Well-ordered Worship

Well, at the culmination of a
study so intense as the one that we’ve been in, 1 Corinthians
12 through 14, I’m always kind of wistful when we come to the
end of something like that. It’s like finishing a, you know,
a great sporting event or a battle of sorts. But we are at the end
of Paul’s treatment of spiritual gifts. And so if the
Lord’s people would turn once again, at least one last time
to 1 Corinthians 14, where we’ve come to the end of a remarkable
and Paul’s very thorough and incredibly powerful treatment
of spiritual gifts. God’s own Holy Spirit has been
abundantly poured forth bestowing all kinds of means and gifts
by which believers were to serve their savior by serving his church
and her people. Paul acknowledged at the very
outset of this epistle that the Corinthians themselves were not
lacking in any gift, specifically spiritual gifts. They had it
all. They had everything that they
needed in order to function in a spiritually productive way. The great outpouring of the Holy
Spirit was revealed by astonishing displays in the church, even
among a largely Gentile church such as Corinth was. But as we’ve seen, although the
gifts were spirit imparted and amazing, The believers themselves
lacked the spiritual maturity to glorify God in their exercise. Even the most fantastic gifts
were often defiled by pride. And from what we learned of the
Corinthians themselves in this letter, we cannot be too surprised. It seems as if they contended
with one another about everything. Why would we expect anything
different with regard to spiritual gifts? In their vanity, those
who possess the more spectacular gifts tended towards this ostentatious
display where they wanted to be seen by everybody. They even
went so far as to look down on those who did not possess such
gifts, and this obviously bred hurt feelings, and envy among
those who did not possess a more spectacular gift. The result was a chaotic and
troublesome scene in what should have been occasions of sweet
fellowship in the worship of Christ. The more staid and intellectual
features of the faith were set aside, teaching and preaching
and the like, in order to enjoy spiritual impulses and emotions. So when the Corinthians reached
out to Paul with questions on the matter, Paul immediately
triaged this subject as critical, a subject to which he must speak,
and speak he does. We’ve seen in chapters 12 through
14 how carefully but comprehensively Paul has treated this subject. We don’t know exactly what the
church’s questions were. Paul doesn’t cite them, but we
can ascertain from his treatment of this subject the kinds of
things that they must have asked of their friend, the apostle
Paul. Are some spiritual gifts better
than others? That’s a likely question that
was posed to Paul by the Corinthians. Aren’t people who lack the more
spectacular gifts less spiritual than those who do possess them?
And aren’t people who do possess such gifts more spiritual than
those who don’t possess them? Paul clearly is speaking to questions
like these, and it’s important to point out that while Paul’s
discussion is very thorough, these are not the final words
on spiritual gifts. Paul doesn’t say everything there
is to know about the exercise of spiritual gifts, Many questions
remain unanswered, and even new questions have come up. But in
chapter 12, Paul does lay out to the Corinthians and to us how the Spirit grants a diverse
array of gifts, all kinds of different gifts. and that those
gifts are sovereignly given to individuals in order to bless
the body of Christ. And that God himself is the one
who takes each individual uniquely gifted believer and places them
in a local church body. And the most amazing The thing
of all is that those members, as they come together, actually
comprise Christ’s body. What an amazing image. The Holy
Spirit had provided everything that this church needed to glorify
God, but there was still something lacking. Paul notes at the end
of chapter 12, they were exercising their gifts in the absence of
love. And this Paul addresses in chapter
13, the chapter on biblical love. And there he addressed not only
the problem, but he provided the solution. That all that we
do as believers is to be done in a spirit and attitude of love. As Paul moved into chapter 12,
where he does the heavy lifting, he really gets into the instruction
on the particulars of the exercise of our gifts. We saw at the opening
of chapter 14, the advantages of spiritual instruction, the
gift of prophecy, that it provides edification and exhortation and
consolation unlike the gift of tongues that does not edify. In the ensuing verses, Paul urges
believers to maximize their investment in other believers’ lives. Whatever
gift you’ve been given is an opportunity for you to glorify
Christ, to uplift Him, in the exercise of your gift for the
benefit, the profit, Paul says, of other believers. The exercise
of our gift in its best use is going to be beneficial. It’s
going to be clear, understandable, and it’s going to be meaningful.
