Welcome back, as we continue through Series 4, in our study of 1 Corinthians. 

Recap and Background  

Each series in the 1 Corinthians Collection deals with a particular theme that Paul is dealing with, which makes it easier for us to understand the structure of the letter and the things that he is focussing on. You will be aware that Paul’s focus in Series Four is entirely with public meetings in the church. He had received information to suggest many things were not going well in the public meetings. We have looked at several different topics in earlier episodes but perhaps the greatest topic of all in Paul's mind, was the topic that we are going to come back to right now, which we discussed in Episode 3 - the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I want to connect what we say in this episode, Episode 6, with Episode 3. 

Some of you who listen to this will be used to church meetings where you would never experience any spontaneous or supernatural intervention of a gift of the Spirit being used, for example, the gift of prophecy, by members of the congregation. Many churches function like that. Maybe you are a Pentecostal Christian or a Charismatic Christian, or part of a house church network somewhere in the world, or part of another denomination which really honours the work of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you have experienced how God breaks into church meetings through the contributions of spiritual gifts, by church members in an orderly way in the public meeting. We all have very different experiences. But this episode and the topic Paul is dealing with here, help us to understand what the early churches were like that were planted by the Apostles. We are seeing the curtains open in the clearest way possible, and looking into a public meeting in the church, and finding out the type of things that the Apostles encouraged the church to do. We find that the Apostles, and Paul in particular, strongly believed that God gave the supernatural abilities to individual Christians and that they should exercise these gifts sometimes within the public meeting.  

Definition of Spiritual Gifts 

What are spiritual gifts? These are supernatural abilities given to Christians to build up the church and reveal the Gospel to outsiders. That is the working definition that I use: supernatural abilities given to Christians to build up the church and reveal the Gospel to outsiders.  

Paul listed many spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:7 - 11, but he has not explained how they function. He is focussing on that in this episode, and giving us lots of practical information about three particular gifts of the Spirit - first, the gift of speaking in tongues or speaking in a language that you haven't learned at school or is not your mother tongue. This is commonly called ‘speaking in tongues’ amongst Christians. It is a prayer language. The second gift is the interpretation of tongues. This is the ability to explain to people listening what somebody has said when they don't know the language. The third gift is the gift of prophecy, of bringing some revelation from God. The reason he focusses on these three gifts is that these were the ones that were being exercised in Corinth, and where things were going wrong; it wasn't being done in a very helpful or positive way. Paul wanted to correct the things that had gone wrong. To do that, he must explain what the function and the purpose of these gifts is.  

Prophecy 

The most important prophecies for Christians are those in the Bible; they come in the Old Testament, particularly in the books of the prophets and in the New Testament, particularly from Jesus’ teaching and the book of Revelation. Those prophecies are part of Scripture. They have complete authority in our lives; this is the Word of God. What we are talking about here is prophecy that is not in Scripture. It doesn't have the same authority. It needs to be checked, tested, and evaluated. These are prophecies we might give within the context of our ordinary lives, within our witness to other people, or within the church community.  

Paul has a very great respect for the authority of all the scriptural writings of the Old Testament, and the ones that were being written for the New Testament. This is the supreme authority for truth and prophecy. Our prophecies never change or influence any of that. They have a different function in our lives.  

“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people, but to God. No one understands them, they utter mysteries by the Spirit.  But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging, and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesying. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets so that the church may be edified.”  

1 Corinthians 14:1 – 5 NIV 

Paul's starting point here is to explain that when you speak in tongues, which we describe in more detail later, you are speaking to God. This is a very important point. If you have that gift, it is a language of prayer and praise. It is directed towards God. Prophecy is the opposite. Prophecy is a message from God to other people. When we speak in tongues, we speak to God; when we prophesy, we speak to people. That is the basic distinction that Paul is making here. Prophecy is a message from God for us in the present. We must understand that Paul believed that the Holy Spirit could give messages that help Christians in their present and specific circumstances. That is remarkable, isn't it? It worked in two ways. A prophecy could help you deal with the present, with things that you are facing now and sometimes help you deal with things that are going to happen in the future, that you are going to have to face.  

Here are a couple of examples. I was in a church meeting yesterday in my local church, and there was a prophecy about the importance of patience in terms of waiting for God's promises. That was very encouraging to a number of people in the meeting. That is about how to deal with the present. It enabled some people who were facing difficult circumstances to be stronger in faith.  

