Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

Daily Encouragement for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek

1 December 2024

Reading From I Corinthians 12-14

The Apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 12:1, “Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.”  And in 14:1, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy” This tells me that spiritual gifts are important in the church and that we are encouraged by the Apostle Paul to learn more about the movement of the Spirit in our midst.  I would like to learn more about this subject, and I pray that is your desire as well.  The gifts of tongues and interpretation is listed among others in verse 10.  All the way through the end of the chapter, our brother Paul describes how each member of the Body of Christ functions with different kinds of gifts and how we all work together. 

               “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”  The Love Chapter begins with this revelation that it is possible for believers to speak in earthly and heavenly languages.  In fact, many disciples who function in the gift of tongues have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and began to speak fluently in earthly languages in which they have had no education whatsoever except divine inspiration, as in the case of Agnes Ozman in 1901.  Others are given a heavenly prayer language.  Chapter 13 ends with a beautiful picture of Heaven where most spiritual gifts will no longer be needed, but faith, hope and love will abide.

               Chapter 14 goes into more detail about the specific gift of tongues.  “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.”  From this passage, along with Acts 2 and Romans 8, we find that there are different modes of the gift of tongues.  I Corinthians 12:10 says there are different kinds of tongues. 

1. An initial evidence that someone has been baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4).  From I Corinthians 12:27-31 we know that not everyone functioning in the Spirit speaks in other tongues and that power and passion for ministry are the primary evidence for having been baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-8, Acts 10:44-46).  But in Acts 2 and Acts 10 they began to speak in other tongues when the Spirit came upon them.
2. A prayer language for both personal communion with the Lord and to be used when in need of the Spirit’s guidance in prayer (I Corinthians 14:2, 28, Romans 8:26-27)
3. A gift to be used within the context of the congregation in which a message is given in the Spirit and then an interpretation is given to the congregation in their native language.  (I Corinthians 12:10, 30; 14:5, 13)
4. A missional gifting.  In Acts 2 people heard the church members declaring the wonders of God in their own languages and 3,000 were saved when Peter explained what was going on.  In I Corinthians 13:1 Paul tells us this gift can be in an earthly or heavenly language.  On the day of Pentecost some heard earthly languages, others thought they were drunk.  They all heard the same noises.  Apparently those who were meant to hear the message heard it, as was the case with the parables of Jesus.

I Corinthians 14 goes into great detail of different modes of this gift.  For this reason, I would like to study it in detail with you.  Scripture quotes are interspersed with bullet points containing my own observations and emphasis.

Intelligibility in Worship

14 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. ² For anyone who speaks in a tongue^[g] does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 

• This is the personal prayer language mode of the gift.  The person is communing with God and speaking mysteries by the Spirit.

³ But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. ⁴ Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵ I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,^[h] but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues,^[i] unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.

• The gift of tongues becomes prophesy when it is accompanied by an interpretation.  This makes it beneficial to the congregation and to seekers.

⁶ Now, brothers and sisters, 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? ⁷ Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? ⁸ Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. ¹¹ If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. ¹² So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.

¹³ For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say.

• The person who speaks in a tongue can also be the one who interprets the tongue

 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.

• When a person prays in a tongue, their spirit prays.  It is spiritually edifying.  Paul advocates praying with the spirit, singing with the spirit, but also praying and singing with our minds, presumably in our native language and in the native language of those who hear us. Both are beneficial. 

 ¹⁶ Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer,^[j] 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.

• One can give thanks in tongues and this glorifies God and edifies the one who is giving thanks.

¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

• Paul spoke in tongues, a lot, apparently.  He also wanted other believers to do so, as we found in 14:5.

 ¹⁹ But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

²⁰ Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. ²¹ In the Law it is written:

“With other 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.”^[k]

²² Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. ²³ So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

• Out of your mind or in the case of Acts 2, drunk with wine.

 ²⁴ But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, ²⁵ as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

• This is why prophesy and tongues accompanied by interpretation in the native language of the congregation and the seekers is so powerful.

Good Order in Worship

²⁶ What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. ²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. ²⁸ If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.

• This is in the context of the public worship service of the congregation.  Two or three messages in tongues are acceptable but they must be interpreted so that the congregation is built up.  Otherwise it should be used as a personal prayer language between the believer and God.

²⁹ Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. ³⁰ And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. ³¹ For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.

• Paul and the Corinthian Church want to hear from God through prophetic messages.  This brings order to that experience so that people are encouraged.

 ³² The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.

• We are to exercise self control (part of the fruit of the Spirit) even as we are conduits of the Spirit Himself.

 ³³ For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.

• We are natural, finite beings and God is supernatural and infinite.  God’s order is different from the world’s ideas about order.  God has given us guidelines, rules, commandments to provide us with direction and enable us to dwell in peace and harmony.  We need to let the Spirit have His Way and not quench the Spirit.

³⁴ Women^[l] should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. ³⁵ If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

• This opens a broader subject of the roles of women in the church.  I believe this is addressing problems specific to situations and personalities in churches in Corinth for many reasons, but as to my letter’s subject of the movement of the Spirit of God, Joel 2:28 tells us that our sons AND daughters will prophesy, this is echoed in Acts 2:17.  How can this be if women are not allowed to speak in church?

³⁶ Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? ³⁷ If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. ³⁸ But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.^[n]

³⁹ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰ But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

I Thessalonians 5:19-22 encourages and warns us, “Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”

The sons and daughters of the Most High God need to hear from Him.  We need His wisdom and direction for our lives.  However He chooses to communicate with us, we have a written record of His revelations compiled by the ancient prophets and apostles to guide us in testing the spirits and using discernment to know what is from Him, what is from mankind, and what is from Satan.  The Holy Spirit of the Living God is speaking to us.  May we be ready and willing to listen.