Address—C. Hendricks
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Tonight, we'll read the First Corinthians 13.
And then we'll go into the 14th chapter. I won't read it all, but I will read chapter 13. Monday night we had chapter 12.
1St Corinthians 13 one though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love.
I'm going to read charity as love.
I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling symbol, and though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not love, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth long and is kind.
Love envieth not love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.
Does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, Does not easily provoked, Thinketh no evil.
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, love never faileth. But whether there be prophecies they shall fail, whether there be tongues, they shall cease.
Whether there be knowledge it shall vanish away, for we know in part, and we prophecy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly that then face to face.
Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known?
And now abideth faith, hope.
Love these three, but the greatest of these is love. Follow after love and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophecy before he goes into the instruction.
The corrective ministry, if you will. In the 14th chapter, he having already given the.
The foundation that we looked at Monday in the 12TH chapter.
And that is the gifts given.
Energized by the Spirit. And he begins by reminding them just quickly to review what they were as Gentiles. They were carried away to these dumb idols as they were led. And then he gives them to understand that.
To speak in the energy and power and under the leading of the Holy Spirit is to speak well of the Lord Jesus.
And to call him Lord, to give him his place.
And that anyone that says that he is cursed or that speaks against him in any way is not speaking under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. They had to know this because they were. They were in a state of soul, much like children, He calls them that. In fact, they were babes. They were.
Following men making much of certain gifts, minimizing others and the ones that they were making so much of, especially the gift of tongues, was the one that he puts last on the list as the least important. And what we learn in the instruction that he gives us in the 12TH, in the 13th and 14th chapters is that the the most beneficial gift is the one that benefits. The best gift is the one that benefits.
The most?
Not the one that exalts self, or the one that it draws attention to oneself, which the gift of tongues did.
But the gift of prophecy, but we'll get into that. He gives us the characteristics of love here. And often this chapter is lifted from its context. It's set between the 12TH and 14th chapters where you have the the gifts given and mentioned and how that every member is needed by every other member. No one member can say I have no need of thee to another member.
One member suffers. All the members suffer with it. If one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
God is the one that set the members as it's pleased him. We we saw too that everyone is given some manifestation of the Spirit. Verse 7 of chapter 12 Says the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with. Also every man or every sister, everyone, each one has some manifestation of the Spirit. One of the gifts mentioned in verse 28 is helps.
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And certainly sisters are in that.
So every gift is needed. The ear can't say to the eye, or the eye can't say to the ear. I have no need of thee. That is, we might make so much of some gift, some prominent gift, some platform man or whatever it is, and that's not our gift. But every gift is needed. In fact, it says that those members which seem to be least honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor.
And then the figure of the human body is used to.
Represent the assembly, every member functioning in harmony with every other member. Now how can these members, these different gifts in the assembly function in harmony, can only be as as prompted by love. Love always, always seeks the good of its object, never draws attention to itself. As he says in this 13th chapter, love seeketh not her own.
And so as we read these beautiful.
Illustrations of the activity of love. Let us think of it in terms of the functioning of gifts in the assembly. The reason I sang that hymn, I had to sing that hymn is that the house, the home we're headed for, is the home where love is everywhere. It's the Father's house. And that's the way the assembly ought to be.
Especially in the exercise of spiritual gifts, they ought to be exercised and prompted by love.
Not self seeking, not self exaltation, but always seeking the good and blessing of the other member ministering to it.
Let's start with verse 4. I don't I don't have time to go into every verse. Let's get which gives us some of the features love suffereth long.
And is kind.
Love envieth not.
That is 1 member like we had in that 12TH chapter, the eye of the ear saying well I, I I'm not anything, I'm not as important as the eye or something like that or the hand, but every member functioning as God has determined it should be so. And no envy on the part of 1 towards another.
Love vaunteth not itself does not set itself up.
And make much of itself draw attention to itself.
No, no matter how important the member might be for the well-being of the body. This is what love does do and doesn't do.
Love is not puffed up.
And so in the exercise of spiritual gifts in the assembly, these characteristics of divine love are so important to see how we can function together for the good and blessing of all.
Love does not behave itself unseemly, doesn't act in a way that would upset or disturb the Saints, does not introduce into the assembly those things which would be upsetting, doesn't act in a manner which would distract from the person of the Lord or hinder the blessing to flow out to one another.
