Words of Grace

Before I even have you open up
your Bibles this morning, I want to ask a question of you. What role, if any, do you have
in the growth of your fellow believers? And before you even
answer that, even silently, I will tell you, you do have a role
to play in your brothers’ and sisters’ spiritual growth. And so perhaps a better question
is, what role do you take in the growth of your fellow
believers? You have a role. The question
is, do you take that role? Last week, we were reminded that
we all, by God’s grace, are advancing towards spiritual maturity, and
we do all have a role in each other’s advancement likely a
greater role than we even imagine. You may be here this morning
with the mindset that we’re all just kind of hovering around,
in and out, on some perceived independent orbit. We’re not. It’s not so, and as we saw last
week in Ephesians 4, There in the fourth chapter of Ephesians,
Paul articulated just how intricately linked, how exceedingly important
we are to one another’s progress in the Christian faith. Paul
said it this way, according to the working of each individual
part. In other words, if we are not
engaged And we’re not playing our role in the building up of
the body of Christ. It won’t happen. Would God’s people turn once
again to Ephesians 4? Ephesians chapter 4, this in
preparation for our study in 1 Corinthians 14. We will get
there, I promise. But first I want to go again
to Ephesians 4. And I say again because we did
look at this passage briefly last week and honestly the week
before that as well. There are a lot of connections
here in Ephesians 4 with the discussion that Paul is conducting
in 1st Corinthians 12 through 14. Last week, we looked at this
chapter as a reminder to us that while we are not yet perfect,
that is, spiritually mature, one day we will be. And so we
ought to be making progress toward that goal of spiritual maturity.
As we saw here in Ephesians 4, God has given wonderful gifts
to his church for the spiritual development of her members. Glancing
down again at verse 11, he gave apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors, and teachers. And these, he says, were all
given, as he continues in verse 12, for the equipping of the
saints for the work of service. These great offices in the church
were granted by God in order to equip, to furnish God’s people,
the church. Well, we looked at a number of
additional elements in that passage. The goal, Paul says in verse
12, is the building up of the body of Christ. That’s why God
gave the gifts. That’s why the gifts are put
to use. They are to develop the saints in the building up of
the body. That’s everyone’s goal. And Paul
presents the exceedingly high standard in verse 13. We looked
at this last week. How long? Until we all attain
to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs
to the fullness of Christ. Christ is our standard, and we
have a long way to go. That phrase, to a mature man,
is the one we seized upon last week, and we did so to remind
us of our call to spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is the overall
goal, the standard is high, and we as believers are all intimately
involved with one another in this process. But a question
remains. What is the means to that great
goal of spiritual maturity? How do we get there? How do I
help my brother and sister in Christ along in that process? And for that I’d like to press
into the next paragraph of this chapter beginning in verse 14. Glance down if you would. As
a result, we are no longer to be children tossed here and there
by waves, carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery
of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth
in love we are to grow up. That’s pretty blunt. There in
verse 14 we basically have the end result of the purpose that
Paul expressed back in verse 12. Glance again at verse 12,
just briefly, where Paul mentions there the building up of the
body of Christ. Every believer is to participate
in that, but because of that activity of building up, Paul
here points to the result in verse 14, that we are no longer
to be children. That is only a portion of Paul’s
thought. Paul doesn’t finish his thought
until verse 15. And the simple sentence reads
like this. As a result, we are no longer
to be children, but we are to grow up. We are no longer to
be children, we are to grow up, and there is the idea again of
spiritual maturity. We’ve seen it, we’ve considered
it, But this morning, I want us to consider the means. How are we to go about promoting
spiritual growth in others? And it’s mentioned right here
in this passage. And it has its parallel in 1 Corinthians. Just
glance down at verse 15 once again. But, Speaking the truth in love,
we are to grow up. Speaking the truth in love is
the great means that God has provided to make us useful in
one another’s lives. That’s how God uses us to bring
about the necessary growth and godliness in our fellow Christians. And Paul addresses this powerful
