1 Corinthians 14
Spiritual Gifts, Part 3. 1 Corinthians 14.
A quick definition of spiritual gifts: special, God-given abilities given to each believer in a local church for the purpose of building one another up in the faith, furthering the mission of the church, and bringing glory to God.
Gifts may include (but are not limited to): helping, showing mercy, teaching, administration or leadership, giving, and so on.
Why are we studying this topic?
The Bible explicitly says we are not to be ignorant about this (1 Corinthians 12:1).
It is vital to the building up of the Church (Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12)
It’s important for individuals to plug into their areas of giftedness.
It helps us know that we are all key players, not spectators
It reminds us we all have a role to play in the work of ministry
It is connected to the glory of God and the furtherance of His mission
1 Peter 4:10–11 (ESV): 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
In order to get a grasp on this subject, we’ve been working systematically through 1 Corinthians 12-14.
Chapter 12 gave us a theology of the gifts…
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Chapter 13 gave us the heart behind the gifts, which is love.
Paul made it clear that even if we could express every gift to the highest degree imaginable, without love it would all be worthless.
Now, as we round out our journey, we head into chapter 14 where Paul takes that theology and that heart behind spiritual gifts, and he applies it to a specific area of struggle that the Corinthian church was having in relation to the gifts.
By the looks of it, it is clear that the church in Corinth was extremely gifted… extremely charismatic… but they had a tendency to elevate one gift in particular to an unhealthy degree, and it was creating chaos and confusion in their gatherings… that gift was speaking in tongues.
Speaking in tongues is the miraculous ability, given by the Holy Spirit in a particular moment, to speak in a language that is unknown to the person speaking.
It may be the ability to speak in real, foreign languages, such as in Acts 2:
Acts 2:4–8 (ESV): 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
Or, it may be some non-earthly language that is given for personal prayer and worship of God.
14:2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
Whatever the case, the point is, this gift was being misused and abused in the Corinthian church… And so Paul gets wind of this problem, and he writes this chapter in order to re-align them with God’s heart for the gifts and for their gatherings.
Contrary to what we might expect Paul to do, he does not tell them to stop pursuing spiritual gifts, or the miraculous manifestations of the spirit among themselves, or to stop speaking in tongues… Rather, he simply provides some guardrails and tells them to keep on pursuing the gifts of the Spirit in a way that is coherent and builds others up.
1 Corinthians 14:1–40 (ESV):1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts,
Again, in chapter 13 he made the strong case that love is to be our primary pursuit… but here he makes it clear, it’s not love VS spiritual gifts… it’s love AND spiritual gifts.
And notice the language: earnestly desire spiritual gifts. That is a command!
Which raises a question…
Since chapter 12, we’ve been careful to emphasize that all believers have a gift.
1 Corinthians 12:7 to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
So then, if we already have gifts, why does he tell us to desire them?
The implication seems to be:
Because you can get more spiritual gifts over time, and…
Because you can manifest each gift you’ve received to a greater and greater degree over time.
Since spiritual gifts are nothing less than the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself through us as we minister to one another, we should earnestly desire more of this to take place in our lives and in our church!
An appropriate prayer might be: Lord, please gift me in all the ways necessary in order to most fully and effectively love and serve others in the church.
As a heart check, we might ask ourselves: Do I earnestly desire spiritual gifts in my life and in our church?
And then, Paul singles out one gift in particular that he felt the Corinthian church should be particularly desirous of…
especially that you may prophesy.
Why does Paul single out prophecy?
As we read on, the clear answer will be: because it’s more useful than tongues in its ability to build others up and encourage them. Whatever is more useful toward that end, after all, is, by Paul’s criteria, more desirable.
Definition of Prophecy under the New Covenant:
DA Carson defines prophecy as “a human report of a revelation from the Holy Spirit.”
Wayne Grudem defines it as, “telling something that God has spontaneously brought to mind.”
It seems that prophecy is often used to give guidance, or bring conviction, or to encourage.
Contrary to what many think, it is often not foretelling, but rather forthtelling. That is, more than predicting the future, it is about making known a personal message from the Lord.
