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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 14:26-40
Throughout the years much has been spoken and written concerning 14:26-40. The reason for this is that in the New Testament there is not a clear word telling us how Christians should meet or how we should function in the meetings of the church. This portion of 1 Corinthians is considered by some to be unique in the New Testament in that it seems to tell us how to function in the meetings. However, the more we study these verses, the more puzzled we become. But because Paul has included this section in 1 Corinthians, we need to study it carefully.
In the Recovery Version of 1 Corinthians, the subtitle for 14:26-40 is, “How to Function in the Church Meeting.” Actually, I do not like the term “how to.” The New Testament is the word of the Spirit, not a word of “how to” do things. The human mind always desires to know how to do a particular thing. This desire is somewhat natural. Nevertheless, it is sometimes impossible to keep from using the term “how to.” Therefore, I have used it as a subtitle for this portion of 1 Corinthians.
In verse 26 Paul says, “What is it then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” “Has,” used five times in this verse, is the translation of the Greek word echo, a word widely used, with many meanings, three of which are the main ones: (1) to hold, to possess, to keep a certain thing; (2) to have a certain thing for enjoyment; (3) to have the means or power to do a thing. The first two meanings should be applied to the first three of the five things listed in this verse — a psalm, a teaching, a revelation — and the third meaning to the last two — a tongue and an interpretation of a tongue. This indicates that when we come to the church meeting, we should have something of the Lord to share with others, whether a psalm to praise the Lord, a teaching (of the teacher) to minister the riches of Christ to edify and nourish others, a revelation (of the prophet, v. 30) to give visions of God’s eternal purpose concerning Christ as God’s mystery and the church as Christ’s mystery, a tongue as a sign to the unbelievers (v. 22) that they may know and accept Christ, or an interpretation to make a tongue concerning Christ and His Body understandable. Before coming to the meeting, we should prepare ourselves for the meeting with things like these from the Lord and of the Lord, either through our experience of Him or through our enjoyment of His Word and fellowship with Him in prayer. After coming into the meeting, we should not wait for an inspiration; there is no need to wait. We should exercise our spirit and use our trained mind to function in presenting what we have been prepared with to the Lord for His glory and satisfaction and to the attendants for their benefit — enlightening, nourishing, and building up.
This is like the feast of tabernacles in ancient times: the children of Israel brought the produce of the good land, which they reaped from their labor on the land, to the feast and offered it to the Lord for His enjoyment and for mutual participation in fellowship with the Lord and with one another. We must labor on Christ, our good land, that we may reap some produce of His riches to bring to the church meeting to offer. Thus, the church meeting will be an exhibition of Christ in His riches and a mutual enjoyment of Christ shared by all the attendants with one another before God and with God for the building up of the saints and the church.
According to the stress and emphasis of this Epistle, all five things listed in this verse should be focused on Christ as God’s center for our portion and the church as God’s goal for our aim. The psalm should be the praise of God for giving Christ as wisdom and power to us for our daily life and church life. The teaching from a teacher and the revelation from a prophet should teach and minister Christ with the church as His Body to others. A tongue and its interpretation should also have Christ with the church as its center and content. Any emphasis on things other than Christ and the church will confuse and distract the church from the central lane of God’s New Testament economy and make the church like that in Corinth.
In verse 26 Paul tells us that everything should be done for building up. Whatever we do in the church meeting must be for the building up of the saints and the church. To exhibit Christ and to enjoy Him in our meetings for the building up of His body must be our unique purpose and goal.
In verse 26 the word “has” is very important. According to Paul, whenever we all come together to meet, we should have something. Paul does not say “shall have” or “should have”; he speaks in the present tense to denote the fact and says that we have something, that each one of us has something. Furthermore, he does not say that just a few have, that many have, or that most have; he says that “each one has” something. He then mentions five things in the following sequence: a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, an interpretation. This list is not all-inclusive; it is illustrative. He mentions a psalm first, and tongues and interpretation last. He lists tongues and interpretation last because in this chapter he is mindful of the building up of the church for God’s administration.
