…how will I benefit you…?
1 Corinthians 14:6b

The saints at Corinth were placing a lot of misplaced emphasis on miraculously speaking in tongues (14:1-5).  They did not realize that the purpose of their worship was not only to praise and revere the Lord but also to spiritually strengthen each other (14:26b), and they were to use their spiritual gifts towards this end (12:7).  To help them understand this, Paul writes, “Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?” (14:6).  In other words, “If I come to you speaking in a language which you cannot understand, what good will that do you?  The only spiritual benefit you will receive is if I have the miraculous gifts of prophecy, knowledge, and wisdom which would give me direct revelation from God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, divine instruction which I would then teach to you.” 

He then uses instrumental music as an analogy to illustrate how speaking miraculously in an unknown foreign language does nothing for the listener (14:6-9).  Just as blowing into a horn or flute or strumming the strings of a harp with no effort to make actual notes and chords cannot produce any sort of recognized melody, the listener will have no idea of what you are saying to them while speaking in foreign languages unknown to them.  It will be like going into a foreign country and not being even slightly fluent in that country’s language; each nation’s language has “meaning” for its native inhabitants, but not for the “foreigners” who “do not know the meaning of the language” (14:10-11). 

For these reasons, Paul urges the Corinthians who are so “eager for manifestations of the Spirit” (i.e., miraculous spiritual gifts) to “strive to excel in building up the church” by turning their desires more towards obtaining the gift of prophecy (14:12; cf. 14:5).  As he elaborates a bit later, “I thank God I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (14:18-19).  This is why he directs them to also desire the miraculous gift of being able to “interpret” those foreign languages in order to spiritually strengthen the ones who hear them (14:13; cf. 12:10b).  Otherwise, one of them could lead the congregation in a prayer or in a song, do so by miraculously speaking in an unknown language, and completely understand what they are saying due to having that miraculous ability (“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays…I will sing with the spirit…” – 14:14a, 15a).  However, the ones hearing their prayer and trying to make it their own and the ones trying to praise God in song alongside them would have no understanding of what was being said (“…but my understanding is unfruitful…” – 14:14b).  As a result, they would not be able to “say ‘Amen’ at your giving of thanks” – i.e., recognize it as divine truth – because they “do not understand what you say” (14:16).  By urging them to pray for the miraculous gift to interpret what was being said in foreign languages, they would be able to both lead prayers and songs in foreign languages in such a way that those in the congregation without those miraculous spiritual gifts would be able to understand them and thus be edified (“…I will also pray with the understanding…I will also sing with the understanding” – 14:15).

Even though we do not have these miraculous gifts today, these principles can still guide us.  Those who lead and instruct the congregation in worship and Bible classes should strive to make sure that what is being said in the teachings, prayers, and songs is understood by those in the pews.  For example, how many of us automatically know what propitiation means if we hear the term said from the pulpit?  If the song being sung is Night With Ebon Pinion, or if we sing the words here I raise my Ebenezer, does everyone in the pews know what that means? If we as preachers, teachers, or worship leaders use these terms publicly, it would be beneficial for the spiritual edification of our brethren to take a moment to explain what they mean so that the worship can be with “understanding.”                                     

— Jon