WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.580 what we've learned in this book. I know I've 00:00:03.580 --> 00:00:07.660 asked this question before, but some of you are 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:11.500 rule, some of you really like rules. Who really, 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:15.640 really likes rules? Yeah. Who does not like rules? 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.480 Okay. Some of you are like, I don't want you 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:22.280 to make me do anything. I'm not raising my hand. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:24.940 That's kind of how you are right now. And if 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:27.059 that's how you are, it's because you don't, you 00:00:27.059 --> 00:00:30.230 don't like rules. I was reading this week, How 00:00:30.230 --> 00:00:32.429 many guys ever heard the term the Victorian era? 00:00:32.549 --> 00:00:35.689 Victorian era, you've heard of that? And that 00:00:35.689 --> 00:00:42.270 was between like 1837 to 1901. And it had, one 00:00:42.270 --> 00:00:43.409 of the things that's interesting, I was reading 00:00:43.409 --> 00:00:48.570 about it, that particular time in English history, 00:00:49.469 --> 00:00:52.450 our team just came back from Wales, right? Queen 00:00:52.450 --> 00:00:56.310 Victoria and all that. There were numerous rules 00:00:56.310 --> 00:01:00.039 for social etiquette, for manners. and a lot 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:02.020 of them seem very old fashioned today. There 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:06.659 was a guy who wrote a manual of social and business 00:01:06.659 --> 00:01:10.420 forums that was published in 1875, kind of at 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:14.659 the height of that time, and it outlined various 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:18.799 practices for social etiquette. Like, if you 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:20.859 can get me to eat with my mouth closed, I'm doing 00:01:20.859 --> 00:01:23.099 pretty good, right? Like, that's kind of where 00:01:23.099 --> 00:01:25.579 I'm at. You're like, that's disgusting. Okay. 00:01:27.250 --> 00:01:30.170 But yeah, this particular book kind of took some 00:01:30.170 --> 00:01:31.930 of those things that were common at that time, 00:01:32.590 --> 00:01:34.730 including things about hygiene and greeting and 00:01:34.730 --> 00:01:36.590 conversation. Here's some of the things that 00:01:36.590 --> 00:01:38.730 are in that book, and I think you'll think this 00:01:38.730 --> 00:01:41.569 is funny, on bowing. This is something about 00:01:41.569 --> 00:01:44.250 bowing, okay? This is a quote from this book. 00:01:44.469 --> 00:01:47.150 A gentleman should not bow from a window to a 00:01:47.150 --> 00:01:50.129 lady on the street, though he may bow slightly 00:01:50.129 --> 00:01:52.489 from the street upon being recognized by a lady 00:01:52.489 --> 00:01:55.459 in a window. Such recognition should however 00:01:55.459 --> 00:01:58.540 generally be avoided as gossip is likely to attach 00:01:58.540 --> 00:02:02.280 and do importance to it to it when seen by others 00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:05.439 Who's gossiping about people bowing and wind 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:09.000 ice weird, okay for okay small talk Here's one 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:11.680 no topic of absorbing interests may be admitted 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.860 to polite conversation. It might lead to discussion 00:02:17.150 --> 00:02:19.469 That's a weird rule. Here's one about marriage. 00:02:20.030 --> 00:02:22.870 Anyone with bright red hair and a floored complexion 00:02:22.870 --> 00:02:26.129 should marry someone with jet black hair. The 00:02:26.129 --> 00:02:29.370 very corpulent, which means fat, the very corpulent 00:02:29.370 --> 00:02:32.169 should marry the thin and spare, and the body 00:02:32.169 --> 00:02:37.289 wiry cold -blooded should marry the round -featured 00:02:37.289 --> 00:02:42.330 warm -hearted emotional type. Speaking of well 00:02:42.330 --> 00:02:45.039 -rounded, I accidentally... Trimmed my beard 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:47.360 too short time you guys noticed. Okay, it was 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:49.939 an accident this morning I usually do an eight 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:52.979 and it went to a one and it was bad and Zeke 00:02:52.979 --> 00:02:54.599 on the way here He's like don't worry dad. It 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:56.479 looks fine. Your cheeks are a little bit bigger, 00:02:56.520 --> 00:03:02.419 but it's fine He's getting a spanking when he 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:07.610 gets home so So here's one about street etiquette. 00:03:07.810 --> 00:03:10.009 When crossing the pavement, a lady should raise 00:03:10.009 --> 00:03:12.490 her dress with the right hand a little about 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:14.849 the ankle. To raise the dress with both hands 00:03:14.849 --> 00:03:17.110 is vulgar and can only be excused when the mud 00:03:17.110 --> 00:03:22.789 is very deep. Okay, so yeah, some kind of, I 00:03:22.789 --> 00:03:24.550 was not made for that time. These kind of rules 00:03:24.550 --> 00:03:28.770 seem kind of old fashioned and funny. In 1 Corinthians 00:03:28.770 --> 00:03:32.169 chapter 12 to 14 especially, and really the whole 00:03:32.169 --> 00:03:36.819 book, Paul's writing and he's, He's answering 00:03:36.819 --> 00:03:39.780 questions that they've asked, but he's also calling 00:03:39.780 --> 00:03:41.479 them out on things that they are doing that was 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:45.439 wrong. I was talking to somebody this week and 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:49.060 kind of thinking out loud together, and I said, 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:52.939 could you imagine trying to pastor a church, 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:56.060 which is what Paul had done, he started the church, 00:03:56.099 --> 00:03:58.099 and there are people there that were trying to 00:03:58.099 --> 00:04:00.680 pastor the church, and not having the full written 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:04.680 New Testament, right? And in Corinth, having 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:07.199 a bunch of people that get saved, come to know 00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:10.939 Christ as Savior, but came out of a very pagan 00:04:10.939 --> 00:04:14.939 background, where even the way that they worship 00:04:14.939 --> 00:04:17.500 these pagan deities was through sexual practices 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:23.800 and temples. There's all kinds of crazy morality 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:28.439 in the culture, and there's no word of God in 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:31.089 the sense of written Word of God, there's the 00:04:31.089 --> 00:04:32.810 Old Testament, but a lot of the New Testament 00:04:32.810 --> 00:04:35.149 hasn't been written yet. Can you imagine trying 00:04:35.149 --> 00:04:38.350 to pastor those kinds of people, brand new people 00:04:38.350 --> 00:04:40.149 that, yeah, they get saved and they're transformed, 00:04:40.629 --> 00:04:42.949 but who agrees? There would be a lot to change. 00:04:43.730 --> 00:04:45.970 There'd be a lot for them to deal with. And so 00:04:45.970 --> 00:04:51.939 Paul... God in his great wisdom had the apostle 00:04:51.939 --> 00:04:54.220 Paul be a missionary and go all over the place 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:57.439 and pastor and start churches and then leave 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:00.560 those churches and then have to instruct those 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:02.279 churches even though he's gone. And because he 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:06.579 did that, now we have a record of what the Holy 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:08.879 Spirit through Paul taught, and not just Paul, 00:05:09.220 --> 00:05:11.560 James and Peter and these other ones, to kind 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:13.699 of set in order how we ought to do what we're 00:05:13.699 --> 00:05:17.279 doing here. Who's grateful for that? I'm so glad 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:20.439 that I don't have to make up the rules, that 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:22.300 I don't have to make up, hey, how should we do 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:27.279 church like God wrote it down in a book. And 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:31.120 that's what we're seeing in 1 Corinthians, really 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:35.860 when we get to chapter 14 and chapter 12, Paul's 00:05:35.860 --> 00:05:37.680 correcting this Corinthian church about how they're 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:41.759 approaching specifically spiritual gifts. especially 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:44.300 with how those things were being expressed in 00:05:44.300 --> 00:05:47.379 the context of when they assemble together. And 00:05:47.379 --> 00:05:50.879 two major issues seem to come up. First, they 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:53.920 were preferring the sign gifts or the showy gifts 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:56.519 to the point that they were creating chaos when 00:05:56.519 --> 00:05:59.439 they assembled and even counterfeiting these 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:02.639 gifts in a way that created all kinds of confusion. 