1 Corinthians 14:1-40: What You Should Expect in Corporate Worship
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Introduction
Introduction
Hudson and his gun… Holding something very powerful… Something more powerful lives inside of him - the Spirit of God. He lives in you as well - to empower you NOT to destroy but to give life.
Yet, because of our sin nature, it’s possible to abuse the spiritual gifts. In Corinth, abuse of the gifts and as a result, it was tearing people down instead of building up.
God wants to do a good work in your life today… And, God wants to use the church, the people around you, to bless you.
1 Corinthians 14 continues a conversation on spiritual giftedness. In this chapter, Paul focuses on two spiritual gifts: tongues and prophecy.
A whole chapter on controversial spiritual gifts that we don’t talk about much. But, a very helpful chapter that has much to teach us about what we should expect when we gather for worship.
I want to walk through this passage and explain what Paul is writing, and then, based on these verses, I want to give you three expectations you should have of our time of worship.
Explanation of Text
Explanation of Text
Paul arguing that what takes place in public worship must be intelligible - you need to understand what’s going on in worship. Prophecy is intelligible and useful. Tongues not intelligible and not useful in corporate worship unless interpreted.
vs. 1 - Pursue love - Believers in Corinth obsessed with spiritual giftedness but not love. They used spiritual giftedness to express spiritual superiority but not to express genuine love for each other.
Pursue love AND desires spiritual gifts - desire the spiritual gifts to show love, not superiority.
ESPECIALLY desire prophecy. (vs. 1)
Different views on spiritual gifts; especially gifts like prophecy and tongues (or languages). Two extremes: cessationist: gifts have ceased. Or, extreme charismatic/pentecostal view - that you’re NOT a Christian unless you speak in tongues.
Prophecy in NT NOT the same as Old Testament prophets who spoke a direct message from God that predicted future judgment and hope as recorded in Scripture.
Prophecy in the NT is “telling something that God has spontaneously brought to mind” (Grudem, 1293). It’s tied to Scripture. It’s direct - the receiver can make immediate application to a specific life situation. Sometimes it happens in preaching. Sometimes, it happens in conversations with other believers, when someone speaks the truth of God’s Word into your life in a very direct way.
Prophecy should be tested (1 Corinthians 14:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:20). You’re not an OT prophet who receives a direct Word from God to be written down as Scripture. NT gift is a gift of knowing Scripture and being able to directly apply it to someone’s life where the person receiving says, “God is saying to me through His Word…” But, sometimes the person with the gift of prophecy gets it wrong. (E.g., A single guy telling a young lady, “God told me to marry you” is not prophecy. It’s dumb.)
You should desire prophecy. You should desire to know God’s Word so well, and you should be so intentional in your own relationship with God that you are able to speak truth into the lives of others.
Prophecy encourages and edifies the church. When we gather for worship, we should want to hear God speak to us - and He speaks to us through His Word as we speak the Word into each other’s lives (vs. 3). When prophesy takes place, it confirms God’s presence among His people.
Tongues (languages). Tongues is the ability to speak a known language that you don’t know but the hearer understands (Acts 2) for the purpose of the spread of the Gospel. Or, Paul may be talking about a “prayer language” - an unknown human language that is known only to God. Paul doesn’t define the gift of languages in the text, but he does explain how the gift is to be used in the local church. In Acts, tongues a sign that God was bringing Gentiles into His family (a reversal of Babel). If this is what tongues is, it’s a missionary gift.
Largely, the gift of tongues should not be used in the local church because it doesn’t build people up - it only benefits the person with the gift (vs. 4). Paul spoke in tongues. He wanted others to speak in tongues, but he wanted believers to want to prophesy more than they spoke in tongues.
Church in Corinth saw tongues as the “flashiest” gift. Paul is correcting them. Who really benefits from the gift of languages if no on can understand? It’s like banging out a bunch of notes on instruments. They’re not intelligible unless those sounds are organized into a melody with chords and accompaniment - banging out notes on a piano is not music unless the notes are organized are put into an intelligible melody (vs. 6-9).
vs. 10-12 - There are many languages in the world, but if you can’t understand the language someone is speaking, what benefit? If languages are spoken in the church that are not understandable, what does it benefit the church? Prophecy is understandable, tongues are not.
vs. 13 - If you are going to speak in languages/tongues, you better pray for the ability to interpret so that it actually benefits the body of Christ. If the person speaking in tongues cannot interpret, someone else must be able to do so, or the gift of tongues has no place in a corporate worship gathering (vs.27-28).
vs. 14-19 - There is value in speaking in tongues even if the speaker doesn’t understand - he is praising in his spirit, and it glorifies God. But, it’s not beneficial to anyone else. And, it creates confusion. Not only is it unhelpful to the body, but what would an outsider think (vs. 16). In the church, language should be intelligible (vs. 19).
vs. 20 - a rebuke! They had gotten it backwards! Their gifts were supposed to build each other up, not create division. They were childish! vs. 21 - Quote from Isaiah 28:11-12 - a passage where Isaiah prophecies that God will judge His people by speaking to them through foreigners that they do not understand who will rule over them. In Isaiah’s context, the tongues were a sign that they were under judgment, alienated from God.