Does not behave itself unseemly.
Love does not seek its own, seeketh not her own. As I said before, love always seeks the good and blessing of its object, always is in the exercise of a spiritual gift. If it's being exercised in love, it's for the good and blessing of us always thinking.
Of others and not of itself.
Is not easily provoked.
The exercise of gift sometimes can produce feelings of.
Envy or jealousy or?
Competition.
And so these characteristics of love, as we think of them in connection with spiritual gifts being exercised in the assembly.
It's very important to see the setting of this chapter.
Maketh no evil.
Love thinketh no evil or imputeth no evil.
Well, I know what he was thinking when he said what he said.
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And imputing evil to the person love always puts the best.
Interpretation upon one's statements, and not the worst one.
When love is in activity and that could be in connection with the part that someone has taken in the meeting.
Rejoiceth not in iniquity if someone makes a mistake or a blunder.
The other Members don't rejoice in that, but seek to help and to.
To act in such a way as to preserve the peace of the Assembly.
The good of the assembly.
This this is true in a family.
This is true in the assembly.
Rejoices in the truth, or how good it is when the truth of God is promoted, upheld and taught and lived.
Love rejoices in that.
Love bears all things.
Believes all things puts the best.
Construction on whatever has taken place.
Not the worst one.
Hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
But whether there be prophecies, they shall fail.
Now that expression shall fail, and at the end of the verse shall vanish away, and at the end of verse 10 shall be done away. They're all identical in the original.
And shall be done away. Is probably the best rendering.
So what he's saying is that prophecies shall be done away. Let's let's read it that way each time.
Whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away. When will that be? That will be when we get home to glory. We won't need prophecy then.
Whether there be tongues, they shall cease. Now that's a different word. When do tongues cease? I believe that tongues cease once.
There the the purpose of tongues has been achieved.
We'll see in the 14th chapter the tongues were for a sign not to them that believed, but to them that believed not. And we look into that more in detail. But I think generally speaking, tongue sees once the word of God has entered a new area.
Where it never has been before.
And God backed it up, especially to the Jew.
Especially to Israel. That was why it was given to convince the Jew that this new thing that God was introducing, Christianity, was of himself.
By people of other tongues will I speak to this people, this people Israel. But the Lord may use the gift of tongues, as He has in the early days, to establish.
The truth of Christianity in a place once that has been established, and the word of God is there in their hands, and they have the word of God to go by tongue cease.
I believe that's when tongue ceased. It's not a gift that was intended to continue on in the Christian testimony. Once a testimony was established in a place, there wasn't any more need for tongues. Tongues were to convince the unbeliever.
Tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to those who believe not. You don't have to convince a believer. He's already convinced. He doesn't need a signed gift to persuade him of the truth of this book. But the sign gifts were given to authenticate the word of God as it came into a place. And once that word was established, such as in the United States of America, Canada and Western Europe, where the word has been established for hundreds of years, there's no need for.
Yes, and so they cease. They cease. Another reason they cease is the tendency of sign gifts is to draw attention to the one that is giving those manifestations of the Spirit. And this could very easily result in distracting souls from the true object that ought to be before us, which is Christ. The Word of God always sets Christ before us.
And the danger of tongues, which is a very dramatic gift.
One speaking in a language just under the power of the Spirit that he had never learned before the marvelous works of God.
A wonderful gift, such such a gift was, but it draws attention to the one who is so speaking. And there's a danger of that. That's the way these Corinthians were were acting. They were acting on the level of the flesh, really the first man. And so he gives what is characteristic of the exercise of gift.
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Under the promptings of love, and then he goes into their failures, first the machinery, and then the oil to work the machinery, and then the operation of the machinery, in the 14th chapter.
It says in Second Timothy, One God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power. That's First Corinthians 12 and of love. That's First Corinthians 13, and of a sound mind.
That's First Corinthians 14. That is how these gifts are to work and function together as led by the spirit of a sound mind.
Wise discretion, sound mind and they weren't acting that way, as we'll see there. There are many things that were going on there. They were acting in a carnal way as they were in other things.
Verse 8 again.
Whether there be prophecies, they shall cease, or, excuse me, they shall be done away. Whether there be tongues, they shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away.
