1 Corinthians 14:1-5

1 Corinthians 14:1-5

Strive for love.  And deeply commit to the spiritual things – and above all in order that you all should prophecy.  For the one who speaks by a tongue speaks not to mankind but rather to God.   For nobody understands; and he speaks mysteries by the Spirit.  But the one who prophesies speaks to mankind: things for building up and encouragement and consolation.  The one who speaks by a tongue builds up himself.  But the one who prophesies builds up the church.  And I desire you all to speak in tongues, but I desire even more in order that you all should prophesy.  And the one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues unless he should interpret, in order that the church should receive building up.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought

Paul knows that there is always a danger with saying that something is greatest as Paul has just done in saying that love is greatest.  When you say something is the best, suddenly everyone wants that thing and then they ignore all the rest.  Everyone wants the best because we are all self-centered.  Paul has just talked about how love is the greatest thing, while prophecy and tongues will cease when we are with the Father eternally.  What Paul wants people to realize is that even though love may be eternal while prophecies and tongues are temporary, God has still given us prophecy and tongues because we need them now.  Even if they are inferior because they are temporary, they are still useful for God!  It’s kind of like the Law.  We need the Law to demonstrate our human need for Christ’s death on the cross.  But the Law is certainly not greater than Christ’s death.  It isn’t even equal to it.  Yet, while we desire to embrace Christ’s death most, we need not discard the Law!  The same is true for tongues and prophecy and all the other gifts that will become unnecessary in eternity.  Love is greater, but we need not discard the temporary spiritual gifts that God gives to us, either!

Why do people always focus on the greatest thing?  Why should we rather focus on what God is calling us to do instead of focusing solely and completely on the one greatest thing?  In this light, how does this passage speak to a submitted life in Christ?

Second Thought:

Having said all of that, there is one thing that Paul does want us to remember when it comes to placing gifts in some sort of hierarchy.  The gifts that build up God’s people – teaching, prophesying, etc – are far more significant than the gifts that only build up the individual.  Although we like to be self-centered, has not God called us out of our self-centeredness and into the lives of people who are seeking God?  Yes, I need to draw closer to God and I can do things to help myself accomplish that goal.  But what does it say about what God’s people think is important if we are all more interested in our own spiritual growth than we are interested in building up the people around us?  While we should build ourselves up, we should also realize that building up others is what Christ has called us into the world to accomplish.  We are already His.  We will have an eternity with Him.  Others are not in that position yet because they have not received the grace of God.  Our focus needs to be on the other much more than it needs to be on the self.

Is your spirituality self-centered or other-centered?  How can you tell?

Third Thought:

I don’t want to lose the beginning of this passage, either.  Strive for love.  Deeply commit to the spiritual things.  These two verbs that begin this passage are both commands.  They are imperatives.  Strive for love.  Deeply commit to the spiritual things.  It is two simple commands, but I have to confess that I don’t always get those correct.  I don’t always love.  I don’t always prioritize my life so that I am more concerned about the spiritual things more than the worldly things.  In fact, I am willing to bet that I honestly get those two reversed.  I find it easier to commit to the spiritual things; I find it difficult to always strive for love.  It’s a short list of only two commands.  But honestly, that’s all I need.  I’ve not yet perfected those two.  I should be grateful there isn’t more to the list!

How do you do with respect to striving for love?  How do you do with respect to deeply committing to spiritual things?  Which is personally easier for you?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 14:6-12