1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 14.
The Use of Spiritual Gifts in Public Worship. 1 Cor. 14, 1-40.
Only through the understanding of the hearer does the utterance of the Spirit result in edification: V. 16. Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? V. 17. For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. V. 18. I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all; V. 19. 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.
V. 20. Brethren, be not children in understanding; howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.
This fact the apostle presents from another side: For then, under those circumstances, if thou bless in spirit, if thy praise has risen up in honor of God while in that condition of ecstasy which accompanied speaking with tongues, he that occupies the place of the layman, of the uninitiated, how will he say his Amen to thy blessing, thy doxology?
The prayer and the chanting of the person speaking in an unknown tongue may be ever so rich in content, still the person in the audience unversed in its meaning would not know what it was all about, and could therefore not give his assent with the familiar "Amen" taken over from the synagog worship, by which he expressed himself as accepting the prayer or doxology as his confession. And so the speaker's praise may be beyond reproach, as a product of the Spirit it is bound to be excellent, but it is wasted so far as edification of the congregation is concerned.
And lest any man think that the reproof of Paul was dictated by even the faintest feeling of rivalry, he remarks: I thank God, to whom, incidentally, he thus gives all credit for the gift, more than you all I speak with a tongue. Paul had had ecstatic experiences far beyond the amount vouchsafed to the average Christian; he had experienced the power of this gift of grace in a much higher degree than the Corinthians.
But in spite of that fact he frankly states that in the church assembly he would rather speak five words with his understanding, in everyday, intelligible language, in order that he might teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue. The utterances of tongues might indicate an unusual power, an extraordinary intimacy with the Spirit, but they were not serviceable, they did not result in the betterment of the congregation. Paul's aim was always to "catechize," to impart by oral instruction, what the Christians needed for faith and life, and for this purpose five words in ordinary language were of more use than any amount of articulations in ecstatic speech.
In a most winning manner, Paul now appeals to the good common sense of the readers: Brethren, be not children in understanding, in mind, in judgment, in the faculty of thinking; use your good sense properly, like adults, not like immature children. Of children it is characteristic that they prefer the amusing to the useful, the shining to the solid, as one commentator puts it.
In malice, rather, act as babes, but in judgment show yourselves perfect. With respect to all wickedness, Christians should keep themselves free from all the moral corruption of the world and not seek an experimental acquaintance with it. If any of the Corinthians had received the gift of tongues, they should make use of it as children would, with no attempt at conceit and bragging, Matthew 18,2. In sound Christian judgment, however, every believer should try to advance, to grow from day to day, until the perfection of knowledge is reached, so far as it is possible in this life. To plant childlike innocence and maturity of understanding in the heart together: that is the great problem of Sanctification. Compare Psalm 19, 8.