For we know in part, and we prophecy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. So when the perfect comes, that's when we get home to glory. Then the.
The knowing in part, shall be done away.
When I was a child, I speak as a child, I understood as a child and thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. He's contrasting the now state of the Saints with the then state of the Saints when they arrive at perfection and they put away what belongs to the child.
Now we see through a glass darkly, but then notice we have a now and a then in this verse. Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three. The greatest of these is love. It will never cease. It will go on for all eternity. Faith will cease.
Will cease when we get home to glory, but love never.
So now he goes on and says, follow after love.
And desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophecy, he's encouraging them to desire the best gift, which is the one which will edify the most people. For he that speaketh in a tongue I'm I'm leaving out the word unknown because it it's really not in the original. It's been placed in italics and it might give the wrong thought. It may not. It simply means another language.
Another language that you don't know. If I would speak to you in Russian, I doubt that anyone here would understand. I don't know that language, but he that speaketh in a tongue, that's simply another foreign language that we know on Earth. It's not talking about some some unknown language.
Not earthly speaketh not unto men, but unto God, For no man understandeth him. Now he's assuming here that that.
The exercise of the tongue gift in the assembly where they do not understand the language that's being spoken. This is what he's talking about here. For no man understandeth him. How be it in the spirit he speaketh mysteries Well, what is the what is the good of of doing that when no one is receiving any edification? What he's stressing here under the promptings of love?
One wants to to exercise that spiritual gift or those spiritual gifts.
Which will benefit the most possible And it says in verse three, he that prophesied speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation and comfort. There is blessing flowing out of prophesying, but if there's no one that can understand the exercise of the tongue gift, it doesn't. It doesn't edify anyone what it does.
Is it draws attention to the one who's speaking in tongues.
And.
Exalts him. It's a self exalting kind of gift and not resulting in blessing to others. So having given the characteristics of divine love in the 13th chapter, he's using this now to show to these Corinthians who were doing the very thing that they that love would tell them not to do. He's showing them how they were acting on the level of the first man.
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Verse four He that speaketh in a tongue edifies himself. In what sense? Well, he has the sense of being wrought upon by the Spirit of God, and so he gets, he gets the feeling of being a vessel that the Spirit of God is.
Is energizing and he gets edification from that, but it says he that prophets sayeth edifieth the church.
Love seeketh not her own, is the principle here. We're not too.
To use a gift.
That would just exalt self oneself, but rather that which edifies the Church.
He says I would that you all speak with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied. He doesn't disallow tongues. He recognizes it as a gift that the Lord gave for a specific purpose, especially to convince unbelieving Jews that Christianity is of God.
There's only two religions. I'm going to use the word religions. I don't consider Christianity a religion, but I'm going to use it because it's common. There's only two that God has authored and one is Judaism and the other is Christianity. Since he authored Judaism, he had to give a sign when that was going to be set aside and the new order.
Christian blessing and Christian truth to become, to come in. And so he gave a sign, the sign of tongues.
For that.
He says, I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied. So he doesn't disallow tongues, but he encourages the prophesying gift, which is for edification, exhortation and comfort. For greater is he that prophesied than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret that the Church may receive edifying. Now here he brings in the the thought of interpreting that tongue gift.
So that others can profit from it. Later on in the chapter he forbids the speaking in tongues in the assembly unless there was an interpreter. He actually forbids it. He hasn't gotten that far yet, but he's saying greater is he that prophesied than he that speaks in tongues. That's just the opposite to the way the Corinthians thought because they were carnal and acting as children.
Verse 20 he says, Brethren, be not children in understanding.
But how be it in malice be ye children, but in understanding thee men?
Just like children at A at Christmas time when gifts are given out and one child displays his gift to another and says, look at the gift I've got. And another one says, well, look at my gift, it's better than yours. That's the way the Corinthians were acting. Just like kids, just like children, he says, be not children, you know?
Howbeit in malice be children. Beautiful to see how that children can be at loggerheads with one another one moment, the next moment playing very happily. They don't hold grudges. So in malice be like children, but in understanding be men.
Well, let's go on.
He says in the middle of verse 5 Again, greater is he that prophesied than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret that the Church may receive edifying. Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine, And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
That's a good commentary on modern music.
