Lessons #481 and 482
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Desirability of prophecy over tongues (1 Cor 14:1-5)
1Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. 3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
Recall the message of this section of 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 is that the church should be more zealous about prophesying than to speaking in tongues while being mindful of the importance of love. In pursuant to this message, our last study was concerned with the reasons the church should be more zealous about the exercise of the gift of prophecy than the gift of speaking in tongues. We had stated that there are two general reasons the apostle supplied in verses 2 to 4 in support of the preference of prophecy to speaking in tongues. The first is that speaking in tongue is usually directed by and to God. The second is that exercise of the gift of prophecy builds up believers spiritually unlike the exercise of the gift of speaking in tongues. We ended our last study by asserting that the apostle beginning in verse 3, enumerates how speaking activity associated with prophecy benefits believers. We continue our study by examining the things the apostle enumerated in verse 3.
There are three related things that the exercise of the gift of prophecy does for believers as given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. The first is building up of believers spiritually as given in the phrase for their strengthening. The word “strengthening” is translated from a Greek word (oikodomē) that has two categories of meanings. A first category of meaning refers to the process of building and so means “building, construction.” The literal meaning of a building process is not found in the NT, but it is used in that way in the Septuagint in Ezekiel 17:17:
Pharaoh with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives.
The verbal phrase and siege works erected to destroy many lives of the NIV is more literally and the building of siege works to destroy many lives, indicating the process of building siege works. However, we find the figurative meaning of building process used in the NT with such meanings as “edifying, edification, building up.” So, we find Apostle Paul use this word in the spiritual sense of edification in 2 Corinthians 12:19:
Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening.
The phrase for your strengthening of the NIV may alternatively be rendered for your edification or for your upbuilding. The apostle also used the Greek word in the figurative sense of building up the Corinthians spiritually in 2 Corinthians 13:10:
This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
A second category of meaning of the Greek word in question refers to the result of construction process and so means “building, edifice.” The literal meaning of building as a result of construction is used in a disciple’s description to the Lord Jesus of the greatness of the Temple in Jerusalem, as reported in Mark 13:1:
As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”
The meaning of “building” is used figuratively by Apostle Paul to describe the church in Corinth and so every local church in 1 Corinthians 3:9:
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
The meaning “building” figuratively refers to spiritual or resurrection body as the apostle used it to convey that our present body will be replaced with a more permanent body in eternal state as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:1:
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
It is in this second category of meaning, although in a figurative sense, that our Greek word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:3 and so the word has the sense of “building up,” that is, “the act of bringing something closer to fullness or completion.” Thus, prophecy is intended to enhance spiritual growth of believers. The spiritual growth could be in the believer’s faith as stated in 2 Thessalonians 1:3:
We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
Spiritual growth may be adding of knowledge to the believer about God through prophecy. It is growth in the knowledge of God the Son that the Holy Spirit referenced through Apostle Peter in the command of 2 Peter 3:18:
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
The gift of prophecy no doubt is intended to help the spiritual growth of believers, but it is sustained teaching of the word of God that leads to spiritual maturity. We say this because when the concern is advancing spiritually, the gift of teaching is needed. Thus, the human author of Hebrews implies that advancing spiritually requires moving from basic doctrines of the Christian faith to more advance doctrines as implied in Hebrews 6:1–2:
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
Anyway, prophecy is preferrable to speaking in tongues because it helps to build up or strengthen believers spiritually implying that they would grow both in faith and in knowledge of God.
A second thing gift of prophecy serves is to provide exhortation to believers as in the use of the word encouragement in 1 Corinthians 14:3. The word “encouragement” is translated from a Greek word (paraklēsis) that may refer to the lifting up of another’s spirit, that is, “comfort, consolation,” as it is used by Apostle Paul in his description of God in 2 Corinthians 1:3:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
While the meaning “comfort” is a possible meaning in our passage but because of the third word the apostle used, it is unlikely that the apostle used the Greek word in our verse with this meaning. That aside, the word may mean “appeal, request” as Apostle Paul used it to describe a request made to Titus regarding the Corinthians as we read in 2 Corinthians 8:17:
For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.
