Untitled Sermon (5)
But characteristically it is used, as here, for the special operation of the Holy Spirit within people.
And the presence of the Spirit is to be seen characteristically in what he calls ‘the fruit of the Spirit’, qualities like love, joy, peace, and so on (Gal. 5:22–23), not ecstatic behaviour.
From the day of Pentecost on, some within the Christian church manifested unusual spiritual gifts. They did things like speak in a tongue they did not understand. To many early believers this kind of thing was pre-eminently the mark of a ‘spiritual’ person. By comparison the practice of Christian virtue seemed staid and colourless.
The interpreters3 rendered foreign tongues into the native language. These endowments they did not at that time acquire by labour or study, but were put in possession of them by a wonderful revelation of the Spirit.4
Let us take notice, that Paul reckons it a great fault if the mind is not occupied in prayer. And no wonder; for what else do we in prayer, but pour out our thoughts and desires before God? Farther, as prayer is the spiritual worship of God, what is more at variance with the nature of it, than that it should proceed merely from the lips, and not from the inmost soul?
The meaning is now obvious. “If, therefore, I frame prayers in a language that is not understood by me, and the spirit supplies me with words, the spirit indeed itself, which regulates my tongue, will in that case pray, but my mind will either be wandering somewhere else, or at least will have no part in the prayer.”
What is meant by praying in a tongue,1 appears from what goes before—to frame a prayer in a foreign language.
Since you are in pursuit of spiritual gifts. Paul concludes that the gift of tongues has not been conferred with the view of giving occasion of boasting to a few, without yielding advantage to the Church. “If spiritual gifts,” says he, “delight you, let the end be edification. Then only may you reckon, that you have attained an excellence that is true and praiseworthy—when the Church receives advantage from you
He that speaketh in another tongue, edifieth himself. In place of what he had said before—that he speaketh unto God, he now says—he speaketh to himself. But whatever is done in the Church, ought to be for the common benefit. Away, then, with that misdirected ambition, which gives occasion for the advantage of the people generally being hindered!
Chrysostom understands mysteries here in a good sense, as meaning—special revelations from God. I understand the term, however, in a bad sense, as meaning—dark sayings, that are obscure and involved, as if he had said, “He speaks what no one understands.”
He begins with eloquence, which is, it is true, an admirable gift, considered in itself, but, when apart from love, does not recommend a man in the estimation of God. When he speaks of the tongue of angels, he uses a hyperbolical expression to denote what is singular, or distinguished
Hence prophecy was neglected, while languages sounded forth among them, with great show, indeed, but with little profit. He does not, however, address individuals, as though he wished that every one should aspire at prophecy, or the office of teacher; but simply recommends to them a desire to promote edification, that they may apply themselves the more diligently to those things that are most conducive to edification.
The reference to the languages of angels should not be pressed, for what we have here is hyperbole. We see a clear example of hyperbole in the discussion of prophecy in verse 2 (see below), and the same is probably the case here.
Nor is the discussion on love a digression; it is inserted intentionally, showing the Corinthians that the fundamental indication of spiritual maturity is not gifts but love.
Paul desired absolute clarity on this matter: there was no demand or expectation that a person would exercise all the gifts. In fact, God has arranged matters so that the gifts are distributed in such a way that they are not shared by all equally.
The Spirit equips believers with spiritual gifts, granting the gifts as he wishes. The Spirit is the Spirit of power, giving believers all that they need. The Spirit, then, is not merely an influence or a force or an energy, since he makes decisions about which gifts believers have.
We also see in 1 Corinthians 12:13 that the baptism in the Spirit occurs at conversion. Paul is particularly emphatic about the gift being given to all, for he specifies that all have been baptized with the Spirit whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, and then he adds the word ‘all’ again, saying that we were all given the one Spirit to drink (cf. Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11)
Different kinds of tongues, then, points to the variety of languages. The gift of interpretation is not difficult to understand: someone who has the gift is able to translate the unintelligible language so that others are able to understand what is being said by the one speaking in tongues.
