1. Is it worth it?
We’ve spent the last two months going through Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 12-14 about gifts from the Holy Spirit, piece by piece. We’ve done a lot on overarching principles: what these gifts are and how they should be used. We’ve worked through some lists of gifts Paul gives in these chapters. And we’ve spent a decent amount of time with two gifts in particular, tongues and prophecy, because that’s what Paul does in chapter 14. In Paul’s concluding teaching, which we’ll look at today, he provides the Corinthians with some really practical instructions. Given everything he’s talked about, how should the believers in Corinth create space in their gatherings for these gifts to operate? That’s what we’re going to talk about today too, but before we do, and as an intro to that, I want to ask a question.
This was asked of me earlier this week, and I thought it was a great question. It’s probably one that some of you have thought about as well. It goes something like this: is it worth it? Is it worth the potential messiness and divisiveness to open up space for spiritual gifts like prophecy? After all, there are plenty of churches that don’t practice some of those more extraordinary gifts and seem to be doing well. They have baptisms and growth and evangelism. Wouldn’t it be better not to rock the boat? Wouldn’t it be better to have things stay “normal” and understandable from a human perspective?
Here would be my response to that, which I believe is in line with the Scriptures.
a. Obedience
First, as far as I can see, making space for these gifts is simply a matter of obedience. Think about some of the verses in this section: 12:31, “eagerly desire the greater gifts.” 14:1, “follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.” And then 14:39, “Be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.” Those are straight up commands, issued in a pretty general way. I could be wrong, but if you say to those commands, “no thanks, I’ll stick with what seems safe and normal and not desire anything more”, you are actually disobeying God’s instructions. I get it. It’s scary and it feels like we relinquish control if we start opening up to this stuff. But that doesn’t make it right or any less unfaithful when we resist what God wants to do. That other churches or believers disobey those instructions and yet are still used by God to proclaim the Gospel is a sign of His incredible mercy and willingness to work with broken human beings, rather than a model for us to follow.
b. Empowerment
Second, it’s true that these gifts are not the mission, but they empower the mission. Every Christian should want others to know Jesus. These gifts help open up those doors and break down walls so that the Gospel is able to be proclaimed more effectively. We’ve said again and again that the gifts of the Spirit are all about Jesus. In Acts 1:8, which could be said to be the theme verse of that whole book, Jesus says to the disciples: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We see it again and again in the book of Acts, that healing, prophecy, and the like open up doors and lead to many people hearing the Gospel and believing. That’s at least one reason why the Pentecostal denomination, a Christian movement that is open to these gifts, is the fastest growing religious movement in the world. It’s a reason why most revivals that have witnessed large numbers of new believers have also been characterized by supernatural signs like healing and prophecy. One of our brothers at The Bridge was telling me about his home church in his native country. Recently this church had a guest preacher. This preacher prophesied that there was someone there with a large tumor. My friend’s mother was standing right beside a friend of hers who, upon hearing this prophecy revealed a lemon-sized bump on her shoulder. She was prayed for, felt a sharp pain, the tumor shrank and disappeared right there. At the conclusion of the service, an invitation was given and 22 people prayed to receive Jesus in their lives. The gifts empower our witness about Jesus.
c. False dichotomy
Third, I want to point out again the false dichotomy we create when we separate gifts like giving and preaching and leadership from gifts like healing and prophecy and tongues. We do this because one set feels understandable and the other doesn’t. But Paul doesn’t separate them like that. Why do we? Why do some churches say, “these gifts we welcome” and “these other gifts don’t exist anymore”? “These gifts are great but those ones we feel uncomfortable with and kind of hope don’t pop up”? As far as I can tell, we’re not making those distinctions based on the Bible! Here’s a thought: what if we have actually settled for far too little in the gifts we do make room for and encourage? We think some gifts are supernatural and some aren’t quite as much, but what if they are all to be supernatural? What if the Spirit-empowered gift of giving should actually enable someone to give in a way that makes people proclaim, “wow, God is really at work in you!” What if the Spirit-given gift of leadership should equip someone to have the kind of wisdom and courage that would make people say, “I want to know what’s giving you that strength, because I know it’s not you!” What if a gift of preaching was exercised in a way that it wasn’t just, “hey that person is a great public speaker” but instead “there was something somehow different about that speaking that I just can’t explain”?
