When you come together
Talk 11 Identifying Underlying Principles
We have now completed our examination of 1 Corinthians 12-14 with a view to seeing how Paul’s teaching in those chapters might help us better understand the verse upon which this series has been based, 1 Corinthians 14:26. In our consideration of chapter 12 we saw from the first part of the chapter that we should expect the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in our meetings and that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the gateway to those gifts.
In the second part of the chapter, we highlighted the principles of unity, diversity and interdependence. The different gifts we have are all given by the same Spirit, and we all belong to the same body. Every part of the body is important, and every part needs each other part.
The chief lesson that we learnt from chapter 13 is that nothing that we have and nothing that we may do is of any value without love. We also saw that, wonderful though they are, supernatural gifts have their limitations. They are neither permanent nor perfect. We know in part, and we prophesy in part. And that’s because that which is perfect has not yet come.
In chapter 14 we discovered that most of Paul’s teaching is taken up with the value and use of the gifts of tongues, interpretation, and prophecy, and so we devoted the last three talks to discussing what Paul teaches about each of these gifts in that chapter. We looked in some detail at his specific instructions and sought to clarify their meaning where that was open to possible differences of interpretation and application.
With all these things in mind, we now return to 1 Corinthians 14:26 to consider in more detail some of the things we outlined in the Introduction.
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
The first thing to remember about this verse is that Paul is giving guidance on what should happen in a meeting of BELIEVERS. This is clear from the overall context, from the use of the words brothers… when you come together, and from verse 24 where he says if an unbeliever comes in. So I am not suggesting that the principles taught in this verse should be applied to an EVANGELISTIC meeting, for which his recommendations might have been different.
Secondly, as I pointed out in the Introduction, the words, What then shall we say, brothers? are a recommendation rather than a criticism, as some have suggested. Clearly this is crucial to all that I am arguing in this series, but my confidence is based on Paul’s use of the same Greek phrase in verse 15 where it’s clear that Paul is making a strong recommendation.
Thirdly, in the Introduction we identified three key principles in this verse:
· Participation
· Variety
· Edification.
We will now explore these concepts in more detail.
Participation
Paul hardly needed to recommend that the Corinthians participate in their meetings. That was something they were doing already. Verse 23 seems to suggest that there were occasions when they were all speaking in tongues at the same time and this was something Paul wanted to discourage, especially in the presence of unbelievers. This is why he felt the need to limit speaking in tongues to two, or at the most, three.
The problem was not lack of participation, but too much participation in things that did not edify the church. So verse 26 is both a recognition and a recommendation. A recognition of what was already happening, and a recommendation that whatever that was, it should be done for the strengthening of the church.
But to say this is not to minimise the importance of the whole verse as a recommendation to us. Referring to the things he has listed in the verse, Paul says, All of these must be done. And they must be done for the strengthening of the church. As we saw from chapter 12, every part of the body is needed. There should always be opportunity, whenever we gather together, for the expression of the many gifts and graces that the Spirit has imparted to the members.
Of course, it would not be possible in most churches for every person present to participate in every meeting, other than to join in singing the songs and, perhaps to say an occasional Amen to what is being said by others. But there should always be opportunity for them to do so.
And they should be encouraged to do so. People are more likely to participate when time is specifically allocated for this and it’s made clear that participation is welcome. If we really want people to participate, we must make room for it, even if it means arranging smaller meetings, or, in larger meetings, breaking down into small groups for part of the service.
But, as I said in the Introduction, it’s not my intention to try to tell church leaders what they should do. If we really believe that the things that Paul has written in this chapter are the Lord’s command (37), we will find ways of implementing them that will work in our particular situation.
Variety
Paul refers to:
a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.
These are, of course, just a representative sample of what might happen in a meeting, but they suggest three main areas:
· The musical dimension (a hymn)
· The doctrinal dimension (a word of instruction)
· The supernatural dimension (a revelation, a tongue, etc).
We have already dealt with the supernatural dimension at some length. So we will confine our attention to the musical and doctrinal dimensions.
The musical dimension
The first thing Paul refers to in 14:26 is a hymn. Actually the word in Greek is literally a psalm. A psalm has been defined as a song or poem used in worship, so the translation hymn is quite appropriate. Of course, at the time Paul was writing to the Corinthians they would not have had the vast repertoire of hymns and songs that are available to us today.
However, because of the Jewish origins of the Christian church, it’s likely that their main source of songs for worship would have been the Book of Psalms that we have in our Bible. In fact, where the word psalm is used everywhere else in New Testament it refers to one of the Psalms, so this is probably what Paul had in mind when he said:
Everyone of you has a hymn (or psalm).
But what exactly did Paul mean by this? Although we cannot be sure how this recommendation would have been applied in Corinth, there is one clear implication in what Paul is saying. Everyone should have the opportunity to contribute to the worship by having a song. But how do you have a song? This surely means more than joining in the songs chosen in advance by the pastor or worship leader! And Paul is hardly suggesting that everyone should have the opportunity to sing a solo, wonderful though the ministry in song of Christian vocal artists may be.
