>> Jen: Happy Thanksgiving, faithful listeners. I am so excited that you took some time out of your busy Thanksgiving day, stuffing your face with turkey and stuffing and every other Thanksgiving food. To read first uh, 1 Corinthians 14 with me, where we're going to be discussing why the gift of tongues is not a very edifying gift to the church body, but a different gift is very edifying. Let's dig into it. All right, faithful listeners, last week I had you tell me what
your favorite Thanksgiving food is. Tell me what your least favorite Thanksgiving food is. You already know mine. I think stuffing is disgusting, but I love cranberry sauce. That is my favorite of all the Thanksgiving foods. So tell me, what is your favorite Thanksgiving food? And also tell me, do you have the day off today or not? That's one of the reasons why I decided to do
a Thanksgiving episode this year. A lot of years I don't actually do one, mainly because people don't really listen to it anyway, or at least they don't listen to it on the day of Thanksgiving. They wait until, you know, tomorrow to listen to it after everything is, like, said and done. But I decided to do one a Thanksgiving episode because first and foremost, now that the members have their Friday episodes and I don't give Fridays out for free, I didn't want to take
another day from you this week. That was my first reason. But the second reason is that a lot of people do work on Thanksgiving and probably want something to listen to. So I decided to do a Thanksgiving episode, and we're going to talk about First uh, Corinthians 14 today, 13 through 25. Let's talk about the gift of tongues a little bit more in depth. Today I'll be reading out of the web as I always do. Make sure to grab your delicious, um, pumpkin spice
latte. I guess that's a really Thanksgiving y type of drink. well actually. Mulled cider, I guess, is another Thanksgiving e drink. I prefer mulled cider over pumpkin spice lattes any day. All right, let's go ahead and read first uh, 1 Corinthians 14, 13, 25. Therefore, let him who speaks in another language pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in another language, my spirit prays, but my understanding
is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with understanding also. Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who fills the place of the unlearned say amen at the giving of thanks? Seeing he doesn't know what you say, for you most certainly give thanks well, but the other person is not built up. I thank my God, uh I speak
with other languages more than you all. However, in the assembly I would rather speak five words with my understanding that I might instruct others also than 10,000 words in another language. Brothers, don't be childish in thoughts, yet in malice be babies, but in thoughts be mature. In the law it is written by men of strange languages and by the lips of strangers. I will speak to this people. They won't even hear me that way, says the LORD.
Therefore, other languages are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to the unbelieving. But prophesying is for a sign, not to the unbelieving, but to those who believe. If therefore the whole assembly is assembled together and all speak with other languages and unlearned or unbelieving people come in, won't they say that you're crazy? But if all prophesy and someone unbelieving or unlearned comes in, he is reproved by all and he is judged by all. And
thus the secrets of the heart are revealed. So he will fall down on his face and worship God, uh, declaring that God, uh is among you. Indeed, this passage of Scripture is talking specifically about the gift of tongues and how the Corinthian Church really wanted that particular gift. And on Tuesday we talked about how the uh, Corinthians were, you know, speaking in tongues in the church, but how that wasn't
really edifying anybody other than the speaker. In fact, Paul argues that the gift of prophecy is a better spiritual gift to have for the unifying of the church. But the gift of tongues is far better for oneself in prayer and in devotion to to God, uh. So now Paul in verses 13 and 14 is talking about speaking in tongues in the church and the proper way to do it. Therefore, let him who speaks in another language pray that he may interpret.
For if I pray in another language, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. So there are certainly people out there who have the gift of tongues but cannot understand what they are saying. So Paul actually says, pray for a second spiritual gift. At that point, pray for the gift of being able to interpret what you are saying, because then you can actually begin to understand
what you are saying. And that will edify the church if somebody is actually able to interpret the tongues that are being spoken. And by the way, on Tuesday we talked about how the gift of tongues can take two different routes. You can definitely have the gift of tongues only in your personal prayer life and Be able to speak in tongues to God, uh, and that will just edify yourself. But you can also have the gift of tongues where you're able to talk to somebody in their own language
when you previously didn't know that language. And that's why it's important to pray. If you have the gift of tongues, to pray also that you might be able to interpret. Because somebody who is able to go to a foreign country and speak in tongues to somebody must have both the gift of speaking in tongues and also the gift of interpretation, because how could the person actually communicate with the foreigner if they didn't understand
what the foreigner was saying? So that means they have to have both the gift of tongues and also the gift of interpretation as well. That's why Paul says, if you have the gift of tongues, pray for the gift of interpretation, because then you can really begin to utilize that gift far more for the benefit of other people, not just for the
benefit of yourself. And yes, having the gift of tongues and only being able to speak and not understand or not interpret is a gift because you're able to really devote yourself to prayer to the Holy Spirit. But otherwise, if you're going to use your gift to build up other people or to evangelize or something like that, you have to also pray for the gift of interpretation. What is it then? I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding
also. I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with understanding also. So Paul says, isn't it so much better when you're praying to understand what you're actually praying? Isn't it so much better when you're singing to actually understand the lyrics that you're singing? The same goes for tongues. And then he says in verse 16, otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who fills the place of the unlearned say Amen at your giving of thanks, seeing he doesn't know what
you say? Now, we know that Amen is a very famous, um, ending to a prayer. Pretty much everybody says Amen at the end of their prayers. Amen just means it is true. And people for centuries have been saying Amen at the end of their prayers.
