1 Corinthians Chapter 14
1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.
2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.
3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.
4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.
5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.
6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, I shall profit you nothing, unless I speak to you, either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophecy, or by doctrine.
7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?
” And, “
8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?
9 So it is with you. So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue a word easy to be understood, how shall ye know what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
10 There are, it may be, so many kind of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.
11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me..
12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.
13
14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.
16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying?
17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
20 Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.
21 In the Law it is written: “With other tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”
22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers.
23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?
24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all,
25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
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 to God.
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.
33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.
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.
36 Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?
37 If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.
38 But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.
39 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way
Commentary
Relevant Patristic References
We have already noted that Clement in the Stromata makes clear that 1 Cor 14:20 originally belonged in the middle of chapter 13. Now when we look at the Patristic references to this chapter we see that almost everything comes very late - middle third century perhaps to the Nicene period. Only a few lines from this chapter (emboldened in red) are authentic. As we shall see it is followed by the conclusion of chapter 15. Nevertheless the lack of Patristic references to this material is utterly amazing. I even think the single reference to a whole section of 1 Cor 14 in Clement's writings might be an editor's addition. The reference comes in a chapter with absolutely no scriptural references and it actually gets in the way of the original argument looking completely extraneous. Compare:
And if any one objects to the barbarous language, Anacharsis says, “All the Greeks speak Scythian to me.” It was he who was held in admiration by the Greeks, who said, “My covering is a cloak; my supper, milk and cheese.” You see that the barbarian philosophy professes deeds, not words. Nay more, it was late before the teaching and writing of discourses reached Greece. Alcmæon, the son of Perithus, of Crotona, first composed a treatise on nature. And it is related that Anaxagoras of Clazomenæ, the son of Hegesibulus, first published a book in writing. ”
to:
And if any one objects to the barbarous language, Anacharsis says, “All the Greeks speak Scythian to me.” It was he who was held in admiration by the Greeks, who said, “My covering is a cloak; my supper, milk and cheese.” You see that the barbarian philosophy professes deeds, not words. The apostle thus speaks: “So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue a word easy to be understood, how shall ye know what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kind of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.” And, “Let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret" Nay more, it was late before the teaching and writing of discourses reached Greece. Alcmæon, the son of Perithus, of Crotona, first composed a treatise on nature. And it is related that Anaxagoras of Clazomenæ, the son of Hegesibulus, first published a book in writing. ”
I defy anyone to see the line And, “Let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret" is authentic. At the very least one must concede that if Clement added the reference to 1 Cor 14 it was done after the original argument regarding the greater antiquity of barbarous civilizations was already laid down. In other words, it was either Clement or a later hand who say parallels between Anacharsis and Paul's writings. I find it very tempting to ignore the reference and assume that chapter 14 was not present in the original text of 1 Corinthians.
Relevant Patristic References
