Our lesson begins in verse 20,
1 Corinthians 14. Brethren, be not children in
understanding. Howbeit in malice be ye children,
but in understanding be men. Now, Paul's still talking about
the same subject that we dealt with last week, the gift of tongues
and different gifts of the Spirit. He's telling us, don't be fascinated. with the gifts of the spirit.
Don't be overly fascinated with the gift of speaking in tongues.
Don't be like a child. The only reason they get excited
is Christmas. At Christmas time is the gifts
they're going to get. You know, that's the way a child is. You
know, they go and look under the tree and see what presents
are for them. You know, they're so excited about the presents
that are for them. And until they mature, They're not excited
about giving a gift to somebody else. Until they mature, the
thing that's most important to them about Christmas time isn't
the time they get to spend with their family and their loved
ones. It's the gifts, it's the gifts, it's the gifts. Paul said,
don't be like a child in that way concerning the gifts of the
Spirit. Because children easily miss
the most important things in life because they're so easily
distracted with the glitter and the novelty of things that they
miss the substance. They miss what's really important.
Don't be as children in maturity. You know, a week or so ago, we
were down at Summer Motion. There was a sideshow down there
in this little tent where you could pay money, your hard-earned
money, to go in and look at these giant rats. Well, you know, the
only people that was in that tent? Little children, fascinated
with the novelty, something that's different. Paul says, don't be
like a child in that way. Don't be so caught up in the
gifts that you miss the glory of the Savior. That's what he's
telling us. Now, do be like a child in some
attitudes. You know, children generally,
especially when they're little, so they get a little older and
think they know it all, they realize they need to be taught.
That's why a child asks so many questions, because they realize
they need to be taught and we need to be teachable as children. are tender-hearted. That's the
way we ought to be as children. Tender-hearted. Children are
transparent. They have to learn to be a hypocrite.
Until they learn that, children are just transparent. They're
not hypocrites. They're just who they are. That's
the way we ought to be. No hypocrisy. And children easily
forgive. Sometime last year, for whatever
reason, we had these chairs going over here. It's a novelty. The kids all love it. They're
over here playing. And I went over playing with them. And I
was grabbing them by the hands and swinging them around because
there was room to do it and they were loving it. Well, I was swinging
little Sidney around by the arms and her wrist popped. And it
hurt her. She runs crying to her daddy
and I'm running after her. I said, Sidney, can you ever
forgive me? I'm so sorry. And immediately,
tears in her eyes, immediately she shook her head yes and gave
me a little smile. So easily forgiven. That's why
we should forgive one another just so easily, no strings attached,
with a smile on our face. Be as children in that way, in
those attitudes, but don't have an immature attitude. Use the
wisdom of a grown man. Matthew Henry summed up this
verse this way. He said, don't be unskilled in
the work of righteousness, but be unskilled in the arts of mischief. Be unskilled as a child in that
way. Now, verse 21, Paul says in the
law, it's written with men of other tongues and other lips.
Well, I speak unto this people yet for all that. Will they not
hear me say it the Lord? I just don't get too awful excited
about this speaking in tongues business. The Old Testament scriptures
prophesied that men are going to come speak in tongues, but
men won't listen. Look over in Isaiah 28. Here's
what Paul's talking about in Isaiah 28. Isaiah 28, verse 11. For with stammering lips and
another tongue will he speak to this people, to whom he said,
this is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest.
