Intro
So it is Father’s Day, and in my advanced years, including 8 as a father, I’ve made some observations. I’ve noticed that air used to be free at gas stations, but now it’s about a dollar. Do you know why? Because of inflation. When I was younger, I used to hate facial hair, but then it grew on me. Have you realized sprinters never eat before a race? It’s because they fast. The other day I saw an elderly man fall down a well, because he couldn’t see that well. I love golfing, and I’ve learned that whenever I go, I should take an extra pair of socks, in case I get a hole in one. I love Saturdays and Sundays because they are by far the strongest days. All the other ones are weekdays. Ok, I’m done!
Now let’s talk about spiritual gifts. See, that’s what you’ve got to do: make people cringe and groan at an onslaught of dad jokes and then give them sweet relief with something that actually has substance! Recap from last week: Paul writes this whole section in 1 Corinthians 12-14, it seems, because the Corinthian believers have become so enamoured with one particular gift. That gift is the gift of speaking in tongues, and the Corinthians had exalted it as the definitive spiritual gift. Paul writes chapters 12 and 13 to set up some key principles and ideas. For example, that gifts are for the common good, the church is the body of Christ, and agape love is our way of interacting with one another. Then he applies all of that to the topic of tongues in 1 Cornithians 14:1-19, which is where we were last week. He looks at this gift- a good gift that accomplishes good purposes in the right setting- and asks how it compares to a gift like prophecy in the gathered church. Paul’s conclusion is that for the purposes of the church, when believers are together, he would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in tongues (14:19). Paul says the crucial thing is that we seek to build one another up and the church as a whole.
What we’re looking at today is 14:20-25, and Paul’s focus shifts here a bit. In the previous section, it was all about how these gifts play out in our relationships with other believers. In this section, he looks at how they play out in relationships with people who are not yet believers. What is the impact of these gifts when someone new walks into a worship service of some sort? Here’s what he says:
20 Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 21 In the Law it is written: “With other 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; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secretsof their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
1 Corinthians 14:20-25
1. 14:20- Grow up
Because this is a shorter text, we’re just going to take this piece by piece. Paul leads off this little section by admonishing the Corinthians to stop thinking like children. He tells them to grow up already! This is ironic in Corinth because the Corinthian Christians believe they are grown up. The Corinthians believe they are really spiritual. And this is manifested in all kinds of strange ways, not just through their apparent obsession with this gift of tongues. It seems there are married women who believe that to be spiritual means to abstain from sex in their marriage for the rest of their lives, because they think that sex is inherently unspiritual (1 Corinthians 7). You’ve got people in the church who are denying a physical resurrection, denying that our destiny as believers is new physical bodies (1 Corinthians 15). Why? Because it seems more spiritual, more grown up, to believe that we’ll escape the physical and the bodily altogether and live up above the clouds somewhere. They think they’ve grown up in these areas. They think that they have surpassed Paul. But Paul doesn’t agree. He thinks the opposite has taken place. He writes this in 1 Corinthians 3:1:
“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly- mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.”
1 Corinthians 3:1
Paul goes on to write that if there is jealousy and quarrelling and division among them, they clearly haven’t grown up. Spiritual maturity is defined by character, not by pursuing some disembodied mysticism or by doing yoga or eating vegan. So he tells them that they’re actually infants, and he says it again here in chapter 14. Stop thinking like children when it comes to spiritual gifts, because that’s what you have been doing. Be as innocent as children in regards to sin and evil, have pure hearts like children, have faith like children. But grow up in your thinking, including about speaking in tongues!
You’ve probably all heard kids explain how things work in the world from their perspective. It can be ridiculously cute and adorable. I remember one of our kids was scared of death. You know why? Because of all the dirt that would get into their eyes. Or think about how young kids respond when you ask them how babies are made. I watched a video where one kid says babies come from hospitals and cost $10. Another says that a man and a woman kiss at weddings and the man gives the woman something to help her hatch her baby. Another says a mommy eats a special seed. All of this is cute when a kid is a kid. But if a fully grown adult’s biggest fear about death is that dirt will get in their eyes, or thinks babies come from outer space, that’s not cute anymore. That person needs to grow up! They need to figure some stuff out!