The fact that Paul mentions a psalm first indicates that in the meeting of the church praising the Lord must be primary. A psalm is somewhat equivalent to a hymn. In today’s Pentecostal movement there is the singing of Bible verses. However, most of the verses are from the Old Testament. I doubt if there has ever been singing concerning Christ as the mystery of God or the church as the mystery of Christ. Have you ever heard that those in a Pentecostal meeting sang Ephesians 1, 3, or 4? We need to write music that we may sing these chapters and other portions of the books which make up the heart of the divine revelation: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. We need to sing about how it pleased God to reveal His Son in us; about Christ living in us and about the fact that we have been crucified with Him; about walking in the Spirit and according to the regulation of the Spirit; about the need for a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know the hope of God’s calling, the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and the greatness of His power exercised to raise Christ and set Him in the heavens; about the church being the fullness of Christ, the One who fills all in all; about the need to be strengthened into our inner man by the Spirit of God with might so that Christ may make His home in our hearts and that we may comprehend with all the saints the universal dimensions of Christ unto the fullness of God; about one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all; about walking in the truth of Jesus so that we may put off the old man, put on the new man, and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to have the reality of the new man; about the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ; about magnifying Christ, living Him, being found in Him, pursuing Him, and having the excellent knowledge of Him; about Christ, the Beloved, as the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of creation. Let us learn to sing verses from these four books as well as from Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Hebrews. In our singing we need to be brought up to the standard of the New Testament economy.
Our hymnal contains more than thirteen hundred hymns. When we compiled the hymnal, we selected hymns which God had given to His people throughout the centuries. This proves that we are far from being sectarian; on the contrary, we are all-inclusive. But now we must go on to write more hymns and songs on the completing ministry of Paul and the mending ministry of John. We need a collection of songs on Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews. We also need songs and hymns on the Gospel of John, 1 John, and Revelation. Let us sing hymns written on John 15 about abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in us. Let us also sing about the seven lampstands, the seven lamps of fire, and the flowing river in the book of Revelation.
In our singing and in the use of our hymnal, we should not be traditional. Our singing and praising should not mainly be of God as the Creator or of His dispensations in dealing with mankind, but mainly of His New Testament economy. For example, we need to sing concerning the processed Triune God.
I hope that in the years to come there will be a great change in our singing and in our hymnal as well. In our singing and praising we are still somewhat under the influence of tradition. Regarding this, we need to leave the traditional way and absolutely return to God’s New Testament economy.
The believers at the time of Paul may have sung the Old Testament Psalms. The writers of the Old Testament did not have a clear revelation concerning the church as the mystery of Christ. Since this matter is no longer hidden, we need to write hymns concerning it based on the revelation in the New Testament. Paul has written fourteen Epistles, and we need to sing them. However, we may be held back by the atmosphere and influence of traditional Christianity. Once again, I encourage you to write hymns on the New Testament economy. Let us sing hymns about Paul’s completing ministry and John’s mending ministry.
After saying, “Each one has a psalm,” Paul goes on to mention a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, and an interpretation. The teachings must be according to the teachings of the apostles, and a revelation must show something which has been hidden but is now revealed. In the meetings we need a word of teaching and also a word of revelation. We have pointed out that the teaching from a teacher and the revelation from a prophet should teach and minister Christ with the church as His Body. In principle, the same must be true of tongues and the interpretation of tongues: they should have Christ with the church as the center and content. This means that they should be centered on Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ, not on other things. The proper tongue-speaking should be concerning Christ and the church. This is based upon the context of the entire book of 1 Corinthians, a book which speaks of Christ as the wisdom and power of God and the deep things of God and of the church as the Body to express Christ and as the means to carry out God’s administration.
The singing and speaking among Pentecostal people today falls far short of the vision of God’s economy in the New Testament. They are lacking in the heavenly revelation; therefore, their singing and speaking are in a natural realm. We thank the Lord that His recovery is in another realm, a spiritual realm, a heavenly realm, the realm of Christ and the church. Nevertheless, we still need our understanding and comprehension to be uplifted. We need to pray that the Lord will turn us fully from the natural realm to the heavenly, spiritual realm so that everything we say and do in the meetings will be for the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy. I hope that in all the meetings of all the churches this will be the situation and that the meetings will be filled with speaking concerning Christ and the church.
In verses 27 and 28 Paul goes on to say concerning tongue-speaking, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most three, and in turn, and let one interpret; but if there is no interpreter, let him be silent in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God.” Paul’s use of the word church in verse 28 indicates that the church meeting is the church. In these verses we see that Paul did not altogether neglect speaking in tongues, but instead gave some regulations concerning it. Two or at the most three may in turn speak in tongues, and one should interpret. However, in some Christian meetings today, everyone is encouraged to speak in tongues. Those with such a practice surely need to pay attention to these verses and learn to speak in turn. The waiting this requires will regulate them and test them. But if there is no interpreter present, they should be silent in the meeting and speak to themselves and to God. As we consider these verses, we see that according to the regulations given by Paul, a Christian meeting should not be conducted like certain of today’s Pentecostal meetings.