From there, in verses 13 through 25, Paul basically got into this
comparison of tongues with prophecy, and he pointed out three things.
Differing values, they have different values. Tongues have a value,
but prophecy has a greater value, he says. They have different
purposes. Tongues are for a sign to unbelievers. Prophecy, on the other hand,
is a sign and instruction to believers. And they have also
different effects. Paul says in verse 24, prophecy
has a tendency to provide the opportunity for conviction, a
good thing. I used to tell my college students,
if they’re convicted, that’s a sure sign that the Holy Spirit
is at work in their heart. Paul closes chapter 14, Well,
almost. Verses 26 through 33, we looked
at it last week, where Paul gives the biblical design for all ministry. It doesn’t matter what you do.
Sweeping a parking lot, if the parking lot needed sweeping,
there is a means to glorify God even in a gift such as that.
Let all things be done for edification, Paul says. And then he, one last
time, lays out the comparison of prophecy and tongues. And so we come to the end of
chapter 14, and I’m only going to read these closing verses
today because what Paul does here is really just wrap up. Let’s look at it, verse 34 through
40, a section that I’ve entitled Well-Ordered
Worship. Well-Ordered Worship. Look at
verse 34. The women are to keep silent
in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are
to subject themselves, just as the law also says. If they desire
to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for
it is improper for a woman to speak in church. Was it from
you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to
you only? If anyone thinks he is a prophet
or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write
to you are the Lord’s commandment. But if anyone does not recognize
this, he is not recognized. Therefore, my beloved, my brethren,
desire earnestly to prophesy and do not forbid to speak in
tongues, but all things must be done properly, and in an orderly
manner. And if you would please allow
me just a brief, he addresses three different groups here.
These are final cautionary directives. He addresses the women, he addresses
the gifted, and he addresses the entire church. Three different
directives. And if there’s one thing that
I would ask you to allow me to do is just give a brief comment
to a debatable, controversial issue in this passage. Glance
down at the passage and look just one verse prior to the end
of verse 33. Because it seems like the last
clause of verse 33 is somewhat like a stray pet. No one is quite
sure where it belongs. Some commentators put it with
verse 34, and it would read like this. As in all the churches
of the saints, the women are to keep silent in the churches.
Now the fact that the phrase in the churches is duplicated
pointed me in the other direction. And the clause seems unnecessary. in verse 33. If Paul says the
women are to keep silent in the churches, he doesn’t need to
add the other supporting clause. That’s my concern. So as I did
last week, I think it better accommodates the flow of the
passage by keeping the clause with verse 33. There, it serves
as the support for Paul’s insistence of prophesying one by one. Do
it one at a time, as in all the churches. God is not a God of
confusion, but peace. as in all the churches. Either
way, wherever you put that clause at the end of verse 33, the material
significance of the passage is not altered. Now let’s jump in,
if you would. well-ordered worship, and Paul
is giving final cautionary directives regarding the exercise of spiritual
gifts. That’s what these three chapters
have been about. And we go back again to verses
34 through 36, popular verses, a lot of warm fuzzies here, where
he gives directions regarding women. The women are to keep
silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but
are to subject themselves just as the law also says.” Now, at
first glance, these verses seem somewhat out of place. Paul has,
for nearly three chapters, been discussing the proper exercise
of spiritual gifts, and then suddenly He drops in a comment
about women in church in order to get pastors in trouble until
the Lord returns. Women speaking in church. Some
commentators seek to simply connect these three verses with the previous
by suggesting that Paul is merely talking about another aspect
of the worship service. Look, we’ve addressed tongues,
we’ve addressed prophecy, now let me get to the women speaking
in church. It’s disjointed, that idea. It’s true. that Paul is talking
about another aspect of the church worship service, but the connection
between these verses and the ongoing argument is very strong. This is immediately linked to
the discussion about spiritual gifts overall. Paul had just
completed his discussion about tongues and prophecy, remember?
