The Pauline Evidential Construct

An Exegesis of 1 Corinthians 14:22ff
by
Larry Newman

It seems logical, if Scripture intended to convey to the Church that glossolalia is to be understood as the primary evidence that one has been Spirit-baptized, that literature as important to Christian theology as the Pauline corpus would contain a didactic strain which would confirm such a notion. We would strain credulity to produce this concept from Paul. Indeed, though the apostle affirms the validity of glossolalia, he does not elevate it to the position of primary, in evidential considerations, and he does again and again emphasize the absolute necessity that the believer evidence, in practical everyday living, the ethical demands placed upon believers by the agape which the Holy Spirit deposits in every born again child of God.

In reference to the emphasis in Pauline thought on the ethical dimension of the Spirit, W. D. Davies notes:


While it is true that it was not Paul who ethicized the Spirit as we have maintained, on the other hand it is clear that he did bring order into a very confused apprehension of the activity of the Spirit, which seems to have prevailed in the thought of the primitive Church ... evidently the situation that confronted Paul at Corinth, for example, was that the glossolaly and ecstasy and other marks of enthusiasm in the life of the Church were given a status equal to that of the moral as expressions of the Spirit; and we cannot doubt that it was Paul who isolated the moral aspect of the activity of the Spirit and brought order into the confusion of popular Christian thought; it was he who introduced the idea that agape was a more excellent way.¹

Turning, then, to Paul's writings we discover that it is entirely possible that the instruction he gives to the Corinthian church, relative to glossolalia, is his attempt to combat the influence of the mystery religions on the converts who came to Christ from those religions. The mysteries placed an inordinate emphasis upon speaking with tongues and viewed this phenomena as being a clear sign that the tongues speaker was, indeed, possessed by the god. It is possible that Paul makes an oblique reference to this notion in 1 Cor. 14:22ff and is endeavoring to correct their faulty thinking in this regard.

Paul is discussing the value of tongues and prophecy and while he does insist that no one be forbidden to speak in tongues, it is clear that he understands prophecy to be more desirable for the gathered church than glossolalia. In his words: "Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers," 1 Cor. 14:22. This is one of the difficult statements of Paul which has rarely been understood. Most commentators reveal a lack of comprehension of Paul's meaning here. Exegesis of this passage reveals that there is a strong possibility that Paul is, indeed, making an oblique reference to the practice and thought of the mystery religions relative to glossolalia. In analyzing four key words such a possibility emerges. He employs saimeion and apistos in verse 22, and in verse 23 mainesthea and propheteia.

First, saimeion translates into English as sign. Karl Rengstorf informs us that saimeion is used in a variety of ways, the context or the author's consistent usage usually determining its meaning in a particular instance. Traditionally saimeion does not have theological reference but anthropological. The word is functional and technical even when its object is a moral or religious truth. However, Rengstorf insists, "Even here it has nothing to do with revelation in the religious sense..."²

It not only bears connotations of optical perception but also denotes acoustical impression--hearing and what is heard. Basically saimeion means "an indication." Paul, according to Rengstorf, uses saimeion in the traditional usage of the word.³

Second, apistos refers to the unbeliever, the pagan, the non-Christian.⁴ F.F. Bruce identifies the apistos as the non-Christian also.⁵

Third, the language employed in verse 23 also indicates that Paul may be continuing his oblique reference to the practices of the Hellenistic religions. There he informs the Corinthians that if unbelievers come into the worship service and hear them all speaking in tongues, "will they not say that you are out of your mind?" This is exactly the notion expressed by observers of participants in the Hellenistic religions when they were in a state of ecstasy--in fact, the mystery religions' concept of ecstasy or enthusiasm connotes that one has left the state of rationality and, in this sense, is out of one's mind and in total possession by the god. This was being mainesthai.

