1 Corinthians (Written)

Sunday, 15 February 2015

And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 1 Corinthians 14:32

To understand this verse properly, it should be considered with the instructions Paul has just given. Taken together, they read –

“Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. ³⁰ But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. ³² And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.”

Those who have a word to impart should not start speaking at the same time as others who are speaking. But Paul has shown that they must remain silent as others are speaking. He then explained why by saying that in speaking one at a time “all may learn and all may be encouraged.” However, someone may claim that the power of the Holy Spirit has taken them over like a rushing tide and they simply couldn’t control themselves. In this ecstatic state, they claim they lost control, yielding to the greater power which was present.

This sounds pretty great, yes… “Look at me, I’m filled with the Spirit, even to overflowing! Why I simply couldn’t control myself!” Paul says that this is not the case and it will never be the case because, “The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” The Holy Spirit will not usurp the spirit of the man. Instead, He will work harmoniously with the man to accomplish His purposes. As Paul’s words are guided by the Holy Spirit, they are true and they precede any such display found in churches today. Therefore, any event in a church which violates Paul’s prescriptions cannot be of the Holy Spirit.

Now consider this more fully. If this is true with prophecy, a greater gift, then it must be true with tongues, a lesser gift. As this is so, then “ecstatic tongues” and other violent reactions to “Holy Spirit power” such as being “slain in the spirit” are shown to be false. The Holy Spirit will not violate a precept in the word of God, ever. If someone is “slain in the spirit” it is because they have willingly allowed themselves to be duped by a charlatan, not the Holy Spirit. It may be a form of hypnosis, or it may be a form of self-induced delusion, but such an event is not of God.

Paul is clear concerning the spirit of the man; it is subject to the man.

Life application: Don’t be duped by those who would make you feel you have less of the Holy Spirit than they do. The Holy Spirit is given upon belief. A believer will never get more of the Spirit than at that moment, but the Spirit can get more of the believer, just as a person can never get more married once they are married. Instead, a person can continually get more of their spouse (love, respect, bonding, etc) as the spouse yields to them.

Lord God, Your word shows me that the moment I believed in Christ as Lord, I was sealed with Your Holy Spirit and that I belong to You. Help me to yield myself to You as I walk in this life, and to yield to Your presence from moment to moment. Keep me from putting up barriers to this wonderful relationship, but rather help me to keep my heart receptive to You always. I never want to head back in the direction I was saved from! Thank You. Amen.

Saturday, 14 February 2015

For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 1 Corinthians 14:31

Continuing on with the gift of prophesy, Paul says that “you can all prophesy one by one.” This doesn’t mean that all in the congregation have the ability. Rather, it means that all who have the ability to prophesy also have the ability to do so in an orderly fashion; one by one. The reason for this will be more fully explained in the next verse. However, the purpose of prophesying in this orderly fashion is explained in his next words which are “that all may learn and all may be encouraged.”

If everyone prophesied at once, there would be no edification and there would be no encouragement. Instead, there would be confusion. But this is to be the purpose of everything done in the church. Therefore, it would make no sense for people to utter prophesies at the same time. Again, Paul is calling the church to orderly worship and to the use of gifts in a harmonious and edifying manner.

Like the misuse of supposed “tongues” which are spoken in many churches, the disorderly conduct of congregations where many people supposedly “prophesy” at the same time, claiming that it is under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is false. All one needs to do to determine this is to weigh what occurs in these meetings with the words of Paul. As the Bible is of divine origin, then what they are doing cannot be.

Life application: It is far better to learn from a biblically sound teacher than it is to attend a church which has great music, nice people, and an uplifting message, but which message isn’t biblically sound.

Lord, I mourn for the sheep of your pasture who are misguided by shepherds that aren’t obedient to Your word. Give Your people the desire to place the Bible above all else in their pursuit of You and to be willing to read it, contemplate it, and verify what they are taught against its pages. Pastors are fallible, Your word isn’t. Help eyes to be opened and minds to be attentive to this most precious of all gifts. This I pray that Your people won’t be misled by sweet messages which fail to align with Your word. Amen.

Friday, 13 February 2015

But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 1 Corinthians 14:30

Taken together, verses 29 & 30 state –

“Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. ³⁰ But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent.”

Under the inspiration of the Spirit, Paul notes that as people are prophesying, it is to be done in order, not simultaneously. This is a command for the church in order to keep harmony. But it is also a command to avoid confusion. The intent of such speaking is edification. If two are speaking simultaneously, others must choose to focus on one or the other. Some people may not be able to focus on either. Because of this, there can be no edification from at least one of the speakers and quite possibly both. Just as if tongues were spoken, there would be only noise and confusion.

And so if one is speaking and another desires to impart what is revealed to him, “let the first keep silent.” Just as in any adult conversation, be it among friends or in a business setting, it is polite and proper to allow others to speak without interruption.

Paul’s words noted here are a command. Thus once again we see the utterly false nature of churches where the congregation, or a portion of the congregation, supposedly “prophesy” at the same time. As the Spirit has breathed out the words of the Bible, and as the Spirit will never contradict Himself, there is no congregation which conducts such “prophesying” which is actually guided by the Spirit.

Life application: If you attend a church which speaks in false tongues or allows people to “prophesy” at the same time, it is time for you to find a new church. Don’t let claims of “Holy Spirit power” lull you into participating in disobedience to the word of God.