Tongues (glōssai) may be incomprehensible but they are not non-cognitive. Tongues must be in some discernible code or language, even if the language is not known to humans. Since ecstatic speech cannot be interpreted or translated inasmuch as it consists of meaningless babbling and there is no discernible code, the word glōssa points to some kind of language.
Second, in 1 Corinthians 14:2 Paul is saying that people cannot understand tongues if they do not know the language and if there is no interpreter; in these instances tongues are spoken to God since he alone understands what is being communicated. It is not that the nature of tongues is different, but that the two contexts are different: in Acts those present know the languages spoken, but in 1 Corinthians no-one knows the language or the interpretation.
The person speaks mysteries in his or her spirit and this, according to many, refers to ecstatic utterances and a prayer language. Many interpreters believe that this verse rules out the idea that tongues are foreign languages. More explanation will be given when discussing 14:2, but a careful examination of the contexts of Acts and 1 Corinthians suggests that the gift is not of a different nature.
In Acts 2:11 those who speak in tongues proclaim the mighty works of God and the people present understand, but in 1 Corinthians 14:2 tongue-speaking is directed to God instead of to people, and, contrary to Acts 2, no-one understands what is being said.
The reference to the ‘tongues of … angels’ in 1 Corinthians 13:1 may indicate a non-human language or ecstatic utterances, although the verse is probably a rhetorical flourish on Paul’s part, for 13:2 is rhetorical when it speaks of knowing ‘all mysteries and all knowledge’.
In Acts 2 the gift is in human languages because people from all over the world ‘heard their own language being spoken’ (2:6); ‘each of us hears them in our native language’ (2:8), ‘in our own tongues’ (2:11). Peter says in Acts 11:17 that Cornelius and his friends (Acts 10:44–48) received the same gift as he had, and so it is most natural to see the gift as human languages (cf. also Acts 19:6).
The nature of the gift of tongues is debated as well. Most scholars think that the gift in 1 Corinthians 12–14 differs from what we find in Acts, and many think that ‘ecstatic utterances’ are in view.
Wayne Grudem argues that New Testament prophecy is fallible, unlike Old Testament prophecy, so it may be mixed with error (errors may crop up in the transmission of what God revealed).53
I suggest that prophecy is communicating revelation from God in a spontaneous utterance.52
The allotted gifts are next described in terms of kinds of working (energēmata) or ‘activities’. Such activities are the work of God, and Paul uses a verbal form from the same root as the noun, affirming that in everyone it is the same God at work (energōn). The work of human beings which is apparent in the gifts is ultimately a divine gift (Phil. 2:12–13). God energizes and activates the work of believers when they use their gifts.
In verse 5 the various gifts are now described in terms of service (diakoniōn) or ‘ministries’ (CSB). Here Paul calls attention to the truth that the gifts are given to serve and strengthen others. He
Identifying the gifts as ‘spiritual’ and as ‘gifts’ are two complementary ways of describing God’s work in the congregation. On the one hand, the manifestations are the work of the Spirit (cf. 12:7), and, on the other hand, they are gifts. They are freely granted to believers by the grace of God. In every case in verses 4–6 the description of the gifts is matched with a reference to God that accords with the point Paul makes. So, in verse 4, the gifts are ascribed to the Spirit, confirming that they are supernatural manifestations. If the different gifts emphasize diversity, the same Spirit underlines unity. The body is not divided since the gifts granted come from the same Spirit who dwells in each one.
In verse 4 the various gifts are featured, and we encounter here the word for gifts (charismata). The term charisma is used often in this chapter for the gifts of the Spirit (12:9, 28, 30, 31), though we find the term elsewhere in Paul as well (Rom. 12:6; 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6; cf. 1 Pet. 4:10).
The variety of the gifts is evident from the word diaireseis in each of the verses. The term is often translated different, though it may simply mean ‘allotments’ or what is apportioned (BDAG)