1 Corinthians 15:1-8 We Are Free!

1 Corinthians 15:1-8  Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.  Otherwise, you have believed in vain.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.  

After discussing appropriate behavior within the Corinthian church, Paul now wants them to reflect on how they became Christians.  He reminds them to hold firmly to the word he has preached to them.  If they are merely members of a community of believers without an understanding of who Christ is and without a personal faith in his works and not their own, they are nothing more than just members of an organization.  But if they have really received Paul's words and have taken their STAND on the truth of those words, they are "saved."  As "saved" people, they are not just participants with a group of believers, they are members of the body of Christ.  As members of his body, they are imaging God here on Earth through the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  They are no longer finite, but eternal with their hope not in this world, but in the world to come.  They have been saved to be with God as his sons and daughters, adopted by Christ's blood into the family of the Most High.  As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.  Therefore come out from them and be separate," says the Lord.  "Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.  I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters," says the Lord Almighty.  (2 Corinthians 6:16-18)  Paul wants them to remember the essence of the gospel, that they are new creatures, belonging to the family of God.  They have died, been buried, and risen with Christ.  As Christ is, so are they: eternally alive with God the Father.  However, if they do not appreciate the Good News and hold passionately to its tenets, their salvation is not sure, for salvation faith is an adamant belief in the account and works of Christ and complete trust in his shed blood for the remission of sin.  

Paul was abnormally born.  He met Christ on the road to Damascus when  Jesus encountered him, asking, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?  It is hard for you to kick against the goads."  (Acts 26:14)  His conversion was abnormal because through this event, he was not only saved from eternal damnation, he was given a commission to deliver the Good News to the Gentile world.  "Now get up and stand on your feet.  I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.  I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles.  I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." (Acts 26:16-18)  In his ministry to the Corinthians, he was fulfilling this commission.  However, for the Corinthians and all Gentiles, to forsake the customs and the traditions of their forefathers was a scary proposition.  Their religious practices and ways of living were ingrained into the very fabric of their being.  To accept Christ and his works as their way to knowing God, placed them outside of their society, their community.  To be a Christian, meant they lost the comfort of the institutions that they and their forefathers had believed in for generations.  For Gentiles to believe emphatically in Christ's efficacious work, a Jewish man's work, represented a difficult step for them to take since this confession would cut them off from their families and communities.  In the above focus, Paul restates for them the essence of following Christ.  Down to and including our generation, we must leave our old ways and ideas about life behind us, crucifying the old self at the cross with Christ.  We must hold firmly to the Good News, the new life, for IN CHRIST we live.  As Paul wrote: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)   

John reminded the church to hold fast to their faith.  See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you.  If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.  And this is what he promised us — even eternal life.  (1 John 2:24-25)  If what we have heard remains in us, we will remain in the Son and in the Father; we will have eternal life; we will be saved from destruction.  We will be changed!  I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  (1 Corinthians 15:50-52)  The Bible tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength.  When we hear these words, we know in whom we believe.  Jesus Christ and his works give us this great hope of life eternal, on Earth and in our heavenly home.  When Paul describes the glorious plan of salvation for the Gentiles, he says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 15:13)  Christ won this life for us by shedding his blood at the cross, so we do not have to die under the judgment of sin.  Our bodies grow old because of the corruption of sin, but our hope of life eternal rests IN CHRIST.  The Gentiles needed to know that.  They needed to abandon their old lifestyle, their former way of making sense out of the world.  The Jews needed to abandon their old way of trying to please God.  They needed a savior, just as much as the Gentiles needed a savior.  Paul came to the Gentile world to announce the Good News to them.  We who are living today, need to announce the Good News to everyone we know and love.  God is alive: He is the Most High God!  He knows the hairs on your head; he knows how many sparrows fall today.  He has an inventory of all the stars and galaxies in existence.  He is bigger and mightier than our imaginations.  YET, HE HAS SAID, I WANT SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO BE MANIFESTED FROM THE FLESH OF HUMANITY.  He has made us special, in his image.  He has brought the salvation message to us, to transform us so his Holy Spirit can abide in us, so we can abide with him in oneness.  What a great plan for the Gentiles!  What a great plan for the Jews!  What a great plan for the World!  All Creation will be FREE by the grace and mercy of the Lord.  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  (Galatians 5:1)    

1 Corinthians 14:33-40 God Pours Out His Spirit!

1 Corinthians 14:33-40  As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches.  They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.  If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.   Did the word of God originate with you?  Or are you the only people it has reached?  If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.  If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.  Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.  But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.  

