Problems Plaguing a Local Church, Part 26
In our message, “GOD, THE AUTHOR OF PEACE” (1 Cor. 14:20-40), the Lord concludes His discussion on spiritual gifts and order in church worship services.
Continuing from last week to discuss two spiritual gifts that some in the church in Corinth were misusing and acting in childish ways with (1 Cor. 14:20, 23), God explains “tongues are… a sign… for unbelievers” quoting Isaiah 28:11-12 (1 Cor. 14:21-22). Unbelieving Jewish people in that day were brought under bondage to a language (i.e. the Assyrian tongue and later the Babylonian tongue) that they did not understand after refusing to hear God’s Word to them through the Old Testament prophets (2 Chron. 36:15-16, etc.). The book of Acts also shows us the gift of tongues (given to some in the church when it was born, 1 Cor. 12:11, 18, 28-30, etc.) was “a sign” as well to unbelievers: both to those who heard the Gospel miraculously in their own language and to unbelieving Jews who mocked Peter and the other Christians when that occurred (Acts 2:1-15, etc.). But the gift of “prophesy” that brought God’s prophetic Word was not a “sign” but the means for both saved people to grow in Christ and for the unsaved to come to faith in Jesus (1 Cor. 14:24-25; 2 Pet. 1:12-21, etc.).
God wants order in the church so the Bible can be heard because He “is not the author of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:26-34, 40). Paul spoke His Word here- “the [very] commandments of the Lord” to give structure to the worship services in that day and also in our time today (1 Cor. 14:36-40). God wants us to use our gifts, but this is to be done in truth and love so others can be saved and Christians can become more like Jesus (1 Cor. 12:31b-14:1a; 2 Pet. 3:17-18, etc.). The Bible is clear, it is God’s Word that is a light to our dark path and what builds us up in the faith (Ps. 119:105; 2 Cor. 5:7; Rom. 10:17; Heb. 4:12-13; 12:1-2; John 1:14, etc.). *For more details on the Scripture here, please watch SBFC’s sermon above.