The Gift of Tongues, Part 2

Tom Shrader works through the remainder of 1 Corinthians 14, distinguishing the legitimate gift of tongues from a counterfeit prayer language and showing that Paul's primary concern is the edification of the whole church. He walks through Paul's specific rules—no more than two or three speakers, always with interpretation, and never simultaneously—demonstrating that the chaotic use of tongues in Corinth violated God's character as a God of order, not confusion. Shrader also addresses Paul's instructions on women speaking in church and the authority of apostolic teaching, promising to return the following week to summarize the three-chapter section and address whether tongues are still operative today.

“God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace, and a God of order.”

— Tom Shrader

Series: 1 Corinthians

Recorded: 2002 at East Valley Bible Church

Duration: 38 min

Themes: tongues, spiritual gifts, church order, worship, edification, prophecy, counterfeit gifts, women in church, charismatic background, questioning spiritual gifts, new believer, confused about worship, woman in the church, seeking discernment, young adult, navigating church conflict

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:10-40, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 13, Isaiah 28:11-12, Acts 2:1-38, Joel 2, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Romans 12:2

Theological Themes: cessationism, charismatic gifts, ecclesiology, apostolic authority, biblical authority, pneumatology, spiritual gifts, church order

Full Transcript

Introduction and Context

Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. We are going to attempt an ambitious task today, but I think we can do it. We are going to pick up right where we left off, at 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 10, and work our way through the end of the entire chapter — about 30 verses. It moves along fairly quickly, so that is manageable. Next week we will come back, summarize what we have seen, answer some questions raised in the first week, and then move on into chapter 15.

If you were not here last week, you will not have the foundation you need for today's study, and we are not going to retrace that ground. You will need to access the message on the website or order the tape.

Four Issues Paul Addresses in 1 Corinthians 14

By way of summary, Paul is essentially dealing with four things in this chapter. First, the legitimate gift of tongues. Someone wrote me an email asking how I could fail to recognize that there is a legitimate gift of tongues. I thought we made it very clear that Paul affirms that in the church at Corinth, at that point in time, there was a legitimate gift of tongues. In fact, as we will see today, Paul writes that he speaks in tongues more than all of them. So the legitimate gift existed, and Paul is explaining its purpose and how it is to be used.

Second, there was a counterfeit. Paul indicates that a counterfeit form of tongues was being imported from the pagans — a fake alongside the real gift. Third, Paul keeps returning to prophecy, by which he means the proclamation of truth and the explanation of the revealed Word of God, arguing that this is superior to the gift of tongues. Fourth, we noted last week that in our own cultural moment a distinction needs to be made between the gift of tongues and a so-called prayer language. Paul's teaching here indicates that the counterfeit tongue was functioning as a prayer language, and the Apostle does not endorse that practice, though he does affirm the legitimate gift.

Tongues Must Communicate Meaning

What we are going to see today is that even as the legitimate gift was being exercised in the Corinthian church, it was being used in a way that produced confusion rather than clarification. The gifts were designed to edify the body — that is the point Paul has been making throughout this section. Remember, 1 Corinthians 14 is part of a larger argument beginning in chapter 12, where Paul states that spiritual gifts exist for the building up of the body.

So, let us begin at verse 10. Paul writes, "There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning. 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." Paul's point is straightforward. There are many languages in the world, and when he speaks of the gift of tongues he is speaking of known languages. Every one of those languages has a single purpose: to communicate. They exist to transmit meaning, to help us understand what the words and sounds signify. Without meaning, there is only noise.

To the Greeks, anyone who did not share their language was a barbarian. That word sounds exactly like what it describes — what they heard from foreign speakers was "bar, bar, bar," and that became the word barbarian, the sound of incomprehensible chatter.

Seek Gifts for the Edification of the Church

Verse 12: "So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church." The word "seek" carries the sense of a continuous, habitual action. These people were zealously desiring spiritual gifts — coveting them, in fact. But they were not eager for the gift of service. They wanted the visible, showy, sign gifts, and tongues above all. Consequently, those who did not possess the gift were faking it, and Paul is correcting that directly.

