Lessons #489 and 490
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+ 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. +
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Use of the mind versus tongues in worship (1 Cor 14:13-19)
13 For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 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. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
This section of 1 Corinthians 14:13-19 is still concerned with the exercise of the gift of tongues in worship in a local church. We are certain of this fact because of the three activities of worship in a local church the apostle mentioned in the section we are about to consider. The activities the apostle mentioned are prayer, singing, and praise. He was concerned that these activities should involve the use of the mind of the worshipper than speaking in tongue where a person would utter something others do not understand unless there is interpretation of what is uttered during speaking in tongue. That the apostle was concerned with the use of the mind in worship is implied in that he used the word “mind” three times in the section that we are about to study in referencing two of the three activities that are involved in worship the apostle mentioned in our passage of study. His first use of the word “mind’ is in verse 14 in the clause but my mind is unfruitful. The second and the third are in verse 15 in the clauses but I will also pray with my mind and but I will also sing with my mind. We will consider these clauses at the appropriate time; we merely cited them to show that the apostle used the word “mind” three times in our passage.
It is our assertion that this section of 1 Corinthians 14:13-19 is concerned with the use of the mind in worship in a local church than the exercise of gift of tongues if there is no interpretation of what is said. This being the case, we can state that Apostle Paul expressed this concern as involving two elements that cover his concern. The first element is the instruction the apostle gave about the use of mind in worship and the reason for the instruction as given in verses 13 and 14. The second element is the reasons the apostle put forth for the preference of the use of mind over tongues in worship that he provided in verses 15 to 19. Actually, the apostle gave two major reasons that we will examine in detail, but it would be helpful if we acquaint you with these two reasons before we examine them later. A first reason the apostle gave is that certain worship activities are more beneficial if they involve intelligent words that certainly imply the use of the mind. This first reason is considered in verses 15 to 17. The second reason is that the apostle prefers intelligent words over tongues in instructing the church of Christ. This reason is considered in verses 18 and 19. With this overview, we state a message we believe the Holy Spirit intended to convey to the church through Apostle Paul. The message is this: Worship activities in a local church are more beneficial if done with words the mind can grasp than in spiritual ecstasy that involves speaking in tongues. You should bear this message in mind as we expound on the passage before us.
The preceding section of 1 Corinthians 14:6-12 is concerned with the necessity of intelligibility of tongues also in the local church setting. That section ended with instruction to be more enthusiastic for spiritual gifts that help in building up the church of Christ in that the last clause of 1 Corinthians 14:12 reads try to excel in gifts that build up the church. This instruction implies that speaking in tongue if not interpreted would not build up the church. It is this instruction that links the preceding section to our present section. The linkage between the two sections of 1 Corinthians 14 is the phrase that begins verse 13 For this reason.
The phrase for this reason is translated from a Greek conjunction (dio) that may mean “therefore, for this reason.” In using this Greek conjunction, the apostle in effect is saying that because he wants the Corinthians to be enthusiastic for the exercise of spiritual gifts that build up the church, he gives the instruction that follows.
The instruction the apostle gives after referencing his instruction in verse 12 that involves the building up of the church is that which requires those who speak in tongues to seek to interpret what they say. It is this instruction that is given in 1 Corinthians 14:13 anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. The Greek indicates that it is the one who speaks in tongue that should pray but some, based on what the apostle stated later in verse 27, think that perhaps the apostle wants the one who speaks in tongue to pray for another person to interpret what the individual says. However, as we have stated, the Greek indicates that it is the person who speaks in tongues that should pray to interpret what the individual utters in tongues.
The word “tongue” is translated from a Greek word (glōssa) that we have considered previously. Although the Greek word may mean “tongue” as part of body part but in our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:13, it means “language,” that is, any language but often referring to a language one has never studied and a supernatural ability to speak (or be understood) in it. It is a strange speech of a person in a religious ecstasy or “unintelligible sounds” coming from the mouth of one that speaks in tongue. Because such speech in worship situation would not benefit others, the apostle commands that the person who utters such should or must pray a specific prayer. The prayer has a specific purpose which is to interpret what the person utters. Hence, we have the content of what the person should pray as he may interpret what he says.