And this is the refreshing. He's saying that in another tongue
with stammering lips. Yet they would not hear. Even though he's speaking in
tongues, they wouldn't hear. Why not? Because sinners aren't
converted, aren't given faith. through miracles. It's through
the preaching of the Word. It didn't matter that he was
speaking in tongues. What did Abraham tell that rich man in
hell when the rich man said, send Lazarus back from the dead
that he can tell my brothers not to come to this place? And
Abraham said, though one would rise from the dead, yet they
will not hear. They won't do it because people
aren't converted by miracles. It's through the Word. Look at
Acts chapter 2. Even at Pentecost, When the apostles
spoke in tongues and preached in tongues, over 3,000 people
were saved, but not everyone. Everyone wasn't. Everyone didn't
believe. Acts 2, verse 8. Here are these people, and they
said, how here we every man in our own tongue where we were
born? And verses 9 and 10 lists all
these different places people were from. They all heard the
gospel in their own language. And verse 11, even the Cretans
and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful
works of God. And they were all amazed and
were in doubt, saying one to another, what meaneth this? And
others, now some believed, some heard, but others mocking said,
these men are full of new wine. They're just babbling. Everyone
didn't believe. Everyone didn't, even though
this is a great miracle, because people aren't converted through
miracles, it's through the word. It's through God-given faith.
Now back in our text, verse 22, wherefore, because this is true,
tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them
that believe not. But prophesying, preaching, serveth
not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. Now,
the gift of tongues and these other miracles was given to the
apostles and people of the early church as a witness that they
were sent from God. These were signs and evidences
that they had a message from God himself, because only God
can give these supernatural abilities. And those miracles may have gotten
the attention of unbelievers. But no one was ever saved apart
from hearing the gospel. They weren't saved because they
saw the miracles. They were saved because they
heard the preaching of the gospel. Remember, when the when the apostles
spoke in tongues, they weren't quoting great literature from
somebody. They were preaching the gospel and people were saved
because they heard the gospel in their own language, not because
it was a miracle that the apostles spoke in tongues. And unbelievers
get excited about the miracles. They're wrapped up in the miracles.
They love the miracles. They're interested in having
the miracles. But believers get excited by hearing the preaching
of Christ. When you woke up this morning,
why were you excited to get up and come to service? Not because
you expect to see some miracle, because I'm as plain as they
come. Savannah said, Daddy, you're not the kind of guy that walks
all around the place. I'm plain. I stay in one place
and hang on for dear life. You're not going to see that
kind of stuff from me. You're not going to see that kind of stuff from
John. What is it you're excited about? The Word. It's the preaching of Christ.
That's how believers are comforted and exhorted and edified. That's
what we studied last week in verse three. But he that preacheth
speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation and comfort.
And that's what we get through the preaching of the Word. I
told you last week that preaching is the business of the church
and preaching is how believers are edified and exhorted and
comforted and taught. So in the rest of these verses,
Paul's telling us, since this is true, you make sure the worship
service is run in an orderly fashion. You make sure that that
you remove all the distractions so people can focus on what's
being preached. without being distracted so they
can truly hear. You know, we hear we're very
conservative, we're very conservative in the way we run our service
and things, that's our background. And but we don't just do that
because that's, you know, kind of the tradition that we've been
raised in. There's a reason for that, there's a reason we try
to minimize distractions so people can focus on the worship service,
on what's being preached. And that's what Paul tells us
in these next verses, beginning in verse twenty three. He says,
if therefore the whole church be come together into one place
and all speak with tongues, and he means all speak with tongues
at the same time, and there come in those that are unlearned or
unbelievers, will they not say that you're mad? Now, if all
the churches met together and everybody's talking at once,
people are going to think you're crazy, especially if you're all
speaking in a bunch of different languages that nobody can understand.
People are going to think you're nuts and they'd be right. That's
the kind of commotion you see in an asylum somewhere, not in
the church. I mean, who in their right mind
would attempt to worship that way? I can tell you this, the
Holy Spirit is not going to lead you to act that way because God
is a God of order. And he goes on teaching us this
in verse 24. He says, but if all prophesy
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. Now, if an unbeliever comes in,
one who's unlearned in the Scriptures, hears a man preaching the gospel
and the power of the Spirit, he's preaching it with understanding,
he's preaching it in a way that people can understand what he's
saying, that unbeliever just might hear the Word of God. Now,
he's going to hear the Word of God, but he might hear it with
a God-given ear of faith. He might truly hear it. And if
he hears the Word of God with an ear of faith, the secrets
of his heart are going to be made manifest to himself. The secrets of his heart are
going to be made manifest to everybody else. They're going to be made
manifest to him. He's going to sit there and think, that preacher
can read my mind. He knows what's in my heart.