But that discussion does not address the question of who is
allowed to speak in church. And so he does that here. It’s
not enough to argue that throughout his discussion, Paul has employed
male pronouns, he, him, his. Never once does he employ the
female pronouns she, her, hers. Paul knows that he needs to address
the matter directly. And so he says in verse 34, the
women are to keep silent in the churches. Now, before I even
begin to tell you what this does mean, let me tell you what it
does not mean. Paul is not saying that women
may not greet each other within the confines of the church building.
Paul is not saying that a woman may not pray in the church building
during, say, a prayer meeting. Paul is not saying that women
may not utilize their voices to praise the Lord in song. Paul’s not saying that. Paul
is not forbidding women from uttering the refrain, amen, at
the end of prayers. Paul is not saying that a woman
may not participate and even teach a lady’s Bible study in
the church building. Paul is not saying, I believe,
that a woman may not articulate an answer and say, Sunday school,
or even ask a genuine question during Sunday school. We’ll come
back to questions in a moment. Paul isn’t referring to any of
that. That’s not his purpose. What he’s talking about, as is
clear from the context, is speaking in tongues or prophesying, engaging
in any kind of spiritual instruction or imparting divine revelation
in the church, in the worship service. And he is specifically
referring to the Christian assembly. What he refers to here is the
church, Christian worship. That is important to note because
you might recall that at the dispensing of tongues in Acts
2, remember, Peter quoted Joel’s prophecy. That Joel had foretold
that this was going to happen. You might remember that, and
it said, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Well, that’s
a problem. Does that mean that either Joel
was wrong or that Paul was wrong? No, not at all. Women would receive
the gift of prophecy, but they are not to exercise such in the
worship service. That’s the point. Paul isn’t
saying that women could not receive the gift of prophecy. We know
that they did, only that they could not put it to use in the
confines of the church, especially with men present, as we will
see. In addition to his positive statement, women are to keep
silent, and I understand, ladies, that you may not see that as
positive, Paul adds a negative statement to that. Look down. They are not permitted to speak. He makes it very clear. That is, they are not permitted
to speak in the church. Given the rough and tumble atmosphere
at Corinth, Paul felt the need to make everything absolutely
clear. And we know from Paul’s discussion
of head coverings back in chapter 11 that some of the women were
crossing the line into areas of responsibility that God had
not intended for them. We saw there that not only were
they insubordinate, they were pressing into roles that were
never designed for them, preaching and teaching and the like. This
is the reason that Paul opens that section by reminding them
that Christ is the head of every man and the man is the head of
the woman. Those are basic principles that
Paul reminds them in 1 Corinthians 11. And that whole section, you
might recall, had everything to do with headship and submission. And the head covering, a symbol
that Paul himself may have instituted among the Corinthians, was designed
to remind everyone, woman or man, of their God-given roles. That’s the problem that Paul
was specifically addressing there. in 1 Corinthians 11. And so here,
Paul makes it explicitly clear what is and what is not allowed. And in the Christian worship
service, Paul says the women were to keep silent. They were
not permitted to speak. And Paul begins to explain his
exhortation there in the third line of verse 34. Would you just
glance down? They are not permitted to speak,
but are to subject themselves. Now, unless you think that either
I or the Apostle Paul are picking on women and issuing them some
really strange standard that they are to somehow
live according to this plan of subjection. If you think that’s
strange, bear with me one second. The word is hupotasso, and the
word just means to line up under a proper authority. To get in
line, so to speak. To submit one’s self. And may
I just tell you, one of the first examples in scripture in the
use of this word was of Jesus. Jesus Christ was in submission
to his earthly parents. This is God in the flesh. And
yet Luke 2 51 says he was in subjection to his earthly parents. We know that he was also in subjection
to his heavenly father because he came to earth, took on flesh. Well, This is not something that
Christ alone does. Christians are called to submit
to every human institution, to rulers and authorities, to governing
authorities. 1 Peter 2, 13-17, Titus 3, Romans
13, 1-7. Christians are called upon to
submit themselves, arrange themselves under their God-given leaders. Ephesians 521, I always point
this out during the course of pre-marriage counseling because,
you know, young men especially are chomping at the bit to hear
me talk about wives be submissive to your husbands. That’s true,
but the verb isn’t found in Ephesians 522. The verb is found in Ephesians
521, and there it says that as Christians we are to submit to
one another. We are to defer to one another.