The word “interpret” is translated from a Greek word (diermēneuō) that means “to translate from one language to another” as it is used to translated the name of the woman Apostle Peter raised from the dead from one language to another 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), interpret.” In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:13, it means to “translate” in the sense of to translate from one language to another so that what is said is understood by one that does not know a given language. In our case, it is to translate what is uttered in religious ecstasy to what those present in the worship service would understand.
Anyhow, the apostle expects that it is possible that God may grant a person the ability to interpret what is said in response to a prayer that a person offered to God. We say this for two reasons. The first is that the command to pray is given in the Greek in a way that it could be interpreted that the prayer is something that is to be repeated. In effect, it is not a one-time prayer but one that is to be repeated. The situation would be that if a person is aware that the individual has received the gift of speaking in tongues, the individual should, before going to a local church, ask God to grant the person the ability to interpret whatever the Holy Spirit causes the person to say. The prayer is to be repeated because the one with the gift of speaking in tongues does not know when the Holy Spirit will act on the person to exercise the gift of speaking in tongues. I am saying that such a person knows that whether the individual speaks in tongue or not in a given worship time depends on the sovereign decision of the Holy Spirit. The individual merely anticipates that it is possible that the gift of speaking in tongue might be exercised by the individual during a worship service. Thus, the person prays every time before the individual attends worship service. This would mean a repeated action of prayer on the part of the person with the gift of speaking in tongues. The second reason we say that God may grant a person the interpretation of what is spoken by one with spiritual gift of speaking in tongues is that there is a specific spiritual gift of interpretation of tongues as stated in 1 Corinthians 12:10:
to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
Spiritual gifts are not the result of praying or even one desiring them but what the Holy Spirit sovereignly gives as we read in 1 Corinthians 12:11:
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
Consequently, the apostle would not have meant that a believer who speaks in tongue should pray to receive the gift of interpretation of tongues. This being the case, it makes more sense to understand the apostle’s instruction about praying is to interpret what one utters during the exercise of the gift of speaking in tongues. When a believer with the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues prays for the Lord to enable the individual to interpret what he says and God answers, that would be similar to a believer who does not necessarily have the gift of healing praying for the healing of another that is granted by the Lord. Take for example, there is no indication that Abraham although a prophet had the gift of healing, but God answered his prayer and healed Abimelech as we read in Genesis 20:17:
Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again,
Of course, God could heal and does heal in response to a believer’s prayer as conveyed in the instruction of James 5:16:
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
The instruction here in James does not imply that the person who prays has the gift of healing, but that God can heal in response to prayer of a believer. Hence, when God answers the prayer of someone who speaks in tongues by granting the person the unique ability to interpret what the person says that would not mean that the person has the gift of interpretation of tongues, only that God answered prayer. It is, of course, possible for a person to have both gifts of speaking in tongues and its interpretation. If so, the prayer would not become necessary since the gift of interpretation would function as the Holy Spirit directs. Anyway, we contend that the person Apostle Paul instructs to pray for the interpretation of tongues is an individual with the gift of tongues but without the gift of its interpretation. Again, we contend that such prayer would have to be offered every time a person with the gift of speaking in tongues goes to worship since the person would not know when the Holy Spirit would choose for the individual to exercise the gift.