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:06.759 Second, they were doing that and they were doing 00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:11.189 it without love. They were doing it to be seen 00:06:11.189 --> 00:06:14.870 and not to minister. They're doing it to get 00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:19.290 their own egos promoted and not necessarily to 00:06:19.290 --> 00:06:22.810 be a benefit to the church. And so last week 00:06:22.810 --> 00:06:26.709 we covered 1 Corinthians 14, one to 19, and heard 00:06:26.709 --> 00:06:28.730 from the apostle Paul that the church was to 00:06:28.730 --> 00:06:32.970 prefer prophecy. Go back to chapter four, in 00:06:32.970 --> 00:06:35.449 chapter 14, just a little bit above where I. 00:06:35.629 --> 00:06:38.310 I'm gonna ask you to go to 14 .1. He says, follow 00:06:38.310 --> 00:06:41.529 after charity. Charity is love. That's chapter 00:06:41.529 --> 00:06:44.550 13, what he just described is love. And saying, 00:06:45.350 --> 00:06:48.569 faith, hope, and love these three, but the greatest 00:06:48.569 --> 00:06:50.769 of these is love. Our love will be in the end. 00:06:52.529 --> 00:06:55.110 Love will remain. In the end of all times, we'll 00:06:55.110 --> 00:06:57.629 see as we're seeing. Faith won't have to be anymore, 00:06:57.829 --> 00:07:01.310 because we'll see God. Who's excited about that? 00:07:01.689 --> 00:07:04.889 We'll see Jesus. We won't have to hope for eternity. 00:07:04.889 --> 00:07:07.689 We'll be in eternity. It's gonna be an amazing 00:07:07.689 --> 00:07:10.129 thing for those of us who know Christ Jesus. 00:07:10.930 --> 00:07:13.790 And faith and hope will not remain, but love 00:07:13.790 --> 00:07:19.910 will remain. That'll be so amazing. And who's 00:07:19.910 --> 00:07:27.779 tired of sin? Man, I'm tired of my sin. So. Paul 00:07:27.779 --> 00:07:30.620 says in chapter 40 verse 1 you you need to desire 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:33.339 the spiritual gifts at these time at this time 00:07:33.339 --> 00:07:35.100 Gifts of prophecy gifts of tongues. We're gonna 00:07:35.100 --> 00:07:37.399 talk about this today They're still operating 00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:40.180 and what Paul's saying is if you're gonna prefer 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:44.079 one of these sign gifts prefer prophecy He says 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:48.100 it's because Prophecy edifies the whole congregation 00:07:48.100 --> 00:07:50.800 and the reason it does is because it's intelligible 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.680 and it's rational when they would prophesy when 00:07:53.949 --> 00:07:58.009 The word would come from God to men who spake, 00:07:58.149 --> 00:08:00.850 thus saith the Lord. They did it in a way that 00:08:00.850 --> 00:08:03.449 everybody in the room could understand. And in 00:08:03.449 --> 00:08:05.449 that way, the word of God coming through that 00:08:05.449 --> 00:08:09.490 person builds up other people. Legitimate tongues 00:08:09.490 --> 00:08:12.490 could be interpreted, and in that way they became 00:08:12.490 --> 00:08:14.810 prophecy while counterfeit and uninterpreted 00:08:14.810 --> 00:08:17.470 tongues didn't lead to any understanding and 00:08:17.470 --> 00:08:20.620 therefore did not edify. And in today's text, 00:08:20.660 --> 00:08:23.160 he goes on to describe how these two gifts of 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:26.040 the Spirit were to be exercised when they came 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:28.819 together. The rules that Paul gave to the church 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:33.259 here are not mere etiquette or like dealing with 00:08:33.259 --> 00:08:35.100 social norms like the Victorian ones that I read 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:38.240 before. Here he gives them rules on how to see 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:40.700 these gifts, how these gifts were to be expressed 00:08:40.700 --> 00:08:46.360 when they came together. And so in learning this, 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:49.519 we can learn principles that apply to us today 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:52.600 and how we should worship together. So to put 00:08:52.600 --> 00:08:55.600 this in one sentence, to put the rest of the 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:57.240 sermon in a sentence, here's what I would say. 00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:00.519 The way that we should participate in corporate 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:04.000 worship in principle can be seen in how Paul 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:06.879 commanded the Corinthian church to regulate two 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:09.419 spiritual gifts when they came together. There's 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:11.120 two spiritual gifts that are talked about here, 00:09:11.379 --> 00:09:14.279 prophecy and tongues, and he gave them rules 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:18.480 about how to He gave them order. When these things 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:21.240 happen in church, this is how they're to be done, 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.179 okay? So the first one, set of regulations, number 00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:29.500 one is regulations for tongues. Now there was 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:31.659 a lot of chaos in their church and when it came 00:09:31.659 --> 00:09:34.440 to their services, as we have said, counterfeit 00:09:34.440 --> 00:09:37.019 tongues were being used in the form of gibberish 00:09:37.019 --> 00:09:40.289 languages with no meaning. As we looked at last 00:09:40.289 --> 00:09:43.950 week, there are times where in the King James 00:09:43.950 --> 00:09:46.230 translation that we're using today, verse two, 00:09:46.490 --> 00:09:49.509 for he that speaketh in an unknown tongue, you 00:09:49.509 --> 00:09:52.009 see the word unknown is supplied there by the 00:09:52.009 --> 00:09:54.070 translators, the word tongue in the singular. 00:09:54.809 --> 00:09:58.570 I believe in almost every case in chapter 14, 00:09:58.690 --> 00:10:03.669 except down in verse nine, the word tongue there 00:10:03.669 --> 00:10:07.289 in the singular is speaking of counterfeit. at 00:10:07.289 --> 00:10:11.389 least uninterpreted tongue. You can't have multiple 00:10:11.389 --> 00:10:13.149 gibberishes. There's gibberish and then there's 00:10:13.149 --> 00:10:16.230 no languages. There are tongues that are languages. 00:10:17.889 --> 00:10:21.090 If you're looking back in Acts chapter two, when 00:10:21.090 --> 00:10:24.250 they spake in tongues, they spake in languages 00:10:24.250 --> 00:10:26.169 that each of these people knew. We went back 00:10:26.169 --> 00:10:29.490 last week and read in Acts chapter two, all the 00:10:29.490 --> 00:10:31.730 different nations that the people came from when 00:10:31.730 --> 00:10:34.620 they heard. the tongue, and so it was a sign, 00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:37.379 and we're gonna see that today, it was a sign 00:10:37.379 --> 00:10:42.200 of God doing something. And so here he uses tongues 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:44.559 to talk about legitimate, tongues plural, to 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:47.419 talk about legitimate, the legitimate sign, and 00:10:47.419 --> 00:10:50.340 the word tongue to describe, this unknown tongue 00:10:50.340 --> 00:10:53.279 to describe the counterfeit. When we get to verse 00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:56.000 20, Paul gives them both thinking and instruction 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:58.299 on how to exercise that spiritual gift that was 00:10:58.299 --> 00:11:02.559 still in that day when they came together. First, 00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:06.500 he says, you need to be mature. So if you're 00:11:06.500 --> 00:11:09.139 following along in my way too many point outline, 00:11:09.379 --> 00:11:12.200 the maturity, maturity was prioritized. Look 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:16.120 at verse 20. He says, brethren, be not children 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:19.379 in understanding, how be it in malice, be ye 00:11:19.379 --> 00:11:23.659 children, but in understanding, be men. He's 00:11:23.659 --> 00:11:25.940 basically saying, don't be gullible like kids 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:27.220 are gullible. How many of you guys have ever 00:11:27.220 --> 00:11:30.080 noticed kids can be gullible? I remember a kid 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:31.980 asked me back in the day when I had braces on, 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:34.200 he said, what are those shiny thing in your teeth? 