Lesson for September 11, 2022
The Book of I Corinthians
Chapter 14:20-40
Verses 20-25
“Brethren do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. In the Law it is written, “By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,” says the Lord. So then, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe. Therefore, if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.”
What does it mean to be a child in your thinking? Our spiritual thinking is the whole basis of our spiritual growth, our spiritual maturity, and our spiritual worship. Those believers in Corinth who were misusing the spiritual gift of tongues were spiritually immature and doing it from arrogance. Evil was what Paul called the misuse of speaking in tongues.
The true purpose of the gift of tongues is given in verses 21 & 22 from Isaiah 28:11-12. In Isaiah 28 we have the true purpose of tongues as a sign to the Jews prior to the fifth cycle of discipline. It was a warning that the fifth cycle of discipline was coming, and as a sign, it had to include a miracle. The miracle was the fact that the person suddenly had the vocabulary of another language, which he himself did not know or understand.
Verse 22 explains the New Testament application of the gift of tongues. It was for a sign to alert the Jews, a special warning. The gift of tongues was never directed toward believers. It was strictly evangelistic, and it had little merit for believers. The Gospel does not cause believers to grow spiritually. Spiritual growth comes from the understanding and application of accurate Bible doctrine.
Therefore, if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? Here is another hypothetical illustration. In this case, the hypothetical situation involved a church full of believers who were all trying to “develop” the gift of tongues and therefore were all jabbering some unintelligible sound which no one understood (because they did not all have the gift of tongues). In comes a believer without the gift of tongues or unbeliever for the first time into the church service and their conclusion would be that these people were all insane.
But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. Verses 25 points out that prophecy was for believers and unbelievers. An unbeliever would hear the Gospel and be convinced of the truth and believe in Christ (prophecy includes the Gospel). A believer would also hear accurate Bible doctrine and believe it and be edified because he would reason within himself that he had heard the truth and would be convinced of the truth. The result would be that both an unbeliever who heard the Gospel and a believer who heard doctrine would “fall on their faces” (an idiom for reverence) and worship God.
Verses 26-33
“What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret;but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn, and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
The gift of tongues had to be regulated. The principle behind the regulation of the gift of tongues was that there must be order in church services. There must be a regulation so that there was communication of doctrine from those in authority to the rest of the congregation. Remember Corinth was without a pastor at the time Paul wrote to them.
Each one has a psalm was a doctrinal song. Has a teaching was teaching doctrine. Has a revelationwas the exercise of the gift of prophecy. Has a tongue was the legitimate use of the gift of tongues for presenting the Gospel. Has an interpretation was the interpretation of what was said in the gift of tongues.
Let all things be done for edification. The key to the exercise of the communication spiritual gifts was edification of the congregation. Bible doctrine is what edifies the church and causes it to grow spiritually. Therefore, the consistent teaching of accurate Bible doctrine is what a congregation needs in order to execute the Christian Way of Life. Edification means to build up spiritually. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret;but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. This was the proper order for the early church service. The key was to do things decently and in order so that there was no confusion about what was being taught. Since the gift of tongues was still legitimate at this time, there had to be some regulation as to its use in the church. Paul gave them the rule – speak one at time and no more than three men are permitted to speak. And if there is no one with the gift of interpretation present, no one was allowed to exercise the gift of tongues.
Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn, and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. The early church, without a pastor, could have more than one teacher but no more than three. The places where they met were small and could only accommodate a few at a time. The church for the first three centuries met mostly in homes. If someone was out of control, the congregation was out of control, and there was no communication of doctrine. Peace means tranquility, which is the proper atmosphere for Bible teaching.
The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. These verses address women speaking during the teaching of doctrine. Paul was dealing with a church in Corinth that was being divided by people who wanted to be in charge and known as “spiritual.” The gift of tongues was a spectacular gift, and a lot of the congregation wanted it. However, spiritual gifts were given by God the Holy Spirit not by the desire of a person. The spiritual gift of prophecy (teaching) in a congregational setting was given to men only.
For a woman to stand up before a congregation and take charge by teaching, was forbidden because the spiritual gift of prophecy was given to men only. This does not mean that women were not allowed to speak or ask questions in a congregational setting, if the pastor allowed and encouraged it. Ask their own husbands at home meant women were to refrain from being viewed as non-compliant with their proper function in marriage, but to instead discuss what was being taught with their husbands when they got home.
Verses 36-40
“Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only? If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.”
These verses address the necessity to know doctrine before you attempt to apply it. Some arrogant believers in Corinth were attempting to put their own interpretation on spiritual gifts and were distorting them, especially the gift of tongues. So, Paul was reminding them that God was the source of the Word of God. This means that a person cannot make up any interpretation they want or twist the Scripture to fit their own desires. Paul said that they were not the only recipients of God’s Word and had no monopoly on it. Therefore, it was not theirs to manipulate to mean anything they wanted it to say.
If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. These arrogant believers in Corinth were ignoring the authority of the Word of God, in favor of their own fleshly desires – power and prestige. Therefore, these particular believers did not have the gift of prophecy nor were they spiritual. They were actually out of fellowship with God, in a state of carnality.
But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. In Corinth, there were those who were ignorant of accurate doctrine, and proud of it. These were the ones who wanted to be able to speak in tongues but were not recognized as having the gift of tongues.
Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner. Paul’s desire for this church was for them to desire the spiritual gifts that would edify them to be operational within the church. They were not to forbid speaking in tongues, as long as the use of the gift was done properly and with an interpreter present. But the bottom line was to do things in a manner so as not to give a false impression that everyone who was a believer was a psychotic, neurotic, babbling idiot.