We are to think the other person more valuable than ourselves. But Paul does go on in 522 and
beyond to talk about how wives are indeed to submit to their
husbands. We’re all supposed to engage
in this subjection. In Ephesians 5 24, that same
great section, the church is subject to Christ. That doesn’t
surprise any of us, does it? It shouldn’t. In Titus 2 verse
9, 1 Peter 2 18, bond slaves are to submit to masters. This
may come as a surprise to you, but if you are an employee somewhere,
you have a boss, and you are to subject yourselves to that
earthly boss. And then 1 Peter 5, five young
men are to submit to the elders of the church. And I say all
of this just to remind you that this is not a standard that is
just being put upon the women of the church. Subjection is
a duty of all of us as we emulate Christ. Now all of this is possibly
still unclear or certainly unpalatable to some of you, especially the
women among us. And so we have this basic rule
of interpretation that Scripture interprets Scripture. You’ve
heard that? The rule of faith, we call it. Scripture interprets
Scripture, and clearer passages can often elucidate less clear
passages. And so a lot of times you always
want to make sure that it truly is a parallel passage, but scripture
oftentimes is going to make clear that which is not so clear. And so for that, for the lesson
in this, let’s go to 1 Timothy chapter two, 1 Timothy chapter
two, just a couple of books to your right. First Timothy chapter two, and
if you just scroll down to verse 11, where Paul says, very similarly,
let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness, but
I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a
man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first
created, then Eve, and it was not Adam who was deceived, but
the woman, being quite deceived, fell into transgression. And
you’re saying that doesn’t make it any better at all. Well, bear
with me. Here in 1 Timothy, Paul is writing
to young pastor Timothy instructions about how to conduct ourselves
during worship. He’s already addressed the men.
And in this passage, 2.11-14, it mirrors our passage in Corinthians
frequently. When Paul says that a woman is
to quietly receive instruction, even though he uses a different
Greek word, he basically says the same thing that he says in
1 Corinthians 14.34, women are to keep silent. Again, we’re gonna talk more
about what that looks like. When he says here in verse 12,
I do not allow a woman to teach, he uses the same exact word that
he does in 1434, when he says, they are not permitted to speak.
They’re not allowed. I do not allow, they are not
permitted to speak. And likewise in verse 11, when
he speaks of entire submissiveness, He utilizes the noun form of
that verb, hupotasso, to subject ourselves. He uses the noun form
of that verb from the Corinthian passage. And so finally, when
he provides his reasoning in verses 13 through 14, He just directly references Adam
and Eve instead of the more vague reference that Paul uses in 1
Corinthians 14 when he just mentions the law. We’ll talk more about
that in a moment. So that what is clarified by
this passage, remember that’s why we turned here in the first
place, that a less clear passage would be elucidated by a more
clear passage. What is clarified by this passage
is the kind of speaking that is forbidden of women in the
church. Paul tells us, glance at verse
12. He says it very plainly, I do
not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority, that is spiritual
authority over a man or men plural. And so the only speaking that
is not permitted of women in the church is that of teaching
and or exercising some kind of spiritual authority over a man
or men. Taking on the role of spiritual
instruction, if there are men present, is forbidden. Shouldn’t
be. And then, in order to bolster
his argument, let’s go back to 1 Corinthians 14. In order to
bolster his argument, Paul adds another element here. At the
end of verse 34, he says, just as the law also says. Now, we
saw in Timothy that Paul made it very clear what he’s referencing.