You can hardly even tell its music.
But here he's talking about musical instruments, and he says if you don't even understand what's being given out, you don't even get a melody from it. How shall it be known what is piped or harp? If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? If I was assigned the duty of blowing the trumpet for an army that was in danger of being invaded or attacked, I would give an uncertain sound because I don't know how to blow a trumpet, and they wouldn't understand it.
And that's what he's saying here. There should be clarity in the message. And if one speaks in tongues and no one understands, it's just like blowing a pipe or a harp and and no one understanding what is being piped or harped. So likewise ye accept, ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood. How shall it be known what is spoken? Ye shall speak into the air.
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There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world.
And none of them is without signification. Therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice.
I shall be unto him that speaketh of barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
It's really amazing that in the light of verses like this correcting the abuse of tongues gifts, which is what they were doing, they he's not disallowing the gift of tongues, He's disallowing the abuse of it, the use of it for self exaltation and not for edification and blessing to the Saints, which is the way of love. This is what he's disallowing. Now I want to say this, that when the apostle comes in and regulates, this is what he's doing in this.
The proper use of signed gifts or the proper use of gifts, period. When he regulates it, he's not putting the Saints at Corinth under law. He's not putting them under law. He is regulating things according to the order.
That is consistent with the principles of the House of God. I want to say that again. He's regulating things. He's regulating the exercise of spiritual gift in the assembly according to the principle of the order that's in the House of God.
And that's not putting them under law. If we don't have order, then we have chaos. And everyone does what is right in his own eyes. So let's not get the idea that Christianity does away with order or that Christianity does away with commandments. There are many commandments given in the Word of God.
The Lord Jesus.
He did the Father's commandment. This commandment have I received of my Father. But that the world may know that I love the Father, even as the Father said unto me, Even so I do arise. Let us go hence.
The Lord Jesus was the obedient servant. He kept the Father's commandment. We are here to keep that commandment from the from God to us. And that's involved in the order of his house. So I say this because I've heard some when, when order is, is is being sought for in the assembly.
That some say, well, you're putting us under law.
No, you're not. That's not putting under law, that's maintaining godly order. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the Saints.
Well, let's go on.
He says in verse 11 Again, Therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be like, and I should be under him that speaketh of barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. Now notice verse 12, very important verse. Even so ye, for as much as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts in my margin correctly rendered Greek of spirits.
They were zealous of spirits. They wanted to be wrought upon by a spirit.
And that's why he gives at the beginning of chapter 12, what is characteristic, how they could know the characteristic features of being wrought on by the Spirit of God and being wrought on by an evil spirit. No one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed or says anything against him. And you can't call him Lord only but by the Holy Spirit. That's important that he established that so that they could know.
In in their exercise of spiritual gifts.
Whether they were being wrought on by the Spirit of God, or whether they were being wrought on by another spirit that was seeking.
Not the glory of Christ, but something else. So he says in verse 12 for as much as you are zealous of spirits, that's a different expression of spirits, not spiritual gifts, although that could be the that's close to the force of it, but it goes deeper than that. Seek that she may excel to the edifying of the church. Another thing he's saying here is that if.
You are wrought on by a spirit that promotes self exaltation.
That's not the Spirit of God.
That's not the Spirit of God.
Verse 13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in a tongue, pray that he may interpret.
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For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
What is it then? I will pray with the Spirit and I will pray with the understanding also.
A brother in a meeting I just recite this was told me recently he prayed in a certain way.
And it was.
He used. He just constantly used the same expression over and over and over again.
It wasn't that it was wrong, but it was.
Taxing to the to the Saints and my brothers just spoke to him about it after quite a bit of time.
And told him that why do you always pray that particular expression? And he says, well, I, I just pray for my heart.
And the other brother gave him this verse.
What is it then? I will pray with the Spirit. I will pray with the understanding also.
I will sing with the Spirit, I will sing with the understanding also. And he gave him that verse, and he never did it again.
Because he realized it wasn't just.
Praying and using an expression that that he liked. But to pray with and use an expression that was.
An expression that would flow from understanding God's truth.
And so he received the admonition, and profited by it for the good of the assembly. When we are admonished, how good it is that we hear.
