And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. - Acts 19:6
In today’s message we will continue our discussion of spiritual gifts. Last Sunday we learned that spiritual gifts are of no personal or lasting benefit apart from love. God’s selfless, sacrificial love should be the spring from which all of our Christian service flows. It is the source which gives our individual gifts significance and makes them more effective and productive. Even after our spiritual gifts are no longer necessary, God’s unfailing love will endure.
I have titled this sermon “Prophecy and Tongues”. It is the 23rd message of our series through the Corinthian letters. If you have unanswered questions about the practice of speaking in tongues, like some in Corinth did, then listen closely this morning to what the Bible says on this topic…
I. EDIFY THE CHURCH (1 Cor. 14:1-5)
Having just completed a long discourse on the excellence of love, Paul urged the Corinthians to pursue love as the motivation of their spiritual gifts and service. Then he began an extended comparison of the gifts of prophecy and speaking in tongues. Apparently, the Corinthian church had an excessive fascination with the gift and practice of tongues. It seemingly played a prominent role in their corporate gatherings. Paul stated that they should be more focused on and have an increased desire for the gift of prophecy instead.
Paul explained that the person who speaks in tongues is often communicating directly with God, and those who are listening often do not understand the mysterious things that are being said. On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to people who understand their words and are encouraged, challenged, and/or perhaps consoled by them. In other words, the person who speaks in tongues edifies himself while the person who prophesies edifies the church.
Paul was not trying to dismiss or minimize the gift of tongues. In fact, he wished that all of the Corinthians were able to speak in them. However, his greater desire was that they prophesy. Why? Because prophecy benefits the entire church while speaking in tongues generally doesn’t - unless the tongues are interpreted and understood by everyone who hears them. The principle is that our spiritual gifts are best used to edify the entire body, not just the individual member.
II. DELIVER UNDERSTANDABLE CONTENT (1 Cor. 14:6-12)
Paul stated that tongues were profitable to the church when used to communicate God’s revelations, knowledge, prophetic utterances, and/or teaching. In other words, speaking in tongues is a means of communicating, while prophecy is a form of content. Proclaiming, hearing, and heeding the message of God is more critical than fixating on the manner by which it is delivered.
For example, anyone can blow into a flute or pluck a harp to make noise. However, it takes skill to actually play melodies on a musical instrument. Anyone can blare the sound of a bugle, but only those who know the proper signal can warn people to prepare for battle. The point? The sound that is produced needs to be pleasant and understandable. In the same way, speech that is communicated through the gift of tongues should be clear and known. All of the world’s many languages - and there are many - are of no use without meaning.
Paul wrote that those who speak in an unknown language are perceived as barbarians by their listeners. Audiences who don’t understand the language being spoken are perceived as barbarians by the speaker. Without meaningful communication, neither party benefits. The content of the message cannot be properly relayed or received unless the speech is comprehensible. Such is necessary for the edification of the church.
III. USE YOUR MIND (1 Cor. 14:13-19)
In light of everything he’d just taught, Paul instructed those who spoke in tongues to pray that they might also be able to interpret. This would enable them to make sense of their tongues so that others could understand and benefit from their speech. Again, this highlights the importance of corporate edification.
Paul explained that those who pray in indiscernible tongues are praying in the spirit, but not in the mind. He expressed his strong desire to pray and sing with both mind and spirit. The expressions of those who bless or give thanks to the Lord in spirit only, through unknown tongues, cannot be shared by those who do not possess the appropriate spiritual giftedness to interpret. Thus, their prayers may be edifying to themselves to some extent, but are not at all to others.
Paul revealed that he spoke in more tongues than any of the Corinthians. He personally experienced and greatly appreciated the gift of tongues. Nevertheless, he concluded that he’d rather speak 5 words of instruction that could be understood by others with the mind than 10,000 words in a tongue that no one understood with their mind. The point is that we should worship and serve the Lord with both mind and spirit. Mindless worship is unfruitful, and can even be dangerous.
Many practices of the New Age movement and other similar religions encourage “out of body” type experiences. They seek to achieve trance-like or ecstatic states as a means of communing with God. They minimize conscious, intellectual, and thoughtful worship while highlighting hyper-emotional and hypnotic worship. They emphasize worshiping in the spirit, but neglect worshiping with the mind. These practices and efforts are not Biblical.
CONCLUSION
Most Baptists, myself included, are cessationists. We believe that the miraculous or sensational spiritual gifts - miracles, healings, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues - have ceased. They are no longer bestowed to individual Christians as they were during the apostolic age. While we certainly believe that God can and still does these types of miracles frequently in our world today, we hold that He no longer gifts individuals with the supernatural ability to perform these miraculous signs in a regular or ongoing way.
When a space shuttle or rocket takes off, boosters are necessary to lift it up and out of the atmosphere. Once it escapes earth’s gravitational pull, these boosters are no longer needed so they are jettisoned. In the same way, the miraculous gifts - such as speaking in tongues - were necessary to authenticate and give credibility to the apostles during the infancy and establishment of the Christian church. Once the church was firmly planted and had taken root these gifts ceased, as did the office of apostleship. Their cessation is consistent with Paul’s previous teaching that all spiritual gifts will cease at some point (1 Corinthians 13:8).
In closing, what God actually says deserves more attention than the manner by which it is communicated. It is misguided to place more emphasis on the performing of signs and wonders than on thoughtful obedience to the clearly understood truths of God. Jesus chastised the people in his day for this same type of misplaced fascination (Matthew 12:38-39). Beyond the obvious and surface-level contrasting of prophecy and tongues, this passage teaches a deeper lesson on the proper use of all spiritual gifts. They should engage the mind, be comprehensible, and, above all, edify the church as a whole.
