1 Corinthians 14:1-5

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified. -1 Corinthians 14:1-5

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The word “prophecy” have different interpretations.  Some Bible scholars believe they are talking about actual predicting of the future events that were supernaturally revealed to an individual.  Other scholars say that the word “prophecy” is talking about Christian teaching or Christian truth.

Regardless of the interpretation it is clear that Paul see prophecy as something that benefits others.  If you received a supernatural revelation, you share it with the community o build them up.  If you are teaching Christian truth, you are building up the faith community.

This is in sharp contrast to the “speaking of tongues,” which was a practice where someone becomes so overwhelmed by God’s Spirit that they start speaking in an unknown language.  The Apostle Paul was discouraging this because the ability to speak in tongues have become a spiritual status symbol in the Corinthian church.  People think they are godly or better than others because they have the ability to speak in tongues.  This gift has become all about them and not about God or about helping others grow in God.

My personal pet peeve is when people go on missions trip to a different country and take pictures of themselves with kids who are living in poverty.  I don’t want to sound overly jaded but sometimes I wonder if they are there to really help or just for a photo op they can post on their Insta to show the world how altruistic they are.  Is it really about those kids or is it about their own reputation?

Today in our churches, we have our own version of “speaking in tongues.”  A lot of people want to be on the church’s praise team or leadership team because they get a lot of visibility.  If you’re playing music on stage, you’re literally in the spotlight.  Or if you’re sharing with people, you’re up front and the focus is on you.  We need to be careful that we’re not doing “spiritual” things for our won ego as oppose to for God’s glory.

That’s what the people in Corinth were doing—the speaking tongues was for their own glory, not for God’s and that annoyed the Apostle Paul as it should.