Paul says that his exhortation there in 1 Corinthians 14 stands
on biblical, that is Old Testament authority, the law, the law of
God. The only problem is, where? Where does it say that? What Old Testament passage, specifically
the law of the Old Testament, what passage tells us that women
are to subject themselves? For that, we would have to go
to Genesis chapter three. Genesis chapter three, if you
would, And in Genesis chapter three, you know what’s coming,
it’s the curse. Adam and Eve have fallen into sin, that much
is clear. And God rebukes, He curses, not
only the serpent, Satan himself, but when Adam and Eve fell into
sin, God cursed them as well. look if you would at verse 16.
To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your pain in
childbirth. In pain you will bring forth
children, yet your desire will be for your husband and he will
rule over you. That is a problem that is rooted
in the Adam and Eve’s exit from the garden. When Adam and Eve fell into sin,
God cursed them, and that woman would be subjected to man is
one of the unfortunate but inevitable consequences of the fall. And
that’s true for every, certainly for every married couple, but
it happens in the church as well. There in Genesis chapter three,
in the portion of scripture known as the law, the first five books
of the Bible, God doles out his curses for their sin, and he
addresses all three participants, Satan, Eve, and Adam, but specifically
to Eve, he said, I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth.
In pain, you will bring forth children. I’ve told people before
that I didn’t know the curse. I certainly knew the sweat of
the brow, but I didn’t know the seriousness of the curse until
I was in the birth room. That part we know. But God continues
there by saying, yet your desire will be for your husband, and
he will rule over you. And believe me, The curse there,
God is not talking about how your wife is going to look at
you longingly, men. Her desire will be for your authority. There will be a burning, insatiable
desire to usurp man’s authority, whether it’s in the home or the
church, in order to assume a leadership role, but God will not have it. He will rule. And it can either be with all
gentleness, as the woman is submitted to her husband as the church
is to Christ. But as Paul detailed in 1 Timothy
2, the whole argument of submissiveness is brought about by the fall. If you would, Back to 1 Corinthians
14. You might recall that in the
passage in Timothy 2, Paul provides the reasoning again in those
verses 13 and 14. There, instead of a passing reference,
a vague reference to the law, he points directly to Adam and
Eve. They are the reason for this
need of submissiveness. And so the appropriate response
by a woman is to align herself under, to subject herself to
male authority, whether it’s in the home or whether it’s in
the church. But Paul does not sentence the Christian woman
to a lifeless, disconnected existence. Would you glance down at verse
35? If they, that is, if a woman desires to learn anything, let
them ask their own husbands at home. I love what Paul does here.
And then in order to further strengthen his admonition, he
almost echoes the sentiment that he had expressed twice already. At the end of verse 35, he adds
the explanation for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.
I think we’ve gotten his point, right? It’s not right, it’s not
proper, and this word that he uses here is very pointed. It
is translated disgraceful in 1 Corinthians 11, 6. It’s translated
the same way in Ephesians 5, 12. Listen to this. Do not participate
in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them,
for it is disgraceful even to speak about the things which
are done by them, the unbelievers, in secret. And so here, it is
disgraceful or shameful or just plain improper for a woman to
advance herself in this manner in the church. Doing so is out
of order, and it’s contrary to what is appropriate. It’s alarming. It’s scandalous. Here in verse
35, Paul points up a scenario that I’ve seen play out again
and again in my experience in churches. If you’re in a meeting, and it’s
usually the annual meeting, if there is a Zinger question to
be asked in a public forum, it is almost inevitably asked by
a woman. Paul says, don’t do that. Rather
than putting an elder, a teacher, on the spot, inquire of your
husband within the confines of your own home. I love this. Because what that does is it
makes the husband function according to his God-given design. After all, the husband is the
head of the home. He should be engaging his family
in the role as a teacher. What may be couched a lot of
times, though, as a question in a public forum is really soon
exposed as contention under a thin veil of curiosity. Paul says,
don’t do that. Now in verse 36, Paul gets very
direct. And some even characterize this
as sarcasm. And I do think that there’s a
measure of that. And that should be an indication of the seriousness
with which Paul takes this situation. He’s indignant about the current
state of things in Corinth. This has to stop. And so he asks
two very cutting questions. Was it from you that the word
of God went forth? Or has it come to you only? By
these questions, Paul insinuates that for a woman to seize or
take hold of a teaching position is to place herself in a position
over even scripture itself, suggesting that not the Holy Spirit, But
she is the giver of biblical revelation. Or that she is the
sole recipient of divine revelation. Did you invent the gospel story?
