Orderly Public Worship
Truth Taught- The speaking gifts should be exercised decently and in order
1 Corinthians 14:26-40
God has addressed through Paul the zeal of the Corinthians for the gift of tongues. We have been taught the purpose of tongues in the first century. We have been taught what is appropriate within the gathered Church each Lord’s Day. Paul tells us that as far as speech gifts are concerned, preaching is superior to tongues because it is the means God uses within the Church to edify the saints and save the lost, while tongues neither edifies the saints nor does it convert sinners.
Paul has given us over thirteen chapters of teaching. Now he is going to bring some things together for us in the context of the gathered Church.
It seems that what they were also doing was everyone who had speaking gifts were doing what they were called to do at the same time. Can you imagine having multiple people speaking in tongues and multiple preachers and multiple interpreters and multiple teachers and multiple interpreters and people speaking new revelation from God, all at once?
Now that the Apostle has taught us, he will conclude by wrapping everything up by teaching us what all this should look like within the Lord’s Day meeting.
1 Corinthians 14:26–40 (ESV)
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.
1. The Speaking Gifts are to Be Used in an Orderly Fashion (14:26-33)
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
We see here Paul’s Conclusion to the matter of the abuse of certain spiritual gifts especially, the speaking gifts of tongues and prophecy. He’s taught on them and now he lays out a proper game plan on how they are to be used within the gathered Church. Rather than everyone speaking at once things must be done in order and for the edification of all.
What we have here is a nice list of various components of worship within the ancient Church. Here we see they sang hymns. Many translate this as Psalms and hymns. They had a Bible study. They had various teachers in Corinth that taught. God was still finalizing His revelation. So they had that as well. New revelation such as the Epistle before us right now. They had the gift of tongues and interpretation.
The point that’s being made here is that all of this must be done in an orderly way. He’s not promoting any sort of order of service but simply stating everyone cannot go at once.
Here’s his guideline for tongues…
27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.
Three at the most, one at a time, and someone to interpret. If there is no one to interpret remain silent.
Their zeal for tongues had overtaken the gatherings. Some were speaking in ecstatic speech which resembles the demonic speech of their former pagan life and their former religion in the pagan temples.
Since God is an ordered God, one remedy rather than everyone speaking in a frenzy there should be order to it. Since God is a God of order the Holy Spirit then, would only work in this way. This was one mark of the tongue being from God and not from the person or from a demon.
The other safeguard was that there had to be an interpreter, which was safeguard number two. Then what was spoken and interpreted had to be for the edification of the Church, safeguard number three.
Here’s the guideline for prophecy…
29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
No more than three preachers in any one meeting. Like with tongues, notice there must be an interpreter which Paul writes are the others with the gift of prophecy. Must preach one at a time and it must edify the Church.
Then he ends this section on tongues and prophecy by stating that the gifts must be used within the character of God. In other words, God is an ordered God not a God of confusion. Therefore, the gifts He gives must be put into practice the same way as to reflect His character.
Here’s the doctrine taught here…
The character of God must be reflected in our worship of Him. Worship must be done orderly because God is a God of order.
I have been asked just about every week what I think about tongues today? I would consider myself a cessationist. That’s the term for someone who believes tongues have stopped once the Scriptures were completed or somewhere thereabout. The reason is from this section especially. There is another thing included here that has stopped. New revelation from God has stopped. There are no new books to be added to the canon of Scripture. We have the complete Bible in its current form. The very early Church did not have the completed text of the Bible.
The other reason is that throughout these chapters, Paul has been urging the Corinthians to place superiority on prophecy and not on tongues. Even though he allowed for tongues his clear preference within the Church was preaching over tongues. So that’s my take on the tongues movement, however, I never believe something like this so strongly that it doesn’t allow room for God to do anything He chooses.
Now let’s go from the frying pan into the fire…
2. The Speaking Gifts are Given Only to Men (14:33b-35)
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
The first point we should make is that of course women can talk in Church. That is not what Paul is getting at here. This section is found within the speaking gifts part of the Bible. So, when he tells us women should not speak in Church what he is getting at is that similar to someone who speaks in tongues but does not have an interpreter so should not speak and be silent, so too women should not speak in tongues, preach, or engage in any of the speaking gifts while the Church is gathered.
