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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established
November 2008 Published weekly on Friday
This is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
1 Corinthians (Lesson 39)
Many people, from
many nationalities, are reading these weekly Bible lessons; and I thank God for
the opportunity to explain God’s
Word to those interested in seeking Truth. But I earnestly pray that each one of you discovers
the Bible, as well as these Bible lessons, are meant to be diligently studied
and not just read. This command comes
from the Lord
(1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Timothy 2:15).
(1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Timothy 2:15).
Did you know the
Lord Himself expected His disciples to carefully examine the Word of God and to
be prepared for His return: “So be prepared, because you don’t know what day your Lord is
coming” (Matthew 24:42 – NLT).
Now, generally
speaking, the media, pop-culture, and far too many Americans treat God, Jesus
Christ, and the Bible as irrelevant. But
God and His Word will always be relevant no matter the age. Concerning prophecy the Bible says: All
Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make
us realize what is wrong in our lives.
It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way,
fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do (NLT - 2Timothy
3:16-17).
The word all includes Bible prophecy. The Bible names nearly
2,500 prophecies.
2,000 prophecies
have already been fulfilled to the letter, i.e. without one single error. The 500 prophecies yet to be fulfilled give
us some information about future events; only God knows for certain when they
will come about. For those of you who
are scientifically minded, the prophecies that have been fulfilled were
independent of one another, and the odds for all of them being fulfilled by
chance, without error, is less than one in 102000 (that is 1 with
2,000 zeros written after it).
“Why is so much of the Bible dedicated to
prophecy?” The best answer is, “It
directs the attention of God’s chosen people and humanity in general to Jesus
Christ” - For the testimony of Jesus is
the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).
Previously
fulfilled prophecies lends authority and integrity to the Bible’s claim to be
the Word of God, and the Messianic prophecies fulfilled by the birth, ministry,
crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth authenticate His
claim to be the Son of God. Bible prophecy is the most powerful witness
to the divinity of Christ.
********
Introduction to 1
Corinthians 14
This
week Paul’s continues his guidelines for gathered worship which actually began
at 11:1. But more importantly this is a
continuation of the subject Paul commenced in 13:1-13. Although it’s true the Holy Spirit gifted
all Believers with certain spiritual gifts to be utilized in the building-up of the Body of Christ, Paul recently taught these saints it was far better
to seek the greater gifts. The one gift of the Spirit of more value
than all the others, which could be obtained by all, and which should be
desired by all was love.
In
chapter 14 Paul continues the subject of love
with special reference given to prophecy. He said prophesying
was the most valuable of the Spirit’s gifts (v1). Paul sought to correct the Corinthian’s flawed
opinion in which they viewed speaking in tongues
(various foreign languages) as the most prized gift. It wasn’t because they put this gift
to use in edifying the church, but
because it gave the speaker great importance, especially in the eyes of the
pagans, the unsaved in their midst.
Bible Study Tools
In
explaining Grace Age truths, it’s been
my habit to utilize multiple Bible translations while researching the
Scriptures and in the course of writing these Bible lessons for you. Your personal Bible is a matter of preference. But there are approximately 100 Bibles in
print today and many of these fall short or do not meet the criteria of a good
study Bible. Many of the newer versions have
corrupted God’s Word; there’s no other way of putting it, so I recommend the
KJV, the NKJV, or the NASB as good study Bibles because they are the most
accurate. I use both the KJV and the
NASB as my personal Bibles, flipping back and forth between each one as I read
and study Scripture. Neither book is
perfect; no Bible is, which is why I use multiple Bibles to get er’ done.
Case
in point: Paul wrote most of the N.T.
and I find it remarkable that in all his letters nowhere else does he mention
the gift of tongues but in 1
Corinthians, and he referred to these saints as “babes in Christ,” “carnal
”and“ still needing spiritual milk.” If you’ll read through the KJV account, the term
“unknown
tongue” appears six times, but in my NASB translation the added
(italicized) word “unknown” isn’t
used once. The translators decided the
word “unknown” wasn’t found in the
original Greek texts, so they didn’t include it in the NASB. That’s unfortunate - not only do I disagree
with their assessment, but dropping the word unknown tends to alter the sense of the text.
I
did some digging of my own and discovered there were 47
King James Version translators, giving freely of their time and talents to the
careful study of the New Testament Greek.
Most of them gave their lives to the study of this subject. The
majority of these men felt they were supplying the word “unknown” here to complete a legitimate omission of an implied word. As I stated earlier, even the best
translations contain errors, but the same error six times, I think not. These 47 learned men were in agreement. They believed strongly the Corinthian
Believers spoke in unknown tongues, not an unknown foreign language mind you, but incoherent “noise” and this
passage from Scripture is meant to communicate this truth.
