Lessons #491 and 492
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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.
The message of this section of 1 Corinthians 14:13-19, if you recall, 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. As we stated in our last study, the concern of the apostle in this section is his preference of 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. Apostle Paul expressed this concern as involving two elements that cover his concern. The first element 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. 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. The apostle gave two major reasons that support his point. The first major reason is that certain worship activities are more beneficial if they involve intelligent words; this certainly implies the use of the mind. This first reason is considered in verses 15 to 17. The second major 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. We started to consider the first reason in our last study. Thus, we indicated that the apostle made 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. So, we proceed to consider the second.
The second assertion of the apostle that supports his first reason for preference of the use of the mind over tongues in public worship is that praise carried out in the spirit does not allow others to participate. He made this point using a conditional clause followed by a rhetorical question in verse 16. Verse 16 in a sense serves as the second assertion of the apostle but also a reason for the first assertion so that the second assertion is related to the first. In effect, verse 16 is related to verse 15. This is first because the verse begins in the Greek with a Greek conjunction (epei) that may be used as a marker of time at which something occurs and so may mean “when, after” as it is used to introduce what happened after the Lord Jesus finished His sermon to the people before He entered Capernaum as we read in Luke 7:1:
When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
The Greek conjunction may be used as a marker of cause or reason in which case it has the meaning “because, since, for” as Apostle Paul used the word to provide reason for his boast as we may gather from 2 Corinthians 11:18:
Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.
The word could also mean “otherwise” as it is used in Apostle Paul’s reason for instructing those in mixed marriages in the sense both spouses were unbelievers when they got married but one of them afterwards got saved, to strive not to divorce for the sake of the position their children would be placed if they divorced as we read in 1 Corinthians 7:14:
For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:16, it is used as a marker of reason or explanation for the apostle’s preference of the use of mind in public worship to use of tongues. It is true that the translators of the 1984 edition of the NIV did not translate our Greek conjunction, but the 2011 edition translated it with the word “otherwise” as you find in many of our English versions.
The second way we know that verse 16 is related to verse 15 is the word “praising” in the conditional clause the apostle used in 1 Corinthians 14:16 If you are praising God with your spirit. The word “if” is translated from a Greek word (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 our passage, it is used to introduce a condition that has a reduced probability of occurring which if it happens leads to the apostle’s rhetorical question.
The event the apostle indicated has a reduced probability of occurring concerns praising of God although the word “God” is not explicitly used in the Greek. It is this that is described in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:16 you are praising God with your spirit.
The word “praising” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (eulogeō) that may mean “to speak well of, praise, extol,” that is, to say something commendatory about a person as it is used to describe Zechariah’s speech about God once he was able to speak after the birth of John the Baptist as recorded in Luke 1:64:
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God.
When the word is used in connection with food that a person is about to eat, the Geek word may mean “to give thanks” as it is used, for example, when the Lord Jesus prayed before the miracle of feeding of five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish as narrated in Luke 9:16:
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.
The word may mean “to bless” in the sense of “to ask for bestowal of special favor”, especially of calling down God’s gracious power as the word is used to specify the right response of believers toward their persecutors in Romans 12:14:
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
The word may mean “to bestow a favor, provide with benefits” as it is used to describe the spiritual benefits God has bestowed on believers although the word “bless” is used in Ephesians 1:3:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:16, it is used in the sense of “to praise,” that is, “say something commendatory.”
We indicated that there is a sense in which verse 16 is related to verse 15. This relationship is conveyed with the word “praise.” You see, praise of God may take different forms. For example, praise may involve use of musical instruments as we may gather from Psalm 150:4–5:
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, 5praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
Praise may also be in the form of singing as we read in Nehemiah 12:46:
For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the singers and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
If singing is a form of praise then there is a connection between praise in 1 Corinthians 14:16 and verse 15 where the apostle referenced singing that is carried out both using his mind and his spirit acted upon by the Holy Spirit. This being the case, we are correct in stating that there is a sense in which the second assertion of the apostle in verse 16 is related to verse 15.
