8. Every preacher or evangelist is commanded to "Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching" (1 Timothy 4:2). Can it be supposed that the Holy Spirit which led Paul to hide his gift and never use it publicly - can we suppose that the same Holy Spirit was moving in those Corinthians? This was Paul's sarcastic denunciation of the pretensions of the Corinthians, having the impact of "Surely, you people could not believe that you are some kind of Mother Church!". 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. This was Paul's refusal to speak in tongues in the Christian assembly at Corinth; and it is safe to assume that he never did so anywhere else. That he may interpret ... Again, no certainty that any interpreters existed at Corinth appears here. VI, p. 273. This indeed posed a delicate problem. What Paul said here is applicable to both varieties of tongues, both kinds being forbidden in public worship, the true kind because it was not interpreted and had no business in the public worship to start with, and the false kind because it was nothing but pure nonsense anyway. There were not to be over three on any one occasion; two may not speak at once; and if one prophet was interrupted by another, that was the end of the first prophet's message! 1 Corinthians 14:39,40 An exhortation … He that speaketh in a tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. 1 Corinthians 4:14-17 New King James Version (NKJV) Paul’s Paternal Care. Thus Pat gets it from Shirley, Tom gets it from Mabel, etc., just like Adam took the forbidden fruit from the hands of Eve. 1Cr 14:1-5. Here are a few of the questions I have received over the years and the answers I attempted to provide. They can never be benefitted by such teaching. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. Verse 14. A truly Christian minister will seek much more to do spiritual good to men's souls, than to get the greatest applause to himself. This mingling of the true (even though perverted as to purpose and use) tongues with the false is evidently the reason for Paul's tenderness in dealing with this sin. for ye will be speaking into the air. However, there is another force operative in the tongue-speakings of post-apostolic times, and that is satanic instigation. From these passages from both testaments, it is clear that the total exclusion of women from any public speaking did not occur, nor was the action of such women construed as "usurping authority" over a man. We have already noted that Paul never used the gift in the presence of others, or in church assemblies. What cannot be understood, never can edify. [13] Henry H. Halley, Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1927), p. 549. I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. It is the conviction here that the genuine gift to the Corinthians was precisely that, a demonstration of tongues for personal edification, not in the sense of learning anything, but as proof that he who had it enjoyed possession of the Holy Spirit. This is proving himself the servant of Christ. Even prior to that, Eve was designated as a "help" suitable for man (Genesis 2:18). Follow after love; yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. Or of teaching ... refers to ordinary teaching of what was learned from others, orally or through study of their writings. There is no rule, however, that this must always be done. In a word, these four verses lay down practically the same rules for the prophets as those applying to those having the tongues (of either kind). [14] Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church (New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1947), p. 6. What shall I profit you ... means "I shall not profit you in any manner at all," if I come to you speaking in tongues. It is a proof that a people are forsaken of God, when he gives them up to the rule of those who teach them to worship in another language. (b) The apostle Peter, on Pentecost, cited the Old Testament Scriptures which prophesied that in the times of the new covenant, "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (Acts 2:17). There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and no kind is without signification. Tongues in a church are not a sign of God's blessing at all, any more than the foreign tongue of the invader was a blessing of God in Jerusalem, but just the opposite! As McGarvey said, "To understand the passage we should know the ignorance, garrulity and degradation of Oriental women. Certainly, he didn't do it in church assemblies. Even things without life, giving a voice, whether pipe or harp, if they give not a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? Rules like these carry the strong implication that some at Corinth had claimed otherwise. Note the following: (a) And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel ... which departed not from the temple ... and spake of him (Christ) to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38). Let your women, &c. — The last clause of the preceding verse is by some critics, and among the rest Bishop Pearce, joined with this, so as to make this sense; as in all the churches of the saints, let your women keep silence in the churches, namely, of Achaia. The teacher of the word of God is the true hero, not the tongue-speaker. