1 Corinthians Chapter 14 - INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPHECY AND TONGUES WITHIN THE CHURCH

[Dr. Henry, President of the AOCI]

CHAPTER 14 – INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPHECY AND TONGUES WITHIN THE CHURCH

Vs. 1 Paul shifts his message from Love being the guiding motivation for the practice of the biblical gifts to giving instructions on the gifts of tongues and prophecy. The reason for this is that the Corinithian church were using and abusing these gifts the most. In addition, because tongues is or may be the “usual” sign or the initial evidence to receiving the baptism in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit himself choose to clear up some misunderstandings of these gifts but many of these principles can be applied to other gifts as well. Paul make it clear here that Christians should not despise or neglect spiritual gifts. Later he says that the use of these gifts is commanded by the LORD (Vs 37). Paul understood that there would be Christians who would deny the validity of the gifts in the church age so he instructs us NOT TO PUSH THESE TRUTHS ON CHRISTIANS WHO DID NOT BELIEVE IN THE GIFTS. Paul says to allow them to continue in ignorance (Vs. 38). On the other hand, there is a pitfall for Christians who believe that the gifts are for today and that tongues is the initial sign for receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. By the way, some would say that the miracle of Pentecost in Acts 2:4 was the miracle of hearing but this is not scriptural. Peter addressed the crowd as Men and brethren and was not speaking in tongues but in the common universal language which all fourteen nations had learned. They would not be going to a feast if no one understood. Most of these people were Jewish with a few proselytes, but they too would have been instructed in the Hebrew language. So the people there heard the 120 speaking in different languages, praising and worshiping God. But when Peter stood up to prophecy he did it in a language that all understood. Tongues were not used her to preach the gospel. When the predominantly Jewish crowd came to Jerusalem for the great day of feast (Pentecost), they gathered and were baffled by the early Christians who were Galileans speaking praises to God in languages of far-off countries. Some also heard a language they could not understand as they accursed the disciples of being drunk. These languages were the languages of Angels. It is interesting that since the beginning of the world, it is recorded that there were an estimated 20,000 different languages and dialects of which 15,500 have died out (C.F.Voegelin, New York: Elsevier, 1977-Classification and Index of the World’s Languages). Now the pitfall for most Pentecostal and charismatic Christians is to give over emphasis on these gifts and neglect the other disciplines and teachings of Scripture. Indeed you see many unbalances within Pentecostal and Spirit Filled congregations. This is why Paul tells the Corinthian church to pray and desire the gifts of Prophecy and the interpretation of tongues instead of just using tongues without interpretation. Prophecy here again refers to speaking God’s truths as revealed in the Bible in an intelligible language to the church and/or individual. NO CHRISTIAN SHOULD CLOSE THE DOOR ON THE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. TO DO SO LIMITS A CHRISTIANS ARSENAL IN DAILY SPIRITUAL WARFARE. It was actually a growing worldliness in the church that caused the gifts to stop flowing through the local churches and not biblical teaching. Although the gifts died out over the next several centuries after the foundation of the church, there where periodic revivals that experienced the supernatural gifts taking us to 1901 where the gifts began to flow back in and through the church. Nothing that is of God can be stopped by man.
Vs. 2-5 Notes: (I want to be clear about the gift of tongues as we explore these instructions: First, you don’t have to “speak in tongues” to be saved or to be a Christian. Second, you don’t have to speak in tongues in order to have times of feeling filled (refreshed) in the Spirit. But if you want the free and full outpouring (overflowing) of the Holy Spirit, you must ask for the baptism in the Holy Spirit which will be initially (normally) evidenced by tongues (of men or angels). When ever the Spirit of God is allowed to move and people get hungry for the things of God, revival often follows with the manifestations of the gifts. Examples of some church leaders who experienced the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in history include St. Patrick of Ireland, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Francis Xavier, St. Teresa of Avila, the early Quakers, the early Methodists, the Waldensians, Charles Finney, D.L.Moody, and early church leader Tertullian. In fact, there are thousands of Christian leaders in virtually all denominations who testify that they have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues, yet they are not bold about it for fear of prejudice and fear of losing their positions within their denominational institutions. (read my other commentary as to why I believe that tongues is normally the initial sign for receiving the baptism in the spirit. Again we do not have to divide on this issue. We can have internal debates which I feel are healthy (as iron sharpens iron) but this does not mean we cannot maintain unity and rally on the central and essential teachings of scripture and on worshipping and loving Jesus. Internal debates? Yes. Division and dis-unity? NO!)
