1 Corinthians Chapter 14
Showing all 40 verses for 1 Corinthians Chapter 14.
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"Follow after and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"Pursue love as your goal, and also want spiritual gifts eagerly - especially the gift of prophecy, speaking clear, understandable truth."
Chase after love first, then let everything else - your talents, your ambitions - serve that goal. Ask yourself not "how impressive is this?" but "how much does this actually help the people around me?"
"For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. "
"Someone speaking in an unknown language isn't communicating with other people but with God - nobody else can understand them, even though in their spirit they're expressing deep truths."
A private, personal experience is valuable, but don't confuse what moves you with what helps others. I care about whether your words reach and lift up the people in front of you, not just whether they feel meaningful to you alone.
"But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. "
"But someone who prophesies is speaking to other people, building them up, encouraging them, and comforting them."
Before you speak, ask whether your words will build someone up, encourage them, or comfort them - that's a test you can apply to a text message as much as a speech. Words are one of the most powerful tools you have to genuinely help someone; use them that way.
"He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. "
"Someone speaking in an unknown language only builds themselves up, but someone who prophesies builds up the whole community."
There's nothing wrong with something that helps you personally, but don't let your own growth become the end of the story. I want you thinking about how what you have to offer can lift up the people around you, not just yourself.
"I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. "
"I'd love it if you all spoke in tongues, but I'd rather you prophesied - because prophecy is more valuable than tongues, unless someone translates so the whole church can benefit."
I'm not against your gifts or your passions - I just want you to think about how to translate them into something others can actually receive. A talent kept to yourself helps only you; shared clearly, it can help everyone.
"Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? "
"If I came to you only speaking in tongues, what good would that do you, unless I also brought you some revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or teaching?"
However gifted or knowledgeable you are, ask what actual difference it makes to the person in front of you. I'd rather you gave someone one clear, useful truth than an impressive display that leaves them no better off.
"And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? "
"Even lifeless instruments like a flute or a harp have to produce distinct notes, or you can't tell what tune is being played."
Clarity is a form of love. If you want people to actually receive what you're offering - your ideas, your feelings, your help - take the time to make it understandable rather than assuming good intentions are enough.
"For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? "
"And if a trumpet sounds a confused, unclear call, who's going to get ready for battle?"
When something really matters, don't hedge your words or leave people guessing. I want you to be someone others can actually rely on to give them a clear signal when it counts.
"So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. "
"It's the same with you - unless your speech is made up of words people can actually understand, how will anyone know what you're saying? You'll just be talking to thin air."
However passionate or sincere you are, check that you're actually being understood. I'd rather you said less, clearly, than poured out everything you feel into words that land on nobody.
"There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. "
"There are all sorts of different languages in the world, and every one of them has meaning to someone."
Different people communicate differently, and that's not a flaw - but meaning only lands when it's shared in a form the other person can receive. Respect that difference, and do the work of translating yourself for whoever you're speaking to.
"Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. "
"But if I don't understand the language someone's speaking, then to them I'm a foreigner, and they're a foreigner to me."
Nothing separates people faster than talking past each other. I want you working to close that gap - choosing words, patience, and effort that bring people closer rather than leaving them as strangers to you.
"Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. "
"Since you're so eager for spiritual gifts, focus that eagerness on the gifts that will build up the whole church."
Your ambition and drive aren't things to suppress - just aim them well. I want you channelling your energy and passion into whatever will actually lift up the people around you, not just what makes you look good.
"Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. "
"So anyone who speaks in an unknown language should pray for the ability to translate what they're saying."
When you notice something about yourself that isn't reaching people the way you want, don't just give up on it - look for what would make it land better. I'd rather you worked to bridge the gap than quietly abandoned a real gift.
"For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. "
"If I pray in an unknown language, my spirit is praying, but my mind isn't engaged or producing anything useful for others."
Not every meaningful experience you have needs to be performed publicly - some things are just between you and God, and that's fine. But when you're with others, be honest about what actually helps them versus what's only for you.
"What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. "
"So what should I do? I'll pray with my spirit, but I'll also pray with my mind engaged. I'll sing with my spirit, but I'll also sing with my mind engaged."
Don't split yourself into "heart" and "head" as if you have to choose - bring both fully into whatever you do, whether that's a private moment of feeling or something shared with others. Wholeness, not either/or, is what I'm after in you.
"Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? "
"Otherwise, if you're praising God only in the spirit, how can someone who doesn't understand what you're saying agree with an "Amen" to your thanksgiving? They have no idea what you just said."
Think about who's left out when you speak, worship, or explain something only in your own private shorthand. I want the outsider, the newcomer, the person who doesn't yet get it, to be included - not an afterthought.
"For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. "
"You may well be giving thanks properly yourself, but the other person isn't being built up by it."
Just because something is good for you doesn't automatically make it good for the room. I want you weighing both your own genuine experience and its actual effect on the people around you before deciding how to act.
"I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: "
"I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you."
I don't want you dismissing something you don't fully understand, or arguing from a place of not having tried it. Speak from real experience and genuine gratitude, even when you're about to explain a gift's limits.
"Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. "
"But in church, I'd rather speak five words that people can understand and that teach them something, than ten thousand words in a language nobody grasps."
Five honest, clear words that actually help someone beat ten thousand impressive ones that don't. Don't measure your worth, or your words, by how much you produce - measure it by how much good actually reaches another person.
"Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. "
"Don't think like children. Be as innocent as infants when it comes to wrongdoing, but be mature, adult thinkers when it comes to understanding."
Keep your innocence about doing harm to others, but don't let that stop you thinking hard and clearly about your choices. I want you wise about consequences and gentle in intention - not the other way round.
