To Avoid Confusion (part3) - 14:36-40

In Ch. 13 we saw the priority of Spiritual gifts, love. Paul also noted that the gifts prioritized by the Corinthian believers were gifts that would cease.

Here in Ch. 14. Paul’s point has been the practice of Spiritual gifts.

As we use our spiritual gifts, we want to communicate, convict, and be clear.

Today we are going to finish chapter 14.

Our title is “to avoid confusion.”

This comes from v. 33 “For God is not the author of confusion.”

As we noted last week

When tongues are practiced improperly, there is confusion.

When prophets speak improperly and out of turn, there is confusion.

When men and women reject the role and place God has given to them, there is confusion.

Principle:

The best solution to confusion is focus and clarity.

Guidance:

To avoid confusion we are given three priorities.

Outcome:

Lives are changed when communication is clear.

To avoid confusion we are given three priorities.

Priority #1…

1. Maintain Proper Order vv. 26-33

We talked about this just over a month ago.

Last week we saw

Priority #2…

2. Maintain Proper Roles vv. 34-35

Understanding is needed to maintain proper roles.

What do we need to understand?

First we must…

a. Understand the roles v. 34

Men and women have different roles and functions because that’s what God has given them.

We are going to be most fulfilled and satisfied in Christ when we function within our God-given role.

Embracing your God-given role is about obedience to Christ.

We place ourselves under His authority and function as He has directed.

Only when we do this can we have internal peace, joy, and fulfillment.

This is not an easy thing to do.

It is, however, a necessary thing.

Understanding is needed to maintain proper roles.

What do we need to understand?

First we must: Understand the roles.

Second we must…

b. Understand the responsibility v. 35

I am responsible for my own obedience.

You are not responsible for anyone else.

Don’t try to be.

Stay in the role God has given to you and trust Him.

To avoid confusion we are given three priorities.

Priority #1: Maintain Proper Order.

Priority #2: Maintain Proper Roles.

Priority #3…

3. Maintain Proper Humility vv. 36-40

There is an Old Testament story that has always frustrated me.

Today we are going to look at it together.

Go with me to Numbers 20:7-13.

Numbers 20:7-13

Here’s why this story has frustrated me.

Moses had led the nation of Israel faithfully for years!

He has one little mistake and God refuses to let him into the promised land!

That’s not fair!

That’s how I felt at one time.

The problem is, I didn’t understand the issue.

Notice what Moses says.

Must we get you water.

We.

Moses had no part nor ability to provide water for Israel. It was all of God.

The issue was not just that Moses struck the rock.

The issue was that Moses was taking credit for what God was going to do!

Isaiah 42:8

Isaiah 42:8 NKJV

8 I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

God absolutely will not share His glory.

This has a specific and important meaning when it comes to the use of Spiritual gifts.

We must be humble.

How do we maintain proper humility?

We fulfill two requirements.

Requirement #1…

a. Establish authority vv. 36-38

A big part of humility is submitting ourselves to authority.

The question we have to ask is, “who is our authority?”

This is Paul’s point in v. 36.

1 Corinthians 14:36 NKJV

36 Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached?

Vv. 34-35 that we looked at last week are parenthetical.

Here in v. 36, Paul returns to the idea presented in v. 33.

God is not the author of confusion!

He is the author of peace in all the churches.

That phrase, “in all the churches” is what Paul refers back to here.

The idea is this.

All the other churches observe what Paul is saying, only the Corinthian church doesn’t.

So we have two options.

The Corinthians are wrong.

Or.

Everyone else is wrong.

If everyone else is wrong, the Corinthians must have a different Word of God!

This is a question of authority.

The tongues speaker and the prophet are not the authority for the local church.

The Word of God is.

Go with me to 2 Peter 1:19-21.

2 Peter 1:19-21

This first line is better translated, “We also have a more sure prophetic word.”

Peter has just been talking about what He, James, and John saw on the mount of transfiguration.

His statement here declares that the Word of God is more reliable than any experience!

To the Word of God we take heed!

Why?

Because it didn’t come from any one person or any group.

The Word of God was given by God to men through the Holy Spirit!

This is our authority.

We are not our own authority.

Paul is reminding the Corinthians that we must submit ourselves to the Word of God.

God’s Word did not come from us and it is not ours alone.

The Corinthian church has been facing division. There is division still today.

Where does some of this division come from?

When we come up with our own interpretation of Scripture instead of submitting ourselves to the Lord.

