Alba 3-15-2026
DO THINGS DECENTLY AND IN ORDER
I Corinthians 14:36-40
There was an elder at Carterville Christian Church who was very organized. His name was Jim Marcum. He also served as a professor and Admissions Director for Ozark Christian College. He lived on a small acreage north of Carterville where he had a workshop and some horses. One time someone broke into his workshop and stole a number of tools. He reported it to the police who came to take inventory. They asked if he could give a description of what had been taken.
Remember, I said he was very organized. The police expected a general accounting of a few of the stolen items, but Jim knew exactly what was missing down to the last screwdriver, because he not only had kept everything in its place, he had a list of each item and where it would be in his workshop. He was a man who lived his life decently and in order. He is the one who taught me to number the pages of my sermons so they would not get out of order.
Now sometimes people who are so very meticulous can get on your nerves. At other times we wish we were more like them so we wouldn't lose things so easily. No matter where we are on the spectrum of order or disorder, there is One who always does things decently and in order. Aren't you thankful? God is a God who can bring order out of chaos.
Think about it, God controls this universe. Three-hundred-sixty-five days a year everything is exactly where it should be and is doing what it is supposed to be doing. And because God is a God of order scientists are able to make the mathematical computations to guide space vehicles to the moon and other destinations in outer space.
Genesis 1:1-2 tells us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Then God spoke and there was light. God spoke again and each time He brought order out of chaos. Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” It took God's voice, not a big bang.
Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool says in his heart, there is no God.” So the atheistic scientist, or the scientist who thinks there is no place for God in science, their Hebrews 11:3 would state: “By faith we understand that space, time, matter and energy somehow exploded from essentially nothing in the sudden big bang that was the birth of our universe.” Blowing things up? An explosion never results in order, only disorder.
I Corinthians 14:33 tells us that “God is not the author of confusion.” He wants order in the universe and order in the church. And yet the church in Corinth did not have everything in order. Often their times of gathering together to worship was in disarray. Apparently, when those Christians gathered together, many had a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. And the context seems to indicate that they all wanted to use their gift at the same time.
They did not seem to be interested in serving others, learning, or edifying one another, but only had a desire to express themselves. Everyone vied for attention and preeminence! Of course, this was chaotic! Things were being done in a confusing manner. That is why in this section of scripture, I Corinthians 14:26-40, Paul deals with four areas that need correction so that all things could be done decently and in order. Today we will discuss two of them.
The first area of correction was how they were exercising the gift of tongues: the God given ability to speak in a different language. It seems that those who had this gift would express it in their worship times, possibly even talking over someone else who was using that same gift.
For that reason in verses 27-28 he writes, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.” So the rule here is that only two or three tongues speakers should speak in a single worship gathering, and then only one at a time, and there should be an interpretation.
If no one is able to interpret, then no one is to speak in tongues in the church gathering, because tongues must be interpreted if the church is to be edified. Verse 26 says, “Let all things be done for edification.” The Spirit works only to edify. And the primary responsibility of Christians to each other is to build each other up. No gift becomes the exclusive possession of any believer for his or her personal edification and pride.
Any and all gifts of the Spirit are placed in the church to be exercised by the body in order to instruct and enlighten the believers. Therefore there was a limit put on the number and the way the gift of tongues was to be used. And the apostle Paul says that the gift of tongues in the church gathering needed to have an interpreter so as to give understanding. Otherwise the church would not be edified.
Obviously, someone in the church meeting needed to be able to understand the tongue being spoken. One who could translate, or interpret, what has been said so that the rest of the body could understand it. And the apostle Paul says that if no one is able to interpret, then no one is to speak in tongues in the church, because the language must be interpreted for edification to happen. Speaking in “tongues” would only edify public worship when it is interpreted. Paul’s rule was clear: no interpreter, no tongues-speaker. And this was so that the church could meet and everyone be edified. They were to do things “decently and in order”.
The next area of correction needed in the church in Corinth was concerning prophesying. In the first five verses of this chapter the apostle compared prophecy and tongues and concluded that prophecy was superior to tongues. Paul had already said that he preferred prophecy over tongues saying he would rather speak five words with his understanding so that he may teach others, than ten thousand words in a tongue (vs. 19). In spite of that, the way some people were using the gift of prophecy was itself not beneficial to the congregation when they came together.