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:37.179 I'm like, oh, those will grow on your teeth when 00:11:37.179 --> 00:11:42.460 you become a teenager. And they were like, I 00:11:42.460 --> 00:11:46.179 gotta go talk to mom, right? Kids tend to believe, 00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:48.480 have you noticed that? Kids are gullible. And 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:50.960 what he's saying is, hey, you don't be gullible 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:53.899 when it comes to this exercising of tongues, 00:11:54.200 --> 00:11:58.399 this is in the context. Don't be children in 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:00.899 understanding, how be it in malice, be ye children. 00:12:01.580 --> 00:12:03.259 The Bible says to the pure, all things are pure. 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:06.360 Don't be good at malice. Don't be mature in malice. 00:12:06.419 --> 00:12:08.940 Who thinks that's a good idea? Anybody know somebody 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:11.820 that's just good at being angry and kind of evil? 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:13.940 Yeah, don't be like that is what he's saying. 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:18.659 In understanding, be men. If you were to go back 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:21.500 through this particular passage, the word understanding 00:12:21.500 --> 00:12:24.419 comes up over and over and over and over again. 00:12:25.210 --> 00:12:28.610 In one sense, that is the distinguishing difference 00:12:28.610 --> 00:12:35.110 between prophecy, which can be understood, and 00:12:35.110 --> 00:12:37.769 tongues that are legitimate, which could be understood, 00:12:38.649 --> 00:12:41.090 and translated, right? When they're translated 00:12:41.090 --> 00:12:42.730 into a language you can understand, that could 00:12:42.730 --> 00:12:44.990 be understood. When they're not translated or 00:12:44.990 --> 00:12:46.870 they're counterfeit, you can't understand them. 00:12:47.409 --> 00:12:50.289 And so what Paul's saying is, hey, let's prioritize 00:12:50.289 --> 00:12:53.870 understanding in church. Let's be mature. Let's 00:12:53.870 --> 00:12:56.129 not be gullible. Let's not be infantile in your 00:12:56.129 --> 00:12:59.649 perception of the exercise of this gift. If you're 00:12:59.649 --> 00:13:01.610 going to be immature in something, be immature 00:13:01.610 --> 00:13:06.850 in malice, khakiya, badness, depravity, malignity, 00:13:06.950 --> 00:13:10.789 trouble. He says, be underdeveloped in badness. 00:13:11.269 --> 00:13:14.909 Be developed in understanding. To discern maturely 00:13:14.909 --> 00:13:16.990 how the gifts of tongues are to be exercised, 00:13:17.190 --> 00:13:20.090 you must know its purpose. And so that's what 00:13:20.090 --> 00:13:24.860 he says in verse 21. The next part, tongue's 00:13:24.860 --> 00:13:27.559 purpose. He says in verse 21, in the law it is 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:30.440 written, with men of other tongues and other 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:33.279 lips will I speak unto this people. And yet for 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:38.500 all that will they not hear me, for all that 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:42.159 they will not hear me, saith the Lord. Now this 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:46.340 passage, verse 21 is a quote from the prophet 00:13:46.340 --> 00:13:51.840 Isaiah. The term here that's used law, was used 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:53.899 by Jews to express the whole of scriptures at 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:57.919 times, scriptures, law, prophets, the hagiographia. 00:13:58.139 --> 00:14:00.379 And they used it to distinguish these sacred 00:14:00.379 --> 00:14:02.759 writings from the words of the scribes. Basically, 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:04.559 there's the word that came from God, and then 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:06.639 there's the commentary. And so when he's saying 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:09.279 this law, he's talking about, you're saying, 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:11.639 well, Isaiah is not part of the law. It could 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:13.299 have included that. That's what I'm trying to 00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:18.000 say. Here, he quotes Isaiah 28, 11. Here's what 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.700 Isaiah 28, 11 says. For with stammering lips 00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:26.659 and another tongue will he speak to this people 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:29.720 to whom he said, this is the rest wherewith you 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.179 may cause the weary to rest. And this is the 00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:40.139 refreshing yet they would not hear. So the immediate 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:42.820 context of Isaiah, which Paul's quoting from 00:14:42.820 --> 00:14:46.370 that immediate context. is essentially saying 00:14:46.370 --> 00:14:49.289 since the drunkards would not listen to God's 00:14:49.289 --> 00:14:51.929 prophet, he responded to them by predicting their 00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:55.389 subservience to Assyrian taskmasters who would 00:14:55.389 --> 00:14:58.049 give them instructions in a foreign language. 00:14:58.409 --> 00:15:00.809 So when you're reading Isaiah, he's essentially 00:15:00.809 --> 00:15:03.230 saying there's gonna be some people coming and 00:15:03.230 --> 00:15:05.269 speaking languages that you understand and they're 00:15:05.269 --> 00:15:08.450 gonna come and take you over. The New Testament 00:15:08.450 --> 00:15:11.379 here then divulges. An additional meaning of 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:15.980 this verse that anticipate God's use of the miraculous 00:15:15.980 --> 00:15:19.539 gifts of tongues as a credential of his New Testament 00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:22.539 messengers. Like foreign tongues in the instance 00:15:22.539 --> 00:15:25.559 of Assyria taking over Jerusalem would indicate 00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:29.399 God's judgment on unbelieving Israel, so would 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:32.320 tongues in the New Testament be a sign of judgment 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:36.120 of those unbelieving, especially the Jews who 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:39.580 had rejected their Messiah. This is in a corporate 00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:43.720 way. So this is what he says in verse 22. He 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:46.480 says, right after that, he quotes Isaiah. He 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:50.539 says, wherefore, see this prophecy, this is what's 00:15:50.539 --> 00:15:54.360 gonna happen. Tongues are for a sign, not to 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:58.659 them that believe, but to them that believe not. 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:01.320 But prophesying served not for them that believe 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:04.759 not, but for them which believe. What he's saying 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:07.200 is that when tongues were spoken and interpreted 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:09.940 that was in a sense prophecy, doing it in that 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:12.080 format was indicating that God was doing something 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:14.720 among the nations and not through the nation 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:17.460 of Israel because of their unbelief at some level. 