What Paul has written came from God, not from the Corinthians. He revealed it to Paul, not them.

This order in church meetings was being observed by other churches.

v. 37

1 Corinthians 14:37 NKJV

37 If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.

In a nutshell.

If someone claims to be a prophet or a spiritually mature person, they will agree with what Paul has written.

Why? Because…

These things come from God.

This is not Paul’s opinion or idea, this is the inspired Word of God!

This is a test of whether or not someone is truly mature, truly someone gifted by God to speak to His Church.

Does the person in question submit themselves to the Word of God?

Are they under the authority of God’s Word?

Those in the Corinthian church were not.

They were rejecting what Paul had taught, what other churches practiced, and what the Word of God had revealed.

Here’s the bottom line.

You cannot deny God’s Word and be a mature believer.

God’s Word is our authority.

God’s Word is clear about how we are to use our spiritual gifts.

God’s Word is clear about our roles as men and women.

If we reject what God has revealed in His Word, if we do not humble ourselves and submit to the authority of Scripture, we are immature.

Repeat

v. 38

1 Corinthians 14:38 NKJV

38 But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.

Ignorant – ἀγνοέω (agnoeō) be ignorant; not to know. to disregard v. — to refuse to acknowledge. Finite verb, present, active, indicative, third person, singular.

Ignorant – ἀγνοέω (agnoeō)

This word appears twice in this one verse.

The only difference between the two usages is that the first time it is indicative, the second time it is imperative.

Basically this means that the first use of ignorant is descriptive, the second use is a command.

After looking at the Greek here, I would suggest the following interpretation.

But if anyone disregards Scripture, let them be disregarded.

Failure to acknowledge that what Paul has written comes from God will lead to that person not being confirmed or acknowledge as a prophet or a spiritually mature person.

Basically.

If you disregard Scripture, you are disregarded.

People cannot be our authority.

Teachers, no matter how eloquent or persuasive, cannot be our authority.

The Holy, God-breathed, Scriptures, the Word of God, that alone is our authority.

The point Paul is making here is that when it comes to the use of Spiritual gifts, we submit ourselves to God and His Word.

He alone determines when and how our gifts are to be used.

Any violation of what God has revealed in His Word marks an illegitimate use of Spiritual gifts.

Humility means that we use our gifts at God’s direction and for His purpose.

Repeat - read aloud

Is this how we are using our gifts?

If we are going to avoid confusion, we use our gifts how God has commanded.

This requires that we maintain proper humility.

How do we maintain proper humility?

We fulfill two requirements.

Requirement #1: Establish authority.

Requirement #2…

b. Establish boundaries vv. 39-40

1 Corinthians 14:39 NKJV

39 Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.

When Paul says to “desire earnestly to prophesy” it is a command.

In v. 5 he said that it was better to prophesy than to speak in tongues.

In vv. 24-25 Paul declares that prophesy brings conviction to unbelievers and praise to God.

For those reasons and more, Paul commands the Corinthians to strive for and desire prophesy.

Prophesy, the proclamation and explanation of the Word of God, is what builds up the body of Christ.

“Do not forbid” is also a command.

Desire prophesy. Don’t forbid speaking in tongues.

The way this is worded almost seems to imply that some in the Corinthian church wanted to ban prophecy and tongues completely because of the division caused by pursuing them.

Paul commands them to desire prophesy and not to forbid speaking in tongues.

Those are boundaries we do not cross.

At the time Paul wrote this to the Corinthians, prophets were still receiving direct revelation from God and others were being given the supernatural ability to speak in languages they had never studied.

Because these were gifts given by the Holy Spirit for that time, it would be dangerous and sinful to completely forbid their use.

For us today it must be recognized that those gifts have ceased as made clear by 1 Corinthians 13.

While God can still give the supernatural ability to speak in languages and He can reveal things to people as He wills, those miracles are different than the gifts described here.

The boundaries laid out in God’s Word must be recognized and honored.

Gifts that have ceased, have ceased.

However, the cessation of those gifts in no way limits God’s ability to do whatever He wants!

God always has been and always will be in the business of the miraculous!

We do not place limitations on God, however, we do recognize the limits He has placed on Himself.

He does not give the gifts of prophecy and tongues as He once did.

God has placed boundaries on these gifts.

We recognize and submit to those boundaries.

Having explained everything about spiritual gifts and how they are to be used, Paul gives his blessing on prophesy and speaking in tongues.

However, there is one more boundary.

