1 Corinthians 14:1

Follow after love and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy. For he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God... So likewise you, except you utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken?... Even so you, for as much as you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that you may excel to the edifying of the church.

Love is the goal we pursue, but in the gathered church we should seek prophecy above tongues—because love builds others up.

Pursue Love, Desire Gifts

Our last several studies in 1 Corinthians have been in chapter 13, which establishes very clearly what love is, what it looks like, and how it is to be evidenced in the life of the believer. Now, in the opening words of chapter 14, Paul says that we are to follow after, or pursue, that kind of love.

The Corinthians were given to pursuing spiritual gifts. That was their target, because they had wrongly assumed that spiritual gifts were tangible evidence of spiritual power and maturity. They especially exalted the gift of tongues, supposing that if you had these gifts, you were essentially mature. So they coveted gifts, envying the positions and giftedness that others had.

Paul makes clear at the end of chapter 12 that desiring spiritual gifts is good, and he emphasizes it again here. But he tells the church there is a more excellent way. Chapter 13 is a parenthetical break between chapters 12 and 14, identifying that love is the true evidence of spiritual maturity and growing Christian character. If we are to be known to this world as followers of Jesus Christ, the dominating characteristic of our lives should be the love described in 1 Corinthians 13. They will know that you are My disciples not by spiritual gifts or powerful doctrine, but by the love you have one for another.

Biblical love is certainly different from what is exalted as love in 21st-century American culture, and chapter 13 helps us grasp what it truly looks like. In 12:31 Paul said, earnestly desire the most useful gifts. Yet I show you a more excellent way—and now he returns to the subject of gifts with much the same exhortation.

Seeking After Prophecy

Paul begins with the concept that we are to pursue, eagerly and earnestly, that we might lay hold of love—as if running a race toward the finish line. At the same time, in our life and in our church, we should desire spiritual gifts. The same Greek word, zēloō, used in 12:31, is used again in 14:1. So as we pursue love, we should also desire that spiritual gifts would be evident in our daily life and fellowship. Yet supremely we are told to follow after love, desire spiritual gifts, "but rather that you may prophesy."

As we step into chapter 14 and its forty verses, it is vital to recognize the context. Paul is saying that in the gathering together of the body of Christ—the corporate fellowship—prophecy should be esteemed above the gift of tongues. He focuses on these two gifts because he is addressing specific abuses at Corinth. That church sought to lay hold of tongues in the corporate body, and Paul says, no, instead seek prophecy. He will lay out why prophecy should excel above tongues in the corporate gathering, where the end is primarily edification.

For some who grew up in a Pentecostal or charismatic background, this becomes a problem. So we must come back to an established truth: our life as a church should be directed first and foremost by the Word of God. The Bible informs our experience; our experience does not direct our understanding of Scripture. Keep in mind that the context throughout is how we are to function as a body when we gather together.

What Is New Testament Prophecy?

This brings us to the immediate question: just what is prophecy in the biblical, New Testament sense? We need an agreed-upon definition. Some commentators say prophecy is the same as preaching, but when you work through chapters 12 and 14, you see a difference. If prophecy and preaching were identical, Paul would be telling everyone at Corinth to be preachers—which he is not, because not all are called to that position. So prophecy and preaching are different, though preaching should involve a prophetic dimension.

Secondly, some Christians wrongly assume the gift of prophecy is the same as the Old Testament office of a prophet. It is not. A person who uses the gift of prophecy is not the same as Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, or Amos.

I have met people who boldly proclaim, "I am a prophet," and I am always a little leery. Most of the time, in the very next breath, they say, "Thus saith the Lord for you"—and without exception, their word has not come to pass. If we went by Old Testament standards, we might keep a basket of big rocks around. If you've read Deuteronomy, you know what I mean—and we probably don't want to do that. Such individuals often carry a hyper-spiritual, arrogant air, which does not at all follow the humility of the Old Testament prophets. Jeremiah came to points where he no longer wanted to speak God's word, because it was so heavy a thing God had given him.

Differences Between the Office and the Gift

Old Testament prophets were called and ordained by God for specific work. They were empowered at certain times in certain ways, but their empowering was not constant nor always under their control. In Daniel, the prophet received visions he could not control and sometimes did not fully understand; he was simply told to write them. By contrast, in 1 Corinthians 14 we will see that the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet—the New Testament gift is under the control of the one who has it.

Old Testament prophets did sometimes speak predictively, foretelling the future, but that is not the whole story. Most of what they spoke was didactic—intended to teach and give moral instruction. They revealed God's nature and His will, declaring, "He is holy; you are sinful," and calling the people to turn from their ways, with predictions of judgment if they would not. Today, by contrast, those calling themselves prophets generally claim to predict the future, and nine times out of ten they are wrong.

