1Cor 14:25-33 | KingComments | STEP | The gift of speaking in tongues is about two issues: 1. The language spoken is a language in existence. 2. The person who speaks the language, has not learned this language. That speaking in tongues is about existing languages, appears from Acts 2. There speaking in tongues happens for the first time in the New Testament. There you read that there were Jews who lived in Jerusalem “from every nation under heaven” and that everyone heard the apostles speak “in his own language” ( ). The apostles had not learned these languages. That can be derived from the fact that most of the apostles were “uneducated and untrained men” ( ). Mention is also made of the ‘gift’ of speaking in tongues ( ). If you have learned a language it is rather strange to speak about a gift. . The big question that then comes up for discussion is this: When should this gift be practiced? You may also pose the question differently and ask yourself why God has actually given this gift. Paul does not give a pat answer to this question. That would be too easy. He wants the Corinthians, and us, to start thinking first. By thinking about something, you consciously come to a certain conclusion. This “thinking” must not happen in the way children do. Children do not think but they immediately make conclusions without having any knowledge of the matter itself. When they see something they like or when they enjoy doing something, they do not think further about the meaning or profit of it. The only thing they think of is the fun that goes with it. It is important to understand why you do or do not do something. I already said before: A Christian is someone who does things consciously. He does things deliberately. You don’t need to think about bad and sinful things. It is even forbidden to think about that consciously. Regarding that, you should be as a child. The evil and bad things you should reject directly, without any consideration. With the things that come from God, you should deal differently. You ought to think about them. You need to become aware of what God wants in every particular case. This is the way you should respond when you encounter a case of speaking in tongues. You prove to have spiritual maturity if you think about what Paul is presenting here and if you try to understand what he means. . ‘Look what is written in the Law’, Paul says. By ‘the Law’ he means the entire Old Testament. As an introductory phrase for his argumentation, he quotes from Isaiah 28 ( ). A verse that is similar to that verse you find in Deuteronomy 28 ( ). What is the issue in these two sections? Now an appeal is made to your ability to understand, that is your spiritual ability for judgment. You should really read these verses and also read the verses that precede and follow them. Then you will understand the context of these verses. You see in both sections that the LORD announces judgment on His people Israel because of their unfaithfulness and unbelief. He indeed executed that judgment. God used the people of the Chaldea, which are the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar, for this purpose. Of course these people spoke another language. When they invaded Jerusalem the Jews had to realize that it was a punishment from God because of their unbelief. In that way God abandoned the connection with His people and delivered them to a strange ruler. He did that because they first abandoned Him. The fact that they were addressed in a strange, incomprehensive language, should have stimulated them to be put in a thoughtful frame of mind. They should have asked themselves why God had allowed it that strange people invaded His land and was ruling it. When you see these verses from Isaiah 28 and Deuteronomy 28 in this context, it becomes clear that the languages, first of all, were given for a sign to the unbelieving Jews. That also appears from what I quoted from Acts 2. It became clear that through all the different languages that were spoken on the day of Pentecost, the people of Israel were not the only ones with whom God was connected. They lost that right because they rejected their Messiah, the Lord Jesus. From then, the salvation of God was announced to all nations. To be able to reach all these nations, God gave the disciples the ability to speak all those different languages. . The conclusion is that the languages are for a sign, not to believers, but to unbelievers. Prophesying is exactly the other way around. Prophesying is for a sign not to unbelievers but to believers. By this approach, the distinction between speaking in tongues and prophesying has become even clearer. . What Paul had previously said, he is applying here to the meeting of the church. That is also what you should do. I hope that you are at a place where believers gather together as a church. You could have already learned from the previous chapters how to discover whether you gather at the right place and in the right way. In the some more aspects are added. It is a good thing to examine, based on the verses you have in front of you, whether you are (still) at the right place. Paul presents for our attention the case that the whole church was gathered together at one place, not split in numerous churches and denominations, and that everyone was speaking in tongues. Obviously, the door was not locked, for ungifted men and unbelievers, people from the street, were allowed to enter the meeting. If they entered and heard the different languages spoken of which they couldn’t understand anything, then you can imagine their doubt and wonder about the chaotic club of people with whom they found themselves. They wouldn’t be able to make head or tail of it. There really was no message in it for them, for they would not understand what was said. . Again we encounter the contrast with prophesying. Paul states further the case that all should prophesy. That did not happen by all at the same time, but according to it happened “one by one”. When in such a case an unbeliever or an ungifted man entered the meeting, the impact was totally different. You still remember what prophesying is, do you? It is speaking the utterances or oracles of God ( ). . When that happens, it will become absolutely apparent that the visitor feels the presence of God and feels himself personally addressed. I already referred to John 4 in the previous section, regarding the conversation of the Lord Jesus with the Samaritan woman. How great it would be when believers gathered in such a way that things like that happened. It is only possible when we are spiritually minded and have a living relationship with God and the Lord Jesus. Prophesying is, after all, speaking from the presence of God. Then, first of all, we will show in our lives that we take into account His will. We will be willing to obey Him in every aspect of our daily life. It goes without saying that it is unimaginable that we live decadently in our daily life, without considering God and His will and then suddenly become spiritual in the meeting. One cannot be more in the meeting than he is in his daily life. Still no one is perfect, but he who really wants to live with the Lord, will acknowledge his stumbles so that fellowship with the Father and the Son is quickly restored. A company of Christians who live like that with God and the Lord Jesus, will be able to experience things in their lives that are described here. If it is your desire to experience this, you cannot do any better than to make sure that you remain closely to the Lord Jesus yourself and to be filled by Him. Now read 1 Corinthians 14:20-25 again. Reflection: How do you experience the meeting where believers prophesy?

