1 Corinthians 14:20

Brethren, be not children in mind: yet in malice be ye babes, but in mind be men.

No new paragraph begins here, such a division being arbitrary and incorrect. There is a continuation of the thought of the foolishness of tongue-speaking. The three phases of mortal life: babies, children, and men were intended to explain the whole matter of spiritual gifts, belonging as they did to the infancy and childhood age of the church, and not to its maturity. This is therefore a call for the Corinthians to stop chasing after tongues and to grow up spiritually. As McGarvey said it:

All Christians who mistakenly yearn for a renewal of those spiritual gifts, should note the clear import of these words of the apostle, which show that their presence in the church would be an evidence of weakness and immaturity, rather than of fully developed power and seasoned strength.[11]

In this connection, see also 1 Corinthians 13:8-11, above.