We have in the past indicated that quite often when the Holy Spirit issues a command to us that the explanation or reason for such a command is usually provided. This happens to be the case in the passage we are considering. The apostle commands one who speaks in tongue to pray to be enabled to interpret it. So, the apostle provides a reason as to the necessity of interpreting what one utters in a tongue. The reason for our assertion is the word for that begins 1 Corinthians 14:14. The word “for” is translated from a Greek conjunction (gar) that has several usages. For example, it can be used as a marker of inference with the meaning “so, then, by all means” or it can be used as a marker of cause or reason for something in which case it may be translated “for, because.” It could also be used as a marker of continuation or connection. In the verse we are about to consider, the apostle used it either to provide reason for the command that requires one who speaks in tongue to pray to be able to interpret or an explanation for praying to interpret what is uttered. By the way, the Greek conjunction translated “for” is omitted in some of the older Greek manuscripts and so some consider it not to be in the original but was added by scribes as a word to help make explicit the connection of this verse to the preceding. Consequently, some English versions, such as the NET and the NCV did not translate it or enclosed with a square bracket to reflect its inclusion in the original text is uncertain. This notwithstanding, verse 14 provides reason for what was stated in the preceding verse, with or without the conjunction.
The apostle began his reason or explanation of the command for the person who speaks in tongue to pray to be able to interpret it with the conditional clause “if” in verse 14. The word “if” the apostle used is translated from a Greek particle (ean) that may be used as a maker of condition of a reduced likelihood of occurrence of an activity referenced with the meaning “if.” It can also mean “when” as a marker of point of time which is somewhat conditional and simultaneous with another point of time. In 1 Corinthians 14:14, the apostle used it to describe something that could probably take place in order that the reason for a person who speaks in tongue should pray to interpret it would make sense.
The reason the apostle gives is that speaking in tongue does not involve the use of one’s mind but involves a person’s spirit in a way that the individual does not understand. It is this reason that is given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:14 if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. The apostle’s speaking in first person, that is, using “I” could be understood that he was using himself as an example or that he was speaking in an exclusive sense. It is probably the case that the apostle meant both. He used himself as an example with the implication of speaking of himself exclusively because of his assertion in verse 18 of speaking in tongues more than anyone in the local church in Corinth That aside, the apostle indicates that his spirit would be involved if he prays in a tongue. What does he mean by his spirit praying? To answer this question, requires examination of a Greek word he used in the clause we are considering. But before we examine an important word “spirit” that the apostle used, we should recognize that the sentence I pray in a tongue means that the apostle prays by means of a tongue. This is because the apostle used in the Greek what is known as dative case that although is subject to different interpretations but in our context, it is used to indicate the means of praying.
The word “spirit” is translated from a Greek word (pneuma) that may mean “wind”, as in the description by our Lord of one that is born again in John 3:8:
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
The word may mean “breath” as Apostle Paul used it to describe the manner of the destruction of the future lawless one by the Lord Jesus in 2 Thessalonians 2:8:
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
The word may mean “spirit” as that which animates or gives life to the body, as the word is used to indicate that without it the body is lifeless in James 2:26:
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
It may mean “spirit” as part of human personality with various nuances. For example, it may refer to a person’s “very self” or “ego” as it is used by Apostle Paul in describing the assurance of the Holy Spirit to a believer regarding salvation in Romans 8:16:
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
According to the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG, the sentence The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit is better translated the Spirit (of God) bears witness to our very self. The word may refer to the immaterial part of a person in contrast to the material body, as Apostle Paul used it in his appeal to the Corinthians for holy living in 2 Corinthians 7:1:
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Under this meaning of the immaterial part of a person, it could refer to the source and seat of insight, feeling, and will, generally as the representative part of human inner life so that it may mean “mind.” It is this meaning that is used in Apostle Paul’s description of his state when he could not find Titus, as we read in 2 Corinthians 2:13:
I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
The phrase peace of mind is literally rest in my spirit. Still in this meaning, it could refer to “spiritual state, state of mind, disposition”, as it is used to describe the disposition that a believing wife should have to be considered beautiful in 1 Peter 3:4:
Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
As suggested in the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG, the phrase quiet spirit may be translated quiet disposition. The Greek word may mean “spirit” as an independent noncorporeal being, in contrast to a being that can be perceived by the physical senses. Consequently, it is used for created spirit-beings whether their function is good or bad. Apostle Paul used it to describe harmful spirits that will attempt to deceive people, as he presented in 1 Timothy 4:1:
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
The word may mean God’s being as controlling influence, with focus on association with humans hence means “Spirit.” Accordingly, Apostle Paul used it to describe God the Holy Spirit using different phrases. For example, he described the Holy Spirt as the Spirit of God in Philippians 3:3:
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
He described the Holy Spirit as “Spirit of Jesus Christ” in Philippians 1:19:
for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
A person may say that the two passages in Philippians that we have cited do not decisively imply that the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Jesus Christ is a description of the Holy Spirit. If that is the case, let me refer to a passage that leaves no doubt that the Holy Spirit may be described as the Spirt of Jesus. Luke reports how the Holy Spirit kept Apostle Paul and his team from preaching the gospel in a specified region as we read in Acts 16:6:
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
It is the Holy Spirit that kept Apostle Paul and his team from preaching in the province of Asia but then Luke reports that it was the Spirit of Jesus that would not allow the apostle and his team to enter the province of Asia as we read in Acts 16:7:
When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
Mysia was an area in northwest Asia Minor, part of the province of Asia. Thus, the Spirit of Jesus in verse 7 is in parallelism to the Holy Spirit in verse 6. Therefore, there is no doubt that the Spirit of Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:14, the Greek word has the sense “spirit,” that is, the “being made of a transcendental, immaterial existence” or “the innermost spiritual being.” This understanding of the word “spirit” enables us to answer the question of what the apostle meant when he wrote if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays. The apostle meant that praying in a tongue implies that the Holy Spirit takes control of his spirit that he prays in his inner being without being conscious of what he says as he prays. In effect, he would be involved in a spiritual exercise that he could not intelligently verbalize since it is Holy Spirit working in his inner being. This interpretation is borne out by what the apostle states next in 1 Corinthians 14:14 but my mind is unfruitful.
The sentence my mind is unfruitful is subject to two possible interpretations because of the word “but” that precedes it. The conjunction “but” is translated from a Greek conjunction (de) that may be used to connect one clause to another, either to express contrast or simple continuation but in certain occurrences the marker may be left untranslated. Although it is often translated “but” in the English when there is a perceived contrast between two clauses, but 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 indicate transition to something new. The Greek conjunction can also be used to insert an explanation with the meaning “that is,” as that is the sense Apostle Paul used the conjunction to explain what Jesus being obedient to death, means in Philippians 2:8:
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
The NIV and many of our English versions used a dash and the word “even” in their translation of this verse probably to indicate an explanation or emphasis on the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. However, the Greek conjunction has the sense of “that is,” as reflected in the LEB that instead of the verbal phrase of the NIV became obedient to death— even death on a cross! reads becoming obedient to the point of death, that is, death on a cross. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:14, the Greek conjunction is used either to draw a contrast between what is stated in the sentence my mind is unfruitful and what preceded it, or it is used to explain what precedes. While there is an intended contrast between our present sentence and what preceded, it is more likely that the apostle used the Greek conjunction in an explanatory sense. In effect, the apostle recognized that what he stated about praying in his spirit if he spoke in a tongue would not be easy to understand so he wrote an explanation that helps us in interpreting what he meant by praying in a tongue. So, the sentence my mind is unfruitful is intended to provide explanation to the clause if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays as the words used in the sentence my mind is unfruitful imply.