He's been spying on me this week. He knows what's going on in my
heart. No, he doesn't. But the Spirit
does. And he's preaching in the power
of the Spirit. And that sinner hears the Gospel and suddenly
the secrets of his heart are open to him and he realizes,
I'm a sinner. I'm in trouble. I'm depraved. I need a Savior. And what's he
going to do? He's going to fall down on his
face. John preached it Wednesday night. What did Abraham do when
God spoke to him? Fell down on his face in reverence,
in fear, in worship. And every time a sinner hears
the Word of God, that's what he does. Falls down on his face. Begs God for forgiveness. Worships
God in spirit and in truth. And he'll say, God is true. The Gospel you preach, the Gospel
of Christ is the truth. I agree with it. I'm a sinner.
I need a Savior. Christ came and put away the
sin of His people. I agree with that. That's true.
That's what He'll say if He hears the Word. Now verse 26. How is it then, brethren, when
ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine,
hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation? Let all
things be done unto Edifying. Now how is it then, Paul says,
what's the proper way to conduct your worship service? Well, when
we come together, There's all kinds of different people here.
People have different abilities. They have different gifts, different
talents, and they'd like to use them. You ought to want to use
it. God gave you that gift to use.
He didn't give you that gift to hide. He gave it to you to
use. There's nothing wrong at all
in wanting to use that gift. You ought to want to use it.
But how can all those different gifts be used for God's glory
and true worship? That's the question. And Paul
answers it very simply. Let all things be done unto edifying. Use your gift to edify your brethren. And if your particular gift won't
be necessarily useful or won't edify at that particular moment
because someone else is speaking, someone else is singing, someone
else is praying, something else is going on, then just wait. You don't have to use it. You
know, when Mike's singing, we don't start preaching. We don't
start praying. You do one thing at a time. Wait and use your
gift. so that it will be used to edify your brethren. And he
gives us examples here, beginning in verse 27. Here's some specific
examples. He says, if any man speak in
an unknown tongue, let it be by two or at the most by three
and that by course one after the other and let one interpret.
But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church
and let him speak to himself and to God. Now, if someone can
speak in tongues in different languages, don't let them all
speak at once. If two people are talking at
the same time, you can't understand what either one of them is saying.
You can't do it. You can't concentrate that well.
So limit your speakers to two or three, Paul says. And if they're
speaking in tongues, it has to be done through an interpreter.
And if there's no interpreter, then just keep silent. Because
that gift is going to be a distraction. That gift at this time is not
going to edify your brethren if there's no interpreter. So
just keep silence about it for right now, because people have
to understand what you're saying if they're going to be edified
and comforted and exhorted. So just if there's no interpreter,
let that gift go for a time and let someone else speak who can
comfort and edify the brethren. Now he goes on, verse 29, he
says, Let the prophet speak two or three and let the other judge. Now Paul says let just two or
three preachers preach. Probably best to cap it at three,
you know. I remember when I was a kid. Conferences lasted forever. I mean forever. You'd come in
the morning, there'd be three speakers before you had a chance
to go eat lunch. I mean that's a long time for a kid. And even
when, you know, you're an adult, the spirit's willing, but the
flesh is weak. I mean, there's only so much
your lower back can take sitting there in those chairs, you know.
