return again this morning to
the first epistle of paul to the corinthians I'm going to
look at passage really which runs from chapter 12 to the end
of chapter 14. But we'll read a few verses to
open with from chapter 12. Chapter 12 verse 1. 1 Corinthians
12 verse 1. Now concerning spiritual gifts
or spirituals, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know
that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even
as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand
that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed,
and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of
gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are differences of administrations,
but the same Lord. and there are diversities of
operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man
to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit
the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the
same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another
the gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working
of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits,
to another diverse kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation
of tongues. But all these work if that one
and the self-same spirit, divided to every man severally as he
will. For as the body is one and have many members, and all
the members of that one body, being many are one body, so also
is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether
we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one
Spirit. There are diversities of gifts,
but the same Spirit, differences of administrations, but the same
Lord, diversities of operations, but it is the same God, which
worketh all in all. True religion, Joseph Hart said,
is more than notion. More than notion. A true believer
in Jesus Christ. One who was once blind but now
sees. One who was once dead in trespasses
and sins, but has now by the Spirit of God been brought to
faith to hear and to believe the gospel. has now been brought
to the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, where he beholds the
one who suffered in his place, where he beholds the one who
died under the wrath of God because of his sins, where he beholds
the one who died that he might live, The true believer is brought
to faith to look upon Christ as his Saviour. And when he's
born again of God, and when he's brought to faith in Jesus Christ,
there is a radical transformation. He can truly say that once I
was blind, but now I see. He knows by experience what it
was to be dead in sins, what it was to be captive to sin,
ruled by sin, what it was to seek his own aims, his own will,
his own glory. And he knows by experience what
it is by the Gospel. and by the working of the Spirit
of God in his heart to have been brought into conviction of sin.
To have discovered what he is before a holy and an almighty
and a righteous God. To have discovered that awful
feeling in his soul, in his innermost heart, that the wrath of God
burns from heaven above against his sin. and that God will judge
him because of all those evil things he has done throughout
his life and that should he remain in this state then hell's fire
and God's wrath is what will weight him and he knows in experience
from such a desperate state what it is to have the wonderful truth
of the gospel that Christ has made a way of salvation that
Christ has come into this world to save sinners such as he that
Christ has looked upon him in compassion and given himself
upon the cross that he might take away his sins and impute
to him the righteousness of God. He knows by experience what it
is to look upon Christ and him crucified and to feel the burden
and the weight of the guilt of his sins roll from off his back. He knows from experience what
it is to see, and to love Christ who first loved him, and to rejoice
in that salvation which Christ wrought for His own, for His
elect, for that people that God gave Him, for sinners such as
this one. Do you know this? Have you come
this way? Have you looked upon Christ your
Saviour? Do you know Him? For if you do,
then you will own that true religion is more than notion. That your
following of Jesus Christ, that you're associating with his people,
that you're gathering with the saints in his church, is more
than something that you have chosen to do because of mental
persuasion. It is more than simply a way
of life. It is more than simply having
studied things or come to a persuasion that these things are right and
want you are wrong. You've not merely read the Bible
or heard some facts from a preacher and said that's right and gone
that way. But something far deeper has
happened. The work of God the Spirit has
transformed you. He's taken you who were dead
and made you live, and you know it. Or do you? Do you? Well, if you're one of Christ,
you will. and you will be able to say yes it's more than notion
it's more than a notion in my head my faith in Christ is far
more than just believing certain things on paper it's far more
than just believing that Christ is the Son of God that he came
into the world that he died that he rose again that he's risen
again that he rules on high from heaven above it's far more than
just believing that as facts but those facts have been testified
to in my heart by the Spirit of God. And my interest in the
reality of those facts has been made sure in my heart by God
opening me up to see these things, opening up my heart, shining
the light in, showing how filthy and wicked I was and showing
how wondrous Christ is as my Saviour. showing unto me the
glory of his cross, the glory of his salvation, taking his
blood and sprinkling it upon my heart inside, and causing
me to be born again by the Spirit, coming to indwell in my heart
that I might be one in Christ, that I might dwell in him and
he in me. I know that the Spirit of God
dwells in my heart. This is faith. This is life. This is my communion with Christ
my Saviour. God dwells in me. He walks with
me. And I walk with Him. I have felt
something. And I have believed something.