In chapter 14 we have been exploring behavior in the church.  Paul primarily talks about the usage of spiritual gifts: tongues and prophecy.  In the above focus, he places within this theme of appropriate behavior in the church the issue of women speaking in the congregation.  As in all churches at that time, women were to remain silent; they are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission as the Law says.  This was traditional decorum in the synagogues.  Women and men were separated within their congregations with the stipulation that women should not be participants in the service.  They should remain silent, and if they had questions about the service or what was said, they should hold their questions or observations until they got home.  There, in their homes, they could seek answers and engage in discussions about the meetings.  As with the usage of the gifts of the Spirit, the behavior of the congregation was important to Paul, for God is not the author of discord or confusion.  Some commentaries suggest that women were speaking loudly to each other or even shouting out across the way to their husbands with a question and disturbing the services.  Therefore, following the customs and traditions of the Pharisees was a good way to bring order back into the Corinthian church.  As noted, Paul says, As in ALL the congregations of the saints: this decorum, this way of worship with the women holding their peace, was well-established in the nascent churches.  Paul's reference to the Law probably refers to the oral Law or traditional law, passed down from generation to generation.  This law often superseded or took precedence over scriptural law; such as, honoring your father and mother.  The Pharisees allowed the gifts given to them to supersede the necessity of taking care of parents, thereby violating scripture.  Jesus oftentimes questioned the validity of the oral traditions and the oral laws.

Paul wanted everything done in orderliness, for the Spirit does not promote disorderliness.  However, in discussing the spirituality of women or their right to exercise spiritual gifts, we must accept the Spirit's authority in our lives.  You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  (Galatians 3:26-28)  We see that IN CHRIST, filled with his Spirit, there is neither male nor female.  The Spirit of God is the driving force in every believer.  He alone propels the spiritual man or woman to fulfill his or her purpose on Earth.  There are no second-class citizens in God's family: all are necessary; all should fulfill their roles in the body of Christ.  In the New Testament we see women honored in every book.  We see women supporting the disciples in their ministries.  Paul asks for help for women who worked with him: Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.  (Philippians 4:3)  We find women, even at the cross and later at the tomb, still supporting Jesus, not running away, but waiting to see what will happen with Jesus.  Jesus often praised women.  In one situation when a woman enters the house of Simon the Pharisee to minister to Jesus, Jesus reveals to Simon how special she is to him and to God.  She showers Jesus with her love, her devotion to him.  Because of her humbleness and repentance, Jesus implies that this woman of ill repute has gained more favor with God than the righteous Simon.  Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much.  But he who has been forgiven little loves little.  (Luke 7:47)  In another situation, Jesus praises a woman who gives two coins, her everything, to the temple's coffer, placing her above all the others who gave money to the temple.  Blessed above all women by God, Mary gave birth to Jesus and cared for him.  As Jesus' mother, God trusted her with the closest relationship with Jesus the man.  These women and others throughout the Bible were important to God and vitally used by the Holy Spirit.  God is no respecter of persons.  He uses all who are open to his Spirit, both men and women who follow him with loving hearts.

God is no respecter of persons, for we know He promised to pour out his Spirit upon all people, men and women alike: And afterward I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.  Even upon the menservants and upon the maidservants in those days will I pour out My Spirit.  (Joel 2:28-29)  If he uses all of us, then how should we act in our homes, our communities, and our congregations?  If we are ministers, we should minister.  If we are prophets, we should prophesy.  If we are teachers, we should teach.  If we are helpers, we should help.  If we are administrators, we should administrate.  We should be and do what God desires for us.  Our homes should reflect God in every way.  We should all be manifesting the Spirit's purpose and fruit in our lives.  Wherever we are, we should reveal that God is alive in us.  How should we function and live our lives?  For sure, we should dwell in orderliness rather than chaos or disruption.  Paul instructs the church on how to behave within a community of believers.  In reality, we are never absent from living in community.  We are in community in our homes, at our jobs, in our neighborhoods, and wherever we are.  Consequently, doing everything in a fitting and orderly way is important to us in our lives.  How we treat others and how we express ourselves is important.  We might not be speaking in tongues or prophesying in our daily lives, but if we claim to be Christians, we are ALWAYS REFLECTING GOD to the world.  Our lives must be in order so others will know and hear the voice of God through our actions and reactions.  This process begins at home with those who know us best and it goes on into the workplace and everywhere we go.  We do not simply attend church on Sunday, take part in a Bible study, or wear a WWJD bracelet and thus fulfill our part for God.  We must show the love of Jesus in all of our ways.  Whether you are a man or a woman, think on this today: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  (Philippians 2:5-8 KJV)    

