A lot of time we take the passages about love out of context (Chapter 13) and use it for a wedding passage or to justify a lack of faith by using the phrase, “they will cease”, yet by saying that or using this passage out of context we are saying that love is no longer needed. That we can love without the gifts. I think that is false. We need the gifts to properly love others. This leads us to chapter 14 of Corinthians today:
1 Corinthians 14:1 “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.”
So Paul here links loving others with desiring spiritual gifts. Specifically prophecy.Notice that this is a command. As Christians, we should be wanting to love others AND desire to prophesy to people. So that means if you already have a theological idea that prophecy is gone and a Christian today can’t do that, you are already disobeying the command to desire to do it.
So what is prophecy and why should we eagerly desire it?
This passage can be confusing because it comparing two of the gifts: Tongues and Prophecy. I think it is easier to understand if we break it down by each topic he is talking about. So let's start with Prophecy.
The Purpose and Use of Prophecy (For the Believer) The ultimate purpose as we already talked about is loving someone. Who are we to love? Everyone. So there is a prophecy for a believer and the unbeliever. This verse speaks of prophecy for each of those categories. So let us look at this passage and see how prophesying to someone shows them love for the believer and then the unbelievers.
To strengthen, encourage, and comfort.
Verse 3- “But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.”
Often people say that prophecy always predicts the future, but I don't think we see that in this passage. While in the OT that is often how prophecy worked, this passage speaks about another aspect of prophecy which is to say things that help someone else in their walk with Christ, that could be futuristic if it was a word of guidance like I feel God is leading you to change jobs or something. But anyone can say nice words or give advice. Prophetic words however seem to be words that are empowered by the Spirit of God living in you to speak something that is relevant to someone else’s Christian walk.
I recently watched a podcast by a guy named George Janko. He had a well-known actor on his podcast who recently became a Christian and who was baptized: Russel Brand. I want you to listen to what is said. Because I think this is an excellent example of the spiritual gift of prophecy:
The Purpose and Use of Prophecy (For the Believer)
Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Edifies the church
Verse 4-5 “but the one who prophesies edifies the church.” “The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.”Verse 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.”
2. To give a clear vision/call or “battle cry” for the church
Verses 6-8: “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? 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? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?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.
Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish”
We are in a spiritual war. Without prophecy, we are grunts in the army with no commander. We don't know where to go or what to do. That is a disastrous plan. We all hope that our spiritual leaders are seeking to hear what God wants us to do, instead of their ideas or agendas.
As we will look at next week with how this should be practiced in the church, everyone has the ability to prophesy. Because everyone should have a unique relationship with God. As we will see in verse 29, there should be people judging whether what people have heard is from God. It is up to the elders to hear, judge, and guide us to the path God wants us all the multitude of voices because we prophesy in part as we learned in chapter 13.
The Purpose and Use of Prophecy (For the Unbeliever) 1. Conviction/Evangelism
Verse 24-25: “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, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
The Purpose and Use of Tongues (For the Believer) Now let's learn about tongues. Just like prophecy, there are benefits for the believer and the unbeliever. What do you think the purpose of tongues is? To love other people. Paul in this chapter explains the difference in the ways tongues are expressed and how it is used to love those who believe and then those who do not. For a believer what is speaking in tongues for? 1. A way to pray to God with your spirit, which no other person including yourself can (normally) intellectually understand.
Verse 2-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.
Verse 14- For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
2. To help yourself grow spiritually. This can be done by anyone!
Verse 4-5 “Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves” “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy.”
Paul would not say this if ALL couldn't do it. That would just be illogical.
3. Another way to receive a word from God (prophecy)
Verse 5- “The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.”
Verses 6-9 “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? 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?Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?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.”Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.
As we talked about with prophecy, one of the purposes is to build up the church. That should be done in a language that the person can understand. If you talk to God in a tongue that you nor anyone else can understand, it doesn’t help anyone but yourself. That doesn't mean if you are praying to God in a tongue that it has no meaning. It just means that God is the only one that can understand the meaning unless he gives the interpretation to someone. That is why Paul says in verse 13:
“For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say.”
So just because speaking in tongues sometimes sounds like babbling to most people, that does not mean that there isn't a meaning behind the words. The point of tongues for the believer is even though it doesn't sound like any language you know or can understand, it does have a meaning and purpose behind it.
Many people say that speaking in tongues is always an earthly language. That just isn't true with what we have seen in this chapter. Paul says you are speaking to God in mysteries by your spirit, that you do not know what you are saying, that your mind is unfruitful, and in the last chapter, he mentions "tongues of angels". So there are languages out there that aren’t just human languages.
If it was the case that tongues were always an earthly language, why would the gift of interpretation of tongues be a thing? If I was speaking German in a tongue, then I wouldn't need the gift of interpretation that Paul says to ask for, I would just need to call my buddy Patrick who knows German and he could interpret it for me. Now sometimes the tongue might be understood in someone else's language like in Acts 2, but that was tongues for unbelievers, and will get to that in a second.
