Tuesday, August 21,
2012, 7:23 p.m. – the Lord woke me in the morning with the song “Trust Him.” http://youtu.be/ZMz-qAqocQM I prayed: “Speak,
Lord, for your servant is listening.” Then I read 1 Corinthians 14:1-25 (NIV 1984):
Follow the way of love
and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone
who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one
understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who
prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He
who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the
church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather
have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues,
unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
Now, brothers, if I
come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring
you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Even in
the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how
will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the
notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready
for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your
tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking
into the air. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet
none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what
someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to
me. So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to
excel in gifts that build up the church.
For this reason anyone
who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. For if I
pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I
do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing
with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. If you are praising God with
your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand
say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?
You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.
I thank God that I
speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak
five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Brothers, stop
thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be
adults. In the Law it is written:
“Through men of strange
tongues
and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this
people,
but even then they will not listen to me,”
says the Lord.
Tongues, then, are a
sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for
believers, not for unbelievers. So if the whole church comes together and
everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers
come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever
or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he
will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the
secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God,
exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
The Way of Love
This passage begins
by saying, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts,
especially the gift of prophecy.” The first thing mentioned here is that we
need to “follow the way of love.” The passage in I Corinthians 13 teaches us
that if we speak in tongues or we prophesy, et al, but we don’t have love, that
we are nothing; we are like a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal, i.e. it is
just a bunch of noise. Then, it says that love is patient, kind, not
self-seeking, and does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth, etc.
So, for us to exercise the gifts God has given to us, the prerequisite is that
we follow the way of love laid out for us in this passage in I Corinthians 13
and in the rest of the Bible.
Then, the passage
says that we should eagerly desire spiritual gifts. To desire something is to
want, yearn, and long for it, to make it a personal ambition, goal and/or
objective, to hope for it, and/or to request or to ask for it. We learned in I
Co. 12 that “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives
them to each one, just as he determines.” So, even though we are to desire
spiritual gifts, it is the Holy Spirit of God who gives the gifts to each one
of us just as he determines. We cannot determine which gifts we will ultimately
receive, yet we are encouraged to desire them, especially the gift of prophecy.
From this passage in
I Corinthians 14, I saw these specific characteristics of the spiritual gift of
prophecy in the New Testament. The person with the gift of prophecy:
- Speaks to men (and women) for their
strengthening, encouragement and comfort
- Edifies (informs; educates; instructs;
and/or improves spiritually) the church
- Gives a clear and distinctive call to
get people ready for spiritual warfare
- Builds up (inspires; gives hope;
nurtures; cultivates; and develops) the church
- Speaks to believers in Jesus Christ
- Convinces of sin
Gift of Prophecy: “A person with this gift, like its Old
Testament counterpart, has a keen awareness of current events and the cultural
implications of not following God’s word. This is important because each church
is made up of people, customs, and circumstances that are different from
others. Prophecy helps us apply the scriptures to where we live. A person with
this gift has a burden to warn of God’s judgment and the need for us to
repent... This gift helps the church live holy in the culture and time that
they are appointed. It rebukes, strengthens and encourages believers. The gift
also helps the church in long-term planning and seeking God for His guidance.” http://spiritualgifts.wordpress.com/2007/06/27/65/
This passage in I
Corinthians 14 also contrasted the spiritual gift of prophecy with the
spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. The person with the gift of tongues:
- Speaks
to God, not to men
- Mutters
mysteries with his spirit
- Edifies
the tongues’ speaker
- Has
a lesser spiritual gift
- Needs
an interpretation of the tongues so that the church can be edified
- Is a
sign for unbelievers
Paul’s reasoning for
making this comparison appears to be that a problem had arisen in the
Corinthian church where the gift of tongues was being elevated above the other
gifts, and where it was being misused within the church meetings. So, Paul gave
these instructions on the gifts, in particular these two gifts, so that the
church would understand the appropriate order of the gifts and the proper usage
of them.
It appears, as well,
that the purpose of the gift of tongues was two-fold: 1) As a sign for
unbelievers, such as we have recorded for us in the book of Acts on the Day of
Pentecost where the people all heard the gospel in their own languages. So, it
was for the spreading of the gospel and for the salvation of people of many languages,
and 2) As a private prayer language between the individual and God.
It had use in
gatherings of the church only if it was followed by interpretation and it
served to edify and to strengthen the church. I Corinthians 14:26-28 said:
What then shall we say, brothers? When you
come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a
tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of
the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should
speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter,
the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.
So, tongues should
not be used in the public gathering of the church unless it is followed by
interpretation and it is for the strengthening of the church. In addition to
that, if anyone speaks in a tongue with interpretation, there should be a limit
on the number of people speaking and they should speak one at a time. There are
many church congregations today where this is not followed and where tongues
are spoken without interpretation, where they are spoken by the masses in the
congregation, and where they are spoken all at once. Also, tongues is elevated
in many of these congregations above all the other gifts and is given a place
of honor as the evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the life of
the believer. This goes against, not only this passage here in I Co. 14, but
other teachings on the gift of tongues throughout scripture where it is taught
as a lesser gift and where it is taught that we do not all have the same gifts.
So, if God has given you this gift, please make certain that you are exercising
it according to the teachings of scripture.
Paul was not against
this gift, nonetheless. In fact, he had this gift and he wished everyone could
speak in tongues (the implication that not all did), but he would rather that
they prophesy so that the church may be edified. One who edifies informs;
educates; instructs; and/or improves spiritually his or her listeners. And,
Paul said that the gift of prophecy is a gift that edifies the church. One of
the reasons for this was that it gives a clear call for battle, i.e. it
prepares us for spiritual warfare against the enemy of our souls and it
prepares us to live out the Christian life as God intended us to live it in
full surrender and obedience to him.
Paul went on to
state that if someone who does not understand or if an unbeliever comes into
our meetings and hears people speaking in tongues they might think that we are
out of our minds. Yet, if they come into our meetings and someone is
prophesying, the listener will be convinced by all that he is sinner, the
secrets of his heart will be laid bare before God, and he will fall down and
worship God. That does not mean that all will respond in this way, as we know
not all do, but rather that the gift of prophecy is one that presents the
sinner with his sin, that calls him to repentance, and that encourages him
toward full surrender of his life to Jesus Christ in all humility and obedience
to God’s commands.
A Clear Call
The Lord used the
teaching from chapter 13 in my life yesterday and today to encourage me to make
certain I am following the way of love in exercising my gifts, and he used this
passage in chapter 14 this morning to encourage me in the gift he has given me,
the gift of prophecy. Whenever I read a description of this gift it majorly jumps
out at me how God has been using me in exactly these ways, these past six years,
in particular. And, that serves to encourage me to persevere in God’s calling
upon my life.
He Touched My Mouth
/ An Original Work / June 13, 2012
Based off Isaiah 6:1-8; Jeremiah 1:4-9
Oh, I saw the Lord
Seated on His throne,
High and lifted up;
Holy is the Lord!
The earth is full
of His glory.
“Woe to me,” I cried,
“I’m of unclean lips.”
My Lord touched my
mouth
With His cleansing
pow’r;
Removed all my guilt,
Paid for by His blood.
He asked, “Whom shall I
send;
Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here am I.
Send me!”
Before I was born,
God set me apart;
He appointed me
To His servant be.
I said, “I don’t know
How to speak.
I am but a child.”
Then, the Lord
replied:
“Do not say to me,
‘I am but a child.’
You must go to all,
And do what I say.
Do not fear them,
For I’m with you.”
My Lord touched my
mouth;
Gave me words to say.
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