Vs. 2 Tongues are prayer, praise, worship, and adoration to God. The Spirit of God merges with your spirit. You then are praying to God in His divine will and expressing your worship to Him through your spirit (Rom. 8:26). This gift overrides your intellect. This verse as well as verse 14 describes the gift of tongues differently from Acts 2:4 in order to solidify the fact that tongues are both earthly and heavenly languages. Meaning that the biblical gift of Tongues can be a human language or it can be a heavenly language. This supports what Paul said in chapter 13 verse 1 (though I speak with the tongues of men or angels). Mysteries are those truths that are revealed in the written word of God. These mysteries ARE NOT NEW REVELATIONS WHICH ARE NOT CONTAINED IN SCRIPTURE ALREADY.
Vs 3 The gift of Prophecy will always strengthens you in faith, builds your faith, develops and confirms your faith, encourages awakens you, helps you to move forward in faithfulness and love, comforts, cheers, revives, stirs hope and expectation, and will sometimes challenge you to pursue God’s will within your life. THE GIFT OF PROPHECY NEVER ESTABLISHES NEW DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH BUT HELPS TO CLARIFY SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS REVEALS IN THE BIBLE AND HELPS THE HEARER APPLY THESE TRUTHS.
Vs. 4-5 Speaking in tongues builds up the individual Christians faith and walk but prophesying builds up the church. PAUL IS NOT SAYING THAT TONGUES IS LESS SUPERNATURAL THAN PROPHECY OR THAT TONGUES IS INFERIOR TO PROPHECY. SIMPLY THAT PROPHECY IS TO BE “PREFERRED” BECAUSE IT BUILDS UP THE CHURCH. Yet Paul wants the Corinthians to “CONTINUE” to speak in tongues but to pursue prophecy for the edification of the church as well as the gift of interpretation of tongues which serves as prophecy to the church. Again, please remember that Paul is addressing the overuse of tongues without interpretation but he is not denying them nor does he want to quench them from the local assembly.
Vs. 6-9 Paul now makes a strong argument for the need of interpretation of tongues.
Vs. 10-13 Paul continues to instruct on the need for interpretation of tongues within the local Church. The Corinthians were right in responding to the spirit of God and manifesting the gifts. Paul commends these early Christians for their zeal and desire for spiritual gifts. Paul was instructing toward those gifts which would build up the local Church.
Vs. 14-17 Praying in the Spirit (tongues) is an effective way to avoiding the tendency for prayer to deteriorate into mere ritual. Praying in the Spirit is a great way to offer praise and worship to God, build yourself up in your faith, and ensure that you are praying in the will of God. (see Jude 20). Using the gift of tongues is one of the ways for you to pray in the Spirit but not the only way. By this I mean that you can use the gift of tongues to pray in the spirit in the divine will of God. If you pray in a known language and it is in direct agreement with Scripture, this also classifies as praying in the Spirit. Amen comes form the Hebrew and means “surely”. Amen means that once accepts something as being true or valid. Paul is making the case for the local Church to worship in one accord, with everyone joining in, with everyone united in heart, mind, soul, and spirit. We have control whether we speak aloud or keep quiet when the Spirit tells us something. Therefore, if we interrupt a service. we're responsible. not the Holy Spirit (v. 32).
Vs. 18-19 Paul here affirms the gift of tongues for personal devotions and worship but goes back to emphasize the principle of love in the exercise of the gifts.
Vs. 20 Just like the Corinthian church needed to accept what Paul was teaching on the gifts of the Spirit, so do we need to accept what the Bible says about the gifts and how to exercise them. Paul knew some would be angry and some would find fault in his teaching. The mature Christian is willing to give up the lesser for the greater, to turn from faulty teaching and religious presuppositions and turn to what is biblical. IT TAKES A MATURE CHRISTIAN TO RECEIVE TEACHING IN THE BIBLICAL GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT AND ESPECIALLY TO MINISTER THEM IN THE “MORE EXCELLENT WAY” – L O V E. If Paul expected this from the Corinthians, God also expects this standard from us.
Vs. 26 The first rule for church services is that everything should build up Christ.
Vs. 27-33 Paul here gives some suggestions for orderly services.
Vs. 34-35 The men and women were separated and seated on either side of the assembly during services. The women were calling to their husbands to ask questions during the service. so Paul asked the women to wait until they were home to discuss the message.
Vs. 40 The second rule of the church services is that everything be done with dignity and order.