00:16:17.980 --> 00:16:23.820 It's highlighting the unbelief of the Jews. The 00:16:23.820 --> 00:16:26.379 prophecy that came as revelation from God was 00:16:26.379 --> 00:16:29.399 for the belief of Jews and Gentiles alike. Faith 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:33.950 comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, 00:16:34.190 --> 00:16:38.190 that's prophecy. So with that in mind, Paul says, 00:16:38.529 --> 00:16:41.110 hey, you need to prefer prophecy, you need to 00:16:41.110 --> 00:16:45.289 prefer understanding, you need to be mature and 00:16:45.289 --> 00:16:50.590 identify the counterfeit gift and understand 00:16:50.590 --> 00:16:53.789 that gift, the gift of tongues really is God's 00:16:53.789 --> 00:16:58.230 rejection of those unbelieving Jews. So what 00:16:58.230 --> 00:17:00.490 should be prioritized? Well, understanding should 00:17:00.490 --> 00:17:03.289 be prioritized. He goes on to say in verse 23, 00:17:03.610 --> 00:17:07.029 if therefore the whole church can be come together 00:17:07.029 --> 00:17:11.269 into one place and all speak with tongues, and 00:17:11.269 --> 00:17:13.309 there come in those that are unlearned and believers, 00:17:13.470 --> 00:17:16.910 will they not say that ye are mad? The word mad 00:17:16.910 --> 00:17:21.190 here means crazy, not angry. It's saying, if 00:17:21.190 --> 00:17:23.289 everybody's standing and everybody's saying, 00:17:24.089 --> 00:17:26.410 using this gift of tongues, which. He had already 00:17:26.410 --> 00:17:29.309 said not everybody has the gift, which means 00:17:29.309 --> 00:17:30.910 that if everybody's doing it, some people are 00:17:30.910 --> 00:17:34.630 doing it without the gift, which means it's counterfeit. 00:17:35.309 --> 00:17:37.150 He says, if everybody stands up and does it all 00:17:37.150 --> 00:17:40.289 at one time, the random guest that comes to your 00:17:40.289 --> 00:17:44.829 service is gonna be like, this is crazy. This 00:17:44.829 --> 00:17:46.549 is weird. I don't understand what's going on 00:17:46.549 --> 00:17:50.109 here. This is chaos. This is not for me. See 00:17:50.109 --> 00:17:56.059 you later, right? Verse 24, but. If all prophesy, 00:17:56.819 --> 00:17:59.200 if all are saying things that are understandable, 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:03.079 right, and there come in one that believeth not 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:06.880 or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:09.980 is judged of all, and thus are the secrets of 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:12.980 his heart made manifest. And so this is what 00:18:12.980 --> 00:18:14.880 we want to have happen in our church service, 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:18.240 right? We want people to hear the word of God 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:21.160 and realize I'm a sinner. I don't do things right. 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:23.099 There's a gap between what I ought to be and 00:18:23.099 --> 00:18:25.740 what I am. There's a savior who loves me and 00:18:25.740 --> 00:18:28.220 died for me and paid for my sins. And if I would 00:18:28.220 --> 00:18:31.740 confess what I am and who I am and turn to him, 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:34.079 man, God is here among you. That's what I need. 00:18:34.099 --> 00:18:35.559 This is where I need to be. Who thinks that it's 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:39.000 an awesome thing? That's what we want. He says 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:41.180 in verse 25, and thus are the secrets of his 00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:43.819 heart made manifest, and so falling down on his 00:18:43.819 --> 00:18:47.460 face, he will worship God and report that God 00:18:47.460 --> 00:18:53.539 is in you of a truth. This is related to verse 00:18:53.539 --> 00:18:55.559 20 where he told him to be mature, to be men 00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:58.500 in understanding. Several words are translated, 00:18:58.859 --> 00:19:00.940 understood, understandeth, understanding throughout 00:19:00.940 --> 00:19:06.710 chapter 14. Verse nine. Eosmos, which means easily 00:19:06.710 --> 00:19:10.549 understandable. Aku is to hear or perceive. Edo 00:19:10.549 --> 00:19:14.089 and to know in verse 16. Verse 14 is Nus, which 00:19:14.089 --> 00:19:16.809 means mind or meaning or understanding. Freyn 00:19:16.809 --> 00:19:20.369 in verse 20. Literally the word there in verse 00:19:20.369 --> 00:19:22.990 20 means the mid -drift or the diaphragm, the 00:19:22.990 --> 00:19:25.529 parts of the heart, the mind, the faculty of 00:19:25.529 --> 00:19:29.339 perceiving or judging. The concept is addressed 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:32.119 without using the word in the text like saying 00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:34.779 amen. And that's when we say amen to what you're 00:19:34.779 --> 00:19:37.900 saying. In verse 23, Paul says, if everyone's 00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:40.400 trying to speak in tongues, all of them people 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:42.740 who are unbelieving or unlearned will think you're 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:46.079 crazy. But if you speak of the word of God understandably, 00:19:46.380 --> 00:19:48.859 which is what happens with prophecy at that time, 00:19:49.299 --> 00:19:51.839 then there's a chance for understanding. And 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.279 that understanding can lead to belief and belief 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:56.319 can lead to repentance and repentance can lead 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:58.799 to worship. Who's going for that? We're going 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:02.220 for that, right? So that's where he gives these 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:05.619 regulations. He goes on in verse 26 and says, 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:08.000 hey, if you're gonna do this tongues the legitimate 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.539 way, here's how it's gonna be seen as legitimate. 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:13.680 And here's how it's not gonna create chaos. Verse 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:17.480 26, he talks about two or three at most. Two 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:20.119 and three at most. He says in verse 26, how is 00:20:20.119 --> 00:20:21.880 it then, brethren, when you come together, every 00:20:21.880 --> 00:20:23.500 one of you hath the Psalm, hath the doctrine, 00:20:23.579 --> 00:20:25.759 hath the tongue, hath the revelation, hath an 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:29.359 interpretation, let all things done unto Edify. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:31.440 Do you see what it says there? Let all things 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:35.680 done unto what? What is it? Let all things be 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:38.779 done unto Edify. Actually, in your Bible, go 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:43.180 down to the end. Verse 40, let all things be 00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:49.720 done what? Decently and in order. In Paul's mind, 00:20:50.019 --> 00:20:52.339 for it to be edifying, it has to be done decently 00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:58.380 and in order. That make sense? So he says, verse 00:20:58.380 --> 00:21:01.920 27, if any man speak in an unknown tongue, let 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:05.180 it be by two or at most by three. I believe here, 00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:07.059 he's talking about legitimate tongue, because 00:21:07.059 --> 00:21:09.299 it's only one guy, and only one guy can speak 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:11.420 one tongue at a time. That's kind of the point. 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:14.680 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:18.319 be by two or at least by three. and that by course 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:21.359 and let one interpret it. The scripture is forbidding 00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:24.240 chaos here. He's asking for what happens in corporate 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:27.079 worship to be done decently and in order, and 00:21:27.079 --> 00:21:29.900 this is the sum of it. All of it done with the 00:21:29.900 --> 00:21:32.660 purpose of edification, which means it must be 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:35.559 able to be understood. So when the tongues were 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:38.339 operational, back when that was still happening 00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:41.400 before they ceased. Instead of everyone speaking 00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:44.299 in tongues in a chaotic way at the same time 00:21:44.299 --> 00:21:47.160 without interpretation, they were to do it one 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:50.220 at a time. Here he says two or three at most. 00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:54.319 And then he says, and when it happens, make sure 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:59.700 you interpret. Make sure you interpret. So we 00:21:59.700 --> 00:22:02.579 see letter E always interpreted. And he says 00:22:02.579 --> 00:22:05.849 verse 28. But if there be no interpreter, let 00:22:05.849 --> 00:22:08.730 him keep silence in the church and let him speak 00:22:08.730 --> 00:22:14.890 to himself and to God. If it wasn't interpreted 00:22:14.890 --> 00:22:17.990 or it could not be interpreted, this is unacceptable 00:22:17.990 --> 00:22:20.150 to be displayed for worship. That's what he was 00:22:20.150 --> 00:22:24.109 saying. Now there are some today of a charismatic 00:22:24.109 --> 00:22:26.769 or Pentecostal persuasion who want to make the 00:22:26.769 --> 00:22:29.349 case that speaking in tongues is a heavenly language 00:22:29.349 --> 00:22:32.089 unspoken on earth except by the Holy Spirit. 