But some prophecies tell us about things that are going to happen in the future, that we need to prepare for. An example from the New Testament is described in Acts 11 in the church in Antioch, which we deal with in the Collection ‘The Spreading Flame’. A prophet came from the city of Jerusalem to the city of Antioch, and spoke to the congregation there, and predicted something that was going to happen in the near future. He predicted a famine, a food shortage, and he also predicted that it was going to happen in a different area. So, the church then collected money to give to other Christians so that they could buy food when the famine came. Prophecy isn't always about the future. Some prophecies are about what is happening now and how to deal with things now, and some prophecies are predicting something that is going to happen in the future that will affect the Christian church and for which Christians need to make preparation.  

Prophecies don't tell us doctrine. They don't tell us anything about God or salvation that we don't already know in the Scriptures. They don't add anything. They don't bring extra revelation that changes the revelation in the Scripture. What they do is, they help us focus on the circumstances that we face as individuals or families or churches, or even nations, that are not dealt with in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is coming alongside churches in the present circumstance to help them with revelation. Isn't that amazing? That is a powerful gift. Paul says that we should seek to use this gift. 

Prophecy is more valuable than tongues in church meetings because the tongues’ speakers are speaking to God. There is only a very limited use of that in a church meeting. Paul goes on to say that there are three purposes of prophecy. This is one of the most important things to remember about this passage. ‘The one who prophesies’ in verse three, speaks to people for three reasons - strengthening, encouraging, and comfort. Strengthening basically means like building a house. It adds a brick into the wall. Prophecy can make us feel stronger about our faith and make us feel more connected to God and more confident to pray. That is really good. It can encourage us. It can push us on to do new things, or to step out of a comfortable situation. Prophecy can push you to step out in faith. Or thirdly, it can provide comfort. Prophecy can speak to the person who is suffering, and say, deep in their hearts, ‘I know how you feel’. In a time of suffering, perhaps a bereavement, ‘I am with you. I know your tears’. That is comfort, which is a very important part of what God wants to give. 

This brings about an important question. How do I exercise this gift? Maybe you have never exercised this gift before. We need to understand what the Scriptures teach about the gift of prophecy and that is why this passage, and the previous passages in this series, are really important. Having understood, it is important to teach it clearly - to build up faith. One of the outcomes of this teaching, I am hoping, is that some people who listen to this will start stepping out in this gift. 

Firstly, ask God for the gift of prophecy, the very thing that Paul has said to us. Secondly, your motive needs to be to love and to serve other people, as he says in 1 Corinthians 13, in the last episode. If you want to serve other people, develop the gift of prophecy. Thirdly, ask God to give you a message in a church meeting, or in a family prayer meeting, or in a group Bible study group in your home, or in a discipleship group, or in a youth group or wherever you happen to be in church fellowship life. Here are the sorts of things that happen to people who make themselves open to God: words, or phrases, or concepts come strongly into their mind; sometimes an image or a picture of something. Then there is a sense of urgency, a sense that this is not just my imagination - these thoughts are settling in my mind. For those of us who are familiar with this sense, there is a sense of the Holy Spirit stirring us within that we have got to share something. A very good way to start with the gift of prophecy is to say, ’I think God is saying this.’ Let other people judge and don’t be afraid of that.  You too might become somebody who exercises the gift of prophecy. I want this teaching to build up your faith and to build up your conviction that this gift is very important.  

It first happened to me when I was a student, aged about 20, and I was sitting in a small home group meeting with about 20 people. Somebody was playing the guitar, and we were singing some songs, and I suddenly looked over at someone else who was in the room, and I had a great sense of compassion for them. I felt God had given me a kind of word of encouragement, and I had a sense of urgency. My heart started beating more strongly, and I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. Then I stepped out and gave a very simple message to the person. It was a very strange experience, but they immediately responded, emotionally, almost tearfully, to say, ‘That so encouraged me,’ and I went away thinking, how did that happen? That is miraculous. I had never done anything like that before in my life. At the age of about 20, I suddenly found I could exercise the gift of prophecy. You can exercise that gift too. Always be humble, always allow other people to check out the things that you say. Always consider Scripture the ultimate truth and always be open and see what God will do in your life. 

Speaking in Tongues 

“Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will it be to you, unless I bring you some other revelation, or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly, there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. So it is with you. since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. For this reason, the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but also sing with my understanding. Otherwise, when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else who is now put in the position of an inquirer say Amen to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you're saying? You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church, I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”  

1 Corinthians 14:6 – 19 NIV 

Paul exercised the prayer language of speaking in tongues, and he used this gift a lot - ‘more than all of you,’ he said. Notice, he uses the gift for his private prayers. Speaking in tongues is another of those miraculous gifts like prophecy and if you haven't exercised that gift, then I would encourage you also to seek that gift. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you this gift. What you will find will happen as you are in a moment of prayer, is the ability to articulate prayer with words and languages that you don't use, that you haven't learned, that are not your mother tongue, and you will find a flow of language. You realise this is a language of prayer and intercession and praise to God, and it enables your spirit to connect with God in a special and a wonderful way. 