He writes this truth is for all Churches. For Corinth this section is corrective for other Churches, it should be universally practiced. Women must not offer authoritative speech within the gathered Church. Rather they should be in submission to those who do speak authoritatively within the gathered Church. This is another safeguard that God offers for false prophecies. Teaching the Bible is regulated to men when the Church is gathered.
1 Timothy 2:11–12 (ESV)
11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.
In Corinth, women were disrupting the orderliness of worship by seeking to be part of the worship by speaking authoritatively. They were asking questions during the worship and generally seeking to function outside of their God ordained roles.
They were usurping the authority God had given to men and even placing themselves over God’s Word.
Of course Paul here speaks as a reaction to what was taking place in that particular church but he also makes it clear that this truth is universal.
His point is for a woman to speak in an authoritative role within the gathered Church is for her to not obey God’s creative design, to disobey God’s Law, to disobey what Paul is writing and so to place herself over men and God’s Word.
I want to make sure we don’t miss Paul’s back-handed challenge for men here. What does he say, let them ask their husbands at home.
It’s been my experience that in the Church there is often a void of bible knowledge among men. The temptation then is to fill this void with women teachers. I want to ask the men here…Do you know enough Bible to answer your wife’s questions or when you get home from Church, does she answer yours?
The Doctrine: All Christians are given gifts from God and must be responsible to use them in an appropriate way.
3. What Paul Writes is Not His Opinion but God’s Commands (14:36-40)
36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.
Here, The Apostle Paul wants all Christians everywhere to understand that he is not writing suggestions, options, or his opinion but God’s Word…What the Bible says, God says.
They were seeking to do things their own way, so he asks them, 36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached?
Are you the apostle, or am I? Have you been called by God to write Holy Scripture or have I been?
The first thing we learn here is that the epistles of Paul that we have in the Bible (along with all the rest) are God’s very Word.
The other thing he is teaching them is that since the things he writes are God’s Word then, they who seek to seek out and use their gifts of prophecy will most certainly acknowledge his writings as God’s Word. If they don’t then the rest of those who do have the gift should tell them to sit down and be silent.
38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.
Here is yet another qualification to all who believe they’ve been called by God to preach. Do you believe all of the Bible is the Word of God? The answer must be yes, absolutely. Because what Paul gets to here is the core issue for the Corinthians and for anyone aspiring to be a Church leader, and elder a deacon a pastor a teacher…all must affirm this statement or if they don’t, they should not be recognized as having this gift.
Those who have the office of apostle in the early church are seen to claim an authority equal to that of the Old Testament prophets, an authority to speak and write words that are God’s very words. Peter encourages his readers to remember “the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles” (2 Peter 3:2). To lie to the apostles (Acts 5:2) is equivalent to lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3) and lying to God (Acts 5:4).
This claim to be able to speak words that were the words of God himself is especially frequent in the writings of the apostle Paul. He claims not only that the Holy Spirit has revealed to him “what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived” (1 Cor. 2:9), but also that when he declares this revelation, he speaks it “in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting Spiritual things in Spiritual words” (1 Cor. 2:13, author’s translation).[1]
39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.
Our Lord Jesus is building His Church. He gives us the proper use of the Spiritual Gifts so that all who are gathered are edified.
Doctrine: All of Scripture is God’s Word and should be viewed with having authority. We as God’s people are called to obey God’s commands.
Do you view the Bible as being God’s Word? Do you seek to obey all it says?
Paul has also contrasted our modern consumer culture with biblical contribution of many within the worship service of the Church. I pray you are not just a consumer but you contribute to the life of the Church.
Resources Used:
1 Corinthians by Gordon Fee
1 Corinthians 14:26-40 by Alister Begg
1 Corinthians by Um
1 Corinthians by John MacArthur
[1] Grudem, W. A. (2004). Systematic theology: an introduction to biblical doctrine (p. 60). Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House.
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