So just limit it. Maybe we're best to limit it
to two speakers so we can actually remember what's been preached,
what's been said. It's not quantity that says,
I mean, I'd like to hear all preach. I mean, just, you know,
but it's not quantity that says, it's the word. And we just got
to remember We're just clay pots. I mean, there's only so much
we can, you know, take in at one time. So let some preach,
Paul says. How many ever? But one at a time. And let everyone else listen
and pay attention and understand what's being said. Order the
service so people can understand what's being said. Else, how
can you be edified? Now in verse 30, he goes on. He says, And if anything be revealed
to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For
ye may all prophesy, but one by one, that all may learn, and
that all may be comforted." Now, if a man is inspired by God,
he's given a message to preach, well, you don't just pop up and
start shouting it out. When one man's preaching, you
wait till he's done. Then you can go on. Then you
speak. Let the others finish his train of thought first, and
then you can speak. You know, without a doubt, it's
the Holy Spirit that gives the message to God's servants. That's
who gives the message. And he's not going to move two
men and speak at the same time. He's just not going to do it.
He'll give them the same message. It'll be from a different text.
It'll be with a different delivery from a different personality,
but it'll be the same message. But it'll be one at a time. And
it's done that way so everyone can So everyone can be comforted,
so everyone can be edified by what's being said. In verse 32,
he says, and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God's not the author of confusion,
but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. Now, God gives
gifts to his servants, doesn't he? To his people. He might give
you the gift of the word. The gift to speak, the gift to
sing, the gift to pray, the gift of understanding, whatever that
gift may be. And you have the power over those gifts that God's
put in you. You have the power over them.
The gifts don't have the power over you. You have the power
over the gifts to use them at the proper time to edify the
brethren. You control those gifts. You
know, you don't just break out into shouting in some different
language in the middle of the Bible lesson this morning. If
you've got that gift, you wait to use it. If you think that
the Holy Spirit's given you that gift to start shouting in the
middle of the Bible lesson this morning or the middle of John's
message this morning, you're not being led by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit's not going to lead you to do that. He's a God
of order. So if you had the gift of tongues, that doesn't mean
that just suddenly, for no reason at all, you just burst out blabbering
in a different language uncontrollably. You have the power over that.
It doesn't have the power over you. My girls can tell you this is
true. I've been known to uncontrollably speak in tongues during a University
of Kentucky basketball game. But that's not being led by the
Holy Spirit. Not here. Not in the worship service. Totally
different thing. And you know, most of what you
see people doing under the guise of religion is the exact same
thing I do. watching a basketball game, just
worked up emotion. That's all it is. It's not the
Spirit. And I know that's so because
God's not the author of confusion. He's not the author. That word
is tumult. You know, when I'm watching a
basketball game, that's what it is. It's tumult. It's going on
inside of me and a lot of times it comes out. God's not the author
of that tumult. He's the author of peace and
harmony. God's a God of wisdom and order. Just look at God's creation.
You can see He's the God of order. Things happen in order. Things
produce after their time. The seasons come in particular
order after their time. God's creation makes sense. He's
the God of order. You and I study at home. I go
on my study. I close the door. I turn on a
fan to drown out the noise, you know, from the house. And open
that door at your own peril. Because I can't concentrate when
things are broken up. Somebody can open the door and
ask me a question or come in there and do something. Because
I cannot get back to it. I just cannot concentrate that
way. And the worship service is much
the same way. God's ordained an orderly worship
service so all can be comforted and edified and hear and understand
what's being said. Now verse 34, Paul says, and
let your women keep silence in the churches, for it's 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's a shame for women
to speak in the church. Now what Paul's been teaching
here doesn't apply to women preaching or speaking in tongues in the
worship service. Women are not authorized to preach
or have authority over men in the church, in the worship service. You know that. So Paul says,
if you have a question, talk to your husband about it at home.
