Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church were very specific. In any given gathering, the number of people who were permitted to speak out publicly in tongues was limited two or three. They should not all speak at once, but should wait and speak in turn (see 1 Cor. 14:27).
Paul did not necessarily mean that only three “messages in tongues” were permitted, but that no more than three people should speak out in tongues in any given service. It is thought by some that if there were more than three people who were frequently used in the gift of various kinds of tongues, any one of them could yield to the Spirit and given a “message in tongues” that the Spirit desired to be manifested in the church. If this is not so, Paul’s instruction would actually limit the Holy Spirit by limiting the number of messages in tongues that could be manifested in any given meeting. If the Holy Spirit would never give any more than three gifts of various kinds of tongues in a gathering, there would be no need for Paul to give such intstructions.
The same could well be true for the interpretation of tongues. It is thought that perhaps more than one person in the assembly might be able to yield to the Spirit and give the interpretation of a “message in tongues.” Such people would be considered “interpreters” (see 1 Cor. 14:28), as they would be frequently used in the gift of interpretation of tongues. If that is true, perhaps that is what Paul was referring to when he instructed, “let one interpret” (1 Cor. 14:27). Perhaps he was not saying that only one person should interpret all the messages in tongues; rather he was warning against “competitive interpretations” of the same message. If one interpreter interpreted a message in tongues, then another interpreter was not permitted to interpret the same message, even if he thought he could give a better interpretation.
In general, everything should be done “properly and in an orderly manner” in church gatherings—they should not be a hodgepodge of simultaneous, confusing and even competitive utterances. Additionally, believers should be sensitive to any unbelievers who may be present in their gatherings, just as Paul wrote:
If therefore the whole church should assemble together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? (1 Cor. 14:23).
That was precisely the problem in Corinth—everyone was speaking in tongues simultaneously, and often there were no interpretations.