These things are real. Well they are real. They are
real. Yet many bring the word of God
and his gospel down to mere words, down to a dry intellect, down
to a bare faith and acceptance of these things as true. Many
make salvation and being brought to salvation to be merely the
acceptance of Jesus Christ, the acceptance of his gospel as true. Merely saying, I believe those
things, therefore I am saved. I follow Christ, therefore I
am his. Yes, I have to confess I never
really felt much conviction for my sins. I'm not really sure
that there was a great difference the day after I professed faith
in Christ to the day before. I sometimes feel I should feel
more, but nevertheless, I know these things are real and that's
enough. The Bible says it, I believe
it, therefore I am one of Christ's. and many preach this sort of
level of religion and in reality the followers of such religion
have little experience and little reality in their hearts to bring
them through those times when trials come upon them and when
their faith is tested they know that they have never really met
with God They accept the facts, they've perhaps been brought
up in religion, brought up hearing the gospel. They know in the
head that these things are right, but they can't really say that
they in particular are one that has a definite assurance of their
interest in these things. They can't really say from the
heart that yes, Christ died for me in particular. So they rejoice
in their idea of a salvation which is for all that is there
to be claimed and simply by claiming it, that's it, they're saved. There is that religion which
takes these truths, these doctrines of the scriptures and presents
them in a very dry and a very legal fashion. And there are
many that follow in a very serious and solemn religion full of mental
persuasion, full of seriousness, full of devotion but again one
in which there is little reality of life within the soul. And there are those who see these
things and those who react to these things who say but surely
true religion, true faith, true salvation Should be more than
just in the letter. Should be more than just mental
persuasion. Should be more than just being
brought up a certain way and going a certain way. Surely it's
about life. Surely Christ came to give his
people eternal life. Surely when we come to worship
God, The meeting shouldn't be dry and barren, simply like going
to some dry lecture in college where I sit and I have to study
and follow. Surely there should be some sense
in which I'm with God and God is with us. Surely there should
be joy in salvation. And such people react against
the dryness of that religion they see in others, which brings
everything down to an intellectual level. and they long for the
emotion and the feelings. And there is of course that great
rise in numbers of those who attend those meetings today which
we would call charismatic, which arose out of the Pentecostal
movement. And the charismatics long for
a sense of God's love, for a sense of rejoicing, for a sense of
feeling. they have this reaction against
what they despise as being the dry teaching of others of what
they see as being dead and they go to passages in the scripture
which speak of those things which deal with the experience and
the emotions and the gifts of the spirit the charismata spirituals
as Paul deals with here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. And they say that
true religion and the true worship of God involves these gifts,
these spirituals. When we come to worship God,
it's more than just words. We should have an experience
of the spirit of God in us. We should have an experience
of his gifts. There should be this outworking
of those gifts which we read of in the scriptures, of the
speaking in tongues, of the gifts of healing, the gifts of interpretation,
the gifts of prophecy. These are the things that believers
should be attaining to. These are the things that shows
that the Spirit of God is working in the midst. If these things
are absent they say, then where is God? Surely these gifts apply
equally today as they did when Paul wrote of them. They say
on the day of Pentecost, when several thousand were saved,
the Spirit of God came down in tongues of fire and men spake
in many tongues and all understood them. What a mighty demonstration
of the power and work of God. That's what we want to see. That's
what we want today. Hence the name Pentecostal. And
hence with the charismata the name charismatic. Well are they
right? Are these gifts, the tongues,
the healing, the prophecy in the sense of being able to predict
things in the future, are these manifestations of the work of
the Spirit that which ought to be seen in believers as they
gather? and where they are not seen and
practiced is that evidence of a church which has departed from
the Spirit of God and is dead, dry and barren. Are they right? Are the charismata, the spirituals,
the gifts, that which is a measure of one's spirituality or closeness
in his walk to Jesus Christ? If I have the gift of speaking
in tongues, does that show me to be close to Christ? Or as
one who's never had such a gift, or never had the gift of healing,
or the gift of prophecy, or the working of a miracle, any of
these things, is one that doesn't have these things, are they someone
who has not yet attained? Are they someone who is backslidden?