Herbert Preisker has observed that for the Greeks mainesthai (out of your mind),

...is not just a pathological expression. It is not just a malady or the result of wrong instruction. To be in ecstasy to the point of frenzy is a divine transposition from customary states. It is a strongly affirmed religious phenomenon. Even a god, Dionysus, is a mainomenos in Hom. Il., 6, 132, and the supreme blessing of this frenzied god is to draw his followers into the same mania.⁶

Preisker also notes:


Plato describes the blessing of divinely sent madness (mania, mainesthai), which gives different insights from the knowledge acquired by the more sober. He points to the Pythia, the priestesses of Dodona, and divinely inspired poets. mainesthai can also be used for Bacchic possession and divine rapture. [Bacchus is another name used for the god Dionysus.]⁷

Mainesthai, then, can refer to that psychic state which a 'believer' participating in a religious ceremony reaches, in ecstasy, which observers would term as being "out of your mind." It is possible to understand verse 23 to mean that when the Corinthians are all speaking in tongues they resemble participants in the mystery rites, appearing to be mainesthai.

Fourth, Paul compares the impact of glossolalia and prophecy on the unbeliever (14:24,25), emphasizing that prophecy convinces the non-Christian. Gerhard Friedrich avers, "prophecy is the revelation and testimony of Jesus Christ; it is the Word of God."⁸ Friedrich further notes that in Paul the prophets "... chief mark is the Word which God has given him to proclaim. The prophet in the Pauline congregation is not the seer but the recipient and preacher of the Word ... For the prophet the secret counsels of God are revealed and he declares them to the community through his preaching."⁹

Donald Gee appears to affirm this idea when he comments: "the guiding mark of prophetical ministry is that it carries a message from God."¹⁰ Gee contends that task of the Christian prophet is not unlike the task of the Hebrew prophet, "in its essentials prophesying remains the same."¹¹ Prophetic preaching, empowered by the Spirit, becomes the convincing factor for the unbeliever. In this preaching the unbeliever hears the voice of God and falls down and worships Him.

It is entirely possible, then, to interpret verse 23 in the sense that Paul is making further reference to the Hellenistic religions' practice of glossolalia, with the accompanying ecstatic frenzy, and that prophecy, a Word from God, as understandable speech is a convincing indicator that, "God is really among you!"

John Ruef comments on this phrase:
"God is really among you: This is a stereotyped confession in the biblical tradition. It indicates the acceptance of one deity as opposed to another."¹²

What Paul appears to be saying to the Corinthians is that the convincing factor for the unbeliever, who is already accustomed to hearing glossolalia in the Hellenistic religions, is for them to hear the proclamation of the Word of God in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Verse 24 seems to indicate the possibility that the charism, the word of knowledge, may also be involved, for Paul indicates that "... the secrets of his heart will be laid bare." Certainly this could be a reference to this charism of the Spirit exposing the unbeliever's need for the Savior, causing him to fall down and worship God as he exclaims, "God is really among you!"

This hypothesis is reinforced when we observe that Paul makes explicit reference to their former religious practices in 1 Cor. 12:1ff. "Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols," vs. 1-2. Paul then proceeds to set forth instruction regarding the proper use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including glossolalia, thereby indicating that the Corinthians were still being influenced, in some respects, by the pagan mind set and practice.

It is not merely happenstance that he positions, what we have come to refer to as his "hymn to love," in between chapters twelve and fourteen. He is making a categorical statement in so doing. The ultimate evidence that one is filled with the Spirit of God is the concrete expression of agape in the practicality of everyday living. The charismatic, void of the ethical, is insufficient. In point of fact, Paul states that it means nothing.

W. D. Davies has noted "that for Paul the whole of the Christian life in its ethical no less than in its 'ecstatic' aspects is the expression of the activity of the Holy Spirit."¹³

It is significant that Paul begins this statement with a reference to the glossolalic phenomena, "if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." Marcus Bach informs us that in the Eleusinian and Dionysian festivals much of the tongues speaking resembled "sounding brass and tinkling cymbal."¹⁴ Paul continues his discourse with the statement, "if I have the gift if prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge..., but have not love, I am nothing." 1 Cor. 13:2. Prophecy, mystery, and knowledge were all an integral part of the Hellenistic religions.¹⁵ It is a distinct possibility that Paul is, indeed, making oblique reference to these religions in these statements.

