There are many issues of primary importance that the Scripture clearly presents a clear single truth (e.g. Jesus is God, Jesus became a fully human man and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, we are rescued from our sins (saved) through faith in Jesus Christ alone, etc). There are other truths that the Bible presents to us as guideposts, like railings on the two sides of a street or path, that keep us from falling off the path. Both sides of the truth boundaries are desirable but there is some tension between them.
Unfortunately in some issues that have two sides that are boundaries, we often treat them as a single truth issue and we often go to one extreme or the other and inflexibly resist any hint of the other side. Debates such as, "Calvinism vs Arminianism?" or "Do believers in Christ get taken up to Christ before, during or after the end-times great tribulation?" can go on endlessly with each side presenting Scriptural evidence for their points.
We need to distinguish between such types of topics. For example, it is a clear, single truth the the Holy Spirit is God and that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to followers of Jesus. But the use of those gifts, especially in the church today is a topic that there are two side boundaries I'll refer to as Alive Vs Orderly. Clearly we would want things to be both alive AND orderly. (These are positive descriptions that each side would attribute to their own view where a negative view from the other side might be Chaos Vs Quench - which clearly we would want neither).
The "Alive" side, in terms of spiritual gifts, would be characterized by the free reign of spiritual gifts such as prophecy and speaking in tongues (other languages as inspired by the Holy Spirit) in public gatherings of the church. Paul in this chapter is giving guidelines for orderly, non-chaotic use of tongues (two or three but only with interpretation) and prophecy (two or three but only one speaking at a time). These seem like common sense to some degree, but one could picture the scene without these guidelines as enthusiastic young believers in Christ Jesus are just experiencing a new gift from the Holy Spirit, so each one wants to speak and not hold back. So several people are all speaking at the same time, some in foreign, unknown languages and others in the common language with messages from God. Of course in such a chaotic situation, who can tell what is being said? No one is hearing God's messages and the body of Christ isn't being strengthened. So Paul brings order.
But spiritual gifts can still be seen as "scary" or "unknown" even when only one person is speaking at a time. Part of the problem comes because of the need for discernment of spirits (another spiritual gift). We are commanded to test the spirits in 1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." If you have been in many charismatic services, you have probably heard a "prophecy" that is clearly not from God (the obviously false messages contradict scripture). The two extreme responses to this are either 1) let everything be said without any correction or commentary 2) lock down prophecy altogether and don't allow it. These two conditions one could describe as Alive or Orderly.
Some take Orderly to the full extent and believe that the gifts are no longer to be used in the church today - a cessational approach to the gifts of the Holy Spirit (saying that they have ceased). Many main-line denominations have taken this approach. But there isn't any scriptural reason to hold that the Holy Spirit is no longer giving spiritual gifts to believers in Jesus. And this view, while not preventing people from having a relationship with Jesus and not preventing sins from being forgiven and not preventing eternal life, certainly takes away a major gift (a whole set of gifts) that God has freely given to the body of Christ for its strengthening, growth, edification and comfort.
I think that the last two verses of this chapter capture the tension between Alive and Orderly: "So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order." (1 Cor 14:39-40). Some ride hard on "earnestly desire/do not forbid" while others on "decently and in order". To the degree that we lean to one side or the other, we miss out on the benefit that the other has to offer. The trick is to maintain the right balance between the two.
While I don't at all claim that I have that balance perfect, I would make some general observations:
1) the gifts, especially prophecy, are very useful in the body of Christ
2) when prophecy is spoken in a public gathering it is the job of the pastors or leaders to be listening and judging what is said (v 29; 1 Jn 4:1).
3) if the prophecy isn't from God, then it needs to be publicly stated that this isn't from God.
Clearly the last point could be quite embarrassing to the person who spoke the words. On the other hand, if nothing is said about the word not being correct, there is an implicit acceptance of the words which could be quite misleading, especially to young believers. So one practice that I learned from Pastor Gordon Powlison who trained me was to approach like this 1) Those who are not tested/approved ministers should write down or speak the word to a pastor in private first to have the word tested. If it is from God, then it will be shared with the larger body. If not, it is a private learning experience. 2) Those persons who are a tested and approved ministry are able to speak the words publicly without checking first, but they also will be corrected if necessary. While this is not the only way to approach the issue, it provides the benefit of hearing prophetic words from God and the building up of the body of Christ and it allows for the words to be tested without any public embarrassment.
On a related note, since according to 1 John 4:1 there are various spirits that are speaking, the gift of discernment is key along with a good deliverance ministry to prepare and allow people to be free to more clearly hear God's voice and distinguish from the other voices in the air.
Father God, help us to hear, value and treasure the words that you speak to us and the spiritual gifts that you give us. Help us also to be guided by love, seeking the best for others and not glory for ourselves. Grow us and train us to be your servants and ministers of the good news of Jesus Christ!
Unfortunately in some issues that have two sides that are boundaries, we often treat them as a single truth issue and we often go to one extreme or the other and inflexibly resist any hint of the other side. Debates such as, "Calvinism vs Arminianism?" or "Do believers in Christ get taken up to Christ before, during or after the end-times great tribulation?" can go on endlessly with each side presenting Scriptural evidence for their points.
