THE RIGHT GIFT FOR THE RIGHT OCCASION – 1 Corinthians 14:20-25

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 27, 2019 under 2019 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; October 27, 2019 from 1 Corinthians 14:20-25

Theme: Christian maturity means that we rightly discern what God’s gifts are for … and when they are to be used for His glory

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

Click HERE for the audio version of this sermon.

I had an opportunity recently to attend a city-wide prayer gathering. It was a wonderful experience; and I was very grateful to see so many of my brothers and sisters from various churches gathering together—with one heart—to pray for our city.

One of the very interesting features of the evening was how some believers from various ethnic backgrounds were called to the platform to read a passage of Scripture. One woman, for example, read a passage in her native Chinese language. Another woman read a passage in the Russian language. A man read from a passage in the Korean language; and another man read a passage in Spanish. And in each case—up on the screen—the English translation of the passage that they were reading was put up next to the same passage in the language that was being spoken. It was a picture of what we’re told in Revelation 7—of how, in heavenly glory, God’s redeemed saints “of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” will stand before God and proclaim the glories of His salvation. It was a thrilling and beautiful experience. And it was one that everyone in this very large gathering could participate in, because the words were translated for them into English.

But then, something happened that—at least for me—distracted from that experience. Those same individuals who read God’s word were then called upon to lead us in prayer in their native language. These prayers were long and passionate and—I believe—very sincerely directed toward God. But there was no translation of their words given for the rest of us. I felt sure that very few of the multiple hundreds of people in the room could understand what was being prayed. I felt a bit left out of that important part of the service. And I wonder if others felt that way too.

When the prayer that each person offered in their native language was completed, and when everyone was expected to say their ‘Amen’, I’m afraid that I could not do so. I didn’t know what was being said. How could I offer a sincere ‘Amen’ to it? I could only listen to the sounds of their voices and wonder what it was that they were saying. I could not participate with them in worship.

This, it seems to me, illustrates—in a small way—the problem that the apostle Paul had been dealing with among the believers in the ancient church at Corinth. As we have seen from our past study of this section of 1 Corinthians, many of them had been exercising the spiritual gift of ‘tongues’ in the assembly of the church in a way that was disruptive and divisive. The type of ‘tongues’ involved was not a known language—such as Chinese or Russian or Korean or Spanish would be. Rather, it was a spiritual language—prayed in the spirit—that was unknown even to the speaker. Paul did not discourage the use of this gift in private prayer; but he was seeking to teach them that the official assembly of the church was not the time to use this gift—unless there was someone there who had the gift of interpretation. Without an interpreter making clear what it was that was being said, someone may have sincerely spoken or prayed or sang ‘in the spirit’; but the understanding of others would not be involved. The speaker may have been blessed; but the rest of the church would be left out—unless their words were interpreted for the benefit of everyone else.

If you’ll look at 1 Corinthians 14:13-16, you’ll see that Paul wrote;

Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What 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. Otherwise, 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? (1 Corinthians 14:13-16).

Throughout this whole section of 1 Corinthians, Paul had been dealing with this problem. In the first five verses of Chapter 14, he stressed that the gift of prophecy—that is, the gift of speaking forth a word from God in the power of God to the people of God in a clear and discernible way—is the more valuable of the gifts to use in the church assembly. And this was because of the fact that it edifies everyone. In verses 6-19, he had shown them that if their great concern had been to edify one another, then they would use the gift of tongues privately—but would emphasize the gift of prophecy when they gather together in the public assembly. The gift of tongues could only edify themselves personally—unless interpreted; but the gift of prophecy would edify the whole church.

And then, in our passage this morning, Paul goes on to say something that was meant to show them why it was not appropriate to use the gift of tongues—in the way they were using it—in the public assembly of the church. In verses 20-25, he wrote;

Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature. In 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,”

says the Lord. Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. Therefore 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? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus 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 (vv. 20-25).

As I have affirmed to you before, this particular problem—that is, the problem of tongues being used in a disruptive way in the church assembly—is not something that is a problem in our church family. We prioritize the ‘prophetic ministry’ in our church—that is, the ministry of clearly speaking forth God’s word in our meeting-times together. And so, the gift of tongues—which we are growing to appreciate as a legitimate gift that is given to some within the church family—is not something that has created divisions within our whole church assembly. Praise God for that.

But Paul’s words in this passage nevertheless have a practical value to us. They teach us that we are to be mature Christians—’grown up’ in our understanding of the things of the faith. And as mature Christians, we are to learn to rightly discern what God’s various spiritual gifts to the church are for … and when they are to be used for His glory.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; we’ll get a better grasp of this New Testament passage if we, first, take a moment to look back into the Old Testament. The argument that Paul is making in this morning’s passage is one that was based on something that he quotes from the Book of Isaiah.