The praise the apostle mentioned as being possible is certainly directed to God although that is not explicitly stated in the Greek despite the verbal phrase in the NIV of verse 16 praising God. As we have indicated, the Greek does not use the word “God”, but it is to be understood for the simple reason that praise in worship situation is an activity that exclusively belongs to God. The Scripture is clear that praise belongs to God alone as, for example, in 1 Chronicles 16:25:
For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
Therefore, praise belongs to the triune God although in some contexts, praise may be directed to God the Father as we may gather from the fact that Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry directed His praise and thanksgiving to God the Father following the successful mission of the disciples, He sent on a mission trip as recorded in Luke 10:21:
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
This aside, Apostle Paul did not in the passage that we are studying identify any member of Godhead that is praised in worship. He simply implied that God is praised.
Apostle Paul referenced praise without clearly stating to whom it is directed or how that is carried out during worship. The translators of the NIV imply that the praise is directed to God as we have already stated and that such praise involves human spirit because of the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 14:16 praising God with your spirit. The apostle was probably intentionally ambiguous since literally, the Greek reads praise to/with spirit. The ambiguity of the apostle is so that we may understand that the praise in view is directed to God but also that the praise is carried out by the believer upon whom the Holy Spirit acts on so the person ecstatically praises God. We should not be surprised that a person could ecstatically praise God when acted upon by the Holy Spirit without knowing what the individual is saying. This truth was demonstrated on the day of Pentecost when the disciples spoke in tongues praising God although they were not aware of it as we read in Acts 2:11:
(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
A person could say that the word “praise” is not used here but if we remember that praise is an activity that involves saying commendatory things, then declaring the wonders of God is indeed an act of praise. Hence, when the apostle says that someone praises God, he would mean that the Holy Spirit works in the spirit of the believer so that the individual ecstatically praises God without actually knowing what is being said in the praise. In effect, the apostle meant to convey that the praising involved in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 14:16 praising God with your spirit is concerned with speaking in tongues. For unless that was the case, what the apostle states as what would happen if the conditional clause he stated is fulfilled, would be unnecessary.
In any case, the apostle states what would result if indeed a person utters praise to God ecstatically, that is, if the person with the gift of tongues utters praise to God while speaking in tongues. The thing that would result is given in the rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 14:16, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving. Literally, the Greek reads the one occupying the place of the uninstructed how will he say the “Amen” to your thanksgiving. The literal Greek reveals that the rendering of the NIV is interpretative since the Greek sentence is subject to various interpretations.
The expression “finds himself” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (anaplēroō) that may mean “to carry out an agreement or obligation” and so may mean “to fulfill” as Apostle Paul used it to indicate that when believers carry each other’s burden, they fulfill the law of Christ as we read in Galatians 6:2:
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
The word may mean “to supply what is lacking” hence may mean “to make up” as Apostle Paul used it in his description of Epaphroditus as one who supplied what the Philippians were lacking that is expected of them as it pertains to him as we read in Philippians 2:30:
because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:16, it means “to occupy a place,” that is, “to fill.” However, the apostle used a Greek participle indicating that he described a person who will occupy a place or fill a specified position in a congregation during worship.
The position filled or occupied by the person the apostle had in mind in his rhetorical question is described in the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:16 among those who do not understand. Literally, the Greek reads the one occupying the place of the uninstructed. The word “among” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (topos) that may refer to a position held in a group for discharge of some responsibility hence means “position, office” as the word is used in the prayer of the church when they wanted to replace Judas Iscariot as we read in Acts 1:25:
to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”
The verbal phrase to take over this apostolic ministry is more literally to take the place in this ministry and apostleship. The Greek word may refer to a favorable circumstance for doing something, that is, “opportunity, chance” as the word is used in the mouth of Governor Felix to report to King Agrippa what he told the Jews about their request for him to condemn Apostle Paul as recorded in Acts 25:16:
“I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges.
The word may refer to “an abode,” that is, “place, room to live, to stay, sit” as the word is used in the description of the place of abode of the woman, who had a child, that some take to be the church or Israel in Revelation 12:14:
The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:16, the word has the sense of “stead,” that is, “the place or role that someone should have or fill.” The implication is that the word is used not in a literal sense but figuratively hence, it may mean “status” as suggested by the UBS handbook.
The status that someone may have or fill in a local church in Corinth during worship is described in the NIV in the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:16 those who do not understand or literally of the uninstructed. The clause those who do not understand of the NIV is one interpretation of what the Greek says. The expression “not understand” is translated from a Greek word (idiōtēs) that may refer to a person who is relatively unskilled or inexperienced in some activity or field of knowledge and so mean “a layperson, amateur” in contrast to an expert or specialist of any kind so it refers to untrained or unskilled speaker in 2 Corinthians 11:6:
I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.