‏ 1 Corinthians 14:25-33

Tongues Are for a Sign to Unbelievers

The gift of speaking in tongues is about two issues:

1. The language spoken is a language in existence.

2. The person who speaks the language, has not learned this language.

That speaking in tongues is about existing languages, appears from Acts 2. There speaking in tongues happens for the first time in the New Testament. There you read that there were Jews who lived in Jerusalem “from every nation under heaven” and that everyone heard the apostles speak “in his own language” (Acts 2:5-12). The apostles had not learned these languages. That can be derived from the fact that most of the apostles were “uneducated and untrained men” (Acts 4:13). Mention is also made of the ‘gift’ of speaking in tongues (1Cor 12:10 ; 28). If you have learned a language it is rather strange to speak about a gift.

1Cor 14:20. The big question that then comes up for discussion is this: When should this gift be practiced? You may also pose the question differently and ask yourself why God has actually given this gift. Paul does not give a pat answer to this question. That would be too easy. He wants the Corinthians, and us, to start thinking first. By thinking about something, you consciously come to a certain conclusion.

This “thinking” must not happen in the way children do. Children do not think but they immediately make conclusions without having any knowledge of the matter itself. When they see something they like or when they enjoy doing something, they do not think further about the meaning or profit of it. The only thing they think of is the fun that goes with it.

It is important to understand why you do or do not do something. I already said before: A Christian is someone who does things consciously. He does things deliberately. You don’t need to think about bad and sinful things. It is even forbidden to think about that consciously. Regarding that, you should be as a child. The evil and bad things you should reject directly, without any consideration.

With the things that come from God, you should deal differently. You ought to think about them. You need to become aware of what God wants in every particular case. This is the way you should respond when you encounter a case of speaking in tongues. You prove to have spiritual maturity if you think about what Paul is presenting here and if you try to understand what he means.

1Cor 14:21. ‘Look what is written in the Law’, Paul says. By ‘the Law’ he means the entire Old Testament. As an introductory phrase for his argumentation, he quotes from Isaiah 28 (Isa 28:11-12). A verse that is similar to that verse you find in Deuteronomy 28 (Deu 28:49). What is the issue in these two sections? Now an appeal is made to your ability to understand, that is your spiritual ability for judgment. You should really read these verses and also read the verses that precede and follow them. Then you will understand the context of these verses. You see in both sections that the LORD announces judgment on His people Israel because of their unfaithfulness and unbelief. He indeed executed that judgment. God used the people of the Chaldea, which are the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar, for this purpose.

Of course these people spoke another language. When they invaded Jerusalem the Jews had to realize that it was a punishment from God because of their unbelief. In that way God abandoned the connection with His people and delivered them to a strange ruler. He did that because they first abandoned Him. The fact that they were addressed in a strange, incomprehensive language, should have stimulated them to be put in a thoughtful frame of mind. They should have asked themselves why God had allowed it that strange people invaded His land and was ruling it. When you see these verses from Isaiah 28 and Deuteronomy 28 in this context, it becomes clear that the languages, first of all, were given for a sign to the unbelieving Jews.

That also appears from what I quoted from Acts 2. It became clear that through all the different languages that were spoken on the day of Pentecost, the people of Israel were not the only ones with whom God was connected. They lost that right because they rejected their Messiah, the Lord Jesus. From then, the salvation of God was announced to all nations. To be able to reach all these nations, God gave the disciples the ability to speak all those different languages.