Conservative scholars of the New Testament (like the ones just mentioned) are always careful to note that prophecy under the New Covenant is qualified by several disclaimers:
First, it is distinct from Old Testament style prophecy
Prophets in the OT spoke as the very mouthpieces of God and were held to an absolute standard of accuracy. Their words literally carried the weight of scripture.
In the NT, prophecy is not absolutely authoritative and must come under the authority of scripture.
Next, in the NT, prophecy is potentially fallible and must be tested and weighed.
14:29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.
1 Thessalonians 5:20–21 (ESV): 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.
1 John 4:1 (ESV): 4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Lastly, the function of prophecy is to build up the church, not to give new scripture-level revelation.
These guidelines are important, not just because they reflect what is described in scripture, but because church history is replete with examples of prophecy gone wrong. When people in the church think they can hear authoritative words from God with total accuracy, and that others must listen and follow exactly what they say, BAD things happen. That’s what cults are made of.
… and that’s what’s led to some people rejecting it altogether.
It’s what Sam Storms calls “the 11th commandment of Bible believing evangelicalism”: Thou shalt not do at all what others do badly.
Boomers might call it throwing the baby out with the bathwater
In pop culture, it’s known as ‘canceling’.
We are all susceptible to this tendency when we see gifts of the spirit misused and abused. “If that’s what those people are doing with it”, we say, “I don’t want to have anything to do with it.”
And yet, here in God’s word, we have a direct command to earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially that we may prophesy.
So… what could prophecy done biblically look like?
In the Bible, the NT gift of prophecy at work might look like:
In Acts 11:27-30 Agabus prophesied that a famine was coming, and the disciples in Antioch took it seriously and responded by sending relief to believers in Judea.
In Acts 21:10-11 Agabus (same guy) prophesied that Paul was going to be bound up by the Jews and handed over to the authorities in Jerusalem. He even wrapped his own hands and feet up with Paul’s belt as a dramatization of what would happen to Paul if he went to Jerusalem.
The interesting thing about this one is that his prophecy was only partially accurate; Paul was arrested, but some of the details were off (for example, it was the Romans, not the Jews, who bound him). This is important because it is a good example of how NT prophecy isn’t always communicated accurately.
It could look like in Acts 13 when a group of prophets and teachers were praying and fasting and the Holy Spirit told them to set apart Barnabas and Saul for missionary work.
It could look like in Acts 15:32 when Judas and Silas “who were themselves prophets, strengthened the brothers with many words”. (This example is good because it’s not predictive in nature. Prophecy isn’t always foretelling; more often than not it is forthtelling).
In 1 Timothy 1 & 4, Paul refers to prophecies made about Timothy and encourages him to use the gifts that were imparted when people prophesied over him (1 Timothy 4:14).
Church history:
Charles Spurgeon, commonly referred to as the ‘prince of preachers’, was a very theologically conservative, reformed preacher in England in the 1800’s, was not the sort of guy you’d commonly associate with charismatic gifts of the Spirit. He tells a story in his autobiography in which during one of his sermons he stopped and pointed at a man in the back and said (and I paraphrase), ‘there’s a man sitting back there who is a shoemaker. He keeps his shop open on Sundays. Last Sunday he made such-and-such amount of money. That’s how much he is earning in exchange for his soul…’ He had never met the man before, and the man wasn’t a Christian. But that incident ended up turning the man towards Christ because Spurgeon was dead accurate in what he said. He ended up shutting down his shop the next Sunday but was too scared to go hear Spurgeon again in fear that he might tell everyone more of his sins! But eventually he went back and gave his life to Christ.
You might have someone approach you and say something like, “I just have this overwhelming feeling that God wants me to share this word with you…” What do you do in those moments? Well, you listen, you thank them for being brave enough to step out in faith and speak what was on their heart, and then you test it against scripture and see if it rings true.
But here, Paul is not just encouraging prophecy… he’s encouraging prophecy over and above speaking in tongues. Follow his logic…
2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
So, why is prophecy preferred over tongues? Because tongues by themselves are by definition unintelligible, and therefore not as useful for building others up (unless there’s an interpreter, which he will mention soon).
3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself,
but the one who prophesies builds up the church.
Why is that? Because it’s intelligible.
