The Gift of Tongues: Purpose and Proper Use (1 Corinthians Sermon 56)

I ask you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 14, we’re gonna be walking through the text you just heard Mike read, as we continue to study this incredible epistle the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church. As I was thinking about just how to introduce this section on tongues and the proper use and purpose of tongues, I wanted to think big picture about what’s going on in the world, what’s going on in history, it’s good for us to understand this, history has a purpose. It may be hard to believe, but we’re right on schedule. Every single day believers could say, have said, “This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Unlike the dark, dreary message of the book of Ecclesiastes, where everything is vanity of vanities and dust in the wind, chasing after the wind. Lord, we know that because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, our labors in the Lord are not in vain. The building of the church of Jesus Christ is on schedule, it’s continuing and every day has a purpose. As it says so plainly in Ephesians 1, that God works all things after the council of his will. I was talking to somebody who was struggling with some discouragement in life, and I said, “When we get to heaven, are we going to find out that God was on it?” You know what I mean by on it, you could say, “I’m on it. I’m on this.” Are we gonna find out that he was actually on it? That he was more on it than we thought he was, the same as we thought or actually less than we ever thought he was. What do you think? God is so on it. We can’t even calculate.

And so I use this analogy of being on a commercial jet and you’re flying and you’re going through some turbulence and there’s an electrical storm 30 miles off the left-hand side and all that, and you’re sweating in your seat and tempted to un-buckle and pound on the cockpit door. Don’t do that. And if that’s true of the pilot who’s flown through some turbulence before, seeing electrical storms up in the heavens before, knows what he’s doing, how much more is that true of God, every day of history? So let us trust in him. Let’s realize that God has a plan. And what is his plan? I’ll tell you what his plan is, that he be glorified. “Cease striving and know that I am God, I will be exalted in the heavens, I’ll be exalted on the Earth.” And how will he be glorified? The central way that God will glorify his name is by the building of the church of Jesus Christ every single day of redemptive history until all of the elect chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world are saved, glorified in resurrection bodies, the new heaven, new earth has come, the new Jerusalem has come, God will be radiantly glorified in that day. And nothing is going to stop that, isn’t that encouraging?

And so, as we look at 1 Corinthians 14 we need to understand this in that context. God has broken into history, like the unbeliever that comes from the outside into that worship service, and at some point in his heart is cut open spiritually, and he falls down and says, “God is in this place, God is among you.” Well that’s the message of the incarnation; that’s the message of Emmanuel, God is with us. As Romans 8 said, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” God has broken into history, he did it in Christ, and he’s done it by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, by the advancing of the church of Jesus Christ, and as the Gospel advances in every generation, and nothing can stop it. As a display of the power of the third person in the Trinity, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And the gospel continues to advance and Satan cannot stop it.

“God has broken into history, he did it in Christ, and he’s done it by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, by the advancing of the church of Jesus Christ.”

We need to see this advance in a variety of ways, certainly it’s a body growing to full maturity, we get that image in Ephesians 4. It’s an army taking hostile territory from a wicked evil king, king Satan, and we are taking ground, the kingdom of heaven is advancing and nothing can stop it. Jesus said in Matthew 16, “I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” He also used that analogy of a strong man, fully armed guarding his possessions and no one could take them, but someone more powerful, and he overpowers him, strips him of his armor and plunders. That’s Jesus overtaking Satan’s kingdom and stealing us from him. And that’s what’s going on.

So we have this sense also, as I’ve said and said last week, of a building project, where there’s this holy temple rising to become more and more ornate and glorious, a temple in which God lives or dwells by his Spirit that- so you have all these images. So it’s hard to put them all together, but a building project on a battlefield, kind of like. You get that in Nehemiah. Remember? Where they have the sword and the trowel, they’re building the wall and they got the sword in the other hand ’cause they’re enemies fighting every day. So we have that same image here, and what is the most powerful weapon in the hands of Almighty God for the advancing kingdom of Jesus Christ? Is it not a healthy local church? All over the world, there are local churches assembled together around the Gospel around the word of God by the power of the Spirit for the purpose of building up the saints to maturity and spreading the gospel in that locale. All over the world, this is going, it’s going on right now, all over the world. As the sun makes its circuit around the world, people are assembling and gathering in the name of Jesus Christ and are unfolding God’s word. And all over the world, this has happened, and that includes us.

But the church has to be healthy, the Church has to be orderly, and that’s the point that Paul is addressing here, is he gets to this dysfunctional, messed up church in Corinth, so many centuries ago and writes this incredible epistle. I was only asking for trouble when I decided to go verse by verse through 1 Corinthians, but we need the trouble, we need to walk through the issues because we face the same issues, there’s no real difference, same struggles.

I. Goal of All Spiritual Gifts: Edification

And so he’s addressing- now here he’s specifically addressing the use of the gift of tongues, and as we said last week, the purpose of spiritual gifts, what are spiritual gifts? Spiritual gifts are special abilities given, separately or individually, to members of the body of Christ. Each one gets a spiritual gift package. And the purpose of your spiritual gift package is the same as every other Christian spiritual gift packages for the edification or building up of the body of Christ, building up of the church of Jesus Christ.

So we have this edification language, we looked at last week, look at verse 3, “The person who prophesies speaks to people for edification, encouragement, and consolation.” Again, look at verse 5, “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy, he who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.” Again, verse 12, “So it is with you, since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in the gifts that build up [or edify] the church.” edify. And then verse 17, “You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.” and many other such verses. So the spiritual gifts are all given for that purpose, for the edification or building up to completion of the Church of Jesus Christ, edification.