1Cor 14:22. The conclusion is that the languages are for a sign, not to believers, but to unbelievers. Prophesying is exactly the other way around. Prophesying is for a sign not to unbelievers but to believers. By this approach, the distinction between speaking in tongues and prophesying has become even clearer.

1Cor 14:23. What Paul had previously said, he is applying here to the meeting of the church. That is also what you should do. I hope that you are at a place where believers gather together as a church. You could have already learned from the previous chapters how to discover whether you gather at the right place and in the right way. In the 1Cor 14:26-40 some more aspects are added. It is a good thing to examine, based on the verses you have in front of you, whether you are (still) at the right place.

Paul presents for our attention the case that the whole church was gathered together at one place, not split in numerous churches and denominations, and that everyone was speaking in tongues. Obviously, the door was not locked, for ungifted men and unbelievers, people from the street, were allowed to enter the meeting. If they entered and heard the different languages spoken of which they couldn’t understand anything, then you can imagine their doubt and wonder about the chaotic club of people with whom they found themselves. They wouldn’t be able to make head or tail of it. There really was no message in it for them, for they would not understand what was said.

1Cor 14:24. Again we encounter the contrast with prophesying. Paul states further the case that all should prophesy. That did not happen by all at the same time, but according to 1Cor 14:31 it happened “one by one”. When in such a case an unbeliever or an ungifted man entered the meeting, the impact was totally different. You still remember what prophesying is, do you? It is speaking the utterances or oracles of God (1Pet 4:11).

1Cor 14:25. When that happens, it will become absolutely apparent that the visitor feels the presence of God and feels himself personally addressed. I already referred to John 4 in the previous section, regarding the conversation of the Lord Jesus with the Samaritan woman.

How great it would be when believers gathered in such a way that things like that happened. It is only possible when we are spiritually minded and have a living relationship with God and the Lord Jesus. Prophesying is, after all, speaking from the presence of God. Then, first of all, we will show in our lives that we take into account His will. We will be willing to obey Him in every aspect of our daily life.

It goes without saying that it is unimaginable that we live decadently in our daily life, without considering God and His will and then suddenly become spiritual in the meeting. One cannot be more in the meeting than he is in his daily life. Still no one is perfect, but he who really wants to live with the Lord, will acknowledge his stumbles so that fellowship with the Father and the Son is quickly restored.

A company of Christians who live like that with God and the Lord Jesus, will be able to experience things in their lives that are described here. If it is your desire to experience this, you cannot do any better than to make sure that you remain closely to the Lord Jesus yourself and to be filled by Him.

Now read 1 Corinthians 14:20-25 again.

Reflection: How do you experience the meeting where believers prophesy?

When You Assemble

1Cor 14:26. Now Paul is going to tell us how the meeting of believers should happen. He starts with the question: “What is [the outcome] then?” It is a good thing to make it a habit to ask yourself this question and listen to the answer that is written in the following verses. The importance of these verses to you personally, is, of course, determined by the way you approach the meeting. How and why do you attend the meeting? Is it because you have to or do you really like to be there? I can well imagine that you sometimes feel less likely to go than you generally do, but if you love the Lord, you will generally love to be with others who also love Him. Then the question follows with which 1Cor 14:26 starts: “What is [the outcome] then?”

When it further says “each one has a …” then it applies to you too. The point is that you go to the meeting with ‘something’ and that you do not go there empty-handed (Deu 16:16) i.e. with an empty heart. Therefore it is important to prepare yourself for the meeting. That preparation is not just looking up a song or reading a Bible section just before you go. It is a matter of your life with the Lord as you experience it daily. Actually, your whole life is a preparation for the meeting. Meetings are the highlights in the life of a believer.

In Deuteronomy 26 you find a nice example of how the Lord wanted the Israelites to approach Him at the place He dwelt. When the Israelites were going to dwell in the land and bring in the harvest of the land, then the Lord would love to receive the first fruits of the land (Deu 26:1-11). Spiritually it is like that too. When in your daily life you get more and more aware of what the Lord Jesus has given to you, then He as the First loves to hear out of your mouth what you enjoyed that much. Every time you can thank Him for what you have read.

He loves to hear from you what has touched you in His Word. Make it a habit to tell Him what you have discovered in the Bible. And when you go to the meeting you will notice that your heart is filled with Him. This is how God wants to meet you, together with other believers who have also been occupied with the Lord Jesus in this way.

