The church in Corinth was not healthy, for its members were focused on their individual spiritual experience. Having re-centred them on love (chapter 13), Paul now directs them to build up their community of believers, rather than thinking only of themselves (v 12). This means that intelligible worship is vital. Speaking in unknown languages is fine for personal upbuilding (v 4), and Paul himself exercises this gift (v 18). But when the community of believers meets, the key question is whether others are being helped to grow in their faith. Growing requires that people understand what is said when the church meets; in that situation, Paul values prophecy over tongues-speech (vs 2–4).

Paul unpacks the importance of being understood with a series of illustrations (vs 6–12). Reflect on them, and consider if and how your church’s life falls into the trap of making the gospel culturally unintelligible.

Head and heart, mind and spirit go together in the Christian life (v 15). Paul invites us to consider how we help each other renew our minds in a Christ-centred way when we meet together – and that affects both how we act during a church meeting, and how we act over coffee afterwards.

Thank God that in Christ he has ‘pursued’ you. His love has found you. Ask that your life may be filled with his love.  

So, if we’re called to love as Jesus loves, what does that mean for our practice of spiritual gifts? Paul now turns to address that question. Once we understand that this is what he’s doing, the different parts of his argument fall into place. 

The burden of the passage is captured in verse 12: aim to ‘excel’ in the gifts that ‘build up’ the church. Paul is particularly concerned to commend prophecy. His comment that it promotes ‘strengthening’, ‘encouragement’ and ‘comfort’ (v 3) suggests a wide understanding of ‘prophecy’. It surely includes prophetic preaching, but it could also apply to a word of encouragement or comfort spoken informally to a fellow believer. The injunction to ‘build up’ has a wider application too, hence Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of verse 12 (The Message): ‘Since you’re so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don’t you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church?’ While some gifts have more potential to build others up, we can use any gift or talent selfishly, or as God intends – namely for the benefit of others. 

Note that the concern for others is not limited to ‘believers’; it is extended to ‘unbelievers’ too (vs 22–25). The Corinthians were self-indulgent in their practice of tongues. Not only were they not building one another up, they were in danger of putting off ‘enquirers’ who would be bewildered by their worship times (v 23). Such a cavalier attitude disregards what we recognise now as one of Paul’s great concerns, the priority of ‘others’. Do our worship services commend Christ to outsiders? A good question to ask is, ‘Would I bring my friends and colleagues here?’ Paul begins this section by saying ‘Follow the way of love’ (v 1). Let’s apply that principle to all we do. 

‘Follow the way of love.’ What difference would this principle make if we applied it to our discipleship in the church and wider world?