Clear Communication
Notes
Transcript
In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
This past year we have struggled with clear communication with these stupid masks
Shop buying some meat - man standing behind the food counter in a noisy shop, wearing a mask behind a plastic barrier
When we communicate to one another, clear communication is important
Paul addresses the confusion and deterrent that misapplied tongues can be in the church in the first half of this chapter, now he seeks to teach some doctrine and reasons why tongues should not be elevated in the church.
The Clear Doctrine of Tongues
The Clear Doctrine of Tongues
In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
Paul here quotes a reference from Isaiah 28.
Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, Which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
Isaiah is giving warning to the children of Israel
Through pride and your own lustful desires for alcohol you are destroying yourselves!
Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, Which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, As a flood of mighty waters overflowing, Shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
God is going to humble you and bring judgment upon your sinfulness!
His mercy has come to an end and judgment is coming!
The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, Shall be trodden under feet: And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, And as the hasty fruit before the summer; Which when he that looketh upon it seeth, While it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, And for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, And for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
Your pride and drunkenness is going to destroy you, and on that day people will yearn to have the Lord of hosts help.
Suddenly the Lord of hosts help will be desired and wanted as judgment is pronounced on your magistrates, and your rulers
You’ll want the Lord of hosts help when those defending the gates struggle to keep the gates closed to the armies breaching through the city
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, They are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, So that there is no place clean.
You are so drunk that even your spiritual leaders are covered in their own vomit
Coming to the office and my desk is covered with vomit - nevermind the mess and foul smell - that was from last night
Pub - 100 problems and beer solves 99 of them
Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, And drawn from the breasts.
Who do you think you are teaching us?!
We know all this already?!
This is what we teach to babies!
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; Line upon line, line upon line; Here a little, and there a little:
Isaiah said the Lord tried to teach you simply, clearly, lovingly, truthfully, and practically through the simplicity of Scripture
They rejected and scoffed at God’s clear communication
Here’s where 1 Cor 14:21 comes in:
For with stammering lips and another tongue Will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; And this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Stammering - speaks of a foreign jabbering
They hear sounds that make no sense to them and tongues (languages) that they do not know or understand
These tongues is a pronouncement of judgment upon the unbelief of the Jews and was meant to humble them so they would come back to the simplicity of God’s Word as seen in:
But the word of the Lord was unto them Precept upon precept, precept upon precept; Line upon line, line upon line; Here a little, and there a little; That they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, And snared, and taken.
God’s Word in which you ridiculed is going to be the very thing that will humble you in judgment
Judah and Jerusalem was following Israel’s destruction, and the warning was for all Jews!
Now, let’s go to the context of when tongues is mentioned in the NT
The disciples were in Jerusalem - in the very city that crucified Jesus Christ
The Jews rejected the Word of God, Jesus, and led the city to reject Him
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
God in His mercy, was given the sign of coming judgment - this judgment was heard, and people repented and trusted in salvation in the Jesus Whom they crucified
This was a warning of God’s judgment!
The church was not going to people apart from the Jewish people with the Gospel
Peter was shown a vision of eating things unclean as God sent men from a Gentile man named Cornelius to learn how to get saved
While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
God used the tongues here to once again demonstrate to the Jews that judgment was coming if they didn’t heed God’s Word
Peter had to even tell the Jews about this in Acts 11 as they questioned why he went to the Gentiles in the first place
And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
Paul meets some disciples, all Jews, that followed John the Baptist near Ephesus that did not believe in Jesus as the Saviour
They got saved
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
The basis of tongues is for judgment upon those that do not believe! Warning them of what is to come!
This is the primary message of tongues - judgment upon the Jews!
The secondary message is fulfillment of prophesy in the OT regarding the establishment of NT Christianity:
And it shall come to pass afterward, That I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids In those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, Blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, Before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, As the Lord hath said, And in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
The New Testament has no more to say about tongues. As the church became increasingly Gentile, and as the Jewish nation settled down into a persistent rejection of both Christ and the Holy Spirit and became active in persecuting the church and maligning its apostles and prophets, so the clay of Jewish unbelief hardened. Tongues became increasingly irrelevant. Judgment now could not long be delayed. Most of the Epistles ignore tongues altogether. At Corinth, the “tongues” thing was “much ado about nothing.” Tongues were a sign, a judgment sign, a judgment sign to the Jew, a judgment sign to the unbelieving Jew. And that was it.
The Clear Doctrine of Prophesy
The Clear Doctrine of Prophesy
Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
Prophesy was for the believers as God finished giving the canon (or the whole) of Scripture; believers would be edified (built) in Christ and grow in their relationship with God
Prophesy was to help the believers grow.
There are truths about the Christian life that don’t make sense to the world
They like the results, but it doesn’t make sense to them
However, when one gets saved, the Holy Spirit gives us a hunger and thirst to grow in our relationship with God
Taste and see that the Lord is good - Once one tastes of the goodness of God, it is natural to desire to know Him more
The Clear Practise of Doctrine
The Clear Practise of Doctrine
If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
The church comes together and everyone speaks in a different language?
Unsaved person walks in, and sees the commotion?
Mad!
The chaos and inability to know what is going on
Taking what God meant for judgment to those rejecting Him and His Word and trying and practising it in a church of believers - Misapplication of spiritual gift!
But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
If the church is teaching truths of Scripture, and an unbeliever comes in something else may happen. The Holy Spirit can begin to convince him of truth, convict his heart of sin, he realises he needs a Saviour, gets saved, and then testifies that what you taught in truth is, indeed, truth
This is the power of the Word of God!
Paul knows that the testimony of the church worshipping in an organised manner is vitally important to the believers and unbelievers as well. A Godly testimony opens the door to show others the Gospel, and enables the children of God to grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.