WWUTT 1611 Let All Things Be Done for Edification (1 Corinthians 14:26-28)

Orderly Worship and Edification in the Church

The Bible says that our worship services on Sunday need to be orderly. God is a God of order, not disorder, so our praise unto the Lord together as his church should be orderly, when we understand the text.

This is When We Understand The Text, a daily study in the word of Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness. Find all our videos and other ministry resources at www .utt .com.

Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. We're back to our study in 1 Corinthians 14. God willing, we'll finish up the chapter this week. Still have about a third of the chapter left to go, and I'm going to start off here reading verses 26 to 40 out of the Legacy Standard Bible the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth.

What is the outcome then, brothers? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has a translation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must translate.

But if there is no translator, he must keep silent in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God. And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made in another who is seated, the first one must keep silent.

For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn, and all may be exhorted. And the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

The women are to keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are subject themselves, just as the law also says. But if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.

Was it from you that the word of God first went forth, or has it arrived to you only? If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment.

But if anyone remains ignorant about this, he is ignored by God. Therefore, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

So in this final third here of 1 Corinthians 14, we're still talking about speaking in tongues. That has been the spiritual gift that Paul is focused on from verses 1 through 25. He's talked about spiritual gifts in general, that the purpose of the gifts is to edify and build up the church.

But he's mainly zeroed in on speaking in tongues, because this particular gift has been abused in the church in Corinth. So he comes back to speaking about the gifts in general, and more so than he has previously in this chapter, but we're still laying down some stipulations regarding the exercise or the practice of speaking in tongues.

And once again, Paul is doing this to ensure that it is not abused, and it's not going to be a matter of somebody standing up and exercising this particular spiritual gift to draw attention to themselves, or make it sound like they're even speaking some kind of secret language that the Spirit has made them and them only privy to, and you have to have me in order to understand this particular language.

Paul is saying if somebody's going to speak in that tongue, there must be somebody else to be able to translate. And if there is no translator, that guy must sit down and be quiet. So that's part of the stipulations that we have here.

Since he's made so many qualifications regarding the speaking in tongues, especially as it pertains to the body of believers, the gathering of the saints together for church, we have this statement at the very conclusion, verse 39, where he says, Therefore, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy.

That was right at the beginning of the chapter, so he's coming back to that again. We have the heads and tails, or the top and tail, is the way Tom Buck will refer to it. The top and the tail are the same.

Sometimes you're looking for context, or you're looking for the structure of a particular passage. If you see the same thing at the beginning as you see at the end, there's an emphasis there. Sometimes it might be flip-flopped, like you'll see something said at the beginning and it's kind of mirrored at the conclusion.

Then in between, somewhere, you're going to find the main focus of the passage. Here we have, in 1 Corinthians 14, it begins and ends the same way. You have in verse 1, Pursue love, yet earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God. For no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and encouragement.

Okay, remember that from the first three verses? Here we have, at the conclusion, the last three verses. If anyone remains ignorant about this, he is ignored by God. Therefore, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues, but all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

Which again, coming back to pursue love. Desire the spiritual gifts, but in love it must be done orderly and properly as God has designated it to be. So we have that top and the tail. You have it begin one way and it ends the same way.

So we know that chapter 14 is one collected thought. There have been some other places where we might have several subjects going on in the same chapter, or you have a subject that extends over several chapters.

But 1 Corinthians 14, that's definitely one chapter that you can look at and say, we have one thought here, beginning and ending. And Paul is starting the thought and concluding the thought here. Now, of course, this is in the context of spiritual gifts that we've been talking about since chapter 12.

But as we specifically zero in on that gift of speaking in tongues, and then Paul also stating the purpose of the gifts in general, is to be for the edification of the church. So he has set it up talking about spiritual gifts in chapter 12, talking about the variety or the diversity of the church, as the Holy Spirit is going to bless with varying spiritual gifts.

Each person has a gift. Some will have those gifts that are more recognized. Some are less recognized. But all of this is for the purpose of building up the body. We're still one body in Christ, different members doing different things.

But we all have the same purpose, the same father, the same baptism. All of that was kind of relayed in chapter 12. Then you have the more excellent way, which was the way of love in chapter 13. And now we're having those stipulations or those qualifications on specific spiritual gifts, especially with regards to speaking in tongues here in chapter 14.

So as Paul has been laying these things out, as he has said that it is the Spirit who designates these gifts, and for the purpose of building up the church, seek to abound for the edification of the church.

That was in verse 12. So in verse 26, we kind of move again to what would be, if you were outlining chapter 14, this might be point three, right? When you get to verse 26. So we've had the first two points in the first 25 verses, point three here in verse 26.

And Paul begins this section with a question. What is the outcome then? So we've talked about love. We've been talking about the spiritual gifts. We've been talking about the right exercise of speaking in tongues.

So what is the outcome then, brothers? When you assemble, each one has a psalm. Each has a teaching. Each has a revelation. Each has a tongue. Each has a translation. Let all of these things be done for edification.