"In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the LORD. "
"It's written in the Scriptures: "I will speak to this people through the mouths of foreigners and strangers, and even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord."
Don't take something meant as a warning and turn it into a trophy. I want you to understand the real purpose behind the things you value, rather than repurposing them to serve your own pride.
"Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. "
"So tongues are meant as a sign for unbelievers, not for those who already believe - while prophecy is for believers, not unbelievers."
Know the actual purpose of what you've been given, rather than using it however feels good in the moment. I want you asking who a gift or ability is really meant to serve, not just how it makes you appear.
"If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? "
"So if the whole church gathers and everyone starts speaking in tongues, and outsiders or newcomers walk in, won't they think you've all lost your minds?"
Think about how your behaviour looks and lands on someone new to the room, not just what it means to you. I care deeply about not needlessly putting people off before they've even had a chance to understand what matters.
"But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: "
"But if everyone is prophesying, and an unbeliever or newcomer walks in, they'll be convicted and searchingly examined by everything that's said."
The most powerful thing you can offer someone isn't a performance - it's honest truth spoken plainly. I want you trusting that clear, sincere words have more power to genuinely reach someone than anything designed to impress.
"And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth. "
"The secret things in their heart are brought out into the open, and they'll fall on their face and worship God, declaring that God is truly among you."
When you're honest and clear rather than performative, you give people a real chance to be moved by something true, not just impressed by something flashy. That's a far greater gift than putting on a show - it can actually change someone's life.
"How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. "
"So what's the answer, brothers and sisters? When you gather, everyone has something to contribute - a song, a teaching, a message in tongues, a revelation, a translation. Whatever happens, make sure it's all done to build people up."
Everyone has something worth contributing - don't sit on the sidelines waiting to be impressed by others, and don't hog the spotlight either. Just make sure whatever you bring to the table genuinely helps the people around you.
"If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. "
"If anyone speaks in an unknown language, it should only be two or three people at most, taking turns, and someone must translate."
Good intentions aren't enough - sometimes love for a community means setting practical limits on yourself, even around something you're genuinely gifted at. I want you willing to be governed by what serves others, not just what you feel free to do.
"But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. "
"But if there's no one there to translate, that person should stay quiet in the meeting and speak privately to themselves and to God instead."
When you can't do something in a way that helps others, that's not the end of it for you personally - just take it somewhere private instead. Restraint in public doesn't mean losing something valuable; it just means putting it in its right place.
"Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. "
"Let two or three prophets speak, and let everyone else weigh carefully what's said."
Even the most trusted voices should be open to being questioned and weighed, including mine speaking through Paul here. I want you thinking for yourself and testing what you hear, not just accepting things because they're said with confidence.
"If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. "
"And if someone else sitting there receives a revelation while another person is speaking, the first speaker should stop and give way."
Being right, or having something important to say, doesn't give you the right to talk over everyone else. I want you practising genuine humility - making room for others even mid-sentence, even when you feel sure you have something valuable to add.
"For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. "
"You can all take turns prophesying, one at a time, so that everyone can learn and everyone can be encouraged."
Structure and taking turns aren't the enemy of genuine spiritual life - done well, they're what actually lets everyone be heard and helped. I want communities where everyone gets a turn, not just the most confident voices.
"And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. "
"Prophets are able to control their own spirit and timing - they're not overwhelmed or forced to speak uncontrollably."
Real conviction doesn't require losing control of yourself - self-control and genuine passion can absolutely coexist. Don't let anyone tell you that being out of control is proof of being genuine; the opposite is usually true.
"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. "
"God isn't a God of disorder and chaos, but of peace - and that's true in every church of his people."
If something in your life or your community consistently produces chaos and confusion, that's worth questioning, however spiritual it's dressed up to be. I want you building things - relationships, communities, habits - that reflect peace, not disorder.
"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. "
"Women should stay silent in the church meetings - they're not permitted to speak, but are told to be submissive, as the law also says."
I want you asking honest questions of any text, including this one, rather than either ignoring it or applying it woodenly without care for its setting. Wrestle with hard passages honestly - that kind of honest struggle is itself a form of respect for the truth, not a threat to it.
"And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. "
"If they want to learn something, they should ask their husbands about it at home - because it's considered improper for a woman to speak out in the church gathering."
Even instructions I care about should be understood in their real setting, not weaponised to silence people. I want you approaching hard, contested texts with humility and honesty, always asking what actually served love and order in that moment - not using words to shut people down.
"What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only? "
"What - did God's message originate with you? Or are you the only ones it's reached?"
You're not the centre of the story, and neither is any single group or culture. I want you staying humble about your own perspective, remembering you're part of something much bigger than your own community's opinions and habits.
"If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. "
"If anyone thinks they're a prophet or spiritually gifted, they should recognise that what I'm writing to you carries the Lord's own authority."
True spiritual insight doesn't make you exempt from accountability or wiser voices - if anything, real maturity shows itself in being teachable. I want you suspicious of any confidence in yourself that refuses to be questioned or corrected.
"But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. "
"But if anyone chooses not to recognise this, let them remain in that ignorance."
You can't force someone to accept the truth, and you don't have to keep arguing forever to prove your point. I want you speaking honestly and then having the peace to let people make their own choice, rather than exhausting yourself trying to control their response.
"Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. "
"So, brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don't forbid speaking in tongues either."
Having priorities doesn't mean shutting down everything that isn't your first choice. I want you making room for different gifts and different people, even while you're honest about what matters most.
"Let all things be done decently and in order. "
"But make sure everything is done properly and in an orderly way."
Order isn't the opposite of genuine passion - it's often what lets passion actually reach and help people well. Whatever you're organising in your own life, ask whether it's serving people with real care and consideration, or just serving your own impulses.