1 Corinthians 14

Background

Continuationism vs. Cessationism

V 1-5

Paul specifically talks about prophesying and tongues at this point in the letter

He is drawing the comparison on the purpose of each

Tongues when spoken are prayers to the Lord. They are the speaking of a language that is not understood by men but by God

This is why an interpreter is required. The gifts are meant for building up the body and therefore to build up the body, it must be interpreted

Prophecy on the other hand is directly edifying to the church as it is geared towards man

Prophecy is less of a fortune telling and more of revealing the heart of God towards his people

It is a word from the spirit that leads to a greater understanding of the heart of God

Must align with the heart and character of the Lord and must be tested

Prophecy of “once you pray and read your bible x amount of times, God will grant your prayer request” does not work

God does not answer our prayers as a result of works and it is incompatible with scripture

Paul draws on the supremacy of prophecy for the purpose of the gathered church

tongues is of value as it is a prayer language for the believer in this instance. That is why Paul says he wants them all to do so

But for the purpose of the gathered body, prophecy is more edifying as it is geared towards the congregation at hand

Illustration: Spiritually eating together

While there are spiritual benefits to it, doing so in the middle of the church gathering would be more distracting than beneficial

V 6-19

If one is to speak in the language of tongues it is a prayer language

Therefore there must be someone to interpret these tongues as to edify it

Paul actually concludes this section saying that he himself prays in tongues more than any of them do

The value of the intimate prayer language of tongues is not being debated here, but rather structure is being placed so that the congregation may exercise it correctly

Tongues were used to speak to the congregation as a whole

However, without an interpretation this was chaotic to witness

Paul will get into it in the next section, but there is a structure to which worship in the congregational sense should follow in order that it may be partaken in by the body

Illustration: Hebrew of Genesis 1:1

if i don’t tell you what this means, there is no benefit of it

Application: tongues are primarily a prayer language that can be

V 20-25

Paul concludes his argument on the difference between these two encouraging the congregation to think about their witness.

Tongues are for outsiders

speaking in different languages that have never been studied before

Acts 2

Prophecy is used for the edification of the church

It is able to be understood by those who don’t know the lord and those who do

therefore, when used, it will build up the body as a whole being

Conclusion: Our God is a God of organized Miracles

He does not contradict himself.

When life experience does not necessarily line up immediately with scripture might we take heart in the idea that God is organized

He will not go against what he has said. For this is pure chaos.