The word may refer to the act of emboldening another in belief or course of action, hence means “encouragement, exhortation” as it is used by Apostle Paul to describe what if truly realized by the Philippians would complete his joy as we read in Philippians 2:1:
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:3, the word has the sense of “exhortation,” that is, “the act of earnestly supporting or encouraging an action.” Hence, words of prophecy would be used to exhort or encourage believers to be faithful to God so it can be said that believers remain true to what they believe or enhance what they believe as that was what Apostles Paul and Barnabas did in their first missionary journey as recorded in Acts 14:22:
strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
Exhortation, of course, will imply paying attention to everything a believer has been taught. It is for this reason that the human author calls his instructions to the original recipients of his epistle an exhortation in Hebrews 13:22:
Brothers, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written you only a short letter.
The point is that the exercise of the gift of prophecy is aimed at exhortation towards believers in such a way as to cause us to remain faithful to God’s word.
A third thing the gift of prophecy serves, is to provide comfort to believers as in the use of the phrase and comfort in 1 Corinthians 14:3. The word comfort is translated from a Greek word (paramythia) that appears only here in the Greek NT and refers to that which serves as encouragement to one who is depressed or in grief and so means “encouragement, comfort, consolation.” The apostle did not elaborate on the comfort. Nonetheless, we should recognize that the gift of prophecy would have resulted in providing comfort, say, to those who were discouraged. This comfort would be similar to what Prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 41:10:
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
It is possible that some believers may be concerned about their salvation and through words of prophecy they hear the words of comfort similar to what is recorded in Romans 8:31–35:
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Anyway, the point is that the words of prophecy are meant to be beneficial to believers than speaking in tongues that is by and directed to God.
The apostle did not only give samples of the usefulness of gift of prophecy, but he continued with contrasting gift of prophecy and gift of speaking in tongues. This he did by indicating that the exercise of the gift of tongues is beneficial primarily to the one who exercises it. It is this that is given in the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself.
The word “edifies” is translated from a Greek verb (oikodomeō) related to the Greek noun (oikodomē) used in 1 Corinthians 14:3 that we indicated means “building up.” The Greek verb may mean “to build” in the sense of “to erect a structure” as it is used in the Lord Jesus’ charge against the Jews of His time for building monuments for the prophets their forefathers killed, as we read in Luke 11:48:
So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.
The word may mean to help improve ability to function in living responsibly and effectively hence it means “to strengthen” as it is used to describe the action of the Holy Spirit in the early church, as we read in Acts 9:31:
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
The word means “to build up” in the sense of believers strengthening one another as the word is used in 1 Thessalonians 5:11:
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
The word may mean “to rebuild” as Apostle Paul used it to describe a return to the law that he has preached against, as not required for salvation that came through Jesus Christ in Galatians 2:18:
If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:4, the word means “to build up” in the sense of to help improve a person’s moral strength or conscience or simply to strengthen a person spiritually.
The apostle states He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself but does not tell us immediately in what sense that a person who speaks in tongue edifies or builds up self spiritually. The apostle probably meant that a person who speaks in tongues is involved in a spiritual activity that benefits only the individual before God. This we say because the apostle later speaks of a person who speaks in tongues being involved in praising God or offering thanks in 1 Corinthians 14:16–17:
16 If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.
It is possible that a person who speaks in tongue may recognize that the individual is in a special relationship with God because of such a gift or becomes more assured of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Whatever the situation, the apostle intended to convey that the benefit of speaking in tongues is limited to the one who exercises the gift under certain conditions.
Be that as it may, since the apostle is contrasting the exercise of the gift of tongues to that of gift of prophecy, he indicated that the gift of prophecy benefits the church. It is this that he stated in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 14:4 but he who prophesies edifies the church. We have considered in our study of 1 Corinthians 14:1 the word “prophesies” but let me refresh your mind the sense in which the Greek word (prophēteuō) translated “prophesies” is used in our verse. It is in the sense of “to proclaim an inspired message” either of proper behavior to a standard, or of future events. It is not the same as teaching what has already being revealed in the Scripture or preaching a sermon as some contend.
Inspired messages benefit the church as that is what is meant by the verbal phrase edifies the church. Edifying or building up the church, as we have noted previously, will include providing information that will lead to more knowledge of God as well as instructions regarding how believers should conduct themselves. However, we should also recognize that prophesying could enable a local church to act generously towards other believers. We say this because the generosity of the church in Antioch towards believers in Jerusalem was due to the exercise of gift of prophecy. The example I referenced is described in Acts 11:29–30:
29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
This generosity is because of the exercise of the gift of prophecy as stated in Acts 11:27–28:
27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)
The church in Antioch would not have known to do what they did without the gift of prophecy that was exercised by Prophet Agabus. We would like to know ahead of time of a coming disaster to help prepare the church to be generous towards those who may be affected. The point is that the gift of prophecy helps to build up the moral character of believers in the church of Christ that will include the activity of generosity when necessary.