Are they someone who is dead? Or as the living believer, seeks
after these gifts and practices them. How people long for these
things and how many say that these things are the measure
of being close unto Christ and the measure of the true church.
The true church is that where the charismatic gifts are practiced.
Where all you have is preaching and doctrine then they say all
is dry and all is barren. Is that true? Well they say it's
true and they long for it they long for this charismatic experience. Why do they? Well as I said it's
partly a reaction to often dead religion that they see around
them and often there is dead religion because true religion
is more than notion it isn't just in the letter. in some senses
it's a fair reaction to that which can be so dead when the
spirit of God isn't in these things. For there are many that
take the scriptures and take the teaching and take the words
of Christ and there's no reality in it there's just words. That
is dead and it's right to react against it and to seek after
that which is living. But is the seeking after charismatic
gifts the right expression of seeking the life of God in the
midst of his church? Is it what Paul encourages? Paul says concerning spiritual
gifts or spirituals brethren I would not have you to be ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles
carried away unto these dumb idols even as ye were led. Therefore
I give you to understanding that no man speaking by the Spirit
of God calleth Jesus accursed, and that no man can say that
Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. Now Paul's first
concern here is that the Corinthians did seek after spirituals, spiritual
gifts, the charismatic. But so often these things can
be deceptions. For there is the spirit of God
and his working in the believer. And there are also other spirits,
evil spirits, that do not testify of Christ. And they can come
upon people. And they can work miracles. And they can bring forth supernatural
effects which have nothing to do with Christ. And nothing to
do with his glory. And these people, these Gentiles,
should remember from whence they came, should remember the superstitious
ways and idols from whence they have turned, and should be very
careful about what they seek after regarding the spiritual
realm. You were Gentiles carried away
unto dumb idols even as you were led. Now listen Gentiles, understand
that no man who speaks by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed
and no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. The true Spirit of God testifies
of Christ and he testifies of Christ truthfully according to
the truth of the gospel and where you hear anyone say anything
that is not in accord with the gospel then that is not of the
Spirit of God and however many miraculous things may attend
unto their ministry if they are not preaching the gospel whatever
they say of the Spirit it is not of God now why is this important
it's important because it's a wonderful test of much which is done in
the charismatic movement. for by and large in the charismatic
movement today, despite all the claim for miracles, healings,
tongues, and the working of the Spirit of God in all sorts of
wonderful ways, in healing the people, in bringing various blessings,
Toronto blessings and so on, and all the other variations
which are around today. In all these different manifestations
of the Spirit in their meetings, and in their meetings, one thing
is absent. predominantly absent it is very
rare to find the true preaching of the gospel. They will say
things about Jesus and of his universal love for all men and
of how easily you can turn and accept him and follow him and
how if you just ask him to bless you and give you these gifts
you will have them and you will do wondrous things. They will
tell you that this Jesus wants you to be prosperous that he
wants you to have all sorts of wonderful things in this world.