The word “mind” is translated from a Greek word (nous) that may mean “mind” in the sense of “understanding,” as that is the sense in which the word is used to state that the Lord Jesus opened the minds of His disciples, after His resurrection, to enable them to comprehend the Scriptures, according to Luke 24:45:
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
The word may mean “mind” in the sense of “intellect,” as Apostle Paul used it to state he serves God’s law with his intellect in Romans 7:25:
Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
The phrase in my mind may be translated with my intellect. The word may mean a way of thinking that in a sense describes the totality of the whole mental and moral state of being or the inner orientation of a person, hence means “mind, attitude, disposition”. The word then may mean “thought” as it is used for God’s punishment in time of those who reject Him as in Romans 1:28:
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
The phrase depraved mind may be translated depraved thoughts. It is with the meaning “thinking” that the word is used in describing not only the mental state of unbelievers but their lifestyle in Ephesians 4:17:
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
The phrase in the futility of their thinking is literally in the futility of their mind. The Greek word may mean the result of thinking hence means “mind, thought, opinion, decree, judgment” as in Romans 14:5:
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
Here “mind” has the sense of what one thinks or thought or judgment. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:14, it has the sense of “mind,” that is, that which is responsible for one’s thoughts and feelings; especially the seat of the faculty of reason.” The apostle, of course, wrote my mind is unfruitful.
The word “unfruitful” is translated from a Greek word (akarpos) that literally pertains to not bearing fruit and so means “unfruitful, fruitless” as it is used in comparing false teachers to autumn trees that produce no fruit in Jude 12:
These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.
However, the adjective is used figuratively to pertain to being useless in the sense of being unproductive and so means “useless, unproductive.” It is in this sense that the word is used in the Parable of the Sower where our Lord indicated that worries and deceitfulness of wealth keep the word of God someone hears from being productive in the person’s life in Matthew 13:22:
The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
The verbal phrase making it unfruitful means that the word of God does not produce good results in a person or that it does not affect the deeds of that individual. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:14, it has the sense of “unproductive” or “unfruitful” because of being inactive.
The Greek words we considered enable us to understand what Apostle Paul meant in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:14 my mind is unfruitful. He meant that his thought or reasoning capacity was not involved in praying in tongue so that it is clearer that the Holy Spirit would be at work in his spirit in such a way that he does not comprehend what is involved in the prayer that involves tongue. This interpretation is therefore an explanation of what it means that the apostle’s spirit prays if he prays in tongue. Anyway, the apostle’s point in verse 14 is that praying in tongues involves the speaker’s spirit and not the mind. Consequently, such activity is not beneficial to other believers in a worship situation hence it is not desirable for one to pray in tongue in a fellowship of believers if what is offered is unintelligible. With this comment, we have examined the first of the two elements we indicated were of concern to the apostle. This first element, we considered that deals with the concern of the apostle in the section of 1 Corinthians 14:13-19 is the instruction the apostle gave in the use of mind in worship and the reason for the instruction as given in verses 13 and 14. So we proceed to the second element.
The second element that expressed the apostle’s concern in the passage we are considering, as we stated previously, is the reasons the apostle put forth for the preference of the use of mind or intelligible words over tongues in worship that he provided in verses 15 to 19. As we previously stated, the apostle gave two major reasons for his preference of the use of the mind over tongues in worship. We begin with the first major reason the apostle gave in verses 15 to 17 which is that certain worship activities are more beneficial if they involve intelligent words that certainly imply the use of the mind during worship.
The first reason the apostle provided is introduced by a question of 1 Corinthians 14:15 So what shall I do? A literal translation is What then is it? This is in part because the word “so” is translated from a Greek word (oun) that has several usages. It may be used as a marker of continuation of a narrative in which case it may be translated “so, now, then.” It may be used as a marker of emphasis with the meaning “certainly, to be sure.” It may be used as a marker of inference indicating that what it introduces, results from or is an inference from what precedes so may be translated “therefore, then.” When the Greek word is used with a Greek word that means “what” in a formula as a part of a question, it may have the meaning “what then?” or “what, then, are we to conclude?” as the apostle used the Greek formula in his discourse of the doctrine of election as it pertains to Israel as we read in Romans 11:7:
What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
If the Greek formula includes a Greek verb that means “to be” as in our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:15, the formula may be translated “what, then, is to be done?” This is the way the formula is translated in the question addressed to Apostle Paul by some in the church of Jerusalem because of a false accusation levied against him as we read in Acts 21:22:
What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come,
The translation of the Greek formula as we indicated is applicable to our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:15. Therefore, it is used in our passage to indicate that what follow should be regarded as that which result from the apostle’s statement that praying in tongues does not involve the mind. So, his question is concerned with what a good approach is because of what he had said previously regarding praying in tongue that does not involve the use of one’s mind. Of course, the apostle asked a rhetorical question that he did not intend for the reader to supply the answer. Hence, he supplied the answer to his question with three assertions that support his first reason of preference of the use of the mind over tongues in worship. The first assertion is that he himself prefers praying and singing with intelligent words to using tongues in public worship. It is this assertion that is given in 1 Corinthians 14:15 I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.