Back in Isaiah 28, the prophet Isaiah was speaking forth a prophetic word of judgment from God to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel—and also to the disobedient people of Jerusalem. God had been sending His prophet to them to warn them of their unfaithfulness to Him, and to call them back to Himself. But Isaiah was speaking of the frustration he felt in his own ministry to them when he wrote,

“Whom will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:9-10).

The people were like children who wouldn’t listen and wouldn’t understand. They had to be taught the basic A-B-Cs of God’s truth—a line here, a precept there—in little bits and pieces at a time. The people were insulted by how Isaiah need to do this; but the problem was not with him. Rather, it was with the fact that they were hard-hearted; and were not willing to listen to truth and learn from it.

And so; God promised to bring judgment upon them. As it turns out, He would be bringing an enemy nation upon them—a nation whose language they would not understand. If they did not want to hear the plain, clear, straightforward word of God, then—as a judgment—they would hear the confusing language of a foreign oppressor. Isaiah wrote;

For with stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
To whom He said, “This is the rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.

But the word of the Lord was to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,”

That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught (vv. 11-13).

And so; in the Old Testament, the whole idea of the people being gathered together to hear ‘tongues’ that they didn’t understand was not presented as a good thing. It was not a sign of their spiritual maturity. Rather, it was a sign of God’s judgment. It was a result of not being willing to hear a clear, plain word from God with a truly receptive and repentant heart.

Now; the believers in Corinth were not understanding this lesson from the Old Testament. They were not realizing that what they thought of as an impressive display of ‘spirituality’ in their midst was—in reality—not a good thing. If they had carefully searched the Scriptures and understood what it taught, they would recognize that ‘tongues’ was a thing that was out-of-place in the assembly of God’s redeemed people—unless interpreted and made plain for everyone. They would have understood that the clear, straightforward word of God—spoken forth to the people of God in the power and authority of God’s Holy Spirit—is what is most appropriate for the gathering of God’s holy and obedient people.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; let’s look carefully at how Paul develops this. First notice that as the people of God—gathered together in the name of Christ—we must …

1. BE MATURE IN SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING.

In verse 20, he writes;

Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature (v. 20).

Paul began by calling these fellow believers “brethren”; which is a term of love and affection. I don’t believe Paul was meaning, in any way, to be insulting to them, or to speak to them in a demeaning way. He was simply saying that, as followers of Jesus, it’s not appropriate for them to continue to be ‘childlike’ and ‘immature’ in their thinking about spiritual matters.

How do children think? One of their characteristics is that they only think about what they immediately see and what immediately delights them. They are impressed by and drawn to the ‘sparkly’ and ‘shiny’ things of life. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But they don’t then go on to rightly discern those things they see. They don’t understand those things in the light of the bigger picture. They don’t think about the purpose of the things they see—or understand what it is that those things are supposed to accomplish—or where they are to properly be used. They just see those things as ends in and of themselves.

As followers of Jesus, we’re to be mature in our thinking of spiritual things. We’re not to simply be drawn away by things that sparkle and shine and impress—and then think no further about it. We’re not to take hold of those things and use them in an undiscerning manner. When we misuse the things of God in that way, we end up hurting one another, and dividing from one another, and having ill-will toward one another. We need to understand what the intended purposes of such things are in the plan of our heavenly Father; and then use them in a thoughtful and mature way so that we bless and edify one another in Christ.

It’s a good thing, however, to have a child-like inexperience with those things that divide us. We should be innocent babies when it comes to ‘malice’. Like he says in Romans 16:19, “I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.” But when it comes to the true spiritual gifts that God gives us, we need to be ‘mature’ and ‘grown-up’ in our thinking about such things and in our use of them.

And this, it seems to me, is something that reaches beyond just the matter of ‘tongues’ alone. It’s a general spiritual principle that is meant to be applied all of the time—in all aspects of our Christian life . Dear brothers and sisters; we need to continually ‘grow-up’ in our thinking about spiritual things. We need to make progress in our spiritual understanding. We hurt ourselves when we don’t grow up.

Paul, it seems to me, was often frustrated by this kind of behavior when it came to the Corinthians. Back in Chapter 3, he wrote;

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).

The writer of Hebrews expressed a similar frustration toward his Jewish brethren in Christ. In Chapter 5, he wrote;

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5:12-14).

