1 Corinthians 14:1-25

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
Series: 1 Corinthians (Acts)

Rusty's Notes

PROPHECY: A SUPERIOR GIFT
1 CORINTHIANS 14
1 Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. 2 For the person who speaks in a tongue is not speaking to people but to God, since no one understands him; he speaks mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the person who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation. 4 The person who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 I wish all of you spoke in tongues, but even more that you prophesied. The person who prophesies is greater than the person who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be built up.

• Two divisive spiritual gifts are compared to one another by Paul.
• Tongues allows a person to address God in an unknown language or linguistic configuration of syllables, but the speaker him/herself does not necessarily know what they are saying, and certainly others do not.
• Whereas prophecy, the proclamation of God’s Word in a message directly given by God to an individual, with or without advance preparation, speaks intelligibly to address a whole wide variety of possible human recipients.
• “Tongues edify [oneself],” build up one’s own assurance that God is with one and working in and through one and can bring a great sense of peace and encouragement and love on the part of God’s Spirit, especially in troubled times, especially when, as Rom 8 talks about it, we don’t even know with what words we should pray, and the Spirit prays for us.
• Whereas prophecy immediately edifies others, if the message is truly from God, to encourage, even perhaps to rebuke in a positive way, to communicate important information, to show God’s love and justice and all the other range of His revelatory activities.[1]

6 So now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you with a revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 Even lifeless instruments that produce sounds—whether flute or harp—if they don’t make a distinction in the notes, how will what is played on the flute or harp be recognized? 8 In fact, if the bugle makes an unclear sound, who will prepare for battle? 9 In the same way, unless you use your tongue for intelligible speech, how will what is spoken be known? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different kinds of languages in the world, none is without meaning. 11 Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me. 12 So also you—since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church.
13 Therefore the person who speaks in a tongue should pray that he can interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing praise with the spirit, and I will also sing praise with my understanding.

• Pray and sing with their mind so that they are benefited with understanding as well as a good feeling.[2]

16 Otherwise, if you praise with the spirit, how will the outsider say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may very well be giving thanks, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; 19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

• This is the only time in Paul’s writings that he even hints at speaking in tongues personally.

20 Brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your thinking, but be infants in regard to evil and adult in your thinking.

• In your thinking, function as adults.
• With respect to evil or wickedness, be like children, innocent, at least of certain characteristic adult sins,
• But be fully mature in one’s understanding.[3]

21 It is written in the law,
I will speak to this people
by people of other tongues
and by the lips of foreigners,
and even then, they will not listen to me,,
says the Lord.

• Paul then goes on to quote Isa 28:11–12, which is a context in which foreigners and their unknown languages, the languages that the Israelites do not understand, are a sign of God’s judgment—in context, referring to the Assyrians from the north who are going to invade Israel.[4]

22 Speaking in tongues, then, is intended as a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers.

• This is totally backwards from what Paul was previously saying in verses 1-19.
• But in light of “judgment by God” which is in reference to the verse quoted out of Isaiah…
• Unbelievers won’t be able to speak in tongues.
• Believers will be able to understand prophecy.
• The Corinthians, as we’ve seen throughout this letter, had an unfortunately smug attitude toward numerous issues of Christian growth and maturity and behavior.
• And just as Isaiah had to catch Israel’s attention, so Paul uses the same text, the same principles, the same dynamic to try to shock the Corinthians into attending to these concerns.[5]

23 If, therefore, the whole church assembles together and all are speaking in tongues and people who are outsiders or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is convicted by all and is called to account by all. 25 The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is really among you.” [6]

• Here at Leavener, we have personally tried to remove all the obstacles that would keep nonbelievers from being turned off by religion.
• We meet in a pub.
• Not interested in putting on a show. (no smoke machines or countdown clocks and every minute planned, no pipe and drape)
• Dress casual.
• No hierarchy of leadership
• And no offering
• We don’t do this as a marketing ploy.
• We don’t do this to boast either.
• We just don’t see this as necessary.
• But what we will do every week, is teach from the Word of God for the sake of the believer.
• I’ve always believed that if this community can be real with who they are… and the struggles we have… that outsiders (nonbelievers) would be captivated by the difference we are to the rest of the world.
• The nonbelievers could show up here on a Sunday morning without marketing towards them hear the Good News that is being taught and lived out through this people who are perfect in Christ yet struggle through living in these flesh suits.

 

• Some pastor once defined love as this: “Love is the unconditional giving of the very best we have on behalf of another, regardless of response.”
• And each of those four key parts is crucial.
• We give ourselves unconditionally to others.
• That doesn’t mean we give ourselves to others approving of everything they do, but there is nothing they can do, there are no conditions that we put on our commitment to them.
• And we commit to them the very best we have.
• It’s other-centered and not self-centered; we’re not doing it for some hidden agenda of our own.
• And we continue that self-giving even when it is rejected, even if it’s thrown back in our face; it’s regardless of response.

 

• Using Our Gifts to Build Others Up
• In that spirit of love, how do we use our spiritual gifts?
• Do we go to church?
• Do we participate in Christian gatherings with the goal and the priority of using our gifts to encourage and build others up?
• Or do we go asking what we can get out of the situation?
• Our modern world that does so much church hopping and shopping suggests that way too many people are in it for what they can get out of it, first of all, rather than how they can find a place to best use their gifts.[7]
• Here is the real struggle for newbies to our community:
• You will not be entertained here and provided with a bunch of programming for you to get involved.
• Neither can you ask the question, “How can I get involved and used my spiritual gifts?”
• You might initially become a part of this community because you discovered us in the midst of a crisis.
• This group of people will definitely help people in crisis.
• But at the same time, there is an investment of your own spiritual gifts.
• Have you been checked on lately? I can’t answer that.
• How much checking on have you done of others?
• In this community, you are probably going to get out of it what you put into it… most of the time.
• There will be times when this community does not meet your expectations.
• One of the best areas of ministry with this group is the lack of expectations they have placed on me as the pastor.
• They have discovered they have the same Spirit in them that I have in me.
• They are able to visit, check on, do things for those in need just as well as I can.
• I’m not the only one in here that does weddings and funerals.
• The purpose of the spiritual gifts is to edify and build up the community known as the Church.
• A true Christian is not in it merely for the fire insurance, merely for whatever positive, touchy-feely experiences she or he can get from God, but seeks to identify their spiritual gifts, seeks to exercise them in love, and does so for the building up of the Christian church for the work of God in the world.[8]​

[1] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[5] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 14:1–25). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.