Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind. It is written in the Scriptures: “I will speak to My own people through strange languages and through the lips of foreigners. But even then, they will not listen to Me,” says the LORD.” So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers. Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. .As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”
1 Corinthians 14:22-25
In summary, Paul is subtly connecting this passage with the “seeming” nonsense saying from Isaiah 28:10. I think it is a connection through which Paul is saying many things, not the least of which connects to his early comments related to childishness concerning the gift of tongues. He appears to infer by using the veiled reference to Isaiah 28:10 that tongues are for unbelievers as much as believers. They, the Corinthians, are some of those unbelievers. They are not believing as they should be. They have got a skewed perspective of the gifts of the spirit, especially with their excessive use of tongues. Oh yes, God will speak through tongues alright, much like he did in the time of Isaiah when He spoke to Israel through the Babylonian and Assyrian tongues. Be careful.
But don’t forget too, Isaiah’s message to the leaders of Israel. “tsav lâtsâv tsav lâtsâv qav lâqâv qav lâqâv”. Don’t just babble in tongues, learn to discern the depth of God’s message for you. Do I have to teach you precept by precept, line upon line, just like I would have to teach children? You are not children, you ought to be mature! (1 Cor 14:20)
One of participants in a Deeper Bible class at 601 Level came up with this take on the passage after he had concluded what was happening in the passage. I thought it was worthy of inclusion in this Gem. Any royalties I will share with Malcolm.
DRAMA IN CORINTH (1 CORINTHIANS 14:20-22)
Hi READERS……..it’s me, PAUL !….I’ve been writing a letter …..to you Corinthians !….You’re a naughty lot !….Big babies really – you KNOW !….about My Gifts and tongues : can’t be messing with that sort of thing !!
You Corinthians wanted to know about TONGUES, so I have written a very detailed reply – three chapters – line upon line, precept upon precept. I don’t really think you understood ? I’ve got my doubts. ! Anyway, I’ve been much more clever in what I wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:20-22, so clever in fact that nobody, for centuries, has understood what I’ve written. So, let’s look at those verses, now, and see if I can sort you out.
The first thing you might notice about these three verses is it is not all my own writing – I’ve borrowed some from Isaiah 28:11-12 and stuck it in the middle. I was making a midrash (an allusion). Funny thing to do you might think. I’ve left some of the Isaiah quote out – the bit about God’s rest. That’s called an omission, it didn’t really apply to your Corinthian situation AND by doing this I was pointing you to look at the repeated verses around Isaiah 28:11-12 – that’s called a Midrash ( nothing to do with bacon )
Oh and I didn’t quote Isaiah properly, as well – naughty you might say. ‘Strange tongues changed to strange lips, lips of foreigners changed to foreign tongues” –such small changes ! But, big message. I was poking fun at the way you Corinthians use tongues. Foreign lips or childish babble. Like the nonsense verse of Isaiah. So then, let us consider the leaders of Ephraim – proud, sinful, unbelieving, spiritual babies ! Disdainful of God’s prophet Isaiah. The leaders told Isaiah he was talking baby talk. I am telling you Corinthians you are doing the same.
“ Could you not see that the prophet was being kind to you ? ”Giving God’s message to you in such a way that even a child could understand it.
Repetition and rhymes! Repetition and rhymes.!
Kiy tsav latsav tsav latsav qav laqav qav laqav
But they were insulted by this and dismissed his message. ‘ In quietness and rest is your strength.’ You had other agendas, just like Ahaz.
Willfully you won’t receive correction but insist on continuing to babble like babies. OH, CORINTHIANS !!! you remind me so much of the Ephraimites in Isaiah 28. You seem to have turned your backs on God’s teachings – be babes in evil and mature in your thinking, particularly towards tongues in this instance. Though you have been saved by the blood of Jesus the Christ yet you act like unbelievers. So, in a sense, you have become unbelievers and therefore tongues are a sign to you. BUT how can you understand God’s message if you are babbling in a strange tongue or babbling like babies and there is no prophecy ?
Even sadder, the visiting unbeliever to your church hears your babblings and because there is no prophecy becomes hardened in his bias against God – he is convinced you are MAD ! And judgement falls on that person because God’s message seems to come from the lips of a foreigner and so he/she leaves to a permanent exile from God. OH, CORINTHIANS ! Your church is meant to be a place of salvation through the manifestation of My Presence, not a place of childish babbling!!!!
PAUL
Malcolm J.
Allow me to clarify one more thing before I leave this topic. Remember I told you the focus of 1 Corinthians 12 and by inference and connection 1 Corinthians 13 and 14 too are the manifestation gifts, with special emphasis on tongues and to a lesser degree on prophecy. I don’t believe the prophecy referred to in any of this section is the forth-telling of the Word of God. I think it is clear by Paul comments that he is talking about such things as words of knowledge, words of wisdom and prophetic words. Those gifts which manifestly and clearly show to us that God is doing something supernatural at the time the gift is manifested. I firmly and utterly believe these gifts ought to be present in the body of Christ in this day and age. I have witnessed them and experienced them personally to the extent that I cannot deny their existence and practice in these days. When translators or preachers talk about the prophetic gift being the preaching or proclaiming of God’s word I believe they are detracting from the full impact of what Paul means in this section.
I like the New Living Translation, which I quoted above, where it says ‘But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”’ That is the way I know the prophetic gift, the word of knowledge and of the word of wisdom to work. When God does just as Jesus did with the woman at the well of Sychar and expose the truth of a situation gently but firmly in order to manifest to the recipient that God is present. Those are the manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit in action. Bring it on Lord. We need more of it. But give to us the gift of the discerning of spirits as well. Help us to keep all things in balance for your name’s sake. I almost said for Christ’s sake – but changed it because of the connotation in some people’s mind of that particular construction.
How dare they belittle the name of Christ. They don’t do it with Buddha or Mohammad. No one uses their name as a swear word. Maybe that in itself reveals the source from which it comes. Enough of that, I am on a tangent now I admit.
Your Life Is Defined At The Place Of Decision.
Robb Thompson
His presence is constant; His existence is certain; His love, undeniable; His Word, uncontainable!
Brian Houston