Episode 212 - "Use your gift to edify others" - 1 Corinthians 14:6-19

1Cor. 14:6 Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, 11 but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

1Cor. 14:13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Growing up outside a small farming community in central Illinois, there was very little cultural diversity, and most of the time, there weren’t any people whose native language was other than English. I remember a guidance counselor telling me that I needed to take a foreign language for college. I took a semester of French as it was the only language offered at the time. However, I did poorly at it because I could see no value in investing my time and energy.

When I moved to Chicago after high school, many of the first people I met were from other countries. I was surrounded by different languages and accents that I did not understand, and suddenly, the world got bigger. I love meeting people from different places and cultures with different languages. I spent a whole day once with a friend from Venezuela who couldn’t speak much more English than I could in Spanish. We figured things out, but only with a lot of effort and picture drawing. Over 40 years after moving away from that farm community, I am often around people who are from different parts of the world and speak different languages. I rarely notice accents anymore. But communication remains difficult if the people involved do not understand the languages being spoken.

I believe that the spiritual gift of tongues is the divinely enabled ability to communicate in the languages of people in the world and not some mysterious babbling. I realize that some people would disagree with this, and I cannot prove it absolutely. However, when the Holy Spirit filled the apostles on the day of Pentecost, they spoke in languages native to the people who had come from different parts of the known world to celebrate the feast. (See Acts 2:6-13) The people realized the apostles were Galileans and yet spoke in the language of their part of the world. Many recognized the apostles were people who would most likely have not traveled the world learning the languages they spoke. Peter explained that what was happening was a fulfillment of prophecy. (Acts 2:14-41) The point was that the Holy Spirit enabled the prophets at that time to communicate the good news of Jesus to the known world.

In the text from 1 Corinthians 14, it seems from Paul’s rhetorical questions that the principle Paul is trying to get across is the same. God’s gift of tongues is not to confuse people. God’s intent in manifesting this gift is to clearly communicate his good news to the world. It may be, in some cases, that unbelievers would realize that God was doing something special and respond in faith, or it may be that other believers would be strengthened in their faith through this supernatural enabling to communicate truth to them.

Paul is telling the Corinthians that he’s glad they desire the gifts. But he explains that it’s critical they are used for the right purpose and motivation. Paul says they need to “strive to excel in building up the church.” (v. 12b)

Paul continues by telling them that the one who speaks in a tongue should “pray that he should interpret.” (v. 15) This would be important if no one else understood what the Spirit was saying through the believer. It’s pointless if the message is not understandable.

The last verse of this section really drives home the point. Paul says he is able to speak more in tongues than everyone at Corinth. However, he says that he’d rather speak five intelligible words than ten thousand words in a tongue. (v. 19)

What are we to get from this? Namely, in whatever the Lord enables you to minister, your priority needs to be to communicate God’s truth and to build up others in the body of Christ.