In today’s message we will continue our discussion of spiritual gifts. Last Sunday we learned that spiritual gifts are of no personal or lasting benefit apart from love. God’s selfless, sacrificial love should be the spring from which all of our Christian service flows. It is the source which gives our individual gifts significance and makes them more effective and productive. Even after our spiritual gifts are no longer necessary, God’s unfailing love will endure.
I have titled this sermon “Prophecy and Tongues”. It is the 23rd message of our series through the Corinthian letters. If you have unanswered questions about the practice of speaking in tongues, like some in Corinth did, then listen closely this morning to what the Bible says on this topic…
I. EDIFY THE CHURCH (1 Cor. 14:1-5)
Having just completed a long discourse on the excellence of love, Paul urged the Corinthians to pursue love as the motivation of their spiritual gifts and service. Then he began an extended comparison of the gifts of prophecy and speaking in tongues. Apparently, the Corinthian church had an excessive fascination with the gift and practice of tongues. It seemingly played a prominent role in their corporate gatherings. Paul stated that they should be more focused on and have an increased desire for the gift of prophecy instead.
Paul explained that the person who speaks in tongues is often communicating directly with God, and those who are listening often do not understand the mysterious things that are being said. On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to people who understand their words and are encouraged, challenged, and/or perhaps consoled by them. In other words, the person who speaks in tongues edifies himself while the person who prophesies edifies the church.
Paul was not trying to dismiss or minimize the gift of tongues. In fact, he wished that all of the Corinthians were able to speak in them. However, his greater desire was that they prophesy. Why? Because prophecy benefits the entire church while speaking in tongues generally doesn’t - unless the tongues are interpreted and understood by everyone who hears them. The principle is that our spiritual gifts are best used to edify the entire body, not just the individual member.
II. DELIVER UNDERSTANDABLE CONTENT (1 Cor. 14:6-12)
Paul stated that tongues were profitable to the church when used to communicate God’s revelations, knowledge, prophetic utterances, and/or teaching. In other words, speaking in tongues is a means of communicating, while prophecy is a form of content. Proclaiming, hearing, and heeding the message of God is more critical than fixating on the manner by which it is delivered.
For example, anyone can blow into a flute or pluck a harp to make noise. However, it takes skill to actually play melodies on a musical instrument. Anyone can blare the sound of a bugle, but only those who know the proper signal can warn people to prepare for battle. The point? The sound that is produced needs to be pleasant and understandable. In the same way, speech that is communicated through the gift of tongues should be clear and known. All of the world’s many languages - and there are many - are of no use without meaning.
Paul wrote that those who speak in an unknown language are perceived as barbarians by their listeners. Audiences who don’t understand the language being spoken are perceived as barbarians by the speaker. Without meaningful communication, neither party benefits. The content of the message cannot be properly relayed or received unless the speech is comprehensible. Such is necessary for the edification of the church.
III. USE YOUR MIND (1 Cor. 14:13-19)
In light of everything he’d just taught, Paul instructed those who spoke in tongues to pray that they might also be able to interpret. This would enable them to make sense of their tongues so that others could understand and benefit from their speech. Again, this highlights the importance of corporate edification.
Paul explained that those who pray in indiscernible tongues are praying in the spirit, but not in the mind. He expressed his strong desire to pray and sing with both mind and spirit. The expressions of those who bless or give thanks to the Lord in spirit only, through unknown tongues, cannot be shared by those who do not possess the appropriate spiritual giftedness to interpret. Thus, their prayers may be edifying to themselves to some extent, but are not at all to others.
Paul revealed that he spoke in more tongues than any of the Corinthians. He personally experienced and greatly appreciated the gift of tongues. Nevertheless, he concluded that he’d rather speak 5 words of instruction that could be understood by others with the mind than 10,000 words in a tongue that no one understood with their mind. The point is that we should worship and serve the Lord with both mind and spirit. Mindless worship is unfruitful, and can even be dangerous.
Many practices of the New Age movement and other similar religions encourage “out of body” type experiences. They seek to achieve trance-like or ecstatic states as a means of communing with God. They minimize conscious, intellectual, and thoughtful worship while highlighting hyper-emotional and hypnotic worship. They emphasize worshiping in the spirit, but neglect worshiping with the mind. These practices and efforts are not Biblical.
CONCLUSION
Most Baptists, myself included, are cessationists. We believe that the miraculous or sensational spiritual gifts - miracles, healings, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues - have ceased. They are no longer bestowed to individual Christians as they were during the apostolic age. While we certainly believe that God can and still does these types of miracles frequently in our world today, we hold that He no longer gifts individuals with the supernatural ability to perform these miraculous signs in a regular or ongoing way.
When a space shuttle or rocket takes off, boosters are necessary to lift it up and out of the atmosphere. Once it escapes earth’s gravitational pull, these boosters are no longer needed so they are jettisoned. In the same way, the miraculous gifts - such as speaking in tongues - were necessary to authenticate and give credibility to the apostles during the infancy and establishment of the Christian church. Once the church was firmly planted and had taken root these gifts ceased, as did the office of apostleship. Their cessation is consistent with Paul’s previous teaching that all spiritual gifts will cease at some point (1 Corinthians 13:8).
In closing, what God actually says deserves more attention than the manner by which it is communicated. It is misguided to place more emphasis on the performing of signs and wonders than on thoughtful obedience to the clearly understood truths of God. Jesus chastised the people in his day for this same type of misplaced fascination (Matthew 12:38-39). Beyond the obvious and surface-level contrasting of prophecy and tongues, this passage teaches a deeper lesson on the proper use of all spiritual gifts. They should engage the mind, be comprehensible, and, above all, edify the church as a whole.