00:22:32.629 --> 00:22:35.490 This in my view is not supported by the text. 00:22:36.109 --> 00:22:38.450 This text says that every time tongues is exhibited, 00:22:39.029 --> 00:22:41.609 it needed to be two or at most three and always 00:22:41.609 --> 00:22:44.609 interpreted. When tongues were in operation, 00:22:44.710 --> 00:22:46.650 this would make it so that counterfeit tongues 00:22:46.650 --> 00:22:49.549 would be easily identified and understanding 00:22:49.549 --> 00:22:52.690 would be prioritized. This is not the practice 00:22:52.690 --> 00:22:54.670 of how so -called tongues are hailed today in 00:22:54.670 --> 00:22:57.289 churches that believe that signed gifts continue. 00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:00.160 at least not all of them. Certainly God is able 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:03.039 to do anything he wants that is within his nature 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:05.980 and according to his word. There is further application 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:07.779 for us that I'll give at the end, but I want 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:10.339 to say for us today, I believe that tongues have 00:23:10.339 --> 00:23:12.519 ceased and the progress of revelation has led 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:15.980 us to a pause in those gifts. If those gifts 00:23:15.980 --> 00:23:21.599 did come again by God's spirit, his word in this 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:23.920 text should be heeded. What is clear in scripture 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:27.839 always informs what is more difficult to understand. 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:31.640 And what is clear to understand is that if it's 00:23:31.640 --> 00:23:36.200 done, it better be interpreted. It better actually 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:38.279 be, and by the way, if you're saying you get 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:43.319 it from God, God doesn't lie. So if one person 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:44.980 interprets it, another person interprets it, 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:48.859 they better say the same thing. Well, God says 00:23:48.859 --> 00:23:50.700 we want to build a building. God says we shouldn't 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:56.539 build a building. Well somebody is lying or mixed 00:23:56.539 --> 00:24:02.220 up. So that's the idea. There needs to be two 00:24:02.220 --> 00:24:05.940 or three at most that do it and there needs to 00:24:05.940 --> 00:24:08.759 be interpreter. The gift of tongues was not the 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:10.859 only gift being regulated in this text. Here's 00:24:10.859 --> 00:24:17.549 the second one, prophecy. Prophecy. Now the regulations 00:24:17.549 --> 00:24:20.789 here start with a similar regulation. When we 00:24:20.789 --> 00:24:23.730 talk about prophecy here, it's similar to the 00:24:23.730 --> 00:24:25.410 legitimate gift of tongues in the sense that 00:24:25.410 --> 00:24:28.150 the content of what was being said and authentic 00:24:28.150 --> 00:24:31.150 expression of it were coming from God. It was 00:24:31.150 --> 00:24:33.349 a revelation from God when it was legitimate. 00:24:34.069 --> 00:24:36.210 Tongues when they were interpreted and understood 00:24:36.210 --> 00:24:38.470 then were prophetic in the sense that we say, 00:24:38.769 --> 00:24:41.170 thus saith the Lord. That's what prophecy is, 00:24:41.210 --> 00:24:44.150 what God speaks and how God speaks through people. 00:24:44.650 --> 00:24:47.369 The difference between tongues and prophecy is 00:24:47.369 --> 00:24:49.690 that tongues came in another language unknown 00:24:49.690 --> 00:24:52.670 to this speaker and interpreted by someone else 00:24:52.670 --> 00:24:56.250 into a prophetic truth. Prophecy was a revelation 00:24:56.250 --> 00:24:59.130 from God easy to be understood as the scripture 00:24:59.130 --> 00:25:01.730 says in one's own language. So it makes sense 00:25:01.730 --> 00:25:03.650 that it would have similar regulations and all 00:25:03.650 --> 00:25:05.609 those are pretty straightforward. The first one 00:25:05.609 --> 00:25:07.730 being two or three at most, same regulation. 00:25:07.829 --> 00:25:11.089 Look at verse 29. He says, let the prophets speak 00:25:11.089 --> 00:25:17.079 two or three and let another. Again, similarly 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:18.880 to tongues, he's saying this doesn't need to 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:22.019 be chaotic in its expression, one at a time. 00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:25.160 And then he says this, this is kind of a very 00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:27.920 similar thing. Verse 30, defer to the person 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:30.900 hearing from the Lord. The second thing, defer 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:32.460 to the person hearing from the Lord. He says 00:25:32.460 --> 00:25:34.579 in verse 30, if anything be revealed to another 00:25:34.579 --> 00:25:38.259 that sits by, let the first hold his peace. So 00:25:38.259 --> 00:25:40.609 what he's saying is, If in the midst of explaining 00:25:40.609 --> 00:25:42.930 a revelation received, someone is receiving a 00:25:42.930 --> 00:25:45.849 revelation from God, meaning there are multiple 00:25:45.849 --> 00:25:48.130 people that are saying, I'm getting a message 00:25:48.130 --> 00:25:51.410 from God that I'm speaking. Peter said, holy 00:25:51.410 --> 00:25:53.369 men of old speak as they were moved by the Holy 00:25:53.369 --> 00:25:55.950 Ghost. If that was a legitimate thing that was 00:25:55.950 --> 00:25:59.450 happening and someone's explaining what was said 00:25:59.450 --> 00:26:01.069 and then somebody else receives one, he says, 00:26:01.210 --> 00:26:06.069 let them go first, why? That all may be comforted. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:09.440 And then he says in verse 32, that is confirmed 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:14.779 by others with that gift. Look at verse 32. He 00:26:14.779 --> 00:26:16.859 says in verse 32, and the spirit of the prophets 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:20.420 are subjects to the prophets for God is not the 00:26:20.420 --> 00:26:24.940 author of confusion, but of peace as in all the 00:26:24.940 --> 00:26:28.779 churches of the saints. In the Old Testament 00:26:28.779 --> 00:26:32.240 law, whenever you brought a word against somebody, 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:34.480 whenever you had a testimony that's like in a 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:36.279 court of law, it would have been in court because 00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:39.940 it would have been among the elders of the nation. 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:43.500 But whenever you, whatever you said had to be 00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:45.920 confirmed by two or three witnesses, how many 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:47.960 of you guys ever heard that before in Bible study? 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:50.420 That if you're gonna accuse somebody, there better 00:26:50.420 --> 00:26:53.339 be two or three witnesses that a single person 00:26:53.339 --> 00:26:56.000 couldn't accuse another one without that. Here, 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:58.660 you have that same principle. If there's a prophecy 00:26:58.660 --> 00:27:01.220 that's being said, hey, this is what God is saying 00:27:01.220 --> 00:27:03.440 through us, this is in a miraculous way, than 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:04.980 the first century before they had the fulfilled 00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:07.420 word of God. Does that make sense? If in the 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:09.220 service somebody said, this is what God's saying, 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:11.579 there need to be other people that would have 00:27:11.579 --> 00:27:13.240 that same gift that would confirm, yes, this 00:27:13.240 --> 00:27:18.599 is what God has said. And he says, the reason 00:27:18.599 --> 00:27:20.460 why is because God's not the author of confusion. 