Revering the Word
1 Cor. 14 Eagerly desiring Spiritual gifts. Order in the Church. Women quiet?
Good morning, everyone. This morning we are in 1 Corinthians 14. Please do recall that the section of 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 really should be looked at as a unit. It's important to take in all three of those teachings because they really work together. But we're going to get into 14 today, but let's recall the setting again that the Apostle Paul is addressing this church in Corinth that had a very worldly environment with a lot of immorality in the city. And a church was planted there. Paul spent a lot of time there and is now writing back after he's left a letter to them. And much of the letter is really addressing concerns that he has in the church regarding their division, regarding sexual immorality. And in this case, even though I would say in some ways they were an immature church partly because of the environment that the church was in, they also sought to excel in spiritual gifts. But in their exercise of spiritual gifts, it was very disorderly. And Paul wanted to write to them not to discourage them and spiritual gifts, but to discourage them from not exercising it without restraint, without wisdom, without discernment, and without order. So in the last chapter in 1 Corinthians 13, he said, "You know what? If your character isn't lining up with me, if you don't have the fruit of the Holy Spirit and particularly love and you're trying to advance in spiritual gifts like prophecy or speaking in tongues, you're really getting ahead of yourself. Let's make sure that your character lines up with the Holy Spirit of God and that you have the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy and peace and that those are evident in you and that you're not in a disorderly way trying to pursue spiritual gifts without even having a greater reflection of the image and likeness of Jesus. That's important." So he gets done saying that if you try to speak in tongues, but you don't have love, you're like a sounding gong. But now at the end of chapter 13, he says, "The greatest of these is love." And then chapter 14 verse 1, "Pursue love." So we need to be endeavoring to love one another by this. All men will know if you are my disciples if you love one another. But now he says this, and I think it's very important, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts. Now he just got done talking about various kinds of spiritual gifts, including tongues, including prophecy and Paul is saying in the New Testament age, this is already post-resurrection of Jesus, of course, and he's saying in that age, the church age, which we live in now, we should earnestly desire spiritual gifts. Some people believe that some of the gifts have ceased based on the previous chapter when the perfect comes, which I don't believe that is the word of God. I believe the perfect is when Jesus comes back again if you take in that whole chapter. We've already talked about that. But I guess what I'm trying to say is, if Paul is saying earnestly desire spiritual gifts, then to say that they've ceased, I think it's contradictory is what I believe. But especially that you may prophesy. Now I want to pause again and let me see if I can pull this up quickly here. I want to talk to you about prophecy. Now I've talked about this two chapters ago, but I think it's really important because if we always think of prophecy being the divine word of God in a prophet foretelling the future, then we're going to have a problem with prophecy. We're going to think that that's the only thing that prophecy is. But Paul talks a lot about encouraging the church to see. And it's not about foretelling most of the time that Paul is using it. Excuse me. And the word there, prophetel could be how it's pronounced, but it means, okay, so it means to prophesy to be a prophet to speak forth divine inspirations. Now, to think about that, that does not mean always to predict. It means that you're speaking forth things from God, things that God's inspiring you to speak. And sometimes for an Old Testament prophet or an apostle, that would be the word of God. That's not going to be the case for us. We're never going to have a divine inspiration that's on par with the word of God. That's the canon is closed, the Bible is closed. We're not going to have new Bible until Jesus comes back. And I don't know if he's going to make new Bible then, but he will be the Bible. Anyways, so to speak for divine inspirations, and then it also means to predict. Now, let me keep going. It can mean with the idea of foretelling future events. And that's how we typically think of it. Then it says to utter forth declare thing, which can only be known by divine revelation to break forth under sudden impulse and lofty discourse or praise of the divine councils. So that's not foretelling the future, meaning God's just inspiring you by his spirit to share lofty discourse or praise of God. And then again, all under this word, under like prompting to teach, refute, reprove, admonish, and comfort others. So if you, if the Holy Spirit is guiding you to teach, refute, reprove, admonish, that's the work of a prophet. Now, it might not be the work of a prophet like we think of Isaiah for telling the future, but it is what Paul's talking about in this chapter. All of those things are included in prophecy. He is saying, I want you to do that. In fact, I want you to eagerly desire that more. And by the way, more than speaking in tongues, he relegates tongue speaking to something less significant, almost always when he brings it up. But that doesn't mean that it's no longer exists. Now, we're going to get into tongues a little bit here. And Paul's going to make the case several times that speaking in tongues could be something that you do just between you and God. And that has developed into basically where it's someone might speak in a in a tongue, meaning an unknown language or let's call it Babylon. I don't mean that in a negative sense, but that there they don't even know what words they're sharing. And but they're using them as a form of prayer for God. Now, I think Paul's going to make that case pretty clear in 1 Corinthians 14 that that is part of what tongues is for. And in fact, it's better off use there than in any other case, because it's really not something for public use. It's not something for the church, unless you're going