This is a general word Paul gives to the Corinthians and to us. Don’t get stuck as a believer. I can’t repeat this enough. Too many Christians reach a certain point and they just stop growing. They stop striving for more Christlikeness. They become complacent and apathetic. Their growth is stunted. You know, it’s cute that our five year old can now read some basic words. If he’s still only reading basic words in Grade 4, I’m going to be concerned. But that’s like a lot of Christians who know the bare bones basics and said, I’m good now. I’m satisfied. Can I tell you something? You will not run out of room for growth. You will not reach a point where you can just coast. Your potential for deeper understanding of who God is and your conformity to His character will not be maxed out in this life. And there are others who not only grow complacent, but they actually regress. They go backwards, they adopt the thinking of the world instead of God’s Word and become spiritual Benjamin Buttons, growing in the direction of immaturity. Grow up. And keep growing up.
2. 14:21-22- The Isaiah Quote
However, this is not just a general word from Paul. And it’s not even a word specifically for the issue of spiritual gifts. The word sets up something Paul wants to say about the gift of tongues in particular. It connects what he is saying with something the prophet Isaiah had said many years before. Here’s the citation Paul gives in v.21.
“With other tongues
1 Corinthians 14:21
and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
but even then they will not listen to me,
says the Lord.”
I want to take you deeper into the context of Isaiah, because this is really cool and has everything to do with what Paul does with the quote and what it has to do with tongues, prophecy, and evangelism. In Isaiah 28, Isaiah is speaking to the leaders of the people of Israel. He says that they are full of themselves and are about to be cast down, trampled like a beautiful flower. The leaders of Israel stagger and reel from alcohol, they’re intoxicated when they make decisions, all their tables are covered with vomit and there is not one spot without filth. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. It’s a pretty clear message, right? They’ve disobeyed God, they have grown full of themselves, and so judgment is coming. But this message isn’t sophisticated enough for these Israelites. Here’s their response:
“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: do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that, a little here, a little there.”
Isaiah 28:9-10
Israel’s response is to mock Isaiah. Who does he think we are? Children? We are grown ups! He’s talking below us. He’s talking gibberish! The last part of that text goes like this in Hebrew: “sav lasav sav lasav, kav lakav kav lakav.” The reason it’s a footnote in many Bibles is because the translation is uncertain, which is because there probably is no translation. They are meaningless sounds strung together, imitating baby talk. Coochy coochy coo! What does that even mean? If someone starts talking to you like that, you want to smack them! That’s what the Israelites are saying Isaiah’s prophecies are like. They’re insulting! They’re condescending! They’re not children! And so they reject the message.
And what does God do about that? That’s where we get verse 11, and I want to read the whole thing for you from Isaiah:
“Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, ‘this is my resting place, let the weary rest’; and ‘this is the place of repose’- but they would not listen. So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there- so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured.”
Isaiah 28:11-13
Here’s what is being said: God had told Israel that they were to be a people who gave rest and peace to the weary. They were to be a people of healing. This was the glorious calling that Israel was given, if only they would be obedient to God. But they didn’t listen. They rejected God, exalted themselves, indulged in selfish desires, and now have dismissed his word as condescending gibberish. So God says that because they have rejected His clear word, He now is going to speak to them in foreign lips and strange tongues. The same thing they accused Isaiah of- the childish gibberish, kav lakav and that whole deal- will really come to pass. In the context of Isaiah, those foreign lips and strange tongues are going to take the form of rampaging Assyrian soldiers. Those forces will sweep into Israel in the early 8th century BC, destroy their cities, and haul God’s people off into exile. Those strange tongues- the languages of the Assyrians- will be the sign of God’s judgment on those who had rejected His message.