00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:22.559 Because someone could claim that they were hearing 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:25.019 from God when they weren't. The prophecy was 00:27:25.019 --> 00:27:28.240 to be confirmed by two others, confirmed by others 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:31.079 who had exhibited the same gift. So in verse 00:27:31.079 --> 00:27:32.940 29, he says, let the prophet speak two or three 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:35.859 and let the other judge. Combined with verse 00:27:35.859 --> 00:27:38.579 32, we understand that the spirit of God would 00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:40.519 confirm in the hearts and minds of the other 00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:42.440 prophets in the church, whether something being 00:27:42.440 --> 00:27:45.940 said was genuine, a genuine word from the Holy 00:27:45.940 --> 00:27:49.339 Spirit. We're comforted then in verse 33 that 00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:51.500 God doesn't want there to be confusion. Is that 00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:54.059 person's prophecy genuine? Is what he's saying 00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:56.980 from God? That's why it needs to be affirmed. 00:27:57.240 --> 00:27:59.920 Without the affirmation and confirmation, confusion 00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:03.279 would reign. Who would agree that if, this is 00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:05.759 why I'm so glad we have the word of God written 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:09.619 today. Because if I get up and say, hey, God 00:28:09.619 --> 00:28:11.539 told me this is what we need to do. And then 00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:14.049 somebody else got up that you love and who. This 00:28:14.049 --> 00:28:16.130 is what God told me to do. Who agrees there would 00:28:16.130 --> 00:28:19.269 be confusion, right? Who's really speaking on 00:28:19.269 --> 00:28:21.910 God's behalf? Now you know who's speaking on 00:28:21.910 --> 00:28:26.009 God's behalf because God wrote a book. It's pretty 00:28:26.009 --> 00:28:32.410 amazing. Here's another regulation led by men, 00:28:32.569 --> 00:28:36.210 led by men. He says in verse 34, let your women 00:28:36.210 --> 00:28:39.309 keep silence in the churches for it is not permitted 00:28:39.309 --> 00:28:41.250 under them to speak, but they are commanded to 00:28:41.250 --> 00:28:44.339 be under obedience. as also saith the law. And 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:46.240 if they will learn anything, let them ask their 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:48.900 husbands at home, for it's a shame for women 00:28:48.900 --> 00:28:52.039 to speak in the church. What came the word of 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:56.180 God out from you or came it unto you only? One 00:28:56.180 --> 00:28:57.880 commentator explained it this way, and I affirm 00:28:57.880 --> 00:29:01.059 this interpretation. The principle of women not 00:29:01.059 --> 00:29:04.119 speaking in church services is universal. This 00:29:04.119 --> 00:29:06.140 applies to all the churches, not just locally, 00:29:06.339 --> 00:29:09.319 geographically, or culturally. The context in 00:29:09.319 --> 00:29:12.579 this verse concerns prophecy. but includes the 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:14.579 general theme of the chapter, which is tongues. 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:22.180 What he's saying is, he's giving them this instruction, 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:23.960 and he's saying if someone gets up and says this 00:29:23.960 --> 00:29:26.019 is what the word of God says, this is a prophecy 00:29:26.019 --> 00:29:29.700 from God, he says the other prophets need to 00:29:29.700 --> 00:29:31.759 affirm that, but essentially what he's saying 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:34.940 is, especially in context, don't let the women 00:29:34.940 --> 00:29:37.819 be correcting what the men have said. Let the 00:29:37.819 --> 00:29:40.079 other men. that our prophets correct what's being 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:43.799 said. Does that make sense? The context in this 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:46.099 verse concerns prophecy, but includes the general 00:29:46.099 --> 00:29:48.339 theme of the chapter, which is tongues, rather 00:29:48.339 --> 00:29:50.559 than leading there to be submissive as God's 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:53.660 word makes clear. It is not coincidental that 00:29:53.660 --> 00:29:55.539 many modern churches that have tongues speaking 00:29:55.539 --> 00:29:58.119 and claim gifts of healings and miracles also 00:29:58.119 --> 00:30:00.759 permit women to lead worship, preach and teach. 00:30:01.319 --> 00:30:04.019 Women may be gifted teachers, but they are not 00:30:04.019 --> 00:30:06.619 permitting. they're not permitted by God to speak 00:30:06.619 --> 00:30:09.400 in the churches. The fact for them to do is shameful, 00:30:09.420 --> 00:30:12.920 he says here, meaning disgraceful. This is not 00:30:12.920 --> 00:30:15.599 unclear, this is very clear in scripture. This 00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:18.160 does not mean that as we leave today, all the 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:23.599 women need to be like. Okay, it's talking about 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:27.420 speaking in an authoritative way, so I love hearing 00:30:27.420 --> 00:30:31.940 the ladies talk, it's great. That's a weird way 00:30:31.940 --> 00:30:36.619 of saying it. The point is in an authoritative 00:30:36.619 --> 00:30:39.460 way teaching in the church. Back in 1 Corinthians 00:30:39.460 --> 00:30:43.259 11, we learned from Paul that men and women are 00:30:43.259 --> 00:30:46.059 equal in personal worth and intellect and spirituality. 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:48.440 We also learned that there's an order to the 00:30:48.440 --> 00:30:50.579 universe that God has set up where men are given 00:30:50.579 --> 00:30:53.680 authority and responsibility to lead. The pattern 00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:56.740 is the Godhead where the spirit submits to the 00:30:56.740 --> 00:31:00.599 son and the son submits to the father. There's 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:03.559 order in creation. The purpose of women as the 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:06.789 helper He says it's literally the helper and 00:31:06.789 --> 00:31:09.509 it's an expression that God describes as himself. 00:31:09.809 --> 00:31:14.009 Can I ask you a question? Is the Son inferior 00:31:14.009 --> 00:31:18.809 to the Father? Trust me, is the Son any less 00:31:18.809 --> 00:31:21.750 God than God the Father? Is the Holy Spirit any 00:31:21.750 --> 00:31:24.829 less God than God the Son or God the Father? 00:31:25.009 --> 00:31:28.109 No, but the Son submits to the Father and the 00:31:28.109 --> 00:31:32.880 Spirit submits to the Son. They are not. of different 00:31:32.880 --> 00:31:36.019 worth or different in roles. That's all that's 00:31:36.019 --> 00:31:40.200 being said here. All these things point to this 00:31:40.200 --> 00:31:43.380 regulation being clear. This regulation does 00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:45.460 not mean that women can't talk in the building 00:31:45.460 --> 00:31:48.240 or in this gathering. Apparently, certain women 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:52.200 were out of order and disruptively asking questions 00:31:52.200 --> 00:31:55.079 publicly in the chaotic service. And if you look 00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:57.279 at the context here, who understands that you 00:31:57.279 --> 00:31:59.400 can ask a question in a way that's not really 00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:03.170 submissive? Who do you think you are saying that 00:32:03.170 --> 00:32:05.970 prophecy, right? I think that's a little bit 00:32:05.970 --> 00:32:09.910 what's going on here. The men are called to lead, 00:32:10.069 --> 00:32:12.009 other men are called to be the one to step in 00:32:12.009 --> 00:32:13.890 where another man is out of line in the context 00:32:13.890 --> 00:32:20.609 of giving a prophecy. So, are these clear? Pretty 00:32:20.609 --> 00:32:23.890 clear. Regulations for tongues, regulations for 00:32:23.890 --> 00:32:27.009 prophecy. Now let's talk about those things summarized. 