The Sign of Judgment and the Power of Clarity Text: 1 Corinthians 14:20-25
Introduction: Childish Things
The apostle Paul, in his letters, frequently has to deal with churches that are spiritually immature. But the Corinthian church was a special case. They were gifted, they were zealous, they were active, but they were also chaotic, arrogant, and childish. They were like toddlers who had been given the keys to a power plant. They were fascinated with the most spectacular and showy gifts, particularly speaking in tongues, and in their childish enthusiasm, they were turning their worship services into scenes of incomprehensible confusion. They valued the experience over the edification, the flash over the substance.
This is a perennial temptation for the church. We are always tempted to measure spiritual vitality by the noise level, by the intensity of the emotion, or by the presence of the seemingly miraculous. We want the fireworks. But Paul calls us to a higher standard. He calls us to put away childish things. He does not tell them to stop desiring spiritual gifts, far from it. But he insists that these gifts must be governed by love, ordered by wisdom, and aimed at a specific target: the building up of the church. In our text today, he brings his argument to a sharp point, contrasting the purpose of tongues with the purpose of prophecy, and he does so by appealing to the Old Testament, to logic, and to a practical, common-sense evangelistic scenario.
Paul is not anti-supernatural. He is the apostle who was caught up to the third heaven. But he is passionately pro-intelligibility. He wants the church to grow up, to think like men, and to conduct its worship in a way that honors God and convicts the world. The central question he forces them, and us, to answer is this: when an unbeliever walks into your gathering, what is the takeaway? Do they leave thinking you are insane, or do they fall on their face and confess that God is truly among you? The answer depends entirely on whether we have prized clarity over chaos.
The Text
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking; rather in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
In the Law it is written, “BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME,” says the Lord.
So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign not to unbelievers but to those who believe.
Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and uninformed men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind?
But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that SURELY GOD IS AMONG YOU.
(1 Corinthians 14:20-25 LSB)
A Call to Theological Manhood (v. 20)
Paul begins with a foundational exhortation that frames the entire argument.
"Brothers, do not be children in your thinking; rather in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature." (1 Corinthians 14:20)
He appeals to them as "brothers," an affectionate but firm reminder of their shared identity in Christ. He then draws a sharp and crucial distinction. There is a way in which we are to be childlike, and a way in which we are to be mature. The Corinthians had it exactly backward. They were being childish in their thinking, chasing after the sensational gift of tongues without understanding its purpose. And, given the factionalism, arrogance, and immorality in their church, they were far from being infants in evil.
To be "infants in evil" means to be innocent, naive, and unpracticed in the ways of malice, deceit, and wickedness. It is a call to guilelessness. But this innocence is not to be confused with ignorance. In our "thinking," in our understanding of God's Word and His purposes, we are commanded to be "mature." The Greek word is teleioi, meaning full-grown, complete, or perfect. We are to have a robust, adult understanding of theology. This requires work. It requires study. It requires us to move past a diet of spiritual milk and onto the solid food of the Word.
Paul is telling the Corinthians to stop being impressed by shiny objects and to start thinking through the purpose and function of spiritual gifts. He is about to make a theological argument from the Old Testament, and he prefaces it by saying, in effect, "Now, put on your thinking caps. Be adults about this." A church that does not think deeply about its worship is a childish church, no matter how much energy and enthusiasm it displays.
The Old Testament Key (v. 21)
Paul doesn't just give his opinion. He grounds his entire argument in the Scriptures, quoting from Isaiah 28.
"In the Law it is written, 'BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME,' says the Lord." (1 Corinthians 14:21 LSB)
By "the Law," Paul means the entire Old Testament, as was common. The quotation is from Isaiah 28:11-12. To understand Paul's point, we must understand the original context in Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah was speaking God's clear, simple word in Hebrew to the northern kingdom of Israel. But the leaders were arrogant drunks; they mocked his simple, repetitive preaching ("precept upon precept, line upon line"). They refused to listen to God's plain speech.
So God pronounced a judgment. His response was essentially this: "You will not listen to my clear words in your own language? Very well. The next time you hear from me, it will be in a foreign tongue. You will hear the harsh, guttural language of the Assyrian invaders as they carry you off into exile." The "strange tongues" were not a blessing; they were a sign of covenant curse. They were a judicial sign of judgment upon an unbelieving, covenant-breaking people.