Does the spiritual truth begin and end with you? You see, Paul
means business here. He insists that such conduct
by some of these women cease immediately. But the behavior by some of the
women in Corinth wasn’t his only concern. He’s just given arguably
one of the greatest treatises ever on spiritual gifts in the
church, and it seems that he knows quite possibly that not
only some of the women, but some of the men are going to disregard
his teachings. And this forms the basis for
the second cautionary directive. not only directions regarding
the women, but directions regarding the gifted, whoever they are.
For that glance, if you would, at verse 37 and 38, if anyone
thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things
which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. But if anyone
does not recognize this, he is not recognized. A poem moves
directly to address, one last time, those who possess one of
these remarkable gifts. He’s been speaking carefully
and forcefully for nearly three chapters, and yet it is more
than possible that some in the congregation would contend with
his arguments or disregard them altogether. It is as if he calls
certain ones to attention. if anyone thinks he is a prophet
or spiritual. And now he has some of the men’s
attention. We know by now what a prophet
is. It’s one endowed by the Holy
Spirit with the means of imparting spiritual instruction. That’s
been our consistent definition. But what about this label spiritual?
Who are they? This is just a general way of
referring to someone who has one of the spectacular spiritual
gifts, tongues, healing, words of wisdom, and the like. Paul isn’t prepared to examine
the validity of their claim to such gifts. He takes them at
face value. He says, if anyone thinks, you
think you got the gift of prophecy, you think you’re spiritual, that’s
fine. Paul’s content to allow these
individuals to make such a claim. You think you’re a prophet? Great,
let’s talk. And now that he has their attention,
he says, that if this is you, a prophet or a spiritual, listen
carefully, verse 37, let him recognize that the things which
I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. You see what Paul
does here is ratchet it up. People might think that, oh,
this is just a blowhard. This is just Paul the apostle.
He did spend 18 months here planting this church, but after all, he’s
only a man, just a man, and let him get this off his chest, and
then we’ll move on and do church our way. That was probably likely. Without question, the Lord here
in verse 37 is the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose church these
gifted believers are functioning. In other words, these three chapters
of insights, clarifications, admonitions are not just from
Paul’s hand. They bear divine authority. They
come under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He’s
the only Lord. And Paul is merely his mouthpiece. And a true prophet would know
without a doubt that the things Paul is teaching are from God. If you think you’re a prophet,
then I’m sure you’ll agree with what I’ve said in this treatise. The proof of having a spiritual
gift is, first of all, reception and obedience to God’s word.
What Paul makes overwhelmingly clear in verse 38 is if anyone
does not recognize this, he is not recognized. And Paul employs
a fascinating play on words here. The Greek word agno, from which
we get our word agnostic, It’s variously translated, very
similarly, not understanding, not recognizing, ignorance, uninformed,
unaware. I think you get the idea. You’re falling short mentally
on your commitment to what I’ve said. Some of the older translations
render this word ignorant, and that sounds a little harsh to
our ears. Here in the New American Standard, ESV, the word occurs
twice, translated both times in both translations as recognize. Basically, Paul says that if
any so-called prophet does not recognize the validity of what
he’s saying, is not himself to be recognized. This is your test
for a prophet or one who is spiritual, Paul says. You don’t recognize
God’s truth, God doesn’t recognize you, sit down. There’s a third
group that Paul addresses, not only directions regarding the
women and directions regarding the gifted, but thirdly and finally,
directions regarding the church. We find that in verse 39 and
40. Therefore, my brethren, desire
earnestly to prophesy and do not forbid speaking and to speak
in tongues, but all things must be done properly and in an orderly
manner. Now, most of us have heard the
name Aristotle, right? He’s considered to be a master
of rhetoric, writing and speeches and the things. And even if you’re
familiar with him, unfamiliar with him, rather, you probably
have heard his simple advice for writing a paper, right? Mrs. Himmelwitz, eighth grade English
class, she taught you this. It goes like this. Tell them
what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what
you’ve told them. That’s the basic design for writing
a speech or a paper. Your opening paragraph or paragraphs
should introduce your subject. People should know well what
you’re addressing by the end of the second paragraph. The
middle paragraph should develop that subject, tell more about
it, elaborate on some things, and then the concluding paragraph
should summarize or restate what it is you’ve told your readers
and listeners. Well, that’s just about exactly
what Paul does here. Paul does this often in his writings. And here he’s summarizing these
three chapters of instruction about spiritual gifts in three
compact lines. The first thing that he reminds
us, verse 39, is that we should desire earnestly to prophesy.