[Dr. Henry, President of the AOCI]

Rev. Dockrey, I was just re-reading your provided commentary and it is inspirational! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful experiences with the Holy Spirit (which can be found in our Holy Bible). Our experiences are a wonderful thing but we must line up our experiences with what is contained in the written word and you have done just that.

The error which most classical pentecostal fall under (as I have come to know and it is purely my opinion) is that "all" experiences are said to have come from our LORD or the Holy Spirit. This is where we as spirit filled people of God must make the decision to interpret experiences in light of the written word.

Thank you again for your wonderful complementary testormy of the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. God bless you, your family, and your wonderful ministry.

[Chaplain Janet Marston-McGregor]

AMEN!

[Christopher R. Dockrey]

Dr. Henry, excellent commentary as usual! I have to say, though, I'm not so surprised that this one hasn't received any comments. For reasons not fully understood to me, the present-day reality of the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking with other tongues continues to be a hot-button issue for many Christians - many of whom (unfortunately in my opinion) have bought into cessationism.

Because you have done such an excellent job explaining what Paul wrote on the subject, and because I have not the desire nor ability to do a better job, I will add a personal testimony of something that occurred this past Wednesday. While I would never ask someone to accept something on the basis of a personal testimony alone, I think that I might be able to complement what you have written in the way of theology.

A young man who has visited our church many times with his mother has been resisting the Holy Spirit. God has been wrestling with his heart, but he has not yielded. Though it seems evident to me and others that the grace of God rests upon him for a specific purpose in the mind of God, he has rebelled and has been involved in gangs and God knows what else. Wednesday my pastor called this young man forward because God had something to say to him. Remaining sensitive to this myself, I gave a message in tongues out of my spirit directed to this young man and my pastor interpreted it. The end of the interpretation said that God was going to fill him with the Holy Spirit. Directly afterward my pastor laid hands on him and he began to speak fluently in a language unknown to him. God's power rested upon him in a powerful way and he began to weep as God made Himself known to him in an intimate and personal way.

I understand that many of you, having not been exposed to this operation of the Spirit might be skeptical. There's no crime in that. I would only encourage you to search the Scriptures and ask the Lord about it. That's how I received the experience of being filled with the Spirit evidenced by tongues. It was just me and God. And I can tell you that it has been one of the most valuable experiences subsequent to my salvation. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Like the Apostle Paul, I am fanatical about speaking in tongues in my private devotion - not so that I may make a spectacle of myself, but so that I might edify myself and pray those divine mysteries that only God knows by the Holy Spirit.

Let me just share one more quick testimony. Once I was in a prayer meeting where a group of fellow Bible school students were praying in tongues. (Note that this was a private prayer meeting and not a worship service where the "ignorant" and "unlearned" might have come in thinking we were nuts.) Later that day an Ethiopian friend of mine told me that her friend, also Ethiopian, heard me praying in Amharic. I didn't even know such a language existed. I could tell of many other similar stories that are the testimonies of others.