A God of Order~1 Cor 14.13-25
5/4/2010 11:57:43 PM
1 Corinthians #60 in series


 

A God of Order  -  1 Cor. 14.13-25

It was after a small group gathering, and several of her friends called her over and said, ‘We’re gonna pray for you—we’re gonna pray that you are baptized with the Holy Spirit tonight—that you speak in tongues.’  They led her several feet away and prayed a little, and then said, ‘Start by saying ‘hallelujah’…now say it over and over, and then say it faster, and let the other words come out . . . just let yourself go.’  (All the while, a janitor was trying to mop in and around their feet, so he could go home for the night; in actuality, it was a funny scene.)   After ‘hallelujah’, no other words came out, so she wasn’t sure what to do next; and she felt like a failure. 

  As we walked to the car, she turned and said, ‘What do you think of what just happened?’ 

  ‘Well, more importantly, what do you think about it?’

  ‘I’m not really sure . . . but I sure feel odd, and not really in a good way.  I think it was a little strange.’

  ‘Trust your instinct—if you felt uncomfortable, maybe there was something not quite right about all of it.’

 Indeed, I believe there was something wrong!  In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul gives us parameters for the exercise of the spiritual gifts of speaking in tongues and prophecy.  1 Cor. 14.13-25

So anyone who speaks in tongues should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said.   For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.

Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.   For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don’t understand you praise God along with you? How can they join you in giving thanks when they don’t understand what you are saying?  You will be giving thanks very well, but it won’t strengthen the people who hear you.

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.   But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.

 Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.   It is written in the Scriptures:

“I will speak to my own people through strange languages and through the lips of foreigners.But even then, they will not listen to me,” says the Lord.

So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. [Paul is referring here to the Jews in particular]   Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers.   Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. [After all, who can respond when they do not even understand the words?]   But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say.   As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”

“God is truly here among you.” Now, that is the point.

Tongues spoken out in a service need to have an interpretation; if not, no one is built up.  Remember, the whole point of spiritual gifts is to edify (build up) the body of Christ.  The Corinthians were edifying themselves by their overuse and abuse of tongues-speaking, drawing attention to themselves, rather than building up their fellow believers.  Where there is an abuse of this gift, spiritual pride is usually not far off.

Paul stresses the need for understanding, which is why he stresses the value of prophecy.  The believer who prophesies shares the Word with the church and helps those who listen.  It is easy for us to lose sight of the fact that the Corinthians did not have their Bibles on their laps as they sat in services; the New Testament was being written, and the Old Testament scrolls were expensive and simply not available to most people.*     

Most importantly, people cannot respond to the Gospel message if they do not understand what is being said.  Nothing is more important than the facts of Christ—who he is, what he had done, and what he wanted yet to do for them.

Now back to my friend who had the mop swishing around her feet . . .

When the Holy Spirit imparts a gift, any of the spiritual gifts—but in this case, the gift of tongues--He doesn’t need us to ‘prime the pump’.  It felt strange to my friend, because it was.  Our God is a God of Order.  Period.  (I will leave you to fill in the rest of the blanks there)  Always remember--our God is a God of Order.

Christine

*   Warren Wiersbe