tool again in verse 29, another one of my favorite single verses
in Scripture. Let no unwholesome word proceed
from your mouth. That only such a word is as good
for edification. My simple outline for this passage
was garbage or grace. Let no unwholesome word proceed
from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification
according to the need of the moment that it may give grace
to those who hear. That’s it. That is the great
means that God has provided that will enable us to help our fellow
believer along on this pathway to maturity. speaking the truth
in love, words of edification, words of grace, and this is the
same powerful means that Paul begins to discuss in 1 Corinthians
14. And now would God’s people kindly
turn again to 1 Corinthians and to chapter 14. 1 Corinthians
chapter 14. And I’ve entitled this section,
this message, Words of Grace, which really was derived from
Ephesians 4. But here in the opening five
verses of this chapter, chapter 14, Paul is just setting forth
before us the advantages, the benefits of spiritual instruction,
words of grace. If you would, as is our habit. We’ll take the bulk of the chapter,
beginning in verse one. Pursue love yet earnestly, desire
earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to
God. For no one understands, but in
his spirit he speaks mysteries. But one who prophesies speaks
to men for edification and exhortation and consolation. One who speaks
in a tongue edifies himself, but one who prophesies edifies
the church. Now I wish that you all spoke
in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. And greater
is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless
he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying. But now,
brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit
you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge
or of prophecy or of teaching? Yet even lifeless things, either
flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction
in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute
or the harp? For if the bugle produces an
indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? So also you,
unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will
it be known what is spoken? where you will be speaking into
the air. There are perhaps a great many
kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning.
If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be the
one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a
barbarian to me. So also you, since you are zealous
of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.
Therefore, let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may
interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my
spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the outcome
then? I will pray with the spirit,
and I will pray with the mind also. I will sing with the spirit,
and I will sing with the mind also. Otherwise, if you bless
in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of
the ungifted say the amen at your giving of thanks, since
he does not know what you are saying? If you are giving thanks well
enough, but the other person is not edified, I thank God I
speak in tongues more than you all. However, in the church I
desire to speak five words with my mind, so that I may instruct
others also, rather than 10,000 words in a tongue. Brethren,
do not be children in your thinking, yet in evil be infants, but in
your thinking be mature. In the law it is written, By
men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers, I will
speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to me,”
says the Lord. So then tongues are for a sign,
not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. But prophecy
is for a sign, not to unbelievers, but to those who believe. Therefore,
if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues,
and ungifted men or unbelievers hear, will they not say, you
are mad? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever
or ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called
to account by all. The secrets of his heart are
disclosed, and so he will fall on his face and worship God,
declaring that God is certainly among you. What is the outcome
then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has
a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has
an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue,
it should be by two or at the most three, each in turn, and
one must interpret. But if there is no interpreter,
he must keep silent in the church and let him speak to himself
and to God. Let two or three prophets speak
and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to
another who is seated, the first must keep silent. For you can
all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be
exhorted. And the spirits of prophets are
subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion,