We need to distinguish between such types of topics. For example, it is a clear, single truth the the Holy Spirit is God and that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to followers of Jesus. But the use of those gifts, especially in the church today is a topic that there are two side boundaries I'll refer to as Alive Vs Orderly. Clearly we would want things to be both alive AND orderly. (These are positive descriptions that each side would attribute to their own view where a negative view from the other side might be Chaos Vs Quench - which clearly we would want neither).
The "Alive" side, in terms of spiritual gifts, would be characterized by the free reign of spiritual gifts such as prophecy and speaking in tongues (other languages as inspired by the Holy Spirit) in public gatherings of the church. Paul in this chapter is giving guidelines for orderly, non-chaotic use of tongues (two or three but only with interpretation) and prophecy (two or three but only one speaking at a time). These seem like common sense to some degree, but one could picture the scene without these guidelines as enthusiastic young believers in Christ Jesus are just experiencing a new gift from the Holy Spirit, so each one wants to speak and not hold back. So several people are all speaking at the same time, some in foreign, unknown languages and others in the common language with messages from God. Of course in such a chaotic situation, who can tell what is being said? No one is hearing God's messages and the body of Christ isn't being strengthened. So Paul brings order.
But spiritual gifts can still be seen as "scary" or "unknown" even when only one person is speaking at a time. Part of the problem comes because of the need for discernment of spirits (another spiritual gift). We are commanded to test the spirits in 1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." If you have been in many charismatic services, you have probably heard a "prophecy" that is clearly not from God (the obviously false messages contradict scripture). The two extreme responses to this are either 1) let everything be said without any correction or commentary 2) lock down prophecy altogether and don't allow it. These two conditions one could describe as Alive or Orderly.
Some take Orderly to the full extent and believe that the gifts are no longer to be used in the church today - a cessational approach to the gifts of the Holy Spirit (saying that they have ceased). Many main-line denominations have taken this approach. But there isn't any scriptural reason to hold that the Holy Spirit is no longer giving spiritual gifts to believers in Jesus. And this view, while not preventing people from having a relationship with Jesus and not preventing sins from being forgiven and not preventing eternal life, certainly takes away a major gift (a whole set of gifts) that God has freely given to the body of Christ for its strengthening, growth, edification and comfort.
I think that the last two verses of this chapter capture the tension between Alive and Orderly: "So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order." (1 Cor 14:39-40). Some ride hard on "earnestly desire/do not forbid" while others on "decently and in order". To the degree that we lean to one side or the other, we miss out on the benefit that the other has to offer. The trick is to maintain the right balance between the two.
While I don't at all claim that I have that balance perfect, I would make some general observations:
1) the gifts, especially prophecy, are very useful in the body of Christ
2) when prophecy is spoken in a public gathering it is the job of the pastors or leaders to be listening and judging what is said (v 29; 1 Jn 4:1).
3) if the prophecy isn't from God, then it needs to be publicly stated that this isn't from God.
Clearly the last point could be quite embarrassing to the person who spoke the words. On the other hand, if nothing is said about the word not being correct, there is an implicit acceptance of the words which could be quite misleading, especially to young believers. So one practice that I learned from Pastor Gordon Powlison who trained me was to approach like this 1) Those who are not tested/approved ministers should write down or speak the word to a pastor in private first to have the word tested. If it is from God, then it will be shared with the larger body. If not, it is a private learning experience. 2) Those persons who are a tested and approved ministry are able to speak the words publicly without checking first, but they also will be corrected if necessary. While this is not the only way to approach the issue, it provides the benefit of hearing prophetic words from God and the building up of the body of Christ and it allows for the words to be tested without any public embarrassment.
On a related note, since according to 1 John 4:1 there are various spirits that are speaking, the gift of discernment is key along with a good deliverance ministry to prepare and allow people to be free to more clearly hear God's voice and distinguish from the other voices in the air.
Father God, help us to hear, value and treasure the words that you speak to us and the spiritual gifts that you give us. Help us also to be guided by love, seeking the best for others and not glory for ourselves. Grow us and train us to be your servants and ministers of the good news of Jesus Christ!
When I read this chapter, verses 34 and 35 confuse me a lot. Because Paul mentions here women should remain silent in the churches and they are not allowed to speak, but in chapter 11: v5, Paul mentions every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonor her head, which indicates women can speak and preach in the churches. In additions, I myself saw women preach and prophesy in several churches. Basing on the context and Pastor Nathanael's comments, I think the reason why Paul said women should remain silent is to make the worship in that church be in order. If female believers have the words from God and they speak in an orderly way, they can speak and prophesy in the congregations. It is the same for male believers. Is that right?
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that you are on the right path with that understanding. At that time of history it was common for the women to sit on one side of the church and the men to sit on the other so a husband and wife would be sitting apart from one another during the meeting. Notice how Paul says "if they want to learn (know or understand) something, they should ask their husbands at home". You can picture the scene where a wife might be asking her husband a question across the room with many people in between them and someone up front trying to preach or teach etc. So you are correct, the main issue here is about having order and does apply to men and women, even when they are prophesying as he says in verse 40.
DeleteI can totally understand now. Thanks for your further comment!
DeleteIt also reminds me that it is important to understand the verses on the basis of the context and sometimes the historical backgrounds.