13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray
that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but
my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but
I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will
sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit,
how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving
when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks
well enough, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God
that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I
would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than
ten thousand words in a tongue.
20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be
infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In the Law it is
written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I
speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”
22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while
prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 If,
therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and
outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your
minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is
convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his
heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and
declare that God is really among you.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (1 Co 14:13–25 ). Wheaton : Standard Bible
Society.
I try to remind myself from time to time that I speak to
people with little biblical literacy.
Other times I have to remind myself that I am speaking to people who are
well educated. How do you speak to the
student? How do you speak to the
teacher? How do you speak to the
foreigner?
It is fascinating to hear people talk to a foreigner who
does not know English. They think that
if they speak slowly and loudly the foreigner will miraculously understand
them. But the truth is they do not. In the same way St Paul talks about speaking in tongues.
The problem all too often is that people speak without
properly communicating to another. In
order to build up the body of Christ, the proclamation of the Gospel needs to
be properly communicated. In this way
people need to speak the truth to one another.
They need to proclaim the Salvation of Christ. And they need to do it, in a way in which
other people can confirm or affirm this testimony concerning Christ.
Thus, we need to speak properly in various languages. This allows us to pronounce the forgiveness
of sins through Jesus Christ's death on the cross. Jesus Christ has died and rose again to new
life. Thanks be to God for the gift of
speaking in tongues. But one should
speak only intelligible words for the building up of the body of Christ. (Hopefully, you can say Amen to these
statements.)
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