but peace, as in all the churches of the saints. Quite a chapter. We’ll begin working through it
all this morning. Paul advances here what I’ve
entitled Words of Grace, The Advantages of Spiritual Instruction. And the chapter obviously comes
in the greater context of Paul’s discussion about spiritual gifts. As we’ve seen, Paul began this
discussion really back in chapter 12, an answer to the questions
that the Corinthians submitted to him. We don’t know exactly
what they asked, but the subject was spiritual gifts. And by the
answer that Paul provides, it was immediately clear that, to
Paul, that the issues surrounding spiritual gifts was a significant
problem in Corinth. There in that church there was
division about which gift was the best, the greatest, Was the
possession of one of these better gifts a mark of greater spirituality? Was the absence of a spectacular
gift due to the fact that there was sin in a person’s life? Do
we even need to fellowship with these less gifted people? These are very likely some of
the questions they posed to Paul. And all of it, was an unmistakable
indication to Paul that even though the Corinthians did not
lack any of the sign gifts, healing, tongues, prophecy, and
the like, there was one major element that was missing, the
element of love. And Paul spends an entire chapter,
chapter 13, articulating the excellence of that one eternal
grace. His point, that whatever gift
one possesses, it ought to be exercised in a spirit of love. And that quite naturally leads
into an application of the process of spiritual maturity. Speaking
the truth in love. This is how Paul opens chapter
14 with an exposition of the advantages of spiritual instruction. Now before we proceed into verses
one through five, may I just say a few words about the structure
of this passage. Paul embarks here on some instruction
of his own for the Corinthians, and he does so by means of a
simple syllogism. You remember what a syllogism
is, right? I see people already shaking
their head. High school logic class, remember? It’s reasoning that provides
a series of propositional truths together with a stated conclusion. Let’s take a simple one to begin
with. All cars have wheels. I am driving a car, therefore
my car has wheels. That’s pretty simple. Here’s
another. All men are mortal. Dave is a
man. Therefore, Dave is mortal. And that really is what Paul
does here. Just glance down at the passage,
verses two and three. He basically says spiritual instruction
is for people. Verse four says, spiritual instruction
edifies the hearers. And his conclusion is simple,
therefore spiritual instruction is of greater value. That is
Paul’s simple syllogism. Let’s go back, though, and begin
in verse 1. Paul is turning to the subject
that he had addressed back in chapter 12, verse 31. This was his opening chapter
in this discourse on spiritual gifts. And at the close of that
chapter, he urged the believers in Corinth to earnestly desire
the greater gifts. That almost seems contradictory
to what we assumed Paul would say. Paul uses the same exact
words here at the outset of chapter 14, earnestly desire. The implication of both of those
statements is that there was nothing morally wrong with desiring
to serve God in a greater capacity by desiring some spiritual gift. It’s not wrong. It’s not wrong
to yearn for additional gifts, but God does remain sovereign
in their distribution. They cannot be purchased or earned
They cannot be developed through natural means. They cannot be
secured by any means outside of prayer and God’s willing grace. The spirit of the prophet has
to always be maintained. Here am I, send me. Be it done
to me according to your will. Well, That discussion in chapter
12 gave way, as we’ve seen, to his brief detour into a discussion
of love. Love, he would show them, was
the more excellent way. That’s what the Corinthians lacked,
and in chapter 13, the love chapter, we saw Paul excellently set forth
the beauties of the grace of love. He told us that any gift
exercised without love was unproductive. It doesn’t produce anything worthwhile. It just makes a person a noisy
gong or a clanging cymbal. A gift without love is not only
unproductive, it’s unadorning. If I exercise my gift without
love, Paul says, I am nothing. I’m nothing worthwhile, not only
unproductive and unadorning, but a gift without love is unprofitable. It profits me nothing, he says
thirdly. Paul then provides, as we saw,
a spirit-inspired definition of love in verses four through
seven. And then in eight through 10,
he speaks of the fleeting nature of many sign gifts. They come
and they go, and they’re gone for good. While love itself is
an eternal grace. And he closes chapter 13 with
a call to maturity. In that grace. Of love. And so it’s not merely. Transitional,
but a logical expectation. The chapter 14. Opens with this
simple exhortation. Glance at verse one. Pursue love. We would almost expect that.
