Pursue love, but strive eagerly for the spiritual gifts, above all that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to human beings but to God, for no one listens; he utters mysteries in spirit. 3 On the other hand, one who prophesies does speak to human beings, for their building up, encouragement, and solace. 4 Whoever speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but whoever prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I should like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be built up. 6 Now, brothers, if I should come to you speaking in tongues, what good will I do you if I do not speak to you by way of revelation, or knowledge, or prophecy, or instruction? 7 Likewise, if inanimate things that produce sound, such as flute or harp, do not give out the tones distinctly, how will what is being played on flute or harp be recognized? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 Similarly, if you, because of speaking in tongues, do not utter intelligible speech, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be talking to the air. 10 It happens that there are many different languages in the world, and none is meaningless; 11 but if I do not know the meaning of a language, I shall be a foreigner to one who speaks it, and one who speaks it a foreigner to me. 12 So with yourselves: since you strive eagerly for spirits, seek to have an abundance of them for building up the church.
Speaking in tongues was a sign of inspiration by the Spirit and that spiritual gift was desired by members of the Corinthian community. They seemed to have placed a lot of importance on the gift of speaking in tongues. Those who had the gift were held in high esteem by some, but Paul tells them that if there was no one in the community to interpret what was being said, the utterances would sound like unintelligible babbling. Speaking in tongues is not like speaking a foreign language as the Apostles did at Pentecost (Acts 2:4-11).
Paul encourages the Community to pursue love, the greatest of gifts, and to strive also for other spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:10) especially prophecy, the gift that provides the most benefit to the community. Prophecy provides insight into doctrine and morality. If they speak in tongues, it is a personal experience because only God, the author of the gift, will understand. The gift of prophecy builds up, encourages, and consoles the community so those who prophesy have the greater gift. If there is someone in the community with the gift of interpreting tongues, then there is no difference between the gifts of prophecy and speaking in tongues (vv. 4-5). The charism of tongues is a sign for nonbelievers, but the charism of prophecy is for the edification of believers (1 Cor. 14:22)
Paul himself has the gift of tongues (1 Cor. 13:1, 14:14) and so can relate to the Corinthians who have that charism. Sounds are useless unless their meaning is understood. Unintelligible sounds that do not provide revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or teaching contribute nothing to building up the church because no one knows what is being said. They should strive for charismatic gifts that build up the church. There are many languages in the world but if one cannot understand a language, one gains nothing from hearing it. Paul encourages the Corinthians to strive for an abundance of spiritual gifts for building up the church.
Almighty God, help us to recognize the spiritual
gifts you have given us for building up the Church and the opportunities you provide
to use them. Grant us a firm faith and a
desire to share the greatest of all spiritual gifts, love. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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