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient. (c) So Hilkiah the priest ... went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum ... and they communed with her (2 Kings 22:14). Graham was correct about the "counterfeit" aspect of it. All Christians of all ages should heed this verse. It was the teaching phase Paul stressed here, indicating that teaching was a much more desirable activity than tongue-speaking. What then was the apostle's purpose in bringing up the fact that he himself spoke in tongues? Read 1 Corinthians 14 commentary using John Gill's Exposition of the Bible. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other … Churches presuming to appoint deaconesses do so without Scriptural authority, and without any guidelines as to the needful qualifications. Certainly, the lack of authentic interpretation in the present times raises the most serious questions and goes far to prove the invalid nature of that which passes for tongue-speaking today. Since we today are dealing with a far different situation, it is proper to speak much more plainly of those bastard tongues at Corinth. Prophesying, that is, explaining Scripture, is compared with speaking with tongues... View the entire commentary. Tongues in a church? There seems to be a contradiction between 1 Corinthians 14:22 and 1 Corinthians 14:23-25. ii. Paul encountered some of these "barbarians" on his mission tours, namely, at Malta and at Lycaonia (Acts 14:11); and significantly Paul did not understand the dialect of the Lycaonians, this being another reason to suppose that Paul's gift of tongues did not include the gift of speaking in languages he had never learned, but was rather for private encouragement. The first of these reasons, of course, is the greater, the other having been removed by the customs of subsequent ages. 14 1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. The essential thing to see is the close likeness in appearance of the two kinds of tongues; and this is paramount as an indication that the true tongues of Corinth were unlike those of Pentecost. Certainly the fact is plain enough that there was a POSSIBILITY of no such interpreter being present; and therefore Paul gave the order that if none indeed was present, tongues were not to be used under any circumstances (1 Corinthians 14:28-28). Phoebe (Romans 16:1) was not a deacon in any official sense. In a sense, these next few verses counterbalance what he said in 1 Corinthians 1:18 to 1 Corinthians 2:5. And if they would learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is shameful for a woman to speak in the church. For he that speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God; for no man understandeth; but in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. What then was the force of the rule under the old covenant? Study the bible online using commentary on 1 Corinthians 14 and more! references to encouragement and consolation (1 Cor 14:3, 31) and the scene describing the ideal exercise of prophecy (1 Cor 14:24–25). This command comes right in the middle of an extensive treatise on tongue-speaking; and to blow this up to a universal law that no woman might open her mouth in a church service is simply contrary to all reason. His speaking in tongues was genuine, a true gift, to edify himself; the "gifts" he was correcting were (1) either the misused genuine gifts, or (2) the affectations of the tongue counterfeiters; well, actually both of these were condemned. The quotation of these verses in the sense of people singing and praying in the public services "with the spirit and the understanding" is based upon an incorrect discernment of their meaning. What about the woman whose husband is an ignoramus, an unbeliever, or an open enemy of God and all religion; should she comply with this rule? They are a sign of judgment, as the unknown tongues of the Assyrians were in Isaiah’s day. Certainly not! This was a simple rule; and if this was observed, every thing would be done well. There cannot be any doubt that formalism, which is the current religious style, and which certainly corrected the shameful disorders like those at Corinth, has nevertheless left many a congregation in a state of abiosis. 1 Corinthians 14:23-25 but in the assemblies of the church prophecy is more useful. God never teaches men to neglect their duties, or to act in any way unbecoming their age or station. George W. DeHoff, a current church leader and a scholar of great discernment, vigorously supported McGarvey's position on this question, saying: Some things, however, are forbidden to women in the Christian religion. An analysis of the above apostolic rules on tongue-speaking will emphasize the importance of the inspired interpreter, the gift of interpretation itself being one of the miraculous gifts; and Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 14:28 that, "If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church," still leaves the possibility that there were not any in Corinth who had that gift. Significantly, even in these times of the alleged reappearance of this gift, it is almost invariably the women who catch on to it first, and later their husbands. For