Saturday, July 22, 2006

1 Cor 14

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.


1 Corinthians 14:1-40
Prophecy and TonguesPrinciples Concerning Spiritual Gifts
1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 2For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 3But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 4He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for F43 he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification. Tongues Must Be Interpreted
6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? 7Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? 8For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? 9So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. 10There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. 11Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. 12Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. 13Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. 16Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? 17For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified. 18I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; 19yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue. Tongues a Sign to Unbelievers
20 Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature. 21In the law it is written: "With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me," F44 says the Lord. 22Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. 23Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25And thus F45 the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you. Order in Church Meetings
26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. 28But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. 29Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 30But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 34Let your F46 women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. 35And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church. 36Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached? 37If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. 38But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant. F47 39Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. 40Let all things be done decently and in order.

Footnotes
1. F43: 14:5 NU-Text reads and.
2. F44: 14:21 Isaiah 28:11, 12
3. F45: 14:25 NU-Text omits And thus.
4. F46: 14:34 NU-Text omits your.
5. F47: 14:38 NU-Text reads if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.


Copyright Statement:
The New King James Version© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.


~ Lena’s Journalin’
The context of this whole passage is concerning corporate meetings of the congregations of faith filled believers who consider themselves, before the Lord, as His living Body in the earth.
The purpose of the corporate assembly is to be in a place where the preaching and teaching of the word and worship of God would come up to God in the earth in the strength that only unity can bring, what a sound before the ears of God Most High when unity comes from an assembly of people who believe Him! The world is full of disunity and disagreements.
Remember it is faith that pleases our Father God, without faith it is impossible to please Him. If our assembly has to do with pleasing Him, then whenever we assemble we ought to assemble by faith in Him, not just in a loving trust and a desire for fellowship of one another, but in a purposeful venture of bringing pleasure to our Father.
If we think of our assemblies this way it would remove many opportunities for strife amongst the members of the body. We would not so much look for the differences and the controversy even in the scripture. Remember All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 2 Tim 3:16
Reproof and correction are not for controversy, but for my own personal change into union with His words. I’m not to try to bring correction to God’s words, they are to bring corrections to my own personal life to align me with His words. That way a me can make a we, and a we can make a Him, in the earth. That is the point, that one who’s been so unusual to the world can be seen in the earth through a living body of believers in unity.
When we look at and study and read scripture we really need to remove from our natural minds the tendency to contradict or argue or contest the words of God. The world contests and contradicts the word of God, believers are to learn of and from God’s words, accepting its “newly presented ideas” as their own new ideas. That’s putting on the mind of Christ. We allow the word to remove the controversy of our old mindsets and give us new born thoughts of life and love in the spirit. The natural mind does not readily receive of spirituals, but is initially at enmity with the ideals of God’s spirit.
Where religious minds are concerned, this passage and other passages on this same subject are disregarded as real for our day.
May I present that the Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever and that He and His words are the same? Therefore the words of God are for yesterday, today and forever.
There are divers tongues, there are tongues of men (humanly understood languages), and of angels. There is also suggested appropriate times for the use of these “gifts” from the Lord, times which may be of more effective use than other times. Those who speak, speak through the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent to live inside of men who are still here in the earth. In this way the Spirit of God could be everywhere at every time after Jesus left the earth. The same God in Jesus was now able to be in believers of Jesus everywhere, no matter what background or location, God was able to use men and speak through men around the world.
Tongues of men edify men, tongues of God……edify God? May be a good question to ask. Does our natural day to day speaking edify God? Does a human being speaking the same kinds of words God speaks cause God to be edified, built up?
God said, God saw, the world was laid out.
Is our world laid out by our words? Maybe we don’t like the way our world has been laid out. So, what have we been saying about our world?
Lena said, Lena saw. I might want to put my hand over my mouth at time. How about changing the words that proceed out of the mouth instead? How about silencing the words and doing some “replacement therapy”, like beginning to speak differently, beginning to speak as God speaks, asGgod would speak over my world.
At first that may be foreign to me, it may even mess with my mind, exactly!
Maybe it will change my mind, then my speech, then my world. Aha, That’s the point! Words made the world, formed the world, can make and can change and form my world into a whole new world. God is waiting for it to be so.
Paul said vs 18, “I speak in tongues more than you all…”, and he changed the known world with the gospel message that reached the heart of you and I 2000 years later with just as much power as when it was presented.


Daily Meditation/Recital/Question
Ask myself daily: “What Page Am I On?”