1 Corinthians 14, Why Are You Here?

First Corinthians 14: Tongues, Prophecy, and Building Up the Church

First Corinthians chapter 14 hear the word of the Lord. Pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts. Especially that you may prophesy for one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God.

For no one understands him. But he utters mysteries in spirit. On the other hand the one who prophesied speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.

Now I want you all to speak in tongues and 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. 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 if?

Even lifeless instruments such as the flute or the harp do not give distinct notes. How will anyone know what is played and if the bugle gives an indistinct sound who will get ready for battle. 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? There are doubtless many different languages in the world and none is without meaning. 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.

So with yourselves since you are eager for manifestation to the spirit strive to excel in building up the church. Therefore one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret for if I pray in a tongue my spirit prays.

But my mind is unfruitful. 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. Otherwise if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say?

Amen to the Thanksgiving when he does not know what you were saying. For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you nevertheless in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others than 10 ,000 words in a tongue.

Brothers do not be children in your thinking be infants in evil. But in your thinking being mature 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.

Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers, but for believers. 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.

And if all prophesy and an unrepentant or Unbeliever or outsider enters he will be convicted by all he is called to account by all 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.

What then brothers? When you come together each one has a him a lesson a Revelation a tongue or an interpretation that all things be done for building up. If any speak in a tongue. Let there be only two or at the most three and each in turn and let someone interpret.

But if there is no one to interpret let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak and let the others weigh what is said if a revelation is made to another sitting there.

Let the first be silent for you can all prophesy one by one so that all may learn and be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets for God is not a God of confusion, but a peace and It as in all the churches of the Saints 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 if there is anything they desire to learn. Let them ask their husbands at home for his shameful for a woman to speak in church. Or was it from you that the Word of God came or are you the only ones it has reached?

If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or spiritual He should acknowledge that that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If anyone does not recognize this He has not recognized. So my brothers earnestly desire to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

But all things should be done decently and in order. May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word a Little over a month ago. I watched a documentary during our one month free trial of Netflix called American factory.

It's about an old GM factory in Ohio that was closed during the Great Recession in 2008 because it was inefficient. It wasn't profit-making it wasn't operating correctly. It was bought by a Chinese company foo yowl to make automotive glass.

It opened in this desperate Ohio town to great celebration and relief that it would bring back most of the jobs that had been lost but the Chinese company this foo yowl was intent on changing the culture of the factory on changing the way the people worked and did business to transform the factory into a Chinese style factory and to do that it sought to transfer there the practices and the habits.

Even the even the culture from the Chinese company to the local American workers. So anyway, that's what it's trying to do. It's trying to make this factory like it's Original the Chinese version. It's this factory in America like the original one in in China now to do that.

Of course it need to shape and remake these people and it began by having half the supervisors. But it began by having half the supervisors to be local Americans and the other half of the supervisors were brought in from China fujianese.

Each working that's where they all were in this factory each working alongside. Each other that is a Chinese supervisor working alongside an American one with the goal of teaching the Americans hopefully shaping them according to their ways to Inculcate in them a a new culture to the American supervisors, which they would then share.

With their with the blue-collar workers under them the average workers under them. They even brought some of the American supervisors to the mother factory in China so that they could see Firsthand what their Chinese partners were trying to mold them into.

It was a thorough attempt at what's called inculturation at changing a culture. Now you might think that since the Americans Always had led to the cult to the closing of the factory and making it too inefficient to keep going.

That since that they were desperate for jobs. That they'd be open to new ideas. They'd be malleable. They'd be wanting new ways of doing things. They'd be willing to change. You might think that. But you'd be wrong.

Instead the film shows how the Americans kept doing things. Their old way the American way to the frustration of the Chinese bosses. Eventually leading the Chinese CEO to fire all the American supervisors and bring in all Chinese ones that is they gave up at least for now.

Trying to change the culture of the American supervisors. They they find transforming culture or inculturation too difficult.

It's easier.

Just to fly in the supervisors from China. It's difficult to change a culture. It's hard just to learn about another culture much less change your own. I think learning another culture is one of the most difficult things you can do.

More difficult than learning another language. You take it you take your culture for granted like air you never think about it. You didn't learn it in school. Not like history and so you can't easily unlearn it by being schooled.

You just drank it in with your milk whether dairy or soy. You imagine that culture like like values the things you value how to work how you regard. Authority how you treat your boss how you interact how you take his word or how you regard your family.