And we listen and we submit to the correction that is being administered to us and profit by it because then everyone profits by it. Everyone gets the benefit of a member that is subject to every other member. One member can't say to another member, I don't have any need of you. You can't. You don't have any business talking to me about this. We are fellow members, one of another.
And there's nothing more intimate and more blessed to be able to speak frankly and and honestly and courteously to one another, to seek to lead us on in the path of truth. This is what Paul is doing here to the Corinthians. He is instructing them and correcting them and regulating the exercise of spiritual gifts in the assembly at current.
I was singing with the understanding also.
You know, we can do that so easily when we sing hymns. We can sing a hymn because we like the tune and we just kind of like the way the words are, but they may not even be scriptural sentiments that we're singing. It's nice when we sing, we sing with the understanding and they understanding so that it's according to the truth of God.
It's not enough to be just singing because our emotions are touched and we like it.
There's certain songs that I really like naturally, but they're not the truth of God, so I seek to avoid them.
Verse 16 Else when thou shalt bless with the Spirit, how shall he that?
Occupies the room of the unlearned. Say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing ye understandeth not what thou sayest, for thou verily give us thanks Well, but the others not edified.
I thank my God I speak with tongues more than ye all. You see, He's not disallowing tongues.
Paul spoke with tongues more than all of them.
Yet in the church I had rather speak 5 words with my understanding.
That by my voice I might teach others also than 10,000 words in a tongue.
Brethren, here's the verse I've already commented on. Be not children in understanding how be it in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.
In the law it is written now here he's quoting from Isaiah and he's giving the scriptural basis for tongues.
With men of other tongues and other lips, while I speak unto this people, this people is the people of Israel, and through the prophet Isaiah he says with men of other tongues and other lips will I speak to this people, and neither for all that will they hear me sayeth the Lord, where tongues. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe. You know, the Jews were always asking the Lord for a sign. Now the Lord finally gives them a sign. He gives them the gift of tongues to show them that this.
Thing that had come by the baptism of the Holy Spirit forming the Church was of himself.
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Tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe, not especially unbelieving Israel, but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
If therefore the whole Church become together into one place.
Here we have the assembly locally assembled now and I'll speak with tongues and there come in those that are unlearned or unbelievers. Will they not say that you are mad? That is here are people that come in that do not understand the what is being said in the language that's being spoken.
But if all prophecy and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned.
He is convinced of all. He is judged of all.
And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest, And so, falling down on his face, he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
So he comes under the conviction that God is there.
I remember the story a German brother told me years ago when he was in Germany. He was invited, He was unsaved at the time. He was invited by one of his work fellows to a Christian meeting. And he went and he kept looking at, as the the the speaker was speaking, he kept looking at the one that had invited him. And as the man was speaking, he was speaking God's truth and laying bare.
The thoughts and intents of the heart of man.
From the word of God. And this unbeliever kept looking at his friend who had invited him and said, why did you tell that speaker everything about me? He knows all about me, knows my very thoughts. And he didn't know a thing about him, but he was met. He was speaking from the Word of God. The Word of God lays bare the thoughts and intents of the heart. And he went out of that place and said, I'll never go back to such a meeting again.
He left Germany and he traveled.
Thousands of miles over to Canada.
And.
Again in Canada.
He got in contact with a Christian who invited him to a meeting and he went.
And the same experience happened to him.
And he said God has followed me across the water.
And God is in this place and and so that's that's the illustration if all prophecy and there come in one that believeth not or one unlearned. He is convinced of all he is judged of all us are the secrets of his heart made manifest and so falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is in you of the truth. Speaking in tongues will not produce that if the person doesn't understand what's being said, but prophesying, which is telling forth the word of God to the conscience of the hearer.
Bringing that soul into the very presence of God, that has that effect, and that's what he's talking about. And that's the force of prophesying, not telling of future events, though it would include that at times. But generally prophesying means bringing the conscience into the presence of God.
And that's what we have in verses 24 and 25.
Now, verse 26.
How is it then, brethren, when you come together, notice what they were doing. Everyone of you hath A Psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath A revelation, hath an interpretation that all things be done unto edifying. They were coming together. They were, they were reasoning this way. Well, we all have a gift and we should, we should exercise that gift in the in the assembly meeting. It was a meeting like we would call an open meeting, except.
