Good weekend to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friend,
Have you ever found yourself envious of a talent or skill someone else has? That desire can be either motivational or discouraging, right? Evidently this was another issue the apostle Paul needed to address among the Christians in Corinth, so today let’s dig into the 14th chapter of Paul’s first letter to them.
Paul wrote: “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God… Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.” (1 Cor. 14:1-5) Do you see the problem which was creating chaos among the Christians in Corinth? The love they should be displaying toward each other, as Paul described in 1 Cor. 13, was being undermined by envy and jealousy! Yes, Paul urges them to ‘eagerly desire gifts of the Holy Spirit.’ Why?
Because, as we saw in chapter 12, the Holy Spirit of God, anointing Christians with spiritual gifts, is one of the great miracles EVERY Christian should anticipate. And because the Holy Spirit distributes those gifts according to the larger plan of Jesus Christ, the Head of His global church, receiving such gifts has a great purpose. Why? Because these spiritual gifts are distributed by the Spirit strategically. Do you know your spiritual gifts and why God has given them to you?
These gifts enable God’s people to engage, by the Spirit’s power, in what God wants to accomplish IN and THROUGH the local church, distinctively in each community! Do you see how God wants to use your church in your community? Do you see what a difference it makes for the community when a church is unified and encouraged, as compared to when a church is divided and in turmoil?
Perhaps you know Paul wrote about spiritual gifts in several of his letters. (1 Cor. 12; Romans 12; Ephes. 4) But here in 1 Corinthians 14 Paul is focusing on two specific gifts because evidently both were needed in Corinth, but there was a great deal of envy disrupting the unity among these Christian brothers and sisters. Paul first calls the Christians to remember that ALL the spiritual gifts are given by God for the benefit and unity of the local church, but also to help these Christians be a blessing to their city. No gift is ever given by God to promote jealousy or envy or discord or division.
Do you notice Paul used the word ‘edify’ as one of the major benefits of both the tongues and prophecy gifts? That’s probably not a word you use often. But ‘edify’ means encourage, inform, instruct, help people to learn and put into action what God is teaching them. Pause. Do you see ‘edify’ happening in your church or among your friends? Are you a person God is using to ‘edify’ others, and do you appreciate receiving ‘edify’ from other people whom God has spiritually gifted?
Did you notice Paul challenges these Corinthian Christians to recognize one MAJOR difference between the two gifts which were stirring up envy… tongues and prophecy? Paul wrote: ‘For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God...indeed no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit…unless someone interprets so the church may be edified.” (1 Cor. 14:2-5) That makes sense, doesn’t it?
Have you ever found yourself eavesdropping on a conversation between people from another country, speaking a language foreign to you? You can watch their facial expressions and hand motions but the sounds coming out of their mouths are gibberish to you, right? But to them, they understand each other perfectly and are having a wonderful conversation! That is a practical example of what Paul is describing.
Do you remember the first time the Holy Spirit came upon the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem during Pentecost, as described in Acts 2? It was mass confusion, chaos, mayhem, until foreigners started recognizing their language dialects being spoken by Galilean, Jewish followers of Jesus. (Acts 2:4-12) Language is only beneficial, it only edifies, when understood, right?
So, it is with the spiritual gift of tongues: It is gibberish UNLESS someone is present who understands that ‘tongues language’ and can explain for the benefit of those who do not know that language; OR unless someone has been given a spiritual gift of interpreting that specific language for the edification of those present. If neither of those things happens, then only God can understand what the person is speaking. And because it is unknown it is useless to everyone present. Now wait a minute! Pause and ponder that. my friends.
It appears both in Corinth and many of our towns today, some people pretend to be having a significant spiritual experience as they begin to speak in words not recognized by anyone present. The true test of the legitimacy of that moment is the presence of someone who understands and can interpret what is being said. Paul wrote: “everything must be done so that the church may be built up. If anyone speaks in a tongue…someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God… For God is not a God of disorder but of peace…” (1 Cor. 14:27,28) That’s very clear, isn’t it?
Of course, a second and important test is validation of what is spoken in that language by the rest of Scripture. God will never contradict Himself. So even if there is an interpretation of a tongue, if that interpretation is contrary to Scripture, it is false and should be disregarded.
The ‘lessons learned’ notes at the link below will be helpful for further study on this important topic, and on Monday we’ll continue looking closely at what Paul has written for us here in 1 Cor. 14th. The wonderful worship song we’ve selected is glorious and we hope you have a great weekend including a wonderful worship experience wherever you are.
Today’s Scripture: 1 Cor. 14:1-5
Choose below to read or listen.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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