Sermon Tone Analysis

*1 Corinthians 14:1-4…* Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.

3 But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.

4 One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church.

*Commentary*

            In chapter 12 Paul listed some of the spiritual gifts.

In chapter 13 he said that all gifts were worthless without love.

So, to use the gifts of prophecy and tongues but have no love for those being ministered to would have been nothing more than an “annoying gong or clanging cymbal.”

The spiritual gifts are given by God to His children so that they can minister to each other.

Anytime they are used to bring glory to oneself they are abused and become worthless.

In 12:31 Paul may have condemned the Corinthians for seeking after the /charismata/ – the showy gifts like tongues & miracles, because they brought them the attention they so desired.

So, after correcting them and showing them the way of love in chapter 13, he now commands them in 14:1 to “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.”

The “spiritual” is in opposition to the fleshly desires they had in seeking praise for themselves.

To “earnestly desire” means to “set one’s heart on.”

They were to set their hearts on the “spiritual” as opposed to the flesh; things that truly matter as opposed to worldly pursuits like speaking in tongues for the purpose of being noticed.

The pursuit of selfish things is detrimental (v.

2).

Those speaking gibberish were not speaking to men because no one understood them.

When Paul says that they were speaking to God, however, he didn’t mean that their ecstatic utterances were some sort of prayer language.

“God” has no definite article (i.e.

“the”) in front of it in the Greek text, and it’s possible to translate it as “god” – a pagan god.

Keep in mind that Paul is sarcastically lecturing this group who had been duped by the pagan practice of tongue-speaking in order to converse with the gods spirit-to-spirit through communication that transcended the mind and normal comprehension.

A rough paraphrase might say, “God only knows what they’re saying; no one else does!”

Also, it’s important to note that “tongue” in vv. 2 & 4 is singular, while it is plural in vv.

5-6, 18, 22-23, 39.

The singular form might reference the gibberish while the plural form appears to reference the true gift.

Pagan gibberish has only one form, while the factual gift includes all true dialects.

The “tongues” were given as a sign to unbelieving Israel and to the Gentiles.

They validated the apostolic message and showed Israel that God had rejected her.

Those that spoke in this pagan “tongue” (singular) spoke “mysteries” in their spirit.

They spoke to themselves without grasping.

Verse 3, “But the one who prophesies speaks to men…” contrasts the pagan tongue-speaking, which no one understood, with the one who prophesies.

Prophecy “edifies, exhorts, and consoles.”

To edify is to “build up”; to exhort is to “move to action”; to console is to “comfort – to give relief to.”

All three benefit others, while speaking in a tongue helps no one.

It only edifies the person making gibberish.

In contrast, those who prophesy are selfless.

*Food for Thought*

            Pretty much everything we want, desire, and pursue is selfish.

From our children’s success to our own we seek what makes us look good.

Pray today for a drastic change in your mindset.

Pray for an earnest desire for spiritual matters.

Instead of praying for your child’s popularity pray for his~/her salvation.

Instead of desiring more money and~/or greater prestige at work pray instead for a life that leads others to Jesus Christ.

Forget the flesh and the material wealth and pursue the spiritual.

After all, the flesh dies, but the spirit lives forever.

*1 Corinthians 14:5-6…* Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.

6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what shall I profit you, unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching?

*Commentary*

            The gift of tongues was given as a sign to actually provoke Israel and show them that God had not only rejected them for their rejection of Him (as seen in the fact that every time they were used in the Book of Acts Jews were present), but also to give the Gentiles a confirming sign that the message of the apostles and prophets was genuine.

They were a sign of God’s work designed to unite all believers under Jesus Christ.

To believe that these tongues were mere ecstatic utterances serves only to introduce confusion.

Paul has already made the statement that not all believers speak in tongues (12:7-10; 30).

It’s simply not a gift for everyone, but one that is a small part of the whole body.