That's you think that's just part of nature. That's just the way things are done. Everywhere. And so cultural transformation is extremely hard and yet. That's what we're to be doing in church you understand we are in the process of transforming.

From the culture of the world that we've learned out there. Where man is the measure of all things? And all these kind of distorted things that we're not even aware of maybe are distorted yet. And we we come to God and we realize they're distorted.

We're in the process of transforming from that what we've taken for granted. To the culture of the kingdom of God and that's that's partly what we're here for right now to get our weekly injection of culture change.

One area that the culture of this world especially in this country in the culture of the kingdom of God. Clash is over the church over. What is the church what it's for? Most of all who it's for. To put it succinctly Why are we here?

If you answer that just immediately kind of just taking it for granted. Well, I'm here. Of course. I'm here for me. I'm here to get a blessing. Well, then you need a culture change. So, why are you here?

The Corinthians had the same problem. Oh, they love going to church.

You know.

They got to eat a lot and drink a lot at least if they were one of the first to arrive. Everyone got to speak and apparently no one had to listen. They loved going to church. They had just forgotten why?

Their culture told them that was for the same reason the pagans went to their temples. Right to get the religious services that they wanted to get a blessing. Paul says the big picture the main idea. Behind all these instructions in chapter 14 on speaking in tongues and prophecy and all the rest all these little details and may kind of.

Boggle you and.

Distract you you need. The main idea though is that you need a fundamental change in your culture in What you think it's about or why? You are here at church. Why are you here? Here in first Corinthians 14 Paul reminds them Why they went to church why they were together.

It wasn't just to get a blessing like the reason you go to a restaurant or do a movie, right? You are here. Paul told them you meet together to build each other up to give a Blessing. They build each other up to speaking and through their order.

There's one main point in this chapter.

One point.

Build each other up. The main way we build each other up he says is by what he calls Prophecy. Now do people still have the gift of prophecy? Do that today? Well, if we mean do people speak out new scripture like Isaiah and Jeremiah.

I'm thinking that's what it means to prophesy words from God that should be written down and added to the Bible. Well, certainly not that last days have come. New Testament teaches that that means that God has revealed everything He is going to reveal.

There's no new revelation. Of that sort no angels are giving scriptures in the caves of Arabia. That's not happening such as Mohammed claimed or of golden tablets found in the woods of America as Joseph Smith did.

But that is obviously not what Paul is referring to in this chapter as prophecy. Prophecy here is never equated with scripture. It is even weighed and judged the kind of prophecy or you don't weigh and judge Isaiah and Jeremiah.

Well, you can weigh and judge prophecies these kind of prophecies if it passes the test then it can be encouraging or it can be Convicting but even then it is not written down and added to the Bible. Like we have no scripture that comes from the kind of prophecies.

He's talking about here in chapter 14. The prophecy here is not a new revelation. Alongside the Bible it's it's a fresh edification to bring us back to the Bible. Something from the God of the Bible to bring us back to him.

It's prophecy a supernatural revelation. Is that what he's referring to though? Is prophecy a supernatural revelation in verse 25 when an outsider has the secrets of his heart that disclosed by a prophecy?

Well, maybe I heard of a story. Maybe you don't believe this kind of stories but I think it comes to a liable source, but I heard a story of a man converted after he met another man on a Met a Christian man on an airplane a total stranger.

Had supposedly received a word from God that he was having an affair. And even able to give the name of the woman that he was having an affair with. Well, that would certainly be a secret of your heart.

They would wake someone up that God is real. Now, is that all there is to prophecy? Now if so, that's a pretty remote. I mean that may seem spectacular, but that's kind of remote from our daily lives.

Not the kind of thing you think is probably gonna happen to me. Think even if we're open to that gift what we can say about prophecy with certainty from this chapter is that it is for building up and the first verse he tells us to especially earnestly desire the gift of Prophecy now it is to build up.

It's to encourage and console the church. There it is. It's defined for us basically in verse 3 the kind of prophecy is talking about its things inspired by the Spirit that build up The church that encourage it that console believers.

It's beneficial to God's people in verse 6. Prophecy is the discernible sounds. Like of a bugle that rally the troops in verses 7 to 8. It can bring conviction and conversion to the unbeliever in verse 24 and verse 24 and 25.

So that is prophecy. Speaking empowered by the Holy Spirit that that builds up the church either by encouraging or convicting searching our hearts. So that we sense our sin or consoling us if we need consoling or by converting some people who need that.