And that if you're not getting them, it's because you're without
faith. And if you have enough faith, then he will give you
these things. They will tell you of a Jesus that wants to
heal you from your illness. And if you're sick, it's because,
again, you're lacking in faith. But you just ask him, you just
pray earnestly, and he will heal you. But they don't preach the
gospel of Jesus Christ. and make known that true healing
of your real illness which is the depth of your iniquity by
nature. They don't preach that Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, to save his people, not all men,
and that he comes as a sovereign saviour, a sovereign God, who
saves whomsoever he will. They don't preach that ye must
be born again, and to be born again is not something that you
choose to be, but is something which God chooses to come to
pass in his sovereign mercy. they don't preach the Gospel. And as such, whatever they claim
about calling down the Spirit of God into their meetings, and
about the wondrous miracles that are performed, their spirit does
not testify of Jesus Christ as Lord. For their spirit speaks
of another Jesus with another gospel. And when you tell them
of the true gospel and of God's electing grace and mercy and
of a particular redemption, they rail against it and they say
that that is awful. And so they show by their spirit
that they call Jesus accursed. Where the true spirit of God
is, there is the preaching of the gospel. in truth, and only
that spirit brings forth spiritual realities in his people. Spiritual
graces, spirituals, the charismata, they come from that spirit, not
another spirit. So the first test we must have
is to test the spirits, whether they are of God. And that test
dismisses much that claims to be the charismata today. But Paul goes on in dealing with
these gifts to speak of them, to list them as he does here,
that there are diversities of gifts but the same spirit, there
are differences of administrations but the same Lord, there are
diversities of operations but it's the same God which worketh
all in all. he speaks of the different manifestations of the
Spirit which are given to each man so he declares that there
are gifts, there are spirituals and the Spirit of God does give
them and he does give them to the various members of his body
that there are various qualities, various graces which are given
to God's people. To one is given by the Spirit
the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the
same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another
the gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working
of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits,
to another diverse kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation
of tongues. Paul doesn't here say that there aren't gifts,
that there aren't spirituals, that there aren't charismata.
He says there are, there were, there were at the time he was
speaking. but he emphasizes that they're
all of the same spirit no matter which one they are no matter
what grace or ability or gift God gives each of his people
they're all of God they're all given they're all in Christ and
they're all to be worked in unison for his glory They're not greater
than the other. They're not given that one can
lord it over another, that one can glory in some ability that
he's got that somebody else hasn't got. If one at that time was
given the gift of speaking in a diverse tongue, that wasn't
something that showed that he was more spiritual than another
who had the gift of faith or another who had the gift of the
word of wisdom. It was not to set up one over
another and yet it so easily does today. Charismatic gifts
and the seeking after them become something in which men glory.
To have something that others don't have, to have something
special. I can speak in tongues, I have
the gift of miracles. I have this, I can heal. They
become something that is used to raise up one above another,
to glory over another, then it's not of God. For that was never
the reason that they were given for. Again Paul reminded them
that they were Gentiles, he reminded them of their origins as he did
at the beginning of this epistle, that they are nothing and that
their glory is in the cross, in Christ, in the Lord, in the
gospel. They are nothing. All that they
have is given by God, then they are not to glory. in any of these
graces which he gives but all these diversities of graces of
gifts are given that the body in its variety of parts might
function as one for as paul says we're one body but there's not
just one ear or one eye or one nose there are many members many
members yet one body The eye cannot say under the hand I have
no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet I have no need
of you. Nay, much more those members of the body which seem
to be more feeble are necessary, and those members of the body
which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant
honour, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
For our comely parts have no need, but God hath tempered the
body together, having given more abundant honour to that part
which latt, that there should be no schism in the body, but
that the members should have the same care one for another.
And where for one member suffer, all the members suffer with it.
Or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
For ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. He
emphasises that there is to be no schism, no division in the
body. and no despising of those that
seem less important. If one has the gift of teaching
and one doesn't, that doesn't make him better than the other.
If one has this gift or ability and another doesn't, that doesn't
make them better. You're all different, you're
all unique, you're all members of one body. And God gives different
gifts because there is a necessity in the body to have the different
qualities in different ones. One must be strong in prayer.
One must be able to cater for others. One must be able to teach.
One must be able to learn. One must be able to look after
children. One must be able to look after
the old. One must be able to do this or do that. There's different
qualities that the body may function as one. But these different qualities,
these graces, these gifts that God gives to his body, his church,
are not that men may glory in them and set themselves up above
another. They are nothings. All that they
have, they have received by grace, by the gospel. They've received
them freely by God. There are essentially two types
of gifts that Paul deals with in these chapters. One is the
charismata. things like healing tongues and
so on this charismatic that he speaks of in chapter 12 at the
beginning but there is also those gifts which is more to do with
the actual people than the qualities that they have where he speaks
of the gifts of being some prophets some apostles some teachers and
so on these are dogmata from which we get the word dogma
or teaching and dogmatic teaching, authoritative teaching. These
are those teaching gifts that God gives to his church. Those
people whom he sets apart that he might teach them and that
he might use them to preach the gospel. But there are those charismata
which are qualities which are given to all his people. They all have different graces
and abilities that the spirit gives. Charismata or spiritual
abilities and graces continue to this day. God gives grace
to each of his people. They're referred to often as
spiritual gifts but the term gift carries with it the impression
that it is separated from the giver, that the giver gives something
to the receiver and then the receiver has it and the giver
no longer has it. Well in reality these spiritual
graces aren't like that. They are those things that flow
forth from the Spirit. We only have these qualities
as we have the Spirit. They cannot be separated from
the Spirit. They are those outworkings of the Spirit of God through
different people in his body. So they're not gifts in the sense
that the Spirit gives you something that you then have as an ability
separate from him. But he brings forth this working
of a quality of a gift within different people as he chooses.
