Verse by Verse

³⁵ But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”

³⁶ Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.

³⁷ And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain — perhaps wheat or some other grain.

³⁸ But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

The “someone” in v.35 is a doubter who questions the resurrection based on his own intellect. Paul calls him a fool (v.36) for doing this because he’s witnessed resurrection in his crops.

you (v.36) — stressed. He should know because he’s seen in in the plants he’s sowed.

unless it die (v.36) — The seed perishes to bring forth new life.

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain (John 12:24).

The plant that comes from the seed is by God’s design (v.38)

The original kernel which is planted dies and rots away, but it results in a new crop of grains, all of them just like the one which was planted. Each seed planted will spring up with new seed which will resemble in every way that which was sown. To be sure there have been new elements added, and the old seed itself has perished and wasted away, but yet the new seed which comes forth out of the death of the old is similar in every respect to that which was planted. Our body, therefore, in the resurrection will resemble our present body (without the infirmities and blemishes and faults which it has here below). We will not all look alike in heaven, but we will be as different in appearance as we are here below. — DeHaan, pages 180-181.

²⁹ Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?

³⁰ And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?

³¹ I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

³² If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

³³ Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

³⁴ Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

Nobody knows what verse 29 means. I saw at least five different views in the commentaries I use, and most of them admitted to not being sure. One author mentioned 27 different interpretations of the verse and said he still wasn’t satisfied.

Some think Paul was referring to a practice among believers at that time to be baptized for those who died without being baptized. It’s obvious that there is no Scriptural support for this practice, but there is also no Scriptural (or non-Scriptural) evidence that it ever took place.

Some think that Paul was referring to new believers being baptized to take the place of believers who had died, but that’s not really being baptized “for” the dead.

Some twist the Greek around to make it mean that baptism, as a picture of our association with Christ in His death and resurrection, is “for the dead.” But even with the rearranged text, I find that a stretch.

So what does it mean? The explanation that made most sense to me is Bultema’s, and I offer it here with the caveat that I’m not at all certain.

Since there is no other verse or theme like it in the Bible we have only two things to go by; and that is the words of this passage and the preceding and following context. It is our conviction that these point to the blood baptism of the martyrs.

The apostle has before his mind the military picture of an army in battle array which is constantly thinned by death, yet always replaced by others that press on against the foe. Paul draws many figures from military life. In all his travels he met the clank of the iron legions of Rome, for the Roman Empire was based and built upon armed might.

And so he sees here the holy army of God constantly thinned by the bloody death of martyrdom. Why should they go through this all and be baptized in blood unto those who have already fallen, if it were not for the resurrection of their bodies.  Martyrs can sing and have sung when consumed by the flames when they realized that they would soon get a new body in that cloudless resurrection day. It is easy to give up the old for Christ’s sake when the new body is in sight. Why maintain such a a lost cause, if Christ does not conquer death and the grave? The next verse strongly corroborates this view. — Bultema, pages 134-135.

jeopardy (v.30) — If there is not resurrection from the dead, why bother suffering for your faith?

I die daily (v.31) — probably referring to his physical suffering (Philippians 3:7-11)

in the manner of men (v.32) — from purely human motives — if his faith has no substance, then human motives are the only ones left.

beasts (v.32) — probably a metaphor for the angry mob. There is no record that Paul faced beasts in the forum, and as a Roman citizen, he could not be forced to.

do not be deceived (v.33) — tense is “cease being deceived”

awake (v.34) — tense is immediate action with continuing results

do not have the knowledge (v.34) = negligent ignorance — Some in Corinth were culpably ignorant regarding the resurrection and they were affecting the whole assembly.

²⁵ For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.

²⁶ The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

²⁷ For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.

²⁸ Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

He must (v.25) — it is God’s will

under His feet (v.25) — Psalm 110:1, quoted in Hebrews 1:13

death (v.26) — A time is coming when all who will die have died.

He says (v.27) — Psalm 8:6 — The first Adam lost his position over creation, but the second Adam (Christ) never will.

all things (v.27) — emphasized — The Father is the only exception to the “all things.”

when (vs. 27 and 28) = whensoever

then (v.28) = immediately following, with no interval

Son Himself will also be subject (v.28) — having fulfilled the Father’s will. His oneness with the Father will continue eternally.

When it says that He will give up the Kingdom, it does not mean that the Kingdom itself will be terminated. The millennial reign is only the introduction to the eternal reign (Revelation 22:5), and has to crush all rebellion. But the Son ceases to reign as man when the thousand years shall have run their course, though as King of Israel He shall also reign forever. As God He is blessed forever and reigning with the Father and the Spirit forever. That God may be all in all. — Bultema, page 133.