So; when it comes to spiritual matters—certainly the matter of the gift of tongues; but truly with all things that God gives us for our good—let’s be mature in our understanding. Let’s carefully learn what God’s word tells us about these things; and learn how to treat them in a proper way—that is, in accord with the purpose God had in mind when He gave them to us. Let’s faithfully ‘grow up’ in our spiritual grasp of these things.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Now; such growth in spiritual understanding would require that we know what God’s word has to say about such things. And so; Paul pointed his readers back to the Old Testament—back to the Book of Isaiah—to help them remember what God has already said about the purpose of tongues.

This shows us that, as mature, grown-up-thinking Christians, we are to …

2. KNOW WHAT THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE MEANT TO DO.

Paul spoke of the Old Testament Scriptures as ‘the law’; and wrote;

In the law it is written:

“With men of other tongues and other lips will speak to this people;
And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,”

says the Lord. Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe (vv. 21-22).

In other words, in the Book of Isaiah, God showed us that tongues were meant as a sign of judgment—a sign of punishment to people who would not listen to His words and would not believe what He said. This reminds me of something that the Lord Jesus once said. His disciples came to Him and asked why it was that He taught the crowds in confusing parables. In Matthew 13, it says;

He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matthew 13:11-17).

So; when someone hardens their hearts and will not hear plain truth from God—if they will not believe—then God speaks to them in confusing parables and in ways that they cannot understand. But to those who want to hear—to those who will humbly listen, and repent, and believe—He speaks plainly and in ways that enlighten their hearts.

So; we should know and understand what the spiritual gifts are meant to do. In the gathering of God’s people, tongues are not meant to edify. Rather, for everyone to hear sounds that they could not understand was a sign of judgment from God. But the clear, plain words of prophecy—the clear speaking-forth of God’s word to God’s people in God’s power—is meant to be a sign for those who will believe!

* * * * * * * * * *

So then; if we rightly know what the Scriptures says about this—if we grasp this in a spiritually mature way—then what do we do? Paul goes on to show us that, Christian maturity means that we …

3. RIGHTLY APPLY THIS KNOWLEDGE IN PRACTICE IN THE CHURCH FAMILY.

The confusion of everyone speaking in tongues is meant as a sign to those who will not believe—a sign of judgment. It’s not something that is appropriate for the whole assembly of believers to desire or pursue. And so, Paul wrote in verse 24;

Therefore 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? (v. 23).

And the answer is obvious. Yes they will. And dear brothers and sisters; we do not want to come together in such a way as to act as if we are a sign of condemnation to unbelievers. We don’t want them to go away hardened to the gospel message because they thought we were crazy. That’s what will happen if we use the gift of tongues in the wrong way—and on the wrong occasion.

But instead, we want to be used by God as a sign for good. What, then, is the sign for those who will hear and will believe? It’s prophecy—the clear, plain ‘speaking-forth’ of the word of God, with spiritual power and authority, that everyone can understand. Paul went on to say in verses 24-25;

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed … (vv. 24-25a).

And why is that? It’s because the unbeliever can plainly understand what is said. Look at the progression that Paul describes. He says that first, they are ‘convinced’. The logic of God’s word speaks to their minds. Then, they are ‘convicted’. What is understood by their mind then goes on to speak to their conscience. And finally, ‘the secrets of his heart is revealed’. The truth of the desperate condition of their soul is laid out before them and they see that they need a Savior. That’s the power of the word of God—clearly spoken—in plain words. As it says in Hebrews 4:12-13;

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:12-13).

And then, as a result—in the power of the Holy Spirit, working through His word—lives are transformed. Paul wrote;

and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you (v. 25b).

Dear brothers and sisters; isn’t that a far more worthy proof that God is spiritually at work in the midst of His people gathered together in the church?

* * * * * * * * * *

As I have been very careful to express throughout our study—and as I believe is in full accord with what God has told us through the words of the apostle Paul—the gift of tongues is a gift from God. It is worthy of our respect; and is something to thank Him for. But it is meant to be used in the specific ways that He has told us in His word—that is, used privately by those who have been given this gift; and used only for the benefit of others when it is interpreted. But when the church is gathered together, we should instead prioritize the gift of prophecy—the clear ‘speaking-forth’ of a word from God.

And in all of this, let’s be sure we grab hold of the great lesson this passage has to teach us. Let’s not be ‘children’ in our understanding of the things that God has given us. Let’s look to His holy word and learn what He says about these things—what they are for, and how and when they are to be used.

Let’s learn to use the right gift for the right occasion. To do so is, quite simply, a matter of Christian maturity.

Click HERE for the audio version of this sermon.

EA