- 1 Corinthians
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14
Tell God’s messages in a language that people know
1 So always love other people. That is most important. And ask God’s spirit to give you special powers too. Ask him for the power to tell special messages from God. That is more important than the power to talk in a special language.
2 If somebody talks in a special language, they are only talking to God, not talking to people. Nobody can understand them. The Holy Spirit is getting them to talk about secret things, but nobody can understand what they are saying. 3 But if somebody tells messages from God, they are talking to other people, and helping them to understand things better and get strong. Those messages from God help people and make them happy, even if they have trouble. 4 You see, a person that talks in a special language helps only themselves. But a person that tells messages from God helps all the people in the church to get strong. 5 I’m happy if you all talk in special languages, but I’m more happy if you all tell people messages from God. The person that can tell God’s messages is greater than the person that talks in special languages. But if somebody tells everyone what those words mean, then it is all right. They will help the church get strong.
6 My Christian friends, if I come and talk to you in a special language that you don’t understand, that will not help you. But if God shows me something, and if I tell you about it, that will help you. Or if he lets me know something new, and if I tell you about it, that will help you too. Or if he gives me a message for you, and if I come and tell you, or if I teach you something, that will help you too. 7 Think about things that make sounds, like guitars. If we don’t play them the right way, nobody will think it is proper music.
8 And think about soldiers. Their leader gets one man to blow a trumpet to tell the other soldiers what to do, but if he doesn’t blow it properly, they will not know what to do. 9 Well, it is like that for you. You have to talk clearly and say words that people can understand. If they can’t understand your words, you will be talking to nobody. 10 You know, there are a lot of different languages in this world, and all of them make sense to the people that know those languages. 11 But if somebody talks to me in a language that I don’t know, I will not understand them. I will be like a stranger to them, and they will be like a stranger to me. 12 And it is the same for you too. I know that you really want God’s spirit to give you special powers, so ask God to give you the powers that will help the church people be strong.
13 So in your meetings, if anyone talks in a special language, they have to ask God to show them what those words mean so they can tell everybody the message. 14 You see, it is like this. If I pray in a special language, I’m not using my mind. I’m not thinking about my words while I pray. Only my spirit is praying. 15 So what will I do? Sometimes I will pray with my spirit, and sometimes I will pray with my mind. And sometimes I will sing with my spirit, and sometimes I will sing with my mind. 16 You see, if you only thank God with your spirit, in a special language, other people in the meeting can’t understand what you are saying, so they can’t agree with you and say, “That’s right.” 17 You might be thanking God, but your words don’t help anyone else.
18 I thank God that I talk in special languages more than any of you. 19 But if I talk in a church meeting, I want to tell people more about God, and I want them to understand my words. So, I reckon, if I say 5 words that they can understand, that is better than if I say 10,000 words in a special language that they can’t understand.
20 My Christian friends, don’t be like little kids in the way you think. You know, little kids don’t know much about anything. They don’t understand really bad things. So whenever you think about bad things, be like little kids. But whenever you think about anything else, be grown up people. Think properly and understand things properly. 21 You know, God got one of his men to write this in his book,
“God will get people from other tribes to talk to this mob. They will talk to them in strange languages.
But even if God gets strangers to talk to this mob, they will not listen to him.”*Isaiah 28:11-12
That is what God said.
22-24 It is like this. If you talk in special languages, God will use that talk, but not the way you think. He will use it to show you that it is useless to do that when you are all together in a church meeting. Suppose some strangers come into that meeting, people that don’t know very much, and don’t believe in God. They will hear you all talking in those strange languages, and they will say, “You mob are all crazy.” But if you tell God’s special messages, God will use that to show you that it is right to do that in your church meetings. Suppose some strangers come into the meeting, and they hear you telling messages from God. They will listen to what you say, and they will understand it. Then they will know that they are not God’s friends, and they will know that they have to turn around and stop doing bad things. 25 Those messages from God will show them every secret thing that they think about, and they will get down on the ground and show respect to God. And they will say, “It’s true, God is really here with you mob.”
Have good church meetings
26 So, my friends, this is how to have proper church meetings. Whenever you church people meet together, each one of you can have something to help the other people there. One of you might have a song that all of you can sing to God. Another person might have something that they can teach you. Somebody else might want to tell you about something that God has shown them. Another person might talk in a special language, and then somebody else can tell everybody what those words in that special language mean. Do all those things to help each other be strong Christians.
27 Only let 2 or 3 people talk in special languages in your meetings, and they have to take turns. Only let one person talk at a time, and then, each time, somebody has to tell everybody what those words in that special language mean. 28 But if there is nobody there that can do that, then don’t let anybody talk in special languages. They have to be quiet. They can’t talk out loud in a special language, but they can talk to themselves and to God.
29 And if the Holy Spirit has given some of you the power to tell messages from God, well, 2 or 3 of you can tell those messages. And the other people there have to think carefully about each message and check it, to make sure each message is really from God. 30 And if one person is telling a message, and while they are talking somebody else gets a message from God, that first person has to stop talking, so that the next person can tell their new message from God. 31 Each of you can tell a message from God, but you have to wait for each other so that only one person talks at a time. Then everyone will learn something, and you will all feel strong for God. 32 You see, if you have power from the Holy Spirit to tell God’s messages, you can control your own spirit, and you will wait for the right time to talk. 33 God wants you to respect each other and listen to each other. He doesn’t want your meetings to be mixed up and noisy.
And now I’ll talk to you about another matter. This is what it’s like for God’s people in all the other churches. 34 The women have to be quiet in the church meetings. They have to do what the leaders say. That’s what the law says. 35 If a woman wants to ask about something, she can wait and ask her husband at home. If women talk in a church meeting, they shame the church.
36 Maybe you think I’m wrong, but remember this, you don’t know everything in God’s word. It didn’t start with you, and you are not the only people that ever heard it.
37 Somebody might reckon that the Holy Spirit gave them the power to tell God’s messages, and that they listen to the Holy Spirit all the time. All right, but they have to understand that this letter I’m writing comes from our leader himself, and his people have to do what he says. 38 So if that person will not take any notice of this letter, then you mob can’t believe their messages. Don’t take any notice of anything they say.
39 So, my Christian friends, this is what I’m telling you about your meetings. If you want to tell messages from God, that is good. And don’t stop people from talking in special languages. 40 Do everything properly. Do everything the right way.

- 1 Corinthians
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*14:21 Isaiah 28:11-12

© 2026 Wycliffe Bible Translators Australia