I truly believed that we would close out our overview of 1st Corinthians today, but I was wrong! Chapter 14 had more to offer than I had expected. Paul's dealing with the confusion of the use of spiritual gifts is very important for us to clearly understand. First of all, the chapter opens with his call to follow after charity / unconditional love and seek spiritual gifts, and the desire to teach truth – to prophesy. In Paul's time, there was no completed cannon of scripture, so God used mature believers to deliver messages the church needed for spiritual growth. There are seven goals of prophesy / teaching in the church, as given in v.3 and 6 – edification / building up, exhortation / encouragement, comfort, to share revelation / revealed truth, knowledge, prophesying, and doctrine. V.12 focuses our attention to the real heart of the matter, that our spiritual gifts are to be used to edify the church family. V.19 – Paul said that he would rather speak 5 words in a known language than 10,000 words in an unknown language. V22 is the key verse concerning the purpose of tongues / languages in the church. The use of tongues is to reveal truth to unbelieving Jews, who may come into the congregation. Acts 2 helps us to understand 1 Corinthians 14, using the Law of First Mention, which establishes a truth concerning a doctrine or new thought. So, tongues are known languages spoken in the Roman world at the time of the day of Pentecost and the first century, as the church was being formed. Prophesying / sound doctrinal teaching is for those that believe, while tongues are a sign to unbelieving Jews. Please read Matthew 12:38-40, Matthew 16:1-4, and 1 Corinthians 1:22 as cross reference verses to help give greater understanding to this verse.