the prime example of this, see under Mark 16:18 in the Gospel of Mark, and comment in my Commentary on Mark, pp. New International Version (NIV) Prophesying, that is, explaining Scripture, is compared with speaking with tongues. This answers to "if all speak with tongues" in the preceding verse; but what is meant in both cases is a reference to "all who participate publicly," instead of being an affirmation that all were speaking at one time. First 30-days on us! The apostle, in the foregoing chapter, had himself preferred, and advised the Corinthians to prefer, Christian charity to all spiritual gifts. Greater is the teacher than the tongue-speaker. "[10] All of Paul's tongue-speaking was apparently done in private devotions. Sweet Co., Inc., 1967), p. 69. If there was an interpreter, then others might be permitted to hear both the tongue and the interpretation. The force of 1 Corinthians 14:7-9 is that the false tongues of Corinth were unintelligible nonsense, having no meaning whatever, being nothing more than jabberings of orgiastic demonstrators; and here was the delicate part of the whole situation, the UNINTERPRETED manifestations of the genuine gift itself resembled the false tongues so perfectly that no one on earth could have told any difference! These reasons were: (1) The Old Testament gave man the authority over the family, as in verses cited above, and (2) the customs of the age made it shameful for a woman to speak in public. In view here is the almost total uselessness of this gift in the area of instructing the church, even the true gift. In this the third chapter of Paul's writings specifically related to tongue speaking and other spiritual gifts, the full thrust of his purpose is revealed. Below is the whole commentary on 1 Corinthians 14 from Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible commentary that is related to speaking in tongues i.e. Log In/Sign Up New International Version (NIV) ... 1 Corinthians 14:37 in all English translations. as absolutely sarcastic, meaning that no matter how "well" they thought they were giving thanks, the Holy Spirit was opposed to what they were doing, on the simple grounds that the rest of the congregation would not know "what thou sayest." 1 Corinthians 14, William Barclay's Daily Study Bible, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, as set of 17 volumes on the New Testament, the result of Barclay's dedicated work 1 Corinthians 2:14 “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” Explanation and Commentary on 1 Corinthians 2:14. While still refusing to forbid tongues categorically, for fear of wounding some with the real gift, Paul again stressed the superiority of teaching, commanding here that the brethren should desire to teach, not to speak in tongues. [6] David Lipscomb, Commentary on First Corinthians (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1935), p. 208. 14. What is it then? And if this was true in those days, how much more is it true today, generations and centuries after the true gift disappeared altogether. or came it from you alone? Until it is affirmed that she should, it is a sin to make this rule universal. 1 Corinthians 14:16 The Greek word for inquirer is a technical term for someone not fully initiated into a religion; also in verses 23 and 24. Even fervent, spiritual affection must be governed by the exercise of the understanding, else men will disgrace the truths they profess to promote. None of them may be "the husband of one wife," etc. Here he says, that charity, or love, was to regulate all that they did. It must have been of great value to have such directly inspired teachers in that age of the church (the infancy age); and the foolishness of the Corinthians is seen in their astounding preference for the showy gift of tongues, instead of honoring and preferring a gift that could have blessed and benefited. A very early description of Christian worship stated that "they sang by turns a hymn to Christ as God";[14] and there can hardly be any doubt that this was true. Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary (concise), Matthew Henry Bible Commentary (complete), California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 1 Corinthians 14:26-33 Rules for the orderly exercise of spiritual gifts in the church. The true gift of tongues benefited not others but the tongue-speaker himself. As to prophesying, two or three only should speak at one meeting, and this one after the other, not all at once. 363-367. [3] William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1954), p. 142. By way of revelation ... refers to what was revealed in Scripture. Neither the KJV nor the English Revised Version (1885) is correct here. Again, no certainty that any interpreters existed at Corinth appears here p! That can be no interpreter of post-apostolic times, and exhortation, consolation... Over the whole Bible ( Complete ) sin to make a woman may not an... They did given by the customs of subsequent ages up New International Version ( NKJV ) Paul ’ day! I warn you are doing any good the gift of knowledge '' refers to the true gift tongues! That this must always be done to edifying church services is clearly visible women. 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