The principle of Christian love, with the related principle of toleration, is applied also to another set of problems, the problems with regard to the exercise of spiritual gifts. The passage in which Paul discusses these problems, aside from its spiritual and moral teaching, is of singular historical interest. It affords a unique picture of the devotional meetings of an apostolic church. The characteristic of these meetings was the enthusiasm which prevailed in them. Paul is not at all desirous of dampening that enthusiasm. On the contrary the gifts in question were in his judgment really bestowed by the Holy Spirit. Even the gift of tongues, which Paul limits in its operation, is in his judgment of genuine value. Indeed, he himself had exercised it even more than the other Christians. I Cor. 14:18. This last fact should correct any unworthy impression which we might have formed with regard to the gift. If speaking with tongues was practiced by Paul, then it was no mere unhealthy emotionalism. We are to-day unable to understand it fully, but in the apostolic Church it was a real expression of Christian experience.
Paul desires, not to dampen the enthusiasm of the Corinthian church, but merely to eliminate certain harmful by-products of that which was in itself altogether excellent. The first principle which he applies is the principle of toleration. There is room in the Church for many different kinds of workers. "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." The principle is often neglected in the modern Church. Toleration, indeed, is on everyone's lips; but it is not the kind of toleration that Paul means. It is often nothing more than indifference to the great verities of the faith. Such toleration would have met with nothing but an anathema from Paul. The toleration that Paul is commending is a toleration, not with regard to matters of doctrine, but with regard to methods of work. Such toleration is often sadly lacking. Some advocates of missions think that almost every Christian who stays at home is a coward; some good, conservative elders, on the other hand, have little interest in what passes the bounds of their own congregation. Some Christians of reserved habits are shocked at the popular methods of the evangelists; some evangelists are loud in their ignorant denunciation of the Christian scholar. In other words, many very devout Christians of the present day act as though they had never read the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians.