REPEATING HISTORY: CONFUSION IN CORINTH

Charles Billingsley 

1 Corinthians 14 – Confusion in Corinth: Tongues and Prophecy 

1 Corinthians 14 (ESV)

For the last three chapters 12-14 – Paul has been talking about spiritual gifts.  But, the church in Corinth, in addition to the prevalent sin in their midst, in addition to the confusion on gender roles, in addition to the mixing of pagan worship with proper worship, in addition to the sexual promiscuity and sexually charged atmosphere of the culture…in addition to all of this they also had experienced a taste of the God-given spiritual gifts that God used in their midst to bring them edification and instruction.  But, as was their habit, they had begun to misuse some of these gifts either because pride and arrogance or simply out of ignorance.

As a result, confusion ensued.

I want to talk to you today about confusion and chaos that occurs in the context of a worship environment when the gifts of God are misused and misunderstood. 

4 key verses to highlight

14:1 Pursue love

19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

40 But all things should be done decently and in order.

Elephant Illustration

19th century poet John Godfrey Saxe

“the Blind Men and the Elephant”

It’s a comical retelling of an ancient Hindu folk tale.

It’s the story of 6 blind men, who have never been around or heard of an elephant before, who approach the giant elephant from 6 different angles, and then draw their conclusions about what it is based on their very limited observations.

The first – pushes up against the elephant’s side, making the conclusion that it is a wall.

the second – grabs the elephant’s tusk and determines it is a spear.

The third grabs its trunk and thinks it is a giant snake

the fourth – feels around its massive leg and determines its a tree

The 5th blind man – grabs its huge ear and figures it to be a fan

The 6th – grabs its tail and thinks it is a rope.

Then our poet concludes his poem with these lines:

And so these men of Indostan

Disputed Loud and long,

each in his own opinion

exceeding stiff and strong

though each was partly in the right,

and all were in the wrong!

This is how it is with Bible study sometimes. We must be careful not to take just one verse or even one phrase and build a whole thought or theology around just that without stepping back and seeing the big picture in light of its cultural setting, its historical context, and the translation of the original language. This is especially true when we come to a passage of scripture that is chock full of controversy and interpreted in several different ways by many brilliant theologians.

Paul, in this passage is going to talk specifically about 3 gifts.

The gift of tongues

The gift of the interpretation of tongues

The gift of prophesy.

But the big elephant is this:

33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

40 But all things should be done decently and in order.

So no matter where you stand with these gifts and the manifestation of them, the important thing is the that we understand how to properly conduct ourselves in a public worship setting and that everything we do must be motivated by genuine love.

14:1 Pursue love,

There are gifts of the Spirit and then there is the fruit of the Spirit.

Love is the fruit of the Spirit from which all else flows.

Without love we are sounding brass and clanging cymbals.

If we have a gift of the spirit, but it is not motivated by the fruit of the spirit, namely love, then we are nothing, Paul says!

Love is the fuel that powers our spiritual gifts….a love of God and a geniune love for others.

and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.

In the church of Corinth something was happening that Paul had to address. They were overemphasizing the gift of tongues and under emphasizing the gift of prophecy. So the very gifts that were meant to encourage the body, had become a point of contention….namely because of the misuse of tongues.

“The Bible does not present us with a private use of tongues for self-edification. When taken in context, 1 Corinthians 14:2 is actually a negative observation of an abuse that was occurring within the Corinthian church. Finally, even if it were conceded that this passage may mean something else, it is never wise to build an entire theology on a questionable passage—especially when there is a more reasonable understanding that is consistent with the rest of the Bible’s teaching on the subject.” – Sean McGowan

There was a rationale behind this statement.  Prophecy was something that could be understood by the congregation thus bringing edification to the body, while tongues without interpretation would be unintelligible to the hearer. This is important for the context of our passage.

So we should define exactly what these things are.

Glossary of Terms:

Spiritual gifts – The gifts mentioned in chapter 12 are specific abilities given by God for the edification of the church.

They include serving, teaching, giving, leading, wisdom, showing mercy, encouragement, and discernment.

Then there are “sign gifts” – tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, and miracles such as healing

12:7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Tongues – What is tongues?