Please
open your Bible at 1 Corinthians 14:1
Prophecy a Superior Gift
1 Corinthians 14
1: Pursue (what) love, yet desire earnestly spiritual
gifts, but especially that you
may prophesy.
The
word prophesy in the Greek language
is Propheteuo (pronounced: prof-ate-yoo’-o), Verb, and it means: to
prophesy, to be a prophet, speak forth by divine inspirations, to utter or
declare a thing which can only be known by divine revelation. In essence, prophesying is to “speak forth” or declare the divine will, to
interpret the purposes of God, to make known in any way the Truth of God which
is designed to influence people. Many
people misunderstand the gift of prophecy to be the ability to predict future events. While knowing something about the future may
sometimes have been an aspect of this gift (Acts 21:10-11), it was primarily a
gift of proclamation (forth-telling) not prediction (fore-telling).
Paul
had received the gift of tongues. We know this from his statement in verse
18: I
thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all… Because of this, the Holy Spirit used him
mightily to preach the Gospel of God’s Grace to these people in Corinth, a
cosmopolitan city, and to many others throughout the Roman Empire. Some of the Believers in Corinth had been
blessed with this same gift. They could have put this gift to good use in “building-up” the members of this church, but instead they chose not to include the
languages of those present. We know this
is true because at no time does Paul say the people in the church rejoiced
because, “This man is speaking our
language,” and there’s no testimony being offered saying, “I was encouraged by his revelation.”
Instead,
Paul had this to say, “For one who
speaks in a (unknown) tongue does not speak to men but to
God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries (v2).
Again,
please note what the Bible does not say.
It doesn’t say, “Only a few understood,”
it clearly says, “no one understands.” Not one person in the church understood what was being said. This whole passage confirms the fact that the
tongues spoken at the Corinthian church were unknown to those folks in attendance and in some cases to the
speaker himself. In other words no good purpose
was served; the end result was confusion in the body and the speaker was edified.
This is why Paul wrote: One who speaks in a (unknown) tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies
the church (v4).
To
see how this is supposed to work, let’s review some Scripture. Please turn to Acts 2. The gift of tongues first appears at Pentecost and there’s no question the tongues spoken on this feast day were
in fact foreign languages and not unknown
languages. Let’s begin at verse 4 where
it says, “And they were all filled with
the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was
giving them utterance.
Skip
down to verses 5-6 where the Apostle Luke writes, “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of
every nation under heaven.” And
when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because
each one of them was hearing them speak in his own (what) language.
By
my count 15 different nationalities are named in the text and every single
person heard the apostles speaking in their own language. Later, when the
uncircumcised Gentiles at the home of Cornelius
also received the gift of the Holy Spirit, upon believing, they also received the
gift
of tongues for Peter said, “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit
fell upon them just as He did upon us
at the beginning” –“beginning” = the day of Pentecost. (Acts 11:15-17)
Evidently,
these first Gentiles to receive Christ also spoke with known tongues. But now, at Corinth, we find people speaking
with “unknown tongues.” Paul’s saying tongue speaking does not edify
the church only prophesying does
this (14:4). He goes on to say if any
man speaks in an unknown tongue, that it should be by two at the most three and each
in turn, and one must interpret
(v27).
Verse
3:
3: But one who
prophesies speaks to men for (what) edification
and exhortation and consolation.
In
contrast to the gift of tongues, the
gift of prophecy is directed to
men. It is God speaking supernaturally
through Believers to Believers. But
here’s the thing, He who prophesies
speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation (comfort). Paul wants these Corinthians (and us) to
understand the gift of prophecy is
positive in nature; these items were absent in their assembly without a doubt
because they were missing the key element necessary for all this to work and
that was love.
Edification means “building-up”
it is a constructive term and not a destructive term. It speaks of an individual receiving
spiritual instruction, a word of prophecy
for example, to build them up in the
Lord and not negative comments and/or actions that tear them down.
Exhortation means
encouragement. It’s like the pre-game
speech your football coach gives you before the game begins, which is meant to
rally the team behind one central theme; go out and perform as one unit; just as you were trained to
do, and win one for the gripper, or in this case, the Lord. A word of prophecy will always encourage someone, not discourage him or her.
