1 Corinthians 14: ☧'s Orderly Prophecy, Love from the Whole Mind

Rev. Andrew Yeager, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Decatur, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 14.

If “all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” While Paul never says that ecstatic speech is categorically evil, he slams the breaks on the Corinthians’ enthusiasm for such “manifestations of the Spirit” in chapter 14. Love is more concerned about saying something “intelligible” that “builds up” others, rather than saying something impressive and proving itself. Speaking in tongues is really an extraordinary sign, like miracles, that God gave in places of unbelief to authenticate the Apostles; believers are meant to “prophecy” and speak with their “minds.” Not only are we to speak with meaning, but we are to mean what we say—both the heart and the head, the full mind of Christ incarnate for us in love.