to be able to interpret what you said. But I think that's kind of silly if you think about it, because if you're going to speak in some kind of language or unknown Babel in a prayer to God, and then you're going to interpret it. Okay, great. I guess that that shows something interesting that you're speaking and something no one understands, and then you're going to interpret it. But why couldn't you just say it? You know what I'm saying? If it's meant to be understood, if you're praying in a tongue in order for it to be understood, why couldn't you just speak it in English then, or in the language of the church so that people, and Paul's going to kind of make a similar case to that. What good is it if no one understands it? So then the question is, is when someone gives an interpretation, did they have that gift of interpretation, or are they just trying to, you know, I've seen it before where it's almost like a show off thing, where someone tries to speak out loud in a tongue, and then they individually interpret it, which you could make the case for that here in this chapter. But it almost is like, see, I've got this gift of tongues and see, I can interpret it, and I haven't found it to be edifying, because I have a lot of questions with the person many times doing that. I've seen some questionable character with it. So I would, I would encourage, because Paul's saying desire that if someone has that gift, what by the way, back to 1 Corinthians 12, you haven't been there, God gives to each one just as he determines, so not everyone's going to even do these things, are all prophets, are all do all prophesy, do all speaking tongues, 1 Corinthians 12, the answer is no. All right, let's keep moving. For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God. So I want to make sure you heard that, because I'm making the case that speaking in tongues could be a private prayer time between you and God, if God were to gift you with that, and it says one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God. That's one of the evidences in this chapter. For no one understands, but in his spirit, he speaks mysteries. But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation. Now, that gets back to the definition that I've given you earlier regarding prophecy, that it can be just teaching inspired by God, people speaking, and God is with his Holy Spirit helping them, making them prophetic, not necessarily telling in the future, but edifying, exhorting, and consolation. Paul loves that. Paul wants to see that in the church. One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself. See, so there again, back to something that's more personal and personal between God versus public, but one who prophesies edifies the church. So one who speaks and teaches and exhorts and corrects, maybe foretells, that edifies the church. Now, I wish that you all spoke in tongues. Now, that's interesting, isn't it? Back to the people who are cessationists. He's saying, I wish you all did this. Now, it's not up to Paul. Even though he's saying, I wish you all, that's not up to Paul. It's up to God because God gives to each one just as he determines. He's saying, oh, it would be great if you all had this gift, but you're not all going to have it, because that's what God said. But even more that you would prophesize, he's like, I wish you'd all prophesied, but everyone's not going to do that either. But he wishes that were the case, but that he's not God. And greater is the one who prophesies than the one who speaks in tongues. So the one who utters forth things in a language people can understand to correct and teach under divine inspiration is more valuable in God's kingdom than speaking in tongues. So sometimes we marvel or talk so much about this gift because of the error of it, honestly, that we make too much of it because it's listed as the last gift when all the gifts are listed. So even though we're talking about it today, because it's talked about in this chapter, and we're talking about it because there's so much error regarding the teaching of tongues, sometimes even in correcting the error, we end up talking about it too much in that sense, because it's not the most significant gift. So anyways, unless let me go back. Now, I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy, and greater is the one who prophesies than the one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may receive edifying. Now, I've talked about that. If a tongue was spoken out loud, which you have to be very careful of that, it's supposed to be interpreted so that the church would understand what's being said, but then why wouldn't you just say it, you know, in my view? But now brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching, yet even lifeless things, either the 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, for if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? Because that would be what a bugle was used for. And he's saying, but what if you misinterpreted it? What if it didn't sound like it's supposed to sound? So also, you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? He's saying, you know, speaking a tongue out loud really doesn't make much sense because no one understands what's being said, for you will be speaking into the air. There are perhaps a great many kinds of languages in the world, of course, there are and no kinds without meeting. So every every language means something to the people who speak that language. If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will I will be able, okay, if then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a barbarian. And the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me. I mean, if we don't understand each other, what good is it? We can't even speak to each other. So also you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church. That's the purpose of our gifts is to is for the common good of everybody. So, you know, let's let's seek to be of common good to the body of Christ. Therefore, let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. So again, doing it without interpretation makes no sense at all out loud. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. Now, this is back to the private prayer language that Paul making the case for here. See, he says, for if I pray in a tongue. So again, he's speaking in a tongue through prayer or he's he's talking about that. For if I pray in a tongue and he's saying, yes, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. My mind might not know what's going on, but I'm praying in the spirit, you may call it. But again, that would be for private that wouldn't be for public. What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also. I will sing with the spirit and I'll sing with the mind also. Otherwise, if you bless now, this would be out loud. If you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fulfills the place of the ungifted say they amen at your giving of thanks since he does not know what you are saying? For you are not for you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified. And I remember, you know, that I've had, by the way, I don't have the gift of speaking in tongues. If God gives it to me, great, but I know a lot of people who do or I've been around a lot of people who have, you know, but this one sweet lady was coming to our church and give you an example many years ago, it wasn't even in this building, in a previous building, and she would pray in tongues. And I had no problem with that, you know, I had same understanding that as I have now. And we had a prayer room at that church like I do now where we get in the room and we pray before church. And this woman, she liked to pray, which was great. And she would come in and pray with me before church. And I always encourage people to come in and pray with me before church. But she'd almost always speak in tongues. And week after week after week, she's coming in. And for the most part, she's praying in a tongue where I can hear her in prayer in the prayer room. And eventually, I said to her like, you know what, I really don't know what you're saying. It's not really being edifying to me because you're just praying in a tongue and it wasn't long after she was no longer going to the church. But it was true. It wasn't edifying because I had no idea what she was saying. I wish she would say something that was understandable to me so that I could give an amen to the things that she was praying. I have seen people very softly were in a sense, they're praying in a tongue, but they're not even trying to be heard. That's not really what this person was doing. And I guess the easy question, if that's good and right or not, if you're in a group and someone's quietly praying in a tongue, I don't have a problem with it. As long as they're not seeking attention for themselves and if they're being edified personally through their prayer and they're not really doing it so that it's to be interpreted or that people can hear it. But you know, you can hear it. So listen, I'm not opposed to people praying in tongues. I'm not opposed to the speaking in tongues because I'm not a cessationist, but I don't think it's really meant for public. I think it's meant for private prayer. Now, could there be an instance where someone speaks in a tongue and it's interpreted for public use? Yes, that's in the Bible here. So we have to say, yes to that. However, I have seen it done in my view improperly more than I've seen it done properly. All right. I thank God, Paul says, verse 18, 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 rather than 10,000 words in a tongue. So Paul spoke in tongues, but he's saying in the church in public with other people, I'd rather speak something that people understand versus speaking 10,000 words in a tongue, because what good does it? I want to do that. I can do it at home with the Lord. I'm inserting that, but that's that's primarily what I think Paul is saying here. Brethren, do not be children in your thinking. Remember, this church was a church of disorder and Paul's trying to bring order, yet an evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. In the law, it is written by men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers, I will speak to this people. And even so, they will not listen to me. Paul's quoting an Old Testament passage there from Isaiah, excuse me, says the Lord, so then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers, but prophecy is a sign, not to unbelievers, but to those who believe. Therefore, if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, an ungifted man or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? And that's why that's another reason why we don't do it, you know, out loud in church, because it people are going to not look at it finally. But if all prophesy, meaning they speak four things from God, they rebuke, they correct, they teach, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convinced by all, he is called to account by all, the secret of his heart is close, and so he will fall in his face and worship God declaring that God is certainly among you. Now, what that is, you know, that happens a lot where people come to church, and it's like, I felt like that was meant for me today, like I needed to hear that, it says, though God crafted a message for me, you'll have people come up and tell you that, and that's because God set them up, you know, what the pastor didn't know, but the pastors preaching forth what God inspired them to speak, and some individual or individuals in the church are hearing it because they needed to hear that that day, and that's prophecy, that's speaking forth God's divine word, and it's touching people in a spiritual manner, Hallelujah. Now, this is a really interesting thing here. What is the outcome then, brethren? Now, typically in a culture that was very male leadership focused, Paul is thinking of his audience, and although women are going to be instructed by all this, men are the emphasis of the Bible's teaching because that's just the way that it was back then, so that's not to mean that all of this is not for women, it is, but what's happened is many of your Bibles, you might be looking at a Bible right now that says, what is the outcome than brothers and sisters, and that's not what the original word said, but I'm going to share with you in a little bit how that's being used incorrectly today, because you're told that this Bible is inspired by God, and it is, but the fact is that not all translations are equal and not all are good, so what happens is as someone sees that and says, oh, see, Paul's writing specifically to women, or he's writing to women, it says right there, brothers and sisters, well, that's not even the original Bible that someone's putting in their own, they're making the