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NASB | 1 Corinthians 14:6 ¶ But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 14:6 ¶ Now, believers, if I come to you speaking in unknown tongues, how will I benefit you unless I also speak to you [clearly] either by revelation [revealing God's mystery], or by knowledge [teaching about God], or by prophecy [foretelling the future, speaking a new message from God to the people], or by instruction [teaching precepts that develop spiritual maturity]? |
Subject: Acts 2:2 |
Bible Note: Dear Brother Mark, You wrote, "...he wrote more about tongues than about any other gift." Yes, the abuse of such things was extensive at Corinth, as were many other problems. It was correcting these problems that elicited the epistles written by Paul. You wrote, "...please demonstrate from the text, exegetically, how it says something different." I would not presume to do a superior job than my betters have already done (see my original post). Furthermore, Dr. Robert Zerhusen has explained it all very explicitly and very clearly in the paper that I cited. He is a much more learned and experienced scholar than am I! Nevertheless, I appreciate the confidence and interest you've expressed in my own abilities. You wrote, "...do I understand you correctly to be saying that we should use a narrative passage...?" No, you do not. Thank you for pointing this out. We can never conclude doctrinal issues from narrative. This error is, no doubt, due to the inadequacy of my ability to explain. (Which thing commends even more the writings of those learned men I have cited!) However, we are not studying a point of doctrine (orthodoxy). Instead we are studying a point of normative practice (orthopraxy). What I was trying to point out is that shifting the discussion to 1 Corinthians 14 was adding another variable to the equation. The scope of the post to which you posited your statement was simply an observation from Acts. I wasn't attempting to broadly address the Pentecostal practice as you've brought it up. 1 Corinthians 14 is about speaking. Note that the Greek word "laleo" appears 24 times and "glossa" appears 15 times. (There is no mention that the tongue is unknown to all humanity; only unknown to the hearers in the church meeting in Corinth. Indeed, nothing in the text suggests an "unknown tongue" -- we'd have to establish that before building our way to your understanding.) Paul is emphasizing in this passage that when we speak it builds up the body when the "revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or teaching" is comprehensible. That commendation is clearly and plainly the main point of the chapter. I've probably continued to do poorly here, Brother Mark. I'd commend you to a study of the use of the word "glossa" (Strong's Greek #1100) throughout the New Testament. There are another 29 uses of it over and above Paul's use in 1 Corinthians 12 through 14. A sound hermeneutic will always seek to find a use of the word that does not require different definitions unless explicitly called for in the text. Thank you for your time to respond to my posts. Thank you also for explaining the details of your particular tradition. Although I no longer share that tradition, I have many a dear and precious brother who do. This practice of an unknown prayer language has no bearing on the eternal disposition of ones soul. In Him, Doc |