We are in the Business of Creating a Temporary Settlement of the Eternal Community of God’s Family – Welcome Home!
We’ve been studying our way through 1 Corinthians
What we have seen is a variety of teachings on the way it was in the church in Corinth and the way it should be and what we have learned is that we are in the business of creating a Temporary Settlement of the Eternal Community of God’s Family
· In Chapters 1-6 we have seen division and separation amoung the body of believers. We have seen immorality and many reminders of the high level of living we have been called to.
· In Chapters 7-11 we have seen Paul’s teaching on marriage, divorce, remarriage, strong believers vs. weak believers, the pastor’s pay, men and women in the church, and the Lord’s Supper.
· In Chapters 12-14 a new issue in introduced. Spiritual Gifts. Chapter 12 teaches. Chapter 13 gently rebukes by pointing out the supremacy of love and Chapter 14 corrects the problem.
It is all aimed at making the church into a powerful community… A place of light and hope in a dark world!
May I suggest that is critical to maintain a focus on the goal!
Now Let’s look at Chapter 14
The Problem of Self Edification – vs 1-4
Self Edification has been the problem in the Corinthian Church from Chapter 1 to Chapter 14!
They had kinds of division and disharmony the root cause of which was pride and attitude.
This shouldn’t surprise us! The culture back then wasn’t a lot different than it is today.
Just look at the magazine racks in the checkout to see the values… Beautiful bodies, lot’s of nice things, political power, romantic love – they are all on the front page of glossy magazines, paperbacks, and newspapers.
We are steeped in this culture – just as they were in theirs. It makes it hard to live like Jesus taught us to live… a life of serving and loving instead of receiving and using; of giving and helping instead of taking and asking for more; of caring and honoring others instead of demanding your rights and what is due you. Jesus turns the values of the world upside down.
Anyway, or The Paradoxical Commandments:
When life throws you a curve, have the courage to keep on giving. This was written in 1968 by Kent M. Keith. It has been attributed to others including Mother Teresa.
1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you help them. Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the best you’ve got anyway.
Now let’s look at 1 Corinthians 14:1-4 – there are a couple of ways to understand these verses
· One way is to read these verses is to see the edifying or building up your self is a good and noble thing that is right and proper.
· Another way to read these verses is to hear the criticism of Paul toward those who are using the gifts of the Spirit to build themselves up instead of building up others!
Given the context of the whole letter and particularly of chapters 12 and 13 it’s more likely that Paul is being critical not affirming.
Here is the problem – Spiritual Elitism
Several years ago – way back in the 70’s a Nicki Cruz Crusade came to St. Joseph MI where I was pasturing.
At the end of the preaching Mr. Cruz delivered an invitation and several of who had been trained as evangelism workers went forward with those who responded to the message. I happened upon a young man who said that he wanted to know Jesus. Another young man stepped up and began to talk to him about needing to speak in tongues and that this experience would be a sign of his relationship with Jesus.
I didn’t want to discuss this in front of a man who was asking questions so I just kept quiet and tried to be encouraging. After the young man left I turned to the other fellow and pointed out that 1 Corinthians 12:29 made it clear that speaking in tongues was not a sign of salvation – some were given one gift; some another.
He just turned to me and said, “…you need a closer walk with Jesus”
I’m sorry, that is spiritual elitism. I know I need a closer walk with Jesus – but so does he. So did the church in Corinth. They had tongues and they were a mess! Spiritual Gifts are not a sign of spiritual strength (go back and read chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians if you want to get into that which gives real spiritual strength.
That being said let me say this… Tongue speaking is not the problem – self-edification is!
Now it’s important to understand the Primacy of Preaching – vs 5-25
Two main gifts being talked about here – Tongues and Prophesy. The difference is their intended purpose. Look at verse 22. From this passage you can see that tongues are a sign to the unbeliever while prophecy is a sign to the believer – vs 22
Prophesy the preaching and teaching of spiritual truths in a life transforming way – vs 6
6 Brothers and sisters, will it help you if I come to you speaking in different languages? No! It will help you only if I bring you a new truth or some new knowledge, or prophecy, or teaching.
Paul gives two examples which illustrate why prophesy is so important
· A flute or harp that plays without a clear melody that would be enjoyed by the listener
· A trumpet in battle that plays without a clear sound so the troops can know what they are supposed to do
Paul states clearly that the greater gifts are those that help the church grow stronger (vs 12)
12 It is the same with you. Since you want spiritual gifts very much, seek most of all to have the gifts that help the church grow stronger.
Paul also goes on to say that he would rather preach five words that are understood than speak thousands that are not.
Tongues are the gift of language for the purpose of evangelism
Tongues here in 1 Cor 14 are a gift that allowed one person to tell another about Jesus in their own language. Imagine how it would get your attention if you were working in your city or village and some strangers came in and began to talk about Jesus in your own language.
That’s a pretty good sign! It would really capture the attention of the people. In fact it would knock your socks off. I’ve heard some first person narratives about people in this age being able to speak in tongues in this fashion and it was a powerful sign to those who heard.
If it was just noise (and this is the whole point of chapter 14) it wouldn’t help you at all (vs 23 points out that this gift to be effective must be understood – even by the unbeliever)
The Purpose of Holy Spirit Power is to help the Church grow strong – vs 26
I am not a ceassationist
Some teach that tongues are no longer necessary and that as foundational gifts that they have ceased
People quote 1 Cor 13:8 and say that tongues have ceased because the perfect has come – defining perfect as the word of God.
God cannot be put in a box or made into a vending machine
Holy Spirit is the PERSON of God in a spiritual form.
Do you know anyone that will do something exactly the same way every time? With different situations it is highly unlikely. Sometimes we’ll do things differently just because…
Years ago I drove home from a youth ministry in Bangor, MI to Lansing every Sunday night. Sometimes to stay awake and for the fun of it I would go a different way.
God is no different. Don’t lock him down to a system or a theology of man…
God gave his Holy Spirit to help the church prepare for the time Jesus comes for us!
This is the reason I am here today. It’s the reason I’m not up at the lake scooting around in tiny circles on a boat. I want to help the church grow strong. I want to teach and preach and strengthen the community of God’s people.
That is what Paul wanted as well and that’s why he wrote this letter
What was happening was a little short of chaos. People were all trying to get the floor. There were some who were speaking with the gift of languages and others with the gift of prophesy and some without either gift trying to pretend that they had one or the other or both. The women who were separated from the men were shouting across the turmoil to find out what was happening to the men on the other side. The result was not positive. It was destructive to the people involved.
· Those with these gifts had its effectiveness diluted or diminished
· Those with different gifts were made to feel inferior
· Those without these gifts were tempted to pretend they had gifts
· Those who were unbelievers went away shaking their heads in confusion – not amazement
Paul laid down firm guidelines to help make sure that the community of God was strengthened
Creating a Temporary Settlement of the Eternal Community of God’s Family
Have you found your spiritual home yet? I’d like to invite you to make this your spiritual home.
A Place to pray, study, grow, minister to others.
Don’t look for a church that looks like you – Be a part of a church that looks like Him
Have you been adopted into the Family of God yet?
I’d like to invite you come home to the Father God. What do you need to do? You need to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
How? First, turn away from the values and life that lead you away from God. Second, begin to follow Jesus. Put on his values and his purpose. In other words give him your burdens and take his. Third, mark and seal your covenant with Jesus by being baptized into his name. There is no reason to wait if you want to become part of God’s family!
Decision Time… Prayer and ministry
