1 Corinthians 14:1-4

J.B. Phillips New Testament

Tongues are not the greatest gift

14 ^1a Follow, then, the way of love, while you set your heart on the gifts of the Spirit.

^1b-4 The highest gift you can wish for is to be able to speak the messages of God. The man who speaks in a “tongue” addresses not men (for no one understands a word he says) but God: and only in his spirit is he speaking spiritual secrets. But he who preaches the word of God is using his speech for the building up of the faith of one man, the encouragement of another or the consolation of another. The speaker in a “tongue” builds up his own soul, but the preacher builds up the Church of God.