1 Corinthians (Written)

Saturday, 31 January 2015

For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified. 1 Corinthians 14:17

This verse really should be taken in conjunction with the previous one in order to understand what he is saying –

“Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say ‘Amen’ at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? 17 For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.”

Sure enough, if someone says the Eucharist in another language, Hebrew perhaps, he is indeed giving thanks in a good and appropriate way. God hears the words, understands them, and receives them as intended. This is a good thing in some sense. However, those who are in the congregation and don’t understand Hebrew are not edified.

At the Superior Word in Sarasota, the Lord’s Supper is taken every Sunday. The words of Paul, which provide the instruction for the Lord’s Supper, are read aloud from 1 Corinthians 11. However, a blessing in Hebrew is pronounced over them as well. If this were all that occurred, God would have received His praise and thanks, but none in the congregation would be edified. And so the words are repeated in English for the edification of the congregation –

Baruch atah Adonai eloheynu, melekh ha’olam, ha’motzi lekhem min ha’aretz
Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.

Without the translation, there is no edification. With it, the congregation will, week by week, begin to understand these Hebrew words. The may even develop a desire to learn the language as well. Thus, the tongue serves a valid purpose.

Life application: In the church everything should be done with the thought of bringing edification to others.

Lord, help me to overlook the small offenses that come my way from family, friends, and close associates. People have stress, people have misunderstandings, and people are people. Some things aren’t worth carrying a grudge over or being difficult about. If I can put the petty differences which arise into proper perspective, I know that they are insignificant. When I think of my offenses against You from moment to moment, I can see where true offense should lie. And yet, because of Your great mercy, I am forgiven through Christ. Thank You for reminding me of this. Amen. 

Friday, 30 January 2015

 Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? 1 Corinthians 14:16

Paul now changes to the second person for this verse and the one following. He is not writing about his practice, but the practice of the congregants at Corinth. He is showing what he desires for those in Corinth in the surrounding verses and contrasting that with what they are actually doing.

He just made a conclusion which he desired the Corinthians to emulate. “I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” Based on that conclusion, he shows that what they are doing in the church is contrary to it. If they do as he said, there will be understanding. Should they not follow his instruction, the result will be (otherwise) “if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say ‘Amen’ at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?”

The “spirit” is the breath of the man; the utterance he makes. If a person prays, sings, or blesses in a language which is unknown to another, the uninformed, there will be nothing to edify him. The uninformed is a person who knows neither the language nor the meaning of the words. In other words, if the gospel is spoken in a language foreign to a person, it certainly has meaning, but not to the hearer of the words. If a prayer for relief is spoken in a foreign language, it does have meaning, but not to the hearers of the words. For the hearer, then, there is no gospel message; for the hearer, then, there is no prayer of relief; and for the hearer, then, there is no change in the mind.

But this is the purpose of words; to have an effect on the hearer. Therefore, if the person speaking, or if the person hearing, or if both the speaker and the hearer (whichever combination) cannot understand the words, there is no point in the words being spoken.

Paul’s logic here perfectly demonstrates that unknown “ecstatic” or “prayer language” tongues uttered by Charismatics are false. As was noted in the commentary on verse 7, there is no language which can be unknown to God, because there is nothing that God doesn’t know. There can be no words uttered with the intent of edifying Him because He knows all. But, Paul says that the words uttered by a person are to be uttered for the edification of himself or others. If the speaker utters a supposed “ecstatic” tongue which means nothing to anyone else, then it has no purpose at all; God doesn’t need edification. Without understanding, there can be no “Amen.” This would be contrary to the purpose of communication within the church.

Life application: Thinking through difficult issues, particularly when they have been so often misrepresented by others, is difficult. But this is what we are called to do. Think!

Heavenly Father, I rejoice in You. Amen.

Thursday, 29 January 2015

What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. 1 Corinthians 14:15

The previous verse said, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.” Anytime someone prays in a foreign language, they have no change in their mental state concerning the prayer. If a person doesn’t understand Latin, but knows prayers in Latin (a very common occurrence), there is no edification in uttering the prayer. They are just meaningless words which come off the tongue but which serve no actual purpose for the one praying. Nor do they serve any purpose for the one hearing if that person doesn’t speak Latin.

This was the case in the Roman Catholic Church for eons. Until 1965, the Catholic Mass was completely in Latin and nobody was edified. It was a useless gesture to go to Mass in order to learn about Christ because there was nothing to learn. There were just incoherent words coming from the priest. This is still true with portions of many services and it actually serves no valid purpose according to Paul. In response to such ostentation, he asks an obvious question. “What is the conclusion then?”

He is asking those at Corinth (and thus us!) to think this issue through. What good at all is such a display other than to have the one making it feel good about speaking in a tongue no one understands? Or even worse, to withhold vital information from the hearer. This was the case in the Roman Catholic Church. The liturgy was intentionally kept in Latin to keep congregants in the dark as to their spiritual needs. Instead of learning about Christ, they were kept dependent on the church. It became a dark and sinister practice of bondage.

In response to such unfruitfulness, Paul proclaims, “I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding.” There needs to be a uniting of the spirit (the breath, meaning the words issued off the tongue) and the mind, or understanding. If not, then there has been only wasted effort on the part of the one praying. But continuing further, and in a point that we should not miss, he says, “I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.”

Paul, speaking in the first person, but using it as a tool to mean all people individually, includes singing along with speaking. It is an important thing he has said here to refute the doctrine of speaking in incoherent tongues, such as are heard in Charismatic churches. His words demonstrate conclusively that the “tongues” Paul is speaking about are known languages. As he combines prayer and singing in one verse which is discussing the same subject, it shows that the sounds that he has been, is, and will continue to be speaking of are known languages, not made up sounds.

