1 Corinthians 14 18

1 Corinthians 14:18 kjv

I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:

1 Corinthians 14:18 nkjv

I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;

1 Corinthians 14:18 niv

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

1 Corinthians 14:18 esv

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

1 Corinthians 14:18 nlt

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.

1 Corinthians 14 verses

1 Corinthians 14 18 Meaning

Paul expresses profound gratitude to God for his personal ability to speak in tongues, asserting that he engages in this spiritual exercise more extensively than all the believers in Corinth. This statement serves to establish his personal experience with and validation of the gift, thereby providing authority and credibility to the comprehensive instructions and regulations he is about to impart concerning the proper use of spiritual gifts, especially tongues, within the gathered church. It implicitly draws a distinction between the private benefit of glossolalia and its necessity for interpretation in public settings.

1 Corinthians 14 18 Context

This verse is situated within 1 Corinthians chapter 14, where Paul extensively addresses the proper regulation and use of spiritual gifts, particularly tongues and prophecy, within the church assembly in Corinth. The Corinthians apparently placed an excessive and disordered emphasis on speaking in tongues, valuing it for personal ecstatic experience over its role in building up the body of Christ. Prior to verse 18, Paul has already stated that one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself (14:4) and desires for all to speak in tongues, yet even more for them to prophesy (14:5). He has stressed that unintelligible speech does not benefit the church unless interpreted (14:6-12), emphasizing the need to pray with the mind as well as the spirit (14:15).

Verse 18 serves as Paul's personal declaration to establish his experiential authority before delivering a critical instruction in verse 19 that he would prefer five intelligible words to ten thousand in tongues within the church setting. Historically and culturally, Corinth was a port city known for its diverse religious practices, some of which involved ecstatic utterances. The Corinthian church, still immature in some aspects, likely absorbed elements of this surrounding culture, leading to the public misuse of spiritual gifts. Paul seeks to re-align their practice with biblical principles of order, intelligibility, and corporate edification.

1 Corinthians 14 18 Word analysis

• I thank: Greek eucharistō (εὐχαριστῶ). This verb signifies an act of deep gratitude and appreciation. It's a characteristic Pauline expression, often used to introduce thanks for God's blessings and acts, particularly related to the work of the Spirit. This isn't a boast but an acknowledgement of a divine enablement.
• my God: Greek tou Theou mou (τοῦ Θεοῦ μου). Emphasizes Paul's personal relationship and intimacy with the God who bestows such gifts. It grounds his authority not in self-achievement but in divine providence and connection, reinforcing the theological source of his abilities.
• that I speak: Greek hóti lalō (ὅτι λαλῶ). The phrase lalō glōssais ("I speak in tongues") uses laleō meaning "to speak, utter," combined with glōssa ("tongue," or "language"). This refers to the Spirit-enabled utterance of an unlearned language, either human or angelic. Paul's use here highlights a regular, ongoing practice.
• in tongues: Greek glōssais (γλώσσαις). Refers to the supernatural phenomenon of speaking in unlearned languages. This is a divine gift for spiritual edification (1 Cor 14:2, 4) and as a sign (1 Cor 14:22).
• more than all of you: Greek hōs pantōn hymōn (ὡς πάντων ὑμῶν). The comparative "more than" (implied from the phrase "as/than all of you") highlights the extensiveness of Paul's personal practice of glossolalia. It is not a boast of superiority but a statement of fact to underscore his personal experience with the gift he is discussing, ensuring the Corinthians understand he is not diminishing it due to a lack of his own experience. This positions him as one deeply familiar with the gift, lending weight to his counsel.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• I thank my God: This phrase underlines Paul's piety and humility despite the extraordinary gift he possesses. It roots his experience firmly in God's grace and gift-giving, not in any personal merit, setting a Christ-centered tone for his discourse on spiritual gifts. It frames his capacity within a larger context of divine favor.
• that I speak in tongues: This validates the gift of tongues as a legitimate and personal spiritual experience for Paul himself. It explicitly states his engagement with the gift, confirming he practices what he is regulating, and thus avoids any accusation of hypocrisy or ignorance regarding glossolalia.
• more than all of you: This claim establishes Paul's extensive personal experience with glossolalia, placing him in a position of authority and credibility when addressing its use. It directly counters any notion that he might be ignorant of the gift or seek to suppress it due to his own lack of experience, preparing the audience for his upcoming limitations on public tongues. This phrase signals Paul's qualifications to discuss and regulate the gift, not a point of pride, but of pragmatic truth.

1 Corinthians 14 18 Bonus section

• Paul's personal experience of tongues might have primarily been in private devotion, which aligns with 1 Cor 14:2 where "one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God."
• This verse provides an example of Paul using his own experience to establish his right to instruct, much like he does in other epistles (e.g., in discussing his apostolic bona fides in 2 Corinthians).
• It reinforces that spiritual gifts, even those used for personal edification, are still a reason for gratitude to God, highlighting their divine origin.
• The verse indirectly sets up the boundary between the private use and public exercise of tongues, a core theme of 1 Corinthians 14.

1 Corinthians 14 18 Commentary

In 1 Corinthians 14:18, Paul strategically interjects a personal declaration to affirm his abundant personal practice of speaking in tongues. This verse is pivotal, serving as a credibility statement within his broader discourse on spiritual gifts. By expressing his profound gratitude to God for this gift and stating his extensive experience with it, Paul disarms potential critics among the Corinthians who might accuse him of lacking or devaluing the gift of tongues. Instead, he shows that he fully participates in this charismatic expression. This personal testimony allows Paul to transition smoothly from affirming the private value of tongues (1 Cor 14:4) to strongly regulating its public display. His point is not to boast, but to validate his pastoral authority to set guidelines. The implication is that while tongues are valuable for private spiritual growth and communication with God, their public manifestation must be subjected to the principles of order and edification, as he will demonstrate in subsequent verses. Paul thus champions a balanced approach: embracing the spiritual gift while ensuring it serves the greater purpose of building up the collective body of believers.