1 Corinthians 14
Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 14
Today’s passage covers a lot of things but Paul stressed that everything has to be done decently and in order. And while many people misunderstand this chapter to say that tongue speaking is not important, I will not be discussing that today, because as we all know, tongue speaking is the evidence of one having the Holy Spirit.
Instead, I would like to concentrate on the gift of prophecy – which is something that we sometimes neglect.
Prophecy can mean the gift of foretelling the Word of God.
It can also mean forth telling the Word of God. And this is done in teaching and preaching. And in verses 7 & 8, Paul mentions that even musical instruments when played correctly are useful in the teaching and preaching of the word. The gift of prophecy is desirable because it is clear and understandable.
Very often, we confine the work of preaching and teaching to the preachers, deacons and RE teachers. But here Paul emphasizes that prophesying equips, exhorts, warns and comforts the hearers, i.e. the whole church.
The problem with the church at Corinth was that they emphasized tongue speaking over that of prophesying and was guided by Paul to understand that there must be a balance and order in both of these.
Order is very import.
When two or three prophets speak at the same time, no one can hear or understand the message. There is a need to speak – one at a time. The emphasis is to maintain order.
And the interesting thing is that one should speak at a time, and all should judge.
Here judging does not mean deciding how well the speaker speaks or to criticize the speaker.
Instead the hearers also have a responsibility to judge whether what is said is in line with the Word of God.
If it is not of God, it is not God’s Word. If it is not from the Bible, it is not of God. If it is not what Jesus said, then it is not what God said.
Prophecy honours Jesus as the Son of God. If there’s not a spirit of humility watch out.
In verses 36-38, Paul was teaching the Corinthians about order. He told them them that they were interpreting the Word of God for themselves and doing it wrongly.
And Paul concluded in verse 39-40 that we should be eager to prophesy. We should be eager to preach and teach.
And for that to happen, we must be well versed with the Word of God first. That’s why reading the Bible is so important. That’s why being able to handle the word of God properly is so important.