The apostle admits that it is a legitimate practice to pray in tongue as the Holy Spirit directs. It is this that he stated in the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:15 I will pray with my spirit. A literal translation reads I will pray with the spirit. The literal translation reveals that the word “spirit” is subject to two possible interpretations. It could refer to human spirit or to the Holy Spirit. This is because the definite article “the” used in the literal translation could be interpreted in at least two ways that justify taking it as a reference to human spirit or the Holy Spirit. The article could be interpreted to mean that the apostle refers to human spirit either because the definite article may be interpreted as possessive in which case it may be translated “my” or that the article could be regarded as anaphoric, meaning that it refers to something previously referenced or mentioned. In verse 14, the apostle used a Greek phrase that clearly means “my spirit” and so it could be argued that the apostle was referring to that phrase and so that he was referring to his spirit mentioned in verse 14. Another interpretation of the article is that it is used either to describe that which is in a class by itself or that which is well known that there is no need for further description of the object associated with the article. In the context of spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit is well known as the giver of spiritual gifts so that all one has to do is to speak of “the Spirit” and the reader should think of the Holy Spirit. Either of these interpretations make sense in the context. However, the apostle probably was intentionally vague because he wanted us to recognize that the Holy Spirit is involved in that He acts in the human spirit to bring about what he stated. We say this because we have previously argued that the person who speaks in tongues does so not to benefit human beings but speaks by means of God the Holy Spirit in such a way that only God understands the person. Thus, the Holy Spirit acts in the human spirit in such a way that the individual would perform the activity the apostle had stated. In effect, the person prays by means of the Holy Spirit working on the person’s spirit. That the Holy Spirit works in the one who prays is implied in the phrase with my spirit or literally with the spirit. The Greek phrase could be interpreted to mean that the Holy Spirit is the means by which prayer is offered.
In any case, the apostle recognized that praying can be carried out as part of speaking in tongue since he wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:15 I will pray with my spirit or literally I will pray with the spirit. One may wonder what the apostle meant by praying with my spirit or with the spirit had he not already explained it. To pray with my spirit or with the spirit refers to a prayer that is uttered by the one who speaks in tongue as the Holy Spirit enables the person. We are certain that praying as the apostle stated refers to praying in tongues because of what he stated in 1 Corinthians 14:14:
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
To ensure there is no doubt that praying with the spirit is concerned with speaking in tongues that the one who exercises the gift does not understand, the apostle states that which is contrary to the praying in the spirit in 1 Corinthians 14:15 but I will also pray with my mind. The apostle is emphatic in this clause, so we know that it is important for a person who prays in tongue to pray with his mind. The reason we said that the apostle is emphatic is because of the Greek phrase but…also is one that is used as a marker of heightened emphasis.