After this chapter, if all of those things that he says in
chapter 13 are true of this great grace of love, why wouldn’t we
desire to cultivate that grace? The brief exhortation, pursue
love, is really a summary of chapters 12 and 13, as well as
an entry point to chapter 14. Love, remember, was the missing
ingredient in the Corinthians ministry there in Corinth. And
that kind of divine love would not just come fluttering into
their lives magically. It has to be pursued, it has
to be cultivated in each believer’s heart and life. And this word
pursue, it’s a strong word. It’s often translated to persecute. Paul uses it in two different
ways, to persecute, to follow hard after someone or something,
but it can also be used in a softer sense to diligently search for
someone or something. In fact, in Romans 12, Paul uses
it both ways in rapid succession. Just listen. In verses 13 and
14 of that chapter, Paul exhorts the Roman Christians to be practicing
That’s our word, practicing, pursuing hospitality. And then
immediately in the verse, in the next verse, he says, bless
those who persecute you. Both ways that word can be used
back to back. Paul used the word both ways
throughout his epistles. Here in 1 Corinthians 14, he’s
not talking about persecution. He’s talking about following
hard after intensely seeking the grace of love. But just because
Paul urges the Corinthians to pursue love, he does not intend
to disregard spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are blessings
from God’s own Holy Spirit. Gifts given to believers enable
them to serve Christ and His church. We shouldn’t look down
on them. Both gifts and love are important. And just as gifts without love
is unfruitful, love without gifts is intangible. What would it
even look like? How can love even be expressed
if not through our gifts? And so Paul urges them to yet
desire, even to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. As Paul closed
out in chapter 12 verse 31, earnestly desire the greater gifts. There’s
nothing wrong either with the desire for great spiritual gifts
or for the eager pursuit of them. Nothing wrong with that. Any
gift properly exercised, seasoned with the grace of love was a
great thing. But Paul does say at the end
of verse one, that there is one gift that ought to be desired
above all others. He says, desire earnestly. and especially that you may prophesy. In his discussion of spiritual
gifts, Paul first mentioned the gift of prophecy back in chapter
12, you remember this? Chapter 12, verse 10, it was
just one of the many spiritual gifts that the Spirit has generously
bestowed on the church, remember? The word of wisdom, the word
of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, distinguishing of spirits,
tongues, Prophecy was just one of them. The gift of prophecy
was one of many. And we saw when we considered
that passage that prophecy is not in any way limited to the
prediction of future events. That’s what we tend to think
when we hear the word prophecy. The prophets of God faithfully
and vigorously proclaimed God’s word. whether it was from direct
revelation or by principles derived from the scriptures. So a prophet
was not so much a foreteller as he was a forth teller. He proclaimed God’s Word. With
the completion of God’s revelation in the New Testament, the Word
of God became the exclusive source for the prophets’ messages. Prophecy
then is none other than the articulation of spiritual instruction. Preaching,
teaching, discipleship and the like. No wonder Paul says, earnestly
desire the gift of prophecy. Desire especially more than anything
to impart spiritual instruction to others. Now remember, I suggested to
you that Paul is employing syllogistic reasoning here. In verses 1 through
5, in the first premise of his syllogism, glance down at it,
Paul advances that prophecy, that is spiritual instruction,
is for people, not God. Look, if you would, at verse
two. The reason, Paul says, that we are to earnestly and especially
desire the ability to prophesy is that, first of all, one who
speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. And if you’re talking about spiritual
gifts given for the purpose of serving the church, then the
very fact that tongues are spoken to God and not men is a rather
important point. If a man is speaking Mandarin,
and there are people from China present among him, then well
and good. Otherwise, the one speaking in
tongues is really just echoing back to God whatever message
he was prompted to share. God surely understands it, even
if no one else does. Please don’t misunderstand Paul
here. He is not suggesting that tongues
are completely unimportant. What he’s doing, again, is setting
forth the advantages, the benefits of spiritual instruction. And
his point is straightforward. Tongues are not spoken for the
benefit of men, that is believers. But prophecy is spoken for the
benefit of believers. This is the crucial point in
Paul’s discussion. You see, what you might have
in Corinth is something like this. Paul says in verse two,
perhaps during a worship service, during which someone stands and
speaks in a tongue, a message supernaturally delivered in a
foreign language, And the presumption here is that there is no interpreter
present. And so, while everyone around
hears the sound, they hear the words spoken, but because they’re
in a foreign language, no one understands. This would be true
whether someone was actually speaking in tongues or fluently
speaking in their natural language. Unless you know the language,
You have no way of knowing what they’re saying. And you know
what? This is so amazing. God’s word
is so rich. We just came across an example
of this in our study of the book of Acts. Just listen. In Luke’s
original account of Paul’s conversion, Acts chapter nine, remember this?
