1 Corinthians 14:27-28 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.
Paul puts further conditions on speaking in tongues and supports his thesis that gatherings for worship should be times of building up the church and not confusion. Anything spoken in the church should be understandable to everyone else. The only way to do this with tongues is if it is interpreted. Three conditions are listed here. First, only up to two or three people can speak in a tongue. Paul does not want a lot of people doing this but only a few. It could become chaotic and confusing if the whole church was speaking in unknown sounds. Second, the speaking in tongues should be done in order of sequence. That will involve some measure of thinking. So, tongues cannot just be ecstatic utterances that come to a person on a whim but each must wait and take a turn. In other words, it must be scheduled. Third, someone must be available to interpret the meaning. If these conditions are not met, then speaking in tongues should be a private experience.
These conditions further isolates the tongue speakers and moves tongues closer to being almost the same as prophecy in the sense of clear communication to the church. These directions might significantly challenge the Corinthian church. This chapter may seem distant to where many people live and experience. The key premise continues to be that church gatherings should be a time of growth, discipleship, edification, encouragement, teaching, and evangelism. They are not a time for individuals to boast in their spiritual abilities and maturity, but such boasting actually just shows how immature they are and how little they understand about love.
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