If there's an issue that's confusing, talk to your husband about it
at home. Now, men love verses like that. I mean, you know,
honestly. Men just, that appeals to the
flesh of men. That makes husbands sound a whole
lot smarter than we really are. Undoubtedly, that's what you
ought to do. But listen, that doesn't mean that your husband's
always going to have the answer because he don't. I mean, that's
just if you're honest with yourself at all, you don't always have
the answer. And that certainly does not mean that women are
forbidden to speak to men in the church or to ask questions
of men or the pastor or the elders or whatever in the church. This
certainly is not teaching that. Because what if your husband
doesn't know the answer? Are you just supposed to leave that
unanswered question in your mind? Of course not. You should go
ask the pastor or the elders or some of these men, you know,
to have some understanding. You listen to what I'm saying.
You women never think you can't go talk to John Chapman. Isn't
that right, John? Never think that. Don't ever
think, well, I'm just a woman and I don't matter. Are you less
of a child of God than somebody else? Of course not. All this
is teaching is women are not permitted to preach and teach
in the church. That's what that's teaching.
It doesn't mean you're allowed to speak or your opinions don't
matter. Not anything of the sort. Now, verse 36, Paul says what? Came the word of God out from
you or came it unto you only? Now, here's a pretty sharp review
Paul gives them. Now there's no doubt the Lord's
blessed you. He's blessed that congregation. But do you think
the gospel started with you? Do you think that you're the
only group that the Lord's blessed? And you're the only group that
has the gospel and everybody else doesn't have it? You need
to remember the gospel started with the Jews in Jerusalem. Our
Lord came as a Jew to the Jews. And the only reason any Gentile's
ever heard the gospel, any Gentile in Corinth or any Gentile in
Ashland, in a tri-state area, is the Jews spread the gospel
into the whole world, from Jerusalem out to the whole world. And Paul's
telling them, and it's good for us to remember, you don't have
a corner on God. You don't have a corner on the
gospel. We don't even know what God's done. It's hard to tell
what God's doing. And it certainly doesn't emanate
from us. So that being said, verse 37,
if any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, Let him
acknowledge the things that I write unto you are the commandments
of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let
him be ignorant." Now Paul says, if someone among you thinks he's
a prophet, thinks he's real spiritually wise, then he's going to have
to agree. Paul's an apostle of God. And
what he's writing, he's writing with the authority of Christ.
These are not just Paul's thoughts. These are the commandments of
God. written by Paul under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And if this
man who thinks he's a prophet is not willing to admit that,
then he's no prophet. And I tell you why I know that.
The Holy Spirit cannot contradict himself. The Holy Spirit cannot
contradict God's Word because he inspired God's Word. The Holy
Spirit will not lead two men in opposite directions. The Holy
Spirit will not give two men two opposing messages. He won't
do it because he cannot contradict himself. And if two men have
opposing messages, you mark this down. One of them is a false
prophet. Has to be so because the spirit cannot contradict
himself. And clearly in this case, if
someone's got an opposing message from the Apostle Paul, he's a
false prophet. There's no doubt Apostle Paul
had the message from God. And if a person insists on their
ignorance after it's pointed out to them, God will leave them
in it. He'll leave them in their blindness.
He'll leave them in their ignorance. If you question that, look at
the Jewish nation. God's given them judicial blindness
and given them the blindness that they desired. If a person
insists on their error after it's been clearly pointed out
to them, God will leave them in it. He'll just leave them
in that error. And when someone clearly rejects God's word, God's
going to leave them alone and they'll be without Christ. So,
verse 39, Paul says, he sums this up. He says, wherefore,
brethren, covet to prophesy and forbid not to speak with tongues,
but let all things be done decently and in order. Here's the sum
of it. Covet the gifts of the Spirit, but keep those gifts
in their proper perspective. They're not to be all and end
all. Christ is the object of our faith. He's the one that
we look to. He's the one that we worship. I don't care how
wonderful the gifts of the Spirit are. Don't take your eyes off
Christ to look at them. That's what he's saying. But
don't forbid someone at the same time to use these extraordinary
gifts if God's given them to them. Let them use them. But
be sure those gifts are used to edify God's people, to teach
us, and run your service with order and decency. So everyone
can grow and understand and learn and be taught. Alright, well
Lord bless you.