In Deuteronomy 16 it is written that we ought not to appear empty-handed before the Lord (Deu 16:16). Does it then mean that, in case you did not manage to be occupied with the things of the Lord Jesus because of much work or due to illness, you should not go to the meeting? No, absolutely not. It also happens to me sometimes that I feel quite ‘empty’. It is wonderful that in such moments there are other brothers and sisters who are praising and worshiping the Lord out of the fullness of their heart. Then I, as it were, am captured by that and experience admiration for the Lord. But, after all, the point is that each person has something.

Nevertheless, if everyone has something, it does not mean that the meeting indeed happens in a way that is pleasing to God. At Corinth all did have something. But it appears that the meeting happened quite disorderly, for Paul is giving instructions to bring all things in order. When everyone has something and everyone wants to bring that forward as well, there is a great risk that it becomes a mess.

Even though everyone does have something, it doesn’t mean that everyone should then just audibly express it. The question whether something is edifying is important for every meeting. The issue is always about the edification of the other. When in “a psalm”, ”a teaching”, “a revelation” etcetera the interest of the other is sought, then it is clearly the work of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 12:7-10). Then there is no disorder in speaking and neither will anyone put himself forward, but everybody waits his turn.

1Cor 14:27-28. For speaking in tongues there is a limitation: not more than three persons may do that. To the Corinthians, who loved to speak in tongues, it was quite hard to accept this. Speaking in tongues in the church was also connected to a restriction: it ought to happen only if there was an interpreter. If there was no interpreter they had to be silent. Next to the question whether speaking in tongues still occurs and the question why the gift of speaking in tongues was given, you find here some conditions that may be useful to you in some cases. Based on these conditions you yourself can test whether speaking in tongues is dealt with properly.

1Cor 14:29. Regarding the prophets, the limitation was the same: not more than three prophets were to speak. The importance of this gift has been dealt with in detail already. Now something is said to the listeners. They are to judge what the prophet is saying (1Cor 14:29b). In 1 Thessalonians 5 you read the same command: “Do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything [carefully]” (1Thes 5:20-21). In both cases it must be judged whether the message that is passed on is in accordance with the Bible. It is important that your judgment is not based on whether the message pleases you or not, or whether you like the speaker or not, nor whether he can speak nicely or not.

1Cor 14:30. Also something is expected of the prophet. He should be aware that the Holy Spirit may also want to use another person to pass on something. Therefore, he who prophesies in the church must not think that he is the only one to pass something on.

1Cor 14:31. Who actually are the ones who may prophesy? Is it an elected group of people? With the gift of a prophet it is the same as with the gift of an evangelist. Not everybody has the gift of an evangelist. In Ephesians 4 it is written that the Lord Jesus gave “some [as] evangelists” (Eph 4:11). Yet everyone is called to do the work of an evangelist (2Tim 4:5). That also applies to the gift of the prophet. The gift to prophesy is not given to all, but still each of us can prophesy.

Do you remember what prophesying is? It is speaking for the edification, exhortation and consolation (1Cor 14:3) of others. Well, that is something each brother ought to be aware of. Each brother who lives with the Lord and who loves His Word, can be used to pass on a word of comfort or exhortation (although of course there may be exceptions). The first time may be quite difficult. The speech doesn’t need to last for an hour. Paul talks about five words in 1Cor 14:19 of this chapter. Those are quickly spoken. That is, of course, in a manner of speaking.

I believe that too many brothers leave this service to others because they think that those others can do it (much) better. It is true that often a certain fear has to be conquered to speak in public. On the other hand it is not the intention that a newly converted person addresses the church. He first has to build up a life with the Lord. However, that doesn’t mean that you should wait until you are completely mature. Then you can wait a very long time, for here on earth we shall never stop learning. I hope you can sense what I mean. Be open to the Lord and you will see that the Lord will use you.

1Cor 14:32. There is another significant aspect in this service and that is self-control. Do not think that in the meeting you should express immediately each thought that crosses your mind. You really cannot hide behind the excuse: ‘But the Spirit urged me to.’ It is written: “And the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.” That means that each person who thinks that he should pass on something in the meeting, does that consciously, with consideration and not because of an impulse he cannot control. This is not how the Spirit of God works. For instance you think of something from the Bible. How do you know whether the Lord wants you to say something about it? The important question you could ask yourself is this: Do I want to edify the church and do I want to glorify the Lord Jesus, or do I still seek my own honor?

1Cor 14:33. If we all come together in this way, while the sisters also pray that the Lord points out the right brother and the right section from His Word, there will be no disorder, but peace. God is the God of peace and this peace ought to be noticeable in all the churches. In this way the meetings of believers will be an oasis in the midst of a restless world.

Now read 1 Corinthians 14:26-33 again.

Reflection: How do you prepare yourself for the meeting?