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Resolved to Build and Be Built Up
1 Corinthians 14:1-25
Dearly beloved, at the end of this year, let me ask you - how have you been built up this year in your knowledge of Christ, love for him, and for others? How have you, in your times of personal devotion and Bible study reflected on your desire for God’s kingdom? And how have you, in your care groups built one another up with the Word? And when it comes to this divine service, as you come before God’s presence with the help of Christ - how have you received his Word and gone forth to obey it as you’ve been charged? Or have you not drawn close to God through your devotions because you’ve had none? Or have you not encouraged others in Bible Study, because you join none? Or have you come, to listen, but not really listen to obey; but listen to critique it? And preachers - have you preached your sermons as mere polished presentations, or have you poured your heart and prayers into them so that your flock may be built up?
People receive God’s Word - not as a means to grow in devotion and be transformed - but for many other reasons. For some, it’s just religious tradition - we come, although having ears to hear, we hear not. Like the Pharisees - they only heard what they wanted - but rejected commands to repent and believe. Or some receive the gospel to be an influence - which is counter-gospel. Simon the Magician was glad to be baptized, but what he really wanted was power. How’re we receiving the Word of God? How will we receive it next year? And how’re preachers preaching? How will they preach next year?
In dealing with this fallenness and remaining struggle in Christians, we come to this passage that deals with tongues - a wonderful gift God gave to the early church. But the Corinthians poured their sins into this means of grace - and caused confusion. Verse 23 says, “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?” We look at 3 headings, in dealing with this passage. Firstly, the purpose and symbolism of tongues. Secondly. the impermanence and unimportance of tongues. Thirdly, the need for understanding and edification in worship.
Firstly, the purpose and symbolism of tongues. In 1 Corinthians 14:6, Paul asks an important question – “Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?” In other words, what’s the good of tongues unless what I say has some message or teaching? Meaning that tongues are given to teach. In Acts 2, the Spirit came on the disciples and they spoke with other languages. All the Jews were amazed. You see, they’d come from around the world and were amazed that these Galilean country bumpkins were speaking their languages. The Greek word for tongues means languages or dialects. Therefore, tongues are human languages supernaturally given to non-speakers. For what? Acts 2:11 – “we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God” - they were meant to teach the gospel in different languages.
But tongues were especially given to warn Jewish unbelievers. It was a symbol or sign. Verses 21-22 – “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.” Let’s dissect this. Verse 22 says tongues are a sign to unbelievers. What’s a sign? A sign is a symbol that means something to the one who sees it. For example, some signs are understood by most - a red octagonal sign means stop - whether you’re in America, Cambodia, or North Korea. But some signs are not understood by all. A pack of tissue paper on a table would only mean something to Singaporeans. It means reserved. But it would mean nothing to a tourist. So tongues are a sign to certain unbelievers who understand its significance. And who would understand the sign of tongues? The Jews.
Verse 21 says God would use foreign tongues to speak to “this” people. The Jews. This is a quote from Isaiah 28:11-12 – “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.” In Isaiah, God was talking to his people. The Jews were disobedient and God was going to send foreign nations to punish them. So foreign tongues were a sign of judgment. If they repented, they would have rest - they would be saved. But if they did not repent, they would be attacked by foreigners who spoke foreign languages. So we must understand the context. Tongues are a sign not to just any unbeliever but to Jewish unbelievers. So when they heard the tongues, they would say - “I know what this is - it’s a sign! If I repent, I’ll be saved. If I don’t repent, I’ll be judged.” And that’s the message the apostles preached - Christ came to save his people. And it was first preached to the Jews, Romans 1:16. It was first preached to the Jews in Jerusalem, then to the Jews in Judea, then the half-Jews in Samaria, and only then was it preached to everyone else. And this followed Jesus’ pattern in Acts 1:8 - “ye shall be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts.” And every time tongues were spoken in Acts, Jews were always present. It was a sign to them - if you believe, you’ll be saved; if not, you’ll be judged. They understood.
But tongues were not meant as a sign to those who didn’t understand. Verse 23 says that if you speak in tongues and the unlearned hear you, they’d think you’re nuts. That's why at Pentecost, when the Jews heard, they understood. But others mocked the Apostles - they’re drunk! Why? Because they didn’t understand. To the Singaporean, a pack of tissue means - reserved. Trying using tissue that way in Australia. The Aussies will say you’re crazy. Therefore, tongues are human languages supernaturally given to people who have not learned them, to preach and teach the gospel specifically to unbelieving Jews.