1 Corinthians 14:26-33 A God of Peace!

1 Corinthians 14:26-33  What then shall we say, brothers?  When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.  All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.  If anyone speaks in a tongue, two — or at the most three — should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.  If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.  Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.  And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop.  For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.  The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.  For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

Today's focus is a continuation of our last few breakfasts on Corinthians 14.  Paul speaks about the Spirit of God's manifestations in the church.  The infilling of the Holy Spirit has brought a new dimension in their lives: the Holy Spirit functioning within individual believers, glorifying God and clarifying their spiritual understanding.  Paul knows this revelatory Spirit abides in them richly, revealing beautiful truths to them: When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.  This wonderful Spirit of God within them separates them from what is secular and causes them to understand and to appreciate the living God.  As new creatures because of the Spirit's transforming power within them, they are also members of the body of Christ, known as the church.  Within the church, the Spirit of God does not function for each member's edification alone, but for the instruction and edification of the whole body.  Therefore, Paul instructs the Corinthians on the orderly operation of the Holy Spirit within a community of believers.  Manifesting spiritual gifts should not bring chaos because the Holy Spirit strengthens and encourages the church by using individual believers in a supernatural way.  Believers should do their part as the Spirit moves them for the benefit of the church.  All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.  He warns them about aberrant behavior, discordant behavior in the church.  If such chaotic actions are allowed, the secular community around them will think they are crazy.  So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? (vs. 23)  The church within a community should be a place where people learn about the living, eternal God, not a place of discordant behavior.  The Spirit of God brings peace, not discord.  As James wrote: For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.  Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  (James 3:16-18)

We must beware of taking the supernatural out of the church.  If we do, we take the preternatural away from the church, making the church just another social gathering, a fraternal organization, a club, a place to enjoy fellowship with others.  Let this not be the fate of the body of Christ.  The church is a supernatural body, out of the ordinary, fitted together by God himself.  The Holy Spirit propels, motivates, and energizes the church by indwelling every facet of the body of Christ.  This Holy Spirit performs supernatural actions within the church, within every member.  I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  (John 14:12)  When we gather together, we should bring hymns, insights, revelations, answers to prayers, to the body.  We should come to church with a passion for God and what He has been telling us and doing in our lives, prepared to tell others about God's revelations and miracles.  Instead of merely listening and occupying a pew, we should be active, vibrant parts of the body of Christ; ready to share God's blessing with testimonies of his goodness.  If we are reluctant to experience God in this dynamic way, our spiritual lives will become anemic as we wander in our own spiritual wildernesses, not hearing the Spirit's voice of encouragement and admonition, not seeing the cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night.  Our scripture focus reveals action, dynamism.  Do we covet such activity in our churches, or is this kind of activism too demanding, too dependent on our spirituality, on our listening to the Spirit, on our desire to know God?  Are we afraid to have a church service dependent on the spirituality of the members in the congregation?  Has it become easier to have paid professional pastors and talented musicians fully responsible for the church services?  When we depend on these individuals, our role in the church is less important, less demanding; allowing us to conduct ourselves the way we want without any real spiritual obligations to our fellow believers.  We do not have to be spiritual, supernatural.  We can be secular to the absolute degree and still feel we belong in the church of the living, intimate God who longs for the worship of his people.

As newborn children of God, joint-heirs with Christ, we are not meant to live as those who do not know the Lord.  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  (Colossians 3:1-4)  Breakfast companions, are we setting our hearts on things above or are we so secular minded we do not even think or believe that we should bring a spiritual gift to the body of Christ.  Of course, we must occupy this world until the Lord comes, for we must survive in this world; however, God intended us to live as spiritual beings.  We are new creatures IN CHRIST.  Consequently, in this new spiritual reality, do we have a tongue, an interpretation, an inspiration, a prophecy, an encouragement, an instruction for the church?  Or, do we consider that passe, something done in the olden times by the nascent church, but not for us, the more mature church?  We must consider: Is not Christ the same today as He was in yesteryear?  Is this teaching of Paul, something for the Corinthians alone, but not for our churches?  Do we believe the Holy Spirit's voice is not needed in an active way in our body of believers?  As spiritual beings, are we dependent on God's voice or man's voice?  Are we to advance in spiritual wisdom and knowledge solely through ordinary ways of cognition or are we to advance through revelations and insights given by God?  Are the great thinkers, philosophers, theologians our foundations for knowledge about existence and eternal revelations?  Or is the Holy Spirit and his works still the foundation of knowing anything about the existence or God?  As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you.  But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it has taught you, remain in him.  (1 John 2:27)  God's gift, the Holy Spirit, is eternal and omnipresent.  He knows everything going on in our lives.  He knows what our churches need, what our families need, what we need.  He desires to speak to us in the great NOW.  When we are in fellowship with other believers, the Holy Spirit is present.  Will we allow him to be active, to be our counselor, our advocate, our comforter, our healer, our guide?  Allow for the Holy Spirit's manifestations to be in the church of the living God.    