Now, what was going on in Corinth, what was the problem in Corinth? Well, the problem in Corinth was selfishness, pride, man-centeredness, spiritual gifts were for many a platform for ego, and then others who didn’t have those special upfront gifts like tongues and prophecy were part of a click, like a fan club. You could imagine, “I follow Paul, I follow Paul.” As they’re clustering around human leaders putting way too much emphasis on the human side and not enough on what Christ is doing to build up. So the results also with paganism, as I’ve mentioned before, there was a sense of a connection with the divine that happened.

So remember, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians,” they believe in gods and goddesses, and priests and priestesses could connect with the divine and be taken over even like a body snatchers kind of thing, and they would become just incoherent, crazy babbler types and just go crazy spiritually and that was amazing. And that was the descending of supernatural into the natural in paganism. And so it was a mindless chaos that was happening for those. Then when the gospel came and speaking in tongues came in that gift got, sadly, hijacked for that kind of a purpose in the church of Corinth.

And so the Corinthian Church was chaotic and disorderly on Sunday morning. We’ve already seen this earlier with the Lord’s Supper. Remember in 1 Corinthians 11, he says in verse 20-21, “And when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry [look at this], another gets drunk.” They were getting drunk on Lord’s Supper wine. That’s bad. If you need to be told: that is a bad thing, that’s not what they should have been doing. So, there was somewhat of a gluttony with Lord’s Supper bread, and there was drunkenness with Lord’s- they were disorderly, they were chaotic.

So it was with their corporate worship, great disorder. And so Paul has to reign in tongues and command them to speak one at a time, he’s gonna do the same thing with the gift of prophecy, God willing, as you’ll see next time that I preach. Overall effect in verse 40, 1 Corinthians 14:40, “All things should be done decently and in good order.” There’s just an orderliness to God, he is a very orderly being, very logical and orderly. God is a God of order. Not of chaos. Look at verse 33 again in the same chapter, 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace.” So there’s two clear assertions at what Paul is getting after: orderliness, peacefulness, not chaos.

Now, last week, we made the point that for the edification, the building up of the body of Christ, what God has ordained is the clear ministry of the word of God. It is the battle for the mind. It’s a battle for the heart through the mind. And so fundamentally, we rest on the perfection of the word of God. The word of God, 2 Timothy 3:15 says, “is able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” then the next verse says, now that you’ve been made wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, now what? “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, training in righteousness.” That’s edification language, “so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” that’s sanctification language, service language. So I really believe 2 Timothy 3:15-17 just shows the centrality of the word of God for every aspect of salvation. It all comes down to the perfection of God’s word.

So, our souls, our sinful souls, are justified by a simple, clear hearing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, “Faith comes by hearing the message, the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17. So that’s how you are initially justified, forgiven of all your sins, made right in the sight of God, by hearing the message with faith. Well, as it turns out, you’re also sanctified the same way: by a continual hearing of the word of God you make progress in sanctification. You are edified through the clear ministry of the word of God. And so what we talked about last week is that tongues, un-translated, was not edifying anyone. Prophecy was superior to tongues ’cause the people could understand what was being said, and the clear ministry of the word of God changes our minds and our hearts and our bodies follow.

That’s how salvation works, by the ministry of the word of God. So he’s calling for them to grow up, he’s calling for them to be mature, look at verse 20, “Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking, be adults.” he wants them to grow up as a congregation; they’re acting like spoiled little children. I mean, I wonder what it would be like to go back and see your average worship service before they got 1 Corinthians? I picture a kindergarten class, I don’t know how many people- I don’t know what the ratio is, well, let’s say 30, let’s put 30 in the class. The teacher says, unwisely, “Class, I’m gonna have to step out for a few minutes. So I want you all to sit in your seats, and I want you to get out your coloring books and color, and I’ll be back in a while.” Look, what do you think is gonna happen? Teacher comes back, let’s roll it out to absurdity, in half an hour, there’s been no adult in the room in a half an hour. What do you think that looks like? “Well, are you saying, pastor, that that’s what Sunday morning worship was like in Corinth?” Maybe not that bad, but it was just childishly chaotic. So grow up, understand what the spiritual gifts are for.

“By a continual hearing of the word of God you make progress in sanctification. You are edified through the clear ministry of the word of God.”

Now, he doesn’t want them to grow up in evil, he doesn’t want them to be super experienced in evil, sadly, they were. They were very experienced in sexual immorality and lawsuits against others, and factions and divisions. They were experienced in evil, but immature when it came to righteousness and holiness. He wants exactly the opposite, “I would rather you be naive and innocent when it comes to evil, but I would like you to be mature when it comes to righteousness.”

II. The Purpose of Tongues: A Sign for Unbelievers

Alright, so secondly in my outline, the purpose of tongues is a sign for unbelievers, a sign for unbelievers. That’s why God gave tongues, a sign. Look at verses 21-22, “In the law it is written: ‘Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to these people, but even then they will not listen to me,’ says the Lord. Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers.” So, here he gives the purpose for tongues. Now, let me just stop and say, as I did last week, what do we mean by tongues? Tongues is just an archaic, somewhat archaic English, we still use it a little bit, but for languages, that’s what it means, languages. And so it’s not babble, that’s not what we’re discussing, but actually formal, organized, orderly languages that are spoken. And the gift of tongues is the ability to speak that language without going through a normal process of learning the language.

So as Christie and I went to Japan, we had vocabulary flashcards, we had cassette tapes back then, that’s how old we are, some of you will know what cassette tapes are. We had tutors, and we had conversation classes and textbooks and all that, we went through the process and we were okay, mediocre after a couple of years. That’s not the gift of tongues. It’s instantaneously, supernaturally, the ability to speak a language fluently, even if you don’t understand what you’re saying.