²⁰ But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

²¹ For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

²³ But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

²⁴ Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

but now (v.20) — turning from the “if Christ is raised” of the previous verses to the fact of His resurrection

firstfruits (v.20) = two words in the original, “chief or principle” and earliest ripe fruit of a crop or tree

Here is a fact positive. It is stated so because it can be proved true — “but now is Christ risen.” The ample proofs have preceded in the apostle’s argument.

The result of this proven fact is the pledge which Christ’s resurrection brings concerning our resurrection. He had “become the firstfruits of them that slept.” This was a very understandable thing. Every Jew knew what the “firstfruits” were. They were the farmer’s first sheaf of ripened grain presented to the Lord as the pledge of the ingathering of the whole harvest. This procedure was in connection with the third of seven Jewish feasts known as “The Feast of the First-Fruits.” On the first day of the feast, selected delegates marked out the spot in the grain field from which the sheaf would be cut. On the second day the sheaf was cut and brought into the sanctuary. On the third day, corresponding to the day of Christ’s resurrection, this sheaf was presented to the Lord as a pledge, sample or guarantee, that the remainder of the harvest would be brought in.

According to this previous type, the present fact is that Christ, as the firstfruits raised from the dead, is the sample pledge and guarantee that all Christians will be raised from the dead. Prove Christ’s resurrection and you prove the Christian’s resurrection It has been proved and its proof is our certainty. — Laurin, pages 280-281

__________

Notice first of all that Christ is the first fruits of all resurrections. At the resurrection of the Lord Jesus a great host of Old Testament saints were also raised from the dead and were seen upon the streets of Jerusalem. In Matthew 27 we read: And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many (Matthew 27:52-53). — DeHaan, page 175.

__________

Christ is not only the firstfruits from the dead, but also the firstborn (Colossians 1:18). The others raised from the dead before were only resuscitated, and died again, but not so our Lord. He arose with a new resurrection life that can never die. In that order of dignity He is absolutely the firstborn. The firstborn of the Father in Israel had all the prerogatives of might, authority, right, and all the inheritance, and thus it is with  our Lord. Whereas the term only begotten denotes His essential relation to the Father, the term firstborn describes His relation the the creatures. The honors of primogeniture are His. — Bultema, page 127.

by man came death (v.21) — Adam — Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12).

by Man (v.21) — Christ

resurrection of the dead (v.21) — The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28).

in Christ all shall be made alive (v.22) — As Adam is the head of the natural race, and, in virtue of this natural relation with him, death is the common lot of men, so by reason of the fact that Christ is the Head of the spiritual, all who possess spiritual relation with Him will be made alive. There is no idea of the universalism of the human race in the comparison of the second statement with the first. That unbelievers are “in Christ” is utterly contrary to the teaching of Scripture. — Vine, page 109.

order (v.23) — used of military rank

coming (v.23) = arrival and consequent presence

then (v.24) = after an interval — sequence — not referring to an immediate next action

comes (v.24) — not in the original text — it should read “then the end [ones] — Revelation 20:5 — at the end of the millennial kingdom

end (v.24) = last in a series, the last ones

delivers (v.24) — when Christ has accomplished what the Father committed to Him

when (v.24) = whenever — indicating the time is unknown

puts (v.24) = reduces to inactivity

¹² Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.

¹⁴ And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

¹⁵ Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up — if in fact the dead do not rise.

¹⁶ For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

¹⁷ And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

¹⁸ Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

¹⁹ If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

has been raised (v.12) — tense indicates past action with continuing results

If Christ rose from the dead, then there is no grounds for believing that resurrection is impossible (v.12).

And if resurrection is impossible, then Christ couldn’t have risen again (v.13).

vain (v.14) = to no purpose

To deny Christ’s resurrection is to deny everything about the faith (v.14).

found (v.15) = discovered, detected

“If Christ be not risen,” says the apostle, “we are found false witnesses of God,” having testified that God raised Christ from the dead. Indeed Paul had solemnly declared that he had seen the risen Christ and had heard Him speak (Acts 22:14 et al). Had this great church, then, amid so much opposition and persecution, been founded on the word of a liar? “If Christ be not risen,” says the apostle in effect, “this is the conclusion you must come to.” — Stam, page 256.

vain (v.17) = lacking result — a different word than that used for “vain” in v. 14

Without the resurrection, Christ’s sacrifice is not sufficient and we are sill in our former state, lost in sin.