It's all for feeding the church, that everybody may be filled. We're all receiving something from God. Our spirits are being fed by what is being said. Therefore, those things that are said must make sense.

Now, this falls not only in the middle of the chapter, but as we see that conclusion in verses 39 and 40, this sums up the chapter. It also sums up this next section. So you have at the start here, the start of this section, verse 26, what's the outcome?

Everything being done orderly. What's the outcome, brothers? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has a translation. Let all things be done for edification.

What's the conclusion in verse 40? But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner. So Paul is talking about here being orderly. That verse 40, therefore, concludes not only the overall thought of chapter 14, but even this section that we've come into, where Paul is going to focus on the orderliness of a church service.

Now, it's not that what we have here is Paul writing the bulletin, right? So the apostle Paul is not going, here's what your order of service should look like in your church. We have it laid out for us in 1 Corinthians 14.

Therefore, every order of service in whatever church you attend has to look like what Paul laid out here for us. He doesn't do that. We don't have a designation of what a church service should look like here.

What he is saying, though, is that your service is going to contain these basic elements. And each of these elements must be given their own consideration. So you're not doing the prophecy and the psalm at the same time.

Nobody's speaking in tongues over one another. You're not just randomly speaking in tongues, but there's somebody who has the translation of that tongue so that it may make sense and edify the entire body.

All of these things have to be done in orderliness. Also, with the way that Paul has been talking about speaking in tongues in the first 25 verses of this chapter, his statement here in verse 26 is not to say that part of your church service must include speaking in tongues.

And there are some Pentecostal and charismatic churches that read it this way. Because as Paul says in verse 26, you got psalm, you got teaching, you got revelation, you got tongue, you got translation.

So therefore, since that's what Paul is saying about the church service, then your service must include somebody speaking in tongues and then somebody giving a translation of it. But that's not what Paul is stating here.

Because remember, you have to keep this in context with even everything that he said previously about speaking in tongues. If a church were exercising in the right way what the Bible says tongues are and what Paul says needs to be the discipline regarding the speaking in tongues and the translation of it, if any church were doing that according to what we have here in 1 Corinthians 14, and I'm talking present day, charismatic church, Pentecostal church, cessationist church, doesn't matter.

If every church was following this instruction, nobody in our present day would be standing up and speaking anything that they claim is speaking in tongues. Unless somebody is standing up and speaking a foreign language and somebody else is translating.

But in our Western world context, of course, as I'm speaking here, I'm an American, I live in Texas. I'm speaking mostly in the North American context, though I know I've got listeners from all over the world.

But speaking from a Western world mindset, there is not a reason to have somebody in the church speaking in a tongue and then having somebody else stand up and translate. There's not a reason for that.

We don't need it. We have everything that we could need revealed to us from God in the Bible. The speaking in tongues was to reveal that a message had been given by God. That's stated in Hebrews chapter two, that these miraculous gifts were granted by the Holy Spirit for his will to verify and authenticate that this word that is being spoken is coming from God.

We have that word fully confirmed, as Peter says in second Peter one. So we don't need those miraculous gifts any longer to verify to us that a word that is being spoken is from the Lord. Now I say that with this qualification, that doesn't mean that God is not doing miracles in our present day.

But the regularity by which these things happen in various churches is just not according to what we see here in scripture. You've got Pentecostal and charismatic churches in your town, and they're gonna be practicing speaking in tongues this coming Sunday morning.

And again, if they were following Paul's instruction here in first Corinthians 14, they would not be doing that because the Holy Spirit is definitely not granting that. And it is not for the edification of the body.

There is a spiritual experience that's going on there, but it is definitely not for the benefit of building up the church in love. And it's certainly not for the purpose of what we see tongues used for in the New Testament.

And that is to verify that a word that is being spoken is truly from the Lord. So given these things that Paul has said here in chapter 14 about spiritual gifts, about speaking in tongues, and you have these different elements of the worship service, a Psalm, a teaching, a revelation, the purpose again, as stated here in verse 26 is, let all things be done for edification.

So it's not about you having your spiritual experience. It's not about you being seen or noticed or praised for your spiritualness. There is a mutuality that is happening in the church in which our desire is to build one another up in love.

We're all growing each other in Christ, into the head who is Christ Jesus, that we may mature one another together the way that Paul puts it in Ephesians chapter four. So then Paul says again here in verse 27, if anyone speaks in a tongue, if you're gonna continue to insist on this, if somebody's gonna speak in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three and each in turn and one must translate.

So if anybody in the church is speaking in tongues in the gathered worship service on the Lord's day, at the most Paul says three people. So there should not be this thing happening in the church of a bunch of people, 20 or 30 people at once speaking in gibberishness and calling that speaking in tongues.

That should not happen. If anybody's gonna be speaking in tongues and Paul can designate this, he has authority to say this because he's an apostle. And keep in mind that at the end of this chapter, he says, if anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment.