The Greek word translated “tongues” literally means “languages.” Therefore, the gift of tongues is speaking praise to God in a language the speaker has never learned in order to minister to someone who does speak that language. The first time this occurs is in Acts 2:1–4. The apostles shared the gospel with the crowds, speaking to them in their own languages. The crowds were amazed: “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:11).

The gift tongues allowed the believer to speak another language in praise unto God.  But without someone else who has the gift of interpretation, then this is a gift that should not be practiced in the fellowship of other believers.

Tongues edifies the individual with a personal, intimate encounter with God in praise.  It is directed to God. But still meant for the edification of the body of Christ.

How important is this gift in modern days?

Has tongues ceased?

Should we all strive to get this gift? Or is it just an emotionally driven expression with no real meaning?

IS it a gift everyone should have? I do not believe so, no.

Is it some mystical utterance?  I do not find any evidence that in scripture that tongues were some sort of babbling gibberish.

It is almost exclusively meant as another language.

Paul was given this gift over and over again in his missionary journeys to speak effectively to other cultures and with other dialects.

Interpretation of Tongues – someone who has the gift of understanding this unknown language while never having learned it before.

Prophecy  – Prophecy is God speaking a word of revelation or instruction through mankind to mankind.

Prophecies were spoken by prophets:

• Prophets could be men or women – both are in NT scripture
• Their words were for edification of the church body
• prophets were not pastors
• prophets announced special messages from God
• prophets were not preachers
• prophecy transitioned out as an active gift because the canon of Scripture was completed.  Today, we believe there are no prophets.
• There are also no apostles – those who knew Jesus, saw Jesus, and who had direct contact with Jesus.
• “The criteria for apostleship included being: (1) a disciple of Jesus during His earthly ministry, (2) an eyewitness of the Resurrection, and (3) called and commissioned directly by Christ. Paul was not a former disciple, and his vision of the resurrected Christ occurred after Jesus’ ascension. Paul was not an eyewitness of the Resurrection in the same way the other Apostles were. Nevertheless, Paul was directly called to the office by Christ. His call was confirmed by the other Apostles, whose apostleship was not in doubt and was authenticated by the miracles God performed through him, attesting his authority as an Apostolic agent of revelation. ” – The Reform Bible – footnotes
• the apostolic age ended when the last known apostle died – John the beloved.
• about 95 A.D.
• Prophecy would then be words from a prophet that edifies the body of Christ.

Prophecy and Tongues were two different gifts.

When someone speaks in tongues, they were not speaking a prophesy.  They were speaking a praise to God in a language others could not understand.

Prophecy is much more than just foretelling the future.  It was more of a special declaration for  a certain time…a word of instruction for the people of God in that moment.

Remember, this was before they had the full Bible to read from.

3 (NKJV) But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.

3 (ESV) On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.

Upbuilding – Edification – to build up

Encouragement – Exhortation  – to stir up

Consolation – Comfort – to cheer up

The gift of prophecy – or in this day would be preaching or teaching is to do 3 things:

Build up, stir up, and cheer up!

4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

There are three predominant views to the use of these “sign” gifts of the spirit.  

Cessationism – belief that since the NT is complete now, these sign gifts are no longer needed.  The gifts have ceased altogether, or at least except in a rare miraculous moment.  

Paul says in 13:8 that tongues and prophecies will cease. The big debate is when?

Cessationists would say they have – since the end of the Apostolic age or within a few years after.

Denominations that hold to this belief would be most Baptists, and there are many different types of Baptists, Anglicans, Lutherans, Reform, some independents, and Presbyterians.

Continuationism – Continuationists—those that believes the charismatic “sign” gifts still continue—come in all denominational shapes and sizes.  Assembly of God, pentecostal, Church of God, many non-denominational churches, some Methodists, and even Catholics, are in the continuationist camp.

Continuationists argue that there is no reason to maintain that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have ceased, regardless of whether they believe that said gifts should be expected in the modern church or not.

Sensationalism – You’ve seen these people on tv, I’m sure. Not only is this camp Continuationists, they would go so far as to say that if you don’t speak in tongues, then you have never really been baptized by the Holy Spirit.

These are the churches, where if it’s not getting a little weird and highly charged with emotions and excitement and strande things aren’t happening, then the Spirit isn’t moving yet.

No matter where you stand in this spectrum, it is not a hill worth dying on.  We don’t have to see eye-to-eye on every doctrinal issue. We can all find common ground in doctrines that have no controversy about them at all.