1 Corinthians 14:20-25 God Is Among You!

1 Corinthians 14:20-25  Brothers, stop thinking like children.  In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.  In the Law it is written: “Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me,” says the Lord.  Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.  So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?  But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare.  So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” 

We who are IN CHRIST are in God's house, members of his family.  Jesus Christ has birthed us through his salvation.  We were dead in sins, but now are alive IN CHRIST.  Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house, but only as a servant.  His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later.  But Christ, the faithful Son, was in charge of the entire household.  And we are God’s household, if we keep up our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.  (Hebrews 3:5-6)  We should not be infants in considering evil.  We know that everything outside of the spiritual world, that which exists in the wilderness of this life, will not feed us.  We are not sustained or built up spiritually by the natural aspects of our lives but by the supernatural movement of God within us.  Therefore, we should know as spiritual beings we live by every word that comes from the household of God where the Spirit dwells.  As Jesus said when He was tempted by the devil in the desert, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.  (Matthew 4:4)  Our lives depend on us hearing the voice of God with our inner ears.  Concomitantly, we also live by the activities and words of God expressed through the church.  Paul tells us to think as adults as we exercise our faith.  God's words through the unctions of the Holy Spirit, whether tongues or prophecy, should be heeded by the members of the church.  One is for the edification of the individual and the other for the edification of the community of believers.  The carnal man might be impressed by the phenomenon of tongues, but on the whole unless he comes to God, he will probably consider the actions of the Holy Spirit: tongues or prophecy, as nothing more than man's inventions, made up by ignorant people, willing to believe in mysticism.  But as members of God's household, we must take the movement of the Spirit in our lives and minds seriously, never discounting the Spirit's power and never attributing the Spirit's work to mere human engineering.  We must accept God's presence in our lives as the Children of Israel believed in the cloud and pillar of fire that accompanied them through the desert.

The Children of Israel constantly experienced the presence of the Spirit of God as they journeyed through the wilderness.  He never left them: cloud by day, fire by night.  Even though He never left them and even though He provided marvelous miracles for them as they traversed the desert, they hardened their hearts.   They failed to believe that God was capable of delivering them to the Promised Land.  They chose to disbelieve his authority: his omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent power.  Their hearts were hardened by unbelief, not fully understanding or recognizing the supernatural environment they lived in as they crossed the wilderness.  This unbelief led to the fear that eventually kept God's people from entering into his promised rest in spite of all the miracles God performed for them.  Even their sandals did not wear out in their difficult journey to the Promised Land.  God was with them in every respect: water, food, clothing.  They forgot God provisions were always in the NOW when they needed him, that He would be in the NOW as they conquered Canaan.  God is the ageless God.  His presence, his voice are today.  The church of God lives in this milieu NOW.  We are given spiritual ears to hear his voice.  As we activate the faith within us, we will know God's voice.  Jesus said, He who has ears, let him hear.  (Matthew 11:15  As we discussed previously, God desires to minister to us through supernatural gifts of tongues and prophesy, gifts of the NOW.  Tongues edify the individual; however, if there is an interpretation of the tongue, the message will edify the church.  Those who have spiritual ears will hear God glorified through the message of the unknown tongue.  However, if the interpretation is not given, the ears of the church will not receive an intelligible message; consequently, the church as a whole will benefit little.  Of course, prophecy under the unction of the Holy Spirit benefits all who hear with a listening ear.  Both gifts are given to us by the Spirit for our immediate benefit as we travel through this world of chaos: where outside of Christ, men and women do what is right in their own eyes.  In Matthew 3, John says, I baptize with water those who turn from their sins and turn to God.  But someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am—so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  (vs 11)  The church has been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire.  God is with us as surely as He was with the children of Israel as they journeyed from slavery to the Promised Land.  