What does the apostle mean by praying with his mind? He means that he would use intelligent words in his prayer. In other words, his prayer would involve his thought process. Prayer is an activity that involves thinking as one prays. Often some Christians forget that prayer should involve careful thought as one utters words involved in prayer. It is often because we forget this that some of us are very repetitive in prayer, that is, they repeat what they say in prayer. In doing so, they actually are babbling contrary to the instruction of the Lord Jesus about prayer given during His Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew 6:7:
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
God is not hard of hearing. He knows what we will say before we even say a word as stated in the next verse of Matthew 6, that is, Matthew 6:8:
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Anyway, praying with the mind means that a person is thoughtful or uses the ability to reason to pray using words that are intelligent to those involved in worship situation unlike one who prays by means of the Holy Spirit working in the person’s spirit so the individual utters words that the person or others do not understand. You may ask. Why then should a person pray in tongues? The answer is that God knows the reason that occurs. He has not seen fit to give us every answer to every question that we may have. Nonetheless, there is a state of blessing in such activity associated with gift of speaking in tongues that we cannot fully understand but experience by the one who exercises it. God does not do anything without a reason. So, you should know that God has a purpose for such activity although it may not be clear to those who do not experience this use of tongues in singing and in prayer.
Apostle Paul not only conveys that speaking in tongues involves praying but also that such an activity may involve singing. This is implied in the next sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:15 I will sing with my spirit.
The word “sing” is translated from a Greek word (psallō) that originally meant “to touch” then “to pluck” the string, especially, of the string of a bow so as to cause it to vibrate. It is used in the Septuagint to translate a Hebrew word (zāmǎr) that means “to sing praise”, “to play an instrument”, that is, to make music that is used in Psalm 149:3:
Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.
The instruction make music to him with tambourine and harp in the Septuagint reads with tambourine and harp let them sing psalms to him. It is used in the Septuagint for a Hebrew word (nāḡǎn) that means “to play a stringed instrument” used in Psalm 68:25:
In front are the singers, after them the musicians; with them are the maidens playing tambourines.
The phrase the musicians is rendered in the Septuagint as the players on instruments since the Greek used the participle of our Greek word. In the NT, the meaning is in keeping with that of the OT usage so means to sing songs of praise, with or without instrumental accompaniment, hence it means “to sing, sing praise.” The Greek word is translated “make music” in Ephesians 5:19:
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.
The word is used in three other passages in the Greek NT where the translators of the NIV rendered it differently. It is rendered “sing hymns” in Romans 15:9:
so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.”
The expression “sing hymns” of the NIV is better translated “sing praises” since the sentence I will sing hymns to your name is quoted from Psalm 18:49:
Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O Lord; I will sing praises to your name.
The expression “sing praises” is translated from the Hebrew word (zāmǎr) that we previously mentioned that means “to sing praise”, “to play an instrument”, that is, to make music. Thus, it is probably better to use the expression “sing praises” than “to sing hymns” of the NIV in Romans 15:9. The Greek word is translated “to sing song of praise” by the translators of the NIV in James 5:13:
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
The instruction let him sing songs of praise is more literally he should sing praise although some English versions rendered our Greek word here as “sing psalms.” In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:15, it has the sense of “to sing praise.” Hence, when the apostle wrote I will sing with my spirit he meant that there is such a thing as singing as part of spiritual ecstasy that occurs during speaking in tongues.
To convey that there is such thing as singing in praise of God as part of speaking in tongues, the apostle contrasts the singing of spiritual ecstasy to the singing of praise to God that involves full use of one’s thought or intellectual faculty as we read in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 14:15 but I will also sing with my mind. Again, the apostle is emphatic in this declaration to communicate to us that it is more important to sing intelligibly than to sing in words that no one understands. What the apostle states about praying and singing indicates that speaking in tongues may involve both. However, since he discouraged them during worship if there is no interpretation of what is said, implies that there is such a thing as private use of the gift of speaking in tongues contrary to what many contend. The apostle did not say that a person should never pray in tongues but only if it can be interpreted. Therefore, it must be because he recognized that such gift could function outside the local church that he did not outright forbid the use of tongues in praying or singing. In any event, we have considered the first assertion of the apostle regarding his first major reason for use of mind in public worship than tongues which is that, in effect, praying and singing with intelligent words are more beneficial than doing these in tongues. Anyway, let me end by reminding you of the message of this section which is: Worship activities in a local church are more beneficial if done with words the mind can grasp than in spiritual ecstasy that involves speaking in tongues.
01/27//23