Verse 29 says, “And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others discern.” According to this verse, in a meeting two or three prophets may speak, and the other prophets should discern. The word “others” here refers to other prophets. Verses 29 through 32 speak about the prophets only, not all the members of the church. The other prophets should discern, judge, (lit., discriminate), what is spoken by the prophets. This is to judge or discern whether what is prophesied is of God or not, discriminating the true from the false. This indicates that some prophesying may not be of God.
In verse 30 Paul continues, “But if something is revealed to another sitting by, let the first be silent.” “Another” refers to another prophet, and “the first” refers to the first prophet. Thus, verse 30 refers to the prophets, not to all the attendants of the church meeting.
Verse 31 says, “For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.” According to the context of verses 29 through 32, “you” and “all” (twice) refer to the prophets. The Greek word rendered encouraged here also means comforted. Even the prophets need to learn and to be encouraged.
In verse 32 Paul says, “And the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.” To say that the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets means that the prophets are not under the control of their spirits, but that their spirits are under their direction. Thus, they can determine when to prophesy and when to cease to maintain good order in the church meeting. Their spirits are not their master, but their means to function. They should learn how to exercise and use their spirits at their discretion.
Verse 32 clearly indicates that our spirit should be subject to us, not that we should be subject to our spirit. However, some in today’s Pentecostalism excuse themselves by saying that whatever they do in the meetings is according to the spirit. They claim that they are carried away by their spirit. For example, someone may shout aloud and not care for anyone or anything else. Should someone ask him why he shouts so loudly, he may reply, “This is not up to me; I am carried away by the spirit.” This is contrary to Paul’s word. He says strongly that we should not be subject to the spirit; rather, the spirit should be subject to us.
For years I have pointed out our need to exercise the spirit. This implies that our spirit is subject to us. We exercise the spirit; it is not the spirit which exercises us. Do you exercise the spirit, or does the spirit exercise you? The expression “exercise the spirit” is meant for those who are sober-minded, especially for those who tend to sit quietly in the meetings. All such ones need to exercise the spirit. But to those like the Corinthians who are carried away with their ecstasy, Paul would say, “Don’t subject yourself to the spirit, but let your spirit be subject to you. Turn away from your ecstasy and cause your spirit to be subject to you.” Do not excuse yourself by saying that everything you do is according to the spirit. The exercise of the gifts must be done in a regulated way, not in an uncontrolled manner. Our spirit must be subject to us. This means that we must have a sober mind to use our spirit in a proper way.
Verse 33 says, “For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.” The principle of Paul’s charge to the Corinthians in verses 26 through 32, mainly concerning speaking in tongues and prophesying, is to keep a peaceful and becoming order according to what God Himself is.
The last part of verse 33 actually introduces verse 34 and reads: “As in all the churches of the saints.” The word “as” indicates that all the local churches should be in the same practice. First Corinthians 1:2 and 10:32 mention the church of God. But here we read of the churches of the saints. The “church of God” denotes the constituent of the church; the church is constituted of the element of God. The “churches of the saints” denotes the components of the churches; the churches are composed of the saints.
Verse 34 says, “Let the women be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but let them be subject, as the law also says.” The phrase “in the churches” means in the meetings of the church. According to 11:5, women can prophesy (of course, in public) with their head covered, and Acts 2:17 and 18 and 21:9 confirm that there were women prophesying. But in 1 Timothy 2:12 women are not permitted to teach, that is, to teach as an authority (there teaching is related to the exercising of authority), defining doctrine. Hence, according to the New Testament principle, for women not to be permitted to speak in the church meetings means that women are not permitted to teach with authority concerning the defining of doctrine. In this sense they should be silent in the church meetings. They are not permitted to speak because they should be subject to man. This is related to the matter of authority ordained by God in His government. In God’s governmental ordination, women are not permitted to speak with authority over man. They may pray and prophesy, that is, mainly to speak for the Lord and speak forth the Lord. However, they must do this under the covering of the brothers because they are charged here to be subject.
