WORSHIP IN AN ORDERLY WAY
a) Contribution To Worship By All 14:26
26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
“What then shall we say” shows that Paul expected the Corinthian believers to draw the right conclusions from the principles of love and edification of the local assembly.
The first rule for the expression of spiritual gifts is that no gift is unimportant and no gift should be set aside. People baptized in the Spirit will have the fullness of the gifts available for the health of the church. “Everyone has” means that everyone should have a part and contribute something to the building up of the whole assembly. Over too much of church history, the body of Christ has been paralyzed, with clergy dominating the laity and smothering their gifts.80 We are not to be like a theater audience, where one or several paid actors act on the stage while everybody else merely looks on.
“Each one takes part with his special gift.” This may include a “hymn” (Gk. psalmon, a song or hymn with musical accompaniment) which might be old or new, learned or freshly given, but anointed by the Holy Spirit and made a spiritual ministry. (The Book of Psalms was the hymnbook of the Early Church and should still be a part of our worship.) Another may bring a “word of instruction,” Spirit-illuminated from God’s Word. Another may bring a “revelation,” that is, one of the gifts of revelation such as a message of wisdom or a message of knowledge. Another may bring a tongue, another an interpretation.
While these gifts are ministered we can be sure the whole congregation should be actively listening and silently interceding in faith. The important thing is that all contribute to the variety with the purpose of strengthening the assembly (cf. 12:7, “for the common good”). “Liberty in the Spirit must be governed by responsibility to the body.”
b) Directions For Tongues Speakers 14:27–28
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.
Paul has already made it clear that tongues need interpretation to edify and to become part of the “greater gifts” (12:31). To reemphasize this, he picks tongues out of the variety of expression mentioned in verse 25 to show that if we are to have variety there must be some limitation, and since the Corinthians were overusing tongues, he gives four rules which will bring proper limitation on their expression.
First, they should be limited to “two—or at the most three.” Some interpret this to mean two or three in succession, then allowing two or three more later in the meeting. Others say it means two or three by the same person, thus allowing two or three more by the next person. But this is not in line with the purpose to allow a greater variety of spiritual gifts to be manifested. Furthermore, the word “by” (v. 27, KJV, NASB) is the Greek kata, which is used distributively, that is, two or at most three in each meeting or each time the believers gather. Again, Paul’s purpose is not to quench the Spirit but to encourage believers to seek and exercise other spiritual gifts.
Second, they should speak “one at a time.” Love does not allow two to speak at once, as if in competition.
Third, “someone must interpret.” Opportunity should be given for interpretation after a message in tongues. Some take this to mean that one person in the assembly should do all the interpreting. But this idea does not fit well with the exhortation that follows.
Fourth, if no interpreter is present (no person who has been used in the manifestation of that gift), then no tongues should be given aloud, for to do so would not edify the assembly. The person can still express the gift in a right way, however, by quietly speaking directly to God. This will still fulfill one purpose of the gift: to edify the person speaking (14:4). The balancing exhortation should be kept in mind also: The tongues speakers should pray for the gift of interpretation (14:13).
Do these verses (22–27) rule out speaking in tongues in corporate worship? David Lim points out, on the basis of Acts 2:4; 10:44–46; and 19:6, that “Everyone worshiping in tongues at the same time cannot be denied from a biased interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14:2, 22–25. Paul and Luke do not contradict each other.”
c) Directions For Prophets 14:29–33
29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33a For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
The gift of prophecy also needs direction and instruction, though not the same kind of limitation as tongues. In verse 29 the Greek word kata is not used. The sense here seems to be that “two or three” prophets may speak in succession. Then before others prophesy, other believers in the assembly should weigh carefully, “and publicly,” with deliberate consideration and evaluation, what the Spirit is saying. This would include how it lines up with the written Word of God,85 how it meets the need, what is God’s purpose, and what the believers should do about it to build up the body.
Paul may be recognizing also that people may add to the Spirit’s expression out of their own feelings (perhaps unintentionally). This seems to be what happened when those in Tyre “through the Spirit” urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem (Acts 21:4). The word “through” in the Greek means here “in consequence of,” or “on account of.” The same thing happened in Acts 21:11, 12. Other passages indicate it was indeed God’s will for Paul to go to Jerusalem (cf. Acts 9:16 and Acts 27:23, 24). But the people added their own fears and feelings to what the Spirit said. Paul does not teach us to accept without question every message given in a meeting.