So Paul is basically saying, you know, if there's no understanding, if you're speaking in tongues, but there's no understanding, how can somebody in your congregation, like, say, you are giving a prayer of thanksgiving to God, uh in tongues, but nobody in your congregation knows what you're saying? How can somebody say Amen at the end of your prayer? They can't, because they don't know what
you're saying. So all of this is Paul proving a point that the gift of tongues is good personally, but it's not as good of a gift for the benefit of other people, because if other people don't know what you're saying, then there's really no point to exercising the gift of tongues to the public. You also have to have an interpreter there so that there can be understanding in, uh, your church services for you most certainly give thanks well, but the other person is not built up.
So he's like, yeah, you might be built up because you're speaking in tongues, like, outwardly to your church congregation. That might be very beneficial and edifying to you, but it's not to anybody else. Like, yeah, you gave a great prayer. I'm sure you did, but, uh, other people don't know that you gave a great prayer. So he says, I thank my God, uh that I speak with other languages more than you all. So Paul's like, I'm very thankful to have the gift of tongues, and I use it quite
often. And he probably did. I mean, think about all the places that Paul went. There's actually some evidence that Paul made it all the way to England. And how could Paul possibly have spoken to people who spoke really old English when he didn't understand English? It's because he had the gift of tongues. So Paul's like, I'm very thankful that I have the gift of tongues and that I use it quite often. It benefits Paul's ministry, obviously, to have the gift of tongues.
But he says, however, when I'm in the church assembly. So say Paul goes back to the uh, Corinthians. He says, I would rather speak just five words that you all can understand than 10,000 words in a different language. It might sound really cool for Paul to go speak English to the uh, Corinthians, but it wouldn't edify or benefit any of them in the long run. It would really only benefit Paul. That's why an interpreter has to be present when the gift of speaking in tongues is in the church.
Brothers, don't be children in thoughts. The uh, Corinthians were being childish about this entire issue. They wanted the gift of tongues so bad that they were just babbling nonsensically during their church services. Paul's like, you're being childish. Don't be childish in thoughts. Only thinking about yourself and what benefits you. But think about the people around you. Think about the new people that are coming
to your church. Think about the people who haven't been blessed with the gift of tongues and have some other gifts that they're not fully able to utilize because everybody's worried about speaking in tongues. Think about those people. Be babies in malice. A, uh, baby doesn't have much malice towards people, right? So that's why Paul says, don't be children, but be babies in malice, but in your thoughts, be mature. In the law, it is written by men of strange languages and by the
lips of strangers. I will speak to this people. They won't even hear me that way, says the LORD. And that's a prophecy from Isaiah 28:11 12, which says he will speak to this nation with stammering lips and in another language to whom he says, this is the resting place. Give rest to the weary. And this is refreshing. Yet they would not hear. And that was a judgment on the people of Israel and also a prophecy that God, uh was going to be using foreign languages to communicate with the
Israelites. And the languages would be saying good things, like, man, like, this is so refreshing. Like, come to church because it's so refreshing. God, uh gives rest to the weary. This is his resting place. But because it was in different tongues, the people wouldn't understand. So it was a judgment on the nation of Israel. So Paul goes back to that prophecy and he says, therefore other languages are for a sign. Not to those who believe,
but to the unbelieving. So that's not a good thing, because once again, that prophecy was a judgment prophecy on the people. Talking about languages being a sign to them that their end is near because they are refusing to believe in God, uh. Prophesying is for a sign. Not to the unbelieving, but to those who believe. So whenever we see a prophecy taking place, yes, it is often a prophecy.
Talking to unbelievers about what's going to happen to them and how if they don't turn to Christ, this, this, and this is going to happen to them. But it's not a sign for them. It's actually a sign for believers. In fact, just this week on Monday, we talked about first kings, chapter 14, about the prophecy that was against Jeroboam. This prophet comes up from Judah to prophesy against King Jeroboam. King Jeroboam didn't listen. He didn't care about that prophecy. It wasn't assigned to him.
