1 Cor 14 TODAY

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.

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1 Corinthians 14
The Gifts of Tongues and Prophecy
1Let love be your highest goal, but also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives, especially the gift of prophecy. 2For if your gift is the ability to speak in tongues,[a] you will be talking to God but not to people, since they won't be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. 3But one who prophesies is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them. 4A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally in the Lord, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.
5I wish you all had the gift of speaking in tongues, but even more I wish you were all able to prophesy. For prophecy is a greater and more useful gift than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church can get some good out of it.
6Dear brothers and sisters,[b] if I should come to you talking in an unknown language,[c] how would that help you? But if I bring you some revelation or some special knowledge or some prophecy or some teaching--that is what will help you. 7Even musical instruments like the flute or the harp, though they are lifeless, are examples of the need for speaking in plain language. For no one will recognize the melody unless the notes are played clearly. 8And if the bugler doesn't sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle? 9And it's the same for you. If you talk to people in a language they don't understand, how will they know what you mean? You might as well be talking to an empty room.
10There are so many different languages in the world, and all are excellent for those who understand them, 11but to me they mean nothing. I will not understand people who speak those languages, and they will not understand me. 12Since you are so eager to have spiritual gifts, ask God for those that will be of real help to the whole church.
13So anyone who has the gift of speaking in tongues should pray also for the gift of interpretation in order to tell people plainly what has been said. 14For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don't understand what I am saying.
15Well then, what shall I do? I will do both. I will pray in the spirit,[d] and I will pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will sing in words I understand. 16For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don't understand you praise God along with you? How can they join you in giving thanks when they don't understand what you are saying? 17You will be giving thanks very nicely, no doubt, but it doesn't help the other people present.
18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19But in a church meeting I would much rather speak five understandable words that will help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.
20Dear brothers and sisters, don't be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature and wise in understanding matters of this kind. 21It is written in the Scriptures,[e]
"I will speak to my own people through unknown languages and through the lips of foreigners. But even then, they will not listen to me,"[f] says the Lord. 22So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers. 23Even so, if unbelievers or people who don't understand these things come into your meeting and hear everyone talking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. 24But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don't understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin, and they will be condemned by what you say. 25As they listen, their secret thoughts will be laid bare, and they will fall down on their knees and worship God, declaring, "God is really here among you."
A Call to Orderly Worship
26Well, my brothers and sisters, let's summarize what I am saying. When you meet, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in an unknown language, while another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must be useful to all and build them up in the Lord. 27No more than two or three should speak in an unknown language. They must speak one at a time, and someone must be ready to interpret what they are saying. 28But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately.
29Let two or three prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said. 30But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop. 31In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. 32Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can wait their turn. 33For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the other churches.[g]
34Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says. 35If they have any questions to ask, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.[h]
36Do you think that the knowledge of God's word begins and ends with you Corinthians? Well, you are mistaken! 37If you claim to be a prophet or think you are very spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself. 38But if you do not recognize this, you will not be recognized.[i]
39So, dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don't forbid speaking in tongues. 40But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 14:2 Or in unknown languages; also in 14:4, 5, 13, 14, 18, 22, 28, 39.
b. 1 Corinthians 14:6 Greek brothers; also in 14:20, 26, 39.
c. 1 Corinthians 14:6 Or in tongues; also in 14:19, 23, 26, 27.
d. 1 Corinthians 14:15 Or in the Spirit; also in 14:15b, 16.
e. 1 Corinthians 14:21 Greek in the law.
f. 1 Corinthians 14:21 Isa 28:11-12.
g. 1 Corinthians 14:33 The phrase as in all the other churches could be joined to the beginning of 14:34.
h. 1 Corinthians 14:35 Some manuscripts place verses 34-35 after 14:40.
i. 1 Corinthians 14:38 Some manuscripts read If you are ignorant of this, stay in your ignorance.

~ Lena’s Journalin’~
The context of this chapter is the corporate meetings of the congregations of faith-filled spirit-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. What a sign and wonder it is when any corporately assembled people can agree!
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, murmurs and complaints amongst the members of the body. We would not so much look for the differences and the controversies, 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, in order 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. The question to ask would be, “What part of my own life can be adjusted that the instructions given by His word would unify me more?”
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. It is the world that 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 newborn 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 from being real for our active participation today.
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(which are not humanly understood). 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. Now remember Jesus sent The Holy Spirit to live inside of men who are still here in the earth, available to spread His gospel message far and wide, wherever spirit-filled, spirit-led people are. 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? That last part 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 via His words.
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? Who do we sound like when we speak of our world, speak over our world?
Lena said, Lena saw. I might want to put my hand over my mouth at times. 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, as God would speak over my world.
At first that may be foreign to me, it may even mess with my mind. Eexactly! THAT was God’s idea when he asked us to receive a part of His spirit that would confound our own worry, doubt and wrong speech.
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, though he was on earth 2000 years earlier and that word has just as much power as when it was presented.
Maybe the faith lever needs to be increased in that which we do not yet understand, receive by faith, act out our faith. Beginning to speak as God speaks.

Daily Repetitive Verses -
John 17:15 I'm not asking you to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one.