Can we say with the sinner who hears prophecy that exposes his innermost being, "God is really among you (US)!”  Or have we become so jaded, so familiar with God's presence, that we discount his work in us and among us?  Are our hearts hardened against the movement of the Holy Spirit?  Do we disbelieve, not affirming that God is speaking to us, using the gifts of tongues and prophecy?  Do we have ears to hear the nuances of all the world has to offer, but they are not attuned to God's voice?  Do we live our lives thinking the only way to know God is through Christian scholarship, as if understanding the God of the past will help us believe God's presence is with us NOW?  We must not forget that we are people of faith who walk by faith, not by sight.  (2 Corinthians 5:7)  If we consider God's desire to be with us in the NOW as only a figment of our imaginations, we will die in the desert, never entering God's promised rest.  The voice of this world will drown out the reality of a supernatural God who has birthed supernatural children.  We must be alive to the Spirit of God or we will lose the passion to follow God.  If we lose this passion, there will be no enthusiasm to conquer Canaan, to face the giants in the land.  When Moses sent his men to spy out the land, they brought back grapes so large, it took two men to carry a bunch on a pole.  Yet in spite of the bounty, most of the men were afraid they could not win the battle against the inhabitants in the land God promised them.  But Caleb said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”  (Numbers 13:30)  He saw the land with eyes of faith   Without eyes of faith, we will not endure to enter our Promised Land, heaven.  Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters.  Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.  You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.  For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.  But never forget the warning:  “TODAY YOU MUST LISTEN TO HIS VOICE.  Don’t harden your hearts against him as Israel did when they rebelled.”  (Hebrews 3:12-15)  We must stop thinking like children and in our thinking be adults because God desires to communicate with each one of us and with the church as a whole.  He wants us to seek his voice and to know his love in an intimate way.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  NOW remain in my love.  (John 15:9)   

1 Corinthians 14:13-18 Sing In the Spirit!

1 Corinthians 14:13-18  For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says.  For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.  So what shall I do?  I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.  If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?  You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.  I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.  But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

We see in the above focus that Paul prays in tongues.  In fact, he is pleased that he uses his prayer language often, but within the church, a place for edification and instruction, he will not speak in tongues loud enough for others to hear, unless there is an interpretation of what he is saying.  Without interpretation, the tongues will be disruptive, for others will not know what he is saying.  He tells us he prays in tongues for his own personal edification.  He does not claim that his mind understands what his lips are saying, but he knows his spirit is praying.  He says, I will pray with my spirit; I will sing with my spirit.  He is giving thanks to God, glorifying and exalting his name.  He is praising God from his heart, not just his mind.  In praying with his mind, he is expressing ideas and thoughts through language.  He prays cognitively with understandable words, phrases, and sentences.  Praying with the mind allows others in the body of believers to understand what he is saying because they hear a language that they use to communicate ideas and thoughts.  Paul encourages the church to use a common language when everyone gathers for worship.  Believers should speak in tongues only when there is an interpreter present as we will see a little later in this chapter.  He clearly says, "In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue."  Tongues in the church can be a distraction to orderliness if spoken so loudly others can hear the person speaking.  Tongues are important to any body of believers as they build up individuals in their faith, but the gift of tongues should be used wisely.  The Holy Spirit builds up the spiritual strength of men and women of faith with tongues; however, unrestrained speaking in tongues during a church service causes a distraction to the entire body that has gathered for worship, instruction, ans direction.  This is why Paul told the Corinthians: Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.  (1 Corinthians 14:12) 

Since Paul spent so much time on tongues, we might ask why is the subject so important, and why do we need the gift of tongues?  Why is this phenomenon described in Acts so vital to believers?   When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.  (Acts 2:1-4)  In this supernatural act, we see the fulfillment of  Jesus' promise to the church: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 1:4-5)   We understand water baptism, but what does it mean to be baptized or immersed in the Holy Spirit?  The immersion in the Holy Spirit empowers us as witnesses for Christ, strengthening us to do his work on earth.  "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8)  Without the Spirit of God, the disciples would have gone about recounting the works of God through this man Jesus Christ, but after their immersion in the Holy Spirit, they came in power and authority, to heal, to instruct, bringing Christ's life, his peace, his joy, all that He is.  With the infilling of the Holy Spirit, we no longer present our best intentions, but we reveal the works of God.  The Spirit makes us alive: And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  (Romans 8:11)   On the day of Pentecost, some people speaking in tongues spoke real languages that the visitors from other countries who were in town to celebrate Pentecost could understand.  It must have shocked these pilgrims when they heard these mostly unlearned people praising God in foreign languages.  How could these people be speaking the visitors' languages, and how could so many be speaking at once in different languages?  The commotion was so great that some thought the people of tongues were drunk, but it was only nine o'clock in the morning.  Tongues, languages spoken that day, were a sign to the church and to the world that the Spirit of God had come to dwell in all people who take Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