The word may mean “ordinary” or “untrained person” as it is used by Jewish religious leaders to describe Apostles Peter and John as recorded in Acts 4:13:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
According to the scholars, the word was used in religious sense as a term for nonmembers of a religious group who may participate in the sacrifices. The word in our passage probably means “uninitiate” or “outsider.” The problem is how to understand the person that the word refers to in our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:16. An interpretation is that it refers to a person who is an unbeliever that presumably occupies a position that is reserved in a local church for such a person to observe what is going on. This could hardly be the interpretation because such a person would not have known to say “Amen” since the word is not a Greek word or a word used in Greek religious worship. This being the case, the word is used by the apostle to describe believers or those who may be described as seekers in that they have been to a local church several times but have not become full members. However, it is more likely that the apostle used the word to describe full members of the church in Corinth who were made to take the position of those who were outsiders because they did not know what the one praising God in tongues is saying so that they would be as if they were outsiders when in fact they were not. Thus, when there is no interpretation of tongues, those in the local church feel like outsiders because they are excluded from participating in praising God.
The persons who do not understand what is said could not participate in praise to God as reflected in the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:16 those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving. The participation in praise to God is conveyed with the word “Amen” that is translated from a Greek word (amēn) that is derived from a Hebrew word (ʾāmēn) that is a word used for a strong affirmation of what is said. So, it is translated “amen” as an expression of faith by a congregation at the end of a liturgical formula spoken in worship as it is used to describe the response of the four living creatures in heaven when they heard of the praise addressed to God as we read in Revelation 5:14:
The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
It is used at the end of a doxology as Apostle Paul used it in his doxology at the end of the eleventh chapter of Romans as we read in Romans 11:36:
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
The word may be used as an asseverative or emphatic particle with the meaning “truly” that is used only by Jesus Christ to begin a solemn declaration, always with a Greek word that mean “to tell” so it may be translated “I assure you that” or “I solemnly tell you.” Thus, the word is used in the Lord Jesus’ declaration of the necessity of regeneration if a person should come under the rule of God or become a child of God as we read in John 3:5:
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
The sentence I tell you the truth of the 1984 edition of the NIV is translated in the 2011 edition as Very truly I tell you while the NASB reads Truly, truly, I say to you. The Greek word is used to describe Jesus Christ as “the ultimate affirmation, the Amen” in Revelation 3:14:
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
A person may say that there is no mention of Jesus Christ in this verse, but He is the One that delivered the message Apostle John recorded for the seven Asiatic churches. For example, He is clearly identified by the phrase “Son of God” in Revelation 2:18:
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
That aside, the Greek word is used with the meaning “Amen” in our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:16 as a response to be expected of a person who joins in a Christian worship.
By the way, we should recognize that the word “Amen” is a word used as a response at the end of a prayer to show that the audience agreed with the contents of the prayer. It was clearly a custom in Israel to use the word to agree to the content of what is said in a prayer. Thus, a woman under suspicion of infidelity was to use the word to affirm that she agrees with the prayer that is offered that would either clear her or convict her as we read in Numbers 5:22:
May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells and your thigh wastes away.” “‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.”
After the Babylonian exile, the word was used by the Israelites to participate in and agree with the praise of Ezra, the priest, as we read in Nehemiah 8:6:
Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Apparently, the early church adopted this practice from worship services of the Jews in the NT times as implied by the fact that such a word is used in the church in Corinth. Thus, many congregations even today respond with “Amen” when a prayer is offered although I am not sure why many local churches in this country do not respond with “amen” after public prayer in their local churches. That aside, Apostle Paul indicated that a person who does not understand the content of the praise to God spoken in tongues could not participate in it by saying “amen.”
The thing that a person who does not grasp what is said in tongue during worship of God in a local congregation could not participate in is described with the phrase of 1 Corinthians 14:16 to your thanksgiving. The word “thanksgiving” is translated from a Greek word (eucharistia) that can mean “thankfulness, gratitude”, as the word is used by Apostle Paul in his defense before Felix in Acts 24:3:
Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.
The word can mean “thanksgiving” that is mostly addressed to God for what He has done for believers. For example, the apostle instructs believers to offer thanks to God for the food He created in 1 Timothy 4:3:
They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
Furthermore, the apostle used the Greek word to convey it is the duty of believers to be thankful to God in their prayer when they face difficulties as stated in Philippians 4:6:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:16, it has the sense of “thanksgiving,” that is, what one does to express gratitude or to show appreciation to someone for what the person has done.
