1 Corinthians 14:4 Commentary and Bible Study

Look at the way in which the apostle Paul minimises the usefulness of tongues speaking. He is comparing the usefulness of tongues speaking with prophecy, but he initially has in mind a tongues speaker whose foreign language is not being interpreted because there is no interpreter present on that particular day. He does not deny that both have a genuine gift from the Spirit, but the usefulness of the two gifts is measured by the edification of the people. The tongues speaker who is not interpreted has received a message from God. He himself understands the message, but nobody else does. If his tongue was to be interpreted, then his gift would be a form of prophesy – although a more complicated form, since it has passed through a foreign language on the way. But if it is not interpreted, it serves no purpose except to edify the speaker, and the gifts as already taught are not intended for mere personal benefit. The tongues speaker should have spoken his message out to the people to make it worthwhile. If he is not interpreting, then there is a disconnection. He shouldn’t be speaking in the church if he is not given a clear message to interpret. It is not quite the right thing for him to be doing. It is rather as if I were to be a member of a congregation of another church – maybe I am on holiday – and instead of listening to the preacher, like every other member of the congregation, in my mind I am devising another sermon of my own. I shouldn’t be doing that. I should be listening to the preacher, not devising my own sermon. The tongues speaker, if he alone benefits from the message is doing something like that. He is not wicked, he is not wrong; he just isn’t to speak today, and so he should keep to himself. The prophet on the other hand speaks words that do not need interpreting in order to be understood. They are given in the vernacular. All this is so obvious that it is embarrassing for the Corinthians that Paul has to explain it to them. Tongues is a sign to the Jews, but really it is far less efficient as a teaching mechanism than prophecy. It doesn’t have that much usefulness, apart from its sign value.