5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
By the way, Interpretation of tongues is listed as a separate spiritual gift.
Again, everything is filtered through the grid of whether it effectively builds others up in Christ.
6 Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?
In other words, how is it going to benefit anyone unless I’m offering some words that are intelligible and pertinent?
This is all pretty obvious, isn’t it?
Which would you rather come and hear in church: Someone speaking unintelligibly to God, or someone speaking intelligibly from God?
And then he gives illustrations of this point.
It may be helpful to think of verses 7-12 as a subset of verse 6…
7 If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?
In other words, in order for any sound to have its desired effect, it needs to be intelligible. Not just in the realm of speech, but even more broadly in things like music.
9 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, 11 but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
But, it’s not just about building up believers.
Did you know there is another purpose to our gatherings than just simply building each other up?
Our gatherings also serve the secondary purpose of drawing outsiders towards God… and we need to be mindful of that. It doesn’t mean we orient our entire gathering towards non-Christians… but it does mean we need to be mindful that there will be those among us who are not yet in the faith.
Listen to what Paul says next…
13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.
This principle could also apply to the language we use as Christians. Sometimes we use all sorts of churchy catch-phrases that belong more to our Christian subculture than they do to the Bible, and they end up inadvertently confusing people, weirding them out, or worse, driving them away from the church.
Examples:
We know what we mean by being “on fire for God”... but outsiders just think that sounds painful!
We know what we mean by taking up a “love offering”... to outsiders, that just sounds cultish
We know what we mean by having a “quiet time”... for others, it just conjures images of a child in timeout!
We know what we mean by “accept Jesus into our heart”... but perhaps we need to consider tossing the jargon and instead saying what the Bible says: repent of your sins and believe.
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” 22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
That sounds contradictory––and it would be, if we were talking about a positive sign. But in the context of verses 20-22, it’s actually talking about tongues as a negative sign.
In verse 21 Paul is quoting Isaiah 28:11 where God’s word of judgment towards Israel was spoken by the invading Assyraian army who the Israelites couldn’t understand.
The point is, if unbelievers come to church and hear tongues, they might very well leave and never repent and come to faith in Christ for salvation.
23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
We don’t want unbelievers to come in here and be confused and bail… we want them to come and hear the heart-penetrating message of the gospel.
We want them to understand that they were created to be in a relationship with God… but that their sins have separated them from God and placed them under His just wrath… but that through trusting in Jesus as their Savior who lived, died and rose for them, they can be fully forgiven and adopted into God’s family and enter into an eternal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Paul closes (and we close) with some very practical guidelines with an aim towards facilitating the sort of unity and clarity he’s been stressing…
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
Is church a spectator sport? No. We are all participants. Whatever gifts we have should be used to build others up…
27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
Now, at first glance that feels abrupt, heavy handed, perhaps sexist…
What’s Paul saying?
What he can’t be saying is that women can’t prophecy in church or can’t communicate in church. He can’t be saying that, because in chapter 11 he already assumes that women can and will participate in those things.
Instead, it’s likely, based on the context, that he’s saying that women are not allowed to give a final word of judgment on whether a prophecy is accurate in the context of a church gathering…. Why would that be? Well, because that’s ultimately the job of an elder (or pastor, overseer––same office), and in the New Testament, that role is to be held only by men.
He closes by further emphasizing the authority of what he is saying about spiritual gifts…
36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached?
See, he anticipates that some of them would push back against some of the things he’s laying out… so he reminds them that they need to be subject to the Word of God.
37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.
So what are the takeaways:
Every believer has a gift.
Every believer is important. There are no spectators in the church; no unnecessary body members.
Spiritual gifts are to be desired, and used, for the building up of others. They are not primarily for our own benefit and certainly not for our own self-aggrandizement.
Whatever gift you have should be stirred up and utilized, and the best way to do that is to begin looking for ways to love others in a demonstrable way.
Prophecy always must be subject to scripture and tested for accuracy.
We should not stop practicing or desiring spiritual gifts just because some people and groups misuse or falsify them.
Our gatherings should promote understanding, unity, peace, mutual upbuilding, and should also be considerate of those coming in from the outside, with an aim towards introducing them to Jesus.