Grow Up! It is not about You, it is about Christ! (2)
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When it comes to being spiritual, the first thing to seek is LOVE. When desiring Spiritual Gifts, be active in church with LOVE.
The church at Corinth, was abusing their manifestations of gifts.
Remember chapter 12
The Apostle Paul does not tell them to DISMISS spiritual manifestations. Nor does he tell them to DENY spiritual manifestations.
The Apostle Paul actually tells them to DESIRE spiritual manifestations.
Remember, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit flows out of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, if the fruit is Spiritual, the the manifestation will be Useful.
Seek to be Useful
Seek to be Useful
1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. 2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
Example of Usefulness.
Example of Usefulness.
Prophecy - proclaiming the Word of God in a known language.
Tongues - is useless in communication when no one in the congregation understands what is being said.
Because this is such a prominent gift and apparently highly desired gift especially since many of these believers came out of the many Pagan religions that were in Rome and especially Corinth where ecstatic tongues were spoken.
Explanation of Usefulness
Explanation of Usefulness
3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
Prophecy is Superior because is Edifies.
Revealing the Word of God brings:
Edification - Building, or making more able.
It is a construction word referring to constructing some building. The first purpose of prophecy is to build up people.
Exhortation - Strengthen, Encourage, to call to the side of.
The second purpose of prophecy is to strengthen and encourage people by calling them to the side of God.
Comfort - Give strength and hope to, to ease the grief or trouble of someone.
It has the idea of comforting through the most severe experiences of life, for example, through death (see Jn. 11:19, 31). The third purpose of prophecy is to comfort people as they walk through life.
Again, Paul is rebuking the Members at Corinth because of their selfish and unloving misuse of the gift of tongues to edify self, rather than using gifts to love to edify others.
Remember,
1 Corinthians 13:4–5 (KJV 1900)
4 ... charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, ...
4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. 5 I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
The Corinthians were pridefully using tongues without love for exactly these forbidden purposes.
The Apostle Paul has already taught that so-called Christian Tongues without love are just noise and are no different from the false, pagan, counterfeit tongues of the idol worshippers.
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
Notice, Paul gives an exception to the gift of tongues used for God or Self Edification in vs. 5.
There needs to be an Interpreter.
6 Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
Not only must there be an interpreter, there must be a message.
revelation - uncovering something to be seen
knowledge - understandable
prophesying - sharing the heart of God
doctrine - teach or instruct
Exemplification of Usefulness
Exemplification of Usefulness
7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? 8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? 9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. 10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. 11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. 12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
Exemplified with Music
Exemplified with Music
7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? 8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? 9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
Pipes (Greek, aulos, wind instruments) and harps (Greek, kithara, string instruments) must have a distinctive sound or else their sound is meaningless, confused, and nonsense—just not understood. Musical instruments must communicate or else the music is unknown and fails to inspire the listeners.
A military trumpet illustrates the point. When the soldier blows the trumpet, he must communicate or else the army is unprepared for the battle.
Exemplified with Language
Exemplified with Language
10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. 11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
A person must speak words that are understood or else the listeners do not know what he is saying. He is doing nothing more than speaking into the air.
Different foreign languages are a fifth illustration. Very simply, there are many different voices (languages) in the world, and each language has its own distinct speech. If a foreigner speaks to me and I do not understand what he is saying …
• I am as a barbarian, that is, as a dumb and senseless man to him
• he is as a barbarian, that is, as a dumb and senseless man to me
He is of no use to me, not in sharing and communicating the gospel. What he has to say is meaningless, unintelligible, unprofitable, and of no value. It does not reach or edify, strengthen or comfort me.
Encouragement of Usefulness
Encouragement of Usefulness
12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. 13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
Gifts are to be USEFUL TO THE CHURCH, not to edify SELF.
The point is striking: the believer who is zealous of spiritual gifts is to seek for the gifts that edify the church. Note: a believer’s zeal is not to be dampened even if he has been misinformed and emphasizes the wrong gift. He is to straighten out his emphasis, keep his zeal, and direct his energy to edifying the church. The important gifts are those that build up people for Christ.
Tongues are Inferior means of Prayer and Praise
Paul prays and sings with the Spirit and Understanding.
14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
Note a crucial point throughout this passage: Paul is not denying or forbidding the exercise of the gift of tongues, according to chapter 13 they shall cease. He is insisting on the proper use of the gifts. He says that he himself will do it “with the understanding also.”
The stress is that he does not pray or sing without understanding what he is praying and singing. He gives two reasons for this.
16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
He wishes others to understand and to confirm what he prays and sings (v. 16). The illustration is pointed. If you bless God with the spirit (that is, with a tongue), how shall the unlearned (those who do not understand tongues) say “Amen,” that is, confirm what you say? Agreeing and sharing in your prayer and praise is impossible, for no one understands what you are saying.
17 For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
He wishes others to be edified (v. 17). The giving of thanks and prayer are not wrong; in fact, they are good. But if they are done in a tongue, others are not edified.
18 I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: 19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.
Paul speaks in tongues often, but in the church he always uses another gift (vv. 18–19). Nothing could be any clearer about Paul’s practice of tongues than this verse:
→ Paul had the gift of tongues and used the gift more than “ye all.”
→ Paul would rather speak five clearly understood words than ten thousand words in a tongue when no one understands. To the honest and open reader, Paul’s point is clear: in the church, he used other gifts to worship and proclaim the gospel.
Paul stresses: Understanding and Edification
This is a strong imperative, a forceful statement: “Be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.” It seems as though “tongues” had so divided the Corinthian church that bitterness and malice had become quite a problem between some. Some of the believers just did not understand the gifts, their importance and purpose. Therefore, they were acting like children, stricken with the different, emotional, and spectacular experience. They desperately needed to understand the gifts and their proper place in the believer’s life. One thing was certain: there was to be no place for divisiveness over the gifts. There was to be only love and mature understanding. Believers are to be as mature men and women, not as children.
Grow Up! It is not about You, it is about Christ!
How are you Edifying those in the Church?
How are you Exhorting those in the Church?
How are you Comforting those in the Church?