See, I think one of the issues we have is that so many Western churches have become so dependent on techniques and human abilities and clever marketing strategies that they have no need of dependence on the Holy Spirit. Take the Spirit away and many churches wouldn’t look much different. Here’s a quote I want to share with you:
“Miracles are the direct work of His power, and without miracles the Church cannot live. The carnal can argue, but it is the Spirit that convicts. Education can civilize, but it is being born of the Spirit that saves. The energy of the flesh can run bazaars, organize amusements, and raise millions; but it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes a Temple of the Living God. The root-trouble of the present distress is that the Church has more faith in the world and the flesh than in the Holy Ghost, and things will get no better till we get back to His realized presence and power.”
Samuel Chadwick
What do you think? Is that true? What if I told you that Samuel Chadwick wrote that in 1932, almost a hundred years ago? I think that’s still the issue today! Even in the gifts we do have, we rely way too much on the flesh and don’t really depend on the Spirit. The point again is that all the gifts should be supernatural and extraordinary and hard to explain in human terms!
d. Abuses across the board
Fourth, related to this, people shy away from or outright fear some of the more so-called “extraordinary gifts” because of potential misuses or abuses. They’ve seen how tongues, or prophecy, or healing, have been used to manipulate and tear down. They’ve experienced it themselves. But can’t any gift, even the most seemingly “normal” ones, be misused or abused? Can giving be abused? I mean, there’s never been a financial scandal involving charities in the history of the world, right? There’s certainly no story in the early church about a couple giving money away purely for the appearance of it and lying about the amount, right? Can teaching be abused? Again, there’s definitely no record of people using a charismatic gift to teach and speak to people in ways that lead them astray or build up a cult-like following for themselves, right? That’s never happened before! Excuse my sarcasm. My point is that it’s easy for any and every gift to be abused if the heart of the person exercising it is not right. Which means that if you’re going to throw out some gifts because of potential for abuse, be consistent and throw them all out.
e. Gardening
And fifth and related to that, there’s a thought regarding the potential messiness and divisiveness that can arise with these gifts. The Bible often uses agricultural metaphors in connection to our life in God. The fact is, gardening is pretty easy if the soil is barren and there’s no rain. Nothing grows, there’s no fruit, but you also don’t need to weed or prune or anything. It stays simple! Of course, anyone who gets into gardening doesn’t do it because it’s easy or simple. They do it for the harvest. They know that if there’s going to be growth and life, you’re going to deal with weeds and unruly shoots and plants going wild. We have a little plot in a community garden close to our home and last year we planted a couple of tomato plants that did well. The problem is, we’re not very good or attentive gardeners. These plants were growing everywhere in every direction, taking over the garden and making things look really haggard. Eventually we realized we needed to get some of those wire tomato cages to tie all these branches to. The point is, growth always creates issues. At The Bridge, we’ve seen some growth, and some weeks we’ve got parking problems. We’ve got problems with rooms that are too small for the amount of kids. Those might be great problems, but they’re real problems that need to be addressed. And you don’t address them by sending people away and telling them they’re not welcome anymore! Why would we do that with the gifts the Holy Spirit gives? “Hey gifts, you’re causing problems, just leave us alone!”
And that’s, again, what this whole section in 1 Corinthians 12-14 is about. There are issues that have arisen in Corinth regarding some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Instead of forbidding the use of these gifts, Paul goes to work gardening. He pulls out some weeds and establishes some structures that would enable growth to continue in the most fruitful way possible. We’ve been talking about some of those things the last couple of weeks, but in this last section he gets really pragmatic. He gets his fingers right into the dirt! Here’s the text we’re in today:
26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.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 to God. 29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 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. 33 For God is not a God of disorderbut of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people…39 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
1 Corinthians 14:26-33, 39-40
2. The instructions
In some ways, the practical instructions Paul gives to the Corinthians are pretty straightforward, but we’ll still try to unpack them a little bit.