The Christian’s salvation involves not only the cancellation of the penalty which was upon us for our sins, but it also involves a new contribution to us; the contribution of a new life, a new righteousness and a new standing. The cancellation of the old came by Christ’s death while the contribution of the new came by Christ’s resurrection. So says Romans 4:25, “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” Therefore, if the resurrection is not true, salvation is not true and we are yet in our sins. This cancellation was of no effect if Christ was not raised. What good is a negative salvation? What good is a salvation that deals with the past but does not deal with the future? This is the kind of salvation we have if Christ be not raised. — Laurin, pages 278-279.

perished (v.18) — not loss of being, but loss of well-being — in this case, loss of eternal life with Christ and loss of the joy and peace that goes with it — ruined in regards to the purpose of existence

we have hope (v.19) = lit. “we are having hope”

only (v.19) — in the original text, it’s at the end of the clause — “If we have had our hope in Christ in this life, and nothing more …” — Then the hope has no realization and is confined to this life only.

miserable (v.19) = misery and pitiableness

⁸ Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

¹¹ Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

one born out of due time (v.8) = abortion

Paul saw Christ, not on one or two occasions, but again and again. His testimony is by all odds the most conclusive. At his conversion the Lord said to him:

I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you (Acts 26:16).

And when Ananias was sent to restore his sight, he said:

The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth (Acts 22:14).

At his return to Jerusalem Paul saw the Lord again:

[I] saw Him saying to me, Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me (Acts 22:18).

Add to these such passages as Acts 18:9; 27:23; 1 Corinthians 11:23; 15:3; 2 Corinthians 12:1-2; Galatians 1:11-12 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and who can wonder that the apostles challenges the Corinthians: 

Am I not an apostle? … Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? (1 Corinthians 9:1). — Stam, page 253.

__________

Paul thinks of himself here as one of the Israelites born into the family of God before the time for all Israel to be saved nationally: “For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:39). “Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isaiah 66:8). 

The conversion of Paul, recorded in Acts 9:3-6, is an illustration of the rebirth of Israel as a nation. In Ezekiel 20:35-38, Hosea 2:14-17, Zechariah 12:10; 13:6, and Romans 11:25-27 we are clearly taught that Israel WILL be saved as a nation; however, that does not mean that each and every Israelite will be saved and will enter the joys of the kingdom.

There will be a remnant who will see Him, “and one shall say unto Him, what are these wounds in Thine hands?” He will reply, “Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends ” (Zechariah 13:6). When they see and recognize their Messiah, they will be converted just as Paul was converted when he saw the Lord on the road to Damascus. — Greene, pages 488-489.

__________

Since Israel’s conversion is admittedly still future, Saul’s conversion is said to have been typical of hers and not of ours. This is also said with reference to 1 Timothy 1:16, where Paul is presented as “a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.” This, it is said, refers to Israel, not to us.

We do not deny — we heartily agree — that Saul’s conversion was typical of Israel’s, but perhaps those who contend that therefore he is not our pattern in salvation have overlooked the fact that as one born “out of,” or before the due time he has a closer relationship to us than he has to Israel. Let us ask a few questions to demonstrate this:

When, according to prophecy, is the due time for Israel to be saved: past, present, or future? The answer, of course, is future. And when is the due time for the Gentiles to be saved? Also future, for the Gentiles, according to prophecy, are to be saved through redeemed Israel (Genesis 22:17-18; Zechariah 8:13, et al).

Therefore, when a Jew today believes and becomes a member of the Body of Christ, is he saved in or out of due time? on the basis of covenants and promises, or by grace? according to prophecy, or according to the mystery revealed through Paul? Likewise, when a Gentile today believes and becomes a member of the Body of Christ, is he saved in or out of due time? The answer to these questions are obvious. Both believing Jews and Gentiles today are saved by grace according to the mystery revealed through Paul, entirely apart from any covenant or promise (save the promise God made to Himself in eternity past — Titus 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:9). 

Thus the apostle Paul has a closer relationship to God’s people today than he does to redeemed Israel of the future, for we, like Paul, have been born “out of due time,” by grace alone. — Stam, pages 253-254.

least of the apostles (v.9) — 1 Timothy 1:15; Ephesians 3:8

church (v.9) — the Kingdom assembly in Judea, not the Body of Christ

vain (v.10) = lacking in anything which might or should be possessed

so we preach (v.11) — in context, referring to the bodily resurrection of Christ. Paul is not saying that he and the other apostles preached all the same things.

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,

² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵ and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

⁶ After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

⁷ After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

Whether or not the Corinthians assembly had questioned Paul on the subject of the resurrection, we do not know. Apparently a report had reached him that there were false teachers in Corinth who were teaching error concerning the resurrection. Possibly some of the converts in the assembly were Sadducees, and the Sadducees did not believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead. It is more likely that some of the Greek members had brought their belief on the subject over into the church. Study Acts 17:18-34. — Greene, page 481.