And on the day of Pentecost, what happened was all the church was assembled, they’ve been commanded by Jesus to wait until the gift was given from on high, pouring out of the Holy Spirit, so that there on the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2, they’re all assembled in one place, they’re praying, and suddenly a sound like 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 one of them and they all began to speak in other languages as the Spirit moved them or enabled them. Then a huge crowd that was there in general in Jerusalem for the feast, heard the sound and gathered around the place where they were, the apostles of the church goes flowing out into the streets and begins preaching the gospel, powerful. It’s the start of the church age, powerful.

And what happened was, Acts 2:7-11, the people, “Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? How is it then that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya, near Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans and Arabs-” so there’s just a wide array of national origins, “we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues.” So that’s a little bit different, I think that they were speaking maybe Aramaic (their own native language, talking about the apostles), but everyone was hearing- it was like it’s translated in the air or in their brains so they could all hear them in their native language, it’s incredible.

Now, as the church spread geographically, and the gospel came frequently, if not every time, but frequently, when a new pocket of Gentiles in particular would hear the gospel and believe, the Holy Spirit would be poured out in a similar way, and the believers, the new believers would begin speaking in tongues, and the people would know that the Gospel had come like at Cornelius house, and we’ll talk about that more in detail in a few minutes, but also in Ephesus. So there are examples of that.

Now, here in Corinth, the church was mostly made up of Gentiles who had been rescued from paganism, Paul and his entourage came, they heard the gospel preached, they believed in Jesus, they crossed over from darkness to light, from death to life, they came in and they were assembled together into that local church. And the Holy Spirit gave them spiritual gifts, variable gifts, as we discussed in 1 Corinthians 12, and some of them had the gift of tongues, of languages, they had that ability as part of the spiritual gift package, but they were using them chaotically, they were using them poorly. And Paul wants to rein them in and help them to understand.

Now, what was God’s purpose for giving them? Now we get to a very difficult, challenging quote from the apostle Paul. Alright, the quote from Isaiah. Paul lifts a quote from the prophet Isaiah, if you look at verse 21, “In the Law [Isaiah the prophet] In the Law it is written, ‘Through men of strange tongues and through lips of foreigners, I will speak to this people, but even then, they will not listen to me,’ says the Lord.” So Paul’s use of this quote is not easy to understand but let’s soldier on and do the best we can to understand what he’s lifting out of Isaiah and how he’s applying it here. So we have to go back then in Isaiah’s context.

Isaiah was a prophet who lived about seven centuries before Jesus was born. He was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. And about 15 years before Isaiah’s prophecy, the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the 10 tribes that had gone immediately into idolatry and all that and were corrupt really from the start and all the way through, were taken off into exile by the Assyrians. So they were gone because of their idolatry and their wickedness. God sent Isaiah as a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah to warn them that the same thing would happen to them if they didn’t repent. And so he’s speaking to them, Isaiah was, to his own people in the clear, simple message that God had given them. A clear warning that if they did not repent, judgment was going to come.

However, the proud religious leaders of Isaiah’s day mocked the word of God sent to them by the prophet Isaiah. They acted like he was speaking to babies, that they were far beyond the message that Isaiah was giving. So in Isaiah 28:9-10, they said, “Who is he trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message to children, weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? For it is: [and this is one translation] do and do, do and do, rule and rule, rule and rule, a little here, a little there.” In the Hebrew, it’s really interesting. It sounds like this. Like sing song-y, baby talk. This is what Isaiah was doing: [foreign language] or we would say, yada, yada, yada, yada. That’s all it is. They were mocking the clear, simple warning from God, that if they did not repent, judgment was coming. They had no fear of the Lord or his word at all. As Isaiah will later say in his prophecies, Isaiah 66:1-2, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being? This is the one I esteem, the one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word.’”

But they were mocking it. He had spoken a clear message of warning to the leaders of Judah, but they threw it off, God was saying, “I’m showing you a place of salvation,” Isaiah 28:12, “’This is the resting place, let the weary rest;’ and, ‘This is the place of repose-‘ but they would not listen.” So God said, “Alright, then I will judge you.” Isaiah 28:11, “Very well then,” if that’s how you’re going to be, “with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people.” What does that mean? Alright, you’re mocking the clear word because it’s so baby babyish, all right. How about if I speak to you in a language you don’t understand at all?

What does that mean? It’s a clear threat that the City of David, Jerusalem, would have this capital city of the Promised Land, gentile conquerors, who would come and speak their native language in the Jewish capital city. God will speak in that way. What does that mean? Judgment. Invasion and judgment, it’s the very thing that God had threatened in the song of Moses before they ever entered the Promised Land. Back in Deuteronomy 28:49-50, this is what he said, he taught the Jews this song before they crossed the Jordan and enter the Promised Land, before the Battle of Jericho, said, “I’m gonna tell you what’s gonna happen to your nation.”

And so part of that song of Moses, it says, it’s a prophecy, the Lord- this is Deuteronomy 28:49-50, “The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation, without respect for the old or pity for the young.” Well, in redemptive history, that would be the Babylonians, who came and spoke babble in the streets of Jerusalem and burned the temple to the ground and destroyed the walls of Jerusalem. Jeremiah warned about this exact same thing in Jeremiah 5:15-17, ‘‘O House of Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I am bringing a distant nation against you, an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, who’s speech you do not understand, their quivers are like an open grave, all of them are mighty warriors. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.’” “I’m gonna speak to you by an invasion from a foreign land.”

So, now we’ll go over to Corinthians, Paul’s getting all that and bringing that into the gift of tongues. What is he saying? Tongues are a sign, he says it’s a sign of warning to unbelievers, that there is a supernatural being, a God in the heavens, and this Almighty God has the power to invade your world and bring it to an end. Now, to unbelieving Jews in particular, they should have known this history, that there was a judgment coming on the city of Jerusalem, and it had yet to come in Paul’s day, the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus predicted it, not one stone will be left on another. He says in Luke 19, as Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem, Luke 19:43-44, “The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side, they will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls, they will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” Well, that was in AD 70 when the Romans destroy Jerusalem.