Then, if a person is giving a message in prophecy and another person stands, indicating he or she has been given a revelation by God, then the first person should give the second person opportunity. Thus, love will not let a person jump up and interrupt another, neither will it let any one individual monopolize the time. Rather, love will give all (not just those with a special ministry as prophets) an opportunity to exercise the gift of prophecy to bring instruction and encouragement to everyone in the assembly.
This kind of love, courtesy, and consideration is possible because “the spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.” The Holy Spirit manifests His gifts as our spirits respond to Him, so that the Holy Spirit ministers through our spirits (cf. vv. 14–15). But He expects us to remember that “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (including harmony). “Peace is foundational to moving ahead in unity, to receiving the ministries of others, and to learning even through failure.”
Those who exercise spiritual gifts are not hypnotized, somnambulistic. The operation of the gifts involves no loss of self-consciousness. Heathen prophets, mediums, and other demonic manifestations are very often not able to control when or what they do or say. In contrast, the Holy Spirit does not function this way. God makes us fellow workers under His direction (3:9).
This means that we can wait for an appropriate time to minister the gift the Holy Spirit is impressing upon us. We need not interrupt everything the moment we feel Him moving us. We lose nothing if we wait until the Spirit provides an opportunity to manifest the gift without causing confusion and disorder. Holding steady will, in fact, only deepen the Spirit’s impression and keep the gift from being ineffective.
d) Directions For Women 14:34–35
33b As in all the congregations of the saints, 34 women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
Other types of disorder should also be avoided, such as women interrupting and asking questions in an improper manner, thus contributing to confusion. (Most women were uneducated in that day.) Such instruction could be applied to both men and women in matters that local custom considers unbecoming. Paul did expect women to pray and prophesy in public if the Spirit gave them a ministry (11:5). The Bible makes no differentiation between men and women with regard to spiritual manifestations. God used women as prophets in both Old and New Testament times (e.g. Miriam, Exod. 15:20; Deborah, Judg. 4:4; Huldah, 2 Kings 22:14; four daughters of Philip the evangelist, Acts 21:9).
On the other hand, there may have been a situation in Corinth like the one Paul describes in 2 Timothy 3:6–7, where false teachers who oppose the truth “worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” The presence of such women in the Corinthian congregation would be reason enough to tell them to “remain silent.” But this does not mean we should restrict women from genuine gifts and ministries given by the Spirit.
e) The Lord’s Command 14:36–40
36 Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37 If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. 38 If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.
Paul now speaks to the entire assembly (Gk. monous, “only” is masculine plural). Probably because of the opposition expressed in their letter to him, he asks in irony if the Word of God originated with them or if they were the only ones “it has reached.” That is, did they think they were superior to the Word of God brought them by Paul? Or did they have a right to interpret it differently from all the other assemblies, as if the others had not received the Word?
They apparently thought they were more spiritual than Paul. But if they were really prophets and spiritually gifted they would recognize that what Paul wrote to them is God’s command. But if they ignore it, they “will be ignored”; implying that only the spiritually ignorant will disregard Paul’s God-given, Spirit-inspired instructions.
39 Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
Paul concludes by affectionately addressing the Corinthians as brothers (and sisters) as he reinforces the main theme of this chapter: Prophecy is the gift they should eagerly seek. But he plainly says, “Do not forbid speaking in tongues.” Also he may be implying that sensitivity to the Spirit’s prompting of His manifestations can be lost by a careless attitude or by forbidding one of them, such as tongues. “Fear of extremes often causes churches to shrink from a complete gift ministry.… Sometimes we judge mercilessly and legalistically those who make mistakes. Then we dampen the will of others to begin ministry in gifts.” We should indeed encourage everything to be done “in a fitting and orderly way,” but if we do so in an unloving way, this can also lead to a loss of the Spirit’s gifts (perhaps by substituting either emotional expressions by some or form and ceremony by others).
Horton, S. M. (1999). I & II Corinthians: A Logion Press Commentary (pp. 139–145). Springfield, MO: Logion Press.