But we do need to agree on the essential doctrines:

Jesus is Lord

Jesus has conquered sin, death, hell and the grave

Jesus is the only way of salvation and therefore the only way to heaven.

God is creator and sustainer and master of all that there is and He is sovereign over all.

On and on we could go.  These are the pillars of our belief and they are what unifies the body of Christ across the globe and for centuries.

The position of this church and the seminary at LIberty is that of cessation.  We would say that the “sign gifts” have ceased because the word of God is complete, and throughout the history of the church, they are not mentioned again after the church fathers (about 400 ad) until the coming of the charismatic movement at the turn of the 20th century.

They are not mentioned again in scripture after about 57 ad.

(1 Corinthians)

Nevertheless, we are also aware that:

God can do anything, at anytime, in any place and through anyone He chooses. 

So as cessassionists, we do not deny that God still moves in miraculous ways, anoints his servants for service, heals those who are sick and does marvelous and indescribable things.   

You are free to disagree.

But if you do practice tongues, make sure you at least do it in a Biblical way – the way Paul lays out right here in Chapter 14

6 Now, brothers,

if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?

9 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, 11 but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.

(The word for foreigner is an onomatopoeia – Barbaros – where we get the word Barbarian.   The Greeks believed their language was the best in the world.  and so when someone else spoke another language it sounded like – bar bar bar bar ….)

In college I had to take a few phonetic courses in which I learned how to pronounce and speak Italian, French and German.   But even though I could pronounce it, I had no idea what it meant.

No matter where you stand on this issue.  Paul has a word for all of us:

12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. (Because not even the speaker of the words was able to understand them. )

“Paul is saying those with the ability to speak in tongues should ask God to give them the gift of interpretation, as well. Otherwise, they will be limited to using their gift of tongues only in prayer to God, who will understand what they are saying even if they do not.”

14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.

Paul is saying that he will only pray and sing with words he understands. If in a church service, he will only pray in tongues if he himself—or someone else—is able to interpret what is being said. Otherwise, the mind will be left out of the process. It is important to Paul that the mind stay engaged in these matters.

(all of this is under our control.  It is happening under the control of our own thoughts and actions!)

16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

The Gifts of the Spirit never contradict the fruit of the Spirit

What is the fruit of the spirit?

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” 22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.

In verse 21 Paul quoted from Isaiah 28:11-12

Paul is stating that just as God used the oppression and the foreign language of invaders to bring  a warning of judgement on the nation of Judah, so he would use this gift of tongues in the church of Corinth to warn the the unbelieving Jews that certain judgement was coming…and indeed it did come just 13 years later when the Romans sacked Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews for hundreds of years…..all the way until 1948 after WWII.

23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

We have witnessed this time and time again right here in this room.

26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.

(who are the “others”?  is it just the other prophets?  no.   Paul says anyone can prophesy.   Or is it the elders? One the primary roles of the elders is to preserve doctrine)

Qualifications for being elder: 1 TImothy 3

• Blameless as a steward of God, above reproach.
• Faithful husband to his wife.
• Temperate, sober, vigilant.
• Sober-minded, prudent.
• Of good behaviour, orderly, respectable.

30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

Whenever we come to a passage of Scripture like this, we must look at it in the full context of all of scripture.

We need also to remember the context in which Paul is addressing the church of Corinth.

There are at least 5 different interpretations or views of what Paul was talking about here.

1. There are some who even debate these verses were added at a later date.
2. There are those who believe Paul is quoting what the Corinthians were saying and he is rejecting what they said.
3. There is a view that this is not about women at all.  But rather, it is about those who are educated speaking out vs. those who were not educated who shouldn’t speak out.

1. There is the utter silence view –  where a woman is not allowed to be heard at all – announcements, singing, speaking, or whatever.

1. The judging prophesy view – anyone – man or woman – can prophecy.   But when it comes time to make the final decision – the authority goes to the male leadership.

It was quite common for someone to give a prophecy in a church service.  And after someone gave that prophecy – there would be a moment where others would test that prophecy.  Question would arise and debate, at times would ensue.

A new prophecy would be tested against scripture and apostolic teaching.  It wasn’t just automatically excepted.

Paul emphasized this as he is trying to bring order to the Corinthian church gatherings.