Let’s start with the context. As I mentioned last week, the early church almost certainly met in homes. These were not palatial blueberry farm homes like the ones you see in Richmond, BC. These were homes in a cramped, high density Roman city. Even if they met in the more wealthy member’s homes, which is likely, you’re probably talking about 50ish people gathering in one spot. These services would have likely been less formal and scheduled than what we’re accustomed to. As one example, in one of my favorite stories from Acts, the believers in Troas gather together on a Sunday in someone’s home (Acts 20). Paul is the special guest speaker and he talks past midnight, causing a young man named Eutychus to fall asleep and topple off the third floor window ledge he’s resting on. He temporarily dies before Paul prays for him and he is revived. They return upstairs, eat together, and Paul keeps talking until morning! Read the room, Paul, people are literally dying here! Regardless, that story illustrates how gatherings were more free-flowing and spontaneous than in churches like The Bridge. Evidently, when the early church gathered, there was a lot of space given for various people to speak and contribute. In verse 26, Paul even assumes that everyone is going to have a hymn, a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. It would appear that not everything has been planned in advance and that there is an expectation that different people will contribute.
Within this context, Paul gives the Corinthians guidelines for two particular gifts: tongues, which is the gift that seems to be most misused in Corinth, and prophecy, which Paul thinks they should be desiring much more eagerly. When it comes to tongues, Paul teaches that two or at most three should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there’s no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet. This goes back to our sermon on tongues a couple of weeks ago. This gift, as it is manifested in Corinth, is Holy Spirit-enabled speech that is addressed to God but not understandable by other people, including the speaker themselves in many cases. Paul has written in places like 14:12 and 14:26 about how the goal when gathering together should be to edify, to build one another up. He’s also shown that the public misuse of the tongues gift can have the effect of driving seekers away before they’ve even been given the chance to respond to the Gospel. That’s why he says that tongues should only be exercised publicly in a worship gathering if there is an interpreter. As we said before, this gift of interpretation is the Spirit-empowered ability to understand the content of what is spoken in tongues and communicate that to others.
Notice from this, again, that when and where tongues are spoken is largely under the control of the one speaking. You are not in some kind of out of control trance. Paul also seems to rule out the chaotic, everyone-speaking-in-tongues that I have witnessed in some churches. Paul says that it should be one at a time, and that there probably isn’t a need in a gathering for more than a few people to speak in tongues (which will then be interpreted). This is the structure- the wire tomato basket cage- he provides that will enable this gift to edify others.
Then Paul turns to prophecy. There are similar instructions, but notice some differences. He says “if anyone speaks in a tongue”, but he says two or three prophets should speak. He really believes prophecy is one of the foremost ways the Spirit is going to encourage and build others up! That’s why he says in verse 39, “be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues”- you can hear a different tone for the two gifts! He also talks about prophets. Not just “anyone who speaks in a tongue”, but people who are actually identified as prophets. These are likely people who operate in this gift so often and so reliably that they are regularly given the space to share what God has laid on their hearts. You can see how once you’ve spent some time together as a community, you might start to realize that a certain person appears to be especially gifted in hearing God’s word for a particular situation or person.
However, Paul urges people to “weigh” what is said. Just because someone is deemed a prophet doesn’t mean you take everything they say without discernment. To the Thessalonians, Paul tells the church to “not quench the Holy Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” (1 Thess. 5:19-22) Test them. Discern them. How do you do that? Well, some big questions would include: is what is spoken consistent with the Bible? Is it consistent with God’s character? Does it ring true for those who have walked with the Lord and know Him well? Is Jesus glorified by what is spoken, or is this about the individual being exalted? If the answer is no to those questions, you can discard the prophecy. If it is yes, then you may need to heed it.
