1 Corinthians 14:32
in 1 Corinthians 14The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets;
KJV
And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
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This verse in 1 Corinthians 14
Commentary
13 notes on this verseAnd 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.
This site's exposition
The spirits of prophets are
on 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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
If the gift is subject to the prophets, how can it not also be subject to you, so that you may keep quiet when you are meant to?
The Spirit is said to be subject so that he may facilitate the good efforts which he prompts.
Walk in them, and exhort your hearers that their repentance may be pure during the remainder of their life. Fulfil carefully this ministry which I now entrust to you, and you will accomplish much.
"And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets." Seest thou how he put him to shame earnestly and fearfully? For that the man might not strive nor be factious, he signifies that the gift itself was under subjection. For by "spirit" here, he means its actual working. But if the spirit be subject, much more thou its possessor canst not justly be contentious.
To be sure, an amender of that Gospel, which had been all topsy-turvy from the days of Tiberius to those of Antoninus, first presented himself in Marcion alone-so long looked for by Christ, who was all along regretting that he had been in so great a hurry to send out his apostles without the support of Marcion!
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
And this is as a consolation to him who was commanded to be silent. These words have the following meaning: do not object, do not resist. For the Spirit Himself, that is, the gift that is in you, and the operation of the Spirit that …
If any should say: O Apostle, I cannot be silent while another prophesies or yield to one sitting from the time he began, because I cannot hold back the Spirit Who speaks in me, as it says in Jb (4:2): "Who can keep from speaking"? …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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.
And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
He forbids women speaking in the church; and closes this subject by requiring them to perform every thing in the public worship with order and decency,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the spirits of the prophets - See in 1Co 14:1 for the meaning of the word prophets. The evident meaning of this is, that they were able to control their inclination to speak; they were not under a necessity of speaking, even though they might be inspired. There was no need of disorder. This verse gives confirmation to the supposition, that the extraordinary endowments of the Holy Spirit were subjected to substantially the same laws as a man’s natural endowments. They were conferred by the Holy Spirit; but they were conferred on free agents, and did not interfere with their free agency. And as a man, though of the most splendid talents and commanding eloquence, has “control” over his own mind, and is not “compelled” to speak, so it was with those who are here called prophets. The immediate reference of the passage is to those who are called “prophets” in the New Testament: and the interpretation should be confined to them. It is not improbable, however, that the same thing was true of the prophets of the Old Testament; and that it is really true as a general declaration of all the prophets whom God has inspired, that they had control over their own minds, and could speak or be silent at pleasure. In this the spirit of true inspiration differed essentially from the views of the pagan, who regarded themselves as driven on by a wild, controlling influence, that compelled them to speak even when they were unconscious of what they said. Universally, in the pagan world, the priests and priestesses supposed or feigned that they were under an influence which was incontrollable; which took away their powers of self-command, and which made them the mere organs or unconscious instruments of communicating the will of the gods. The Scripture account of inspiration is, however, a very different thing. […]
The words behind it
5 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| πνεύματα | pneumata | spirits | G4151 → | 378 times |
| προφητῶν | propheton | of prophets | G4396 → | 144 times |
| προφήταις | prophetais | to prophets | G4396 → | 144 times |
| ὑποτάσσεται· | hupotassetai | are subject; | G5293 → | 38 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
πνεύματαspirits
pneumataG4151 →378 times
προφητῶνof prophets
prophetonG4396 →144 times
προφήταιςto prophets
prophetaisG4396 →144 times
ὑποτάσσεται·are subject;
hupotassetaiG5293 →38 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 John 4:1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21
but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.
- 2 Peter 2:1
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on…
- 1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- Proverbs 14:15
The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.
- 2 John 1:7
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Through
2 Kings 2:5Then the sons of the prophets at Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 2:3
Then the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do…
- Acts 1:2
until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.
- Habakkuk 2:20
But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
- 2 Kings 2:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About 1 Corinthians

This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 36; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH; Shepherd of Hermas, Shepherd of Hermas, Commandment 12; Tertullian, Against Marcion Book IV; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.