Anyway, the apostle wrote in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 14:4 but he who prophesies edifies the church. The word “church” is translated from a Greek word (ekklēsia) that we have considered in detail in a past study, but I will review what I said previously here, not only for the benefit of those who were not there when we examined the word in detail, but also as a refresher to those who were in that study. The word may refer to a group of citizens assembled for socio-political activities and so means “assembly, gathering” as in the riotous group that rose against Apostle Paul at Athens, as recorded in Acts 19:32:
The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.
Here the Greek word is translated “assembly.” The Greek word may be used to describe people with shared belief, hence means “community, congregation.” It is in this sense that the word is used to describe Israel in the desert in Acts 7:38:
He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us.
Most of our English versions used the meaning “congregation” instead of the word “assembly” to translate the Greek word in this passage of Acts although the Authorized Version used the word “church,” but the NKJV used the word “congregation.” The word in the sense of referring to people with shared belief is used predominantly in the Scripture in six different ways.
First, it is used in the Septuagint relating to the word “Lord” to describe the assembly of the people of God, that is, Israel, as it is used in the Greek translation of the Septuagint of Deuteronomy 23:2:
No one born of a forbidden marriage nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation.
The phrase the assembly of the LORD refers to the Lord’s people or the people of God. That aside, the word “assembly” is translated from a Hebrew word (qāhāl) that is a general word for assembly, but it is this word that is translated in the Septuagint with the Greek word that is given the meaning “church.” Even without the use of the word “Lord,” the Greek word used in the Septuagint refers to the congregation of believers in OT, as it is used by the psalmist in Septuagint of Psalm 22:22:
I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.
Second, it is used to describe God’s people, whether in heaven or on earth, who have believed or who will believe in Christ, whose names are recorded in heaven. Jesus used the word to describe a community of believers that will exist after His death on the cross, as we read in Matthew 18:17:
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
The reason we stated that Jesus viewed the church as a community of future believers is that the preceding two verses speak of one brother or two more brothers who are believers, as we read in Matthew 18:15–16:
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
Since the instruction of the Lord is to take the matter to the church if no resolution is achieved with two or three brothers, then it must be that the church is viewed as the larger community of believers that is future from the time the Lord Jesus declared the words of Matthew 18:17. That aside, the word “church” is used to refer to God’s people with focus on Christians on this planet as that is the sense the word is used in Hebrews 12:23:
to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,
The phrase church of the firstborn of Hebrews 12:23 is a reference to all God’s people but with focus on believers in Christ since the cross. Of course, there are those who interpret it as a reference to all believers living or dead or a reference to Old Testament believers. This notwithstanding, it is because there is a clear reference to believers in heaven in this passage that we are convinced that the phrase church of the firstborn refers to all believers who are still on this planet, that is, believers in the universal church of God that are still on this planet. The class of believers the author mentioned in Hebrews 12:23 to the spirits of righteous men made perfect is clearly a reference to believers already in heaven that will certainly include OT believers.
Third, our Greek word translated “church” is used to designate the totality of believers in Christ, living and meeting in a specific locality or larger geographical area, but not necessarily limited to one meeting place. Thus, it is used to describe the believers of the early church in Jerusalem, as we read in Acts 8:1:
And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
The church here, no doubt, refers to believers in Christ since we are informed that except for the apostles, the rest of the church was scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Only people not a building, as some use the word church, can be scattered to different locations. There is the indication that believers met at different houses, as implied in Acts 8:3:
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
Fourth, our Greek word translated “church” is used to designate the gathering of believers for discussion of matters of concern to the community of believers or for worship. Hence, believers who gathered in Jerusalem to deal with the concern of Apostles Paul and Barnabas about the relationship of Gentile believers to the Law that gave the guided directives to Gentile believers, were described as the church in Acts 15:22:
Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers.
It is in this same sense that Apostle Paul described the gathering of the believers in Corinth for worship that involves the celebration of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:18:
In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
Fifth, our Greek word translated “church” is used to designate the global community of believers or the whole body of those who have believed in Christ regardless of where they are located. This is often referred to as “the universal church.” It is in this sense that the word is used by Apostle Paul to describe what Jesus Christ is its ruler in Ephesians 1:22:
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
Christ is the head of the church not only in the sense of a local assembly of believers, but in the sense of the assembly of believers everywhere and at all times.
