Prophecy Over Performance
Study 17: (1 Corinthians 14:1-40)
Paul returns to the question of spiritual gifts, but now with the filter of love freshly applied. “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, but especially the gift of prophecy” (14:1). Notice the placement. Paul is not saying to ignore the gifts. He is saying to pursue them through the lens of love. And among the gifts, he has a clear preference: prophecy over tongues.
The Corinthians have apparently made tongues the mark of spirituality. To speak in tongues is to prove you are truly spiritual, truly filled with the Spirit. Paul is about to systematically undermine this value system. He is not hostile to tongues. He will acknowledge later that he speaks in tongues himself, probably more than any of them. But he is insistent that it is not the most important gift, and it is certainly not the gift most needed in the church.
Why is prophecy better? “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries with their spirit” (14:2). The person speaking in tongues is praying or worshiping, but no one else understands. The gift is essentially individual, a private communication between the speaker and God. Thiselton argues that we cannot be entirely sure what Paul means by tongues. Some scholars think it is glossolalia, ecstatic utterance. Others think it is a language unknown to the hearers. Either way, the point is the same: it is not comprehensible.
“But the one who prophesies speaks to the people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort” (14:3). Prophecy, by contrast, speaks to people. It does so with the purpose of building them up. The Greek word *oikodomē* means to build up, to strengthen, to edify. This is what prophecy does. It takes the word of God and speaks it into the concrete situation of the church, and in doing so, it builds up the community.
“Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church” (14:4). Here is the contrast in starkest terms. Tongues edify the speaker. Prophecy edifies the community. Individual benefit versus corporate benefit. Private spirituality versus public ministry.