Old Testament prophets were God's mouthpiece, often using the phrase "thus saith the Lord." That phrase appears 415 times in the Bible and is never used in the New Testament. That should be instructive: the New Testament gift of prophecy is not the same as the Old Testament office. The New Testament prophet is not revealing unrevealed truth, but bringing to light what has already been revealed, in a way that exhorts, encourages, and edifies the body of Christ.

False Prophets and the Test of Scripture

Old Testament prophets spoke as the mouthpiece of God by direct, special revelation, so that much of what they said or wrote became Scripture. Jesus warned that in the last days—which began at His ascension—many false prophets would arise and deceive many. The problem is that people still stand up today claiming to be prophets in the Old Testament sense, bringing words separate from Scripture that cannot be substantiated by it. People lay hold of those things, and so you get the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Islam: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet."

That Old Testament prophetic office was done away with. All the prophets were until John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets, and something clearly changes after that point. The New Testament prophet is similar in that God, by His Spirit, empowers an individual—but primarily for the edification, exhortation, or comfort of God's people, using what has already been revealed. Their words are in line with previous revelation, so it is easy to judge whether a person is truly speaking on the Lord's behalf. If it doesn't fit, cast it aside. It must be in line with God's Word.

Prophecy in the Preaching of the Word

This often happens when the Word of God is preached, though preaching is not always 100% prophecy. Rarely does a week go by that someone doesn't come up after the service and say, "You were speaking directly to me today." Sometimes they ask, "Did my spouse talk to you? Did they tell you what's going on?" First-time visitors brought by a friend will say, "My friend emailed you before I got here, didn't they?" No—God spoke it to you, utilizing the gift of prophecy through the preacher. It is God's already-revealed Word spoken in a way that encourages, exhorts, or comforts His people. It is not new revelation, not "thus saith the Lord," but mutual edification in the body of Christ—and it is not to be despised. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:20, despise not prophesying. If God speaks to you in a message, don't disregard what He is saying.

Tongues and the Corporate Gathering

Again, the context of the rest of this chapter is corporate, public worship. When the body gathers, Paul says tongues should take a lesser position to prophecy. At Corinth, when they gathered, multiple people would begin speaking in unintelligible tongues at the same time. Perhaps it was moved by the Spirit, perhaps it was the flesh out of control, perhaps it was fake—but it was not done decently or in order. Paul says at the end of the chapter that it must be done decently and in order if it is to be done at all.

Before anyone gets upset, recognize a few things. First, in 12:28 Paul already placed tongues last in his listing of gifts: "first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and diversities of tongues." Interestingly, the apostolic gift comes first—and the Corinthians had cast aside Paul, the apostle, while exalting those who spoke in tongues. Paul says, you have it backwards.

Secondly, Paul is addressing an obvious misuse and abuse, still present in some churches today. When I was about ten, my family was looking for a church here in Escondido and we visited one where, at a point in the service, a dozen or so people began speaking out in unintelligible languages all at once. As a ten-year-old, I was rather freaked out. I told my mom, "I don't want to go there again." Whether genuine or manufactured is not for us to judge—God judges that—but we can judge that it is not done decently and in order.

The Place of Priority

As a general rule, churches that exalt the gift of tongues give a lesser place to the Word of God, and you end up with immature Christians who may have much experience but little grasp of Scripture. They function on experience without direction from what God has given, and that is dangerous, leading people into all kinds of strange places. If that's what you're looking for, other churches offer it—but it won't happen here.

At Corinth, anyone could stand up and mumble some gibberish thought to be the gift of tongues, with no interpretation, repeated over and over. Paul says this is not how it ought to be. Prophecy should take a higher place than tongues. But he does not cast tongues aside; he is not discounting the practice of tongues by the Christian, only diminishing the priority it was wrongly given. The practice is perfectly fine; the place of priority is questionable. And prophecy is much easier to test for genuineness, because if it is not in line with God's Word, we can cast it aside.

Speaking to God Versus Speaking to Men

Look at verse 2: he who speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not to men but to God. I have been in gatherings where someone speaks a tongue and an interpretation is given beginning, "Thus saith the Lord," moving from God to man—yet that doesn't fit the pattern here. When someone speaks in an unknown tongue, they are speaking from man to God, in a language they themselves do not understand.

Some of you have never had any experience with tongues, and it seems far out—it is. It is an awesome thing God does by His Spirit, and when genuine it is not comprehended by our intelligence. The only way we understand it is if God by His Spirit gives the gift of interpretation. No man understands him, "howbeit in the Spirit they speak mysteries"—a mystery being something we cannot know apart from revelation.

Prophecy, on the other hand, speaks to men for their edification, exhortation, and comfort (verse 3). Where tongues darken our understanding, prophecy brings enlightenment. A person prophesying speaks in a language those gathered know, with the authority of God's revealed Word, to build up the body, call people to walk differently, and comfort them.

