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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 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. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 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.
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? 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? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 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. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 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.
For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 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.
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? You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
1 Corinthians 14:1-11, 13-19
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
God wants to instruct His people. It’s a truth that has existed since mankind was created.
Sometimes He did the speaking Himself but in other circumstances, He spoke through people that He selected and empowered. Some of these people were special leaders like Moses, for example. You’ll remember that Moses climbed Mount Sinai and there, isolated from the Israelites, God gave Him the commandments He wanted His people to follow and Moses then descended from the mountain and shared that message.
Later in the Old Testament, we find God speaking through a multitude of prophets, again imparting messages on His specially selected spokesmen to share with the Israelite people. These prophets dominate the latter part of the Old Testament, showing us that God had a lot to say to His people over time and did it through the prophecies of His prophets.
When these prophets spoke, the language was clear to the audience. God made sure the people knew what He wanted them to know. He desired the church and His people to be strengthened, encouraged, edified, and comforted. He also corrected them through His words shared through the prophets, all done with the intent of ensuring the church was honoring and glorifying Him with their actions.
Now, at the same time that prophets were being used as messengers by God, there were believers who were given the gift of speaking in tongues, uttering mysteries by the Spirit. The hearer of these Spirit-driven utterings would be left confused and befuddled because the language was unintelligible to them. If there was no one present who had been granted the gift to intepret tongues, the speaker would sound like a foreigner to anyone hearing them. And therefore, there would be no benefit to the speaking of tongues. The message being shared would not be understood.
This is what the Apostle Paul is getting at when he says that prophecy is preferred over the speaking of tongues. With prophecy, nothing gets lost in translation. God speaks clearly through His prophetic messengers and his people clearly hear what is being said. This leaves them with no excuse when it comes to doing what He commands them to do.
Today, God continues to speak understanding into His people through those He chooses to use for that purpose.
Pastors preach from His Word inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Teachers teach from His Word inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Writers like me write from His Word inspired by His Holy Spirit.
The end result is that God’s people are strengthened, encouraged, edified, and comforted, all because God uses people who speak for understanding.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
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