Are you still with me? That context helps explain what Paul says in verse 22: tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. The question here is what a “sign” is? I’ll tell you this: when I was younger, I didn’t want to believe that my dad was stealing from his job as a traffic cop, but when I got home, all the signs were there. I’m sorry, that’s the last dad joke, I promise! Biblically speaking, a “sign” is an indication of God’s attitude, whether positive or negative. Looking back at Isaiah 28, what do the foreign languages indicate about God’s attitude towards the Israelites? Obviously, it indicates something negative! It’s an indication of judgment! Israel has rejected the clear and repeated calls to repentance. The strange tongues confirm that they are now opposed to God. In that way, tongues are a sign for unbelievers. Prophecy, on the other hand, represents a comprehensible, clear word from God, which is a sign of God’s favor among a people. In Isaiah, God speaks clear words, Israel rejects them and fall far out of favor, and so judgment comes in the form of unclear words.
3. 14:23- Application to Tongues
With that in mind, listen again to what Paul writes in verse 23:
23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?
1 Corinthians 14:23
First off, this one verse gives us a lot of insight into what the early church was like. Paul imagines “if the whole church comes together.” In the first century, there were no church buildings. Church gatherings primarily took place in homes, which could probably fit 25 – 50 people. But it’s quite possible that occasionally all the believers in a city could meet together, maybe in some public space outdoors, as Paul indicates here. Paul imagines that everyone in this gathering is speaking in tongues. In the verse after, he’ll imagine that everyone is prophesying. It seems likely from this that there was space given in early church gatherings for “inspired speech” from a variety of people. More on that next week. And finally, Paul imagines an “inquirer” or “unbeliever” entering in. Which means that these gatherings had an evangelistic element to them as well. They were accessible to outsiders and nonbelievers.
And that’s the really crucial point that Paul makes. You’re going to have people who have not yet heard the Gospel, or who are very new to this, joining your gatherings. Obviously, that’s still the case today. It gives us so much joy when people participate in The Bridge and they are exploring this whole Christian faith thing. They are joining in because they are interested and they want to know more. We love that. We want that. That’s a significant aspect of what we do here as a church, and it was clearly a significant aspect for the early church too. We gather not just to build up other believers, but to bear witness to the glory of Jesus to those who don’t yet know him. Now think about what effect the exercise of spiritual gifts has on those people. Think about what it’s like for someone to come into a church service for the first time and to hear people speaking in what sounds to them like incomprehensible babbling.
By quoting Isaiah, Paul implies that those inquirers, those seekers, are put in the exact same situation as Israel’s leaders in Isaiah 28. They hear strange languages, they respond, “those people are out of their minds, they’re crazy”, and they walk away. They never return. You can see that, right? How people might hear tongues, get freaked out and write the whole thing off before they’ve even heard the Gospel? As in Isaiah 28, the strange tongues become a sign of judgment, because it establishes people’s separation from God. The problem with this is that these inquirers are not equivalent to Israel’s leaders. That’s the key point, so I’ll say it again: these inquirers are not equivalent to Israel’s leaders. They haven’t rejected clear words delivered to them time and time again. They never even received an opportunity to respond to the Gospel. Despite this, they were faced with sign of judgment the moment they entered, and so souls are lost. Paul declares that this is so incredibly inappropriate. This is unspeakably tragic. It’s a bit of a different context, but Jesus says if anyone causes a young believer to go astray, it would be better to have a millstone tied around their necks and thrown into the sea (Matthew 18:6). The trust of vulnerable souls is sacred, it is weighty, it must be undertaken with great care. And in Corinth, their approach to tongues is driving would-be believers away as if they were hardened insiders who had been granted a million chances. That’s a result of the inappropriate use of the gift of tongues in the gathered assembly.