It is interesting to note that Apostle Paul stated in the beginning of 1 Corinthians 14:16 you are praising God with your spirit but he then he used the phrase to your thanksgiving when he indicated that a person could not say “Amen.” The implication would be that the apostle was speaking of the same thing. However, we should recognize that thanksgiving and praise directed to God are not quite the same although there are similarities between the two. Praise and thanksgiving are sometimes linked together. Thus, the psalmist linked the two in worship situation in the temple as we read in Psalm 100:4:
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Praise of God may involve singing as the psalmist conveyed in Psalm 69:30:
I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving may also involve song as implied in the thanksgiving of Jonah after the Lord graciously delivered him from the belly of the large fish as we read in Jonah 2:9:
But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.”
The psalmist also indicated that thanksgiving involves singing as we read in Psalm 147:7:
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.
While praise and thanksgiving involve similar activities in worship in the OT, there seems to be the difference that thanksgiving was associated with fellowship offering but praise was not as we may learn from Leviticus 7:12–15:
12 “‘If he offers it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering he is to offer cakes of bread made without yeast and mixed with oil, wafers made without yeast and spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour well-kneaded and mixed with oil. 13 Along with his fellowship offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of bread made with yeast. 14 He is to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the LORD; it belongs to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the fellowship offerings. 15 The meat of his fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; he must leave none of it till morning.
The phrase of Leviticus 7:15 fellowship offering of thanksgiving implies that fellowship offering is associated with thanksgiving, but we do not have similar phrase with respect to praise so we could say that in the OT Scripture thanksgiving and praise are differentiated as it pertains to fellowship offering. This notwithstanding, in the NT praise is linked to sacrifice that does not involve anything material as it is used in Hebrews 13:15:
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Interestingly, both in the OT and in the NT some of the words that mean “to praise” may also in some context mean “to thank.” For example, a Hebrew word (bārǎḵ) that means “to bless, praise” once has the meaning of “to thank” in Deuteronomy 24:13:
Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the LORD your God.
The sentence he will thank you may alternatively be translated he may bless you. Another Hebrew word (hālǎl) that means “to praise” is once translated to “thank” in 2 Chronicles 7:6:
The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the LORD’s musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.
Of course, we have already noted that the Greek word (eulogeō) translated “to praise” in the first part of 1 Corinthians 14:16 may also mean “to offer thanks” in connection with food. Because our Greek words and Hebrew words used for praise may also mean to offer thanks, it is also difficult to differentiate the two words based on the original Greek and Hebrew. Anyway, while there may be connections between praise and thanksgiving when directed to God, we should recognize that they are two different things although our English dictionaries may not show a clear distinction between the two. For example, the Concise English Oxford Dictionary defines the verb “praise” as to “express respect and gratitude towards (a deity)” while it says that thanksgiving is “the expression of gratitude, especially to God.” These definitions make it difficult to differentiate praise from thanksgiving. Nonetheless, praise should be understood as an activity that involves celebration, honor, and adoration of God under the control of the Holy Spirit while thanksgiving is an expression of thanks or gratitude to God for blessing received from Him. The blessing may be deliverance or protection. The point is that while praise and thanksgiving are related, they are not exactly the same.
Why do I make a distinction between praise and thanksgiving? You may ask. It is because of the implication of distinguishing the two. The implication of this distinction is that the Holy Spirit through the apostle probably wants us to recognize that on one occasion a person may praise God in the sense of celebrating His person or character as an exercise of the gift of speaking in tongues and on another occasion the person may through the exercise of the gift of tongues be involved in thanksgiving to God for what He has done. Either situation requires that believers in worship situations should participate by using the word “Amen.” But the apostle says that such would not happen. The reason, of course, is that those in worship where the gift of tongues is exercised without interpretation would not know what is said. It is this reason that is given in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 14:16 since he does not know what you are saying. The word “since” is translated from a Greek conjunction (epeidē) that may be used as a marker of time with the meaning “when, after” as it is used to indicate what Jesus did after He finished His sermon that was similar to the Sermon on the Mount that Luke recorded in Luke 7:1:
When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
The conjunction may be used as a marker of cause or reason with the meaning “because, since”, as it is used by Apostle Paul to provide the reason Epaphroditus desired to see the Philippians and was distressed about them, as stated in Philippians 2:26:
For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:16, it is used as a marker of reason hence means “because, since.”
