“When ye come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation” (1 Corinthians 14:26). The apostle has spent the first part of this chapter showing that tongue speakers edified others only if the hearer understood what the tongue speaker said. In these verses (vv. 26-39) he will discuss tongues and the other spiritual gifts as well. He names five items exercised by different disciples, and while two of them did not necessarily require the working of the Holy Spirit (psalms, teaching), these could have been worked by the moving of the Holy Spirit — just as revelation, tongue speaking, and tongue interpretation necessarily were.
In years past this chapter was a “proof text” of brethren identified as “no located preacher” brethren. The advocates of this doctrine taught it is wrong for one man to be located with a local church and do primarily the teaching. They understood the apostle to be saying that the services should be done by several men: one has a psalm, another has a teaching, another has a revelation, and has a tongue, another has an interpretation of tongues. Paul was not giving a pattern for the way teaching must be done in churches; there are examples where teaching was done by only one speaker (Paul, for example in Acts 20:18-35). The fact that sometimes many spoke and other times only one man spoke teaches us that there is not just one order in which teaching was done in assemblies. The error of those who hold this teaching is not that there were sometimes a number of men engaged in different activities in worship; their error is that this is the way it must be done.
The apostle insisted that order was to be maintained in their worship. If one spoke with tongues or prophesied, it was to be orderly; two or three at the most. And if a man spoke with tongues, he was either to interpret what he said himself or someone else was to interpret what he had spoken. If he or anyone else could not interpret what was said, he was to be silent. The same was true with the prophets. If they spoke a message, it was limited: two or at the most, three. And, if there was no one who could tell what his message was, he was to be silent, just as the tongue speaker was to be silent if no one could interpret his words.
Furthermore, if a prophet was speaking and a revelation was made to another one sitting by, the first prophet was to cease and “give the floor” to the one who had been given a new revelation. They were reminded that “the spirit of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (1 Corinthians 14:32). In every service order was to prevail; for “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:35).
Touching these instructions Paul said, “If any man thinketh himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you that they are the commandment of God” (1 Corinthians 14:37). Then, to these words he added “but if any man is ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 14:38). This section (1 Corinthians 12-14) began with these words: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, I would not have you to be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 12:1). Obviously, among other questions the Corinthians had asked Paul, they had questions about the exercising of spiritual gifts and the apostle has spent three chapters discussing various truths about the gifts, and showing how they were to be exercised. If, after this lengthy explanation, some still were ignorant, they would have to remain in ignorance.
The preceding comments were greatly needed to regulate the assemblies in which these gifts were exercised. But (as has been observed in previous articles) these gifts were temporary and are no part of assemblies today. They were in part and the apostle had written “when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (1 Corinthians 13:10). Still, two permanent truths are seen in these commands: assemblies in worship to God must be orderly (God is not the author of confusion but of peace) and assemblies must always be designed to build up or edify those who come to hear.
Jim McDonald