The “law” in verse 34 refers to the books written by Moses (Matt. 5:17; 7:12; 11:13). In Moses’ writings, Genesis 3:16 charges the woman to be subject to man’s rule. This is God’s ordination.
First Corinthians 14:34 should not be understood in isolation from the rest of the Bible. On the contrary, we need to interpret the Bible by the Bible and with the Bible. According to the teaching of the entire New Testament, sisters may prophesy, but they do not have the authority to define doctrines. This must be left to the brothers. Furthermore, it is a fact of history that some of the most serious heresies have come in through women.
In 1933, after giving up my job to serve the Lord full time, I visited Brother Nee in Shanghai. While I was there, he told me that, under the influence of the Brethren practice, they did not allow the sisters to pray in the meetings, much less to speak. He told me they had followed that practice for eleven years. However, Brother Nee realized that if the sisters did not pray in the meetings, half of the church would be paralyzed and out of function. That would be a damage and loss to the meetings. Hence, Brother Nee was considering how to adjust the situation. Then he referred the matter to me and asked what I thought about it. I said that I thought we needed to have the sisters pray in the meetings. This is an example of making a decision related to doctrine. Such a decision involves authority.
Such a decision with authority is the kind of speaking Paul is referring to in verse 33. He does not agree that sisters should speak in the church meetings in a way to exercise authority over the brothers. If we do not understand the verse in this way, we have no way to reconcile it with chapter eleven, where Paul speaks of the sisters praying or prophesying with their heads covered. This is a strong indication that the sisters can speak in the meetings, as long as they have a covering on their head.
In verse 35 Paul says, “But if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church.” Once again “in the church” means in the church meetings.
In verse 36 Paul asks, “Or was it from you that the word of God went forth, or did it reach only to you?” This strong, frank word indicates that a local church should follow the other churches in its practice. All the local churches should submit to the universal order of the Spirit according to the word of the apostles, from whom the word of God goes forth.
In verse 37 Paul goes on to say, “If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him know clearly that the things which I write to you are a commandment of the Lord.” Paul here was speaking with authority, uttering a commandment of the Lord.
Paul’s word in verse 37 indicates that to be a prophet or to be spiritual is highly esteemed in the church for the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy. A prophet is one who is second to the apostle in God’s administration in the church (12:28), who speaks for God and speaks forth God, and who has received revelation of the mysteries of God concerning Christ and the church (Eph. 3:5) as the foundation for building the church (Eph. 2:20). A spiritual person is one who lives according to his spirit, which is mingled with God’s Spirit, and who is able to discern all the spiritual things (1 Cor. 3:1; 2:15). Such spiritually knowledgeable persons should know clearly that the Apostle Paul’s teachings are the commandment of the Lord, and their speaking should correspond to his teachings. Paul’s spirit is strong and his word is frank in dealing with the disorderly Corinthians. He charges them to know definitely that his teachings are a commandment of the Lord, and they are authentically authoritative of the Lord. Since the apostle’s teachings are according to God’s ordination, they are the commandment of the Lord.
Verse 38 says, “But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.” Sometimes Paul is polite, but here he is strict and frank.
Verse 39 says, “Therefore, my brothers, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues.” Here Paul softens his tone a little in order to calm down the turmoil among the disorderly Corinthians. Actually, this entire chapter deals with prophesying and speaking in tongues. Since prophesying is the most profitable gift in building up both the saints and the church with the rich ministry of Christ, it is highly evaluated and promoted by the apostle. Because speaking in tongues does not afford any profit for such building, the apostle is faithful to expose its lesser value. Both the apostle’s evaluation and exposure are according to his concern for the fulfilling of God’s purpose in building up the church with the riches of Christ. At the conclusion of this chapter, he still charges us to desire earnestly to prophesy for God’s building. However, he also charges us not to forbid to speak in tongues in order to keep the all-inclusiveness and oneness of the church.
In verse 40 Paul concludes, “But let all things be done becomingly and in order.” The apostle’s concern for the church is that Christ as God’s center and the church as God’s goal may be carried on and carried out with all things done becomingly and in good order before men and angels (4:9; 11:10). Our natural life is useless in fulfilling such a high purpose. The experience of Christ crucified (1:23; 2:2) for the termination of our self and the experience of Christ in resurrection as our daily sanctification and redemption (1:30) are needed for a proper church life.
