c.         11:2-14:40      Worshipping together

            i.          11:2-16            Decency in worship

            ii.          11:17-34          The Lord's Supper

            iii.        12:1- 14:25      Spiritual gifts

                        12:1-11                        Variety of gifts but same Spirit.

                        12:12-31                      Many  parts but one body.

                        13:1-13                        The most excellent way of love.

                                    14:1-5              Prophecy encouraged

                                    14:6-12            The importance of  intelligible words.

                                    14:13-19          The right use of tongues.

                                    14:22-25          Tongues and prophecy and unbelievers.

            iv.        14:26-40          Order in worship

 

Follow the way of love and

            We must not put aside what is said in chapters 12 and 13. The whole subject of Spiritual gifts should be based on the principles that Paul has spelt out. So we can't speak of the use of prophecy and tongues without recognising the vital importance of  the diversity of gifts coming from One Spirit, the unity of the church and the need for worship to be an act of love. What is more we cannot think that so long as we have love there is no need of Spiritual gifts. Love requires activity to reveal itself. Remember it is not an emotion or ideal, it the act of the will. In the context of ICorinthians, it requires changes in the way they went about worshipping together. Paul has finally come to the point where he can now explain to the church the answer to their question about the use of prophecy and tongues.

 

14:1-5              Prophecy encouraged

            Firstly spiritual gifts are OK in the church.

 

So what is so special about prophecy?  Why is it greater?

            In the context of fellowship worship, prophecy speaks to the others in the fellowship. Through it the church is strengthened, encouraged, and comfort. This is the best explanation of the nature of prophecy. It is when God speaks through an individual, to the church, something that strengthens, encourages, and comforts the church. And that is why Paul rates it so highly. It is not that individuals who prophesy are superior Christians. It appears that in Corinth tongues were somehow felt to show spiritual superiority. But the measure of a gift, in Paul's esteem, is what it does for those who receive it. So tongues in church are good for the individual but prophecy is better because the whole church benefits.

 

14:6-12            The importance of  intelligible words.

 

            Paul then underlines the argument. The purpose of the gifts is to build up the church so when the gifts are used in the church, clearly they must make sense to the fellowship. Paul obviously does not see that tongues, without interpretation, build up the church. This runs counter to some of modern thinking. Lots of people speaking in tongues might be very exciting but it is not upbuilding the church. Worship alone and speaking in tongues make sense. After all it is God who is listening. But when we come together, we need to speak in a common language so that we can all say Amen and mean it.  So is Paul saying that the gift of tongues should not be used in church.?

 

14:13-19          The right use of tongues.

 

            Clearly not. in verse 13.  Tongues have their place in worshipping together.  What Paul is saying is that if you believe that God is telling you to speak in tongues, ask for the interpretation. Or pray that someone else will be able to interpret what you are saying.  The key is the interpretation. In fact the absence of interpretation suggests that the gift of tongues was being misused.- see v 38.  So Paul goes on , in verses13-19 to say that those who speak in tongues, which included Paul himself, should both speak in tongues AND speak in the common language. Lets not get superiority complexes either way. Those who speak in tongues are not better worshippers than those who do not and at the same time, those who speak in the common language are not better thought out than those who do not. Paul encourages everyone of us to use our minds in worship. Not just to sit and let the singing and reading and message wash over us as if by doing so we are worshipping the Lord. No true worship involves our minds being active.

 

14:22-25          Tongues and prophecy and unbelievers.

 

            I never have understood the next passage. It appears that the first sentence contradicts the rest.  Leon Morris, in his commentary, suggests that it is part of verses 20-21. The point he is making is that to those who will not listen to the gospel, tongues are a sign that they are deaf to the gospel. If you are not going to repent and put your faith in Jesus, then all that we say may as well be in a strange tongue for all the good it is doing.  The rest of the paragraph concentrates on the fact that while our worship may be abut speaking to God and to each other, it is also about non-believers hearing and responding to the gospel. Here again it is better that the church is full of prophecy rather than tongues.