Bible more wool, they're making the Bible more liberal, they're making the more Bible gender neutral, and I know women, at times the Old Testament and even the beginning of the New Testament culture wasn't maybe what you would have wanted it to be, but nonetheless, we don't have a right to change the words of the Bible, and then it's being used to misinterpret the Bible, so anyways, we'll get back to that in a moment. Verse 26, "But when you assemble, each one has a Psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, and has a tongue," so what happens is when you insert brothers and sisters there, and then someone reads that, then they say, see, Paul's talking to the women, and that's a weak case. Now, I'm not trying to relegate women in any sense, I'm talking about Bible translation here and how people are mistranslating the Bible, and then using their mistranslation to reinterpret the Bible the way they want, that's a problem. When you assemble, each one has a Psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation, let all things be done for edification, and you know what, Paul is saying that they're supposed to be more body life in the church. We've attempted to do this off and on over the years, you know, we've got about a 200-person church and two services, and at times we'd get done with we'd get done with the service, and then we'd allow for people to comment in the church. And, you know, it does say here that when you come together, it doesn't have to be just solo pastor doing the thing, and no one else participates. Obviously, that can get hard or more difficult, the larger you be, and can allow for disorder, which Paul didn't want, but even though Paul was trying to bring order to the church, he's still saying here, you know, that's part of the body life is people bringing contribution to the body, and I think we probably air not doing more of that today. All right, verse 27, "If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by tool or at most three, and each in turn and one must interpret, but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church, and then here again, listen carefully, and let him speak to himself into God." That's at least three instances where we see that tongue speaking can be something that's done between an individual and God and not for public use. And what it's saying here, or in prayers, is the case that I'm making. What's being said here is that it should not be done out loud unless you interpret, and again, that, even though that can be done where you speak a tongue out loud and you interpret it, I don't really know why that's necessary because once you interpret it, you could simply just say it in the language that it's in. Therefore, I think public speaking of tongues is not well advised, and it'd be better to use it as a time of prayer between you and God. However, you know, if someone all of a sudden spoke in a tongue at our church, I mean, if someone rightfully interpreted that immediately, and we saw an act of God happen, we'd have to say, "Well, praise God." But I tell you what, if someone spoke in a tongue out loud and there was no interpretation, we'd have to go to that person who spoke and say, "Listen, it'd be better off if you kept silent and spoke between you and God." All right, verse 29, "Let two or three prophets speak and let others pass judgment." So by the way, prophets are supposed to be tested. Words shared as though they're being inspired from God, you got to test everything, including what I teach, it needs to be tested. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent, where you can all prophesy one by one so that all may learn and all may be exhorted. We should be doing everything orderly. We don't need to be talking over each other and that kind of a thing. In the spirit of the prophets are subject to prophets, for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace as in all the churches of the saints. So things need to be done orderly. We need to examine what's being said. One of the things that you'll have a problem with in charismatic churches is anytime someone says, "God said this, God said that," everyone just celebrates as though everything is truly from God. And I can tell you that's just not the case, because there's a lot of false prophets. There always has been, there always will be, and that's why things need to be tested. And you don't immediately celebrate some kind of word of God, as though it really is the word of God, because it may not be. So yes, you're supposed to test the prophetic word. All right, now we get to a challenging passage. We'll do our best with it. The women are to keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but our subject themselves, just as the law also says, if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. Was it from you that the word of God first went forth, or has it come to you only? All right, so this passage is asking women or constructing women to keep silent in the churches. Let me give a couple of comments on this. One is that in this church of disorder that's using tongues and prophecy out of order, Paul is asking for the women to keep silent. Was it because of the fact that there was so much disorder in the church, and maybe even disorder among women, that he's asking them to be silent? That is possible. Does it mean that a woman, when she enters the doors of the church, is not supposed to speak the whole time? You know, the church is used for a lot more than just teaching. We have fellowship, we pray for one another, we encourage one another, and no, I don't believe women need to be quiet in a church that they are there to edify the body as well. Now, a lot of times, what we do is we take a look at what something said in context, and this was dealing with prophecy in tongues, and it's saying, hey, women should not be exercising that gift in the public body, like on a Sunday morning, we might say. Paul seems to make the case here that it's more blanketed than that versus something specific. So, I would say that at times, we probably compromise this scripture, and what I'm trying to tell you is, I do too, and I'm allowing for that. Could there be the case that in that culture, women were relegated, perhaps, what was custom to them at that time, more than they should have been, and now today, we see the gifts of women, and we allow for their contribution of their gifts more so than they did in the