman who prays or prophesies. Charles Hodge reads chapter 14 as forbidding women to speak publicly in the assembly, and he holds that 11:5 only corrects the manner of an act it does not approve (An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, on 1 Corinthians 14:34). John Calvin reads the rule as one of order and decorum in the assembly, tied to the custom of the time (Commentary on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, on 1 Corinthians 14:34). Other readers limit it to the weighing of prophecy in verse 29 or to disruptive questions, which verse 35 names.
Where verses 34 and 35 stand
A group of Western Greek and Latin copies places verses 34 and 35 after verse 40. The copies and the reasons for each placement are set out in Bruce Metzger's A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, on 1 Corinthians 14:34 to 35. Every known copy carries the two verses somewhere in the chapter.
The debated reading: tongues as a sign
Verse 22 calls tongues a sign for unbelievers, and verses 23 to 25 show unbelievers put off by tongues and won by prophecy. Charles Hodge reads the sign from Isaiah as one of judgment on those who refuse to hear (An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, on 1 Corinthians 14:22).
What the chapter hands forward
Verse 40 closes the answer on gifts that began at 12:1. Chapter 15 turns to a new subject, the gospel and the resurrection of the dead.
Keep studying
Studies11
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, on 1 Corinthians 14:1 and 14:26 and Frederic Godet, Commentary on First Corinthians, on 1 Corinthians 14:1.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Frederic Godet, Commentary on First Corinthians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.