In my view, the most appropriate way of implementing Paul’s recommendation within the context of modern worship is to give opportunity for people to choose a hymn for everyone to sing, or, in a time of open worship, to spontaneously start singing a well-known hymn or chorus for everyone to join in.
I realise that this may not easily fit in with modern styles of worship where the pursuit of excellence in performance is paramount, but I know from experience what a blessing it can be when someone in the congregation spontaneously has a song in one of the ways I have just suggested.
Finally, with reference to the songs we sing, may I make two pleas to Christian song writers? First, with regard to the tunes, would you please compose tunes that are quickly learned, easily remembered, and easily sung by members of the congregation who don’t have your musical expertise?
And secondly, please remember that the words of a song are more important than the music. Music is valuable, not only because it helps us express our emotion and lifts our spirit, but also because it helps us remember what we sing. So it’s important that our words clearly express in easily understood English the great truths of our faith. Your songs have the potential to be remembered far more than my sermons! So please make sure you’ve got your theology right, and, if you’re not sure, get someone else to check it for you.
Finally, we need to consider the only other reference to singing in 1 Corinthians 14, where in verse 15, talking about singing in tongues, Paul says:
I will sing with my spirit (in tongues), but I will also sing with my mind (in a language I understand).
However, as we have already seen, this is part of what Paul is recommending for the use of tongues in private, which raises the question as to whether singing in tongues is appropriate in public. There may be a reference to this in Ephesians 5:19 where Paul mentions spiritual songs along with psalms and hymns. KJV is more literal than NIV when it translates this as
speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord…
We know from 1 Corinthians 14 that speaking in tongues is one way of speaking to ourselves and to God (28) and that in doing so we are praying or singing with our spirit (14-15). However, it’s unclear whether, in Ephesians 5:19, Paul is envisaging a public or private situation. The reference to heart rather than hearts might suggest that he is speaking to them as individuals, whereas speaking to yourselves (plural) could be taken to refer to when they are gathered in worship.
Perhaps he intends both. At Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Spirit both collectively and individually and we need, both as a church and as individuals within it, to keep on being filled with the Spirit. If I can sing in tongues privately to maintain the fulness of the Spirit, cannot the church do so collectively? I confess that I was once rather concerned about this, especially when unbelievers were present, on the basis of what Paul says about them thinking we are mad (14:23). But the following episode made me think again.
During part of the time when I was Principal of Mattersey Hall Bible College, the college chapel was across the road from the main part of our campus, and the students’ worship could easily be heard by anyone passing by. There would often be times when everyone was spontaneously singing in tongues to worship the Lord, and I wondered what the local residents might think of it.
But I was greatly reassured when I heard that one of them had asked:
What is that beautiful singing I sometimes hear when I walk past your chapel? It’s so unusual, and it gives me a great sense of peace.
The Corinthians were undoubtedly out of order in the way they were exercising the gift of tongues and clearly needed the strong warning that Paul gave them. But perhaps today he might be encouraging some churches at least to move in the opposite direction and be less concerned about what outsiders might think. As at Pentecost, there will always be those who criticise the moving of the Spirit, but if we are able to give an explanation of what’s happening, as Peter did, there may well be more who are persuaded by our message than those who oppose it.
The doctrinal dimension
The Greek word translated in NIV as a word of instruction is didache, which literally means teaching. It can also mean doctrine (which comes from a Latin verb meaning teach). Paul says relatively little about this in 1 Corinthians 14, but in verse 19 he stresses the importance of teaching when he says:
But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue,
and in verse 31 when he says:
For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.
And of course, as we mentioned in the Introduction, most of the contents of Paul’s letters were written to instruct the churches in the truth and to expose false doctrine. As I have said elsewhere,
What we believe is of vital importance. The scriptures were written that we might know the truth, and that the truth might set us free (John 8:32). Every genuine experience of the Spirit finds its foundation in the truth of God’s word. The Bible is the inspired word of God. It teaches the truth – about God, about man, about life and death, good and evil, heaven and hell. If we want to know the truth about any of the important questions of life, we will find it in the Bible [1].
John tells us that
Anyone who… does not continue in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son (2 John 9).
Jesus himself told his disciples to beware of the teachings of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:12) and said that their teachings were just rules made by men (Matthew 15:9), and Paul warns us of the same danger in Colossians 2:22. But what a wonderful contrast is the teaching of God our Saviour (Titus 2:10) which is to be recognised by a right attitude to Christ (2 John 7-10) and a right attitude to scripture (2 Timothy 3:16).
We need to know what we believe and why we believe it so that we can by sound doctrine convince those who contradict us (Titus 1:9). It is by knowing the truth that people are set free (John 8:32). That’s why Paul told Timothy:
Devote yourself to… teaching. Watch your life and doctrine closely; persevere in them; because if you do you will save both yourself and your hearers (1 Timothy 4:13, 16).
