1 Corinthians 14:5-16:24 I wish that all of you could speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

VIN⁽ⁱ⁾ ⁵ I wish that all of you could speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. ⁶ Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? ⁷ Even in the case of lifeless instruments, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone recognize the tune they are playing unless the notes are distinct? ⁸ If the bugle does not sound a clear call, who will prepare for battle? ⁹ So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. ¹⁰ Undoubtedly there are many languages in the world, and none of them is without meaning. ¹¹ If, then, I do not know the meaning of someone’s language, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. ¹² It is the same with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, strive to excel in gifts that build up the church. ¹³ Let the one who speaks in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret what he says. ¹⁴ For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. ¹⁵ What then shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. ¹⁶ If you thank God with the spirit, how shall he who fills the place of the ordinary man say Amen to your thanksgiving? For he does not know what you are saying. ¹⁷ You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other one is not edified. ¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. ¹⁹ But in the church, I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. ²⁰ Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. ²¹ In the law it is written, "By men of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord." ²² Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. ²³ So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who are uninstructed or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds? ²⁴ But if an unbeliever or uninstructed person comes in while everyone is prophesying, he will be convicted and called to account by all, ²⁵ and the secrets of his heart will be revealed. So he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is truly among you!” ²⁶ What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a psalm or a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the church. ²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, two, or at most three, should speak in turn, and someone must interpret. ²⁸ if there is no interpreter, let the speaker keep quiet in church and address himself and God. ²⁹ Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. ³⁰ And if a revelation comes to someone who is seated, the first speaker should hold his peace. ³¹ For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. ³² The spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, ³³ For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints, ³⁴ women are to be silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. ³⁵ If they want to find out about something, they should ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church. ³⁶ Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? ³⁷ If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. ³⁸ But if anyone ignores this, he himself will be ignored. ³⁹ So, my brothers, be eager to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰ But everything must be done in a proper and orderly way. ¹⁵ ¹ Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. ³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ And last of all he appeared to me also, as to one untimely born. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and am not sufficient 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 to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. ¹² But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith. ¹⁵ In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead, but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only in this life we are having hope in Christ, we are more to be pitied than all men. ²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him. ²⁴ Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For “God has put everything under His feet.” Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, this clearly does not include the One who put everything under Him. ²⁸ And when all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all. ²⁹ If these things are not so, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? ³⁰ And why do we endanger ourselves every hour? ³¹ I face death every day, brothers, as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³² If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." ³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” ³⁴ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. ³⁵ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” ³⁶ You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷ And what you sow is not the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. ³⁹ Not all flesh is the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another, and fish another. ⁴⁰ There are heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is of one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is of another. ⁴¹ The sun has one degree of splendor, the moon another, and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. ⁴² So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ But the spiritual is not first, but the natural; and afterward the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the earthly man, so also are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly man. ⁵⁰ Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” ⁵⁵ Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! ⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. ¹⁶ ¹ About the collection for God's people, I want you to do as I told the churches of Galatia to do. ² On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a portion of his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will be needed. ³ Then when I arrive, I will send letters with the men you appoint to take the gift to Jerusalem. ⁴ If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. ⁵ After I go through Macedonia, however, I will come to you; for I will be going through Macedonia. ⁶ Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I may go. ⁷ I do not wish to see you now merely in passing, for I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. ⁸ But I will stay at Ephesus until Pentecost, ⁹ because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me. ¹⁰ If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. ¹¹ No one, then, should treat him with contempt. Send him on his way in peace so that he can return to me, for I am expecting him along with the brothers. ¹² Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was not at all inclined to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity. ¹³ Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong. ¹⁴ Do everything in love. ¹⁵ You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. Now I urge you, brethren, ¹⁶ to be subject to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors. ¹⁷ I am glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. ¹⁸ For they refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore observe ye such. ¹⁹ The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. ²⁰ All the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. ²¹ I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. ²² If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him. Our Lord, come. ²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. ²⁴ My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.