The More Excellent Way in Practice Text: 1 Corinthians 14:1-5
Introduction: After the Love Chapter
We have just come through what is perhaps the most sublime chapter in all of Holy Writ, 1 Corinthians 13. Paul has shown us the absolute supremacy of love, the more excellent way. And it is crucial that we understand chapter 14 as the practical, nuts-and-bolts application of that glorious chapter. It is not a jarring shift in gears, but rather the logical outworking of what he has just established. If love is the supreme virtue, if it is the very character of God, then it must govern everything we do, most especially when we gather for worship. Love is not a sentimental feeling; it is a rugged, practical, self-giving commitment to the good of others. And so, the central question of this chapter is this: how do we conduct our worship services in a way that is genuinely loving?
The Corinthian church was a mess. They were gifted, to be sure. Paul says in the first chapter that they came behind in no gift. They had it all, signs, wonders, miracles, tongues, prophecies. They were a spiritual powerhouse in terms of raw charismatic energy. But they were also carnal, divided, arrogant, and chaotic. They were spiritual toddlers who had been given the keys to a theological Ferrari. Their worship services were a spectacle of self-expression, a platform for spiritual one-upmanship. Everyone wanted to show off their particular gift, and the gift of tongues, being the most exotic and mysterious, was prized above all. Their gatherings were noisy, confusing, and ultimately, unloving. They were more interested in their own spiritual experiences than in building up their brothers and sisters.
Into this chaos, Paul brings the bracing clarity of God's Word. He is not anti-gift. He is not trying to quench the Spirit. In fact, he says he speaks in tongues more than all of them. But he insists that the exercise of all gifts must be subordinated to the great principle of love, and love seeks to edify. Love wants to build the other person up. Love speaks in a way that can be understood. This is the central pivot of the entire chapter. The primary purpose of the corporate gathering of the saints is not individual spiritual ecstasy, but mutual edification. And edification requires intelligibility. If you cannot be understood, you cannot build anyone up. This is the logic that Paul will use to sort out the Corinthian confusion, and it is the same logic we must apply today.
The Text
Pursue love, yet earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and encouragement. One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church. But I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. And greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he translates, so that the church may receive edification.
(1 Corinthians 14:1-5 LSB)
The Governing Principle (v. 1)
We begin with the foundational command that governs everything else.
"Pursue love, yet earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy." (1 Corinthians 14:1)
Notice the structure here. "Pursue love" is the main verb, the driving imperative. The Greek word for pursue is what you would use for a hunter tracking his prey. It means to chase after with diligence and intensity. This is not a passive suggestion. This is the main business of the Christian life. Everything else is secondary. The desire for spiritual gifts is a good thing, a commanded thing, but it must be done in the context of this all-consuming pursuit of love. The fruit of the Spirit is always superior to the gifts of the Spirit. Godliness is not measured by your charismatic output, but by your character.
But Paul does not pit love against the gifts. He says to pursue love, AND desire spiritual gifts. He is not a cessationist in the sense of being anti-supernatural. He wants the church to be alive with the power of the Spirit. But this desire must be rightly ordered. "Especially that you may prophesy." Why? Why is prophecy elevated here? Because, as he will immediately explain, prophecy is intelligible speech. Prophecy is a gift that, by its very nature, is oriented toward the other person. It is a gift for building up the body. The Corinthians were prizing the gift that was most private and mysterious, and Paul is redirecting them to prize the gift that is most public and clear.
Prophecy in the New Testament is not necessarily the foretelling of the future, though it can include that. Its primary meaning is to speak forth the Word of God, to declare His mind and will. In the apostolic age, this included new revelation. But since the closing of the canon, we must understand prophecy as the Spirit-anointed proclamation and application of the written Word of God. It is preaching. It is the declaration, "Thus saith the Lord," not as new information, but as a faithful exposition of the information He has already given us in Scripture. This kind of prophecy is the lifeblood of the church, because it is through the preached Word that God builds His people.
The Problem with Uninterpreted Tongues (v. 2, 4a)
Paul now lays out the fundamental problem with the Corinthian abuse of tongues.
