Why does Paul say the one speaking in an unknown tongue speaks to God and not to men?
Paul says the one speaking in an unknown tongue speaks to God and not to men because no man understands him; God alone could make anything out of it if possible. The speaker, in his own human spirit, speaks mysteries, not communication that men can decipher.
Les explains that in this chapter tongues, plural, refers to languages, and Corinth had many languages—Greek, Latin, probably Spanish, Hebrew, and Aramaic. But the unknown tongue is an unknown language nobody can decipher or reduce to print. Paul therefore says no one speaks in an unknown tongue to men but to God, because God is the only one who could make anything out of it if possible; men cannot make anything out of it, and no man understands him. The speaker, in his spirit (small s, the man's spirit), speaks mysteries. Les connects this to pagan religions, where mysteries are at the core, understood only by the inner sanctum while those on the fringe do not know them.
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
More Questions
What does 'unknown tongue' mean in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14?
Whenever the word 'tongue' appears in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 in the singular with the added word 'unknown,' it refers to a bunch of sounds that cannot be reduced to print, are not phonetic, cannot be written down by anybody—just a bunch of noise.
In 1 Corinthians 14:2, who is a person speaking to when they speak in a tongue?
According to 1 Corinthians 14:2, the one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God, and in the spirit he speaks secrets (mysteries) that not everybody can understand.