The reason a person would not say “Amen” to the thanksgiving offered in tongues is that the individual does not understand what is said as in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:16 he does not know what you are saying. The word “know” is translated from a Greek word (oida) with a range of meanings, but we will briefly consider those that are possible candidates in our context. The word may mean to grasp the meaning of something or to comprehend, that is, “to understand, recognize, come to know, experience” as in John 16:18:
They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
The sentence We don’t understand what he is saying is literally we don’t know what he is saying. The Greek word may mean “to remember, recollect” as Apostle Paul used it to state of him not recollecting baptizing anyone else in Corinth than those he mentioned in the first chapter of the epistle as we read in 1 Corinthians 1:16:
(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
The Greek word may mean “to know” in the sense of having information about someone or something as Apostle Paul used the word to indicate that the Galatians, prior to their salvation, did not know the supreme God in Galatians 4:8:
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:16, the word means “to understand,” that is, “to make sense of a language.” In any event, the second assertion of the apostle that supports his first reason for preference of the use of the mind over tongues in public worship is that praise carried out in the spirit does not allow others to participate. This brings us to the apostle’s third assertion.
The third assertion of the apostle that supports his first reason for preference of the use of the mind over tongues in public worship is that thanksgiving in the spirit, that is, through speaking in tongues does not build up others spiritually.
Apostle Paul does not deny that a person offers thanksgiving while speaking in tongues. He acknowledged the fact of such a thing. He did so in an emphatic manner in the Greek although it is not readily apparent in the NIV because of the first sentence in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 14:17 You may be giving thanks well enough. There are three indicators in the Greek that the apostle admits in an emphatic manner that a person may be involved in thanksgiving through speaking in tongues. The first indicator is that the apostle used an independent second person pronoun “you” in the Greek that is not necessary since the Greek form enables the reader to know that it is a second person that is involved in the action of thanksgiving. So, if a Greek writer uses an independent second person pronoun the intent is to emphasize what is said. The second indicator is that the apostle used a Greek phrase that consists of a Greek particle (men) that may mean “indeed” and a Greek conjunction (gar) that may mean “for” so that the Greek phrase may be translated “for indeed.” The Greek phrase is one way to concede a fact in an emphatic manner. The third indicator is the phrase “well enough” in the NIV. It is translated from a Greek adverb (kalōs) that means “good” as it is used to describe those that want the Galatians to observe the ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic law, really have no good intention, as in Galatians 4:17:
Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them.
The word may mean “well” in the sense of meeting relatively high standards of excellence or expectation as in the qualifications of an overseer of a local church in 1 Timothy 3:4:
He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.
The word may mean “honorably” as in the admirable manner a believer should aim to conduct self as was the case with the human author of Hebrews as we read in Hebrews 13:18:
Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.
The word may mean “right” as it is used to commend one that loves the neighbor in James 2:8:
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:17, the word is used in the sense of “well” as it pertains to meeting a relatively high standard of excellence. Anyway, the indicators of the apostle acknowledging the fact that a person speaking in tongues may be involved in thanksgiving is clearer in the literal Greek. The sentence of the NIV You may be giving thanks well enough is more literally For you indeed give thanks well as reflected in the LEB. Although many of our English versions did not reflect the emphatic nature of the Greek but some, such as, the NET, did, with the translation For you are certainly giving thanks well.
The point is that the apostle admits emphatically that a person who speaks in tongue may be giving thanks to God. However, his concern is that such exercise of the gift of tongues during worship does not help to build others up spiritually. Thus, he wrote the next clause of 1 Corinthians 14:17 but the other man is not edified. The word “man” of the NIV is interpretative since the Greek simply reads but the other (person) not is built up. The word “edified” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (oiko`domeō) that 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 14:17, the word means “to build up” in the sense of to help improve a person’s moral strength. A believer is strengthened spiritually by learning words that should be used in praising or in thanksgiving to God if the praise is done in words the person understands or if the words given by the Holy Spirit in the praise are interpreted so the person could learn. Hence, the third assertion of the apostle that supports his first reason for preference of the use of the mind over tongues in public worship is that thanksgiving in the spirit, that is, through speaking in tongues without its interpretation does not build up others spiritually. Anyway, let me end by reminding you of the message of the section we are considering 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.
02/03//23