Tongues

I Corinthians 14. If you will recall, back in chapter one, there were four cliques in the Corinthian church. (Some were of Paul, some were of Apollos, some of Peter and some of Christ. 1:12) Each little group had their favorite preacher. Well that "I am of Christ" group is who Paul is addressing here in ch.14. This was a "super-spiritual" bunch who thought they were more mature than anyone else, and they fluantingly paraded their spiritual gifts, especially the gift of tongues. Paul has already shown them in ch.13 that love is the supreme gift. In essence, Paul is saying to them, "If you want a ranking of the gifts it goes like this: The gift of love is number one. The gift of prophecy (preaching) is number two. All the other spiritual gifts after that and at the bottom of the list is tongues." Paul is not saying that the gift of tongues shall cease (see v.39), as some of my Baptist brothers teach, but he is saying that it goes to the bottom of the list. Allow me to outline this chapter for you. Reread the chapter and follow this teaching outline to get a better understanding on this controversial subject.

I. Priority of Prophecy 14:1-5
Prophecy (synonymous with preaching) is priority for 3 reasons.
1) Tongues Are Addressed To God -v.2
2) Tongues Edify Self Only -v.3-4 (but preaching edifies the whole church)
3) Prophecy-preaching is of value to the whole church -v.5
Everyone needs to pay close attention to this verse: both the ones that over emphasize the gift of tongues and the ones that minimize the gift of tongues. (Paul said, 'I wish you all spoke with tongues...but I wish you would understand the priority here...')

II. Problem With Tongues 14:6-19
It's not clear communication. You "amen" (v.16) and don't even know what you're 'amening'. Paul goes on to say that it would be better to speak five words that you could understand than to speak 10,000 words in a tongue -v.19.

III. Purpose of Tongues 14:20-25
v.20- Paul calls them (and us) to maturity. God wants us to mature in our faith, but be babes (that is, be naive) when it comes to evil.
v.21-22- Purpose of Tongues: It's a sign for unbelievers.
v.24-25- Prophesy is the best. Three things happen when the Word of God is preached. 1) One is convicted. 2) One is judged. 3) Secrets of self disclosed. My friend, nothing can compete with the Word of God. Tongues can't convict a heart and transform a life. Only the preaching of the Word of God can do that.

IV. Restrictions on Tongues 14:26-33
v.26 is the guiding principle and then 4 restrictions:
1) Speaking in tongues is limited -v.27
2) Speak one at a time
3) Somebody interpret
4) No interpretation... then sit down and shut up -v.28. Why? Because God is not the author of confusion-v.33.

V. Role of Women in Worship 14:34-35
Paul brings up the women here because they are most likely the ones abusing the gift of tongues there at Corinth.

Conclusion: 14:37-40
Paul says do not forbid tongues. It is a valid gift. But it goes to the bottom of the list in terms of priority. Preaching the Gospel goes to the top of the list.

(reread the chapter carefully following this outline in order to get a good grip on this controversial subject.)