Paul and His Letters: An Analysis of Passage 1 Corinthians Chapter 14 Versus 20-25

Running head: PAUL AND HIS LETTERS
PAUL AND HIS LETTERS: AN ANALYSIS OF PASSAGE 1 CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 14 VERSUS 20-25
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1PAUL AND HIS LETTERS
Introduction
As opined by Carson1, the Corinthians chapter 14 versus 20-25 is one of the most
discussed instructions of Paul and had formed the central lacuna of a great many theological
works and sermons. Oropeza and Moyise2 are of the viewpoint that this passage of Paul is
important to the theologians not only because of its theological value but also because of the
perplexing idea or notion that it articulates. This can be explained on the basis of the fact that
on the one hand Paul says that tongues are a sign for the non-believers or the ‘unbelievers’
whereas he discourages the usage of the same in the presence of the unbelievers3. More
importantly, he even states that the prophecies are primarily meant for the believers however
he himself goes on to use the same tool in the presence of the unbelievers4. Furthermore, a
detailed analysis of the passage under discussion here reveals the fact that the entire passage
is redolent with “Isaiah quotation” which as a matter of fact forms an integral part of the Old
Testament. This paper intends to undertake an analysis of first passage of Corinthians chapter
14 versus 20-25 in the particular context of its major themes and also exegesis.
Context of the Verse
Historical Context and Purpose
The instruction of Paul under discussion here was written or for that matter intended
for a church of that time which was facing or having different kinds of problems5. The
1 Carson, Donald A. Showing the Spirit: a theological exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14. Baker Books, 2019.
2 Oropeza, Brisio J., and Steve Moyise, eds. Exploring Intertextuality: Diverse Strategies for New Testament
Interpretation of Texts. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2016.
3 Westfall, Cynthia Long. "Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul’s Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians,
written by Lucy Peppiatt." Journal of Reformed Theology 11, no. 3 (2017): 325-327.
4 Robinson, David S. "‘By the Lips of Foreigners’: Disclosing the Church in 1 Corinthians 14: 20–
25." Ecclesiology 14, no. 3 (2018): 306-321.
5 Wright, Brian S. What the Biblical Text Actually Says About Speaking in Tongues. Calvert Biblical Institute,
2016.

2PAUL AND HIS LETTERS
primary purpose of Paul for writing this passage was to help the concerned church to address
the different problems that it faced. This as a matter of fact finds evidence from the fact that
there are numerous sections in the passage under discussion which focuses on the concepts of
believers in the tenets of the Christian philosophy, the importance of prophesies, spiritual
gifts that the individual can attain by effectively following the Christian philosophy or the
different precepts of the Bible and others6. In this regard, it needs to be said that the passage
of Paul rather than being primarily meant for the church for which he wrote can also be seen
for the different priests and the church since in that age it was seen that the general masses or
the Christians were increasingly losing their faith in the different tenets of the religion of
Christianity7. On the score of these aspects, it can be said that rather than being particular in
nature the passage under discussion is universal since it can be effectively applied to the
general situation of the age.
Literary Context
Barnhill8 has articulated the viewpoint that an important aspect of the passage of Paul
under discussion is its literary value and it is seen that He purposefully plays with different
words or phrases for the creation of a perplexing idea or for that matter for the creation of
confusion regarding the message which He was trying to deliver through the passage. As a
matter of fact, there are many individuals who consider the passage under discussion to be a
mere paraphrase of the Isaiah quotations from the Old Testament9. This in turn accounts for
the complexity of several sections of the concerned passage. One of the most important ones
6 Peppiatt, Lucy. Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul’s Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians. James Clarke
Company, Limited, 2017.
7 Keener, Craig S. "The Spirit and Biblical Interpretation." Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology 4, no. 1 (2019):
5.
8 Barnhill, Gregory M. "The Paradox of Ecclesiology: A Theological Reading of 1 Corinthians 5." Journal of
Theological Interpretation 12, no. 2 (2018): 242-263.
9 Marshall, Jill E. Women Praying and Prophesying in Corinth: Gender and Inspired Speech in First
Corinthians. Vol. 448. Mohr Siebeck, 2017.

3PAUL AND HIS LETTERS
in this context is the relationship between prophecy and tongues and the passage as a matter
of fact goes on to show the superiority of prophecy in comparison to the tongues10. This can
be explained on the basis of the fact that Paul intended to articulate the idea that rather than
merely articulating or repeating the different prophecies, the believers needed to comprehend
them and thereby make the most of the same.
Exegetical Analysis
Structure
The passage under discussion here begins with a Preface wherein Paul highlights the
importance of prophecy over tongues which as a matter of fact forms the central crux of the
entire instruction of Paul11. Furthermore, it is seen that he concludes the Preface by
highlighting the personal principles or the course of action that the believers needed to
follow. The actual lines that this paper analyses are a response which is being given by the
Apostles or for that matter their exhortation to the readers or the believers to try to attain the
same level of faith or understanding12. However, an interesting fact to note about the
exhortation is the fact that although it is rather simple in nature or literary tone yet at the same
time an analysis of the same reveals the fact that they are comprised of three contrasting ideas
or lines, namely, “Be not children in....minds”; “The word for mind....or midriff” and “Thus
it is, as Grosheide...whole man”13.
10 Casillas, Ken. Beyond Chapter and Verse: The Theology and Practice of Biblical Application. Wipf and Stock
Publishers, 2018.
11 Newton, Jon. "Speaking in tongues: Jesus and the apostolic church as models for the church today." Journal
of Contemporary Ministry 4 (2018): 142.
12 White, Benjamin L. "The Traditional and Ecclesiastical Paul of 1 Corinthians." The Catholic Biblical
Quarterly 79, no. 4 (2017): 651-669.
13 Robinson, David S. "‘By the Lips of Foreigners’: Disclosing the Church in 1 Corinthians 14: 20–
25." Ecclesiology 14, no. 3 (2018): 306-321.