1 Corinthians 14:26-40
About the Text
(26) What kind of gathering was Paul writing about? Christians gathering for worship. In the ancient church in Corinth, the worship services were basically a "free for all," where believers all spoke and sang at the same time, each person doing his own thing. It was mass confusion. Everyone was in it for himself. No one was concerned for another. It is to this situation that Paul gave corrective advice.
(27) What is the speaking in "tongues"? As mentioned in the previous messages, it is the ability that some Christians have to speak to God in a language that they do not understand. In the earlier part of this chapter, Paul saw the weakness of this gift in building up others in the church. Thus, he advises the Corinthians to limit their use of tongues in this verse.
(29) What kind of "prophets" is being referred to here? In the early church in Corinth, prophets were the main teachers during the worship service. This was during a time when the New Testament was still under formulation. Such teachers receive direct messages, or "revelations" from God, and communicated them to the congregation. They had the kind of authority in the church that pastors and elders have today. The problem in the ancient church was that these prophets all spoke at the same time. It was a confusing mania of words. Each prophet had his say, but the congregation wasn't growing from this kind of confusion.
(32) How could the Holy Spirit come under the "control" of prophet? The Holy Spirit powerfully enables a believer to do God's work, even to speak as His messenger. But unlike demon-possession, the speaker is fully conscious, fully aware, fully in his right mind, and fully in control of his faculties. The Holy Spirit empowers us, but doesn't overtake us.
(34) What was Paul prohibiting women to do? Bible scholars are in great disagreement as to exactly what kind of "speaking" the women were prohibited from doing. However, a few general conclusions can be made about these verses: Women were not to teach in these worship services. This is confirmed by 1 Tim. 2:11-12, where Paul prohibits women from teaching men in the church. Women were not to speak in a way that violated their role of submission in these worship services. Evidence of this is in verse 34 and also 1 Tim. 2:11. Women were not to speak in a way that caused disorder and confusion. This comes from Paul's main point of this passage, that everything be done in an orderly and peaceful way, in order to strengthen the church (vv. 26, 33, 40). It is possible that women in the ancient church asked questions that were disruptive to the service, since in the Jewish synagogue, women typically sat on one side of the room while men on the other.
(36) Why did Paul ask this question? Paul knew that the Corinthians wouldn't listen to his advice right away. They thought they knew it all already. Therefore, Paul sarcastically points out that they aren't the only ones who know the Word of God.
Insights
The Bottom Line
In this passage, Paul applies the principle of love, as explained in chapter 13, to worship. Some may say, "Isn't worship something that happens just between me and God? If my attention is on God, why must I care what the other members think?" Yes, it is true that in worship, our attention should be fully on God. But for corporate worship, the gathering of Christians for worship, Paul identifies an additional purpose: "All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church." Paul was calling for people-sensitive worship services, which is an outgrowth of love. A "free for all" worship service is attractive to some, but not edifying to all. Among the ancient Corinthian Christians, they would all speak at once, like a hundred car horns in a traffic jam. Especially in today's 50-channel cable TV society, we would love a worship service where we could pray when we want, sing what we want, sit where we want, and listen to what we want. But the Bible says there must a "traffic controller," who regulates the worshiper's participation, without quenching the Spirit, so that the whole church benefits. Biblical worship certainly allows for some degree of freedom and spontaneity. But there must be some kind of bridle too. This way, the church is edified, and God is glorified. When you gather for worship, do you come only to "get something out of it"? Or do you come to also "strengthen the church"? Do you approach the worship service like you would a concert, where you could anonymously slip in and out? Or do you take the time to greet visitors, encourage the downcast, lift a burdened soul with Scripture, help set up chairs, and pray for the sister in need? There are many ways you could build up one another.