4. To give praise and thanksgiving
Verses 16-17Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.
Paul’s Love for Tongue Speaking I want us to notice the high esteem that Paul talks about this gift:
Verse: 5 “I wish you all spoke in tongues”
Verse 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.
Verse 18 “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.”
Verse 39: “Do not forbid speaking in tongues”
He finds it important to use this gift all the time. These verses also point out that he has control over the gift. It is by his own will. God doesn't take over your tongue and make you speak. You have to do it by yourself (just like all the gifts). You wouldn't say “I have the gift of generosity” but then have never given anything to anyone. If you have the gift of generosity you actually have to go out and do something with it.
This is also another proof that any believer can use this gift. If it was impossible for some believers not to do this Paul would have said something like “I am glad God gave me this gift because some people don't have this ability.” Instead, he speaks of the gift as if all believers could willingly step into this gift, and that the gift shouldn’t be stifled in church, but rather properly used.
Slide 14: The Purpose and Use of Tongues (For the Unbeliever)
Tongues are a sign.
Verse 22 “Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers.”
That is the conclusion of the rest of what Paul says in verses 16-23. I want us now to look at the rest of the verses we haven’t covered so we can understand why tongues are a sign to unbelievers:
Verse 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.”
Even if you spoke in English to an unbeliever they are a foreigner to Christianity. Half the things Christians say sound crazy and foreign to an unbeliever. Because they haven’t experienced what we know to be true. Let's read the rest with that in mind:
Verses 16-19 "Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer (unbeliever), say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.”
So in a church service where there could be unbelievers or people just inquiring about church, it is more important to teach and prophecy. Why?
“Verse 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?”
Unbelievers, unless someone interprets or explains, or teaches them the things of God, will just keep thinking we are out of our minds. They already don’t understand the basics of Christianity, because their minds are set up on the flesh. They are only thinking about themselves and how to make their lives better, or how to get something they want. I am not saying that to judge them because I once was also an unbeliever when it comes to tongues and I was also living by my flesh. So I know why they think the way that they do because they haven’t experienced tongues or salvation, so they think we are just crazy. And maybe some of you even say you are a believer, but when it comes to tongues you are an unbeliever because you haven’t been taught about it, you have preconceived ideas about it, or someone taught you poorly about it probably because they were also an unbeliever when it comes to tongues.
I am teaching this as a believer and user of tongues just as Paul taught it. He is an advocate for tongues although he says prophecy is better in a church service. He still uses and wants the Corinthians to champion the gift correctly.
The Background Behind “Sign Tongues” (For Unbelievers)
“Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. Regarding evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 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.”
Throughout the Old Testament, what did the Israelites do? They continued time and time again to become unbelievers. They would turn their back on God and often would follow after pagan gods. So multiple times as punishment, God would cause foreign actors to come invade the people and land of the Israelites. So for the Israelites in times of unbelief or turning away from God, God used people who didn’t speak their language to take them over.
It is the same spiritual, as it was physical for the Israelites. If you are away from God or an unbeliever, you cannot understand or follow the things of God. Just like we talked about before. So let's look at the passage that you are all probably familiar with that explains and shows us how the gift of tongues is a sign to unbelievers.
Slide 16: Act 2:4-14
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!”
Notice in this passage the believers were speaking in tongues. As we have learned today this is a believer's way to pray with their spirit to God, they do not understand what they are saying, they are edifying themselves, they are giving praise and thanksgiving to God, and they are speaking mysteries to God, but no one is edified if there is not an interpretation.
Notice the ones who could understand the tongues were: “God-fearing Jews” They were given the ability to interpret what the believers were saying in their languages.
These God-fearing Jews are still unbelievers in Jesus and have not been saved yet. But they are inquirers. There was something spiritual going on and they were drawn to it. They weren’t going to be unbelievers for much longer because Peter is about to preach to them and explain Jesus to them after they had received a sign from God, through tongues. These people are the ones who receive salvation that day at the end of the chapter.
Now also notice, the other group of people that were there. They are also unbelievers, but unlike the other group they didn't get the understanding or sign of tongues that were being spoken, they just heard babbling. They thought the believers were drunk. They were not hearing what God was doing, because they were still in rebellion to God. They are like the Israelites in the Old Testament. They were surrounded by confusion and foreigners when it came to hearing from God. I think these people were probably the same people that rejected Jesus, like the Sadducees and Pharisees. I don't think that it is a coincidence that those who are religious in today's day in age and are like the Pharisees. They also mock believers who speak in tongues because “it doesn’t mean anything it is just babbling.” Very similar to these men who were making fun of the New Testament believers in Acts 2.