He records that dramatic event like this. The men who traveled
with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one. And some of you remember that
in Acts 22, we came across a suspected contradiction. There in verse
nine of Acts 22, Paul is giving his testimony, and he says, those
who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not understand
the voice of the one who was speaking. Did they hear it or
not? And if they heard it, why didn’t
they understand it? If they heard the voice, how
did they not understand the message? It’s simple. God didn’t allow
it. All they heard was what sounded
like language, right? Like Charlie Brown’s teacher. Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah,
wah. They heard a voice, they heard language, they heard, evidently,
words, because Paul was reacting to them, but they couldn’t make
sense of it, they didn’t understand it. The same exact thing here. Paul
says, when someone speaks in the church, speaks in tongues
without an interpreter, they hear sound, but it makes no sense. It’s all unintelligible and,
to the church, meaningless. Pointless. And that’s why Paul
adds at the end of verse two, glance there, in his spirit he
speaks mysteries. Without interpretation, God’s
most amazing revelations remain nothing more than mysteries.
The individual himself may not even know the significance of
what he’s saying. These words did not orient from
his mind. As Paul says, they oriented from
his spirit. He’s been moved in his spirit
to speak, and that part of it, while thrilling, is pointless
to those around him. His words are nothing more than
mysteries, but prophecy. Prophecy, on the other hand,
is spiritual instruction. Prophecy is spoken to believers. Look please at verse three. Verse
three says, one who prophesies speaks to men. Its entire aim
is to impart some spiritual instruction to believers. It has real and
significant benefits to those who hear. These things are not
mysteries. They are beneficial spiritual
instruction. We’ll come back to that. But
there’s a second proposition that Paul introduces in his syllogism. Not only is spiritual instruction
for people and not God, spiritual instruction edifies the hearers,
not the speaker. Would you glance down at verse
four? In verse four, it just says, one who speaks in a tongue
edifies himself, but one who prophesies edifies the church. Paul indicates that there is
a fascinating phenomenon that occurs when someone exercises
the gift of tongues. One who speaks in a tongue edifies
himself. And we don’t need to manufacture
this statement into some kind of a rebuke. that a tongue speaker
edifies himself as being some kind of bad thing. The statement
doesn’t necessarily suggest that the individual is proud. He probably
doesn’t even know the meaning or the significance of what he’s
uttering. That’s why he needs an interpreter. He does know, however, that this
is a remarkable spiritual invent that he’s engaged in, and that
he alone is edified, it is up building to him personally to
be so used by God. That’s all that this needs to
suggest. I mean, after all, think of it,
the individual is involuntarily and suddenly communing with God
supernaturally in a language that he’s never learned. I think what Paul is merely pointing
out here is that the first portion of this verse is that he suddenly is prompted
to speak in a foreign tongue, to function as a spiritual conduit,
that would be a powerful emotional experience. It’s edifying to
the person involved, even if it’s not edifying to anyone else. In the exercise of tongues, the
Holy Spirit has suddenly stirred and empowered an individual to
suddenly function as God’s mouthpiece, passionately proclaiming what
the Spirit has prompted him or her to say, just in a foreign
language, but without anyone to interpret. This was a gift
that in the end was really only beneficial to the one speaking.