This also happened to me at the age of about 20, when someone laid hands on me for the Holy Spirit to fill me and said, ‘Just speak the words that come into your mind’ and suddenly I found a flow of language coming. So, one of the outcomes of this talk may be that some people who hear what I say will know that God is speaking to them about seeking this language for your private prayers. 

Paul is speaking here about the public meeting. He says that it is no good having people exercising their private prayer language in public because nobody else can understand it, unless there is what he describes as an interpretation or, a summary, of what that person has prayed. So, for example, what Paul had in mind is that if somebody says ‘I really want to exercise my gift of tongues in this church meeting’, then everyone might listen to them speak, but there should be someone else with the gift of interpretation, and they might interpret what is being said. You might say as an interpreter, ‘Our brother has said, we give glory to Jesus for your love for us and for your sacrificial death on the cross.’ In other words, they are saying that is what that person is talking about. Or ‘Our sister is thanking God for providing rain so that our maize can grow properly during the growing season.’ That might have been her prayer. So as soon as it is interpreted, everyone understands what is going on; it makes sense. Paul says ‘in an orderly church meeting’, people do not randomly speak in tongues. It is confusing to other believers and particularly to outsiders.  

“Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. In the Law it is written: With other tongues and through the lips of foreigners, I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord. Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers; but for unbelievers, prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers, but for believers. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and enquirers and unbelievers come in, will they not say that you're out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or enquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they're convicted of sin and will be brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare, so they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, God is really among you!”
1 Corinthians 14:20 – 25 NIV 

Paul does not want everybody to randomly speak in tongues. He says that tongues are a sign, or a message to unbelievers, that they are excluded. It is a negative message. If people come to your meeting and they hear this sound of people speaking in a language that they do not understand, they will feel excluded. Prophecy, says Paul, is a sign to believers of blessing, of inclusion because prophecy strengthens them. Prophecy sometimes causes unbelievers to come to faith. Believers are blessed as it is a sign to them that God is really with them. Paul had experiences where somebody might prophesy in a meeting and describe the personal circumstance of somebody who came into the meeting, and that person was an unbeliever who realised God knew their situation when they came in and they fall down and worship and say, ‘God is really among you. He has spoken to me. I am an unbeliever. But the voice of God came to me.’ Tongues are a sign of exclusion to unbelievers. Therefore, it is not helpful to exclude them deliberately by speaking in tongues in a random way without interpretation. Prophecy is a sign of blessing and inclusion to believers. Prophecy is a sign that God is with us, blessing us, and drawing in outsiders.  

Reflections 

This passage has many important teachings which are also challenging.  Many of us will be in churches which don't use these gifts, or if we do use them, we don'tuse them in an orderly way that is productive. There are different things to learn depending on your circumstances. I would say by way of personal application, go back to what Paul said at the very beginning of this chapter. It is good to seek spiritual gifts. If you have not experienced the gift of prophecy, or the gift of speaking in tongues, or perhaps the ability to interpret tongues, then I want to encourage you to ask God very directly. The first step is to ask him to fill you with his Spirit. Make yourself completely open to him, allowing him to use you. I mentioned in an earlier episode the very great importance of availability. ‘Lord fill me. I want your presence in my life, all the way through my life. Lord, give me the gift of prophecy that I can speak messages of strengthening, encouraging, and comfort to my brothers and sisters.’ If you love your brothers and sisters, just imagine what it is like to be able to speak into their lives from time to time. If you want to develop your prayer life with God, remember that Paul said he spoke in tongues more than any of them in Corinth, in his own personal devotional life. It gave Paul strength because sometimes when we pray, and we use our own language, we stumble; we run out of words; think we are repeating ourselves; and don't exactly know what to pray about some situations. Have you ever had that experience? It is a very common Christian experience. This is where the gift of tongues is so helpful when you don't know how to pray. The Spirit prays through you, through the gift of tongues. 

I encourage everyone to step out in faith into these gifts. If you already use these gifts, do not neglect them. Do not stop using the gifts that God has given you and be motivated by the love for the body of Christ that is described so eloquently and clearly in the previous episode, in 1 Corinthians 13. 

Do join us for the last episode, because Paul gives some very practical instructions about how to use these spiritual gifts in the public meeting.