New Life Bible Fellowship Church
10/4/2026

      • Psalm 46:8–11ESV

  • Across the Lands
  • Come People of the Risen King

      • Luke 3:1–22ESV

  • Introduction:

    If you remember from last week, Paul made the case that prophecy surpasses tongues in corporate worship because prophecy edifies the church directly. Five intelligible words are worth more than ten thousand in a tongue.
    Now he goes deeper. He appeals to the Old Testament to show that tongues, far from being a mark of spiritual maturity, actually functions as a sign of judgment against unbelief.
    Today we learn that Christian worship must be orderly, intelligible, and edifying. God is not a God of confusion but of peace. Our gatherings should reflect His character.
    Let's open our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 14:20.

    Text: 1 Corinthians 14:20-40

    1 Corinthians 14:20–40 ESV
    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. 26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.

    Main Idea: Because all spiritual gifts should aim to build up the church, corporate worship, in the use of those gifts should be conducted decently and in order.

    Background:

    Just a reminder regarding scriptural interpretation, we always place ourselves as much as we can in the context of the text, historically, geographically, and grammatically. Which means that there is only one interpretation of any text. The goal of expositional preaching is to preach the text, declaring its interpretation as written, and allow the Holy Spirit to make its meaning applicable to us today.
    That being said, the text we have for this morning is one of scriptures most difficult texts. Nonetheless, we shall seek to expose its meaning and rely on the Holy Spirit to give us application. Paul begins with an appeal to:

    I. Mature Thinking (vv. 20-25)

    20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
    do not be children - νηπιάζω (nēpiazō) — "To be an infant / To be childlike" - Inexperienced, naive.
    in your thinking - φρήν (phrēn) — "Mind / Understanding / Thinking" - The seat of thought and judgment. Paul calls them to mature thinking about spiritual gifts.
    Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature - τέλειος (teleios) — "Mature / Complete / Perfect" - Do not know evil by experience, but be the opposite of childish in thinking. Mature thinking evaluates gifts by their edification value, not by their impressiveness.
    Paul uses a similar phrase in his letter to the Romans:
    Romans 16:19 ESV
    19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.
    The Point - The Corinthians' obsession with tongues reflected immature thinking. They valued what was spectacular over what was edifying. Paul calls them to grow up.
    To drive his point home, Paul will now use a seemingly unrelated illustration from the Old Testament.
    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.”
    ἐν τῷ νόμῳ (en tō nomō) — "In the Law" - Paul uses "Law" broadly for the OT Scriptures, though the quotation is from Isaiah 28:11-12.
    ἑτερόγλωσσος (heteroglōssos) — "Speaking another language / Of a foreign tongue" - From ἕτερος ("other, different") + γλῶσσα ("tongue, language"). In Isaiah's context, the Assyrians spoke a language Israel could not understand.
    The Isaiah Context - Isaiah 28:11-12 pronounces judgment on Israel. They refused to hear God's clear word through the prophets. Therefore, God would speak to them through the incomprehensible speech of foreign invaders. The "strange tongues" were not a blessing but a curse—a sign that judgment had arrived.
    Isaiah 28:11–12 ESV
    11 For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the Lord will speak to this people, 12 to whom he has said, “This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose”; yet they would not hear.
    So what is Paul’s point?
    Isaiah’s passage begins with God asking “To whom will he teach knowledge?” and responding that instruction comes in simple, repetitive form—“precept upon precept...line upon line...here a little, there a little.” (Isa 28:7–13) This describes God’s patient, elementary teaching method. Yet the Israelites addressed in Isaiah were priests and prophets intoxicated with wine who stumbled in judgment, refusing to hear God’s message of rest. (Isa 28:7–13) Their problem wasn’t intellectual—they rejected straightforward divine instruction through willful disobedience.
    Paul’s application sharpens this critique. The Corinthians, like Isaiah’s audience, had received clear teaching but were behaving immaturely. By urging them to stop thinking like children while simultaneously quoting Isaiah’s passage about foreign tongues and refusal to listen, (1 Cor 14:20–21) Paul suggests the Corinthians are repeating Israel’s mistake: they possess intelligible divine instruction yet pursue something unintelligible (tongues without interpretation) that mirrors the judgment of incomprehensible foreign speech.
    The deeper irony is this: true maturity means recognizing that God’s simple, repeated instruction deserves obedience—not seeking more exotic or impressive spiritual experiences. The Corinthians’ fascination with tongues represents a kind of spiritual drunkenness, a failure to appreciate the clarity of prophecy and teaching. Paul’s appeal to Isaiah thus works on two levels: it warns that refusing to listen to clear instruction invites judgment, and it challenges them to demonstrate genuine spiritual growth by valuing what builds up the church over what merely impresses.
    22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
    σημεῖον (sēmeion) — "Sign" - Not merely a wonder but a sign pointing to something—in this case, pointing to judgment against unbelief.
    The Argument
    Tongues: Unbelievers (sign of judgment)
    Prophecy: Believers (sign of edification)
    This is paradoxical. The Corinthians thought tongues was the mark of the spiritually advanced. Paul says it functions as a sign of judgment. The two events in the Old Testament where unknown languages were used by God as a judgment for unbelief were:
    Tower of Babel: Genesis 11
    Assyrian Invasion: Isaiah 28
    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?
    διώτης (idiōtēs) — "Outsider / Uninitiated person / Layman" - Someone unfamiliar with the practice—either an uninstructed believer or an interested inquirer. Together with "unbeliever," this covers all visitors.
    μαίνομαι (mainomai) — "To be mad / To be out of one's mind" - The same word used of Paul in Acts 26:24 ("Paul, you are out of your mind"). Uninterpreted tongues looks like madness to outsiders.
    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.
    ἐλέγχω (elenchō) — "To convict / To reprove / To expose" - The same word Jesus uses in John 16:8 for the Spirit's work: "He will convict the world concerning sin." Prophecy exposes sin and brings conviction.
    ἀνακρίνω (anakrinō) — "To examine / To call to account / To scrutinize" - Prophecy puts the hearer under examination, calling him to account before God.
    τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς καρδίας (ta krypta tēs kardias) — "The secrets of the heart" - What is hidden is made manifest. Prophecy penetrates to the inner person.
    πεσὼν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον (pesōn epi prosōpon) — "Falling on his face" - The posture of worship and submission. Compare Isaiah 45:14: "They will... fall down before you and plead with you, saying, 'Surely God is in you.'"
    Ὄντως ὁ θεὸς ἐν ὑμῖν ἐστιν (Ontōs ho theos en hymin estin) — "God is really among you" - The goal of worship: that visitors encounter the living God and acknowledge His presence.
    So the call to Mature Thinking is for intelligible, life changing clear teaching from God’s word, not the ecstatic, spectacular looking, unintelligible tongues.