Although the Acts experience brought excitement to the church, they undoubtedly possessed an elementary understanding of what happened on that day.  Could the disciples answer all the questions?  What does this baptism in the Spirit mean?  Will the Spirit of God remain with us or will He come on special occasions as in the Old Testament?  The commotion of speaking in different tongues and the teaching of the disciples that Jesus Christ is Lord resulted in Peter and John's arrest.  After a night in jail, they came before the Sanhedrin to explain their teaching and all the commotion.  Afterward, Peter and John went to a house to pray with believers.  Again the Spirit fell on all of them.  After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.  (Acts 4:31)  The church began to understand the Spirit was with them at all times.  The story of Ananias and Sapphira further reinforced their understanding of the ever-present Spirit.  These two not only lied to the church about their gift, but most seriously, they lied to the Holy Spirit.  How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?  (Acts 5:9)  Their deaths brought great fear upon the church, for the Christians realized they were accountable to the Holy Spirit, not just to each other.  Of course, through the centuries, many have lied to the Spirit without facing instantaneous death.  But this account confirmed the presence of the Spirit of God within the nascent church.  As the church grew, the disciples learned that even the despised Samaritans could receive the abiding Holy Spirit.  Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 8:17)  Even more impressive to the church than the Samaritan experience was God's acceptance of the Gentiles into his family of believers.  When Peter saw Cornelius and his family and friends receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, he fully understood the Holy Spirit was not a respecter of persons.  As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning.  (Acts 11:15)  We see in Ephesus, some disciples of John who were teaching the baptism of repentance receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.  There were about twelve men in all.  (Acts 19:6-7)  Regardless of who they were, the Spirit of God came upon BELIEVERS who put their trust in Jesus.  This evidence of tongues revealed God's work in the world and made the church understand that God was present with them at all times in all places.  In our day, we must allow God to do what He wants in our lives.  When Paul says I speak in tongues more than you all, he implies, I need God's revelatory presence in my life, so I speak in tongues: I will pray with my spirit.  Do not discount this as something not for you.  Ask God to promote this activity in your spirit.  HE IS IN YOU!  PRAISE  GOD FOREVER.               

1 Corinthians 14:6-12 Build Up the Church!

1 Corinthians 14:6-12  Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?  Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?  Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?  So it is with you.  Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying?  You will just be speaking into the air.  Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.  If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me.  So it is with you.  Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church. 

Who will get ready for battle?  The devil hates clear words of revelation, knowledge, prophecy or instruction because those words of enlightenment prepare the church for battle against him and his forces.  Without such inspiration by the Holy Spirit, the church lacks supernatural leading.  God indicates He will send the Holy Spirit to all his children.  In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.  (Acts 2:17)  The Spirit of God is poured out on ALL PEOPLE; your sons and daughters WILL PROPHESY.  In other words, all people cleansed through the blood of Jesus' sacrifice have the Spirit of God abiding in them and the ability to prophesy, to speak God's words of edification and encouragement.  We who are alive in Christ should be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's intentions in us and in the world.  We should be prepared to speak his inspiration.  If we are not willing to reveal what God is saying to us, we will closet the Spirit of God within our own spirits.  We must remember we are part of the body of Christ, with spiritual gifts to inspire and to encourage a healthy body, making it ready to combat a sinful world.  If we do not express God's leading in us to the rest of the body, we will not supply the body with necessary spiritual nourishment.  Many churches seek their spiritual growth from books by a supposed expert or from special ministers and spiritual gurus from afar because the church is not functioning well.  People evaluate their spiritual health, vitality, and direction through the writings and teachings of these individuals rather than by the direction of the Spirit.  While outside inspiration is appropriate in some situations, these sources should not be our only means of growth.  We must be aware that God wants each community of believers to welcome the necessary gifts of the Spirit.  “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”  (Luke 12:11-12)  If we do not step up and tell the world what God has been doing in our hearts and in our midst, we lose an effective, supernatural testimony and sign to the world.  Jesus said, the Holy Spirit will talk through you in these communities if you are willing to believe.  Are we willing to believe the Holy Spirit speaks through us and He will say what is necessary if we allow him to do so?  The Word teaches us that the Spirit knows how to pray for us when we do not and the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.  (Romans 8:28) 