4. 14:24-25: Application to Prophecy
But Paul says the matter is very different when it comes to prophecy:
24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
1 Corinthians 14:24-25
Paul pictures everyone in the church prophesying. I know we’ve mentioned this a few times in this series, but you might still be wondering what that even means. Here’s another version of the definition we’ve been using: prophecy is a human report of a divine revelation. It is not simply a prediction about the future, though it may involve that. It is a revelation from God about something a human wouldn’t otherwise know. It can come about through dreams, through visions, through a voice in your head, among other avenues. However it happens, it is an impression given to you that you can’t otherwise explain. Here are a bunch of examples of this gift.
First, a couple of biblical examples. In John 4, Jesus meets a woman at a well in Samaria. Jesus tells her to go retrieve her husband. She says she doesn’t have a husband. Jesus replies by saying “you are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband.” (4:17-18) On one level, of course, it’s Jesus. But the woman’s response is telling. She says, “I can see that you are a prophet.” (4:19) She knows there’s no way he could know these details about her, a random Samaritan woman. Another: in Acts 11:28, a man named Agabus stands up and announces that a severe famine would soon spread over the entire Roman world. That is exactly what ended up happening. How could Agabus know that except by divine revelation?
Some more stories: a pastor friend of mine says that he has this gift of prophecy. About 11 years ago, he was attending a conference in a large church. He heard God speak to him very clearly that one day that he would be the lead pastor of this church, which he had no connection with otherwise. One year ago, he was called as the lead pastor of that church. It gets crazier, though it doesn’t directly involve my friend. On the exact same day 11 years ago, another man heard a clear voice within him telling him that he would one day become the executive pastor of this same church. And, of course, he is now in that exact position!
Sam Storms writes about something that happened in his church in his book Practicing the Power. One of his elders, with Sam’s approval, told the congregation that the Lord had revealed something to him. There was a person present, he said, who had visited a doctor ten days ago, had been given a poor prognosis, and that the initials SJ had some connection with this doctor. He also had heard from the Lord that this person had a son with asthma. That’s pretty specific! And from numerous sources, Sam was able to later confirm there was no way this elder could have known this by natural means. As it turned out, there was a woman there who exactly matched that description. She hadn’t attended the church in months because of her health issues, and before that she had always attended the later service. She had never in her life attended this earlier service, and yet had a strong sense that morning that she was to come early. She met the elder after the service, who then prayed for her. By the time she arrived at her car, the pain was gone, she was healed, and so was her son.
A woman here in our church told me recently about a word she received from God shortly after beginning attending The Bridge. She hadn’t shared it at the time, being brand new and unsure what to do with it. However, in general, the word she received connected closely with what our church was experiencing at that time in ways that a newcomer probably couldn’t have known otherwise.
One more story. John Wimber, in his book Power Evangelism, wrote about flying on a plane and looking across the aisle at the man seated there. To his surprise, Wimber sees the word “adultery” on his forehead as if it was tattooed there. Wimber turned away. There’s no way he really saw that, right? Then he looks again, and there it was, like a flashing sign, the word adultery on the man’s forehead. And then he hears a name in his mind. One name spoken clearly, though not audibly. So Wimber leans over to the man and says “does the name ____ mean anything to you?” The man looks at Wimber with shock and horror. Because his wife was sitting in the seat next to him, he asks Wimber to go to a different part of the plane to talk further. He then confesses that he had been having an affair with a woman with the name Wimber had mentioned. Wimber uses that as an opportunity to tell this man about Jesus, who had died to forgive the man for sins like this and to restore him. The man, understandably amazed at all of this, gives his life to Jesus right then and there. He then asks Wimber when he should confess it to his wife, and Wimber goes “now would be a good idea”. So the man, weeping, confesses his adultery to his wife there in Wimber’s presence, explains what has happened, and the wife gives her life to Jesus too! Can you imagine? Craziest plane ride ever!
In all of those stories, someone received a communication from God, whether through an image or an internal voice of some kind. In all of them, something was revealed that could not have otherwise been known. In all of them, people who heard the prophecy were encouraged or drawn near to God in some way. And in a couple of those instances- thinking especially of John 4 and the John Wimber airplane story- people’s sins were revealed, leading to their repentance, faith, and salvation.
