Why does Paul reference the Law in 1 Corinthians 14:21? Text And Immediate Context 1 Corinthians 14:21 : “In the Law it is written: ‘By men of strange tongues and foreign lips I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to Me,’ says the Lord.” Paul cites Isaiah 28:11-12 to regulate ecstatic tongues in Corinth (14:1-40). His argument: uninterpreted tongues do not edify believers inside the gathering (vv. 2-19) but function as a covenant-warning sign to unbelievers (v. 22). By grounding the point in “the Law,” Paul binds his instruction to the unchanging authority of Scripture. What Paul Means By “The Law” Jewish usage often extends “Law” (νόμος) to the entire Hebrew canon (John 10:34; 12:34; 15:25). Here Paul quotes Isaiah, a prophetic book, yet still calls it “Law” because (1) the whole Tanakh embodies God’s binding instruction, and (2) Isaiah’s oracle applies Deuteronomy’s covenant-curse motif (Deuteronomy 28:49). Thus Paul underscores that tongues are subject to covenant categories already fixed in Torah. Old Testament Source Of The Citation Isaiah 28:11-12 : “For with unfamiliar lips and foreign tongues He will speak to this people… but they would not listen.” Historical backdrop: c. 732 BC, northern Israel mocked Isaiah’s clear Hebrew warnings (28:9-10). God answers with Assyrian invaders speaking an unintelligible language—proof of judgment. The same text surfaces in the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaa, Colossians 24:16-17), demonstrating manuscript stability centuries before Christ. Deuteronomic Covenant Curse Connection Deuteronomy 28:49 : “The LORD will bring a nation against you… a nation whose language you will not understand.” Isaiah echoes this provision. Paul therefore reads Isaiah through Deuteronomy: foreign speech = divine discipline on covenant infidelity. Paul’S Hermeneutic And The Corinthian Situation 1. Analogy: Just as ancient Israel heard Assyrian gibberish because they despised clear prophecy, Corinth risks hearing uninterpreted glossolalia while despising intelligible edification (prophecy/teaching). 2. Continuity: The Holy Spirit never contradicts Scripture; He reenacts biblical patterns (Acts 2:5-13; 10:44-46). 3. Purpose: Tongues, when not translated, warn outsiders (especially Jewish ones) that the Messianic age has dawned and that failure to heed the gospel invites judgment (cf. Acts 2:40). Function Of Tongues As A Sign Paul’s chiastic logic (14:21-25): • Tongues → sign to unbelievers (negative warning). • Prophecy → sign to believers (positive edification). At Pentecost, unbelieving mockers attributed tongues to drunkenness (Acts 2:13), fulfilling “they will not listen to Me.” Those who did listen (“about three thousand,” v. 41) shifted from curse to blessing. Corinth must preserve that evangelistic polarity by restricting uninterpreted tongues. Jew-Gentile Dynamic Tongues in foreign languages herald the ingathering of the nations (Isaiah 66:18-19). Yet for ethnic Israel the sound of Gentile languages absent understanding recalls exile. Thus the same phenomenon is both promise and threat depending on the hearer’s heart—exactly Paul’s missional concern in a mixed Corinthian assembly (1 Colossians 14:23). Canonical Consistency • Genesis 11:7-9—confusion of tongues = judgment. • Acts 2:4-11—understood tongues = reversal for receptive hearts. • 1 Corinthians 14—uninterpreted tongues = renewed reminder of Genesis 11/Isaiah 28 judgment for hardened hearts. The biblical storyline coheres: God uses language as both barrier and bridge. Theological Summary Paul invokes “the Law” to root charismatic practice in the covenant narrative. The foreign-tongue sign predicted by Isaiah and anticipated by Deuteronomy is now active in the Spirit-empowered church. Misuse invites the same indictment Israel once faced, while proper use leads outsiders to declare, “God is really among you!” (1 Colossians 14:25). Contemporary Application Churches should: • Prioritize Scripture-regulated worship. • Require interpretation of any public tongue. • Emphasize clear proclamation of the gospel so that the warning sign of tongues becomes a doorway to salvation, not an occasion for further hardening. Conclusion Paul references “the Law” in 1 Corinthians 14:21 to anchor his instruction in the unbroken, covenantal authority of Scripture. By citing Isaiah’s foreign-tongue judgment oracle—grounded in Deuteronomy’s covenant curses—he demonstrates that uninterpreted tongues function as an eschatological sign to unbelievers, urging repentance and underscoring that God’s Word, from Moses through the prophets to the apostles, speaks with a single, coherent voice. |
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