His point is this: if you are going to seek a gift, understand what the purpose of a spiritual gift is. It exists to edify the body. He is not speaking here of a private prayer language — that does not fit this context at all. He is speaking of the legitimate gift of tongues, a spiritual gift given for the building up of the church.

The Tongue, the Mind, and the Body

Therefore, let the one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. We made this general statement last week: when the apostle uses the word tongue singular, he seems to be speaking of the counterfeit. When he uses the word tongues plural, he seems to be speaking of the genuine gift. There is an exception in verse 27, and we will look at it when we get there.

If someone is speaking in a tongue, Paul says to pray that he may interpret. Why? Because there is no value without interpretation. If someone is speaking and has no idea what it means, it is of no value. As Paul writes, "My spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful."

Never does Scripture tell us to separate these two things. We are told not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Scripture never says to disengage the mind. Paul says just the opposite: "I will pray with my spirit and with my mind and sing with my spirit and with my mind." Those two things are never disengaged.

What Is the Harm of a Private Prayer Language?

One of the questions that came up last week was this: what is the harm if somebody is not out proselytizing, not trying to influence other people, but is simply at home by themselves praying in this tongue? They do not know what they are saying — we all agree on that — but what is the big deal? What is the harm?

There are a few things to consider. Number one, you are violating the basic principle: you have disengaged the spirit from the mind. Number two, you do not know what you are saying. You may be cursing — you have no clue. There is no point in it. Number three, you are opening yourself up to experience and to emotion.

Is there anything wrong with emotion? Absolutely not. Sitting in worship this morning, singing "God of Wonders," my mind swept away. I thought of a time when Sarah and I were driving out of Sea Ranch with the top down, the ocean right there, playing "God of Wonders," so cold we could hardly move, the heater on, singing at the top of our lungs — just thinking, God, you are awesome. There is nothing wrong with being emotional, but it is always in the context of an engaged mind.

Paul makes the same point in verse 16. If you are speaking and you do not know what you are saying, and nobody around you knows what you are saying — if you bless in the Spirit only — how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted, better translated as the unlearned or unskilled, say amen? If you are speaking words no one understands, how can anyone agree with them? As Paul says, you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. That is Paul's point, again and again and again: this is not for personal edification, it is for corporate edification.

Paul's Own Use of the Gift

Look at verse 18. Paul says, "I thank God I speak in tongues" — and here I would say tongues plural, the genuine gift — "more than all of you." Paul is not condemning the legitimate gift of biblical tongues. He is acknowledging that it exists, and beyond acknowledging its existence, he is saying he possesses it.

But it is not a private prayer language. Paul says he speaks in tongues more than all of them, yet we have no record of him doing so anywhere in Scripture. What we can reasonably assume is that wherever Paul exercised this gift, it was in compliance with the rules and regulations he gives here in this very passage.

He goes on to say, "In the church I desire to speak five words with my mind, that I may instruct others, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue." That figure of ten thousand is not a precise mathematical number — it is a figure of speech. Paul is saying he would rather speak five words, one simple sentence, than thousands upon thousands of words that make no sense at all. That is not his desire.

The Purpose of Tongues

Here is the stated purpose of tongues, beginning in verse 20. Paul writes, "Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be babes, but in your thinking be mature." There is a pointed edge to that comment. He is saying these believers have become quite mature in their evil, and he wants them to be equally mature in their thinking. Do not think like children. Do not be unwilling to look at things with some level of discernment.

A couple of notes came in after last week about unity, and about my observation that a particular church is doing something that is not biblical. I think that is a fair comment. When somebody stands up or a group of people does something and it cannot be found in Scripture, it is our responsibility to point that out. There is nothing wrong with that.

Here is the purpose of tongues stated plainly. Paul writes, "In the Law it is written, 'By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,' says the Lord." He quotes loosely from Isaiah 28, verses 11 and 12, where the prophet pronounces judgment on the nation of Israel. Jeremiah made essentially the same declaration. They were speaking of a time when the Assyrians were poised to conquer Israel — and that conquest did come — but what the passage was really pointing toward is the fulfillment we see in Acts chapter 2.

