Take Two: 1 Corinthians 14, Proverbs 30

Chapter 14 has been the subject of a lot of speculation...and certainly can get a group of people stirred up. Usually, the excitement comes from getting into the details and missing the greater point. As is common for Paul....he makes a point and then unpacks (and applies) it in several ways.

From the text it seems that there was a certain allure within the church for "sign gifts (1 Cor 14:22)," that is the speaking in tongues. To clarify this...it would seem that this was an ecstatic utterance of syllables that were not intelligible to human ears (and minds) and therefore required an interpreter (1 Cor 14:7-9). In other words, the church at Corinth had begun "majoring" on speaking in a "heavenly language," understood only by God and some who were specially gifted to interpret the speech (1 Cor 14:2-5).

The speaking in tongues was intended to be a sign to those who were not believers so that the message of the person speaking, when interpreted, would be understood and the unbeliever would know that the message was from God. Paul speaks that the gift of prophesy was superior in its essence and if any gift was to be desired...it should be prophesy over tongues.

So to identify prophesy...this is the speaking forth of something that was previously not known and its revelation brings conviction. It is not always "foretelling" as though it involved a prediction of events that had not yet occurred. It can be a "forth telling"-- which is "preacher talk" for preaching and applying the Word of God....or it can be direct revelation of something going on in a person's life (i.e. "I sense that there is one here who is struggling with alcohol addiction and God says this man is to be set free if he will only confess it and repent today.") In both of these cases...the "prophesy" is a gift from God and is not attributed to good communication techniques...as though every "smooth" preacher was gifted as a prophet. Smart dudes communicate everyday and are not necessarily gifted as prophets.

Remember though, the purpose of the gift was to build up the church (the assembled Body of believers). So..."sign gifts" while mysterious...were less significant than edifying gifts that encouraged, exhorted, and consoled. Paul says...that since the purpose of coming together was this...then the gifts of prophesy were superior. He even said that he was gifted in both...and would desire prophesy over tongues 10,000 to five (1 Cor 14:19). Why? Because the purpose of the assembly of Christians was not to "wow" all of the unbelievers there (who were the minority) or to showcase the cool sign gifts that had...but to build up the Body of Christ.

Proverbs 30:5-6 is the takeaway today. God's Word is already proven. It is not strengthened by our testing or our additions. It is a safehaven that protects us if we trust in it. Sometimes the most difficult things to do in life are to trust in that which seems to be lacking in our eyes. We want to discount the Scriptures or read our situtations into the Scriptures as if our situation egates clear counsel. God will always provide for us if we take Him at His Word. If we add to or take away...He will insure that our "wisdom" fails and His Word alone is left to stand.