Reading for October 10th

 Read 1 Corinthians 14.1-19. In 14.1-40: Prophecy better than tongues. In verses 1-5: Tongues and prophecy compared. In verse 1: Spiritual gifts ("pneumatika"): 12.1. In verse 2: Speak ... to God: tongues are a form of prayer only God can understand. In verse 3: Speak to other people: Prophecy is proclamation other people can understand. In verse 4: Themselves ... church: Tongues benefit the individual, prophecy the group.  In verses 5-6: Paul prefers prophecy over tongues. In verses 6-19: Tongues require interpretation. In verse 6: Unlike tongues, these four types of speech can be understood without an interpreter. In verses 7-8: Music without distinct notes is only noise. In verses 9-11: Tongues are not foreign speech: They are like foreign speech--unintelligible without an interpreter. In verse 12: Building up: This restates the principle of 10.24, 33. In verse 33: Do my words benefit the group? In verse 13: Speaking and interpreting a tongue can be done by the same person (12.10). In verses 14-17: In a tongue is one way of praying. Only words prayed or sung with the spirit produce a group of worshipping individuals. Worship done with both spirit and mind creates a church. In verses 18-19: Since Paul himself can speak in tongues (13.1; 14.6), he knows their value and their limits. Comments or Questions.