Remember, the church often would meet in homes.  But Paul encouraged the proper adornment of women because it was a signal of the proper submission to their husbands and to those in leadership in the church, but also so that it separated them from the women of the world – namely prostitutes who did not wear head coverings.

Is Paul a male chauvinist?  – Quite the contrary.  He comments about women praying and prophesying among the church members in chapter 11.

He planted the church of Philippi with the help of women.  He sees great value in the service of women in the church body.  But he is also keenly aware of the order that God has given all of us for leadership and submission.

Is he trying to oppress women?

Context:

Paul has no problem with women talking in church.  (chapter 11)

Acts – Phillip has 7 daughters who prophesy

Acts 2 – 500 were gathered – not just men.

All of them spoke in tongues –

ACTS 2:15  – Sons and daughters.

in Luke – Anna prophecies

Women were there.  They were active in the fellowship.  They were serving .  They were praying and they were prophesying.

“Silent” – segao – To refrain from using a certain kind of speech or speech in a certain context

vs. 29-35  – is about the judgement of prophecy. or the evaluation of prophecy.

Paul is saying women should be silent when there is the judgement of prophecy taking place.  This was to avoid more confusion. And they were not to speak in tongues in the church house.

Many women are gifted in teaching.  But Paul states that there are right and wrong contexts for those gifts to be expressed.

Vs. 30-33a – contraints are imposed on the utterance of prophecy

Vs. 33b- contraints are imposed on the evaluation of prophecy

Andrew Thistleton –

The speaking in question denotes the activity of sifting or weighing the words of prophets – specifically about asking probing question in public about the prophet’s theology or even private lifestyle.  That’s why Paul tells them to ask about this from their husbands at home.

There is logic behind why Paul says this. And it had much to do with the cultural chaos that was already happening within the church.

What is our response to this?

To judge whether or not a prophecy was Biblical and from the Lord was reserved for those who were in leadership in the church (elders and Apostles – which are God ordained roles for a male.) So even though women could pray and prophesy, it was only the ordained male elders and the leaders of the church who were to teach and preach from an authoritative position. That’s why here at TRBC, we will always have a male as the lead pastor. We believe that is the Biblical order of things. But we certainly recognize and celebrate the role of women in our church in their many gifts of teaching, leading, organizing, serving, nurturing, and much much more. Can you imagine this place without the gifts and the service of women?? We’d be up a creek without a paddle!

36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.

(It’s as if Paul knew what he was writing was ordained and inspired by God as future scripture )

38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.

To summarize:

1. What happened in Corinth stayed in Corinth.
2. Tongues and Prophecy had an important purpose at this time. But since the apostolic age has ended, and we have the completed Word of God, these “sign gifts” have ceased except in rare and miraculous occasions. 

the overall testimony of Scripture is that the gift of tongues refers to known languages that were unknown to the one speaking them. There is only one gift of tongues presented in the Bible, with nuanced purposes. It was mostly intended for public use and was to be a sign to unbelievers. If the gift was used in the church gathering, it was to be interpreted so that the church could receive edification.

3. God can do anything, at anytime, in any place and through anyone He chooses.  

4.  All spiritual Gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit are for the edification or the building up of the church – the body of Christ.

5. God has given you a spiritual gift.  Use your spiritual gift in ways that are clearly and plainly understood by others. 

6.  Find your spiritual Gift and use it for His glory!

A worship service should be a beautiful, meaningful, and edifying experience for everyone who takes part.  It should be open to the appropriate contributions of all, using the Gifts God has given us, under the oversight of properly ordained leadership, and all of this without a trace of disorder, chaos, or confusion.  Remember the big picture.  The elephant.  That is this:  all things must be done with one goal in mind:  the mutual edification of the body of Christ.

May every song we sing, every testimony we share, every dollar we spend, every sermon we preach and every service we present be for two reasons and two reasons alone:

The edification of the church body

The glorification of Jesus Christ – the one and only, who is the chief cornerstone of the church, the one for whom the church was founded. He is the ruler of the church.  It is His church!

We can argue whether or not these two gifts have ceased or if they are very much alive until we are blue in the face, but the most important thing is that we stay on task – the task of worshiping Jesus with all our hearts and reaching those who don’t know HIm.

If we stay on these tasks and don’t waver from those two things, then the church will thrive, and not even the gates of hell itself will prevail against us!!