Sermon on 1 Corinthians 14.1 – 14.19 : Gifts of prophecy and tongues.
We continue this evening looking at Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, and as you will have discovered last week, the letter revolves around the theme of problems in Christian conduct in the church, and the continuing development of holiness of character, revealing Paul’s true Ministers heart for their problems. Last week it was the problem of food sacrificed to idols, and this week in 1 Corinthians 14 we see discussed the issue of speaking in tongues. This is part of an overall discussion on spiritual gifts, of which the Corinthians were particularly proud that they had these and were able to use them during worship. And as is often characteristic of Paul, he issues a warning to the church to ensure that ecstatic speech is only inspired by the Holy Spirit. He would have had no doubt, and neither would his audience , that there were other spirits capable of inspiring such speech. So Paul gets to work immediately by helping the church to identify such speech as from the Holy Spirit; it is all down to content, and he gives this fact prominence earlier in the letter in chapter 12. This is the touchstone of all spiritual gifting; that it is the work of the Holy Spirit of God almighty to bear witness to the Lordship of Christ. So unless it follows this most important criteria, it is not from God.
He then continues to deal with some important questions that have been asked by the congregation; Which are the most important gifts, and can someone who does not have the gifts be counted a Christian at all?
There was no rivalry between those who had certain gifts and those who did not, and you can imagine argument taking place about which gift made who Holy.
Paul quashes this at the outset by stating that the gifts of the Spirit are shared out among Christians; all do not receive the same gift, but all gifts come from the spirit so that there is no room for rivalry discontent or a feeling of superiority. Gifts are not occasions for boasting, but are opportunities of service, to the community and through the community to the Lord. Paul’s point is clear; Christians differ from each other and in much the same way that we have different gifts of service ; some are good at practical things, others at academic, some are good with people, others are good with concepts, and so it is with the spiritual gifts; uniformity of experience is not to be expected, and just because someone has a certain gift, does not mean that everyone will, and one gift is not superior to another; Paul is adamant about this; all gifts come from the same source; the Holy Spirit of God, which is the source of boundless energy and power; they are all given with one purpose; to love and serve the Lord and the community of God. There are indeed, many gifts: Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, the ability to distinguish between spirits, tongues, and their interpretation are listed her in Paul’s letter, and again Paul emphasises that it is not for us to choose our gift as if we are going to the Spiritual sweet shop to make our selection; the Spirit chooses what gifts we should have, so that no one will have occasion for boasting or to feel inferior. The gifts are a sign of the free grace of God by which the church exists. And of course our passage is preceded by the great hymn to love in chapter 13 that often gets used at weddings; in fact, this hymn is used by Paul to state the obvious; that the quarrelling in the church about the ranking of the gifts, about who is more important than who, about who is more spiritual, is like a clanging cymbal or a sounding gong; utterly useless. What is most important is that the gifts of the spirit are used to build each other up in love; everything else will fade away unless the underlying motivation in their use is love; love for the Lord and love for each other, so that no one will feel left out; no one will feel inferior. Love is the overriding factor both in the Corinthian church and here at Christchurch; we are part of the same body of Christ and we are here to build each other up and to serve God in love. Anything less is unacceptable.
So this is a great basis from which to talk about tongues; for while Paul regards the use of tongues as legitimate, he also wants to curb the exaggerated importance the Corinthians attach to it; in fact, he much prefers the gift of prophecy in this chapter, and he puts down some markers; tongues should not be used in public if there is no interpreter, as this does not build the body up.
I have been in churches where people are encouraged to speak in tongues in public prayer, and all you hear is a vast babble of noise rising to a crescendo that seems to exclude those who can’t or don’t want to do it, and creates a two tier congregation. So Paul’s emphasis on there being some one who can interpret is vital to ensure it becomes an inclusive experience for all. It is also true that sometimes the person who utters ecstatic speech does not even understand themselves; in other words, they are the vehicle for the Spirit, and so it just as important that the person who makes the utterances has a translator present when speaking in public. We are told in verse 28 that without this gift of interpretation, its possessor is to speak to themselves and to God only.
Now it is not to be thought that the speaking of tongues does no good; it is a genuine gift from God after all, but the good it does is limited by the congregations’ ability at large to understand what is said. So what Paul is driving at is that although tongues as a gift from the Spirit builds up the individual, prophecy builds up the congregation.
This may seem strange after all that Paul said earlier about the ranking of the gifts, but it is important to recognise that he is not putting tongues lower than prophecy, but is merely bringing them down to that level from where they had been elevated by the Corinthians.
an interesting analogy is that of a speaker whose words do not enter people’s ears and minds will not convey their meaning; it would be like the prime Minister going to a far of beach to make a major speech; it would be a mistake in PR terms and would have no influence or benefit. And so it is with tongues; its purpose is to build up the body of Christ and to glorify God. So Paul asks that those who speak in tongues pray for the gift of interpretation, which will have the effect of turning it into prophecy or teaching.
And so to turn to prophecy. Prophecy is inspired speech. In the Old Testament, the prophets were men who spoke the word of God to their generation, and so our understanding is coloured by this meaning. Yet the emphasis is not on the ability to predict the future but much more on what God has said which is the function of the prophets in the New Testament. What Paul means here than, is that Prophecy is the Spirit given ability to utter inspired words which convey the message of God to the hearers. Do you see the contrast immediately; the inspired words of God are conveyed to the hearers. So suddenly, in our analogy, the Prime Minister is back in the House of Commons, influencing the minds of his listeners, and making policy. Just like when prophecy is given, the listeners are influenced by the Spirit of God to change their ways.
So in many respects, this is about diversity in unity in Corinth; many have different gifts, but all are part of the body of Christ, and are to build up the body, to nourish it, to keep it in good condition, and be ready for the time when Christ will come again; just as we have seen this weekend at the European Athletics championships, where the UK has covered itself in glory, winning 16 medals so far, with only Russia exceeding that total; those athletes have trained and prepared themselves for the games. So it is with the body of Christ; we must prepare ourselves for life by building each other up, in order that we may give glory to Christ. It is about being different and accepted as such, but having a common purpose, which is to give glory to Christ by building each other up so that we become a strong community in His name, giving glory to Him by our witness.
I was challenged by a student to say what it actually is that we do in church, and I responded by saying that our primary focus is God; to worship Him, to listen to Him, to receive forgiveness from Him, and to build up the faith of the body of Christ so that we may witness to the world and be seen as a light of good caring people who are faithful to God and are good witnesses to his message.
I pray that it may be so for each one of you, and ask you to bow your heads in a moment of prayer now:
Lord, may our hearts and minds be directed to you, and may you always be our reference point in life. We pray that you may give us a spiritual gift according to our God given talents, that we may use it to build up the body of Christ that is your church.
