1 Corinthians 14:6-12
And now, brothers and sisters, if I should come to you all
while speaking by tongues how will I assist you all unless I should speak to
you all either in a revelation or in knowledge or in prophecy or in
teaching? Likewise, while inanimate
objects that give sound – whether a flute or a lyre – unless it should give a
tone of distinction by the sound, how will the flute being played or the lyre
being played be known? For if a trumpet
should also give an imperceptible sound, who will become ready into
warfare? And thus, if you all should not
give a clear sound through the tongue, how will the ones being spoken to be
informed? For you all will be speaking
into the air! If there are so many kinds
of languages in the world and not any are without meaning, therefore if I have
not known the power of the language, I will be a barbarian to the one who
speaks and the one who speaks will be a barbarian in me. And in the same way you all – since you are
deeply committed to the Spirit – seek out the building up of the church in
order that you all should be in abundance.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought
Once more we see Paul contrast the gift of tongues with
other spiritual gifts. In this section
he clearly says that gifts such as prophecy, teaching, knowledge, or revelation
are far more useful than the gift of tongues.
Mind you, Paul is not saying the gift of tongues is useless. But he has no trouble saying that other gifts
have more use than tongues. To those who
say tongues has no place in the church, we must correct them and remind them
that nowhere in the Bible does such a claim exist – even in a passage such as
this where Paul is lowering the gift to a secondary place. However, to those who elevate tongues as
though it is more significant than other gifts we must remind them of this
passage. Tongues is a secondary gift,
useful in special circumstances but not as universally useful as others.
What do you think about the gift of speaking in tongues –
remembering that tongues can be the divine tongues as well as a gift with other
human languages? Why do some people
dismiss this gift? Why do others tend to
elevate it higher than they should?
Second Thought:
Here is the crux of Paul’s argument. When a person speaks in tongues without
proper interpretation, nobody – not even the person speaking – can understand
what is being said. What’s the point of
it, especially in a public setting? It’s
like placing a soldier who can’t play a trumpet in charge of sounding the call
to battle! Nobody gets a clear message
and nothing good happens. How can anyone
draw closer to God unless there is a clear message being given?
Do you understand how tongues be an avenue for confusion to
enter into God’s people? Why is it
important for us to be clear about what we are doing?
Third Thought:
As we end this passage, Paul gives us a subtle reminder
about what the church should be about: building up. The church is a place for people to be
strengthened into greater relationship with God. We who are spiritual are to seek for ways to
build each other up. The church isn’t a
place to get praise for ourselves. The
church is not a place to try and impress people. The church is not a place to make others feel
like they cannot exist without your gifts.
The church is for the building up and equipping of the people of
God. This is why tongues takes a back
seat to gifts like prophecy (forth-telling, not foretelling), teaching,
knowledge, or revelation.
Why is it important to continue to hold the building up of
the saints as the number one goal of the church? What do people make the church out to be
other than this?
Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 14:13-19
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