He edifies himself. The event is quite different
from the one who’s prophesying. Glance down at verse four, imparting
spiritual instruction, as Paul says here in the latter part
of verse four, one who prophesies edifies the church. What is spoken
is heard and understood by those around him. As Paul says, the
church, the gathered people of God, They are edified, literally
built up by that which is declared or taught. It has meaning. It
has significance. It’s understandable. It’s edifying. And given the choice, edifying
oneself for being used to edify God’s church, who wouldn’t pick
prophecy over tongues? And with that, Paul is prepared
to complete his syllogism with a conclusion. Spiritual instruction
is for people, not God. Spiritual instruction edifies
the hearers, not the speaker. Therefore, spiritual instruction
is of greater value. Would you glance down at verse
five, please? Now Paul will proceed to tell
us that prophecy is superior to speaking in tongues. He’s
going to get there, but that doesn’t deter him from expressing
his desire that all might have the privilege of speaking in
tongues. By the way, let’s pause. I’ve taken feedback over the
past several weeks from all angles, right? Some people want me to
get to the point and put a fork in tongues, no pun intended,
Put a fork in tongues once and for all. And some others want
me to admit that tongues and other sign gifts are for today. The bottom line is I can’t do
either of these things because I’m bound by the text. I’m just
telling you what Paul says here. I can’t say what Paul does not. And I’ve told you already that
personally I believe that the gift of tongues especially and
the sign gifts generally have ceased. But that’s not Paul’s
purpose here in 1 Corinthians. At the time of this writings
tongues and other sign gifts were vibrantly active and Paul
is discussing them as such. Now if we could get back to the
passage. And so Paul here, expresses his desire that all believers
in Corinth were able to enjoy the supernatural blessing of
speaking in tongues. That’s his wish. To experience
the exhilaration of being a conduit of divine messaging must have
been thrilling for Paul and for all who experienced it. But no
sooner does Paul express that, he comes back around again to
the gift of prophecy. And as much as he desired that
all might speak in tongues, he says even more, even more that
you would prophesy. And without so much as even a
pause, Paul issues the conclusion for his syllogism. Greater is
one who prophesies than he who speaks in tongues. Spiritual
instruction is for people, not God. Spiritual instruction edifies
the hearers, not the speaker. Therefore, spiritual instruction
is of greater value. That’s Paul’s simple syllogism.
But he does allow for one final caveat to his statement. Glance
at verse five once again. Prophecy is greater than tongues
unless he interprets. Remember, this was the shortfall
with tongues in the first place, back in verse two. If someone
is speaking a message, no matter how important it is, no matter
how profound the message is, if it’s spoken in a foreign language,
it’s pointless to the hearers. And so Paul adds here, basically,
prophecy is greater than tongues, unless he interprets, Paul is
going to explain later in this chapter, as we read, the proper
exercise of tongues. But the one key factor in tongues
is interpretation. And the fact is, as soon as a
message that is spoken in a foreign language is interpreted, it’s
no longer a mystery. It becomes prophecy. It’s a beneficial
message. It’s edifying to those who hear. So the gift of prophecy, Paul
says, is greater, it’s more beneficial, more productive, more fruitful
than the gift of tongues. But why? If we look back over
the verse, the answer to that question is plain. Would you
look back into verse three? One who prophesies speaks to
men, men and women and children, This is the contrasting argument
to verse two. Their tongues, Paul says, are
spoken to God, not to men. Even if people should happen
to hear these declarations, if they do not understand them,
they remain mysteries, but prophecy, what I’ve referred to again and
again throughout this message this morning, prophecy is spiritual
instruction. And prophecy is spoken to people. But it’s not simply that such
communication is directed at them, rather that such communication
is productive. It does something. That’s what
makes prophecy greater than tongues. It does something, it accomplishes
something, it produces. And Paul says it accomplishes
these three things, edification, exhortation, and consolation. I love the way one writer captured
these three things, building up, stirring up, and cheering
up. Yet another distinguished them
as edification, that is up building in the Christian life, exhortation,
stimulation of the Christian will, and consolation, strengthening
the Christian spirit. Those are beautiful. But no matter
how you describe it, prophecy, he says, is a powerful and productive
gift in the church. First of all, let’s look at edifying.
One who prophesies speaks to men for edification. And now you may suddenly recall
that this is the very purpose for which we are to speak the
truth in love. Paul says it this way in Ephesians
4 29, let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but
only such a word is as good for edification. According to the
need of the moment that it may give grace to those who hear.