00:32:28.670 --> 00:32:32.809 Here he says, What I'm telling you is not just 00:32:32.809 --> 00:32:35.869 my opinion, this is what Paul says, this is a 00:32:35.869 --> 00:32:38.730 commandment from the Lord. A commandment from 00:32:38.730 --> 00:32:41.710 the Lord. Look at verse 37. If any man thinks 00:32:41.710 --> 00:32:46.670 himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him 00:32:46.670 --> 00:32:48.789 acknowledge that the things that I write unto 00:32:48.789 --> 00:32:52.809 you are the commandments of the Lord. Hey, you 00:32:52.809 --> 00:32:55.960 think you're spiritual? If you got the Holy Spirit 00:32:55.960 --> 00:32:57.579 in you and you think you're spiritual, you need 00:32:57.579 --> 00:33:00.500 to figure out that I'm telling you what the Holy 00:33:00.500 --> 00:33:02.839 Spirit told me to do, right? So if you disagree 00:33:02.839 --> 00:33:05.680 with me, Paul's saying, then you disagree with 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:08.920 the Holy Spirit, which means you're not very 00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:12.940 spiritual. Is Paul confident? He's confident 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:15.880 in the Lord, right? But if any man be ignorant, 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:18.339 let him be ignorant. You know what he's saying? 00:33:18.759 --> 00:33:23.380 I'm not gonna waste my time arguing whether or 00:33:23.380 --> 00:33:25.970 not... What I'm saying is from God, it's from 00:33:25.970 --> 00:33:29.329 God. This is coming from God through me is what 00:33:29.329 --> 00:33:31.150 he's saying. If someone wants to be rebellious 00:33:31.150 --> 00:33:33.150 and fight this, if they're ignorant, let them 00:33:33.150 --> 00:33:35.430 be ignorant. Essentially he's saying, I'm confident 00:33:35.430 --> 00:33:37.190 that this is from the Lord and that those who 00:33:37.190 --> 00:33:39.990 fight it will show themselves to be ignorant 00:33:39.990 --> 00:33:43.069 of what God is really saying and doing. Then 00:33:43.069 --> 00:33:45.710 he summarizes it like this. Prophecy is prioritized 00:33:45.710 --> 00:33:49.349 over tongues. Verse 29, wherefore brethren covet 00:33:49.349 --> 00:33:54.059 to prophesy. What is he saying? What are we trying 00:33:54.059 --> 00:33:56.819 to do? We're trying to edify. If we're trying 00:33:56.819 --> 00:33:59.180 to edify, then people need to understand. So 00:33:59.180 --> 00:34:03.700 let's prioritize the gifts that prioritize understanding. 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:06.619 But he says, forbid not to speak with tongues. 00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:10.659 If that's what God's doing in the midst of us, 00:34:10.739 --> 00:34:13.559 then let's do it in the legitimate way. And that's 00:34:13.559 --> 00:34:17.480 why he says, in summary, verse 40, let all things 00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:24.619 be done decently and in... As you worship the 00:34:24.619 --> 00:34:27.480 Lord together, prefer each other by preferring 00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:30.619 the Lord first and doing things in a way that 00:34:30.619 --> 00:34:34.239 limits confusion and exhibition and enhances 00:34:34.239 --> 00:34:37.280 edifying and understanding. Does that make sense? 00:34:37.860 --> 00:34:42.940 That's what he's saying. Now, I can't believe 00:34:42.940 --> 00:34:48.280 I got through all that. Maybe you've been listening 00:34:48.280 --> 00:34:51.789 today. And you're like, Ben, that seems like 00:34:51.789 --> 00:34:56.469 it really applies to that first century church 00:34:56.469 --> 00:35:00.730 when those gifts were still operational. But 00:35:00.730 --> 00:35:03.590 if there is no new revelation or no new prophecy 00:35:03.590 --> 00:35:07.030 coming today, and if tongues have ceased, why 00:35:07.030 --> 00:35:09.190 are you giving us a sermon on the regulations 00:35:09.190 --> 00:35:13.190 for prophecy and tongues being used? Why are 00:35:13.190 --> 00:35:17.000 you doing that? Well, One reason is that last 00:35:17.000 --> 00:35:19.179 week we finished verse 19 and this week we went 00:35:19.179 --> 00:35:22.559 to verse 20. And we're just gonna teach every 00:35:22.559 --> 00:35:25.340 verse as we go through it. That's what we're 00:35:25.340 --> 00:35:31.619 gonna do. Could I be wrong? 100%. I could be. 00:35:32.119 --> 00:35:34.739 So you need to be good Bereans. You need to study 00:35:34.739 --> 00:35:36.880 the Bible and come, let every man be convinced 00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:44.210 in his own mind. But. While I admit that we are 00:35:44.210 --> 00:35:46.090 talking about things that are not directly relevant 00:35:46.090 --> 00:35:48.110 in the way it would be for the Corinthian church, 00:35:49.150 --> 00:35:50.809 and that was the original audience, there are 00:35:50.809 --> 00:35:53.530 some things about this text that we can draw 00:35:53.530 --> 00:35:57.250 from that do impact us directly. So here's four 00:35:57.250 --> 00:36:01.670 principles for our church today. Number one, 00:36:01.690 --> 00:36:07.650 we come together to understand God's word. We 00:36:07.650 --> 00:36:14.030 come together to understand God's word. God's 00:36:14.030 --> 00:36:16.750 word can be understood. And here's the good news. 00:36:17.010 --> 00:36:22.349 We have it. We have it. We have the revelation 00:36:22.349 --> 00:36:25.590 from God. We have the point of that revelation 00:36:25.590 --> 00:36:28.489 is the point of their revelation. The delivery 00:36:28.489 --> 00:36:30.510 in the moment may be different, but the target 00:36:30.510 --> 00:36:33.250 is still the same. God has revealed his truth 00:36:33.250 --> 00:36:38.710 to us and he wants us to understand it. You can 00:36:38.710 --> 00:36:41.469 understand this. Study to show yourself approved 00:36:41.469 --> 00:36:43.409 unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, 00:36:43.929 --> 00:36:48.690 rightly dividing the word of truth. We can understand 00:36:48.690 --> 00:36:51.329 it. One of the goals of my preaching is to act 00:36:51.329 --> 00:36:54.309 as a model for you of how to study the scriptures 00:36:54.309 --> 00:36:57.269 and to show you that the word of God is understandable. 00:36:57.849 --> 00:37:00.710 And why does God want this to be understood? 00:37:02.389 --> 00:37:04.969 Why does God want us to understand his word? 00:37:06.280 --> 00:37:11.159 Is it simply to stop at knowing it? No, he wants 00:37:11.159 --> 00:37:15.519 us to. There's a word, starts with O. He wants 00:37:15.519 --> 00:37:20.440 us to obey it. He wants us to do it. I come that 00:37:20.440 --> 00:37:23.460 they might have life and that more abundantly. 00:37:23.579 --> 00:37:27.119 Your word brings life. Your word brings light. 00:37:27.760 --> 00:37:31.360 You can understand it. You can hear it and listen 00:37:31.360 --> 00:37:34.659 to it and obey it. That's the whole point. So 00:37:34.659 --> 00:37:37.119 we come together to understand it. And here's 00:37:37.119 --> 00:37:39.300 the other thing. Number two, we come together 00:37:39.300 --> 00:37:43.559 to be edified, to be built up. Look back at verse 00:37:43.559 --> 00:37:46.480 26. How is it brethren, when you come together, 00:37:46.800 --> 00:37:49.039 every one of you has a psalm, a doctrine, a tongue, 00:37:49.519 --> 00:37:52.159 a revelation, interpretation. He says, let all 00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:57.500 of these things be done to the use of edifying. 00:37:58.599 --> 00:38:01.619 Let's say that phrase together. Let all things 00:38:01.619 --> 00:38:06.380 be done unto, one more time. Let all things be 00:38:06.380 --> 00:38:10.400 done unto edifying. When we come together to 00:38:10.400 --> 00:38:12.900 understand God's word, the goal is to be built 00:38:12.900 --> 00:38:16.159 up, to be edified together. We wanna be different. 00:38:16.619 --> 00:38:19.380 Do you wanna be different? I wanna be different. 00:38:19.420 --> 00:38:22.139 I wanna be changed. I wanna be transformed by 00:38:22.139 --> 00:38:25.739 our coming together. The word of God does that. 00:38:26.059 --> 00:38:29.099 The body of Christ helps with that. We come together 00:38:29.099 --> 00:38:32.940 to be edified, we come together to be built up. 00:38:33.320 --> 00:38:36.800 Number three, we come together to worship God. 00:38:38.179 --> 00:38:41.800 We come together to worship God. He says in verse 00:38:41.800 --> 00:38:43.840 24, but if all prophecy and there come in one 00:38:43.840 --> 00:38:46.460 that believeth not or one unlearned, he is convinced 00:38:46.460 --> 00:38:49.179 of all, he is judged of all, and thus the secret 00:38:49.179 --> 00:38:51.880 of his heart made manifest. And so, what does 00:38:51.880 --> 00:39:02.840 he say? Falling down on his Face he will What 00:39:02.840 --> 00:39:10.460 worship God and report that God is in you of 00:39:10.460 --> 00:39:15.739 truth When they were doing those counterfeit 00:39:15.739 --> 00:39:17.900 Tongues or when they were like when they were 00:39:17.900 --> 00:39:20.019 trying to make it about chaos and disorder and 00:39:20.019 --> 00:39:22.159 about themselves What they're trying to get is 00:39:22.159 --> 00:39:24.760 for people to recognize them and that that is 00:39:24.760 --> 00:39:28.289 not the point of coming together When these people 00:39:28.289 --> 00:39:31.849 sing up here, we're trying to lead you to sing. 00:39:31.929 --> 00:39:34.789 We're not necessarily performing in the sense 00:39:34.789 --> 00:39:37.190 that, I mean, who agrees it's good for us to 00:39:37.190 --> 00:39:42.849 be on key? Right? And we didn't play polka today, 00:39:43.090 --> 00:39:45.409 right? Because most of you aren't listening to 00:39:45.409 --> 00:39:49.070 polka. But ultimately, you're not the audience, 00:39:49.329 --> 00:39:52.449 and they're not the audience. Point to the audience. 