 

iv.        14:26-40          Order in worship

            So, in conclusion to all he has said about  worshipping together., Paul gives a thumb-nail sketch of what should happen at Corinth. What we can learn from this is principles. Again I do not think Paul was setting the be all and end all of worship programmes. However it is clear that the gifts are meant to be shared in the fellowship. We must not forbid tongues, there must be order, respect for one another and most of all respect for God in our worship. When we meet, we believe that God should direct, through his Holy Spirit, our worship. That includes a service, like this that is prepared and led from the front and also our 'Open worship ' and prayer times. So you come to church prepared for worship. You bring your experience of God, you bring the gifts that God has given you and you use them in a disciplined way for the upbuilding of the church. If tongues are to be used, there must be interpretation, if prophesy, lets not have a rush of people claiming to have a word from the Lord, but lets listen to one another and use righteous judgements about these things. It is the practise, for example, of some churches to vet prophecy before it is given. So you would speak to an elder first, then tell it to the church. Our practise is much more open but saying 'I have a word from the Lord' does not automatically mean that you have. The important point here is that the Holy Spirit is not a Spirit of chaos. That is in fact almost blasphemous. He is the Spirit that brings order out of chaos in creation. So under the guidance of the Holy Spirit a service should be ordered. It will have direction and purpose.

 

Women should be silent.

            These remarks must be read in the context of the whole book. Women are exalted to pray and prophesy. But just as the tongues speakers are being reined in for going over the top, Paul maybe calling a halt to women heckling in the services. The church may have still met synagogue style with the men and women separate and so the services were becoming  a two-sided debate. I don't know. What is clear is that the new status  women found in the church was not an excuse for the women taking over. Paul was , I believe seeing women dominated services as dangerous as men dominated.

 

So what does this mean for us?

 

After all the Corinthians church had very different problems to Deane Avenue. There is a sense in which we are coming to the subject of spiritual gifts from a very different direction. So we must learn from the principles Paul has expounded.

 

            First of all gifts are for the church. They are not just for the charismatic, Pentecostals, etc.,  They are for us. Secondly the spirituals gifts are for the building up of the church, not for the building up of individuals. Discipline is to be exercised in the church in the use of spiritual gifts on the guiding principle that they should express the love of God in action in the church. The prcticalities are to be guided by unity, love and the understanding of the nature of God. The church is meant to reflect Jesus Christ. It is his body in the world. So its practise should be Christ-like.

 

            What should we be doing about the spiritual gifts, then?

I believe that we as a church must develop the gifts that God has given us. Sometimes that includes gifts we don't know we have and gifts that God is going to give us for a period. I believe that we, as a fellowship, have spiritual gifts and need to recognise them. Too long have we prayed for healing without recognising that God has given the church the gift of healing. Toolong have we just met in open worship without recognising that God wants to speak to us in prophecy, tongues- with interpretation. Teaching is recognised in the church. But many other gifts are not developed. Leadership has to be encouraged. The church is a place of learning. To often we are more concerned with a polished performance than a lively interest in exploring more of what God wants. We like the comfort of a worship leader than one learning the ropes.  We like a safe service where no-one overdoes it. I believe we should be looking to experiment  in our fellowship. Brian suggested that House Groups was a good place to start. I agree with him. I also think that Thursday night fellowship meetings could be revitalised by looking to the Lord to lead us into praying to see the Lord answering our prayers, learning to be specific and God-centred in our praying instead of  just looking express what we would like to happen. But I am not suggesting that we have some group setting up a more spiritual class. Paul's underlying principles are various gifts but one Spirit.  Different people but one body. Love is the most excellent way. It is in that context that we need together, explore what God wants of us. I believe we will see more of the spiritual gifts, ALL of the gifts shared among ALL of the fellowship, working together in our worship and moving out to tell the world around us of a great and wonderful Saviour.

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