Now, cessationists, people who believe that tongues and prophecy and other sign gifts have ended with the apostolic era, say that tongues were specifically assigned to the Jews, that because they rejected Jesus as the Messiah, that Jerusalem would be destroyed and fulfill under the prophecy that Jesus gave, and, going beyond that, once that destruction happened you didn’t need tongues anymore, and that’s part of the cessationists argument, and that may well be. But let me say this: tongues are not only a sign of impending judgment, they are that- Paul says they are a sign for unbelievers, “Repent while there’s time. There is Almighty God, He is powerful, he can invade your world and bring it to an end,” it is a sign. But there are other aspects too, it’s a good thing, it’s a sign, in some cases, to believers.

For example: do you remember when Peter went contrary to Jewish custom and crossed the threshold into Cornelius’ house, you remember that? Orchestrated in Acts chapter 10, and he goes there and he preaches to Cornelius and his family and friends and they are all there. Preaches the clear Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected, and all that. He’s preaching the Gospel. Acts 10:44-47, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.’” It was a huge moment.

And later in the argument about circumcision, it was used, they said, “Look, the Holy Spirit came on them uncircumcised! They’re justified believers, so how could we withhold water baptism from them? They’ve already received the Spirit baptism.” So it was as sign to the believing church that these gentiles were believers. They’re Christians, they’d received the Holy Spirit. Tongues were also a sign of authority for apostles, marking out the apostles as different, supernatural people. Paul says, look at Verse 18, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.” And also he says in 2 Corinthians 12:12, “The things that mark an apostle: signs, wonders and miracles were done among you with great perseverance.” So the Apostles speaking in tongues showed that they had been filed with the Holy Spirit, and they were spiritual leaders.

Now, why does Paul say they are a sign for unbelievers? Paul says that tongues are a sign for unbelievers, not for believers, he says that prophecy is for believers, not for unbelievers, but frankly even that he’s going to go against because later he’s gonna say if prophesying is going on and an unbeliever comes in and hears he’s going to be cut to the heart and whatever, so there’s benefit for the unbeliever of prophecy too.

What does he mean here? Well, I think it’s got to do with the theme of judgment, the theme of judgment that I’ve been laying before you from the book of Isaiah: God is powerful, he controls human history, he can raise up the Babylonians and move them as he sees fit, then he can remove them, 70 years later, he can do whatever he wants. He can raise up the Romans, then he can conquer the Roman Empire with the gospel, he can do that, he can do anything. He is that powerful, and he will, someday, the Bible reveals, end all of human history by another invasion from heaven, Jesus Christ is the head, at the head of a heavenly army. That day is coming, we don’t know when. So therefore, all of us should understand the threat and the warning that all of this is.

Judgment is coming, judgment day is coming, by a supernatural being who can invade history, and the supernatural tongues, this ability to speak fluently a language that you’ve never learned is a sign that such a divine being exists. So be warned and flee to Christ. This is the resting place; this is the place where the weary can rest. The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it, and they are saved. They’re kept saved. So run to Christ, will there’s time, that’s how it’s a sign for unbelievers.

III. The Chaos of Tongues vs. the Clarity of Prophecy

Now point three, the chaos of tongues versus the clarity of prophecy, verse 23-25, “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’re 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 he 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!’”

So Paul is giving kind of an extreme view of what could happen with this chaos. The first century church generally met in houses, so I don’t know if there was this sense that everyone was all assembled together all at once, but imagine that they did, everyone’s together, and everyone with the gift of tongues was all using the gift of tongues at the exact same time, and no one was translating, that thing is just going on, picture it in your mind. I’ve given you the word: chaos, utter chaos, that’s what’s going on. And then Paul says, imagine an unbeliever or a recent convert walking in and sees this going on, has no idea what’s happening, and what is the conclusion of that outside observer coming in or that new convert? “You’re out of your minds. This is crazy.”

Conversely, if prophecy is going on, you have a very different outcome. The unbeliever would hear the incisive word of God, like it says in Acts chapter 2, “When they heard this they were cut to the heart.” Cut to the heart. They’re convicted of their sins, they know they need to flee to Christ, they understand what’s happening, it’s all clear ’cause they get it, they hear the words and they’re cut to the heart. For as it says in Hebrews 4:12-13, “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight, everything’s uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” that’s happening for that person, they’re convicted, they’re crushed, they are incited to flee to Christ for salvation, and they will fall down and say, “Surely God is in this place.” That’s what prophecy can do.

Now, there’s a wonderful example of this from church history, and that’s the conversion of Charles Spurgeon, it’s from a favorite testimony they’ve ever read in church histories. Spurgeon was a prodigy, a spiritual prodigy, but as yet unconverted as a teenager, a very brilliant person, but he knew he was in an unconverted state, teenager. And he went from worship service to worship service to worship service, trying to find someone who could tell him how to be saved. Well, one snowy day, he made his way to a primitive Methodist chapel, a very small assembly of people, God can do amazing things in small church services. And when he gets there, he finds out that the regular preacher couldn’t make it. Praise God, I don’t know who that guy is, but a good thing, ’cause instead he got a primitive Methodist lay preacher. And this guy was not very trained, but not highly trained, Spurgeon said some funny, rather disparaging things about this guy, but at any rate, this man did the best thing he could by choosing the right text, in the KJV, Isaiah 45:22, this was the text he preached on: “Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else.” So this simple man ardently pressed the text home. Look unto me means look unto Christ by faith. See him by faith. “Look unto me,” he said, “I’m sweating great drops of blood. Look unto me, I’m hanging on the cross. Look unto me, I’m dead and buried. Look unto me, I rise again. Look unto me, I ascend to heaven. Look unto me, I’m sitting at the Father’s right hand. Oh, poor sinner. Look unto me. Look unto me.” Then, interestingly, this primitive Methodist preacher zeros in on Spurgeon in particular. Fear not, all of you, I’m not gonna do that to any of you this morning, but he zeroed in on him. Spurgeon wrote these words,