    II. Guidelines for Order (vv. 26-35)

    Remember, these guidelines are in the context of the Corinthian church, early in the 1st century church’s life, and prior to the completion of the Canon.
    26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
    ἕκαστος... ἔχει (hekastos... echei) — "Each one has" - Corinthian worship was participatory. Multiple people contributed hymns, teachings, revelations, tongues, and interpretations. This was not passive observation but active involvement.
    πάντα πρὸς οἰκοδομὴν γινέσθω (panta pros oikodomēn ginesthō) — "Let all things be done for building up" - The governing criterion (established last week). Every contribution must serve the church's edification. This principle governs all the regulations that follow.
    27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.
    The Regulation:
    κατὰ δύο ἢ τὸ πλεῖστον τρεῖς—Two or at most three speakers
    ἀνὰ μέρος—In turn, not simultaneous
    lyεἷς διερμηνευέτω—One person must interpret
    No interpreter? σιγάτω—Keep silent; speak privately to God
    σιγάω (sigaō) — "To be silent / To keep quiet" - The same verb will be used in verse 34 regarding women. Here it means: if there is no interpreter, the tongues-speaker should remain silent in the public assembly. He may still pray in tongues privately.
    29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.
    διακρίνω (diakrinō) — "To judge / To evaluate / To discern" - NT prophecy is not infallible. It must be evaluated, tested, weighed. This distinguishes it from OT canonical prophecy. The community assesses whether a prophecy is truly from God.
    οἱ ἄλλοι (hoi alloi) — "The others" - Who are "the others"? Options include:
    The other prophets (those with the gift of prophecy)
    The rest of the congregation
    Those with the gift of discernment (12:10)
    Most likely it refers to the congregation generally, or at least those qualified to evaluate.
    30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,
    The Procedure - If a new revelation comes to someone else while a prophet is speaking, the first should stop and yield. This prevents monopolizing and ensures all who have genuine revelations can share.
    let the first be silent (σιγάω (sigaō) — "To be silent / To keep quiet").
    καθ' ἕνα πάντες (kath' hena pantes) — "All, one by one" - Orderly, sequential prophecy. Not simultaneous, not chaotic.
    32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33a For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
    πνεύματα προφητῶν προφήταις ὑποτάσσεται (pneumata prophētōn prophētais hypotassetai) — "The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets" - Prophets can control themselves. They are not overwhelmed by ecstatic frenzy. The Spirit does not compel uncontrolled utterance. A prophet can wait, yield, and remain silent when appropriate.
    For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
    οὐ... ἀκαταστασίας - Confusion, disorder, instability
    ἀλλὰ εἰρήνης - Peace, harmony, order (creation for example)
    God's character determines worship's character. Since God is not a God of chaos, worship must not be chaotic.
    33bAs in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
    The core challenge is that Paul addresses specific situations his original readers understood contextually, but we only have his words without that situational elaboration, making this prohibition more complex than the surface language suggests.
    (34) women should keep silent (sigao [pre, act, imp]) in the churches
    Paul is addressing the specific issue of “weighing prophecy”—the activity of sifting or questioning prophetic utterances
    The imperative for “silence” in this passage is used two other times, (28 [tongues without interpretation] & 30 [prophecy taking turns]) all appear in context correcting wrong behavior, suggesting the silence applies only to the specific violation
    (34) For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission (hypotasso [pre, act, imp]), as the Law also says.
    Indicating speaking outside of submission is not permitted.
    The Law here, refers to the Old Testament, in particular, the Genesis account of why the woman was created.
    Genesis 2:18 ESV
    18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
    Therefore, the ban on women’s speech applies contextually only while they violate the principle of submission.
    (35) If there is anything they desire to learn (manthano [aor, act, inf] - shares a semantic root with the word for disciple (mathētēs)), let them ask their husbands at home.
    Shows that women have the same level of discipleship learning as men.
    Shows the responsibility men have to help disciple their wives (& family).
    A women’s fervent desire to be discipled should not be put down but be met by their husband’s life and teaching.
    Ephesians 5:25–26 ESV
    25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
    (35) For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church
    In the context of 1 Corinthians 11, we see this same thought expressed in the passage referring to the woman speaking (prophesying with her head uncovered), which speaks of her doing so in a non-submissive manner.
    Paul once again, does not want women to be shamed by their non-submissive zeal for discipleship so commands the husband to teach them.
    Interpretive Considerations
    Remember, in 1 Corinthians 11:5, Paul assumes women pray and prophesy in the assembly.
    Paul is preventing disruptive, non-submissive speech, specifically attempting to prevent wives from cross-examining their husbands’ prophetic utterances in public, with such evaluation to occur at home instead.
    Having appealed to the Corinthians to think maturely concerning the importance of God’s clear teaching, and setting some ground rules for orderly worship, Paul now summarizes Church worship with the following admonitions:

    III. Summary Admonitions (vv. 36-40)

    36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached?
    Rhetorical Questions - Did the word of God originate with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones it reached? Obviously not. The Corinthians are not the source of revelation and must conform to apostolic teaching.
    37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.
    If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge - One who thinks he has the gift of prophesy should recognize Paul apostolic athority.
    I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. - κυρίου... ἐντολή (kyriou... entolē) — "A command of the Lord" - Paul claims divine authority for his instructions. These are not personal opinions but the Lord's commands.
    ἀγνοεῖ... ἀγνοεῖται (agnoei... agnoeitai) — "Does not recognize... is not recognized" - The one who ignores Paul's instruction will himself be ignored—either by God or by the church. This is a serious warning.
    39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.
    εὐσχημόνως (euschēmonōs) — "Decently / Properly / Becomingly" - Related to σχῆμα ("form, appearance"). Worship should be fitting, appropriate, not shameful.
    all things should be done decently and in order - κατὰ τάξιν (kata taxin) — "According to order" - The word τάξις refers to arrangement, order, proper sequence. Worship should be organized, not chaotic.
    Paul’s appeal to an orderly worship is rooted in what he has already state in verse 33: For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

    So What?

    Do we understand that we are to be mature in our thinking about worship, considering the effects on outsiders, making sure that all things are done for building up the body?
    Don't value what is impressive over what is edifying. Evaluate practices by whether they build up the church.
    Will visitors think you are mad, or will they be convicted and encounter God? Worship should draw people in, not drive them away..
    This is the criterion for every element of worship. If it doesn't edify, reconsider it.
    Do we understand that we are to maintain order in our corporate worship, exercising self-control in the Spirit, and submitting at all times to the authority of scripture?
    God is not a God of confusion. Chaotic worship does not honor Him. Structure serves love.
    Being Spirit-filled does not mean being out of control. The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.
    Paul's instructions are commands of the Lord. True spirituality acknowledges this authority.
    This is the summary principle. Fitting, appropriate, organized worship glorifies God and edifies the church.

      • 1 Corinthians 14:20–40ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 14:20ESV

      • Romans 16:19ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 14:21ESV

      • Isaiah 28:11–12ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 14:22–25ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 14:26–34ESV

      • Genesis 2:18ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 14:35ESV

      • Ephesians 5:25–26ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 14:36–40ESV

  • My Hope Is In The Lord
New Life Bible Fellowship Church
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