In This Brief Overview of 1 Corinthians Chapters 12-14, It Will Be Seen That Prophetic Tongues Edify God's Church.
Christ gave spiritual gifts to the church to edify it.
The importance of prophetic speech to the church is realized by
observing, in the verses below, what the first (and only) recorded act
that Jesus performed for His church (when when He sat down on his
throne in heaven) was:
"Therefore being by the right hand of
God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.” Acts 2: 33
"Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” Eph. 4: 8
Although
some teach that prophetic speech (tongues, prophecies, the telling of
dreams and visions, etc.) is not important to the church; Paul taught
that the church would be established and guided by such prophetic
speech. In chapters 12-14 of 1 Cor. Paul is telling the Corinthians to
use tongues and prophecies to build up their church.
In just
one chapter (chapter 14), Paul uses the Greek word, "oikodome;" (to
build) 7 times. As seen in the verses below, the usual translation of
oikodome is "edify." However, in 1 Peter 2:5 oikodome
has been translated as "built up," as in, "Ye also, as lively stones,
are built up a spiritual house" 1 Peter 2: 5
Tongues build-up the church (individually, and corporately)
By using the word
oikodome in relation to tongues and prophecies, Paul is making it
perfectly clear that prophetic speaking (tongues, prophecies etc.) is
good and necessary for the building-up, and edifying of the church. As
seen in the six portions of scripture below; Paul teaches that
tongues-speaking edifies the believer, while tongues-interpreted and
prophecies edifies the entire church
. "For he that speaketh in
an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man
understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he
that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." 1 Cor. 14: 2-3
"He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth
the church." 1 Cor. 14: 4 "I would that ye all spake with tongues, but
rather that ye prophesied; for greater is he that prophesieth than he
that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may
receive edifying." 1 Cor. 14: 5
"Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church." 1Cor. 14: 12 "For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified." 1 Cor. 14:17
"How
is it then, brethren? When ye come together, every one of you hath a
psalm, hath a doctrine [a teaching], hath a tongue, hath a revelation,
hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying." 1 Cor. 14:26
As
seen in the scriptures above; to the Corinthians, Paul made it
perfectly clear that tongues and prophecies are necessary for the
health, of not just individuals, but of the corporate church also. In
fact, Paul's main concern in writing chapters 12-14 of 1 Cor., is to
direct the Corinthians to use tongues and prophecies in such a way that
the entire church may be edified. Therefore, to benifit the entire
congregation, Paul would like the messages of tongues to be
interpreted; as the verses below say:
"Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret." 1 Cor. 14: 12-13
The
reason that Paul wants the tongues-messages to be interpreted, is
because there is a portion of the church-service when tongues and
prophecies are to be heard -- as the very voice of God to the
congregation. It is imperative that the message of tongues or prophecy
be heard and understood; therefore the tongues must be interpreted.
But the Corinthians were confused -- and rightfully so. For they knew
that it was God, who was giving them the ability to speak in tongues
and to prophesy, and therefore they must have thought that God wanted
them to speak, and to speak loud! And to speak loud right now! There
were propbably many people speaking in tongues, and many people giving
prophecies, and interpretations, all at the same time. Therefore Paul
gives these directives (below):
"If any man speak in an unknown
tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course;
and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep
silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. Let
the prophets speak two or three, and let the others judge. If anything
be revealed to another that sits by, let the first hold his peace. For
all of you may prophecy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be
comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all
churches of the saints." 1 Cor. 14:27-33
Different Kinds of Tongues
A big issue that the
Corinthians were confused about, was "tongues." As seen below there are
different kinds of tongues. There is a tongues-speaking that is spoken
only to God, and there is a tongues-speaking that is directed to the
congregation to be interpreted. The Corinthians did not seem to know
the difference between the two. They probably thought that they should
speak their every tongues-message out loud for everyone to hear, even
if there was no interpretation for the church.