all is in Christ all is by the spirit just as we have righteousness
in Christ and righteousness cannot be separated from Christ and
yet we have it but righteousness is in Christ so the charismata
are in Christ by his spirit they cannot be separated Hence we're
better off talking about them as spiritual graces and gifts
as such, because they are qualities that the Spirit works in his
people. Paul doesn't say they don't exist and he doesn't condemn
them. In fact, he commends the desiring
of them. As he says in chapter 14, follow
after charity, after love, which he's spoken of in chapter 13,
and desire spirituals. But he says something in particular
there. Desire spirituals, yes, desire
these things, but rather that you may prophesy. Rather that
you may prophesy. And by prophesy there he means
that you may preach, that you may teach, that you may preach,
that you may prophesy or speak unto men to edification. For
he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men,
but unto God. For no man understandeth him,
albeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesyeth
speaketh unto men to edification, and exaltation, and comfort.
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifyeth himself, but
he that prophesyeth edifyeth the church. I would that ye all
spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied. For greater
is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except
he interpret that the church may receive edifying. Now, brethren,
if I came 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 for if the trumpet give an uncertain sound who shall
prepare himself to the battle so likewise ye except he utter
by the tongue words easy to be understood how shall it be known
what is spoken for he shall speak into the air 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 a barbarian,
and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. Even so
ye, for as much as ye are zealous of spirituals, seek that ye may
excel to the edifying of the church. So Paul moves on. In chapter 12 he is shown that
there are various gifts. There were various gifts in exercising
the church at that time. There was the working of miracles
at that time. There was prophecy. There were
healings. And there were those that speak
in tongues and those that interpreted the tongues as happened on the
day of Pentecost. Well do these things continue
today? Should there be the speaking
of tongues and the interpretation of tongues today? Should there
be the exercise of the charismatic gift of healing or miracles?
Should we be seeing these things at work in the church today?
Well Paul doesn't outright condemn them and say no. But he does say, seek those things,
yes, but rather seek prophecy. Rather seek that you would preach
the gospel. Seek the gospel. Declare things
unto your brethren in plain language that they may understand. He
doesn't say you can't exercise tongues. But he says what profit
is there in the exercise of tongues there be no interpreter. What
profit is there in coming into a meeting and speaking a strange
language whether it be another language like coming in amongst
the English and speaking French or German? or speak in some strange
unknown language. What profit is there in saying
wonderful truth in another language? If the people there, when they
hear you speak in French say, I only understand English and
haven't got a clue what you're saying, there's no profit. You're
better to come in and say a few words in the language they understand
than 10,000 words in the language they don't understand. Preach
the gospel. Preach the gospel. These gifts
occurred at the time of the New Testament, at the time of the
day of Pentecost, as a demonstration of the power of God in bringing
in his church, and in sending forth that gospel to the four
corners of the earth, to every nation, every tribe, and every
tongue. At Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost
were gathered many people from many countries, and what happened
is that when the gospel was preached on that day all sorts of people
in all sorts of languages heard the same words though the speaker
spake one language they all heard and understood in their own language.
It was a miraculous event but it was a miraculous event to
demonstrate that God's gospel was going out to all the world.
But those events having occurred, there's no need to try to continue
to replicate them throughout the ages, even into our day.