Sixth, our Greek word translated “church” is used to designate believers as an assembly that belongs to God or to Christ or to both. It is used to describe the assembly of believers that belong to Christ in Romans 16:16:
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
It is used to describe the assembly of believers who belong to God in 1 Corinthians 11:16:
If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
We have examined the various ways the Greek word translated “church” is used in the NT, so the question is in what sense did the apostle use it in 1 Corinthians 14:4? It is with the sense of “an orderly local congregation of those who have believed in the Lord Jesus assembled for worship.” Thus, the point of the apostle is that gift of prophecy when properly exercised benefits a local congregation of believers assembled in a specific location for worship.
The apostle having contrasted the gifts of speaking in tongues and the gift of prophecy proceeded to make two new assertions that are still related to the subject of contrasting the two gifts. We say that the apostle continued to deal with new aspects of the contrasting of the two spiritual gifts because the apostle used a Greek particle that was not translated in the NIV and many other English versions in 1 Corinthians 14:5. Nonetheless, the apostle used a Greek word (de) that may be used to connect one clause to another, either to express contrast or simple continuation but in certain occurrences this marker of continuation may be left untranslated as it is done here in the NIV and many of our English versions. Although it is often translated “but” in the English when there is a perceived contrast between two clauses, it has other meanings such as “now,” “then,” “and,” “so” when it is used to link segments of a narrative. It can also be used to provide explanation to what preceded so that it may be translated “that is.” In our verse, it is subject to two possible interpretations. It could be interpreted as being used to continue the subject of the contrast between the gift of speaking in tongues and the gift of prophecy in which case it may be left untranslated. Or it could be interpreted as signaling a transition to another aspect of the subject that the apostle had been discussing in which case it may be translated “now.” It is probably this second usage that the apostle had in mind since what he wrote in verse 5 although still concerned with the two gifts but he presented what may be viewed as new dimensions to what he has been discussing regarding the two spiritual gifts.
The new dimension of the apostle’s discussion on the subject of the gifts of speaking in tongues and prophecy concerns his preference. He began his preference by first stating what he wished for all believers in Corinth and so all believers in the universal church of Christ. His wish is given in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues.
The sentence I would like or more literally I wish is translated from a Greek verb (thelō) that may mean “to wish to have, desire, want,” that is, to have a desire for something as Apostle Paul used it in his question to believers regarding being free of fear of punishment by submitting to the appropriate authority in Romans 13:3:
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.
The word may mean to have something in mind for oneself and so means “to purpose, will, decide” as Apostle Paul used it to describe what God does in a believer regarding His plan as stated in Philippians 2:13:
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
The word may mean “to choose” as it is used to convey that there are those God chose to disclose His secret truth or mystery in Colossians 1:27:
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The word may mean to take pleasure in something in view of its being desirable and so means “to enjoy, like, take pleasure in something” as Apostle Paul used it to describe false individuals in Colossae that took pleasure in false humility and in the worship of angels in Colossians 2:18:
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.
The word may mean “to have an opinion,” “to think something to be so,” that is, “to maintain” something that is contrary to the true state of affairs as it is used to describe false teachers whose opinion is described in 2 Peter 3:5:
But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
The clause they deliberately forget is literally in maintaining this it escapes them. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:5, the sense of the word is “to desire,” that is, “to feel or to have desire for something” or “to want strongly.”
The thing Apostle Paul desires, although he knew it was impossible, is given in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:5 every one of you to speak in tongues. This sentence indicates that not everyone has the gift of speaking in tongues in the church of Christ. Thus, those who insist that every believer should speak in tongues are not basing their position on thorough examination of the subject of speaking in tongues. I say this because many of those who advocate that every believer should speak in tongues base their position on the examples of believers who spoke in tongues after they received the Holy Spirit recorded in Acts. A proper interpretation of the events in Acts must be balanced with the apostle’s wish in the verse we are considering. Anyhow, the apostle desires that all believers have the gift of speaking in tongues, again something that is unattainable since spiritual gift is sovereignly bestowed probably at the time of salvation and not something that one gets because the individual desires it.