It doesn't have to be standing up acting like you've been taken over by some outside force. Remember verse 32 the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets doesn't have to come in King James English.

And begin with thus sayeth the Lord. Sounding every bit like Isaiah and Jeremiah. It is any speaking of the truth empowered by the Holy Spirit. So then is that what I'm doing right now? Is it preaching?

Well, it might be. But it's not only preaching because it's available to everyone at all believers, but everyone can't preach a Lot of people aren't about. I joke that half the men in Castle County think they're preachers.

But it's not as easy as it looks but but I always hope that my preaching contains prophesying that the sins of our hearts are Laid bare and we hear God speaking to us. Especially especially through it through the preaching so there becomes prophecy.

I think that's what we pray for when we pray that. Preaching would be anointed or empowered or have a term you want to use that the God would speak through it. The other words that there's prophesying going on preaching isn't prophesying.

If it's just a lifeless lecture on religion and morality. Dead words to dead ears. That's not prophesying if it is the Holy Spirit. Empowering if he's in it, then it can become that so more of us can prophesy.

And just me the preacher. Maybe we can prophesy with consoling words. To someone who was sad or in distress. There's something in their life. That's distressing or with encouraging words to someone who's tired.

And.

Burdened.

Maybe willing it may be tempted to give up the Christian life or maybe we can prophesy with with bold words at the simple truth Of Scripture is someone needs to hear. Maybe we can prophesy by sharing the gospel with the kids.

This evening when they come here or not. Everyone is called to stand in front of crowds and deliver sermons. But all of us can have the power to share the Word of God all also. Prophesying I believe can be any of those things he listed in verse 26 a hymn a song.

Can be prophesying when that is powered by the Spirit something new that God has taught you that you're maybe you're sharing on a Wednesday Night or our fellowship time before and after the service or over the phone or through email any intelligible Communication of God's truth can be empowered by the Spirit to become a prophecy.

There's no reason why we have to have the stilted forms. You know like like we're out of control like we're one of the Old Testament prophets. That's not really what we need. What we need is the power of the Spirit.

He comes and he can turn our words into God's words and become in what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 29 a fire and A hammer it breaks the rock in pieces. Paul tells us that we should seek that gift so that we can all add something to the body in verse 12 strive to excel and Building up the church.

I think that basically the theme verse of this chapter. That's it encapsulated. Strive to excel and building up the church. He says it again in verse 26. Let all things be done. For building up and does that mean we should all try to prophesy.

Well, maybe. But here only two or three were to speak at one meeting. Does that mean that we should all preach? No, I don't think so. Not everyone is gifted to do that. We all have different gifts and in Romans 12 Paul tells church members not to think too highly of themselves then.

Then they ought to not to think they have a gift that they really don't have. He says to think with sober judgment. Be aware of yourself think clearly about what you're gifted to do what you have a gift for and Therefore should do and what you don't have a gift to do.

Trouble is often caused in churches when people think they have a gift to do something. They really really don't and no one wants to be the bad and it was the one to break the bad news. It's really not your thing.

But once you find think soberly about yourself, then use our gifts like prophecy. He says in according in Romans chapter 12 verse 6 according to the grace Given to us. In other words use your gift according to how much of a gift that you be given.

If we haven't been given a gift. Think with sober judgment. I would think clearly don't be intoxicated with your ego or what you want. Think clearly discern the body. Think about the church what's best for it now, which is what you want to do.

Do what's best for the body of Christ? Not just for your ego. Strive to excel and building up the church. In that documentary American factory, there's one key scene. It was a Chinese manager of the factory who's lived in the USA.

He says for like 20 25 years tries to explain to these newly arrived Chinese supervisors who are kind of you know baffled by this weird American culture trying to explain American culture to them and he's Speaking to them.

It's in Mandarin, but there was subtitles. He says these Americans have been raised by being told how great they are. They've been raised on flattery. And so he says the supervisor they're scribbling down notes.

You know studious students listening to this and so these Americans they're very confident. He says they're too confident in this culture. We're told we can be anything. We set our minds to be. We can do anything that we want to do but the Bible says we need to think with sober judgment.

What am I really gifted to do? Then once you find that what is the church need? We need to transform a culture. It's all about self-confidence and.

Assertion.

Transform that. To one that is about service to the body of Christ the people for whom Jesus died.

And.

This brings us back to the Corinthians. They love the gift of tongues. Apparently they loved it so much many of them just showed it off in public. And they did that of course because They had forgotten why?

