1 Corinthians 14:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

NIV: But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

NASB: nevertheless, in church I prefer to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

CSB: yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

NLT: But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.

KJV: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

NKJV: yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Paul has thanked God, in the previous verse, that he speaks in tongues more than anyone in Corinth. Since he spent so much time with them when founding the church there, they may know this fact well. Paul's restriction on the exercise of the gift of speaking in foreign languages in church without an interpreter is not from jealousy. He, too, has the gift and uses it.

The difference between Paul and the Christians in Corinth is in how and when he exercises the gift of speaking in tongues. He has shown in this chapter that all spiritual gifts are given for building up the church, by Christians building up one another. Speaking in tongues when nobody else knows what is being said does not help with that.

To show how seriously he means this, Paul now adds that he would rather speak five words formed in his mind to teach others in a church service than to use 10,000 words in a language neither he nor anyone else could understand. Those five words, understood by all, serve the purpose of the church, while 10,000 words without meaning serve no purpose, at all.

First Corinthians 14:1–25 describes why the gift of prophecy is superior to the gift of tongues in church services, especially when nobody with the gift of interpreting tongues is available. Prophecy benefits everyone in the room with a revelation from God. Praying in a tongue, when nobody can interpret, only benefits the one praying. In fact, displaying the gift of tongues without interpretation may do more harm than good—it generates confusion and division. In contrast, the use of prophecy provides the opportunity for unbelievers to hear from God, be convicted about sin, and come to faith in Christ and genuine worship.

Paul encourages the Corinthians to desire the gift of prophecy, especially, among the other gifts. He shows why its use in the church service is superior to the use of the gift of tongues if nobody is available to interpret. Prophecy benefits everyone; praying in tongues with nobody to interpret benefits only the speaker. Only two or three tongues-speakers should contribute to any service, and only then one at a time and followed by interpreters. The same applies to prophecy and the gift of discerning spirits. Orderliness and building up the church are guiding principles for any worship meeting. Modern churches are divided on the extent to who which these gifts are given, or should be practiced.

1 Corinthians 14 concludes Paul's teaching on the spiritual gifts begun in chapter 12. Between them, chapter 13 declared that Christlike love matters most of all. The gift of prophecy is better than the display of the gift of tongues in worship services unless someone with the gift of interpreting tongues is available. Even then, only those things which build up the church should be included in any service, and everything should be done in an orderly way, reflecting the character of God. The final two chapters of this letter discuss the resurrection of Christ and Paul's concluding remarks.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.

Accessed 5/3/2024 5:14:21 AM