This is a point I made last week and I think it is significant. This passage in 1 Corinthians represents the longest discussion of tongues in Scripture, and it comes very early in the New Testament's teaching on the church. Then Luke, in the book of Acts, addresses tongues and begins to give us the historical account of that fulfillment.

The Day of Pentecost: A Perfect Illustration of Biblical Tongues

Let's turn over to the book of Acts, just to the left, Acts chapter 2 and the day of Pentecost. Chapter 2, verse 1: "When the day of Pentecost had come they were all together and suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting and there appeared to them tongues of fire distributed them and the rest and they rested on each one of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance."

They are speaking in tongues. What is the result of this? Verse 5: "Now there were devout Jews living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven and when this sound occurred the multitude came together and they were bewildered." Why? Because they were each hearing them speak in their own language. They were amazed and marveled, taken back by this.

Luke goes on to say these were men from all over the region, and they were hearing these men speak in a language that was known in the world but unknown to the speaker. They were so amazed that, in verse 12, "they continued in amazement and were greatly perplexed saying to one another, what does this mean?" Others were mocking them, saying they were full of wine — that they were drunk.

Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice: "Men of Judah and all who live in Jerusalem let it be known to you and give heed to my words." He tells them these men are not drunk — it is still early in the day. He then turns to the prophecy of the Old Testament that is fulfilled at this very moment, going back to Joel chapter 2.

Then in verse 22 Peter declares: "Men of Israel listen to these words, Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst just as you yourselves know." He continues: "This man, delivered up by the predetermined, planned, and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death, and God raised him again." He goes on to speak of Christ and the fulfillment of what has happened.

Tongues as a Sign for Unbelieving Jews

Here these people come, they hear languages spoken, and who are they? They are Jews — unbelieving Jews. Notice verse 22. Tongues are a sign for unbelievers, primarily unbelieving Jews. Acts chapter 2 is a perfect illustration of biblical tongues. A known language is being spoken, the person speaking does not know what they are saying, the Jew hears this proclamation, and the result is they are amazed.

What do they ask? Around verse 38, the question comes: what should we do? How can we be saved? And Peter says repent and believe. There are tongues. Tongues are for unbelievers. The proclamation of the truth is for believers.

Now verse 23 seems to contradict all of this: "If therefore the whole church should assemble together and all speak in tongues and ungifted" — that is, the unlearned, uninformed man who does not hear this — "or unbelievers enter, will they not say you are mad?" Wait a moment. Paul just said tongues are for unbelievers. What is he talking about here?

He is talking about the way they were using even biblical tongues in the church. He is saying that if this is not done in an orderly way, the unbeliever who comes in will conclude that everyone has lost their minds.

I had not been a Christian very long when a friend said he wanted to go to a particular church. I had heard of it — a charismatic church. I believed all the sign gifts were for today, so we went. We arrived a little early, sat down, and everyone was very nice to us. Then the service started, the man up front announced they were going to pray in tongues, and the woman next to me went down to the floor. I said I was leaving, and we left. That is the verse right there. What was the point of that? Did that make any sense? That is Paul's whole point — even where the legitimate gift is in use, there must be order. There must be rules and regulations.

The Power of Prophecy Over Tongues in the Assembly

Verse 24: "But if all prophesy and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, and he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you."

Paul is saying that if someone comes in and everyone is speaking in tongues with no one understanding what is happening, that will make no difference to them. But the proclamation of the Word — that impacts both believer and unbeliever alike.

When I got here this morning, I was back studying, and I caught the smell of breakfast being ready. I went back, and there was food, and I was talking to a couple of the people who had brought it in. They said they had never been in a church where the message was clear to them and touched them — not just that day or that week, but months and months on end. That is exactly what Paul is describing, and it applies to unbelievers too.

That young man in the tape said he had come here two months ago. What happened? Tim was teaching from the Gospel of Mark, just talking about Jesus — who is Jesus, what is Jesus, why did He come, what is He about, what is your issue? And God laid that young man bare. That is precisely what Paul is talking about right here.

God's Governing Principle: Order, Not Confusion

Now Paul is going to give us some rules in a moment. Before he does, consider verse 33. I understand it is out of sequence, but this verse becomes the governing principle: God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace and a God of order.