"For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries... One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself..." (1 Corinthians 14:2, 4a LSB)
The gift of tongues in the New Testament was the miraculous ability to speak in a real, human language that the speaker had never learned. We see this plainly at Pentecost, where men from every nation heard the disciples declaring the mighty works of God in their own native dialects. It was not ecstatic gibberish. It was language. But in the Corinthian assembly, which was likely monolingual, if someone stood up and began speaking in the language of the Parthians, who would understand him? No one. Paul says such a person is not speaking to men, but to God. God, of course, understands every language. But the brother sitting in the next pew does not. He hears noise. He hears mysteries, not in the sense of profound spiritual truths being communicated, but in the sense of unintelligible secrets.
The result is that the speaker "edifies himself." This is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. Private devotion is a good thing. But in the context of corporate worship, it is a violation of the law of love. It is spiritual selfishness. It is like a man who brings a magnificent feast to a potluck, but refuses to let anyone else eat it. He may be edifying his own stomach, but he is not edifying the church. The purpose of the gathering is not to have a room full of people having isolated, individual experiences with God. The purpose is to build up the body, together.
The Power of Intelligible Speech (v. 3, 4b)
In stark contrast to the private nature of uninterpreted tongues, Paul highlights the corporate benefit of prophecy.
"But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and encouragement... but one who prophesies edifies the church." (1 Corinthians 14:3, 4b LSB)
Here is the difference in a nutshell. The prophet speaks to men. His words land. They connect. And they accomplish three things, all of which are expressions of love. First, edification. This is an architectural term. It means to build a house. The prophet's words are like bricks and mortar, building up the church into a holy temple for the Lord. Second, exhortation. This is a call to action, an urging to pursue holiness and obedience. It strengthens the will. Third, encouragement or consolation. This is the binding up of the brokenhearted, the comforting of the afflicted. It strengthens the heart.
Notice how practical and others-focused this is. This is love in shoe leather. This is what it looks like to obey the command to "pursue love" in the context of the church service. You speak words that build, words that challenge, and words that comfort. And you do it in the common language of the people, so that everyone, from the scholar to the child, can understand and be built up. The one who prophesies edifies the whole church. He is not focused on his own experience, but on the health of the body. He is a giver, not a taker.
The Final Ranking (v. 5)
Paul concludes this section by summarizing his argument and giving a clear, practical ranking of the gifts for the corporate assembly.
"But I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. And greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he translates, so that the church may receive edification." (1 Corinthians 14:5 LSB)
Paul is not despising the gift of tongues. He wishes they all had it. This is not the statement of someone who thinks the gift is from the devil. He recognizes it as a genuine gift of the Spirit. But in the hierarchy of usefulness for the gathered church, it is subordinate to prophecy. Why? For the reason he has been hammering home: edification. "Greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues." Greater in what sense? Not in spiritual status, but in practical utility for the church gathering.
But then he adds a crucial qualifier: "unless he translates." If someone speaks in a tongue, and another person provides an interpretation, then the tongue becomes the functional equivalent of prophecy. The mystery becomes a message. The unintelligible becomes intelligible. And the result is that "the church may receive edification." This is the goal. This is the test. Does this practice, whatever it is, build up the body of Christ in love? If it does, it is good. If it does not, it is a clanging cymbal, a noisy gong, a distraction from the main business of the church.
Conclusion: Let All Be Done for Edification
The principle Paul establishes here is timeless. The specific manifestation of the gifts may have shifted with the closing of the canon, but the underlying logic of love has not. Our worship services are not to be arenas for self-expression or the pursuit of mystical experiences. They are to be sacred assemblies where the people of God are built up through the clear, intelligible ministry of the Word of God.
We must desire that the Spirit would move powerfully among us. We should desire that God would gift His church for ministry. But we must desire these things with a rightly ordered love. We must desire, above all, those gifts which build up the body. This means we must prize clear, faithful, Spirit-anointed preaching. We must prize the reading of Scripture, the singing of psalms and hymns that are rich with theological truth, and prayers that are offered in the common tongue, so that all the people can say "Amen."
The Corinthians turned their worship inward, focusing on their own experiences. Paul commands them to turn their worship outward, focusing on the needs of their brothers and sisters. The central test for everything we do when we gather as the church is this: does it edify? Does it build up? Does it communicate the truth of God in a way that can be understood, so that faith is strengthened, hope is kindled, and love for God and neighbor abounds? Let us pursue love, and let us desire that our entire service, from beginning to end, would speak plainly and powerfully for the edification of the saints and the glory of God.