That's verse 37. So what Paul is laying down here is from God. He is not speaking by his own authority. He is speaking with the authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ. And he's able to say here that the practice of speaking in tongues on a Lord's day gathering should not exceed three people, two people, at the most three.

And if anybody is gonna do it, there needs to be someone there to translate. When I was in Kansas, when I was living in Junction City, there were several churches in our town that were charismatic. It was a pretty heavily charismatic area.

A lot of that has to do with the charismatic movement that had started in Topeka. I don't know if you've ever looked into the history of that, but a large movement of charismaticism originated from Topeka, which was just 60 miles from where we lived.

So there was a lot of charismaticism in Junction City. There was an elder from one of those churches that I talked with, and he was previously a Mormon and then a Jehovah's Witness. And then he became part of this apostolic church.

They were mostly independent. I don't think they were really associated with another large network. But anyway, it was the largest church in town and very cult-like, in fact. But he was an elder at this church.

And so at a public restaurant, it was actually at a McDonald's, I sat down and was having a conversation with him. And I asked him about their practice of speaking in tongues. And I said, do you understand that even if you call this a regular practice, that in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 14, the Bible says that you should have in your service at the most three people at most speaking in tongues.

And if they're gonna do that, then somebody needs to be able to be there to translate. And his response to me was, oh yeah, that's exactly what we do. Two at the most three, and somebody must translate.

And if there isn't a translator, he has to sit down and be quiet. And it's never more than that. A friend of mine had been caught up in that church before he came to ours, before he came to First Southern Baptist Church.

And he told me, no, that's not what they do there. There's people acting like zoo animals. So it was just charismatic chaos. It was very interesting to me that the elder recognized that what I was saying to him was on scriptural authority.

Like I was saying to him, the Bible says this, and he was acknowledging it. Oh yeah, I know the Bible says this, and this is how we practice that. And somebody else who had been in that congregation saying, no, what he said to you was not true.

So he knew it, but he lied about it. He knew even what the scripture said about it, but he lied about their practice just because he didn't want to have to answer, or he thought anyway, he didn't want to have to answer for their unbiblical practices.

He wasn't ready to defend that. He wasn't ready to sit there and go, yeah, you're right. The Bible says this, but we don't practice that. So Paul laying this out here, and really this is to prevent this gift from being abused or used in a way that is not of the Holy Spirit.

It's disingenuous, right? It's not real. It's not a legitimate practicing of this gift. The guidelines that Paul lays out here, the qualifications prevent this gift from being abused. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three and each in turn, and one must translate.

But if there is no translator, verse 28, he must keep silent in the church and let him speak to himself and to God. Be quiet. Now this statement, let him speak to himself and to God. That's not, he gets to go over there in his pew and just murmur to himself.

That's not what Paul is saying. He needs to speak in his mind to God, not out loud because there's no one to translate what he is saying. And it's not going to be to the benefit of anybody else. And what in his mind should he be saying when he is speaking to God?

He should be asking for someone to translate. That's what Paul had said earlier. Verse 13, therefore, let one who speaks in a tongue, pray that he may translate. So what's he supposed to go over there and speak in his mind to himself and to God?

God, give me a translator. If this really is a legitimate speaking in tongue from you, then there needs to be a translator to translate. He's supposed to go over there and be quiet and be in his thoughts with the Lord because what he has to say out of his mouth is not to the edification of the church.

That's what's being stated there. It is not an encouragement to go over there and have your private prayer language. It's to go over there and confess before the Lord to examine your own mind and heart as to whether or not what you're doing is really in the spirit or if it's just some sort of feeling that you have that you're chasing after.

That's just benefiting yourself and it's not benefiting anybody else in the church. If he's speaking to himself and to God, then it needs to be that he is asking for somebody to translate. Now, once again, and I said this earlier in chapter 14, but Jesus spoke clear words to us.

What we have from Christ in the gospels are clear words as articulated by the apostles who wrote these things down for our benefit. When Jesus prayed in the presence of his disciples, he prayed prayers that they could understand and even taught them how to pray.

And the way that he taught them to pray was praying words of sense that they understand what they are praying in their own minds and that even somebody else who overhears would be edified and benefited by that prayer.

So as Jesus modeled this for us, so this is how we are to be for one another in the church. The benefit of the spiritual gifts, once again, is to edify each other. It's to build one another up. We came to faith because we heard the gospel clearly articulated that Jesus died on a cross for our sins and rose again from the grave so that all who believe in him will not perish under the judgment of God.

We have the forgiveness of sins and we have become fellow heirs of his eternal kingdom. That was said to you plainly, clearly. So let's encourage one another clearly in that word. Heavenly Father, thank you for what you have spoken clearly to us and may we understand what's being said here so that we may continue to encourage one another and build each other up in this most holy faith that you have brought us into in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

It is in his precious name that we pray, amen.

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