The sound exposition of the Scriptures is essential whenever we come together.
Edification
We said at the beginning of the talk that the three key principles underlying 14:26 are participation, variety, and edification. Now that we have discussed the first two of these, we turn to the subject of edification, which, without doubt is the major theme of the whole chapter. If love is the dominant theme of chapter 13, in chapter 14 edification is the way that love is expressed in the context of the gathered church. That’s why Paul says everything must be done for the strengthening of the church.
We have already looked at Paul’s specific teaching in chapter 14 in some detail, but now it will be helpful to consider the key principles that underly that teaching and see if they can be applied more widely than the specific issues Paul was addressing in Corinth. As we do so, we will discover five principles that need to be applied if our meetings are to be edifying.
Putting other people first
This is the principle underlying Paul’s teaching in verses 1-5. There he is saying that in church prophecy is more valuable than tongues because when you speak in tongues you edify only yourself, but if you prophesy you will edify others. He picks up the same theme in verse 17:
You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.
The principle underlying this teaching is putting others first. And that principle can be applied far more widely than the issue of speaking in tongues. It’s good that I have the freedom to stand and worship the Lord while others are sitting down, but if by standing I prevent the person behind me from singing because they cannot see the words on the screen in front, I may be giving thanks well, but the other person is not edified. People need to be taught to be considerate to others in the way they worship the Lord.
Intelligibility
Another of the ways we can build up our fellow Christians is by making sure they can understand. In verse 9 Paul says:
Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying?
Of course, he talking about the futility of speaking in tongues in church unless it’s interpreted. It’s pointless unless people can understand it. But that’s true of everything we do in church. Not everything we say in English is easy to understand – but it should be! This applies to our preaching, our prayers, the songs we sing, our praise and worship – everything. In verse 16 it’s clear that Paul expects that everyone present should be able to say Amen to whatever we say, but to do that they must first understand it,
…how can one who… does not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?
Again, in the context, he’s talking about speaking in tongues, but the underlying principle of intelligibility has a wider application. For example, how can I say Amen to someone’s prayer or praise if I can’t make out what they’re saying because the people around me are making too much noise, or if the background music is too loud? Which, incidentally, it often is. Saying Amen means expressing your agreement with what’s been said, and you can’t do that if you haven’t heard it properly.
Responsibility
As we saw in the last talk when discussing prophets and prophecy, Paul says that
The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets (32).
This implies that both prophets and those who have the gift of prophecy are responsible for how they use their gifts. But the need to take responsibility for our actions goes far wider than the gift of prophecy. If God has entrusted us with any spiritual gift, we are responsible for how we use it.
For example, the Holy Spirit does not force us to speak in tongues. He enables us to do so. We are responsible for when, how often, and how loudly. This principle applies to everything we do in church. We are to follow the teaching of Scripture and of our leaders (37-38) and we cannot make the excuse, I couldn’t help it. The Holy Spirit made me do it. And, as we have already said, the very fact that Paul gave us instructions on how these gifts should be used implies that we are responsible for how we use them.
Order
Paul says that God is not a God of disorder but of peace (33), and it’s our responsibility to see that everything is done in a fitting and orderly way (40). In the context this meant ensuring that speaking in tongues should be done one at a time and that only one person should interpret each utterance (27). And the same principle applied to the use of prophecy (30).
Paul’s specific teaching on this is still applicable today, but the wider principle holds good for everything we do. Everything should done in a fitting and orderly way. Interpretation of what is fitting and orderly will possibly vary from church to church, and there will undoubtedly be cultural variations, but the leaders of each church should be able to agree on what is appropriate in their situation, bearing in mind the overall principles taught in Scripture.
Balance
Finally, it’s clear from Paul’s teaching that there needs to be a measure of balance in our meetings. In Corinth there was too much speaking in tongues. In another church it might be too much music, or even too much teaching! If there is to be the variety of which Paul speaks in verse 26, and if each member is to have the opportunity to contribute, church leaders need to ensure that there is a healthy balance in each meeting.
But that is not to say that there cannot be special occasions when an entire meeting is given over to teaching, or to prayer, or to worship, for example. Such occasions are not to be confused with the regular meetings of the church, where preserving a measure of balance will be essential to the edification of all God’s people.
So, to summarise, in this talk we have examined the three principles underlying Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:26 – participation, variety, and edification. We noted that our meetings should include the supernatural, the musical and the doctrinal. But, most important of all, we saw that everything should be done for the edification of the church, and that this will be achieved by putting others first, making sure that what is said is intelligible, taking responsibility for our actions, and by preserving order and balance in our meetings. These principles have a wider application than the specific areas that Paul was addressing in the Corinthian church. Exactly how they should be applied is for each local church leadership to decide. And that is something we will be discussing in our next and final talk.
[1] Introduction to You’d Better Believe it. This book contains teaching on the basic doctrines of the Christian faith and is available from www.davidpetts.org.