1 cor 14.2 - And when the apostle goeth away, let him take nothing but bread until he lodgeth; 2474 but if he ask money, he is a false prophet. 7. And every prophet that speaketh in the Spirit 2475 ye shall neither try nor judge; for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven. 2476 8. But not every one that speaketh in the Spirit is a prophet; but only if he hold the ways of the Lord. Therefore from their ways shall the false prophet and the prophet be known. 9. And every prophet who ordereth a meal 2477 in the Spirit eateth not from it, except indeed he be a false prophet; 10. and every prophet who teacheth the truth, if he do not what he teacheth, is a false prophet. [Didache 11]
1 Cor 14.2 Ascension of Isaiah 6 § 10 (p.138, l.10) BP1
1 Cor 14.3 No Ante-Nicene witnesses
1 Cor 14.3, 5 Epiphanius Panarion 42 12 § 3 (p.169, l.19) BP4
1 cor 14.6-That God is one is intimated by those “who seek the face of the God of Jacob;” whom being the only God, our Saviour and God characterizes as the Good Father. And “the generation of those that seek Him” is the elect race, devoted to inquiry after knowledge. Wherefore also the apostle says, “I shall profit you nothing, unless I speak to you, either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophecy, or by doctrine.”Although even by those who are not Gnostics some things are done rightly, yet not according to reason; as in the case of fortitude. For some who are naturally high-spirited, and have afterwards without reason fostered this disposition, rush to many things, and act like brave men, so as sometimes to succeed in achieving the same things; just as endurance is easy for mechanics. But it is not from the same cause, or with the same object; not were they to give their whole body. “For they have not love,” according to the apostle. [Clement Stromata 7.10]
1 Cor 14.7 Ode of Solomon
1 Cor 14.8 Only origen
1 cor 14.7- But all these are blind who speak and hear, like sounding brass or tinkling cymbal, in which there is no perception of those things which are meant by their sound.[Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew]
1 Cor , 9 - 11, 13 And if any one objects to the barbarous language, Anacharsis says, “All the Greeks speak Scythian to me.” It was he who was held in admiration by the Greeks, who said, “My covering is a cloak; my supper, milk and cheese.” You see that the barbarian philosophy professes deeds, not words. The apostle thus speaks: “So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue a word easy to be understood, how shall ye know what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kind of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.” And, “Let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret" Nay more, it was late before the teaching and writing of discourses reached Greece. Alcmæon, the son of Perithus, of Crotona, first composed a treatise on nature. And it is related that Anaxagoras of Clazomenæ, the son of Hegesibulus, first published a book in writing. ” [Clement Stromata 1.14]
1 Cor 14:10 no ante-Nicene witnesses
1 Cor 14.11 no other references other than Clement
1 Cor 14.12 only Origen
1 Cor 14.13 aside from the Clement reference in the Stromata only Origen
1 Cor 14.14 only Origen
1 Cor 14.15 only Origen
1 cor 14.15 - who, praying in spirit, [Tertullian On Prayer]
1 Cor 14.16 no ante-Nicene witnesses
1 cor 14.16 - he (Marcus) imagines that the emblem of this utterance is found in Amen, which we pronounce in concert.(177) The diverse sounds (he adds) are those which give form to that Aeon who is without material substance and unbegotten, and these, again, are the forms which the Lord has called angels, who continually behold the face of the Father. [Irenaeus AH 1.14.1]
1 Cor 14.17 no ante-Nicene witnesses
1 Cor 14.18 no ante-Nicene witnesses
1 Cor 14.19 no ante-Nicene witnesses
1 cor 14.20 - For the apostle does also say in the Second [Epistle] to the Corinthians: For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them which are saved, and in them which perish: to the one indeed the savour of death unto death,but to the other the savour of life unto life. 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 To whom, then, is there the savour of death unto death, unless to those who believe not neither are subject to the Word of God? And who are they that did even then give themselves over to death? Those men, doubtless, who do notbelieve, nor submit themselves to God. And again, who are they that have been saved and received the inheritance? Those, doubtless, who do believe God, and who have continued in His love; as didCaleb [the son] of Jephunneh and Joshua [the son] of Nun, Numbers 14:30 and innocent children, who have had no sense of evil. But who are they that are saved now, and receive life eternal? Is it not those who love God, and who believe His promises, and who in malice have become as little children? 1 Corinthians 14:20 [IRenaeus 4.28.3]
1 Cor 14.20 - Irenaeus Demonstration of the Apostles 46 (p.106, l.8) BP1 96 (p.164, l.2) BP1