Lord, as I review 1 Corinthians Chapter 14, I can see that there is a lot of false conduct in churches I have attended in the past. False tongues, false prophecies, and disobedience to Your word. I know that the Holy Spirit will never violate the word that He has breathed out in the pages of the Bible, and yet I see people claim they are being led by the Spirit in a manner contrary to that precious word. Help me to be discerning and not get lulled into participating in disobedience to You. Thank You Lord. Amen.

Thursday, 12 February 2015

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 1 Corinthians 14:29

In contrast to “tongues” which Paul has been dealing with in immense detail, and upon which he has placed great restrictions, he now turns to prophesying. His admonition is “Let two or three prophets speak.” Notice that he does not add in “at the most” as he did with tongues. Why did he so restrict tongues and not prophesying? The answer is that tongues serve no purpose in the congregation unless they are translated. And even if they are translated, they often interrupt more than they edify.

In the case of prophesying, he does not want to quench the spirit when edification is the aim of the speaker. This follows perfectly with his words of 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 –

“Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophecies. ²¹ Test all things; hold fast what is good.”

Having allowed the speaking of prophesy openly, and with the thought that two or three should speak, he then says, “and let the others judge.” This is an important thought to consider. People claim “inspiration” all the time, but not all who speak are inspired. All we need to do is look at any person who speaks in an incoherent tongue within a church to see how prevalent this is. Based on Paul’s words of instruction in this chapter, not one of them is under the inspiration of the Spirit.

Just like these false tongue speakers, people who speak coherently in a known language are not necessarily speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit. There is enough about false prophets and false teachers in the Bible that we should truly pay heed to every word uttered as the congregation meets. Those who hear should judge the truth of what is said based on a competent understanding of Scripture. And the only way to make such a competent evaluation is to:

1) Have the Bible handy for reference; and
2) Know where to go in the Bible to evaluate what is said.

One cannot do these things unless the nose is kept in its pages constantly. If this doesn’t occur as people speak, inevitably false doctrine will creep in. John warns us specifically about this in his first epistle –

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1

Life application: The old saying, “Trust no one” is good advice. Until a person’s words have been compared to the word of God, they should be taken cautiously.

Lord, Your word warns us time and time again to be wise and discerning concerning those who speak falsely. I know that this is not possible without knowing Your word. Anyone can say anything and claim that they are telling the truth, but how gullible I would be to accept someone at face value concerning my eternal destiny. Please give me wisdom and discernment concerning Your word and the proper handling of it. Amen.

Wednesday, 11 February 2015

But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. 1 Corinthians 14:28

This verse continues on with the prescriptions of the previous verse. They are commands, given by the Lord as the Holy Spirit guided Paul’s pen. Taken together they say –

“If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. ²⁸ But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.”

How is it that such plain and simple sentences can be so utterly neglected by churches? The answer is that the Bible is held in little esteem by them. The word of God is useful to them only when it tickles the ear. And this is what the supposed “tongues” of most churches do: ear-tickle. However, Paul has spent an inordinate amount of time on this subject in order to get those in Corinth (and thus us!) to be reasonable in our conduct in the church. Like his words in the previous verse, what he says now also commands just that.

“But” is given in contrast to verse 27. “If there is no interpreter” is obvious. If someone wants to speak in a foreign language, maybe Latin or Hebrew, they may do so if they meet the requirements of verse 27. However, if they don’t understand the language, they must have an interpreter present who can. Suppose there is a prayer to be read in Hebrew. Unless there is a competent translation of that prayer, or someone who can translate the words which are being read, then “let him keep silent in church.”

This means that they are not to openly speak or read the thing they had intended to impart. Why? Because no one understands it. Thus it is both a waste of valuable time, and the words have no value for edification. If there is no edification, then it is merely an ostentatious display meant to attract attention to the individual and not bring any sort of glory to God. Because of this, Paul instructs that he should remain quiet and “speak to himself and to God.”

If the individual with the tongue to be spoken cannot translate the words, and if there is no one else who can translate them, then if they want to go ahead and speak them, they are to do so to God alone, who alone understands the words.

Paul’s words are precise and the same logic of the previous verse applies to this one:

1) The words of the Bible, as given by Paul’s hand, are inspired by the Spirit of God.
2) The Spirit of God will never violate a precept which is found in the Bible, which He has inspired. Therefore,
3) Any practice or occurrence which is seen in a church, and which violates the prescriptions of the Bible, cannot be inspired by the Spirit.

Therefore, any tongue which is spoken in a church which is not translated cannot have been inspired by the Spirit of God; its prompting is not of divine origin. If supposed “tongue speaking” Charismatic churches actually followed the prescriptions found in these two verses from the hand of Paul, there wouldn’t be the embarrassing displays of ostentation found in them.

Life application: The word of God is not confused, nor does it promote confusion. However, neglecting the word of God will inevitably do so. Stick to the word of God and let your doctrine be pure and undefiled.

Lord, it’s so exciting to live in this time. Despite the immense wickedness which seems to be engulfing the world around us, we are seeing biblical prophecy come to pass before our very eyes. Israel is once again in the land, the church is falling away from adherence to Your word and to right doctrine, and the nations are lining themselves up for financial ruin and military strife. Lord God, open many eyes to the truth of Your Son now before You call Your church home, and before the terrible times to come descend on a world ripe for judgment. Amen.