past. And I would say, yes, that's what's happening today, and that's probably the perception of most pastors, including myself. However, here again, is one of those instances where we're compromising the clear instruction of God's Word, and that's a dangerous thing to do. I just told you what I believe, but I'm just telling you that it's a dangerous thing to do because it's a slippery slope, and once you start on this slope of saying, well, this is what the Word says, but we're going to compromise it a little bit, then you'd say, well, how far are you going to go in compromising? Now, we talked about this as far as a woman's head covering, and Paul said that he prefers that they have their hair covered with a head covering, and we've reinterpreted that today to say, listen, that's something they did culturally. I don't wear the clothes that the men wore then as well. And what we say is, we still think men should be, you know, husbands should be the leaders of their homes, and that women should dress conservatively and modestly, in particular in the church, but even in life, a Christian woman should, you know, men have a lot of problems with the lust of their eyes. We don't need to contribute to that by dressing seductively, and a lot of people do today. I mean, obviously not in the church, not in our church, but, you know, around the world. And so anyways, that's how we've kind of reinterpreted that. Is it a little bit where we've gotten away from the strict adherence to God's word? Yes. And I would say that's an area that we have bent a little bit, and this is an area that I've bent a little bit to, and that doesn't mean we're going to bend in all areas, and we have to really be careful on this. I want to take you to another passage, and then we're going to get back to verse Corinthians. But in 1 Timothy chapter 2, let me pick it up in verse 9. It says, "Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly, and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works as is proper for women making a claim to godliness." So, again, we would take that today just for women to seek to be conservative in their appearance. A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness, but I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. Now, when we take all of these things, what's being said in 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2, what we say is that, yes, a woman can speak, yes, a woman has gifts, those gifts can be used, but that it is important that we have male leadership in our churches, and that women are not exercising authority over men in the church. And we've used that as a general principle or rule, and we are a little bit more lenient on women using their gifts in the church to serve God. Now, listen, there's a lot of places where women can have authority. They sometimes lead worship. They sometimes will lead in women's ministry, in maybe youth ministry because they're older than the youth or in children's ministry. And I think that's all appropriate for women to use their gifts to lead, to teach in all of those areas. And we've even had ministry where maybe a couple is going to co-teach something because it's about relationships or whatever, or it just would be very beneficial to have a woman helping in that regard to give a womanly perspective. And we allow for that as well. But we don't have women pastors in the church. We don't have women preachers. We don't have women elders. That's nowhere to be found in the scriptures. And that's the problem, see, is once we start bending a little bit, then people just take it further. And that's what happens with culture all the time. So we've kind of established where we lay on these things. And I feel comfortable with where we're at. But there'll be some who are more conservative than we and say you're getting away from the Word of God. I'm very sensitive to that because if you know me, I care about the Word of God very much. But nonetheless, that's where we're at. So I would take a look at first Corinthians and women not speaking to be a little bit more culturally about the topic that was taking place there. And that was the incorrect use of tongues and prophecy. And he's saying that I would prefer that they remain more silent in those situations so that there would be order in the church. All right, let's move on. Verse 36, "Was it from you that the Word of God first went forth?" And obviously the answer to that is no. Or has it come or has it come to you only? Anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commands. You might recall there are some things that Paul said that this came from me and not from the Lord, but he's saying the things he's talked about here in 1 Corinthians 14 are coming from the Lord. But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. So Paul is emphasizing that his teaching there is, you know, of the Lord. "Therefore my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy and do not forbid to speak in tongues." So that's really interesting. God, you know, Paul wants us and this is inspired by God to desire earnestly to prophesy. So that's the one he really wants us to be earnest in desiring. And then he said, "Do not forbid speaking in tongues." Now again, public, there needs to be interpretation, but back to the cessationists, it's just the case is not real good for cessationism if you're actually trying to rightly interpret the Word of God. And I realize there are good people that I love that are seeking to honor God and they, I think one of the reasons for cessationism is because of so much air in the area of gifts of the Spirit, tongues and things of this nature, that they're just like, you know what, it's better to just have it be seized because then we don't have to deal with the error of it. But I think the problem with that is then you're limiting what God can do. And I don't want the air either, but I don't want to put limits on God. I don't think it's up for us to put limits on God. But all things, listen, what he says here, all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner. And that's really what Paul's been getting at in the last three chapters is that they were getting ahead of themselves in Corinth and he wants all this to be done in an orderly manner. Well, I hope this teaching was edifying to you. Some of these are rather challenging. I do the best I can with the Holy Spirit as my aid. God bless you all. [ Silence ]