Meetings are open meetings for ministry, whereas these open meetings were open meetings for the leading of the Spirit, howsoever He might lead, whether it be in worship or prayer or praise, or a word of exhortation or teaching, or a word of prophecy, whatever it might be, it was open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
And so everyone that came, they came prepared with something. One of you had had it that says.
When you come together, everyone of you have a Psalm, hath a doctrine, a teaching, hath a tongue, hath A revelation, hath an interpretation, that all things be done unto edifying.
That wasn't edifying to have so many participating in the meeting. It wasn't edifying. What it was is it was self exalting. It was drawing attention to the to the exercise of spiritual gifts and that's not why they were given a gift. If you have a gift and everyone of you has a gift, shouldn't say if you have a gift. Since you have a gift, the exercise of it should not be in the way of exalting yourself, but it should be in the way of serving others.
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That's the that's the exercise of love in the gift while they were all coming together with something to contribute, and it was confusion.
And so now he regulates this. He regulates it.
He says at the end of verse 26, let all things be done unto edifying. That's the keyword here. Building up edifying means building up. An edifice is simply a building that is constructed. So edifying is to be built up in our most holy faith. That's how he's regulating the exercise of spiritual gifts. Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man.
Speak in a tongue.
Let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course. What does that mean? That means one at a time.
They were all speaking at once, they were all wrought upon by this spirit, and they were speaking for their own religious exhilaration. I remember I came to work once and one of my inspectors came to me and she said.
I talked to her often about the Lord and she said she was in this meeting and she said we got happy last night. And I said, I said you got happy last night.
I said.
Happy. And she said, yeah, haven't you ever been happy? I said, yeah, I've been happy, but not that way. Not that way. She was talking about this fleshly exhilaration that some have in their religious meetings, Entertainment for the flesh. This is what the Corinthians were, were going on with this kind of thing. And so the apostle says, do it one at a time.
Let's read it again. If any man speak in a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three. He says no more than three. 2 is fine. That should be the normal order, but not so many. And one at a time when you do it, that by course and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church. Let him speak to himself and to God. In other words, if there's no interpreter for this, this tongue, this tongue that.
Speak, don't speak it.
In other words, the reasoning that they were going through was I have a gift, therefore I have to use it.
And that's not true.
You may have a gift, but that doesn't mean that it has to be used in every assembly meeting. And if it was a signed gift, like tongues, when there was no interpreter, you were told to keep quiet in the assembly. Now that's not putting the Saints under law, but that's regulating things according to order, decently and in order, and that's the way things ought to be carried out in the assembly.
If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church.
And let him speak to himself and to God. Let the prophets speak two or three.
And let the others judge, even in the exercise of the gift of prophecy, the prophet speaking.
Let it be two or three, and then the others judge.
Anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, Let the first hold his peace for ye may all prophecy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. I have a thought on this. I'm going to express it. Maybe someone will give me another thought after. How would one in the audience know that? How would the speaker know that was speaking prophesying that someone else had a word to prophecy and then he would finish his.
Prophesying and sit down and give room for the other. Well, it could be that the one in the audience would just put his hand up. It could be that he would stand up so that the speaker would see, oh, here's another brother that has a revelation or a word of prophecy to give. And I will finish what I have to say and then sit down and give room for him.
Let's read it again. Let the prophet speak two or three, and let the others judge if anything be revealed to another that sitteth by. Let the first hold his peace. I take that to mean, let him complete what he's saying, and then sit down. For ye may all prophecy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. Now we mentioned Monday night when we were looking at the various gifts to 1 is given by.
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Spirit, the Word of Wisdom to another, faith to another, the word of knowledge, and so on and so on.
There's no thought of one man ministry there, and so there's no thought of one man ministry here. In the exercise of gift. Ye may all prophecy one by one, that all may learn and all may be comforted, but on any one particular occasion that the prophets speak, two or three, and then let the others judge. And if there's anything that is given out that is not in accordance with the word of God, that can be corrected.
That can be corrected.
Verse 32 Says the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
I believe that means that that the idea I heard one heard tell of one who was in one of these very emotional religious meetings and they said I just had to get up and, and, and give forth. I was, I had to speak in tongues and so on.
