Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. In the Law it is written, “By people 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.” Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
1 Corinthians 14:20-25 ESV
Understanding this verse requires an understanding of the previous three sections, which are linked below:
In these three sections, Paul addresses that tongues are inferior to prophecy. His reasoning thus far has been that people understand their own language. If they can understand then they can also be built up, encouraged and consoled. Whereas tongues is only useful for building yourself, unless accompanied by the interpretation of tongues.
In light of this information, Paul puts forward the question "what then should I do?" and his answer is to pray with his spirit, but with his mind also. You can pray ten thousand words in a tongue you don't understand, or just five in a tongue that you do. It's your choice - but the spiritual man chooses his own tongue. Which leads us to this final point before he discusses orderly worship:
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. In the Law it is written, “By people 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.”
1 Corinthians 14:20-21
Paul contrasts here the idea of maturity in their thinking, to what he said in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12, where instructs them to put aside spiritual gifts, and pursue love instead. Likewise, here he instructs them to not be infants in the way that they think, but be mature and uses a verse from the Old Testament to show them what that maturity might look like. Crucially, the Corinthians are gentile believers. They are not necessarily accustomed to the Old Testament, so Paul draws a scripture to their attention that they might learn how their current thinking is immature:
“To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast?
For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
to whom he has said,
“This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
And the word of the Lord will be to them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,
that they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Isaiah 28:9-13 ESV
Paul draws their attention to the prophet Isaiah and how God's word had become precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little. He is talking about the Pharisees and their endless rules, and it is by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue God speaks to them but still they will not listen.
In the Old Testament, it is Hebrew, and this is the language that the Pharisees prized as the divine language of God. Yet, in the New Testament God reveals himself by the Greek language. God's chosen people no longer come to Him through the language of their forefathers, but by those of strangers. Thus, tongues are a sign to them, that the judgement of God is upon the nation of Israel:
Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
1 Corinthians 14:22
Therefore, Paul is writing do not be infants in your thinking, be mature in your thinking. That means, do not focus on the miraculous sign that is for unbelievers, those Pharisees that remain unrepentant, instead, focus on the gift that is for believers.
If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
1 Corinthians 14:23-25
Some take the above to mean tongues are for believers, because the unbelievers will think they're out of their minds. Yet, that's exactly the case at Pentecost, when there were 17 nations of Jewish believers and all heard in their own tongue and yet some thought the apostles were drunk on much wine:
But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Acts 2:13
The point of Paul is not that tongues are for believers, but if all speak in tongues it will become a confusion, you will be talking past each other, nobody will understand what is said, none will say amen, and none will be convicted. Yet, if you prophesy in the native tongue, which he highlights is for the upbuilding, encouragement and consolation, then even those in the position of an outsider will be built-up, encouraged and consolsed to God.
For it is important to note that Paul is not discussing a form of prophecy that is foretelling the future, but telling forth divine truth. When faced with the reality of sin, the reality of death, the reality of Christ's sacrifice to save the unrepentant - will they not fall on their face in humility and worship God? Is that not already true of the Church? Do we not hear the word of God in our own tongues and repent? This appears to be exactly the intention of Paul, to prioritise divine truth that all may become repentant and worship God.
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