1
Corinthians 14
Tuesday,
July 25, 2017
We
have to remember as we read this chapter, that the Corinthian church was
struggling with conflict. And we need to
remember that what we read in the previous chapters, still holds true – the gifts
we have been given, are meant to build the Church, not tear it apart.
We
should never try to force someone to use a gift they were never given. Nor should we feel unworthy because we have
not been given a more desirable gift. We
are many parts, as Paul reminded us in 12:7-11.
“All of these are the work of one
and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” (1
Cor. 12:11, emphasis mine).
We
also need to remember that we are unified and diversified members of the body
of Christ.
1 Corinthians 14:13-17New International Version (NIV)
13 For this
reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what
they say. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but
my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what
shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my
understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my
understanding. 16 Otherwise when you are
praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the
position of an inquirer,[a] say “Amen” to your
thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are
giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.
Paul has spent a great deal
of time teaching about speaking in tongues in this chapter and the best way I
can explain it after doing some digging, is like this; you cannot go into a
small or large group of people and begin using Morse Code and expect the people
there to understand it. Speaking in
tongues is a one-way language between you and God. It’s a supernatural communication between you
and God.
Paul then addresses the
order of worship. It’s really comes down
to being respectful. Just like verse 33
says, “For God is not a God of disorder
but of peace – as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.”
In
the Corinthian culture, women were not allowed to confront men in public. Apparently some of the women who had become
Christians thought that their Christian freedom gave them the right to question
the men in public worship. This was
causing division in the church. We may
be offended to read verses 34-35, but as I studied this chapter, Paul was using
the ancient Greek verb laleo, which
means, “to talk, question, argue, profess or chatter.” Alan Redpath puts it this way, “It has
nothing to do with prophecy or prayer; it’s not public speaking as such.”
In
Jewish synagogues, men and women sat separately, so imagine how disruptive it
would be if a woman called out from across the room to address her husband. Paul is reminding women to discuss the matter
alone at home with their husbands.
God
is a God of order and peace, and He wants order when the Church comes
together. When the gifts of the Spirit
are given an unscriptural focus, it discredits the true work of the Holy
Spirit, and often leads people to deny the gifts because they see unbiblical
excess. However, the order should always
be the order of the living, not the dead!
Some have cultivated an atmosphere of gloom and depression; “But everything should be done in a
fitting and orderly way.” (v. 40)
“Why, brethren, true praise sets the heart ringing
its bells, and hanging out its streamers.
Never hang your flag at half-mast when you praise God; no, run up every
color, let every banner wave in the breeze, and let all the powers and passions
of your spirit exult and rejoice in God your Savior. They rejoiced. We are most horribly afraid of being too
happy. Some Christians think
cheerfulness a very dangerous folly, if not a ruinous vice.” (Charles Spurgeon)