1 Corinthians 14:13-25

Imagine being in a worship service when a woman interrupts the sermon by loudly singing in tongues. Or a man standing in a service and praying in tongues for several minutes. Both the woman and the man would be personally edified by using their gift of tongues, but no one else in the room would get anything out of it. No one else could even say “Amen” afterward because they have no idea what had been sung or prayed (1 Corinthians 14:16). I was once in a service where a man spoke in tongues for several minutes. When he finished a young child said very loudly, “I have no idea what that man just said!” Everyone around who heard the child’s exclamation had a good laugh about it, but if the apostle Paul had been there, he would have given the child a hearty “amen!” Tongues is a gift that has no purpose in a gathered worship setting unless someone interprets what has been said (v. 17). Paul is not saying tongues has no purpose at all. Paul loves

the gift of tongues and uses it every chance he gets (v. 18). However, when Christians gather to worship Jesus, Paul would trade 10,000 words in a different language for just five words everyone gathered could understand (v. 18). The church gathers to “build up” everyone present, not just a single individual who speaks in tongues.