The logic: uninterpreted tongues alienates people. vs. 22 - used inappropriately, it can make believers feel like unbelievers - alienated from God. Unbelievers think speaking in tongues is crazy (vs. 23) because they do not understand. Prophecy, on the other hand, actually benefits the body AND unbelievers can even be convicted and acknowledge God’s presence (vs. 25).
vs. 26-40 - Paul calling for order in the church. Everything in worship should be done for building up the body. Paul writes about how many people should be able to speak in tongues with interpretation, how many should prophecy, and when someone should keep silent and not prophesy. Prophecy should be evaluated (vs. 29) - does it line up with the Word of God? vs. 32 - others with the gift of prophecy should evaluate. Paul wants to make sure that truth is spoken - not opinions.
vs. 34-36 - Women be silent? Women prophesied (Ch. 11) - - Probably not women stay silent but to recognize the role of elder in the church to lead the process of discerning the prophets.
vs. 37-40 - A final plea for order in worship.
THIS is a difficult passage because it deals with spiritual gifts that we don’t talk about a lot; gifts that have been historically abused. However, this passage gives us four expectations we should have when we gather for worship.
We should expect God to be present when we worship.
We should expect God to be present when we worship.
When God’s people operate in their spiritual giftedness, it’s evidence that God is present and at work among His people.
What were your expectations when you came to worship this morning? Did you have any expectations of actually meeting with God? Did you pray for God to help you meet with Him this morning? (American Underdog - expected a football movie - not what we got… Wrong expectations can lead to disappointment)
Our worship gathering is an encounter with God who desires to make Himself known to us, and who also desires to be at work in our hearts.
Corporate worship is not a performance. Be careful of the temptation to leave this place evaluating “how good” the service was.
Corporate worship is not a classroom. I want you to learn, but my goal is not to merely feel your head with knowledge. My goal is to preach to your heart.
Corporate worship is not chaotic. We don’t just come in and say and do what we want. God has given the church His Word to give us wisdom as to how to worship together, and He has given the church elders to help maintain order within the church.
Instead of evaluating the service, evaluate your heart. How is God speaking to you this morning?
We should expect God to use us to minister to each other when we worship.
We should expect God to use us to minister to each other when we worship.
God has gifted you, and God desires for you to minister to others.
Paul tells us to desire prophecy. He wants us to desire to speak into the lives of others. If you are going to speak into the lives of others:
You need to be sensitive to how God is at work in your life. It’s going to be hard for you to speak truthfully into the lives of others if the truth isn’t changing you. We need you to grow in your faith so you can be a blessing to this body.
You need to be sensitive to how God is at work in the lives of others. We have a tendency to be so focused on ourselves and what God is doing in our own lives, that we fail to consider how God wants to work in the lives of others.
You need to ask God to help you speak truthfully and humbly into the lives of others. We can’t be fearful to speak truth into the lives of others, but we must do it with humility, grace, and love. E.g., when you see someone in sin, or someone who needs encouragement, etc. Simply reminding someone of a verse that has encouraged you could be used prophetically in the life of someone else. (Prophetic word spoken into my life by a friend: God doesn’t always lead you into what’s easy…”)
We might not have a dedicated time for words of prophecy in our worship service like what took place in Corinth, but there are times for the gift of prophecy in the life of our church. Our Life Connection Groups and Discipleship groups are great places for you to speak into the lives of others.
We should listen carefully and humbly to the voice of God when we worship.
We should listen carefully and humbly to the voice of God when we worship.
Assume that God is going to speak to you when we gather together. A simple way to think of corporate worship is our response to God’s revelation. When we gather, God is revealing Himself to us - through the reading of His Word, through times of prayer, through the preaching of His Word.
Evaluate what you hear, but don’t be quick to dismiss how God is using others in your life. God may speak to you this morning through the preaching. He may speak to you through another member of our church who comes alongside you to pray with you, or to encourage you, or to correct you. When someone speaks into your life, make sure it aligns with Scripture, but be willing to listen and evaluate your heart.
Act on what God says to you when we worship. A sin to repent of? A step of faith to take? Obey God’s voice.
Why should you want to hear God’s voice? Because He is worthy of your worship and obedience. Because He loves you and desires a relationship with you. Ultimately God has spoken to us through His Son - He is the PROPHET that we can understand. He came to save you from your sins and give you life through His death and resurrection. If you have never placed your faith in Jesus, repent of your sins and place your faith in Him.