They went to church. So, why are you here? Many of the Corinthians had the gift of tongues and Paul does not say there's anything wrong with that. He claims he has it himself, but he doesn't do it in public.

The church does not need to show off gift. You know worship is not a talent show. That's not what we meet for the Corinthians wanted to bring their tongues to church. Many want to do the same today. Or at least I'll make the church about whatever Talent they have the biblical reason why not to do that.

Is that using that gift in public does nothing for anyone? Except the one using the gift. That's what he says in verse 4 though. The one who speaks in a tongue. Builds up himself. Well, that's fine if you're by yourself.

But Paul tells them that there is no reason to use this gift in church. That's just not what church is about when we are together. We're supposed to understand what we are together for we are to consider how we are to build each other up.

Not just about what we can get out of this time. Just kind of consuming it for ourselves. Where's the blessing for me in all this? The issue here really isn't tongues per se but the underlying culture of why they went to church.

They thought they went to edify themselves for what they could get out of it. I saw a Christian expressed shock with the idea that church attendance wasn't all about his personal edification. That he was supposed to consider others to walk together in Christian love.

I thought it was forgetting a blessing. He thought that's that old culture. Refusing to change here. Paul says that even When there is real speaking in tongues, you know, whatever you think about it today here.

They had the real gift and even when it's real. There is no reason to do that in church. Not absolutely it would be like coming to church like being here right now and just kind of zoning out and Opening up your Bible and doing your own personal Bible reading having your daily devotional while you're sitting here in church with us.

Now, is there anything wrong with reading your Bible? Well, of course not. We all hope you build yourself up daily with it. But when we're together You're supposed to have others in mind. What can I do to build up others.

You're here. Paul tells them to build up the body. The word for build up or to edify Occurs seven times in this chapter in verse three twice in verse four five twelve seventeen and twenty six. So if that's the purpose of our gathering I'm here to build you up and you are here here to build us up.

Then that affects everything we do why we come here. It should change our culture. Unless of course our culture of consumerism Has changed us. Unless we refuse to change. And we refuse to see that the attitudes and the assumptions that we've just grown up with that.

We've adopted that we were fed with our milk that those must be transformed. That it's not all about getting the services. And the blessing to show. I want, you know. Many churches have decided and I think whether they know it or not then instead of trying to change.

The culture.

They'll they'll surrender to it. They'll play along with it kind of said to themselves Well, if I can't beat it, I'll join it and make the church targeted to you the customer. Some of them are quite good at it and they grow big.

You're bringing the audience in. Some of them are not so good at it. And they just keep trying harder and harder. Many of them think that it's just it's too hard to change the culture of self-centered church attendance, so they succumb to it.

In verses 20 to 25. He compares two kinds of services the first of which everyone is speaking in tongues. So they're only caring about building up themselves about the blessing they could get for themselves and an unbeliever comes in and thinks looks at all this and thinks these Christians are all Insane in the unbeliever doesn't want to hear about this gospel again.

And so He goes on his way to his judgment now on one level. That is God's Judgment on them because God is in control of all things. That's God's judgment on such people on them on believers. The outsider will turn away and not believe in Jesus because he thinks well look at look at what the gospel creates.

Look what the church is about. It's a bunch of crazy selfish self-absorbed people. Why do I want to become like them? Tongues are a sign he says in verse 22 and he doesn't mean a good sign out of confusion of people.

Tongues are a sign that means they're supposed to hear something from it.

No.

He means it's a sign of God's judgment against them just as in the verse from Isaiah that he quotes in the previous verse verse 21. By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people we're being invaded by these people who who are speaking a language.

They couldn't understand that was a sign that God had judged and condemned them. So here. The person the unbeliever comes into a church. Here's all tongues. Nothing edifying for himself doesn't hear the gospel.

That's a sign that God has Judged and condemned him. But you don't want to be the one to give that kind of song. Churches, they're all about me. Me being all that I can be. Meeting together, but still only thinking about you know.

Why can I get out of this the blessing for me the culture of consumerism? Overtaking the church that makes the church like a restaurant basically. Churches that end up turning those churches like that end up turning people away from the gospel.

They end up being an instrument of God's judgment on people rather than an instrument of his mercy on people. One report released just this past week predicted that 35 million youth in America will leave the church by 2050 in the next 30 years in other words of predicting basically that the church is going to rapidly diminish in the next in the coming generation and That's mostly I believe because we've succumbed to the culture of consumerism.