Comfort has the idea of
consoling and strengthening someone who is hurting emotionally or
physically. It doesn’t mean to say you
sit next to them and cry along with them, but it does mean to say you wrap your
loving arms around the individual with the intent of demonstrating you are there
to help them bear the load. A word of prophecy will console and strengthen an
individual not weaken them further.
We’ve
already examined verse 4, so we’re moving on to verse 5.
5: Now I wish that
you all spoke in tongues, but even
more that you would prophesy (see verse 1); and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues,
unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.
If
you’re thinking we’ve already read this before, we have. Seven times in this chapter our Apostle Paul
emphasizes the importance of prophesying
over tongues. It gets repetitive but the Corinthians need to
hear it!
In
addition to the Corinthians inadequate use of the gift of tongues, Paul’s repeated comments were
without a doubt due to the fact the Scriptures and the revelation of the
mystery were still incomplete at this time.
Remember, it will be quite a while before the Scriptures come together
to be what we know as the Bible today. During
this transition period the gift of prophecy
gave God’s church, Believers, exactly what they needed re: God’s Truths and His
program for the church.
Now
I want to compare verse 5 with 1 Corinthians 12:30-31: All do
not have gifts of healing, do they? All
do not speak with tongues (foreign languages), do they? All do not interpret,
do they? But earnestly desire the
greater gifts.
We’re
here because I wanted you to see what Paul isn’t saying. He’s not saying the gift of tongues isn’t beneficial, he’s saying the
gift of prophecy is superior to the
gift of tongues. In addition, he’s asserting its proper
relationship to other spiritual gifts and setting some practical
guidelines for its use. He’s judgment
for this is sound, since some of the Believers were only interested in this gift
for egotistical reasons.
Paul
asserts this principle with the following words:
Greater is one who prophesies
than one who speaks in tongues – Why?
Because the person who prophesies
edifies the entire church; the focus
is not on them but on God’s message this is why their gift is deemed greater. In Corinth, a person speaking in unknown tongues tended to lean toward the dramatic bringing the focus of
the worship service upon themselves. But
Paul said the gift of prophesying
was superior. Nothing was more important
than the revelation of God, given to a Believer to be shared with other
Believers, which means a person’s spiritual
gift
was not to be estimated by their gift but by its usefulness to the body.
Unless he
interprets – The
person speaking in tongues may have
an important truth, but no matter how important the communication, the message
is useless to the congregation unless he explains it in a way they can
understand so that the church may receive
edifying. Verse 27 indicates the
person who spoke in foreign languages usually had the gift of interpreting, but sometimes this office
was performed by others.
Verse
6:
But now, brethren,
if I come to you speaking in foreign tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you
either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy
or of teaching?
Here
Paul’s saying, “If I should come to you speaking in foreign tongues (only), i.e. without
an interpreter, it would be of no use to you unless someone interpreted it for
you.” Again, we know Paul possessed the gift of tongues from his statement
in verse 18, but he did not flaunt this incredible power. Paul merely communicated the gospel to those folks
in foreign lands who needed to hear it but did not understand his native
tongue.
What will I profit
you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge
or of prophecy or of teaching?
Paul
has already explained the problem with uninterpreted tongues is no one
understands and therefore no one
benefits, since they don’t
receive God’s communication. Paul wants
these Corinthians (and us) to know the real value, profit, in this is in the receiving of the special revelation from God through words of knowledge, prophecy, and the only remaining active gift, teaching (see 1 Corinthians 13:8). If what goes on during the worship service
isn’t profitable for all those in attendance, what’s the
point? If I attended worship service and
they had a visitor from a foreign land preach the sermon, in his native tongue,
without an interpreter, who benefits from that?
What’s the point?
Thus,
Paul emphasizes the gift of prophesying
repetitively. Another way of saying this
is, “Put your ministry where your mouth
is.” To illustrate this, Paul gives
three analogies that are supposed to correct the egotistical behavior in this
church re: speaking in unknown tongues. First, Paul uses the metaphor of musical instruments. In order to be understood or appreciated, all
musical instruments must play a discernible melody.
7: Yet even lifeless things, either flute or
harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones,
how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp?
The
gift of tongues without interpretation is like a musical instrument making
indistinct sounds; there is no discernible melody. Like the young boy in band practicing his
tuba. Notes are being played… sort of, but there’s no melody. Paul’s saying someone has to supply some
kind of understanding with this and that requires an interpreter. Else, the
foreign language being spoken evaporates into the air edifying no one.
The
second metaphor comes from the battlefield.
Bugle calls were used to sound charge, retreat, and various other
commands to specific units during combat:
8: For if the bugle
produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?
