No exams= no excue not to prepare

1 Corinthians – Study 11

1 Corinthians 14

Discussion

1. If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?

This is such a hard choice for me- I would probably want to be like the Flash, and be able to move really quickly. That way I wouldn’t be late to anything? (ed. I think I spent the majority of my time on this question.)

Read 1 Cor 14:1-25

2. Explain what the gift of prophecy is?

The importance of understanding what prophecy is (especially in 1 Cor 14) is because of its apparent similarity to the other gift Paul is comparing it to in the passage; tongues. As a basic definition, prophecy could be said to be a gift bestowed by the Holy Spirit through which God speaks through the giftee. If we apply this definition to tongues however, we find that there is little to distinguish prophecy from tongues- both gifts use the giftee as a mouthpiece for God.

In order to distinguish between the 2 gifts then, we must look at the effect that each gift creates, according to Paul. Prophecy is spoken for people’s ‘strengthening, encouragement and comfort (‘v3’). By contrast, the gift of tongues without the accompaniment of interpretation does ‘not speak to other people but to God’ (v2). Immediately, it becomes apparent prophecy and tongues possess a key distinction in who they reach out to. The gift of tongues exclusively is shared only by the speaker and God, while prophecy has a communal effect.

Paul’s distinction fits in neatly with my own common understanding and experience (through the wonders of mass communication) of both spiritual gifts. The stereotype of the Christian overtaken by the gift of tongues during a church service is often characterised by minimal comprehension by the people around them, beyond that fact that it was divinely inspired. Yet prophecy throughout the old testament was delivered upfront to its intended audience (Elijah and Ahab, Samuel) as a public proclamation of God’s glory or foretell future blessings.

3. Which gift is greater: prophecy or tongues? Why?

In comparing tongues and prophecy, Paul was concerned that the apparent importance the Corinthians had placed on tongues was taking attention away from the edification of the Church (v4, 5,12). According to this criteria, Paul places a greater deal of importance on prophecy for its ability to be received throughout the Church. By contrast, prophecy without the accompaniment of interpretation isolates everyone by the giftee from enjoying its effect (v17).

The short answer is that the value of spiritual gifts is not to be placed on a hierarchy- they all come from the Holy Spirit, and have their varied but equally important uses. What Paul was warning against was the priority that the Corinthians seemed to be placing on the ‘flashier’ gift of tongues in contrast to the more subtle gift of prophecy.

Recap

4. What did we learn about spiritual gifts from:

- chapter 12?

- chapter 13?

( You guys can do this part yourself- don’t be lazy.)

5. How else is prophesying more beneficial than tongues? (vv22-25)

Paul once against sets up 2 contrasting pictures of a congregation encountered an enquirer, where in the first example the congregation is speaking in tongues an in the other, prophesying. While the enquirer may misunderstand the gift of tongues as the sign of apparent irrationality, when confronted with the gift of prophecy there is no choice but to acknowledge God’s presence amongst the congregation (v25).

How much would this help the image of Christianity today, if non-believers instead of picturing images of people struck down by the gift of tongues, could see the purposeful communication of God’s design in churches?

Read 1 Cor 14:26-33

6. Go through each of the instructions Paul gives and explain the reason you think Paul is giving them.

· V26 ; Above all, Paul tells the Corinthians to direct worship towards the edification of the Church.

· V27- 28 ; Tongues should be limited to 2 or 3 during each service, to be accompanied by an interpreter. No interpreter = no public display of tongues.

· V29 – Again, 2 or 3 prophets during each service. Prophecies are to be scrutinised by the ‘others’ (unclear whether Paul is talking about the other 1 or 2 prophets, or the maximum number of prophets within the congregation at the time)

· V30-33; God has left the giftee in control of the their gift of prophecy- at any point if another prophet comes up with a revelation, they should be allowed to give voice to it.

To paraphrase, Paul’s instructions and guide that the prophet is control of their gift and that God is a God of peace seem to suggest against incomprehensible noise and hour long prophecies.

Recap

In Study 8, on 1 Cor 11:1-16, we looked at what ‘headship’ means. We looked at some passages to help our understanding, including:

(ditto; see above)

Read 1 Cor 14:33-40

7. In light of what we’ve learnt about headship, explain Paul’s reasoning for what he says about women here.

Paul supports his instruction that women are to remain silent during service because of its accordance to ‘the law’ (v34). The reason for the adherence to the law here is once again to build up the body of the Church. While there may be others, 2 ways this might come about might be through

1) Example; going back to 1 Cor 9: 19-23, Paul becomes all things to all men, that the gospel may be shared to all people. Particularly within the context of our modern day assertion of personal rights and privileges, the humility of Christian sisters displayed during service can be a powerful public demonstration of our devotion to share the Gospel with enquirers.

2) Order during Worship; Just as there is no need for everyone to deliver a personal message during service, the adherence to the law allows worship to be conducted with the number of people necessary for the orderly running of worship. If everyone were to insist on their own personal right to speak during service, out of so many voices how would any clarity be preserved?

Paul doesn’t exclude a woman’s contribution from the service (v35). Rather, their demonstration of humility for the edification of the Church is no less important than any other effort.

8. What is Paul’s ultimate purpose for the instructions that he’s giving?

Once again, the number of times I have heard people dismissing Christianity because it is ‘irrational,’ ‘illogical’ or ‘incomprehensible’ seem to stem from problems that the Corinthians were having also. There is little reason for enquiring non-believers to find any value in a service is Christians themselves are having a hard time following what’s going on because of a lack of organisation.

At the same time, Paul’s instruction of organisation is not meant to cut people out from actively participating during service. A body is only made up by its varied yet uniquely necessary parts. Regardless of the gift, if its effect is to strengthen the Church, then it is of special value.

Application

9. List ways how you can edify the body of Christ when it meets on to worship together.

Use your imagination.

Spend some time in prayer (Always a good suggestion).

Sources- http://www.pbc.org/files/messages/8325/4481.html, http://bible.org/seriespage/spiritual-gifts-part-4-measure-gift-1-cor-141-25