Their their spirit. They were being controlled by this spirit to to speak, this impulse to speak rather.
Than they controlling the impulse, and I think that's the thought here. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, that is the impulse to lead one to stand on his feet and give forth. Is should be under the control of the prophet, should be under the control of the individual, and he not under the control of the impulse.
Which is the way it is in some religious meetings. Evidently that was so in Corinth. There are many things in Corinth here that have to be corrected.
For God is not of confusion.
But of peace as in all churches of the Saints.
That's a That's a principle that applies in all our comings together.
And if anything takes place that leads to confusion and is upsetting to the Saints, I always think of Mr. Old Brother Hayhoe's comment. He used to say, never introduce anything in the assembly which will disturb the peace of the assembly unless it is essential for the glory of God.
And I think that is very important.
God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. As in all churches of the Saints. Jerusalem means a dwelling in peace, and that's what the assembly ought to be. It ought to be a dwelling in peace.
Now he says again, He has to correct something else here. Evidently the women were speaking in the assembly meeting. So he says, let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also sayeth the law.
And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
And now he says what? He immediately anticipates the outcry.
From what he has just given.
Came the word of God out from you? No, it didn't come out from them. It went to them, or came it unto you only. It only came to them. They were saved by the Word which He had presented to them. He was their spiritual father, and it didn't come from them, but it came to them through Him. The apostle. If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are.
Commandments of the Lord.
These are not the opinions of men.
This these things that Paul is setting before them, regulating the use of the gifts.
Telling the sisters in the meeting, it's not permitted to them to speak, but to be under obedience is also say at the law. This is not different than the law. He says it was so then, it is so now and then He says, let him that is a prophet or spiritual acknowledge. Recognize that the things I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
But then he says if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. Why does he say that? Because there are going to be some who are stubborn, self willed in subject and not listen to the instruction of the apostles and the order that.
Should obtain and exist in the House of God, and they say I don't see it.
If any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. Don't argue. Don't.
Get into a carnal discussion with such. Just leave him with the Lord and pray that he might.
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A submit, a servant of the Lord, shall not strive, but be gentle to all.
Have to teach in meekness, instructing those that oppose must peradventure God will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. So here he says, if any man be ignorant.
Let him be ignorant.
To resist the teaching of the apostle as he's given it here. You know, there are many they must read this chapter. They get through it and they still go on in a in a, in an order in their church affiliation that is counter to this contrary to this altogether and they're they're ignorant. They haven't learned from God's word, his order in his house.
So he just says he just leaves them. Let them be ignorant. Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophecy?
He started out the chapter remember, of desire, spiritual gifts. But rather that she may prophecy now he ends it. Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophecy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. He's not disallowing the tongue gift, but he is regulating it.
And he's saying it can be used in the assembly if there is an interpreter, usually 2 at the most, 3 and and one at a time, so that there's no confusion and there's no disorder. For God is not the author of confusion and disorder. And that's what he says. Now the very last verse, the 40th verse, there is a verse that gives us principles that can be applied in many different things, but all things be done decently and in order.
Now I'm going to give a practical example of this that might come right home to today. Today we are flooded in the Christian world, especially in this country with.
Many, many, many translations of the Bible into our English language.
It would be confusing to have a reading meeting and have.
Different brethren all reading from different translations. That would be confusing. I'm positive that if the apostle Paul were here ordering things according to the principle that we have in this chapter, let all things be done decently and in order, he would say, select a good, reliable translation, which the brethren have done. We've used the King James for years.
And we we use the new translation as a help. I remember a brother in Addison.
He reasoned once that, well, the Darby's is the best, so I'm going to read from Mr. Darby's translation, which he proceeded to do. And the brethren didn't disagree that that was a better translation, more accurate, more precise than the King James. But they said to him, they took him aside, and they simply said to him, we use the King James in the meetings, please do so. And he did. He conformed to that, no problem.
It wasn't a question of which was better or not.
It was a question of doing things decently and in order. Now that's not placing anyone under law.
That's simply ordering things according to what we have in this chapter and.
Taking into account God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.
As in all the churches of the Saints, I think these chapters are very helpful.
In these last days to guide us and give us principles and instruction on how we are to go on together in in peace and harmony and consideration one for another under the promptings of love.