Apostle Paul’s desire or wish for all believers in Corinth and so the universal church of Christ regarding the gift of speaking in tongues does not mean that it would happen. Thus, the apostle proceeded to state his actual preference that is given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:5 but I would rather have you prophesy. The Greek phrase translated but…rather in the NIV is one that the standard Greek English lexicon (BDAG) indicates that it introduces an expression or thought that supplements and thereby corrects what has preceded. Hence, the Greek phrase is used to convey that a better desire of the apostle is for believers to have the gift of prophecy. This we can understand because the apostle had already conveyed the benefit of gift of prophecy. Again, the fact the apostle desires this gift for believer implies that not every believer will have the gift of prophecy, only a select few that the Holy Spirit had sovereignly determined.
In any case, another dimension of the apostle’s discussion on the contrast between the gift of speaking in tongues and prophesying is a declaration of the qualified, superior value of the exercise of the gift of prophecy over that of speaking in tongues. It is this that is given in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 14:5 He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. The clause He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues is the apostle’s way of focusing on the superior nature of the gift of prophecy to speaking in tongues. It does not seem that he used it to declare that individuals who prophecy are superior to those who speak in tongues in their status but to emphasize the importance of the exercise of the gift of prophecy. The interpretation we have given is supported by the word greater the apostle used as we will demonstrate.
The word “greater” is translated from a Greek word (megas) that has the basic meaning of “great” but with different nuances. The word may mean “great” in the sense of pertaining to exceeding a standard involving related objects and so may mean “large” as the word is used for describing a sheet in narrating the vision of Apostle Peter that contained assorted uncleans animals that eventually made it possible for him to go to preach the gospel to a Gentile by removing the basis of his bias as a Jew against the Gentiles as we read in Acts 11:5:
“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.
The word may mean “great” in the sense of pertaining to being above standard in intensity so that when used with sound or one’s voice the word means “loud” as when the Lord Jesus uttered the words by which He raised Lazarus from the dead as recorded in John 11:43:
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
The phrase in a loud voice literally reads in a great voice. The word may mean “great” in the sense of pertaining to being relatively superior in importance hence it may mean “more prominent or outstanding” because of certain advantages. It is in this sense that the word is used by the Samaritan woman to compare the Lord Jesus to Jacob as we read in John 4:12:
Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
It is true that the Greek word is translated “greater” here by most of our English versions, but it has the sense of “importance” thus the GW translated the question of the NIV Are you greater than our father Jacob as You’re not more important than our ancestor Jacob, are you? The word may mean “surprising” as Apostle Paul used it in describing satanic agents in 2 Corinthians 11:15:
It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
The phrase not surprising is literally no great thing. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:5, the Greek word has the sense of “great” as it pertains to being relatively superior in importance. So, the apostle states in a qualified manner that the one who exercises the gift of prophecy is of superior importance to a local church than the one who exercises the gift of speaking in tongues.
The declaration of the superior importance of one who prophesies to the one who speaks in tongues is not absolute but a qualified one. The qualified statement is based on the ground that the speaking in tongues is not interpreted as in the clause unless he interprets. The word “interprets” is translated from a Greek word (diermēneuō) that means “to translate from one language to another” as it is used in connection with the interpretation of the name of the woman Apostle Peter raised from the dead as recorded in Acts 9:36:
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.
The word may mean “to explain, that is, to clarify something so as to make it understandable, to interpret.” In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:5, it means to “translate” in the sense of to translate words or senses from one language to another. Hence, if a person who speaks in tongues interprets/translates what the individual says, or another person interprets it, what the apostle states about superior importance of the one prophesying does not apply. That a person is expected to interpret/translate what one utters in tongues does not mean that the apostle contradicted what he wrote in the question recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:30:
Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
A person who speaks in tongues may also interpret it if the person has the gift. It is true that the apostle stated that interpretation of the gift of tongues is a separate spiritual gift but there is nothing that says a person could not have the two gifts of speaking in tongues and its interpretation. In effect, a person could have more than one spiritual gift as exhibited by the apostles.
The reason for declaring that a person who prophesies is superior in importance to the church to the one who speaks in tongue without interpreting/translating what the person says is that what the individual utters does not benefit the church. It is for this reason that the apostle indicates that speaking in tongues when interpreted will benefit the church hence the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:5 so that the church may be edified. In other words, when a person speaks in a tongue and interprets/translates what the person utters, the church will be benefited. What this means is that speaking in tongue would be of no value unless what is uttered has value in building up the church. Consequently, all those who claim to speak in tongues today without interpretation/translation of what they say are in effect involved in activity that is meaningless regarding the church of Christ. In any event, let me end our study by reminding you of the message of 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 is that the church should be more zealous about prophesying than to speaking in tongues while being mindful of the importance of love.
12/30//22