We've made the church just another consumer good that exists for for my devouring and when people come in and when they see that the church Did everything about it? Maybe the way in many places people dress them the music they use the the archaic language.

They use in their Bible translation that it's all chosen with only themselves in mind. Well, they'll go away thinking we're just crazy. Or we're just a bunch of selfish people. They don't care about anything but our convenience.

But if all the people prophesy that is that they speak empowered by the Spirit and so people hear the gospel Applied to their lives here. They hear that their sins are sins. Then the unbeliever will be convicted the Word of God empowered by the Spirit will will be the fire.

It burns through the opposition and the hammer that breaks through their hardness of heart. He will know that he is a sinner even if out release a moral person. His secret sinfulness that's in all our hearts will be exposed and he will know his need for salvation.

So in verse 25, he will fall in his face says and worship God declaring that God is really among That church. God is really there. This is true. This is real. That's what can happen when the church comes together not thinking of the blessing I can get for myself.

But how the Holy Spirit can use us in the lives of others. Now some of you may found to the stock about speaking in tongues either bizarre. That's for this crazy Pentecostal people are are intriguing some are repulsed by the idea and some are are fascinated and drawn to it.

Well, so what do we make of this gift? There's no reason to believe from this chapter that the positive things he appears to be saying about tongues are Not what they appear to be that is positive things in verse 2 the one who speaks in a tongue speaks to God.

But it's better to speak to others when you're in church. In verse 4 the one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself. But when you're with the church, it's better to build it up. In verse 17, he says.

You may give thanks well enough by praying in tongues. But it's better to think of others who want to know when to say amen when you're with others. In verse 18, he's thanks God that he speaks in tongues more than all those Corinthians who showed it off so much.

But he did it in private when he was with them. He says he'd rather speak five words to build them up. Finally in verse 39. He frankly says do not forbid speaking in tongues but most of all.

Strive.

To build up the church so we should not so react to those who have abused the gift of this gift of tongues or Experiences in general with a spirit that they've you know. Maybe they've gone through an extreme and so we react to them by going to the other extreme of making the Christian life.

Just basically all mental. That it's all about cold Orthodoxy getting your doctrine all in order about holding to the right doctrines and keeping them keeping the rules. We need to remember That the God we serve is higher Than our minds.

He's not irrational. He's not anti natural, but he can be Super rational and Supernatural that there's a dimension to our Christian lives. That is about Experiencing him about knowing his fellowship in our hearts.

About being awed by his presence overwhelmed with his power. Knowing him in a way They can never be fully explained in a theology textbook. To people to come to church like many do here and now all around us for the attitude, you know, what's in it for me?

Where's my blessing? They didn't understand why I'm speaking in tongues in church was a problem. What's the problem? I'm building myself up. They get they get a blessing and so that what it's all about.

They need to change their culture so that they are focused first on Being a blessing on building others up on serving other members. You can desire gifts that build yourself up sure. But earnestly desire gifts that you can use to build others up.

After all.

That's why you're here. Why are you here? Paul believes in the power of the Spirit and spiritual gifts. Many people believe in that today, but many believe. Who believe that think well. That is a reason then.

Not to prepare anything beforehand. Just throw out an order of service any prepared notes and any prepared songs, whatever. Just cut loose. Do what you feel and call that. Being moved by the Spirit many assume that the Holy Spirit and.

Order are.

Mutually exclusive. You're gonna have one or the other but not both if you have the Holy Spirit. You know, there'll be people running around and shouting and speaking over each other and services going on for hours with hardly anything really Intelligible said.

And if you have order, well, you're you're dead. Graveyards are orderly they say. But Paul specifically tells them that they need order that the Holy Spirit brings peace. Not confusion.

Decency.

Not disorder order will ensure that the meetings build up. Everyone a free-for-all is not good for all. So it gives rules he imposes an order to their main service two or three speaking three at the most.

Let them stand up in turn. Keep silent when one is speaking you can imagine two of them were trying to preach at once that's kind of confusing and Since I believe he's already given rules under which women can pray and prophesy in their meetings in chapter 11.

The scripture here about keeping silent. It seems has to do with their weighing the prophecies or at least maybe Talking over others while they were speaking they can prophesy but not not weigh them. Those with the gift of prophecy are to speak others.

Perhaps other prophets or the elders are to weigh what is said to discern about discern it. Biblically you don't take it as an authority as if it were scripture because it's not again one by one for the benefit of all.