And because of that, we see secondly, the impermanence and relative unimportance of tongues. Now, when the gospel was preached, many Jews believed - the early church was a Jewish church. But after a while, the Gentiles believed and the Jews rejected it. They even persecuted the church. And because of this rejection, God judged them. That’s why in AD 70, God sent the Latin-speaking Roman soldiers to destroy Jerusalem - even as Jesus prophesied. And when the church became more and more Gentile, and the Jews were confirmed in unbelief, tongues became obsolete. We saw last week in chapter 13 that tongues would disappear - they would cease. When the perfect and complete thing is come, the gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge which are incomplete will finally vanish. We all know the bane of software updates - when there’s another version, the old one becomes obsolete. And what’s the perfect and full version that replaced tongues, knowledge, and prophecies? The completed Bible. When the Bible was completed, there was no more need for incomplete things. All the early church fathers agreed that God no longer gave the gift, because there was something better - something more grown up. That’s why in chapter 11, we’re told to put away childish things. You don’t expect adults to use blocks or fingers to count - they can do mental sums. Tongues served a purpose. But no longer. There’s something better.
And even when the gift was around, what did Paul say about it? He said that they were unimportant by comparison. Therefore, the Corinthians should not have been so enamored by it. There were so many more important things. In chapter 13, Paul said that love was greater than tongues. And the Corinthians were anything but loving - I want to compete, show my spiritual power and knowledge. But Paul said in verse 5 - preaching is better than tongues - because it makes sense to everyone. Tongues doesn’t make sense to anyone unless it’s interpreted. In verse 18, Paul could speak in tongues more than any of the Corinthians. He was an amazing linguist. Remember the Jews in Acts came from Persia, Medea, Elam, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, plus 9 other regions. The disciples could speak in these tongues. And I imagine that Paul could speak all these tongues - more than the Corinthians. But even he said he’d rather speak 5 words in understandable words than 10,000 in a foreign language, verse 19. Why? Because by comparison, tongues were unimportant.
What was important was understanding and edification in worship. That’s the third point. What’s the point of tongues, if it doesn’t add to your understanding? Now this isn’t in the text, but many historians and commentators suggest that there’s evidence that fake tongues were being spoken in Corinth. They suggest this from the historical and cultural context. One of the reasons why Corinthian church’s worship was so confusing was because the Corinthians were bringing in pagan practices. For example, in 1 Corinthians 11, he talked about how women in church were uncovering their heads. Why? Because they’d imported the pagan practices. In the worship of Aphrodite, the priestesses didn’t cover their heads. It led to confusion. Is this a Christian church or a pagan temple? In 1 Corinthians 10, they’d even transformed the Lord’s Supper into a drunken feast, something the pagans did in their worship. So similarly, some of the tongue speaking was not genuine. In the worship of Aphrodite, worshippers would pray to her in a secret gibberish language. And this language played an important role in pagan temples. These secret languages could supposedly be understood by her. It was a mark of mystical power, of intimate contact. So this superstitious practice found fertile ground in the power obsessed Corinthian church. It became their mark of closeness to God, of their connection to God, of their power. It was self-interest and pride.
But if there was genuine tongues speaking it should be regulated. Confusion in church would be removed if true tongues were regulated for understanding. They needed to have genuine worship - and genuine worship is all about the Word being rightly understood. The value of tongues was in the understanding. In verse 2, Paul said that if you spoke or prayed in a foreign language, only God and you would understand. Only you would be informed. But if there’s preaching, verse 3, then everyone would be informed. So if there was genuine tongue speaking, it had to be interpreted so all could understand, verse 13. Understanding is most important in worship, not feeling, not power. And in verses 7-8 Paul makes an important point. Even instruments must be played clearly, so people recognize the song. If you’re in war, the trumpet must play a clear blast so soldiers know when to charge. In the Nutcracker Suite often played at Christmas, when the sugar plum fairy emerges, the glockenspiel is played. You wouldn’t play the tuba, unless it was the dance of the sugar plum troll. Paul’s point is simple - understanding is most important. So tongues are only valuable when they are understood. All languages should be meaningful, verse 10. Otherwise, you just sound like a barbarian, verse 11. So, even if you are zealous for spiritual things, don’t bring attention to yourself - seek to teach the church, verse 12.