So, in v. 5 when he wishes that “all spoke in tongues” he’s being straightforward in his teaching that tongues are not to be looked down upon, for they are a true manifestation of the Spirit in a believer’s life.

He’s basically saying that if the Holy Spirit chose to give the gift of tongues to all believers, then he’d be thrilled, but he knows this isn’t the case.

Whatever Paul may have wished about tongues what he really wanted was for all believers in Corinth to prophesy.

Now he doesn’t necessarily want them all to have the “gift” of prophecy but that they all preach.

Those with that gift received God’s revelation and spoke it effectively to believers, but one does not have to have the gift to perform the work of prophecy which is nothing more than preaching God’s truth.

The first century gift was receiving God’s revelation while the post-apostolic gift concerns teaching the /written/ revelation as found in the Bible.

Keep in mind that church-goers in that day did not have New Testament Bibles.

Most didn’t even have copies of OT scripture.

So Paul’s strongest desire was for believers to proclaim God’s truth as given to the apostles and prophets.

Why? Simply because speaking God’s revealed Word builds up the church – it builds the believers in Christ.

Those that spoke in tongues benefited the church only if they interpreted what they said – which translates to prophecy, the greater gift.

Paul’s primary concern was that “the church may receive edification.”

In v. 6 the apostle makes a summary statement about tongues.

He asks, “What does it profit you if I come speaking in languages you don’t understand?”

Rather, he is more concerned with building the church up – the very reason he wrote to that church in the first place.

They were filled with problems and immorality, and he wrote to correct that.

God’s revelation, His knowledge, His prophecies given to man, and man’s teaching about God’s revelation spoken in a clear and understandable dialect is of utmost importance.

While the Corinthians were bent on edifying themselves, Paul reminds them that God’s truth, clearly spoken, is what really matters.

*Food for Thought*

            The church today is filled with people seeking their own glory.

Some are subtle; some not so subtle.

Those who interrupt church gatherings with ecstatic utterances have one goal: to call attention to the themselves.

Those that feel their language is a prayer language, who themselves have no understanding of what they’re saying, are in danger of blaspheming Christ without even knowing it.

Let us speak in languages that all can understand and benefit from.

Let us also pray like Jesus did in his high priestly prayer in John 17 – pouring out our hearts in simple, clear, and humble language without meaningless repetition.

That formula builds us, and it helps others.

*1 Corinthians 14:9-12…* So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken?

For you will be speaking into the air.

10 There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning.

11 If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me. 12 So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.

* *

*Commentary*

            Lifeless things like musical instruments produce various sounds, and Paul makes this analogy in vv.

7-8.

The flute and harp, for instance, make sounds and have clear distinctions in their tones.

If played accordingly they produce a beautiful tune.

But if instruments are played with repeated notes over and over no tune is heard – only a monotonous noise.

If the bugle – used to gather troops for battle in ancient Greece and Israel (a ram’s horn) – failed to make its very distinct noise, the armies it was meant to rally together would remain idle, and the battle would be lost.

With all of this in mind, v. 9 sums up the matter concerning tongues.

For if one comes speaking in languages that no one understands they are little more than a musical instrument in the hands of a child making annoying noises.

No one knows what they’re saying – they are “speaking into the air.”

This ties in with v. 2 which is often misinterpreted as promoting tongues as a prayer language (“For the one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God”).

But v. 9 clearly puts indecipherable language in the same category as worthless noise from a bugle.

Since man can’t decipher what counterfeit tongue-speakers are saying, then truly God only knows what they’re saying.

They’re speaking into thin air believing they’re praying.

Verse 10 clarifies that there are many different languages, “and no kind is without meaning.”

This means that the gift of tongues is the ability to speak in foreign languages previously unlearned by the speaker.

This is in contrast to the ecstatic utterances the Corinthians (and many modern-day charismatics) were speaking so as to draw attention to themselves.

The true gift can be interpreted because it’s a real dialect.

The counterfeit “gift” can say anything the interpreter (often the speaker) wants it to say because he~/she is making it up.