1 cor 14.20 - Wherefore those things which have been concealed from the wise and prudent of this present world have been revealed to babes. Truly, then, are we the children of God, who have put aside the old man, and stripped off the garment of wickedness, and put on the immortality of Christ; that we may become a new, holy people by regeneration, and may keep the man undefiled. And a babe, as God’s little one,1101 is cleansed from fornication and wickedness. With the greatest clearness the blessed Paul has solved for us this question in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, writing thus: “Brethren, be not children in understanding; howbeit in malice be children, but in understanding be men.”1102 And the expression, “When I was a child, I thought as a child, I spake as a child,”1103 points out his mode of life according to the law, according to which, thinking childish things, he persecuted, and speaking childish things he blasphemed the Word, not as having yet attained to the simplicity of childhood, but as being in its folly; for the word νήπιον has two meanings [Clement Instructor 1.6. 33 § 1 (p.109, l.21) BP1 ]
1 cor 14.20
Besides, the face of the Lord 6633 is patiently waited for by those who “seek Him in simplicity of heart,” as says the very Wisdom—not of Valentinus, but—of Solomon. 6634 Then, again, infants have borne 6635 by their blood a testimony to Christ. (Would you say) that it was children who shouted “Crucify Him”? 6636 They were neither children nor infants; in other words, they were not simple. The apostle, too, bids us to “become children again” towards God, 6637 “to be as children in malice” by our simplicity, yet as being also “wise in our practical faculties.” 6638 At the same time, with respect to the order of development in Wisdom, I have admitted 6639 that it flows from simplicity. In brief, “the dove” has usually served to figure Christ; “the serpent,” to tempt Him. The one even from the first has been the harbinger of divine peace; the other from the beginning has been the despoiler of the divine image. Accordingly, simplicity alone 6640 will be more easily able to know and to declare God, whereas wisdom alone will rather do Him violence, 6641 and betray Him. [Against Valentinians 2 § 3 (p.754, l.4) BP1 ]
1 Cor 14.20 Methodius Conuiuium 8 14 (p.240, l.21) BP2
1 cor 14.21, 26, 34, 35 - Let Marcion p. 447 then exhibit, as gifts of his god, some prophets, such as have not spoken by human sense, but with the Spirit of God, such as have both predicted things to come, and have made manifest 5574 the secrets of the heart; 5575 let him produce a psalm, a vision, a prayer 5576 —only let it be by the Spirit, 5577 in an ecstasy, that is, in a rapture, 5578 whenever an interpretation of tongues has occurred to him; let him show to me also, that any woman of boastful tongue 5579 in his community has ever prophesied from amongst those specially holy sisters of his. Now all these signs (of spiritual gifts) are forthcoming from my side without any difficulty, and they agree, too, with the rules, and the dispensations, and the instructions of the Creator; therefore without doubt the Christ, and the Spirit, and the apostle, belong severally 5580 to my God. Here, then, is my frank avowal for any one who cares to require it. [Tertullian Against Marcion 5 8 § 10 (p.688, l.4) BP1]
1 Cor 14.21 Only Tertullian and Epiphanius Panarion 42 11 § 8 (p.122, l.20 - *<) BP4 42 12 § 3 (p.170, l.12 - *<) BP4 42 12 § 3 (p.170, l.19 - >) BP4
1 Cor 14.22 no ante-Nicene references
1 Cor 14.23 no ante-Nicene references
1 Cor 14.25 only Origen
1 Cor 14.26 Only Tertullian Against Marcion 5 8 § 12 (p.688, l.20) BP1 5 15 § 6 (p.710, l.2) BP1
1 Cor 14.27 no ante-Nicene witness
1 Cor 14.28 no ante-Nicene witness
1 Cor 14.29 only pseudo-Origen (Latin Comm. on Matthew, Rufinus Commentary)
1 cor 14.29. But permit the prophets to make Thanksgiving as much as they desire. [Didache]
1 Cor 14.30 only Hippolytus in Psalmis § 5 (p.169, l.26 - <) BP2, Origen frag cantenis Ezekiel, Jerome's translation of Homilies on Ezekiel and Luke
1 Cor 14.31 no ante-Nicene references
1 Cor 14.32, 33 Tertullian Against Marcion 4 4 § 5 (p.550, l.4) BP1
1 Cor 14.34 Hippolytus in Psalmos § 5 (p.169, l.26 - <) BP2
1 Cor 14.34 Tertullian Baptism 1 § 3 (p.277, l.13) BP1 17 § 4 (p.291, l.20) BP1 17 § 5 (p.292, l.31) BP1
1 Cor 14.34 Adamantius Dialogues (p.96, l.12 - <) BP2
1 Cor 14.34, 35 Tertullian Against Marcion 5 8 § 11 (p.688, l.7) BP1
1 Cor 14.34 Epiphanius Panarion 42 11 § 8 (p.123, l.1 - *<) BP4 42 12 § 3 (p.170, l.26 - *<) BP4 42 12 § 3 (p.170, l.29) BP4 42 12 § 3 (p.171, l.3 - <) BP4 49 3 § 3 (p.244, l.3 - /) BP4
no reference to women keep silent in the church
1 Cor 14.35 Tertullian Baptism 17 § 5 (p.292, l.31) BP1
1 Cor 14.35 Commodianus 2 § 15 (p.54, l.2) BP2
1 Cor 14.36 no ante-Nicene witnesses
1 Cor 14.37 Pseudo-Cyprian De singularitate clericorum 44 (p.218, l.23 - <) BP2
1 Cor 14.37 Clement First Virginity 1 11 § 10 (p.22, l.8 - <) BP2
1 Cor 14 .38 Origen various Homilies (mostly late Latin translations)
1 Cor 14.39 no ante-Nicene witnesses
1 Cor 14.40 Pseudo-Cyprian De singularitate clericorum 17 (p.192, l.11 - <) BP2
1 cor 14.40 - For it is required of the man of God, that in all his words and works he be perfect, and that in his life he be adorned with all exemplary and well-ordered behaviour, [First Epistle of Clement on Virginity]
1 Cor 14.40 two late Homilies of Origen translated by Rufinus 1 2 § 5 (p.3, l.16 - <) BP2
