When the English Bible says “edify one another,” most of us hear “say something encouraging” or “give a spiritual pep talk.”
That is far too thin.
The Greek verb is οἰκοδομέω (oikodomeō) — literally “to build a house.”
The noun is οἰκοδομή (oikodomē) — the act of building or the building itself.
Paul is not commanding compliments.
He is commanding us to act as skilled craftsmen on a lifelong construction site where God Himself is erecting “a holy temple in the Lord… a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph 2:21–22; cf. 1 Pet 2:5).
The question has never been whether God is still building His church.
The only question is: Which tools has the Master Architect left in the workshop?
Four Tools That All Perform the Same Kind of Building (οἰκοδομή)
1. The Word of His grace
Acts 20:32 – “…the word of His grace, which is able to build you up (οἰκοδομῆσαι) and to give you the inheritance…”
2. Your most holy faith
Jude 20 – “But you, beloved, building yourselves up (ἐποικοδομοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς) on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit…”
3. The love of God poured out in our hearts
Jude 21– “keep yourselves in the love of God…”
Ephesians 3:17–19 – “…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may… know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
The love of God is not paint on the walls of a finished house; it is load-bearing. It is the living atmosphere in which the entire structure keeps rising to completion.
4. Tongues and prophecy
1 Corinthians 14:4 – “The one who speaks in a tongue builds himself up (οἰκοδομεῖ ἑαυτὸν), but the one who prophesies builds up the church (οἰκοδομὴν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν).”
Ephesians 4:12 – gifts given “for the building up (οἰκοδομὴν) of the body of Christ.”
Same word family. Same construction site. Same divine project.
You no more “graduate” from tongues and prophecy than you graduate from the love of God or the Word of God.
Tongues: The Most Misunderstood Tool in the Box
Scripture actually distinguishes three biblical functions of tongues — every one of them serving οἰκοδομή:
1. Personal prayer language
“For the one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit… he builds himself up” (1 Cor 14:2–4).
2. Corporate message in tongues + interpretation
When interpreted, it becomes equivalent to prophecy and “edifies the church” (1 Cor 14:5.
3. Sign to unbelievers
Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 14:22.
Paul’s personal practice is decisive:
“I thank my God I speak in tongues more than you all” (1 Cor 14:18), yet in the same chapter he commands, “Do not forbid speaking in tongues” (14:39).
The Standard Cessationist Objections — and Why They Collapse
Objection 1 – “The foundation of apostles and prophets has been laid; miraculous gifts were only for that phase.”
Answer: The apostles and prophets are the foundation (Eph 2:20), but the same Paul commands the entire Corinthian church — decades after Pentecost — to earnestly desire prophecy and not forbid tongues. He saw no contradiction.
Objection 2 – “When the perfect comes, the partial gifts cease” (1 Cor 13:8–10).
Answer: The “perfect” is the return of Christ, when we will “know fully, even as I have been fully known” (13:12). Until then, we still see “in a mirror dimly.”
Objection 3 – “Modern tongues don’t match Acts 2 xenolalia.”
Answer: Acts 2 is only one expression among the “diversities of tongues” (1 Cor 12:10, 28). Paul explicitly describes a form that “no one understands” except God (14:2) — precisely what most charismatics practice in private prayer.
Real οἰκοδομή vs. Counterfeit
Biblical prophecy and tongues will always:
– exalt Jesus, not the speaker
– call God’s people to holiness, not just happiness
– gladly submit to Scripture
– produce long-term Christlikeness, not short-term hype
Anything that smells like fortune-telling, political speculation, or material prosperity is not New-Testament οἰκοδομή.
The House Is Not Finished
God is still “fitting living stones into a spiritual house” (1 Pet 2:5; Eph 2:21–22).
The Word has not ceased.
Faith has not ceased.
The love of God poured out in our hearts has not ceased.
Therefore tongues and prophecy — same word-group, same category — have not ceased.
Stop calling God’s appointed building materials “dangerous.”
Stop forbidding what the apostle Paul refused to forbid.
Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts — especially that you may prophesy.
And whatever you do, do not forbid speaking in tongues.
The construction site is still open.
The Master is still speaking.
Pick up every tool He hands you.
He is coming to live in the house we build.