Just fixing his eyes on me as if he knew all my heart, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable.” Well, I did [said Spurgeon], but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before, however, it was a good blow struck right home. He continued, “And you will be miserable, always miserable. Miserable in life and miserable in death, if you do not obey my text.” Then lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a primitive Methodist could do [Spurgeon wrote that, I didn’t say it], “Young man look to Jesus Christ, look, look, look, you have nothing to do, but look.” I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said. I did not take much notice of it, I was so possessed with that one thought, I’d been waiting to do 50 things, but when I heard that word, “look,” what a charming word, it seemed to me, Oh, I could have looked until I looked my eyes away.

That is the look of faith: seeing Christ dead for you, seeing Christ risen for you. That justifies. And he was justified. Now, why do I cite all that? Well something like that can happen anytime. Outsider comes in, hears the gospel, as long as the gospel is clearly preached, there’s a chance, something like that could happen every single time. Now, I believe that our church, if we are gonna be healthy, should be aware of that happening. We should be aware that that could happen and ready for it every week. Now, for many years, American evangelicalism has had a movement within it called the seeker-sensitive church model, seeker-sensitive, what this means, the basic theory is that Sunday morning should be geared to the unbeliever, especially unbeliever that’s open and amenable to Christianity, and everything should be done to make that individual feel comfortable, feel welcome, so that everything in it is intelligible to him or her, everything is geared to the unbeliever to win that person to basic faith in Christ.

“That is the look of faith: seeing Christ dead for you, seeing Christ risen for you. That justifies.”

Well, the secret-sensitive model has had significant flaws with it, and there’s been a lot said against it, I do believe that Sunday morning is primarily for believers, for the members of this church and for believers, so that you would be fed and strengthened and brought to full maturity through the ministry of the word of God. So I do not embrace the seeker-sensitive model, but I do think that the church should be seeker-sensible, aware that this could happen and ready for it. And one of my commitments is to be certain that the Gospel of Christ crucified and resurrected is proclaimed plainly and clearly at some point in every service. Pie chart doesn’t need to take the whole time unless it is the text, but every single week, a person like that can hear the answer to the simple question, “What must I do to be saved? And that I need to be saved, I’m a sinner, I’m under judgment, I cannot stand on my own, I must have a savior.” and so that’s what we seek to do.

IV. The Proper Use of Tongues: Orderly Procedures

Fourth point, the proper use of tongues: orderly procedure. So now we get to the rules and regulations, verse 26-28, “What should we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, a word of instruction, a revelation of tongue or an interpretation, all these must be done for the strengthening of the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two- or at 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 to God.” So Paul gets very orderly, very practical here. Concept here is the people of God come, not as an audience, but as active participants.

Now, this concept has played out differently in different faith traditions and denominations. Alright, for example, the Quakers and the brethren have no ordained pastors that prepare any messages, everyone just sits in a room and as the Spirit moves, then people say things and do things, everyone is part of the service.

On the other end of the scale, other denominations or religions, even Roman Catholicism, have a very, very strict order of service, the laity has no control and very little participation in, and they wear different robes or clothing, the priests, Roman Catholic priests. There’s even a barrier, a wall between the priests and the people. In between are standard evangelical Sunday morning worship services that have an order of service, and individuals generally just do the scripture readings and the singing and all that, and do not come actively expecting to participate.

Probably for us at FBC Durham, you would think of this more in terms of the whole Sunday and home fellowships, where you were to go to someone’s home and you would expect to come and make a contribution, that we would teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and that someone would say, “Hey, I listened to this song this week. This really encouraged me.” “Oh, let’s hear it.” That kind of more informality can happen during home fellowships, etcetera.

When I was in Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa. You’re basically there all day. You’re there all day for church; they have meals together. They’re just together. And so you could well imagine everybody would come with this or that. Paul doesn’t give a complete list here of things that could be part of the Sunday morning service. He talks about a revelation or different other things, but there are other aspects of things that are not mentioned, such as public reading of Scripture, he doesn’t mention that. Preaching isn’t mentioned, teaching isn’t mentioned; corporate prayer isn’t mentioned. The Lord’s Supper or baptism are not mentioned. So this is not an exhaustive list. But the idea is everybody comes expecting to participate in some way.

However, the purpose of everything is orderly edification, verse 26, “All of this must be done for the strengthening of the church.” Then he gives four rules for the use of tongues. Now, you may ask, “Why are you giving the four rules for the use of tongues? Are we going to use tongues?” Well, I can tell you this, we’re not going to use tongues in a way that doesn’t follow these four rules. And if you’re wondering whether the FBC Durham elders are ready to move toward tongues or prophecy, listen to last week’s sermon. There are definitely filters that individuals have to go through before we ever thought that that would be part of our Sunday morning worship, but what are the four rules he gives here? Well, first, number one, only two or three persons should speak, so there could be 50, 60, 100 people with the gift of tongues. Only two or three are gonna use the gift on a Sunday morning. That’s what he’s saying, just two or three. Number two, they should speak in order, one after the other, not all at the same time, he’s gonna say the same thing with prophecy, He’s gonna say that the gift of the prophets is subject to the control of the prophets. You can’t say, “There’s nothing I could do. The Spirit overwhelmed me, and there was nothing I could do.” He said that’s not true.