There's no need for it. The Gospel has gone out into
all the countries. And we gather in our meetings
in whichever locality we're in, generally with those who speak
one language. If we meet in England, we speak
English. If we meet in France, we speak French. If we meet in
Germany, we speak German. And when a German congregation
gathers, you would expect the preaching of the gospel in its
midst to be in German. And when an English congregation
gathers, you'd expect it to be in English. There's no need to
be standing up speaking in different languages as though this is some
demonstration of God's presence. This is a nonsense. There's no
need for it, there's no profit in it. If you have someone speaking
another tongue, then you're needing somebody to interpret that to
those that don't understand what they're saying. There's no need
for it. There was a need on that day.
There's no need for it today. Of course, there is that understanding
of the tongues as being unknown tongues, not just other languages,
but some divinely inspired tongue. uttering truths that we don't
understand. But again, what is the need of that? What is the
need to have one person in a meeting? Why would God have a person speak
in an unknown tongue and then have to have somebody else alongside
to interpret that and retranslate it back into English that we
may learn? What does that demonstrate and what does it profit? All
it is doing is trying to, by some miraculous event, demonstrate
that there's something spiritual and wonderful going on here.
But there's nothing more spiritual and wonderful than the actual
message conveyed by the Spirit of God, which is the Gospel.
What was wonderful on the day of Pentecost was not that tongues
of fire came down from heaven, was not that people spoke in
tongues, really. What was most wonderful was that
3,000 were saved by hearing about Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
And therein is the power of God unto salvation in the Gospel. And whereas that miraculous event
happened as a testimony to the fact that the New Testament had
come in, that the gospel had been wrought, that Christ had
died and his gospel was going forth into the four corners of
the earth, though it was a testament that God was at work in the beginning
and the inauguration of the New Testament and its gospel, that
served its purpose. It doesn't need to carry on.
What continues is the gospel. And Paul makes that plain, even
such a short time after that event, when he goes to Corinth
and finds that the people there are seeking after these spiritual
things, these supernatural manifestations of the graces of the Spirit.
They're not content with just the word of faith. They're not
content with just the word of wisdom. They're not content with
simply the word of knowledge, all of which we have today. But
they want more than this. They want to see physical healing. They want to see miracles occur. They want to see strange tongues
being spoken. Why? Because it has an air of
deep spirituality. Something in which they can glory. So Paul here reminds them, as
he's reminded them throughout the whole epistle that we are
to glory in the Lord alone. He doesn't say these things don't
exist or never existed. He doesn't say it's wrong to
seek after spiritual graces. Seek after them. But when it
comes to tongues in particular in chapter 14, and the more miraculous
of these gifts, He says, seek after spiritual gift, yes. Seek
after the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge. Seek after
faith, you need these things. But seek that you may preach
the gospel. that others may be edified in
the truth of the gospel. You can have your tongues but
except there's an interpreter no one will understand and even
if there is an interpreter it achieves no more than if somebody
just stood up and spake the gospel in the in the original tongue. What good is there in it? So
he doesn't say don't have tongues He, as it were, treats them as
a child, as you might treat a child who wants to do one thing. You
don't necessarily tell the child, no, you're not doing that. That
often just gets the back up and they become more and more persistent.
But often the way to treat a child that wants to go one way that
you know is wrong is to say, well, why don't you come across
here and do this instead? Let's do this instead. And you
give them something better. And when they've seen something
better, they're happy to give up that which they wanted in
the first place and go after that which is better. So Paul
treats the Corinthians here as children. He doesn't say, no,
there aren't gifts. He doesn't say, no, there aren't
tongues. There aren't miracles. But he says, look, seek spiritual
gifts, yes, but seek the best gift. that you may prophesy,
that you may preach the gospel, that you may declare the truth
as it's understood by others. Seek this rather than that. For if I pray in an unknown 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. I will sing with the spirit,
and I will sing with the understanding also. Else, when thou shalt bless
with the spirit, how shall he that occupyeth the room of the
unlearned say, Amen, hath I given a fancy in the understanding,
if not what thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks
well, but the other is not edified. I thank my God I speak with tongues
more than you all. Paul knew about tongues, yet
despite his ability, despite what God had taught him, he said
that in the church however, I'd rather speak five words with
my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also,
than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. better to speak
five words of the gospel with understanding than ten thousand
words in an unknown tongue. Wherefore he says tongues are
for a sign not to them that believe but to them that believe not
but prophesy and preach in the gospel serves not for them that
believe not but for them which believe. If therefore the whole
church be come together into one place and all speak with
tongues and they come in those that are unlearned or unbelievers
will they not say that ye are mad? But if all prophesy if all
preach they come in one that believe if not or one unlearned
he is convinced of all and 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. How is it then brethren, when
ye come together, every one of you have a psalm, have a doctrine,
have a tongue, have a revelation, have an interpretation. Let all
things be done unto edifying. If any man speak in an unknown
tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that
by course, 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. Let the prophet speak two or three, and let the other
judge. And if anything be revealed to another that said it by, let
the first hold his peace. For you may all prophesy one
by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the
spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not
the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches
of the saints. He doesn't say there aren't tongues.
