Cor14:1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
the already written word = prophesy
for a thing to be prophesy to someone, the thing must be understood
to preach something to people so they understand it, is to prophesy to them
the setting is a multi-lingual church assembly...
many different people there, all speaking many different languages
and all eager to either learn or share the Word
but there was confusion while doing so....
so Paul corrects them, over and over again about the same thing.
2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
by example;
if a Greek man speaks the gospel in the Greek tongue, to an englishman who does not understand greek
then he'd be preaching to only God...
it's a negative, not a positive.
even tho the greek man is in the Spirit and speaking about God
his words are a mystery to the Englishman
the speaker's knowledge is not exchanged
instead of edifying the englishman in the Lord,
his words would be unintelligible babble
only God would understand the greek man, instead of the englishman,
and the point was to edify the englishman.(the crowd)
it is a negative not a positive
if that tongue is understood, whether by birth/learned/translater/supernatural,
then those words become prophesy,
otherwise, you're speaking to God/the air/the wind/yourself...
3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
the positive above
4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
the negative first
if the tongue you speak is unknown to the audience,
then you'r only speaking to yourself (as in verse 2, to God only, or verse 9, to the air)
the positive after
if that tongue is understood then your words edify the church
5 I would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
if we all spoke all tongue of man, then that would be great
but we dont so those words need to be interpreted to the audience so that those words can become prophesy to them
so the audience can be edified
6 Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you,
that's the negative
if Paul spoke in Hebrew, to those in Rome, what profit is there?
except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
that is the positive
the words must be understood to be revelation / knowledge and become doctrine to those in attendance
his words must be understood to be of any value
7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
the negative
9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
explained much the same way as i explained it above
this a repeated pattern, over and over again
speak into the air is like verse 2's speak unto God...
a bad thing if you were supposed to edify the audience.
10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.
11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
again
if we speak and hear babble, then it will sound like babble
this refers to gentile tongues/languages.
if we were to speak greek to an Englishman, the Englishman here's barbarian speech
12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
edify the church by them understanding your words.
remember that this is a multi-lingual gentile nation.
folks gathered there to share scriptures and the gospel and to praise God
it evidently was mass confusion because there was no order
ie. the greek man preaching in greek, to a crowd filled with a multitude of people
speaking different tongues/languages/dialects than each other...
people talking over one another etc
probably 10 sermons going on all at once...wow what a headache
confusion
13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
that he (his greek words) may be interpreted by another in attendance
someone who is a believer, that also who speaks one or more of the crowds tongue/language
having an orderly way to spread the Good News is paramount
14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
if I pray out loud, to an audience in my ie. native greek language
and that audience doesn't understand greek
then even tho i am in the Spirit, even tho i'm speaking the Gospel,
the fruit i am trying to produce is unfruitfull to the audience
15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
can't be more plain
pray with the Spirit AND understanding
if you are there to edify the church, then your words must be understood by those listening
16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
we have to understand the words to have the desired response to them
17 For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
you speaking greek to a culturally diverse audience, you might give thanks to God well,
but the audience would'nt know it
18 I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:
Paul spoke many languages that we know of
He was a Roman citizen, Hebrew, tribe of Ben, house of Judah
God chose him to travel around for the gentiles
he was a linguist
and his speaking multiple tongues/languages was a reason why he was chosen
19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.
even though he speaks many different languages
speaking 1000's of words in greek to an english audience, would accomplish nothing
he'd rather speak 5 words that they'd understand than 1000 that they don't
it is paramount that the audience understand his (our) words so they can come to God.