So it has to be one after the other. I was at an outreach in Salem, Massachusetts, and I went with a Pentecostal church to reach out to the witches there, and there are witches there, about 3,000 registered witches in Salem. So as part of this outreach, never been in a Pentecostal service before. And at some point we started praying for the outreach we were about to do. Wow, interesting experience. Everyone began praying in tongues all at once, I had never experienced that in my life. So I prayed and asked the Lord if it’d be okay for me to pray in English ’cause it’s the only language that I know, and so I went ahead and had my prayer time, but it was just everyone at the same time. This says one after the other. Thirdly, what they say must be interpreted. If it is gonna be said in the context of a public service, there must be someone there to interpret. And then fourth, if there is no interpreter, they should not speak, they should keep silent in the church and speak to themselves and God. These are the four rules.

At any rate, the clear implication, the use of tongues is subject to the control of the people. He’s gonna say that in the next passage, verses 31-32, “You can all prophesy in turn so that everyone might be instructed and encouraged, for the spirit of the prophets is subject to the control of the prophets.”

V. Applications

Alright, applications. The primary goal every single week should be the clear proclamation of the word of God for the edification of the church. And I think for me, as a top priority of that would be the clear proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ so lost people can find forgiveness of sins. And I’m not assuming that every one of you that’s sitting here in this sanctuary here has most certainly been born again before you came here, but you’ve heard the gospel today, you’ve had the chance to hear what Spurgeon heard that converted him. You had the chance to look to Jesus dead on the cross for a sinner like you or like me. You’ve heard clearly the Christ was raised from the dead. All you need is there. Repent and believe while there’s time, there is a supernatural being who threatens us with eternal condemnation if we will not repent and follow him. And now is the day of salvation. This is the top priority.

Secondly, let’s use our spiritual gifts to edify the body. You have a spiritual gift package, are you using it? And I know things are different now with COVID 19, I understand that, but be creative, find ways to use your gifts and understand your gift package was given to edify, to build up the body of Christ. So edify. And concerning tongues itself, as we mentioned last week, there’s so much debate and discussion about whether this gift continues to this day. I am, for myself, speaking for myself, among those who cautious, perhaps skeptical, wanting to see, I don’t find cessationism in the New Testament. But I would say on behalf of the elders, if this gift and if prophecy were ever to be used on Sunday morning, it must follow certain patterns. And the patterns were clearly laid out in this text today, that’s our desire. Overall, Sunday morning should be about the edification of the body of Christ through the clear, orderly, logical, Spirit-filled ministry of the word of God, that’s our goal.

Close with me in prayer. Father, thank you for the time we’ve had in your Word, thank you for the things we can learn from it. There’s so much richness here, so much power, so much insight. So Father, I pray that you would strengthen each one of us. Help us to realize, Lord, that you are mighty and a powerful being. That you are sitting on a heavenly throne. And that from heaven you will come to earth to judge the earth, and Jesus Christ is the judge of the living and the dead. Help us while there’s time to flee to Christ and to trust in Him. Help us who have already fled to Christ, to be faithful to share the gospel in these times of doubt and sadness and death and trouble, which is in every generation, but this is our time. Help us to be clear with the gospel and be bold as you’ve commanded. In Jesus’ name, amen.

I.   Goal of All Spiritual Gifts: Edification

A.   The Doctrine Simply Stated

1.   Paul is addressing the purpose of the spiritual gifts in the context of corporate life—especially corporate worship

2.   He is deeply concerned that the Corinthian church should be EDIFIED to full maturity in Christ

CSB 1 Corinthians 14:3 But the person who prophesies speaks to people for
edification, encouragement, and consolation.

1 Corinthians 14:5 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.

1 Corinthians 14:12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

1 Corinthians 14:17 You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.

3.   The Spiritual gifts are all given for that purpose… they are a means to an end, not an end in themselves

4.   What is “edification?” It means “building up”

5.   So also the church of Jesus Christ—a spiritual entity made up of people—is likened to a spiritual STRUCTURE

Ephesians 2:21-22 In [Christ] the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

B.   Problem in Corinth

1.   Selfishness, pride, man-centeredness

2.   Spiritual gifts a platform for EGO

3.   Result: chaos on the Lord’s Day

a.   Paul has to reign these folks in greatly

b.   Keep in mind the chaos in observation of the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:20-21 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.

c.   So also with their corporate worship… great DISORDER

d.   Paul has to reign in the use of tongues, commanding them to speak one at a time

e.   So also we will see he has to do the same with the gift of prophecy… one at a time

f.   Overall effect

1 Corinthians 14:40 But all things should be done decently and in order.

God is a God of order, not chaos

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

C.   Last Week: Edification through CLEAR INSTRUCTION IN THE WORD OF GOD

1.   The Word of God alone is given to edify the saints

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2.   Our souls are justified (forgiven of all sins) by hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ by faith

Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

3.   So also our souls are EDIFIED (built up) to full maturity the same way… by the clear ministry of the Word of God

D.   A Call for Maturity

1 Corinthians 14:20 Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.

1.   Paul wants them to grow up as a congregation

2.   They were acting like spoiled children… imagine a kindergarten in which the teacher says to the class: “Boys and girls, I have to step out for a minute… I want you to be on your best behavior while

I’m gone. Stay in your seats and color or write till I get back.” Then the thirty little kids are left completely unattended for the next half hour. What kind of mayhem would eventually ensue? What kind of chaos and disorder? For the children will follow their own inner drives and desires, and will not reign themselves in

3.   So also these Corinthians need to stop thinking like children, selfishly using their gifts for their own ego… and the other watching them for their own entertainment

