1 Corinthians 14:20-25 (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. In the Law it is written:
“With other tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people,
but even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”
Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
Paul’s point is that, while speaking in tongues in a service might impress unbelievers or seekers who are present in the service (although, as he points out, it is more likely to make them think that the Christians who are speaking in tongues are out of their minds), it does nothing to convert them or show them the error of their ways.
However, if those same unbelievers or seekers come in and someone in the congregation shares a word from the Lord that speaks directly to their hearts, helping them to see their specific areas of failure or concern, the whole effect will be different. That person is most likely to realize on the spot that God is truly present and is speaking through the lips of those people.
In Paul’s opinion, if the purpose of the service is to elevate people in the Church based on which gifts they display, then speaking in tongues might be a good thing to emphasize. But if the purpose is to hear from God directly, to build up the Church, and to speak powerfully to the hearts of those who are seeking the truth, then prophecy is the more useful gift.
It is important to note that Paul’s overall point here is not to single out some gifts as good and useful and others as bad. There are no bad gifts that come from the Father. Instead, he is building his argument about how the gifts might be used more effectively and in a more well-balanced way, especially in worship services of the Church. And that is precisely where he goes in the next section.
Father, as Paul later points out, You are not a God of disorder, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). Therefore, we, Your people, are not to display disorder, either in our personal lives or in our worship. If we are having conflicts, whether about worship styles or about the place and manner of exercising our spiritual gifts, that conflict is not from You. Instead, You have provided clear instructions on how we are to do things so that our services are not about us at all, but about You and Your agenda of building up Your Church, and growing it through the making of disciples of all nations. Help us to do all that we do with that in mind, Lord. Amen.