1 Corinthians 14:5,6 - I would like everyone to speak in tongues

14:5

None of this is to denigrate tongues, and Paul is making sure that this point is not misunderstood. He would like everyone to speak in tongues, but in terms of building up the church as a whole, prophecy is far more relevant. The one exception to this is if someone can interpret the tongue, so then everyone would understand what was being said.

14:6

Paul now points out what is blatantly obvious. The Corinthians seemed to have been captivated by the gift of tongues. That can still happen today, some people get over excited by the gift, or get worried if they don’t speak in tongues. Later on Paul will talk about what the gift of tongues is, but here his purpose is to drum some sense into them. They were keen for Paul to visit them, but if he came and did nothing but speak in tongues it would be of no benefit to them whatsoever. Paul’s visit would only be of use if he brought some “revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction”. Schreiner sees “revelation” and “prophecy” as being equivalent, and “knowledge” and “word of instruction” as being equivalent. Most charismatics see “knowledge” as being a “word of knowledge”, i.e. some God-given insight.