By the way, there’s also something to be said here about the word of prophecy and the word of interpretation. Those are two different things. Let’s say someone receives a vivid image of an earthquake but a church building stands firm. They want to share this with the church. They might also be tempted to interpret that image and say, “this means that there is going to be an earthquake soon, but if we’re in our church building, we’ll be safe.” That’s not the prophetic word. That’s their interpretation, and it may very well be a misinterpretation of the vision that they’ve received. Do you know what I mean? Distinguish between the Spirit-given word of prophecy and the human-derived interpretation and discern what is from the Lord. That’s what Paul is asking the church in Corinth to do, especially the leaders among them. If you want to dig into that more, there’s a whole chapter devoted to it in Sam Storms’ book Practicing the Power.
As with tongues, Paul encourages people to take turns with prophecy. You don’t need to have a bunch of voices shouting over each other. And as with tongues, “the spirits of prophets are subject to the control of the prophets”, meaning it’s within the control of the person who is given the word of prophecy when and how they share it. If one person is prophesying, and suddenly the Spirit gives another person a revelation of some kind that they need to share, the first person should stop and give way to the second. Those instructions make it clear that this is not about the individual who has the gift being given a platform, but about loving one another. And as with tongues, these instructions for prophecy provide the structure for this gift to have maximum edification.
3. The principles
Here’s the question that’s raised for me, though. Are the instructions Paul gives here meant to be prescriptive for all time? Is this exactly what our gatherings should be looking like as well? For example, should we ensure that two or three prophets speak each time we come together? The short answer is no. And here’s why.
The instructions Paul gives are tailored to a particular cultural situation where you have small groups of believers gathering in private homes in a fairly free-flowing set-up. But there was nothing biblically mandated about that exact situation. The early church kept to smaller groups because they met in homes and could only fit so many people. They met in homes because there were no other options. The Romans sure weren’t going to bless them and commission them to build cathedrals in the first century. The form of their gatherings was somewhat culturally constrained, indicating that the form is flexible depending on context. There’s nothing biblical or unbiblical about building a building where a few hundred people can meet, or about gathering for worship in a megachurch facility where thousands of people can meet, or about meeting in a living room with 15 people. Different forms and structures and set-ups have different advantages and different drawbacks. They can meet people in different ways. The Bible doesn’t mandate a size or schedule for worship gatherings.
In other words, the key when we come to passages like this is not to get hung up on the particular instructions that are clearly dependent on a cultural context. Instead, we are to understand the underlying principles that have given rise to those instructions, principles that apply no matter what the cultural context is.
There are three principles at work here as far as I can see. The first comes from verse 33: “God is not a God of disorder, but of peace”. This is true all the way back to Genesis. God creates the world not as a haphazard, chaotic place, but as a world governed by certain rules. This is what makes subjects like math and science possible, as much as I hated both of those subjects in school. I was a history and English and recess/gym guy, but I get that science and math are pretty crucial! In Genesis, God creates seasons. He creates environments where certain species will grow. All of this structure and order is the context necessary for life to thrive. You see this principle in the first books of the Bible where God gives the Israelites detailed instructions about how life is to be lived as His people. Those are instructions, again, meant to cultivate thriving and prosperity and peace.
The second principle comes from verse 40: “everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way”. What this says is that our worship of God should reflect His character. Whatever structure or form that worship takes in various cultures and eras, it should not contradict who He is. It should reflect His character of peace and order, whereas disorder does contradict His character. If you have 50 people or 300 people or 1000 people doing their own thing with no regard for one another, talking over each other, trying to draw attention to themselves, that just doesn’t fly! As my Oklahoman step-father might say- I don’t know if he does say this, I’ll have to check on that, but I can picture it- “that dog don’t hunt!”
I would add one more principle. Paul says in verse 26 that everything should be done to build up the church. Not only that, but I think there’s an underlying conviction in Paul’s instructions that if the church is the body of Christ, there’s going to be engagement from a wide variety of people. Every part is needed for the church to function as it should. That means that the consumeristic Western church model where a few people do the real work of ministry and everybody else receives it passively (and maybe begrudgingly gives a little bit of their money) is another dog that don’t hunt. The idea that you’ve got this one superstar Christian standing up front every week who serves as the sole voice and minister doesn’t jive with the biblical instructions. God, through the Spirit, has granted gifts to each believer in Jesus. Those gifts need to be activated and used to build up the body and make Jesus known in the world.