What Paul is saying in these verses is that, if there is no resurrection from the dead, there is no validity to what he preached or to their salvation, and no grounds for their belief. Romans 10:9-10

The phrases “if ye keep in memory” and “unless ye have believed in vain,” by no means teach that the saved may be lost again. The “if” is a hypothesis as in verse 16. Of course they remembered the great basic truths he had taught them, but they were acting as if they had forgotten them, even doubting the resurrection of the body. And, as verses 13-14 declare: “if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then … your faith is also vain.” — Stam, page 245.

first of all (v.3) — first in importance

for (v.3) = on behalf of — as a sacrifice for

sins (v.3) = lit. “a missing of the mark”

according to the Scriptures (vs.3-4) — the prophecies of Christ’s death and resurrection in the Old Testament

The resurrection of Christ, like His death, was “according to the Scriptures.” It is depicted in the Levitical feasts and in the typical persons and is declared in the prophetical statements of the Old Testament. In each of the three great ages of the divine economy are to be found foreshadowings of the resurrection. It is found in Enoch in the patriarchal age; in Elijah in the Levitical age; and now its great prototype, the resurrection of Christ in the Christian age. — Laurin, pages 272-273.

buried (v.4) —  Romans 6:1-4 says that we have been buried into the baptism of His death and burial.

rose again (v.4) — tense indicates action with continuing results

seen (v.5) = bodily seen — not appeared as in a vision

the twelve (v.5) — a title for the group by this time. Judas was not with them, nor was Thomas the first time, but Paul isn’t going into details here, just making the case.

over five hundred brethren (v.6) — the occasion is unrecorded

sleep (v.6) — This metaphorical use of the word sleep is appropriate because of the similarity in appearance between a sleeping body and a dead body; restfulness and peace normally characterize both. The object of the metaphor is to suggest that as the sleeper does not cease to exist while his body sleeps, so the dead person continues to exist despite his absence from the region in which those who remain can communicate with him, and that, as sleep is known to be temporary, so the death of the body will be found to be. Sleep has its waking, death will have its resurrection.

That the body alone is in view in this metaphor is evident, (a) from the derivation of the word koimaomai, from keimai, to lie down; cp. Isaiah 14:8, where, for “laid down,” the Septuagint has “fallen asleep;” (b) from the fact that in the New Testament the word resurrection is used of the body alone; (c) from Daniel 12:2, where the physically dead are described as “them that sleep in the dust of the earth,” language inapplicable to the spiritual part of man. — Vine, page 106.

The list of those who saw the resurrected Christ (vs. 5-8) is offered as proof. That many people, on that many occasions, could not have been mistaken. And most of them were still alive as Paul wrote this. And Paul’s list didn’t include everyone who saw Him.

James (v.7) — probably the Lord’s brother, although Stam thinks it was the apostle.

The good news of the gospel is not only the death of Christ. The cross alone is bad news. Only the resurrection makes it good news. For had Christ failed to atone for every single sin His death would have been an absolute failure, for He would have remained in death. If one single sin of mankind which God laid upon Christ had been left unpaid, Christ could never have arisen from the dead. The Bible plainly declares: … the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

One single sin, therefore, was enough to demand eternal death. But by the resurrection of Jesus Christ we are assured that every sin was paid. God’s demands were fully met and the work indeed is finished. — DeHaan, pages 167-168.

__________

Since Socrates, Greek philosophy was well-acquainted and well-enamored with the immortality of the soul, but they spurned the idea of a resurrection of the body. Paul had experienced this scorn for the resurrection on the Areopagus. — Bultema, page 118.

³⁴ Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.

³⁵ And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.

³⁶ Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached?

³⁷ If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.

³⁸ But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.

³⁹ Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.

⁴⁰ Let all things be done decently and in order.

silent (v.34) — In context, this must refer to speaking in tongues, prophesying or otherwise addressing the assembly on spiritual matters, such as those listed in verse 26.

law (v.34) — Genesis 3:16 (see also Ephesians 5:22-24; 1 Timothy 2:12)

In verse 36, Paul is calling the Corinthians to task for behaving as if they were the first and only ones to receive the gospel.

acknowledge (v.37) — tense indicates continuous action

commandments (v.37) — had divine authority

ignorant (v.38) — in reference to “acknowledge” in verse 37 — ignorant of the fact that Paul’s words were authoritative

Verses 39-40 sum up the entire chapter.

Let me sum up the teaching of Paul.