Now, there are special giftings in the church that are to function specifically for the edification of the whole body.  As with tongues, prophecy is available to all, but the special gifts designated by God for the edification for the whole church are given to particular individuals.   In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. . . (Acts 13:1)  During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.  (Acts 13:27)  Prophets were identifiable to the whole church as were teachers and ministers.  People knew who they were.  And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.  (1 Corinthians 12:28)  These positions were appointed by God.  Just as in the Old Testament, the Levites were the priests and the singers.  They were not singers based on their talents: they were singers because God chose them to be singers.  This is true in the New Testament church: the gifts are not given because of special abilities but because God wills for people to fulfill these positions.  Such giftings are for the body of believers as a whole, functioning under the church leadership in an orderly manner.  Using spiritual gifts should not bring chaos to the body, for the Holy Spirit comes to build up and to teach the body.  People with special gifts are not strangers but well-known within the community of believers.  As known members of the body of Christ, they exercise their gifts in an atmosphere of love and trust.  Apostles, prophets, and other positions are sometimes more important to the newly found church than they are with the more established community of believers because they bring the stability and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  When trials and problems come, the church needs men and women full of the Spirit.  When Paul encourages the church in Rome that they are justified through faith and that their suffering will work to their benefit, he writes, And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  (Romans 5:5)  Those who exercise the gifts of the Spirit remind us of the truth of the Good News.

Paul wants the Corinthians to try to excel in gifts that build up the church.  We have seen that prophecy is a desirable gift for the edification of the body of Christ.  Prophecy has two components within the community of believers.  All Christians can speak words of prophecy by the unction of the Holy Spirit, for all have been given the Holy Spirit.  Also, within the church, God has given some a special position of speaking prophetic words to the body as a whole.  The devil attacks and hates prophecy, for prophecy edifies, strengthens, and prepares the church for battle against him and his forces.  Before describing the armor of God, Paul tells us, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  (Ephesians 6:12)  Since we are alive in Christ, we should be willing to express what God tells us in our secret prayer closets.  We should be excited about telling others what God reveals to us.  When God's still small voice encourages and enlightens us, we should desire all people to know what He says.  Our voices should be filled with passion, announcing from the housetops what God says in secret.  This is prophecy.  All of us have access to God's wonderful and powerful voice.  When we are willing to express what God says to us, the church will be strengthened.  Because the devil hates the power of the Holy Spirit in action, he wants you to close up the gift of prophecy in your own spirit.  He wants you to be fearful about saying, "This is what God has been telling me today.  I want to share what has thrilled my soul."  The people who hear you express God in your life will go away challenged, encouraged, ready to take up the cross and follow Jesus.  Are you willing to step out in faith, sharing what God is saying or are you on the back pew, listening to thousands of words from Christian leaders and ministers, reading book after book on Christian thought, but never willing to say, "This is what God is telling me."  If you are unwilling, no words of encouragement or edification will escape your lips: the church will lack the strength your words could bring to build up God's people.  If you speak for God, his glory will go forth, and the Holy Spirit will change lives.  When King Herod gave an oration under the providence of God, the people said, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.  (Acts 12:22)  But God required Herod's life because he did not give God the glory.  May we glorify God today with our words and our lives. 

1 Corinthians 14:1-5 Desire Spiritual Gifts!

1 Corinthians 14:1-5  Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.  For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God.  Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.  But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.  He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.  I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy.  He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