Even though he saw the prophecy actually take place. You know, the altar split in half like the prophet said it would. King Jeroboam did not listen to that prophecy. But who did listen? If you remember the story on Monday, an old prophet who had potentially walked away from God, uh. He was the one who listened to that prophecy. If you're, like, wondering what I'm talking about right now, go back to Monday's
episode and check it out. But even that story is a really good depiction of what Paul is talking about here in First uh, Corinthians 14. He's talking about how the prophecies are really for the believers and the people who are going to become believers, because those are the people who are going to listen to the actual prophecies. But for the people who just refuse to believe in God, uh, the unbelievers, they will never, ever listen to prophecy. They're just not. So it's not
assigned to them. The tongues are more of a sign to them because they're going to be hearing all this babbling, and they're going to be like, you guys are all crazy. And not really take in the message of what those tongues actually mean. So then Paul says, if, therefore, the whole assembly is assembled together and all speak with other languages and unlearned or unbelieving people come in, won't they say that you're crazy?
And this verse means something twofold. The first thing it means is that the unbeliever is going to hear the tongues, and it's going to be a sign for them, and they're going to be like, you guys are all crazy. We don't believe any of this. This is all nuts. That's the first meaning. But the second meaning is that unlearned people are going to be in the congregation. This could be people who just don't have the gift of tongues.
These could be people who. Their hearts are turned to Christ, but the chaos of the worship service just turns them off to Christianity. This actually happened to my mom when she was a very young Christian. I want to say she was maybe 19 or 20 when this happened. Before she met my dad. She went to church with her cousin, and it was a Pentecostal church, and my mom knew nothing about it. She went in and she sat down, and everybody started speaking in tongues.
And then people were lining up to meet the pastor, and he was slaying them in the spirit. And my mom thought this was crazy. And so she and my cousin literally ran out of the church in the middle of the service. And actually, apparently the people chased them down and were like, wait, wait, what are you doing? My mom said they did end up going back in because I guess my, uh, mom's cousin forgot her gloves. She left them in there. So they did end up going back in like sitting
through the whole service. But they thought it was nuts because even though my mom and actually her cousin as well, are Christians, they were brand new unlearned Christians. And so when they went into a service that was chaotic like that, where everybody was speaking in tongues and there's no interpreter and people are getting slain in the Spirit, they became afraid. So verse 23 has a twofold
meaning. It seems that if everybody's speaking in tongues, the unbeliever is going to just still be an unbeliever, and those tongues are going to be a sign against him. But also the unlearned person might come in and be turned off from Christianity. But if people are prophesying in just the language that they speak in, and somebody unbelieving or unlearned comes in, he is reproved by all and he is judged by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed.
So he will fall down on his face and worship God, uh, declaring that God, uh is among you. Indeed. So, once again, prophecy is a better gift for the church because not only does it help the congregation, but it also helps the unlearned. Say my mom and her cousin went to a different church where everybody was prophesying instead of speaking in tongues. You can imagine how much different my mom and her cousin would have felt
in that moment. They would have probably felt much more blessed in that moment as unlearned brand new Christians when they hear all these prophecies. Prophecy has a far higher chance of turning people's hearts towards God, uh than speaking in tongues does at a church service. Prophecy is what changes hearts because it's literally words from God, uh. And God's words can change hearts, especially when people can understand it in their own languages.
So prophecy of the two gifts, when it comes to church services, it's just a better gift. And it's a sign for Christians that God, uh is truly working and moving in the church. Just prophecy is far more powerful of a gift to utilize in the church than speaking in tongues is.
But on Tuesday, we'll finish up this chapter and we're going to talk about how God, uh is not the author of confusion and how church services should really be done in an orderly way and what that looks like if you do incorporate the gift of speaking in tongues in your church service. Yeah, once again, you know, there are many charismatic churches to this day that still incorporate speaking in tongues in their church services. And, um, I would say the majority of
churches do it wrong. According to Scripture, there is a right way and a wrong way to incorporate the gift of tongues in your church the way it's done. Nowadays, there is a lot of peer pressure to speak in tongues. Some churches actually go so far to say you can't know if you're really saved or not unless you have the gift of tongues. But that
is definitely not true when you look at Scripture. Because all you have to do to know that you're saved is to believe on the LORD Jesus Christ and profess it with your mouth. That is how you are saved. If you are a professing Christian and you believe it in your heart that Jesus saved you from your sins, then you are are saved. Anyway, faithful listeners, I do hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and
a, great Thanksgiving weekend. Remember everything that we should be thankful for, especially as Christians, and the wonderful gifts we have been given as Christians. Faithful listeners, have a wonderful rest of your day. Happy Thanksgiving and God, uh Bless.