Songs are written in known languages. They may not be known to the hearers, but they always have a known message by the one composing them. This was addressed by Paul earlier when speaking of the three aspects of sound – voice, distinction, and sound. Together, these are combined with words which then produce a song. It is more than unreasonable to assume that Paul means anything other than a real song which uses known words. To claim otherwise would be done so based on a presupposition which is not supported at all by his commentary in this chapter.

Life application: 才能薰陶，一個人需要說話連貫和指令的接收者可理解的語言。Paul 要求我們用陶冶和與別人建立良好的詞。讓我們努力永遠這樣做。Oh, I’m sorry. What I said is, “In order to be edified, one needs to speak coherently and in a language that the receiver of the instruction understands. Paul asks us to use words which edify and build others up. Let us endeavor to always do so.”

My precious Lord, the words “Just a closer walk with Thee” can’t even begin to explain how much I want You near. I don’t just want to walk with You, but to be filled with You. And I don’t want this in a given measure, but in an ever-increasing measure. Fill me even to overflowing with Your goodness and Your grace. Cover me in Your perfect righteousness, and surround me in Your infinite glory. May the beauty of Your majesty envelop me so that You are all that the world sees. This is my heart’s desire, O God. Amen.

Wednesday, 28 January 2015

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 1 Corinthians 14:14

Some translations insert the word “unknown” before “tongue” to provide a sense of clarity. Paul just spoke in the previous verse saying, “let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.” This, as noted, refers to someone praying in a known language. Paul, now using the first person, says that if he prays in a known language that he doesn’t understand, then “my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.”

As seen in the analysis of the previous verse, this is not an uncommon thing. People read prayers in other languages often in churches. If they don’t know the meaning of the words, then there is no comprehension of what is being said. His words in the coming verse will continue to explain the need for understanding, both in prayer and in song. Songs, maybe even more than prayers, are often sung in other languages. It is nice to hear them and they may be great melodies, but unless the words are known, there is no comprehension of what is being sung.

If there is no understanding, then there is no fruit for the mind. There is no growth, no development, and no edification. Paul is continuously bringing his words back to development and growth in Christ. His instruction shows a desire for Christian maturity, not immaturity. If the congregation continuously focuses on tongues, there will be no growth. Instead, there will be a weak and ineffective group that is bent on self-centeredness and division, which is exactly what was to be found in Corinth.

Life application: There are several purposes for gathering in a church setting. We are there to praise and worship the Lord, we go to fellowship with others, and we also go in order to receive instruction and grow in our walk with the Lord. By clinging to childish habits in the church, we will continue on in immaturity. Let us endeavor to grow and develop in Christ each time we assemble as a body.

Lord, today I need Your hand of peace upon me. The world I live in is filled with an ever-increasing hatred of what is right and moral. Your word is ignored, it is twisted by those with evil intent in order to say what You never meant, and our leaders honor You with their lips, but their hearts are far from You. I mourn in my spirit, looking for a life that is in close fellowship with You, but these things steal my joy. Return me to a contented place in You. Help me to fix my eyes on You once again. Amen.

Tuesday, 27 January 2015

 Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 1 Corinthians 14:13

It needs to be remembered the context of who Paul is writing to and under what circumstances. He is writing to the church of the Corinthians at a very early date in church history. In that congregation, there were Jews and Gentiles alike who had come to know Christ. It is certain that the majority of the Jews felt the prayers to God should be in their language.

Learning to speak Hebrew is not an overly difficult task. Even today, many Jewish people can read and speak the language, but they have no comprehension of the words. They often participate in the reading of Scripture at certain special times during the year, but they are only spoken words without meaning to their minds; the sounds are unintelligible.

Today, we have the same thing come up in churches from time to time. Lutheran churches may have a prayer written by Martin Luther read aloud. It will be in the original German and almost any competent English speaker can read the words in German because they are the same letters. Maybe the person even took a year of German in High School. If so, their pronunciation will be even better. But there is no understanding at all of what the words mean. This is what Paul is speaking about – real languages being spoken during the church service. The only problem is that they are unknown tongues to the people’s ears.

Understanding this context helps us to grasp what Paul is saying. “Therefore” rests upon his words concerning the understanding of the “voice” of a thing, or even a language which is heard. For the benefit of the person who is listening to a Hebrew prayer, passage, or other communication, the speaker should pray for the ability to interpret the words he is speaking. If not, then the people who are listening will never come to understand the meaning of what has been said. They will remain un-edified in their thinking and the words will have been wasted breath.

The gift of interpreting what is spoken will come as the speaker learns the language. This should be his prayer. In essence, “Lord, give me the understanding of these words so that I can properly interpret them for the benefit of the others who hear them.” In this, all will be edified through those spoken words.

Life application: Let it be the goal of all Christians to speak edifying words to those in the congregation. If we are given something to speak which is written in Spanish, German, or Japanese, we should pray that we can not only read it, but interpret it as well. Otherwise, the words have no substance behind them for those who hear.

How I cherish my moments with You, O God. I love to feel Your presence as I work, as I drive, and as I walk along the path to wherever I am going. What a difference when I do these things when You aren’t on my mind! The time is dull and meaningless. But when I have You in my thoughts, the sky is bluer, the leaves are greener, and the time passes with a simple ease that fills me with joy. Give me the mind and the presence to remember that You are always with me and that I can always have this state of peace. Amen.