By observing the historical and literary context of 1 Corinthians 14.1-19 and each paragraph, we observed that the main issue plaguing the Corinthian Church was the intelligibility of communication and the main concern was for the churches edification through intelligible speech.
This was accomplished by observing both the historical and literary context of 1 Corinthians 12-14 which brought forth the reason to Paul’s authoring of this letter.
In addition to these observations, Paul established the one issue and concern with 1 Corinthians 14.1-5. With verses 6-12 Paul elaborated upon these two matters by showing how the Corinthians would not benefit from him coming to them speaking in tongues, which was then clarified by two illustrations, and concluded by an exhortation to pursue spiritual gifts that edify the church, not themselves. Finally, within verses 13-19, an application for corporate gatherings and personal devotion was detected while Paul expounded upon the gift of tongues. Not only was this issue and concern addressed, but the gift of prophecy and tongues were explained in part throughout.
In closing, may we in our pursuit of love for the others pursue the spiritual gifts that build them up, not ourselves, and bring glory to God and not personal recognition.
Here is a link to every individual post in this series:
If you liked this, you may also be interested in The Gift of Prophecy: The Complete Series.
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