4. The application
All of that leads to the application of all of this to us at The Bridge. And I will say this right from the start: we have room to grow. I think that I, and we together, have tended to fall into some of the pitfalls of Western consumeristic church. I don’t think I have done a good enough job of creating space for others to use their gifts of teaching and preaching. In the last ten months, I have preached every Sunday except for three. I probably shouldn’t wear that as a badge of honor, but rather a sign that I need to equip others to share the load. I also believe there’s more we can do to create space for a variety of spiritual gifts to operate and build up the body.
On the one hand, there will naturally be limitations in how larger churches can do that. We’re not huge, but we’re also far from a house church. We’re simply not going to have half the church sharing words of instruction, which the 95% of you who are terrified of public speaking will be relieved to hear. We’re not going to have everyone making spontaneous song requests- which our worship team is relieved to hear. But there is a setting where that kind of thing can happen in the life of a church like ours, and it’s in smaller gatherings of believers. It’s in our community groups. It’s in gatherings of 5-15 people in homes. That may be the ideal space for people to give those words of instruction and revelation and songs and in the process, to build one another up. Even prophecy will sometimes, maybe even often times, be most effective in those smaller gatherings.
This is one reason why I am convinced of the importance of community groups. I promise you that you will grow more, you will be more encouraged, you will walk more closely with the Lord, when you are immersed in Christian community beyond Sunday morning. It’s crazy how so many Christians make even Sunday corporate worship an optional, occasional activity in their week. However, so many more never take the next step and get involved in a community group where real relationships can be formed! I encourage you, I urge you as you think about your schedule next fall, do whatever you can to be part of a community group. If you want to use your gifts to build others up, that is a great place to do it.
On the other hand, though, that doesn’t excuse the need to create space for spiritual gifts in our corporate Sunday worship. We already do to some extent, as people serve on the worship team, they teach Sunday school, they practice hospitality in welcoming people, they serve in prayer ministry, and so on. But what about a gift like prophecy? What about words of knowledge? This is where we want to grow. This is where we want to start making some changes. Our elders have been in extensive conversation about this. This is definitely a stretch for some of us. Some of us have never been in churches that talked about these gifts, never mind practiced them. There is an appropriate concern to guard against divisiveness or abuse of these gifts. But I am grateful that the leaders of our church want to move in the direction of allowing the Holy Spirit more freedom to work in our corporate worship.
We have been urged by the Holy Spirit, through God’s Word, to eagerly desire prophecy and to build up the church with this gift. If on a Sunday morning you have received some kind of revelation or word or testimony that needs to be shared with the church as a whole, I want to invite you to come to myself or one of our other elders or pastors. You might do that at various points in worship, but what we’re going to begin doing as elders and pastors is hanging out at the north end of the auditorium during the last song. We’re there to pray with you and we’re also there to discern with you what the Lord is saying to you. Often times we may ask to pray about what you have received over the coming week and then make space in the following week’s service. There may be times where there is an immediacy, or we agree that what God is giving you is for right now, in which case we will make space following the final song. There may be times when you’re invited to share, or perhaps one of the elders will share on your behalf. The point is, as elders and pastors, we want to practice that discernment that we’re instructed to exercise as a church.
Conclusion
That may sound overly restrictive or cautious to you and still a ways from what seems to have been the case in the early church! I don’t disagree! But this is a first step in that direction. We want to create space for the Holy Spirit to do what He wants to do. We want Him to lead us. We don’t want to rely on our own strength, because we know that won’t accomplish much. We want to be fully dependent on Him. We want to steer clear of the dangers of both quenching the Spirit as well as falling into disorder and divisiveness. We want the Lord to be front and centre in all that we do. So let’s eagerly desire the gifts, especially prophecy. Let’s be the body of Christ, fully alive and engaged in the mission He’s given us! Let’s use whatever gifts He’s given us with agape love! Let’s use them to make Jesus known in the world! Let us be vessels of His power and His glory! Amen!