That seems to especially be what Paul writes about in verses 24 and 25. He writes about conviction of sin and the secrets of the heart being laid bare. This doesn’t sound pleasant at first. We humans tend to go to great lengths to try to cover things up. This goes all the way back to Genesis 3. Adam and Eve sin, they reject God’s clear commands, they listen to the serpent, they take of the fruit, and what do they do? They recognize their nakedness and make coverings for themselves out of fig leaves. And then they hide from God. They try to cover up what has taken place. That’s what humans do. We sin, we are filled with shame, and we hide. And as long as things remain in the dark, they’re not dealt with. Paul says in Ephesians 5, “live as children of light… have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them… everything exposed by the light becomes visible- and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” (Ephesians 5:8-13)
In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul speaks about this illumination. He imagines a situation where an inquirer enters a worship gathering and somebody identifies some sin, some darkness, some uncovered thing in their life. The result is that the person is brought to repentance and faith. The person experiences the presence of God and they proclaim “God is really among you!” How could they not?
I want you to imagine yourself in this situation. You enter a church service. Some sin or darkness has plagued you for a long time, maybe even your whole life. You are weighed down and discouraged, and you’re giving church a chance. Maybe you’re so deep in the darkness that this is your one last dying gasp at air. And then someone who you’ve never met before approaches you and says that they think God has spoken to them about you. They name that sin, or that event, or whatever it is. Would you not be overcome by the holiness of God in that moment? Wouldn’t many of your doubts disappear? Wouldn’t you be much more likely to trust in Christ than you were before? Would you not come into the light and be transformed?
This is exactly why Paul writes in 14:1, “follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.” It’s why he says in 12:31, “now eagerly desire the greater gifts”. Prophecy is a powerful gift, given by God, to bring people near to Him. In the gathered church, this gift has unique ability to accomplish in a moment what would otherwise take years. Tongues may drive a seeker away. Prophecy will cause them to fall down and say, “God is surely here!” So desire prophecy. Ask for the gift. Grow in your sensitivity to the Spirit’s voice and remove any barriers in your life to that sensitivity. Here’s Sam Storms’ advice: pray for it daily. Learn from others who are already operating in this gift. Immerse yourself in God’s Word so you know if it’s really Him who’s speaking. Test it with others. But above all, step out in faith. Exercise the gift.
Conclusion
Last week, I concluded by emphasizing the theme of building up the church. Paul applies these two gifts to the need to encourage and edify others and says that prophecy is uniquely able to do this. This week, I want to conclude by emphasizing the theme of evangelism.
The church is not a social club. We don’t come here just to see some friends and have a good time and endure some long talk together. The church has a mission. The church has a responsibility. We have been saved and redeemed and called not just for our sake but for the sake of the world. Our mission is to make disciples. It is to share the good news of the Gospel with others. We believe Jesus loves us so much he gave his life for us and we want to tell the world about this.
I don’t need to tell you that our world desperately needs this. Look around. Look at the anxiety. Look at the depression. Look at the hopelessness. Look at the addiction. Look at the broken relationships. And as the world seems to come apart at the seems, many people are not looking to Jesus. This is just one indication, but I heard the lead researcher for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada say that in the last two years (the years of the pandemic) we have seen 20 years worth of decline in church engagement. Again, it’s been declining for 80 years, but the last two years have seen a massive acceleration of that trend. Even as far back as 2011, studies show that the largest religious group in Canada are the “nones” who claim no religious affiliation whatsoever.
The picture may be a bit different at churches like The Bridge, where we have actually seen growth in the last two years. But that makes the task for churches like ours even more urgent. The world needs to know there is an answer. There is hope. There is life. And His name is Jesus! And Jesus has given us, his church, gifts to make him known. So seek the gifts. Passionately desire them! Use what God has given you to make him known. Use them to bear witness to others. Whether it’s prophecy, or healing, or teaching, or giving, or mercy, or leadership, use your Spirit-given gifts to share the good news with a world that is dying to hear it.