But he says it's so much better to preach the gospel. Even then,
even then, it was so much better to preach the gospel. Because
then when anyone comes in and hears, they won't say, what is
this? They won't say, you're mad. But they'll understand. They'll hear plain English. And
as the Spirit of God opens their hearts by it, the secrets of
their hearts will be made manifest. And it's so much better for you
as the believers to edify one another by the truth of the gospel. Their use of the gifts in the
meetings were chaotic. So often they are. They continue
in that manner today. When people seek after the gifts
and make much of using the miraculous gifts in the church today, what
we often see in their meetings is chaos. And yet Paul here is
plain. You just need to read these passages
carefully. He's plain that it is better
to speak five words in the understanding than 10,000 in an unknown time.
And he's plain that when you come, let it be in order. Not
everyone speaking at once, not everyone babbling at once, but
in order, one at a time. There should be an order in the
meeting. For God is not the author of confusion. And when we gather,
We gather to hear the gospel, not a confused babble, not many
people seeking glory in the meeting, but the plain declaration of
the truth as it is in Christ. There's order. There's order
in all things in the church. There's order as it is coming
down from Christ as the head of the church. There's order
between the men and the women. Let your women keep silence in
the churches, he says, for it's not permitted unto them to speak,
for they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith
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. What? Came the word of God out
from you or came it unto you only? Why is it a shame? Because
she's a picture of the bride of Christ. She's to hear Christ's
word. then let not the women speak.
There's an order and there's an order in how the church conducts
its meetings, it's not everybody at once but one at a time. Paul
doesn't say that there's only one that can ever speak. He doesn't
say that there's only the place for one preacher to stand up
and do it all. It's evident from this that when
the meetings were gathered that there were those who would come
with a psalm, a doctrine, a revelation. They did come with different
things to bring. And there is a plurality in the
worship of God. There is that in which each saint
edifies the other. But there is also the reality
that there are those particular gifts of apostles, teachers,
preachers who are given for the preaching of the gospel in the
midst. There is the reality that there are those who are sent
with the gospel and they're recognized as being those who have the gospel
to preach. and there is an order in how the meeting is conducted.
There is praise, there are psalms, there are words of edification,
there is the reading of the scriptures, and there is that which is above
all, the preaching of the gospel in the one body, the one unity
of Christ. So when we consider the gifts
today, are they gifts? Well it's not exactly that they
are ruled out though the reality is the miraculous gifts were
for a time then given. And the miraculous gift that
continues to this day is that gift which there can be no other
gift more amazing, more powerful, more transforming than the preaching
of the gospel. That gift of prophecy where the
preacher brings the preaching of the gospel. There's no healing
like the healing that the gospel brings. There's no salvation
like the salvation that the gospel brings. There's no wisdom like
the wisdom the gospel brings. There's no faith like the faith
the gospel brings. There's no prophecy like the
prophecy the gospel brings. There's no knowledge like the
knowledge the gospel brings. It's all sufficient. It's powerful. to the saving of the soul. Seek
after spirituals, but seek the gospel. Seek that it may be preached. Seek that you may hear it. Seek
that you may know Christ, made known plainly through his word
in his gathered congregation, for Christ in his people. is all in all. He is all and
his gospel is all. Amen.