Bird's-eye view
In these two concluding verses of his main argument, the Apostle Paul brings the hammer down. After a long and detailed chapter regulating the chaotic worship services in Corinth, he is not content to leave his instructions as mere suggestions or helpful hints. He anchors the entire discussion in his own apostolic authority, which is nothing less than the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is the ultimate test of spiritual discernment. A truly spiritual man, a genuine prophet, will recognize that Paul's words are not his own opinion but are in fact the Lord's commandment. The inverse is also true: the one who refuses to recognize this authority reveals his own spiritual state. This passage is a crucial statement on the nature of biblical authority, the test of true spirituality, and the finality of the apostolic word as the foundation for the church's life and worship.
Paul is drawing a sharp line between the temporary and subordinate nature of the revelatory gifts being exercised in Corinth and the permanent, foundational authority of his own apostolic office. The Corinthians were enamored with the spectacular, but Paul calls them back to the bedrock of divine revelation given through God's chosen vessel. The final verse is a solemn warning, a form of covenantal judgment. To be ignorant of Paul's authority is to be ignored by God. This is not a matter of intellectual disagreement; it is a matter of submission to the established order of Christ's kingdom. The authority of Scripture is not up for debate, and those who place their own spiritual experiences above it do so at their own peril.
Outline
- 1. The Apostolic Standard (1 Cor 14:37-38)
- a. The Test of True Spirituality (v. 37)
- b. The Consequence of Willful Ignorance (v. 38)
Context In 1 Corinthians
This section is the capstone of Paul's extended argument in chapters 12 through 14 concerning spiritual gifts. The Corinthian church was gifted but carnal. They had an abundance of spiritual gifts, particularly tongues and prophecy, but they were exercising them in a disorderly, proud, and unloving manner. Chapter 12 established that the gifts are from one Spirit for the common good of the one body. Chapter 13, the great love chapter, provided the necessary context for all gift-based ministry: without love, it is all just noise. Chapter 14 then gets down to the practical business of regulating the worship service, prioritizing intelligible prophecy over unintelligible tongues and establishing rules for orderly conduct. Verses 37 and 38 serve as the authoritative conclusion to this entire section. Paul anticipates that some of the "spiritual" people in Corinth, puffed up with their own prophetic importance, might object to his regulations. So, he preemptively cuts off that line of rebellion by stating plainly that his instructions are not debatable; they are the commandment of the Lord.
Key Issues
- Apostolic Authority vs. Prophetic Gifts
- The Nature of Scripture as Commandment
- The Test of a Genuinely Spiritual Person
- Covenantal Judgment and Divine Recognition
The Unassailable Word
In our democratic and egalitarian age, the concept of absolute, top-down authority is deeply offensive. We want to have a vote. We want our experiences and feelings to be validated. We want to think of the Bible as a helpful resource, a collection of inspiring stories, or a book of spiritual suggestions. Paul will have none of it. Here he makes one of the clearest statements in the New Testament about the nature of his own writings. He does not say, "I think this is the best way," or "Let's try this for a while." He says that what he writes is the Lord's commandment.
This is the doctrine of the inspiration and authority of Scripture in action. The apostles were unique, foundational figures commissioned directly by Christ to speak for Him. Their words were not their own; they were Christ's words. This is why we must distinguish sharply between the kind of prophecy that was happening in Corinth and the kind of revelation that was given to the apostles. The Corinthian prophecies were to be judged and sifted (1 Cor 14:29), but Paul's writing is what does the judging. The canon of Scripture is the unassailable standard by which all other claims to spiritual authority must be measured. Any spiritual experience, any supposed prophetic word, any personal feeling that contradicts or seeks to stand alongside the apostolic word is, by definition, a counterfeit.
Verse by Verse Commentary
37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.
Paul lays down the definitive test. The Corinthians were very interested in who was "spiritual." For them, it likely meant the person who had the most dramatic gifts, the one who spoke in tongues most frequently or prophesied most ecstatically. Paul redefines the term entirely. Do you want to know who is truly spiritual? Do you want to identify a genuine prophet? It is the person who recognizes and submits to apostolic authority. The proof of the Spirit's work in a man is not the display of gifts, but submission to the Word.
He says, "let him recognize." The verb here implies a clear, settled acknowledgment. This is not a matter of opinion. The truly spiritual man will see the divine authority inherent in Paul's writing because the Holy Spirit, the author of Scripture, bears witness in that man's heart to the truth of that Scripture. The proud, the rebellious, the man who trusts in his own experiences will chafe at this. But the humble believer, the one truly led by the Spirit, will hear the voice of his Lord in the words of the apostle and will gladly obey. The things Paul has just written, from the priority of love to the silencing of women in the formal assembly to the need for interpreters, are not Pauline suggestions. They are the Lord's commandment. To disobey Paul is to disobey Jesus.
38 But if anyone remains ignorant about this, he is ignored by God.
This is a solemn and terrifying conclusion. The Greek here can be translated in a few ways, such as "if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized," or as some manuscripts have it, "let him be ignorant." The meaning in any case is clear. This is a statement of divine, covenantal judgment. This is not a simple case of someone lacking information. Given the clarity of Paul's claim in the previous verse, this is a willful, stubborn ignorance. It is the ignorance of a man who chooses his own spiritual pride over the clear command of God.
And the consequence is reciprocal. If a man refuses to recognize God's appointed authority, God in turn refuses to recognize him. He is "ignored." This means he is set aside, passed over, and ultimately disowned. In a church obsessed with status and spiritual giftedness, this is the ultimate rebuke. You think you are someone special because you prophesy? If you do not submit to the apostolic word, God does not even know you. It is the same principle Jesus articulates in the Sermon on the Mount: "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name...?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you'" (Matt 7:22-23). Spectacular gifts are no substitute for simple obedience. The man who sets himself up as an authority against the Word of God is, in the final analysis, left to himself. And to be left to oneself by God is the beginning of Hell.
Application
The principle laid down in these verses is as relevant today as it was in Corinth. The modern church is awash in claims to spiritual authority that are detached from the Word of God. We have people who appeal to their personal experiences, their private revelations, their emotional certainties, or the latest cultural trends as a basis for setting aside the clear teaching of Scripture. When the Bible's teaching on sexuality, on the roles of men and women, on church order, or on the exclusivity of Christ becomes inconvenient or unpopular, we find no shortage of "spiritual" people who are willing to ignore it.
Paul's test cuts through all this fog. The primary evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in a person's life is not how they feel, what they claim to have experienced, or how well they can articulate the spirit of the age. The primary evidence is a humble, settled submission to the Bible as the very commandment of the Lord. Do we come to the Scriptures as students ready to be taught, or as critics ready to judge? Do we adjust our lives to fit the Bible, or do we try to adjust the Bible to fit our lives?
Furthermore, we must take the warning of verse 38 with the utmost seriousness. To willfully ignore the plain teaching of God's Word is to put ourselves in a place where God will ignore us. This does not mean that every interpretive struggle is an act of rebellion. But it does mean that when we know what the Word says, and we deliberately set it aside in favor of our own wisdom or desires, we are treading on holy ground in dirty boots. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and that fear begins with trembling at His Word. Our only safety is to anchor ourselves to the apostolic commandment, which is the Word of God, and to build our lives, our families, and our churches upon that unshakeable foundation.