As seen in the three verses of scripture below; there is a tongues-speaking that is from the believer to God (not to be interpreted for the congregation):
"For
he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto
God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh
mysteries." 1 Cor. 14: 2
"But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God" 1 Cor. 14:28
"Likewise
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered." Rom. 8: 26
Romans
8:26 is listed here as an example of a spiritual prayer that is to God
and does not need to be spoken loudly in the church
There is also a tongues speaking from God to man; that is, with the interpretation of tongues (to help others and build-up the church). This is seen in the verses below:
"But
the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal... For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom... To
another faith... to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the
interpretation of tongues" 1 Cor. 12: 7-10
"I would that ye all
spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied; for greater is he
that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he
interpret, that the church may receive edifying." 1 Cor. 14: 5
"Even
so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may
excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in
an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret." 1 Cor. 14: 12-13
It
seems that most tongues-speaking is a prayer language to God, rather
than something that needs to be interpreted for the congregation. This
explains why Paul, who speaks in tongues a lot, does so, at times,
outside of the church. It is prayer between him and God:
"I
thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: Yet in the church
I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I
might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue."
1 Cor. 14: 18-19
Now, cessationists like to say that Paul did
not really mean what he said; that he really did not speak in tongues
very much, that he is deliberatly exagerating his tongues-speaking for
some reason. But what is he thanking God for? Actually, he is making a
vow, as he is bringing God in as his witness that he does indeed speak
tongues more than all.
There is a common error among
cessationist thinking. They assume that since the tongues at the Acts 2
Pentecost were (earthly) foriegn languages, then all tongues must be
foriegn languages. And after having decided that all "tongues" are
foriegn languages; they then assume that tongues must be for
evangelism--to preach to people in their own languages. But that is not
true, there is not one instance in the entire Holy Bible that people
spoke in tongues for evangelism. Tongues are primarily a prayer
language. For instance, at the Acts 2 Pentecost, everyone heard the 120
speaking in their own native tongues. But what did they hear? They did
not hear evangelizing, preaching, or teaching. What they heard in
tongues was simply praises (prayer) to God. The crowd of Jews that
heard the tongues-speakers did not hear evangelism or theology; rather;
"We do hear them speak in our tongues the wondeful works of God" (Acts
2: 11). There was no preaching in tongues on the day of Pentecost,
rather the giving of thanks and praise that is similar to the Psalms.
Compare the words of Acts 2: 11, with those of the Psalms (below):
"I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvellous works." Psalm 9: 1-2
"Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done" Psalm 40: 5
On
the day of Pentecost, when Peter stood up to teach the crowd, he did
not teach the crowd by speaking in tongues; rather, he spoke in a
language that they all understood (possibly Greek). Therefore, most
tongues are not for teaching and evangelizing; rather, most tongues are
simply a prayer/praise language, from man to God. Notice (in the verses
below) how Paul interchanges the words "speaking" in tongues, and
"praying" in tongues; as if "speaking" in tongues is one and the same
with "praying" in tongues; that is, tongues-speaking as a prayer/praise
language to God, rather than tongues-speaking for evangelism:
"Wherefore
let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my
understanding is unfruitful." 1 Cor. 14: 13-14
The verse above (and others) reveal a six-fold nature of tongues:
1)
Man's spirit prays in a tongue; "to God" it is prophetic, as the
non-tongues-speakers cannot do it because it is the man's own prophetic
spirit empowering him to pray in tongues. This is a phenomenon that is
a result of the fact that, "The spirits of the prophets are subject to
the prophets." (1 Cor. 14:32) Verses of scripture that might be used to
validate # 1: "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not
unto men, but unto God" 1 Cor. 14: 2 "Else when thou shalt bless with
the spirit [in tongues], how shall he that occupieth the room of the
unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not
what thou sayeth?" 1 Cor. 14: 16 "But if there be no interpreter, let
him [the tongues-speaker] keep silence in the church; and let him speak
to himself, and to God." 1 Cor. 14: 28
2) Man's spirit gives a
message in tongues "to men". He does this because he has the prophetic
Spirit within him, (as in #1 above) and he is in a state of worshipful
prayer/praise at the time. (This would need to be interpreted for the
congregation--not by a foriegner; but by someone who has the "gift" of
interpretation). Verses of scripture that might be used to validate #
2: "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal. . . . For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom . .
. To another faith . . . to another divers kinds of tongues; to another
the interpretation of tongues" 1 Cor. 12: 7-10. "I would that ye all
spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied; for greater is he
that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he
interpret, that the church may receive edifying." 1 Cor. 14: 5 "Even so
ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may
excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in
an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret." 1 Cor. 14: 12-13
3)
God's Spirit causes the man to give a message in tongues "to men". This
may sound identical to #2; however, this is a time when God's Spirit
prompts a man to give a special message in tongues.This is a time when
God's Holy Spirit is stirring inside of the man--it cannot be said of
this, that, "The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets."
For, At this time, the man might not be in prayer or praise at all.
This is something totally initiated by God's Spirit; not simply the
prophetic spirit that dwells inside the prophet/tongues-speaker. To
validate the authenticity of # 3, it should be remembered that the
people of Cornelius' house (Acts 10), and the Ephesians of Acts 19, all
spoke in tongues spontaneously--all at the same time. They did not plan
to do so, nor were they already in a state of praise at the time. It
was totally initiated by God's Spirit This speaking does not have to be
spontaneous, but it is initiated and directed by God more so than the
message of #2. Usually, this kind of message is known as "prophecy"
(and not "tongues" at all), that is spoken in the hearers native
language. However, since the interpretation of tongues is a kind of
prophecy (this will be realized in section 2 of this book), there may
be times when God uses a tongues-speaker, with interpretation to reveal
a message
4) Man's spirit begins to pray, but the Holy Spirit
takes over and prays. Romans 8:26 describes it as, "groanings [of the
Spirit]." This kind of prayer is "to God"; others are not to interpret
(if they could even hear it). Example: Romans 8: 26, and the verses
used to validate #1 (above)
5) God's Spirit speaks through a
man in tongues as an actual foriegn language "to other men". This
tongues-speaking can be interpreted by a foriegner (of that dialect),
as well as by someone who has the gift of interpretation. This is God's
Spirit speaking through the man,as it is God who has the important
message to deliver. This is similar to #3, except this time it is in an
actual earthly language.. To validate? This is an interesting
situation. For most tongues-speaking usually is not in an earthly
language; nor is it usually to other men (as it is a prayer/praise
language), unless it is to be interpreted. This author has never spoken
a foriegn (earthly) dialect for the benifit of others (though maybe
many people have). So for this author, # 5 is an assumption, based on
the fact that on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), there were definitely
foriegn (earthly) dialects spoken. Therefore, it is possible that God
might speak through a man in a foriegn dialect. In that case, the
scriptures that validate # 2 will suffice here as well.
6)
Man's spirit prays "to God" in an actual foriegn language. This is not
God's Spirit taking over; (as in #5) but, rather, it is the man's own
prophetic spirit within him (very similar to #1), but this time the
"tongues" is an actual foriegn language. Examples for validation: No
examples per say; but given the different kinds of tongues-speaking in
the Bible, this kind of tongues-prayer must certainly exist.
There
is a 7th manifestation of Holy Spirit prayer. Speaking of myself; my
first tongues were in my native English language, as I was walking
outside praying and the Holy Spirit began praying through me, but it
was in English and I could hear and understand it. It was similar to
what I was already praying but in different words; but the Holy Spirit
was actually moving my mouth at the time (I started laughing because it
felt strange--my jaw moving by itself--but not an evil laughter that
cessationists might accuse us of). Perhaps there are other kinds of
Holy Spirit prayer also. I pray often in "tongues," (what some
call,"ecstatic speech;" that is, not a foriegn language). But my
vocabulary (different sounds) of this speech have increased over the
years. There are times; also, when I pray in a different manner, for it
sounds exactly like a Chinese dialect. As I pray this way, it sounds
exactly like a Chinese woman is speaking,