When Paul quotes this, he is making a staggering point. He is saying that the gift of tongues in the New Testament functions in precisely the same way. It is a sign. But what is it a sign of, and to whom is it directed?
A Sign for Unbelievers (v. 22)
Paul now draws the logical conclusion from his appeal to Isaiah.
"So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign not to unbelievers but to those who believe." (1 Corinthians 14:22 LSB)
"So then," or "consequently." This follows directly from the previous verse. Tongues are a sign for unbelievers. But what kind of sign? Given the Isaiah context, it is a negative sign, a sign of judgment. This was fulfilled dramatically at Pentecost. When the apostles spoke in tongues, it was a sign to the unbelieving Jews gathered in Jerusalem that God's covenant blessings were now overflowing the banks of Israel and going out to all the nations. For those Jews who believed, it was a confirmation of the gospel. But for those who persisted in unbelief, it was a sign that judgment was coming upon their nation for rejecting the Messiah, a judgment that fell in 70 A.D.
Tongues were a temporary, judicial sign for a specific group of unbelievers: the covenant people who had rejected their King. This is why Paul says they are not for believers. Believers do not need a sign of judgment; they need edification, instruction, and encouragement.
That is the function of prophecy. Prophecy, the clear, intelligible speaking of God's truth, is for the benefit "of those who believe." It builds them up. The contrast is stark. Tongues are a sign of judgment for outsiders. Prophecy is a sign of blessing for insiders. Why, then, were the Corinthians prioritizing a sign of judgment in their own assembly?
The Evangelistic Test Case (v. 23-25)
Paul now drives the point home with a practical illustration, comparing two hypothetical church services.
"Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and uninformed men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind?" (1 Corinthians 14:23 LSB)
First, imagine the Corinthian ideal. The whole church is gathered, and everyone is exercising the gift of tongues simultaneously. There is no interpretation, just a cacophony of ecstatic utterances. An "uninformed" person or an "unbeliever" walks in. What is the inevitable conclusion? Not that God is present, but that these people are mad. The service is indistinguishable from the rites of a pagan mystery cult. It is a terrible witness. It confirms the outsider in his unbelief and makes the church an object of ridicule.
Now, Paul presents the alternative, the biblical ideal.
"But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that SURELY GOD IS AMONG YOU." (1 Corinthians 14:24-25 LSB)
Imagine a service where the Word of God is being proclaimed clearly and powerfully. An unbeliever walks in. The Spirit of God takes that intelligible Word and uses it like a sword. The man is "convicted," a legal term meaning his guilt is proven. He is "called to account," meaning he is examined and judged by the Word. The "secrets of his heart are disclosed." The preaching exposes his hidden sins, his motives, his rebellion. He feels as though the preacher has been reading his mail.
What is the result of this encounter with the clear, cutting Word of God? It is not ridicule; it is repentance. He falls on his face, the posture of submission and worship. And he makes the great confession, the very goal of our corporate witness: "SURELY GOD IS AMONG YOU." This is true, biblical evangelism. It is not accomplished through confusing spectacle, but through the clear proclamation of divine truth that lays the sinner bare before a holy God.
Conclusion: Clarity is Kindness
The lesson for us is straightforward. Our worship services are not primarily for our own emotional release or mystical experience. They are for the glory of God, which is expressed in two ways: the edification of His saints and the conviction of sinners. Both of these goals are accomplished through the same instrument: the clear, powerful, intelligible Word of God.
When the Word is faithfully preached, believers are built up in their most holy faith. They are instructed, corrected, encouraged, and equipped. They are being mature in their thinking. And when that same Word is preached, the unbeliever in the midst is confronted not by a confusing babble that allows him to dismiss us as lunatics, but by a divine clarity that pierces his conscience and exposes his need for a Savior.
We must desire that our churches be places where the presence of God is undeniable. But that presence is not demonstrated by chaos, but by the convicting power of His truth. The greatest sign that God is in our midst is when His Word is spoken with such clarity and power that sinners are brought to their knees in repentance and faith. That is the sign we should all be seeking.