If we don’t have that by now, we haven’t been reading That’s
almost exactly what he says in verse one of this chapter. Just
glance there briefly. Desire earnestly that you may
prophesy. And that is similar to the way
he closed out chapter 12. Earnestly desire the greater
gifts, which would certainly include prophecy. The next thing
that Paul tells us also squares with what he has said earlier.
Here in verse 39, he says, do not forbid to speak in tongues. There’s no doubt that Paul has
sought to reduce the fervor and the exaggerated attention and
the outright abuse of the gift of tongues, but Paul is not anti-tongues. They are a gift that he possessed
and exercised, one out of the Spirit’s many good gifts given
to the church. But it’s not the chief gift or
the most important gift. Tongues are not the greatest
gift. Perhaps if they were, everyone would have possessed such a gift. They don’t. And even those who
do possess it would eventually see this gift fade away forever. And I’ve told you, I believe
that they have. Tongues will cease, Paul said.
But for now, Paul says, do not forbid to speak in tongues. That
is, if they are exercised properly. As Paul described back in verses
27 and 28, two or at the most three, each in turn, and one must interpret. And Paul
issues one last admonition, an overarching command that summarizes
his entire discussion. Verse 40, but all things must
be done properly and in an orderly manner, no matter what the gift
was or is, this is as much for us as it was the Corinthians,
no matter what the gift was or is, the goal with all is edification,
building up God’s people. The building up of Christ’s people
and Christ’s church, anything that does not edify, cannot,
is not, cannot possibly be of God. And Paul uses two words
to describe a well-functioning church. Glance at the passage
if you would. Properly. and in an orderly manner. It’s a sad feature that in many
churches, those two words do not describe what’s taking place
in the context of alleged worship. It is not proper and it is not
orderly. The word properly is one of these
words used only by Paul three times in his writings. It’s a
word that properly describes beauty. It just speaks of that
which is right and appropriate, fitting. In Romans 13, Paul contrasts
what is proper for a Christian compared to the sordid behavior
of the world. In 1 Thessalonians 4.12, Paul
urges proper behavior. You know what’s right with regard
to outsiders. You know how to treat them as
unbelievers. The word just speaks of a dignity
and gracefulness that when it’s applied to the church, paints
a beautiful picture of deportment in a manner that is fitting for
the purity and the respectability of the institution of the church.
Whatever we do, we should do it properly. We should behave
properly. And then he adds orderly. It should
come as expected. That as God’s entire creation
is a grand display of order. We even read about it in the
Psalm. From day where night gives way to dawn, and dawn gives way
to a full day, to the seasons which are constantly in transition,
to the weather, where everything in God’s creation is orderly. Should it surprise us that God
would expect the same delicately balanced decorum to be found
and seen in his church? Shouldn’t surprise us. Thank you for Bearing with me
these many months as we looked at these rich chapters, these
are not easy words to hear or even to grasp. They’re not always
easy to preach. But I thank God’s people for
submitting themselves to God’s Word and not bringing in their
own baggage of understanding and foisting that in place of
the authority of God’s Word. Would you humble yourself as
we close out this book, this section, and this passage?