In verses 29-33 Paul instructs the church to, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
So at any one meeting prophecy was also to be limited to two or three at the most. Now again, prophecy is the proclamation of God’s truth. There were times, especially in the Old Testament, that prophets brought a new message from God. In other instances they proclaimed what had been previously revealed, much like preachers and teachers of God’s Word do today. So in the church, prophecy is the gift of being able to explain what God has revealed so that all may learn more of the doctrine of Christ, of the mind and will of God, and gain a greater knowledge in the mysteries of the Gospel.
But in order that the church would be edified, built up, by this gift, not only should there be a limit on how many, two or three, who would use this gift in the church gathering, there was also a limit on how to exercise the gift. If one was speaking and another person had a word from the Lord, the first one was to stop and let the next person speak. No one person was to take over the meeting. And note that the speakers were to speak sequentially, not simultaneously. People in the congregation needed to hear what was being said. It was to be one by one.
There are a couple of reasons for that. First, because the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. One didn't have to let it all out just because they had something to say. Prophecies are under the full control of the prophets. No true prophet can claim a hearing on the ground that he is under a power over which he has no control. So if the Holy Spirit empowers you to speak, you retain control. After all, a fruit of the Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). So you are able to subject yourself to yourself to regulate the time and manner of any prophetic utterances.
I remember the president of the Bible college I attended saying that when he was the preacher in a church there was a lady would burst out with something (I think she was speaking in tongues). He went to her home to talk to her about the disruption it was causing. She told him that when the Spirit comes over her, she couldn't keep quiet. That is when he directed her to this section of scripture and showed her verse 32 which says that the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet, and also that among the fruits of the Spirit is self control. It did change her.
A second reason that those prophesying should take turns is that the Spirit of God never creates confusion or disorder. No one is to dominate a meeting, to run away with it, or consider himself or herself the inspired spokesman because God does not work that way. Once again we are to do things decently and in order.
And there is also a caution in this instruction. After the prophet speaks, Paul says, “Let others judge.” Chapter 12 speaks of “distinguishing between spirits” (NIV). That is because not everything a prophet says is necessarily true. The prophecy should be examined. Others should weigh what has been said. It was the church's responsibility to determine if the message was from God. There needed to be a level of spiritual maturity so that the others could understand the teaching of God’s Word and judge the prophet or preacher by the Word of God. That is still true today. Remember that the church in Berea listened to the apostle Paul preach. But they didn't take him at his word. They compared what he said with scripture, searching the scripture to see if what he said was true. I encourage you to do the same with my messages. Your own study will reveal more to you than what I can say in a few words on Sunday morning. And if you find that something I have said does not echo scripture, please tell me so we can discuss it.
God is at work in all of us, but the Spirit’s work is demonstrated in different ways. Yet, it is the Spirit who shows Himself behind each gift. These expressions of His presence are there for the common good of all. And the way He works in each individual is His choice.
Confusion can and should be avoided so that decency and order will prevail. The basis of all gifts is love. Really, the best way to measure true spirituality is love. Remember what we learned as we studied chapter 13? No gift profits a person exercising it unless he or she loves. Love, not the experience of a gift, is the qualifying factor for those who would exercise spiritual gifts.
You want to measure spirituality? Then look to love. Focus on love, and realize that the Spirit's gifts are to be used for making known God’s Word, His love and His mercy and grace. Whatever gift God has given us, that should be our priority.
CLOSE:
Stephen Trail, a minister from Sage, Arkansas, told of a family that enjoyed an annual vacation. However, at the start of each vacation, when they were only a few miles from home, mom would wail, “Oh dear! I think I left the iron on.”
And every year they would turn around and go back. But not once was the iron ever plugged in. Mom was just dominated by the fear that her forgetfulness would cause all their earthly possessions to disappear in a fire. This was a family ritual for about 14 years.
Then, one year, the family was headed out of Chicago for Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and sure enough, mom gasped, “I just know I left the iron on.” Her husband didn't say a word. He just pulled over onto the shoulder of the road, got out, opened the trunk, and handed his wife the iron”
(Stephen E. Trail, The Crown Prince of Chaos, May 23, 2016, www.sermoncentral.com).
That man brought some order to the chaos so that the family could enjoy their vacation. Our chaotic world is also in desperate need of order. Fear dominates the minds of many people, but that’s where the church can help, as long as the church does things decently and in order so that the world may know that there is a Savior who gave Himself on the cross so that we could be forgiven.