Now, what are some applications for us in an age where the genuine gift of human languages have ceased? I think there are several lessons for us. Firstly, our understanding of this passage is not an occasion for us to pat ourselves on our backs. It’s not to congratulate ourselves that we’re Reformed and we don’t practice modern tongue speaking. But this should never be an occasion for pride. But just as the Corinthians fought for preeminence, we can fight for preeminence. The Corinthians used tongues to fight. We use doctrine - who has the more accurate original doctrine, down to the jot and tittle! And if that’s all that matters, we become experts in our doctrines, knowing how to point out the errors in others, but maybe not knowing anymore than that - never letting the Word change us and mellow us and mature us and invigorate us for service. Yes, modern day charismatics may get this passage wrong, but they may know more Bible than you, may serve more sincerely than you, may be thirsty for God’s Word, and ready to obey. We must have it inform our heads and our hearts - to grow in love and understanding of truth.
And secondly, this passage exhorts us to focus on understanding the Word in worship. How have you worshiped this year? In our covenant renewal ceremony every Lord’s Day - in this divine service, the Word of God is proclaimed at every interval. God calls us to worship, we respond by proclaiming our need for him using the words of Psalm 124. He responds by greeting us and welcoming us into his very presence before his throne with the words found in almost all epistles. We sing the Words of Scripture, in the Psalms versified by men, and historic hymns composed by men. We’re one of a few churches that continue to sing the Psalms. We read God’s Word. We hear the confessions which summarize God’s Word. We pray according to God’s will found in his Word, patterning our prayers according to the prayer the Lord taught us. And God gives a charge to us from Scripture and a benediction. And we glorify him in our doxologies. But do we understand?
Verse 15 tells us to pray and even sing with understanding. Do you listen to the messages to critique them or listen to them to grow? Do we praise God with the hymns and psalms to please ourselves, or to give glory to God? We sit here week after week, and sing songs like “Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me save that thou art.” But do you know what that means? “Naught be all else to me save that thou art?!?” If you don’t, but have been singing it since childhood - it might as well be in Latin. Why haven’t you found out what it means? It means - let everything be nothing to me, as long as you’re everything to me. There’s nothing in the world that compares to you! What wonderful words! And the fact that we don’t get everything means that it takes work on our parts. But we can and we will understand.
And thirdly, we see that when there is understanding, there will be conviction and humility. Verses 24-25 tell us that if we preach, sinners will be convicted of their sins, their secret thoughts will be exposed and they will fall down on their knees to worship God. You know, the main point of this passage is not to teach what we already know. Yes, from this passage we see what tongues are and that they’ve ceased. This doctrine isn’t unimportant. It’s actually very important given that the Charismatic Movement is still very strong.
But this passage shows how much like the Corinthians we can be. Instead of tongues, we use doctrines to lord over others. Instead of Spiritual gifts and power, we focus on doctrinal teachings. But what happened to the fruit of the Spirit? And so as we study this passage, has it revealed to our hearts how proud we are and how much more we need to learn? Has it convicted us how divisive we have often been in our checkered history. You see, you don’t need tongues to have confusion in the church. How often have Bible-believing and Bible-practicing churches split over issues of preference? How often have minor issues become more important than love? If we truly understand the Word, it will bear fruit in us. Will you exult and proclaim that you’re closest to the truth and that you do not as those unfortunate Charismatics? Or will this message reveal your own desire for preeminence? Or will this message reveal your own lack luster desire for the gospel to be further understood and lived out in your lives? And preachers and teachers and Bible study facilitators - how much do you labor to build up your people - that they may understand the Word, that you’re not obscuring it?
God has come in human form to die. He’s given his life an atonement for us, to save his enemies. And as his people, let us fall to our faces in humility and gratitude to worship him. That he might be among a people humble of heart, who call upon his name. To hear his word to obey. That he alone must be our vision. May the Lord work that desire in you to love his Word and his Christ.
1
- The Purpose and Symbolism of Tongues
- Tongues are given to teach
- Tongues are given to warn Jewish unbelievers
- The Impermanence and Unimportance of Tongues
- Tongues are obsolete
- Tongues are unimportant by comparison
- The Need for Understanding and Edification in Worship
- Fake tongues
- Genuine worship
Application: 1. It is not to make us proud. 2. Worship must result in understanding. 3. Understanding results in conviction and humility.
Questions for Reflection:
- How important is the mind for our Christian growth? Can our minds hinder our spiritual growth? What is the balance between intellect and emotion? Why do many Christians seem to go to one extreme or the other?
- While it is important to understand our church’s doctrine, it can cause pride. What is a remedy for this? How can one know the distinctive doctrines and not be persuaded to lord it over others in pride?
- While the preacher is responsible for making the Word understandable, what can we do to increase our understanding in the worship of God? How can we resolve to do this more next year?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2024, Rev. Mark Chen
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