seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.
6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.
13 For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
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.”
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 secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
This is the link to the commentary.How many of us remember the story of the Tower of Babel?! The people all spoke the same language, and they all understood exactly what was being said. Humans were getting along so famously, they decided to build a temple so high it would reach God. They wanted to go visit God. They were doing really well too!! God had to stop them or they would have poked a hole in the ozone! So, God gave them all different languages. No one understood what the other guy was saying. No one could interpret anything anyone was saying. It was all gibberish!
Perhaps, just perhaps, the language everyone was speaking before God intervened at Babel was the language God likes best. God was perfectly aware of all the languages humans would create [back in Babel, before God decided to disperse the humans] but first God spoke "God". Perhaps Adam and Eve were fluent in "God". Perhaps the people who were building the tower all spoke "God". Then, when God decided to disperse them.... they started talking what we now think of as Spanish, or French, or English, Taiwanese, and on and on.
Perhaps....Now everyone in the world is talking different languages, however, in Heaven, everyone is still talking "God".
Perhaps, we'll find out that when people speak in "tongue" they are actually talking in "God".
Perhaps, we'll find out real preachers can actually speak and understand "God". Perhaps, we'll find out that real preachers can tell us what God wants us to know because God talks to them in "God". Perhaps, God doesn't even let the preacher know he's actually hearing in "God".
Paul says it's better to have the gift of prophecy than the gift of tongues. What if the people who prophesize, hear the instruction in "God" and interpret into human?!
Back in the Book of Numbers, God made a donkey talk. Surely God can make a human hear "God" and interpret it to "human" and "prophesize" from what he hears.... Right?
The title of these verses in my Online Bible is "Intelligibility in Worship". I think it should be "talking 'God'" but then again.... Paul's letters are all gibberish to me anyway. So maybe that's why I want to call it "gibberish in worship" in order to warn people that they should check what the preacher is teaching. I could title it "does you preacher speak 'God'?" but readers would just say "Yep, he's a preacher. That's what preachers do." and totally miss the point.
So, I think the title should be "gibberish in worship".