Our words, our instruction, our communication with fellow believers
is to be for the purpose of edification, encouragement, like that of a
friend who is enthusiastically cheering us on. This word, as
you well know, refers to the building up of our fellow Christian,
And it’s beyond noteworthy here that this is a word that only
the Apostle Paul uses. He loves this word. putting it
to beneficial use 15 times in his letters. And there are a
few occasions where he uses it metaphorically of a building,
a structure in representation of the church. 1 Corinthians
3, 9. We are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. Ephesians 2, 21, in whom the
whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple
in the Lord. Second Corinthians 5.1, we know
that if this earthly tent, which is our house, is torn down, we
have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens. Paul uses it that way. But most
often, another dozen times, Paul uses the word to describe the
construction, not of a building, but of other people. where we
are used to strengthen them, to enhance them, to fortify them. And interestingly, four of these
12 uses by Paul occur in this chapter. Edification is the first
great blessing of the gift of prophecy, the building up of
God’s people. We saw it last week in Ephesians
4 that we are called and equipped, each one of us, to the building
up of the body of Christ, This is the very reason that God gave
his rich gifts to the church, that his children would be taught
and grounded and trained up and edified, built up. But edification isn’t the only
blessing to the church through the gift of prophecy. Paul also
says that one who prophesies speaks to men for exhortation. This too. is another Paul word. 20 times Paul uses this word,
and only Paul. And this word, if you will, is
bendable. It’s flexible. The Greek word
is parakaleo, literally, to call alongside of someone. But its
meaning varies from to entreat, to admonish, to exhort, to encourage,
to comfort, And I said it’s flexible because it’s meaning has to be
determined by the context. And in Paul’s letters, it’s found
in that wide spectrum of use, exhortation, encouragement, comfort. In other words, here, Paul points
out that the one with the gift of prophecy will be used in various
ways with various people in various circumstances. There’s one final
blessing that comes from the gift of prophecy. Paul says,
thirdly, that one who prophesies speaks to men for consolation. This word is only used two times
in all of the New Testament, only by Paul. Paul uses it as
well in Philippians chapter two. There’s Paul basically just asks
a question, if there is any consolation of love. This is the gracious comfort
that one brings to a hurting believer. They bring it from
God’s word. Oftentimes, the only thing that
is comforting to someone in deep grief, it includes the rare and
the delicate grace of sympathy. This is that friend who comes
alongside in our darkest hour, hurting, bewildered, grief-stricken,
and offers heartfelt consolation, real comfort. It’s that deep
spiritual solace born out of a kind and comforting conversation
that usually is attended with prayer. Paul says, The one who
prophesies speaks to men for edification, exhortation, and
consolation. This individual observes and
prays and comes bearing just what the individual needs. Words
that, as Paul puts it in Ephesians 4, are according to the need
of the moment. Giving grace to those who hear,
no wonder. No wonder the one who comes bearing
the gift of prophecy exercises the greatest gift of all. It’s his spiritual instruction
for people, not God. And it edifies the hearers, not
himself. Now I know that some of you are
going to approach me afterwards and ask me whether you might
have the gift of prophecy. So before you even ask, I will
tell you, I have no idea. We usually will recognize giftedness,
especially our own, after it has been exercised, even at the
end of a life of service. But I can tell you this, every time you provide biblical
counsel to a friend, Every time you share the gospel with someone
who does not know our Savior. Every time you teach Sunday school.
Every time you come alongside a brother or sister in discipleship. Every time you preach or teach
the Word of God. Every time you write someone
a note of encouragement from God’s Word. Every time you reach
out to someone who is hurting, just to pray. Every time you
lead your children in devotion from the Bible. Every time you
write a position paper, an article, a chapter, a book. Every time you are speaking the
truth in love. What greater gift can there be
than that? Would you humble yourself in examination before him?