The above spiritual gifts are for those who are alive in Jesus Christ, made new creatures by his resurrection power.  Before being made new creatures, we were dead in our trespasses and sins.  Jesus said,  “Follow me now!  Let those who are spiritually DEAD care for their own dead.”  (Matthew 8:22)  Paul writes: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  (Ephesians 2:1-2)  Dead is dead.  Without the quickening of the Spirit within us, making us alive to him, we cannot be used to do kingdom work for the glory of God.  To be used for his glory, we need to be alive IN HIM through faith in his works and not our own works.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, MADE US ALIVE with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.  In this same passage Paul explains further: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:4-5 & 8-10)  Without being alive IN HIM with faith in his power, we cannot be instruments of the Holy Spirit.  We will not speak with God's gifts of tongues or prophecy.  To be used by him, we must be alive to him and exercise the faith He has given us.  What makes us alive?  Faith in Christ Jesus makes us alive to God and his Spirit.  Faith opens the gate to our inner beings.  The Holy Spirit enters us though that gate.  Our faith in Jesus Christ makes us holy, a place where the Holy Spirit, who is without sin, can abide.  Because of the work of Christ, we are an acceptable work to God.  John wrote, But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  (1 John 1:7)  God will use us if we are willing to be used in this world.  He will make us his ambassadors, expressing his goodness and love to the world.  Tongues and prophecies exalt his name.  Tongues edify the spiritual self; prophecies edify the church as a whole.  Both are possible because we are no longer dead, but new creatures, made by the hands of God through Jesus Christ.  

Because the Holy Spirit has breathed a new creature's life in us, we can commune with God in a known tongue or an unknown tongue.  Paul tells us that if a person speaks in an unknown tongue, maybe in a heavenly language, (If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,) the community of believers will receive little or no benefit from the tongues spoken.  Even though the individual might be speaking wonderful words, beautiful phraseology to God, a message that even the angels understand and glory in, he or she is not edifying other members in the body.  Since we are temporal beings, we need the conventions of a known language to understand what is spoken.  To understand language, humans need a comprehensible linguistic order to words, a sensible structure of sounds that convey meaning to us.  If the sounds in sequence are meaningful to us, we will internalize them in a useful way.  On the other hand, if a person speaks in an unknown tongue, even though it is pleasing to God, initiated by the Holy Spirit, the results to those who are nearby might seem as nothing more than gibberish, useless to their understanding.  However, if a person prophesies in a known language, the people nearby will understand what is said.  Consequently, tongues, unless interpreted, is a gift for the individual.  He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself.  However, anyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.  Both are gifts from God, and both edify the new creature in Christ.  One should be used often in prayer for the edification and strengthening of the individual; the other should be used for the benefit of the church, to strengthen the church as a spiritual body.  This does not mean we should ignore tongues in our prayers to God.  But Paul is clear about tongues in the church.  As he continues his teaching later in this chapter, he says, I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.  But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.  (1 Corinthians 14:18-19)  

In today's verses, Paul continues to address the needs of the church.  In chapter 12, he describes the many parts of the church: giftings, positions, responsibilities.  He also emphasizes the Holy Spirit's work over every part of the body.  There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 12:4)   In chapter 13, he shows that sacrificial, enduring love brings cohesiveness to the church, providing the glue that holds the parts together.  Without love, the church does not function effectively.  Now in chapter 14, Paul talks about the church operating in the Spirit, beginning with the gifts of tongues and prophecy.  Both are needed in abundance within the church.  Tongues are a gift to believers for personal strengthening and edification.  However, to speak in an unknown language, one must believe that he or she has that resource within them.  If they choose not to believe or lack faith to exercise the gift, tongues remain silent.  Tongues, as with every function in the Holy Spirit, is activated by faith.  A person may believe or not believe God has provided this gift for him or her as a new creature in Christ.  Prophecy functions similarly.  If you do not believe you are gifted, saying what God wants you to say to a person or to the church, you will hold your peace.  For the Bible says the Spirit is subject to your authority and will not override your will.  Therefore, exercising prophecy takes faith.  Father Bennett, author of Nine O'clock in the Morning, said, when you prophesy you should think, I was just talking to God, and He told me to tell you this.  If you believe the opposite, that God has not given you anything to say, you will remain silent, even though God desires you to speak his truth.  All of us come from different life experiences, as unique as our fingerprints.  Each of us has insights to pass on to others.  God always speaks to us and will use our uniqueness to speak to others.  Perhaps what He says to you today should be said to others.  Are you willing to prophesy, to pass on the Good News to others?  In the church context, prophecy is sometimes instantaneous.  God prompts you to get up from the pew, at an opportune moment, to speak a word that will edify the church.  Other times, his words to you come slowly, developed over time.  You prophesy to the church out of a wealth of interactions with God.  Both situations take faith, believing God is in the message and desires you to express his words to his people.  Dear friends, open yourselves up to tongues, to prophecy.  We all need to function better with these gifts.  As the world darkens, light is needed to show the way to truth, to God.  Allow the Holy Spirit to exercise these gifts in your life.