His emphasis seems to be that the only reliable evidence of being possessed by (filled with) the Holy Spirit is the active expression of agape, God's love, in the concreteness of life; not these manifestations which were endorsed by the mysteries as evidence. This love, observes Paul, produces in the life of the believer the very qualities which the Corinthians so obviously lack, that is, the greater gifts which he alludes to in verse twenty-nine of chapter twelve. These greater gifts rise out of and are based in God's agape. He identifies them in chapter thirteen, verses four through seven, love is: patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, is not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil, rejoices in the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. This love never fails. This love influences the quality of human relationships, that is, how one person relates to and treats another person. Paul views this action as being anchored in, and an expression of, the agape of the Cross.

All of the above lends strength to the idea that Paul's intent in verse 22 bears the following connotation: `Tongues may serve as a sign for the pagan, as an indication that they are filled with the spirit of their gods, however, for we Christians that is a pagan belief.' Allowing that the influence of the mysteries is present at Corinth, a thesis with valid historical bases, this interpretation makes a great deal of sense.

What, then, are the implications for we Pentecostals who insist that glossolalia is the "initial" evidence of the believer's Spirit-Baptism? Based on the conclusion reached above, Paul, it would appear, embraces the notion that agape is the ultimate evidence of baptism with the Holy Spirit. He insists that the ultimate evidence is ethical and not charismatic ¹⁶ in the sense that we use the term today.

All expressions of the Spirit in the life of the church rise out of and are an integral part of charis, that is grace, according to Pauline thought. One who is the recipient of grace has received the entire package, all of the charisms of the Spirit can flow through their lives. Whether or not "all" of those gifts and fruits are visible to an observer who could confirm such evidences is a moot point. Subsequence is a moot point. Distinctives are a moot point. Speaking in tongues is part of the package and as Paul insists, "forbid not" the exercise of that charism of the Spirit.

The charismatic gifts of the Spirit have their place in the church, and not tucked away in a dark corner. However, faithfulness to the revealed word of God demands that we acknowledge that the ethical, the fruit of the Spirit takes precedence over the charismatic gifts in evidential considerations. And the greatest of these is agape!

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy."
1 Cor 13:13-14:1 NIV. (Italics added)

NOTES

1. W. D. Davies. Paul and Rabbinic Judaism, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980), pp. 220-221. See chapter eight, "The Old and New Obedience: I. The Lord the Spirit," in its entirety for an astute assessment of Paul's understanding of the Person and work of the Spirit. See also, Paul W. Meyer. "The Holy Spirit in the Pauline Letters," Interpretation, January 1979, p. 16.

2. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. "saimeion".

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid., s.v. "apistos"

5. F.F. Bruce. I & II Corinthians, (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1971, p. 133

6. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. "mainomai, mainesthai, mainesthea".^*

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid., s.v. "propheteia".

9. Ibid.

10. Donald Gee. Spiritual Gifts in the Work of the Ministry, (Los Angeles: The L.I.F.E. Bible College Alumni Association, 1963), p. 54.

11. Ibid.

12. John Ruef. Paul's First Letter to Corinth, (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1977), p. 151.

13. Davies. Paul and Rabbinic Judaism, p. 217.

14. Marcus Bach. The Inner Ecstasy, (Cleveland, OH: The World Publishing Co., 1969), pp. 72-73.

15. The accepted position of many New Testament scholars is that these notions are the result of a pre-gnostic or gnostic influence in the Corinthian church. However, as H. Wayne House has ably demonstrated, it is more probable that these ideas come from the mystery religions that were prevalent in Corinth and valued these very things. (See House's essay "Tongues and the Mystery Religions of Corinth," Bibliotheca Sacra [April-June, 1983]: 138.

16. Common usage of this term at the present refers to what Paul calls spiritual gifts, as distinguished from the fruit of the Spirit. This is the sense we intend to convey here.

^*Please note: Due to the limitations of HTML, Greek words appear in this essay as transliterations, particularly in TDNT quotes.