1. The sign of tongues was a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Corinthians church particularly.

2. It was more prevalent in the Corinthians church than in any other church, if not exclusively present in Corinth.

3. It was a special dispensation to weak and untaught believers. The Lord stooped to give them extra evidence because of their ignorance of His Word.

4. This gift was not for every one, but only a special number, according to God’s own will.

5. It was never to be used unless it could be interpreted.

6. It was the least important of all the gifts.

7. No more than two or three were allowed to speak at any one of the services.

8. It must be done without disorder or confusion.

9. It was for men only. The women were to keep silence in the churches.

10. It was only for a limited time and ceased after the church had the completed Bible. It was an apostolic gift which ceased after the Apostolic Age.

11. God is far more pleased when we rest our assurance of salvation on the witness of the Holy Spirit in His Word than when we depend upon signs and wonders.

We repeat again the words of our Lord Jesus to Thomas, … because thou has seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John 20:29). — DeHaan, pages 158-159.

To DeHaan’s list I would add that tongues were only given by the Holy Spirit when Jews were present, as they were in the Corinthians assembly.

And instead of referring to the time as the Apostolic Age as he does, I would call it the transition period when the Kingdom signs were still being used.

²³ Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

²⁴ But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all.

²⁵ And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

²⁶ How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.

²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.

²⁸ But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.

²⁹ Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.

³⁰ But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent.

³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

³² And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

³³ For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

convicted (v.24) — his heart is examined

secrets of his heart are revealed (v.25) — he will see his thoughts and motives in their true light

The point of verse 26 seems to be that, instead of being led by the Spirit, they were coming prepared with their “revelations” and all speaking at once.

If tongues were to be spoken in church, it should be done only if there was an interpreter, and even then, only by two or three people (vs. 27-28).

to himself (v.28) — in private

let the others judge (v.29) — whether the one prophesying was doing so by the Holy Spirit

you can all prophesy (v.31) — All were permitted to speak out if they had prophetic revelation, but only two or three per service (v.29).

Verse 32 is saying that those who prophesy had self-control, unlike those speaking in tongues.

¹⁸ I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;

¹⁹ yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

²⁰ Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.

²¹ In the law it is written: “With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; and yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,” says the Lord.

²² Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.

I speak with tongues (v.18) — There is no other mention of this in Scripture.

do not be (v.20) = cease to be — In exalting the importance of those who speak in tongues, the Corinthians were behaving as children, which let to anger.

children (v.20) — 1 Corinthians 13:11

malice (v.20) — a stronger word than mere malice — When it came to anger, pride and jealousy, they were to behave as if in babyhood.

mature (v.20) — The same word is translated “perfect” in 1 Corinthians 2:6.

in the law (v.21) — Isaiah 28:11-12

There is nothing approaching consensus on this passage in my commentaries, and Stam even skips over verses 21 and 22 entirely, to my surprise because I think this is central to understanding the whole passage.

First, Paul says he speaks in tongues more than any of them. There is no other mention of this in Scripture, and he obviously wasn’t in the practice of doing it in the church or he wouldn’t have needed to tell them. In addition, he goes on in the next verse to say how much more valuable it is to speak clearly. So what does it mean? Since I think the gift of tongues is always an actual language, my guess is that Paul, as he traveled around, came in contact with people who didn’t speak the languages he knew — certainly Hebrew and Greek, probably Latin, maybe others — so through the Holy Spirit, he spoke to them in their own tongue.

What about verses 21 and 22? The quote in verse 21 is from Isaiah 28:11-12: For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, to whom He said, “This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest,” and, “This is the refreshing”; yet they would not hear.

The passage in Isaiah is about judgment coming to Israel because of their unbelief. Some commentaries say that the other tongues are those of invading nations who would conquer Israel, which certainly happened.

Paul says that, in Corinth, tongues are a sign to those who do not believe. Some commentaries mention this but don’t go into detail. The one commentary that does, DeHaan’s, says that the unbelief spoken of here is speaking of Christians who have doubts versus Christians who don’t, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

So what does it mean? My best guess, which I’m willing to change if I see a good reason to, leads back to my contention that many of the issues in the Corinthians church came from it’s mixed congregation — Gentiles saved by grace and Jews saved through the kingdom gospel. The fact that Gentiles were being given a gift by the Holy Spirit to speak in other languages was a sign to any unbelieving Jews in the congregation — and in the town — that judgment was coming on the nation of Israel. This judgment, which Paul proclaims in Acts 28, consisted of the nation of Israel being set aside for the remainder of the age of grace. And since Acts 28 occurred not long after Paul wrote this, the gift of tongues, as a sign, was fading quickly.