Talk 17 1 Corinthians chapters 12 to 14
Welcome to talk 17 in our series on 1 Corinthians. Today’s talk will be rather different from usual as I have decided to cover chapters 12-14 in one single talk. This is because I recently recorded five Podcasts on these chapters under the general heading of The most excellent way. These talks are each somewhat longer than those in our current series, but I encourage you to listen to them in addition to today’s talk which will be a brief summary of the content to be found in the five talks in the earlier series. If you visit my website www.davidpetts.org you will find them by clicking on MENU and then on Podcasts. Look for August 2020 and you will find them under numbers 094-098.
1 Corinthians 11 to 14 are the only chapters in the New Testament that deal specifically with the subject of public worship.
Of course the Corinthian culture was very different from ours today. But what principles can we learn that will guide us in our worship today? We’ll begin by outlining Paul’s purpose in these chapters:
To correct disorder in public worship especially at the Lord’s supper
To teach the right use of spiritual gifts
To demonstrate our dependence on each other as members of the body of Christ
To show the overriding importance of love
To give clear instructions on the public use of gifts such as tongues, interpretation and prophecy
To offer guidelines as to how a believers’ meeting should be conducted.
We’ve already dealt with Chapter 11 in our last two talks.
In my series titled The Most Excellent Way I divide chapters 12-14 into the following sections:
Expect the supernatural 12:1-11
We are all needed 12:12-31
It’s all meaningless if we don’t love one another 13:1-13
Put other people first 14:1-25
Take responsibility for your actions 14:26-40
Talk 094. Expect the supernatural 12:1-11
The major theme of the chapter as a whole is that of:
unity 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 20, 24–25
and interdependence 21,25,26
in the midst of diversity. 4, 5,6,8-11,12,14,20, 24-25.
This theme is clear in the first 11 verses where Paul talks about the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. There are various gifts but they are given by the one Spirit. Paul does not want the Corinthians, or us for that matter, to be ignorant about this important subject. It’s vital that we understand how to distinguish between genuine manifestations and those which are false. I go into some detail on this in talk 094.
Talk 095. We are all needed 12:12-31
In this section Paul compares the church to the human body and shows clearly that every member is needed. The very purpose of our being baptised in the Holy Spirit is for the benefit of the body (13). Please listen to talk 095 for an explanation of why I believe verse 13 should be interpreted in this way.
The basic teaching of the passage is that we are all different but we all need each other and are united by the fact that we are all part of the same body. We are not independent of each other but rather we are interdependent on each other. It is God who has arranged the members of the body just as it has pleased him. We mustn’t think of anyone as useless and we mustn’t think of ourselves as useless. Whether you believe it or not, like it or not, you belong to the body! To say ‘I don’t need you’ is to imply that your gift or ministry is the only thing that matters. Our attitude should be that of the three Musketeers – all for one and one for all.
In talk 095 I also deal with the question of what Paul means by the greater gifts in verse 31 and the implication of his question in verse 30, Do all speak with tongues?
Talk 096. It’s all meaningless if we don’t love one another 13:1-13
This is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. However it is frequently taken out of context, the surrounding chapters being often ignored.
In talk 096 I covered the following main points:
What does Paul mean by tongues of angels in verse one?
I give reasons for believing that when we speak in tongues we are not speaking a heavenly language as is commonly believed.
I also answer the question, Can the devil understand tongues?
Another main feature I deal with is the question, What does Paul mean when he says that tongues will be stilled? I dismiss the cessationist view that gifts like tongues ceased with the apostolic age.
But of course the overriding emphasis of this wonderful chapter is the supremacy of love and my talk concludes with a devotional consideration of what this means for us personally.
Talk 097. Put other people first 14:1-25
1 Corinthians 11 to 14 are the only chapters in the New Testament that give an insight into the worship of the early church
Chapter 12 teaches us to expect the supernatural and that we are all needed
Chapter 13 makes clear that whatever we do and whatever gifts we may have it’s all a waste of time if we don’t love one another
That brings us to chapter 14 which may be divided into the following sections:
1-5 prophecy is preferable to tongues
6-11 tongues alone are of little value
12-19 edification is the underlying principle
20-25 the case of unbelievers coming in
26-40 the ordering of spiritual gifts
The main emphasis of verses 1 to 25 is that we should put other people first. That is a natural continuation of the theme of love. If we love one another we will put others before ourselves.
In verses 1-5 Paul shows clearly that in church prophecy is preferable to speaking in tongues because tongues without interpretation does not edify other people. In talk 097 I also deal with what Paul means when he says that the person who speaks in tongues does not speak to men but to God. This is obviously very relevant when we come to the nature of the gift of interpretation of tongues.
Verses 6-11 are fairly straightforward. Speaking in tongues (without interpretation) is of little value in the assembled church because nobody understands what is being said.
Verses 12-19 teach that edification is the underlying principle. Tongues is of great value for private personal edification but in church it is of little value unless it is interpreted.
Verses 20-25 deal with the case of unbelievers coming in. The basic teaching is clear but the details of the argument are difficult in that the verses appear to contain a twofold contradiction. I deal with this suggesting a possible interpretation which does not require us to see a contradiction in scripture.
Despite the difficulties in the passage, what is clear is that all our conduct in our meetings should be determined by what is good for others, not what feels good to us.
Talk 098. Take responsibility for your actions 14:26-40
In verses 26-40 Paul gives specific instructions regarding the exercise of the gifts of tongues, interpretation and prophecy. However the overriding principle in his teaching is that we must take responsibility for our actions.
Verse 26 is particularly important because it is the only verse in the New Testament which answers the question what shall we do when we come together in church. Seen in this way it may be taken as the pattern for a New Testament believers’ meeting. Themes contained within the verse are participation, variety, and edification.
In verses 36-40 Paul summarises his teaching on public worship:
Whatever your spiritual gift may be, you must submit to the authority of the apostle’s commands (v 37).
This has obvious implications with regard to the authority of scripture.
It also implies the authority of ministry gift over spiritual gift
Whatever happens everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way(40).
Please listen to talk 098 to see how I interpret Paul’s specific teaching with regard to the verses I haven’t mentioned specifically today.