Look at v. 40.

1 Corinthians 14:40 NKJV

40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

Several things to unpack here.

First, the word “let.”

This is a middle or passive imperative.

Here’s what that means.

Paul is commanding the Corinthians to make sure that everything done by them or by others in the Church are done decently and in order.

This is not optional for the church.

The second important point here is “all things.”

Everything done in and by the church is decently and in order.

Everything.

Thirdly, everything is to be done decently.

Decently – εὐσχημόνως (euschēmonōs) decently; becomingly. decorously adv. — in a manner characterized by propriety in manners and conduct. Adverb of manner.

Decently – εὐσχημόνως (euschēmonōs)

The church, the body of Christ, is called to behave with good manners and proper conduct.

The world should never look at the church and find us embracing or excusing sexual immorality, dishonesty, hypocrisy, gossip, or anything else that is contrary to the Word of God and the character of Christ!

Our behavior is to be decent.

Finally, we look at the words “in order.”

In = according to.

Order is the idea of one at a time.

This Paul has mentioned repeatedly in this chapter.

The idea here is that Because God is not a God of confusion, we do things in an orderly fashion.

Our services are not to be chaotic.

That being said, they should not be dull and lifeless either.

Balance is the key.

If something cannot be done with decency, if it violates church order, don’t do it.

This is our boundary.

This is how we stay humble.

Pride crosses boundaries.

We must be careful to take v. 40 in its context.

Over the years I have heard this verse ripped out of context and used to defend everything from statements like “drums are evil” to statements about modesty.

The “all things” here is in the context of the local church meeting.

In the exercise of spiritual gifts, there must be decency and order.

Our behavior must align with a good testimony of Christ!

There must not be chaos in our church meetings.

That is what Paul has in view.

That is why we recognize God-given boundaries.

Humility means that we identify and submit to the boundaries God has given.

Repeat - read aloud

Are we willing to do that?

Conclusion

Whenever the Church meets, this is the goal. To avoid confusion.

As we look back over this whole section, there are two things that stand out to me.

First.

The purpose of the church gathering is to build up the body of Christ.

Because that is true, we preach and teach the Word of God.

We do not teach the opinions of men.

What did Paul tell Timothy?

2 Timothy 4:2

2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV

2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

As we do this, as we sing praises to our God and fellowship with one another, the body of Christ is built up and strengthened.

Second.

We represent Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is imperative that we reflect His character.

What is that?

The fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22–23 NKJV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Personally and individually we submit to the Holy Spirit and He produces His fruit in our lives.

The more His fruit is produced, the more Christ is seen in us.

To be effective in the Christian life, to communicate the Gospel clearly, humility is a requirement.

If we are like Moses, trying to take credit for what only God can do, we will never be effective for Christ.

Our responsibility as brothers and sisters in Christ is to build one another up.

This is to be a place of encouragement and strengthening!

That encouragement and strength is produced when each member of the body uses their gifts for God’s glory and the church’s good.

We submit to the authority of Scripture.

We submit to the boundaries God has given.

God then uses us for His glory.

Let’s talk application.

Personal:

If you want an interesting study, look at everything the book of Proverbs says about pride.

Pride makes us unusable.

In our personal lives, we need to pursue humility. Maybe a commitment here would be to see ourselves as God’s Word reveals us to be.

Relational:

Do any of us love being around someone who is prideful?

Anyone at all?

Pride isolates us from others.

We cannot make a difference for Christ if people avoid us! Maybe a commitment here would be to ask a friend if we have any areas of pride in our lives.

Parenting:

It is okay to be proud of our kids. However, we need to be proud of them regardless of their performance.

If we are only proud of our children when they do good in sports, or get a good grade we are teaching them that approval is earned.

We need to be proud of who they are, not just what they do. We need to demonstrate that they are loved and accepted regardless of performance. That is how our God loves us.

Marriage:

Be proud of your spouse.

I don’t care what hangups or challenges they have. There is always something to be proud of.

Look for it, and tell them about it. That is an assignment this week.

Repeat their good qualities, to yourself and them, and it will help you maintain a good relationship.

COMMITMENT:

_________________________________________

We’re going to close this chapter with these four thoughts.

The church gathers to build one another up.

Who will I build up?

Anything that tears believers down must be ruthlessly eliminated.

What do I need to tear out of my life?

Our gifts are unique and purposefully given.

How will I use my gift in the church?

Growth only happens as we submit to our triune God and His Word.

Will I submit?

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