Paul is emphasizing to this city, to this church, that they are misusing this gift. It is chaotic. Even where the biblical gift is being used, there must be order.

Rules for Tongues in the Assembly

"What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." There is the principle. Ray Stedman has a fascinating point here. His contention is that the early church, when it gathered together, actually did so in two different ways.

There were times when they gathered like we do right here, with a large number of people. We do not know the size of the church at Corinth — it could have been four or five hundred. We do know that the church at Jerusalem at this point was about ten thousand, and it is suggested they frequently gathered in that large-assembly format, much as we would have church today. They did not have a building to accommodate it, but they also gathered together in small groups, or cell groups. In those small groups the environment would be very different — much more intimate, much more open — with every person having the opportunity to interchange and exchange ideas. In a large setting, that did not take place. But in either setting, what was always at hand was the edification of the body. First Thessalonians 5:11 says, "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another."

The Regulations for Speaking in Tongues

Here are the rules for speaking in tongues, beginning in verse 27: "If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God." I mentioned earlier that the singular "tongue" generally represented the counterfeit gift. It may seem, then, that verse 27 blows that whole theory, because it is obvious that Paul is speaking here about the legitimate gift.

One commentator addresses this directly: although Paul has regularly used the singular "tongue" to refer to the counterfeit gift, it seems clear he is speaking here of the genuine thing, since he would hardly give regulations for the use of a counterfeit. He uses the singular "tongue" here to correspond to the singular subject "anyone," since a given person at a given time would speak only in one language. So here is what Paul is saying: if you are going to exercise this gift, here are the rules.

Rule one: at most three, but ideally two, people should speak in a tongue — and never at the same time. When you turn on television and see three, four, five, or ten people in a congregation speaking simultaneously, whatever that is, it is not this. Rule two: there must be interpretation. If no one present has the gift of interpretation, then keep silent. In fact, that is exactly what Paul says — keep it to yourself and to God. That phrase simply means meditate on it, think about it. If something is welling up inside of you and you do not fully understand what it is, contemplate it.

The Role of Prophets in the Early Church

Beginning in verse 29, Paul turns to prophets. "Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets."

What I think Paul is acknowledging is that in the early church there was an office of prophet, just as there was an office of apostle. Does that office exist today? I do not think so. Like the apostles, the prophets have passed away. The canon was not yet closed at this point in church history, so prophets would expound the Word of God and periodically God would use them to bring new revelation to the church. Apparently there were more than two or three prophets in any given church, and if one stood up and said something questionable, it was carefully scrutinized. If a revelation was made to someone else who was seated, the first speaker would yield, because the new revelation took precedence.

The rules for prophecy mirror the rules for tongues: two or at most three speakers, the other prophets pass judgment, and if someone receives a revelation the first speaker sits down — all done in an orderly fashion, one by one.

Prophecy and the Closed Canon

Whatever that prophetic office was, and as interesting as it may be, it does not apply to us today. We have the completed Word of God. The office of prophet is gone. The office of apostle is gone. We have revelation right here in Scripture.

A great many people today claim to receive direct words from God. I once received a phone call from a church in Minneapolis saying they believed God had called me to be their pastor. I told them I know God well enough to know He is not going to call me somewhere it snows. But the caller was completely sincere. I encounter this constantly — people saying the Lord has led them to this or that, that it is a word of knowledge, that it is prophecy. That is shaky ground. It can be impression, it can be intuition, it can simply be a feeling of knowing something. When someone tells you, "This is God's will for your life," and their source is something other than this Word, be very clear about what that is. When you are in the middle of trying to make a decision and someone is trying to sway you by saying, "I believe it is God's will that you do this," that is manipulation. I would almost avoid that person entirely. We have the Word of God. All you have to do is check it.

God's Order in Worship

Here is the key for this whole chapter, verse 33: "For God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." That is the key. Our worship, and the way we corporately worship, reflects the character of God — He is a God of order. What Paul is doing is correcting something that is desperately wrong in this church at Corinth. They received the counterfeit gift, and he is saying that has no place here. They have the real gift, and that real gift is to be operated within these specific guidelines.