Edifying Self Versus Edifying the Church

Verse 4: he who speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. Notice Paul does not say self-edification is bad or sinful. Some Christians think that if we experience joy or are uplifted, something is wrong. That's not the case. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him; our joy is not mutually exclusive from His glory. The one speaking in tongues experiences a building up, a joy in communing with God—but this is felt only by the speaker.

Notice the repeated word "edification." When we gather as the corporate body, we use our gifts mutually to glorify God, edify the body, and prepare us to evangelize the lost. Our focus is not to edify ourselves but the whole body. If love edifies (8:1) and does not seek its own (chapter 13), then when love drives us we will seek to edify one another, not merely get something for ourselves.

This is why the gathering of the church is not a place for consumerism. We don't come merely to consume children's ministry, good music, or a cool talk. American Christianity has fallen into that to the point that it could rightly be called "consumeranity." We shop from church to church—"this one doesn't emphasize tongues," "that preacher's better," "their children's ministry is greater." If this church's children's ministry isn't as good as another's, perhaps it's God's call for you to use your gifts to make it better. We are here to spend and be spent for one another to build up the whole body.

"I Would That You All Spoke With Tongues"

Verse 5: "I would that you all spoke with tongues." Notice what that implies—not all speak with tongues. This is a problem for some in the charismatic and Pentecostal community who say you are not a Christian, or do not have the Spirit, unless you speak in tongues. Paul, speaking of Christians, says not all speak with tongues. Apparently Paul himself spoke with tongues—he says later he speaks more than them all—and he knew its goodness, but also the danger of exalting it.

So there is a twofold desire: "I would that you all spoke with tongues, but rather that you prophesied. For greater is he that prophesies than he that speaks with tongues." Paul is not saying the prophet is more spiritual—he is saying the prophet is more helpful, because he builds up the body. The one caveat: "except he interpret, that the church may receive edification." The focus of the corporate gathering is the glory of God and the building up of the body, from which built-up believers go out to evangelize the lost.

Revelation, Knowledge, Prophesying, Doctrine

Verse 6: "If I come unto you and speak with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?" Notice Paul addresses them corporately, and calls them "brethren"—he is not questioning their salvation, even though they were out of order. If he came and merely made unintelligible sounds and left, it would not build them up.

What are these four? Revelation—Paul received certain things directly from the Lord as an apostle and delivered them to the church (1 Corinthians 11 and 15; the gospel itself came by revelation, Galatians 1:11–12). Knowledge—perhaps the word of knowledge, but more likely his understanding of God's Word brought to help the church. Prophesying—using God's Word for edification, exhortation, and comfort. Doctrine—instructive teaching. These are examples of what Paul would choose to use in the corporate body to build it up.

The Illustration of Sound

Paul gives a helpful illustration. Even lifeless instruments—pipe or harp—must give distinction in their sounds, or how will anyone know what is played? If the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? Instruments are beautiful only when all play the same piece in the same key and tempo, bringing together a great symphony. At the start, when an orchestra is tuning, all you hear is a cacophony. But with one Conductor—the Lord Jesus Christ—leading the body in unity, it edifies. In ancient armies, the trumpet sounded specific calls; an unclear note left soldiers confused.

My son loves to pick up the little guitar his grandparents gave him and sing, and 99% of it is indistinguishable. For a two-and-a-half-year-old it's cute—I'd video it and put it on YouTube—but as cute as it is, we don't put him up to lead worship, because it would be unhelpful. Paul says in verse 19, "in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." Five versus ten thousand—that's phenomenal.

Excel to the Edifying of the Church

Verse 9: "Except you utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? For you shall speak into the air." There are many kinds of voices in the world, none without signification. Most of us know one language, perhaps two or three; I've known people who speak four or five, and I bow in their presence, for I can hardly speak English. When we meet someone speaking another language, picking out a word here and there, they are to us a "barbarian"—from the Greek barbaros, the word Greeks and Romans used for a foreigner whose speech sounded like "barbar, barbar."

Here is the application: "Forasmuch as you are zealous of spiritual gifts"—the same word as verse 1 and 12:31—"seek that you may excel to the edifying of the church." The focus in the corporate gathering is the building up of the church, not our self-exaltation or self-gratification. So when we gather, our desire is to easily understand what is said, that it would enable us to glorify God, benefit one another, and share with the lost.

Closing Prayer

Father, I pray that You would help us to bring our experiences and our understanding to Your Word, and allow Your Word to be that which informs us. We want to be steadfast in following You as You have revealed Yourself to us. So God, teach us these things. Transform our minds. Renew us, that we would be able to glorify You better, edify one another more fully, and be a great representation of Your love to a lost and dying world, we ask. In Jesus' name. Amen.