00:39:52.909 --> 00:39:55.449 Yeah, yeah, he's the audience. We're wanting 00:39:55.449 --> 00:39:58.889 to worship him. and we want him to be lifted 00:39:58.889 --> 00:40:02.230 up. And you know what, you know what is like 00:40:02.230 --> 00:40:05.369 one of the most important things about worship? 00:40:07.289 --> 00:40:20.590 Like, if I disobeyed God rebelliously all week 00:40:20.590 --> 00:40:23.889 long, and then I try to come in here and lift 00:40:23.889 --> 00:40:31.599 up holy hands, That is dumb. God doesn't need 00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:37.159 you to sing and your heart be far from him. He 00:40:37.159 --> 00:40:40.420 wants it to be the fruit of our lips that is 00:40:40.420 --> 00:40:43.599 an expression of what's happened in here, right? 00:40:44.159 --> 00:40:47.579 And so the singing time is a time of worship, 00:40:48.179 --> 00:40:49.719 but you know what else is a time of worship? 00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:53.280 When we say, hey, if you need to do business 00:40:53.280 --> 00:40:59.699 with God and repent, I'm not saying this is the 00:40:59.699 --> 00:41:03.260 only place that it can happen, but I think there's 00:41:03.260 --> 00:41:05.320 something interesting. What do you do when you 00:41:05.320 --> 00:41:09.579 come? You kneel. Your face is down. There's a 00:41:09.579 --> 00:41:12.500 humility that says, God, I just heard something 00:41:12.500 --> 00:41:14.460 preached, and there's a gap between what your 00:41:14.460 --> 00:41:17.960 word says and where I'm at. And so I'm confessing 00:41:17.960 --> 00:41:19.920 that I'm not everything I need to be, and I need 00:41:19.920 --> 00:41:24.420 you to help me be what you want me to be. Cleanse 00:41:24.420 --> 00:41:29.219 me. Make me what I ought to be. I'm a sinner 00:41:29.219 --> 00:41:33.539 and I need you. Your word has revealed what's 00:41:33.539 --> 00:41:36.219 going on in my heart. And now I'm realizing, 00:41:36.219 --> 00:41:40.199 yes, God is here because His word has been expressed 00:41:40.199 --> 00:41:42.460 and His people have come together. And we're 00:41:42.460 --> 00:41:45.860 saying, I'm not what I need to be, but the Holy 00:41:45.860 --> 00:41:48.960 Spirit can make me what I'm not and help me to 00:41:48.960 --> 00:41:51.139 be what I ought to be. Does that make sense? 00:41:52.380 --> 00:41:54.480 That's worship too. It's not just what happens 00:41:54.480 --> 00:41:56.400 when we sing, it's what happens when we respond. 00:41:56.809 --> 00:41:58.190 And you don't have to come here to do it. You 00:41:58.190 --> 00:42:00.489 can do it in your chair, but man, that's what 00:42:00.489 --> 00:42:03.849 we want. And by the way, the first and fundamental 00:42:03.849 --> 00:42:06.030 way that happens if you've never been saved is 00:42:06.030 --> 00:42:08.690 to recognize your own sinfulness and to get saved. 00:42:10.230 --> 00:42:15.630 To recognize that Jesus died for your sin. Not 00:42:15.630 --> 00:42:18.190 just one or two little, the fact that you're 00:42:18.190 --> 00:42:20.190 a sinner on your way to hell, God died for that. 00:42:20.349 --> 00:42:23.469 His son died for that so you can be saved. You 00:42:23.469 --> 00:42:25.329 can't worship him right if you have any knowledge 00:42:25.329 --> 00:42:29.329 of what he did for you. And then number four, 00:42:29.869 --> 00:42:32.730 we come together to love each other and not ourselves. 00:42:36.170 --> 00:42:40.409 Your life isn't about you. My life is not about 00:42:40.409 --> 00:42:46.690 me. This church assembles not because of Gene 00:42:46.690 --> 00:42:49.429 Milione or Dave Schafer or Mike Spanner, Ben 00:42:49.429 --> 00:42:54.110 Jennings or anybody else. We don't come here 00:42:54.110 --> 00:43:00.269 because of us. Life is not about us. Our life 00:43:00.269 --> 00:43:04.369 is about the Lord. And 1 Corinthians 13 says, 00:43:04.550 --> 00:43:07.429 hey, love is gonna remain. You know what that 00:43:07.429 --> 00:43:09.969 means? I'm gonna put others ahead of myself. 00:43:12.349 --> 00:43:14.429 He says in verse 28, but if there be no interpreter, 00:43:14.530 --> 00:43:16.269 let him keep silence in the church and let him 00:43:16.269 --> 00:43:20.489 speak himself and to God. Here we see a submission 00:43:20.489 --> 00:43:23.230 to authority that points to this truth. There's 00:43:23.230 --> 00:43:28.969 a time to speak. and there's a time to be silent. 00:43:29.789 --> 00:43:32.590 There's a time to speak and there's a time to 00:43:32.590 --> 00:43:39.929 be silent. Over the years, if you don't know 00:43:39.929 --> 00:43:42.630 me, one of the things you'll find out about, 00:43:42.650 --> 00:43:45.190 I'm a PK, I'm a preacher's kid, my dad's a pastor. 00:43:46.269 --> 00:43:51.090 And over the years, I've talked to my dad and... 00:43:52.139 --> 00:43:54.539 various times, started when I was a teenager 00:43:54.539 --> 00:43:59.179 and even being a pastor, I referred to this area 00:43:59.179 --> 00:44:05.980 of the building as a stage. This is the stage, 00:44:06.420 --> 00:44:11.800 right? And my dad's kinda grumpy sometimes. And 00:44:11.800 --> 00:44:14.000 he's like, son, that's not the stage, that's 00:44:14.000 --> 00:44:20.170 the platform. I'm like, what do you mean? And 00:44:20.170 --> 00:44:22.929 he basically says some rendition of this. A stage 00:44:22.929 --> 00:44:27.590 is where people perform. A stage is where actors 00:44:27.590 --> 00:44:34.769 act. That's not what's going on up here. What 00:44:34.769 --> 00:44:37.809 needs to happen up here is that the word of God 00:44:37.809 --> 00:44:42.889 is proclaimed and that what's being said here 00:44:42.889 --> 00:44:47.329 matches what's going on in here. What's being 00:44:47.329 --> 00:44:52.800 sung is not sung. as a performance for a congregation, 00:44:53.699 --> 00:44:58.880 it's an offering of worship for an audience of 00:44:58.880 --> 00:45:06.440 one, right? And I rolled my eyes. Dad, that's 00:45:06.440 --> 00:45:11.659 not what I'm saying when I call it a stage. And 00:45:11.659 --> 00:45:13.179 if you call it a stage, I'm not gonna get mad 00:45:13.179 --> 00:45:19.000 at you. The older I get, the more I have seen 00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:21.179 problems in churches that have come as people 00:45:21.179 --> 00:45:24.639 have desired attention and recognition by being 00:45:24.639 --> 00:45:28.460 in the limelight through a performance. While 00:45:28.460 --> 00:45:31.860 we want to preach and sing and play our instruments 00:45:31.860 --> 00:45:34.420 and communicate with clarity and beauty and excellence, 00:45:35.119 --> 00:45:38.159 we don't want to do this to bring ourselves glory 00:45:38.159 --> 00:45:42.880 or notoriety or celebrity. We ought to do what 00:45:42.880 --> 00:45:48.670 we do on this platform. to love God, to love 00:45:48.670 --> 00:45:55.510 each other, and not to love ourselves. Jesus 00:45:55.510 --> 00:46:02.190 said this, greater love has no man than this, 00:46:02.829 --> 00:46:07.110 but that a man lay down his life for his friends. 00:46:08.530 --> 00:46:12.150 And the one who deserves all the glory and honor 00:46:12.150 --> 00:46:15.590 and all of the notoriety and celebrity when he 00:46:15.590 --> 00:46:18.210 had the most understanding of his own identity, 00:46:18.630 --> 00:46:23.389 got down and washed his disciples feet, and then 00:46:23.389 --> 00:46:27.110 got up and was falsely accused and whipped and 00:46:27.110 --> 00:46:34.510 beaten and crucified, nailed to a cross. And 00:46:34.510 --> 00:46:40.590 while he was hanging on the cross, he said, father, 00:46:40.929 --> 00:46:44.530 forgive them, for they know not what they do. 00:46:45.199 --> 00:46:49.780 He said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 00:46:49.780 --> 00:46:56.980 me? I'm forgiven because he was forsaken. I'm 00:46:56.980 --> 00:47:00.840 accepted because he was condemned. I'm alive 00:47:00.840 --> 00:47:03.639 and well, his spirit lives within me because 00:47:03.639 --> 00:47:10.679 he died and rose again. Because he lives, we 00:47:10.679 --> 00:47:14.409 can live also. Are you thankful for the love 00:47:14.409 --> 00:47:17.530 of God? God so loved the world that he gave his 00:47:17.530 --> 00:47:20.250 only begotten son that whosoever believes in 00:47:20.250 --> 00:47:21.889 him should not perish.