The Role of Women in the Church

Verse 34. Let the women keep silent in the churches. It is worth pointing out that when "churches" is plural, it speaks not of the church at Corinth alone — it is universal, not cultural. He is saying women are not permitted to speak in church; they have no role speaking in church. In fact, he says, "just as the law also says" — in the Jewish synagogue, women were not permitted to speak. That is God's order, and that is God's order for the church.

"They desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is improper" — the word means literally shameful or disgraceful — "for a woman to speak in church." In the teaching position, in the tongues position, that applies all the way across the board. Gentlemen, this puts an enormous burden on you. The idea here is that your wife is to come to you, and rather than have her participate in this discussion that was going on in that church, you are the leader.

There is a new wave gaining a lot of steam, and it does not appear to be accurate. The idea is that even married women are not permitted to teach other married women — that if you are married, your husband is your exclusive teacher in these issues. That does not seem to be what Paul is saying here. What Paul is saying is that there is a specific role being addressed.

This is an observation worth making: in charismatic and Pentecostal churches where the exercising of a prayer language is especially prominent, you almost always see a corresponding, exaggerated, inappropriate, and unbiblical role of women. They become the teacher; they become the leader. If you turn on Christian television and encounter those situations, it is not unusual to see a woman teaching the men. That is a distortion of how God set the church in motion. Women do have a role in the church — a giant role — but it is not a speaking role in this setting.

Apostolic Authority and the Word of God

Verse 36 is satire. "Was it from you that the word of God first went forth?" Paul is saying: you think you originated all of this? You simply received it. "If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment." This is a strong statement. Paul is claiming apostolic authority and saying this is doctrine — on par with the Old Testament writings, the Old Testament prophets, and the history of the Old Testament.

If you think you are spiritual, if you think you are a prophet, and you disagree with this, Paul says: if you do not recognize it, you will not be recognized. He summarizes it this way in verse 39: "Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy" — to build up the saints, to take the Word and make it clear — "but do not forbid to speak in tongues." The plural again. He is writing to the church at Corinth, and he is not taking tongues off the table. What he is saying is: if it is practiced in the biblical, orderly way, do not stop it. It has a place, but everything must be done properly and orderly — gracefully, harmoniously, in tune, one after another.

Summary of Chapter 14

That is chapter 14 — Paul dealing with a very difficult situation in that church, correcting what were counterfeit versions being described as gifts of tongues. This could have easily happened there because everyone was speaking at once, violating the basic rules of tongues and interpretation.

Here are some of the questions we looked at when we started this study. Why does God give us spiritual gifts to begin with? What is the biblical definition of tongues? Have tongues ceased? Note that we have not even addressed that yet. All we have established is that in the church at Corinth, there was a legitimate biblical gift of tongues. Whether it is still operative in the church today is a question we have not yet touched — we will address it next week.

Is the gift of tongues different from a prayer language? That point has been made repeatedly throughout this study. Does the gift of tongues we see today fit within this biblical description? And how does this relate to the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Is every Christian to speak in tongues, and where do we see examples of that? Many of these questions have been answered as we have worked through the text, and next week we will take some time to summarize and then move into chapter 15.

This can be really difficult teaching, but it becomes fairly clear: Paul is addressing a difficult situation in a church that is all messed up. They distorted the real gift, brought in a counterfeit, and Paul is setting it right.

Closing the Series

We have to look at this package — 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 — together. We will summarize it next week, and then we will move on to talk about the resurrection. As I said, if we have gone through this too quickly, or we skipped over some things, or you got distracted on one topic, we have room for you tonight if you want to come back and go through this one more time.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for this word. Thank You for the truth that You give us. God, we pray that what we see in this scripture would touch our hearts. Remind us that You are a God of order, and that You are a God not of confusion, but of peace. We pray that how we live, what we do, and what we say is done in an orderly fashion that brings glory to You.

God, I pray for those who are here today — all of us — that You would open our eyes to this truth and help us see it, that it might change the way we live. God, I know it is tough for some of us, but that is not the issue. If You said it, it is true. We pray that You would open our eyes and help us see it. We pray it now, we believe it, and we obey it. Let us do that, would You, Father? We ask it in Jesus's name. Amen.