There
were different note patterns or sounds which the bugler played and these
alerted the soldiers as to the general’s commands on the battlefield. Imagine the chaos if the bugler played an
unclear note pattern or an indistinct
sound. The soldiers on the
battlefield wouldn’t know how to respond… the resulting confusion could be
disastrous.
The
third metaphor explains that foreign languages remain unintelligible to those
who have not learned them. This reminds
me of algebra, back in the day. When I
was introduced to this math subject for the first time, I’m sorry to say, my
teacher knew as much about the subject as I did; you can imagine how this
worked out. When she spoke, using her “algebra
language” in her befuddled way, I was as lost as lost can be – we were not
communicating. This is exactly what Paul
is saying in verse 9:
9: So also you,
unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how
will it be known what is spoken?
For you will be speaking into the air.
My
algebra teacher was speaking her “algebra language” into the air, meaning she
wasn’t assisting me at all. The same can
be said for the Corinthians who chose to speak in an unknown tongue to their
congregation for they too were speaking
into the air edifying no one but
themselves.
Verse
10:
10: There are,
perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning.
There
are many kinds of languages in the world
and not all are human. Did you know
whales and dolphins communicate with sounds,
clicks, and song? With some dolphin
species and some Humpback whales, individuals can be identified on the base
notes throughout their life? When we hear
dolphins and Humpback whales “speak,” it sounds like random sound to us, but
they don’t listen to the sound itself they hear information that is riding on
the sound waves. Because of this it is
believed that all large ocean mammals are able to speak the same language and
then have their own unique communication.
There is evidence which supports this from scientific study. This serves
to demonstrate Paul’s meaning: and no kind
is without meaning.
Verse
11:
11: If then I do
not know the meaning of the language (If I have no idea what the person is
saying), I will be to the one who speaks
a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me.
DéjÃ
Vu. We’ve been here before… Paul’s saying if there’s a lack of
understanding between the speaker and the listener, no communication is taking
place. If no communication is taking
place, no one benefits. So also you, since you are zealous of
spiritual gifts, seek to abound for
the edification (the building-up) of
the (entire) church (v12). I’m
picking up the somewhat subtle hint of well-intended Pauline sarcasm in this
verse. We know the Corinthians were zealous of spiritual gifts, or those gifts that edified the individual, but here Paul exhorts them seek to abound for the edification of the
church. This isn’t merely a comment
from Paul it’s actually a command to seek those gifts that will build-up the Body of Christ and in particular the gift of prophecy.
Let’s
go to verse 13:
13: Therefore let
one who speaks in a (unknown) tongue pray that he may interpret.
Here
Paul points to the way of giving the interpretation of the tongue (foreign language) without actually speaking forth the
tongue itself. He’s suggesting the
tongue’s speaker pray that he may
interpret the message for all. Then,
the indistinct sound spoken of in verse
14:8 need never be made public, yet the entire church is edified by the interpretation of the tongue (foreign
language). If the speaker is unable to
interpret or if there is no interpreter present, then the speaker is to remain
silent in the church (v28).
Verses
14-17:
14: For if I pray
in a (unknown) tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the
outcome (or the conclusion) then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray
with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind
also. Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only,
how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the “Amen” at your
giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? For
you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.
As
I’ve pointed out before, the Corinthians were not that far removed from their
previous bad habits and this included their pagan worship, Paul is emphasizing
here the worship of God goes not only through one’s heart but one’s mind
(Luke 10:27). Prayer is done in the spirit and in the mind, as is singing. Meaningless prayer is nothing more than
rambling with one’s mind tuned out; this is not God-honoring. Neither is singing that focuses more on one’s
feelings than the message of the words being sung. Paul’s saying the mind must be engaged in worship throughout the service so it can be
edified. This is God’s desire. God wants the mind of every individual to have a fruitful experience in singing
and prayer, and in this instance, in
the hearts of those who spoke in tongues. Thus, an interpreter was needed. Otherwise, those who were assembled together with
the one speaking in tongues would
not being able to understand the message.
Verses
18-19:
18-19: I thank God, I speak in tongues more than
you all; however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so
that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a (unknown) tongue.
Again,
Paul’s not undermining the gift of tongues
for he himself possessed this gift, but he is saying there’s a
distinct purpose for the gift and that is to edify the body during corporate worship. To do this the message being spoken needs to
be interpreted so it can be
understood. Ten thousand words, spoken without an interpreter amount to a lot of “hot air,” in other words, if no one
is around to explain what was said. Thus,
the Corinthians needed to start valuing prophecy
and teaching more than speaking in tongues.
(To
be continued)
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Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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