4.   He wants them to GROW UP… not in the area of evil; he would like them to have a child-like innocence about evil; sadly… they are exactly the opposite; experts in corruption, but like immature babies in the things of the Spirit

II.   The Purpose of Tongues: A Sign for Unbelievers

1 Corinthians 14:21-22 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. 22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers

A.   Paul Here Gives the Purpose for Tongues

1.   Reminder: “tongues” means languages… not incoherent babble, but actual fully formed languages spoken by the power of the Spirit without the speaker having studied or even understanding the language

2.   A form of it happened on the Day of Pentecost… when the Holy Spirit descended on the praying church in the upper room in tongues of fire, and the people began speaking in recognizable languages that they’d never studied as the Spirit moved them

3.   Then the apostles poured out into the streets and began preaching in one language but being heard and understood perfectly in many languages

Acts 2:7-11 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs– we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

4.   Then as the church spread, the gift of tongues was a sign that the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the people hearing the gospel… it was an immediate and miraculous indicator that the people were believers and had received the gift of the Holy Spirit… at Cornelius’s house; and again in Ephesus.

5.   Here in Corinth, the church was made up mostly of Gentiles who had believed in Jesus and some of them had the gift of tongues as a part of their spiritual gift package

6.   Paul wants them to understand God’s purpose in giving them

B.   The Quote from Isaiah

1.   Paul lifts a quote from the prophet Isaiah… Isaiah 28:11-12

1 Corinthians 14:21 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.

2.   Paul’s use of this quote is not easy to understand, but let’s do the best we can

3.   Isaiah’s context

a.   Isaiah was a prophet sent to the southern kingdom of Judah approximately seven centuries before Christ was born

b.   About fifteen years before Isaiah’s prophecy, the northern kingdom of Israel had been taken away into exile by the Assyrian Empire because of their persistent wickedness

c.   God sent Isaiah as a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah to warn them that the same thing would happen to them if they didn’t repent of their sins

d.   However, the proud religious leaders mocked the word of God sent to them by the prophet Isaiah… they acted like he was speaking to babies and they mocked his prophecies

Isaiah 28:9-10 “Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? 10 For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there.”

The words they use were like sing-songy baby talk: “sav la sav, sav la sav; kav la kav, kav la kav”

They had no fear of the Lord or his word at all

Isaiah 66:1-2 This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? 2 Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.

e.   God had spoken a clear word to the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem, pointing to a place of safety and salvation from the coming judgment

Isaiah 28:12 he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”– but they would not listen.

f.   So God said he would JUDGE this arrogant rebellious Jewish nation with foreign tongues

Isaiah 28:11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people
This is a clear threat that in the City of David, the capitol city of the Promised Land, Gentile conquerors would come and speak to each other in strange, incomprehensible tongues after having crushed the Jewish armies and conquered their city’s defenses

The very thing God had warned about 800 years before that through the Song of Moses before they even entered the Promised Land:

Deuteronomy 28:49-50 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young.

4.   This would be the Babylonians… who would come and speak babble in their streets, and they would not understand it

5.   Jeremiah also warned about this same thing

Jeremiah 5:15-17 O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, “I am bringing a distant nation against you– an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand. 16 Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors. 17 … With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.

C.   So, Tongues Are a Sign

1.   A sign of warning to unbelievers… that a supernatural being— Almighty God—has the power to invade and end their lives

2.   To unbelieving Jews in particular, it was a sign of the final judgment of God on their city and temple through the Romans

a.   Jesus warned very clearly about this, weeping over Jerusalem:

Luke 19:43-44 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

b.   In AD 70, that judgment finally fell under the sword of the Roman army

c.   Cessationists like John MacArthur say that tongues were a sign to the unbelieving Jewish nation of this impending judgment on their religious system and on their national identity because they rejected Christ… once the temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, there was no longer a need for that sign

3.   But tongues are not only a sign of impending judgment… also of blessing

a.   As I said… proof that the Gentiles like Cornelius that heard the gospel with faith were instantly included in the family of God

b.   They were adopted children of God, sons and daughters of Abraham… without being circumcised first

Acts 10:44-47 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water?

They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

c.   This is the rich blessing of the gospel spread to ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH

4.   Also a sign of authority, marking out the apostles

1  Corinthians 14:18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

2  Corinthians 12:12 The things that mark an apostle– signs, wonders and miracles– were done among you with great perseverance.

D.   Why Only a Sign for Unbelievers?

1.   Paul says that tongues are a sign for unbelievers, not for believers

2.   He says prophecy is for believers, not for unbelievers

3.   Why?

a.   I think the theme of judgment that is linked to the Isaiah quote, with the Moses quote behind it is a clear historical warning to unbelieving Jews to come to faith in Christ

b.   God is powerful; he controls human history! He can raise up the Babylonians and bring them against the temple in Jeremiah’s day; he can raise up the Romans and bring them against the temple in Paul’s day… even more terrifying, he can end all of human history when Jesus Christ returns at the head of an angelic army

c.   Be warned, and flee to Christ while there’s time

d.   But even for Gentile unbelievers, the tongues are a sign and a warning/invitation as well

e.   Something supernatural is going on here, and you are on the outside looking in

III.   The Chaos of Tongues vs. the Clarity of Prophecy

1 Corinthians 14:23-25 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? 24 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, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

A.   Paul Pushes to Extremes

1.   The first century church usually met in houses, not all at once, altogether

2.   But imagine that the whole church DID come together in one place

3.   AND imagine also that everyone in the church was speaking in tongues AT THE SAME TIME with NO ONE INTERPRETING!

4.   Imagine an unbeliever or an untrained person (perhaps a novice in Christianity… a recent convert who knows nothing but the basics of the gospel)… imagine such a person coming into this chaos

B.   Conclusion of the Chaos: You Are All Out of Your Minds!

C.   But if Prophecy is Going On… a Whole Different Outcome

1.   The unbeliever would hear the incisive word of God being unfolded

2.   He would hear the clarity of God’s holy law…

3.   He would be sharply convicted of his sin

4.   He would feel that his own secret sins are being laid bare, exposed… his conscience would be smiting him

Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.

Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

5.   Then, the unbeliever would hear of a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for sinners just like him

6.   And Paul says he would fall down in their midst and declare, “Surely God is in this place!!”

D.   Clear Example: The Conversion of Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon was a teenager who was under sharp conviction of his sins, but had not yet heard the gospel clearly explained and pressed to his soul

On a fateful snowy day, he ended up in a Primitive Methodist Chapel where the regular preacher did not show up. A layman got up and expounded this text:

Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

This simple man ardently pressed the text home… “Look unto me” means LOOK UNTO CHRIST

“Look unto Me; I am sweatin’ great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hangin’ on the cross. Look unto Me, I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend to Heaven. Look unto Me; I am sitting at the Father’s right hand. O poor sinner, look unto Me! look unto Me!”

Then the man zeroed in on Spurgeon:

Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable.” Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, “And you will always be miserable—miserable in life and miserable in death—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” Then lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothing to do but look and live!”

I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said—I did not take much notice of it—I was so possessed with that one thought…………………….. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when

I heard that word, “Look!” what a charming word it seemed to me. Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away.

E.   Every Christian Worship Service Must be Seeker Sensible

1.   For many years, American evangelicalism has had a movement known as the “seeker sensitive church model”… basic concept is that everything in church on a Sunday morning should be geared to the seeker… the not-yet-converted person, to make him or her as comfortable and attracted as possible to Christ; the music, the lighting, the language used, the whole experience should be “seeker sensitive”

2.   Others have reacted strongly against this and have said Sunday morning is for believers, not for the unbelievers; we need to feed the flock with the solid word of God. The rest of the week is for evangelizing, but Sunday morning is for the church

3.   I believe that Sunday morning IS INDEED PRIMARILY for believers… that the church be fed God’s Word and grow into full maturity

4.   But I think this text says we should be READY EVERY WEEK for the unbeliever to come into our service and by ministered to with the gospel… like Spurgeon was

5.   And when the seeker comes, they should understand what is going on to some degree… and not think “You are out of your minds!”

6.   So every single week, we aim to be seeker sensible… and preach the word of God so clearly that their hearts will be cut open by the word of God and they will be convicted and fall down and come to Christ!

IV.   The Proper Use of Tongues: Orderly Procedures

1 Corinthians 14:26-28 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. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two– or at the most three– should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

A.   Paul Gets Very Practical… and Orderly

1.   The concept here is that the people of God come not as an audience but as active participants

2.   Now this concept has had a wide range of applications in many different traditions

3.   The Quakers and Brethren and other church traditions have no paid clergy, no prepared messages… they just assemble and have a free flowing service with no plans at all

4.   Other denominations are very hierarchical, like the Roman Catholics, with a clear clergy and a barrier and a great feeling of formality

5.   We have to keep asking if the Lord wants more church participation and how to do that

6.   Perhaps we at FBC could read these words more in terms of the Home Fellowships; keep in mind that the early church met in houses as we’ve said

B.   Also… this is not a Comprehensive Order of Everything

1.   Paul mentions only SOME aspects: a hymn, a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, an interpretation

2.   Notice what is NOT mentioned: public reading of Scripture, preaching, teaching, corporate prayer, the Lord’s Supper

3.   So… this is not meant to be an exhaustive list

C.   The Purpose is the Same: ORDERLY EDIFICATION

1 Corinthians 14:26 All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

D.   The Four Rules for Orderly Use of Tongues

1 Corinthians 14:27-28 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two– or at the most three– should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

1.   Only two or three persons should speak

a.   Even if dozens of the Corinthians had this gift, they should not all come to the service expecting to use their gift

b.   This is to have a relatively small role in the service

2.   They should speak in order, one after the other

a.   Not all at once as happens sometimes

Illus. Victory Chapel outreach in Salem, MA… only charismatic service I’ve been to… everyone spoke in tongues out loud and simultaneously… din of cacophony and disorder

3.   What they say should be interpreted

a.   The words have to be brought over clearly into the minds of the rest of the church

b.   One person should do all the interpretation for everyone

4.   If there is no interpreter, they should not speak… just keep silent in the church and speak to themselves and God

E.   Clear Implication: The Use of Tongues is Subject to the Control of the People

1.   This was not ecstasy… body snatching by the Holy Spirit, as we’ll also see next week with prophecy

1 Corinthians 14:31-32 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.

2.   So also with tongues

V.   Applications

A.   Primary Goal Right Now: The Clear Proclamation of the Gospel

1.   As I mentioned earlier… every week we want to be aware of unbelievers coming in from the outside

2.   We want to be sure that you hear the words of life

3.   The GOOD NEWS of the gospel

4.   It is GOOD NEWS only if you know the BAD NEWS first… that all of us are sinners and fall short of the glory of God

5.   We have seen the corruption of the human heart exposed in 1 Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

But no one keeps this!!

6.   More than that, we are commanded to LOVE GOD with every fiber of our being all the time… with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength… but we DON’T

7.   Christ came to save us from our sins

1 Peter 2:24-25 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

B.   Use the Gifts to Edify the Body

C.   What About Tongues?

1.   Spoken last week

2.   The elders of FBC would have to travel a journey with the doctrine and exegesis and with actual displays of this gift before we ever used it in a Sunday morning service

3.   Most specifically, it would have to be a proven language validated with an actual translation (interpretation) of the tongue

4.   Until then, we will study tongues in Scripture alone!