THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapters 14-16)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Timothy Sparks and Ben Bailey.
Ben Bailey:
“For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints”
(1 Cor. 14:33). I’m Ben Bailey.
Timothy Sparks:
And I’m Timothy Sparks. Welcome to our study in 1 Corinthians. This broadcast is brought to you by individual members and congregations of the churches of Christ. We hope you will visit the churches of Christ in your area, and let them know how much you appreciate this broadcast. We also hope that you will take the time to visit us often on our website at www.thegospelofchrist.com. We have streaming audio and video lessons on our website, which you may download to assist you in your study of God’s Word. And, as always, we will be happy to send you a free copy of any of our lessons on DVD or CDs. All of our lessons are available free of charge. We will even pay the postage. Visit us on our website, fill out the request form to let us know which lessons you want, and we will be more than happy to send those to you.
Today we are examining 1 Corinthians 14, where Paul is pleading with the Christians at Corinth not to misuse their spiritual gifts as a means to either exalt themselves or to debase their brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul’s message is that Christians should be united, not divided, and to speak the same thing so that there are no divisions among them, and so that they are completely joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Cor. 1:10). We learn from 1 Corinthians 14 that there was a lot of confusion within the church at Corinth, because there was a lot of self-exaltation among Christians who were not using the spiritual gifts for the purpose for which those gifts had been provided to them. There were two main purposes for miracles: (1) to confirm the Word of God (Mk. 16:20); and (2) to reveal God’s Word (1 Cor. 12-14). Christians in the first century did not possess the New Testament in its completed form as we do today. We, of course, are greatly blessed by having God’s Word in written form. But the people in Corinth and other places did not have the completed New Testament. Paul told them that the spiritual gifts—prophesying, miraculous knowledge, and speaking in tongues—would all pass away when “that which is perfect has come.” Once the New Testament was complete, then God would take away the miracles since they no longer would be needed. When we look at 1 Corinthians 14, we need to understand that this chapter was dealing with something (the misuse of spiritual gifts) that does not apply to us today since there are no miracles available today. We can, however, make a spiritual application of the principles contained in 1 Corinthians 12-14. Whatever gifts we today possess (in a non-miraculous sense) should be used for building up the body of Christ. We must remember that “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Cor. 8:1). Ben, tell us more about using the gifts God has given us to His glory.
Ben Bailey:
First-century miracles were intended to glorify God and to help others understand God’s will. In 1 Corinthians 14:6-13, Paul focuses mainly on tongue speaking. Evidently, some in Corinth were “carried away” with the idea of being able to speak in tongues, and felt as if it was some sort of “special” gift. So Paul begins his discussion by telling them that, in fact, they should desire to prophesy, rather to desiring to speak in tongues, in order to help other people understand the Gospel message. Paul mentioned several important things in regard to speaking in tongues. He said that if you were in the church assembly and there was no one present to interpret what you said, then you shouldn’t speak in tongues because it would only confuse people. Paul also said that speaking in tongues was intended to help unbelievers, so they could see the power of God. Today, we see people on television who want us to think they are speaking in tongues (sometimes they even “sing in tongues”—something that is never even mentioned in the Bible). They stand up and utter some sort of gibberish, and want the listener to believe they have some sort of special, heavenly language. Paul said that tongues should not be used without someone to interpret. The Greek word for tongue speaking is glossalia, which means “tongue,” yet implies “language.” We learn in such passages as Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 that when people in the first century spoke in tongues, they didn’t speak in some unknown heavenly language. Rather, they spoke in a language they had never studied before. This is what tongue speaking is all about—speaking in a language (tongue) you’ve never studied. I’ve never studied the Chinese language. For me to speak in tongues would mean that I could automatically and miraculously be able to do exactly that (or something akin to it). Speaking in tongues does not mean that you utter an unknown heavenly language, but that you are able to speak a language you’ve never studied before. This is what tongue speaking is all about. So, yes, it could help people who spoke different languages (as it did in Acts 2). But it also would serve as a sign to others that God was speaking through you, since you had the ability to speak a language you had never studied.
But let us remember the context of 1 Corinthians 13—that miraculous gifts such as tongue speaking were given “in part,” and one day would come to an end. Paul taught that miraculous gifts were temporary. In John 16:13, Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would guide the disciples “into all truth.” Thus, a time was coming when “all truth” would be available. Peter wrote that God had provided “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). Thus, by the time Peter wrote, “all truth” had been given. James referred to it as “the perfect law of liberty (Jas. 1:25). When the Gospel message arrived in its completed form (such as we have in our Bibles of today), miracles no longer were needed, since the Word was self-confirming. Remember, too, that miracles were never for self-gratification. I find it very interesting that people today who claim to be able to work miracles do not perform the types of miracles we find in the Bible. Jesus, in John 11 and 12, raised a man from the dead. Anyone today who could raise someone from the dead certainly could claim to have worked a genuine miracle. But we don’t find people doing that. Nor do we see modern-day “miracle workers” healing deformed limbs. This is not to say that we don’t believe in the power of prayer, or that God doesn’t heal people as a result of the prayers of the faithful. When people fall ill, and we pray to God to help them, He does help them (in His own way, according to His own means and will) as a result of our prayers. But a genuine miracle is about a human raising someone from the dead via the power of God—not asking God to do it as a result of human prayers. Why would we need doctors, hospitals, or cemeteries today—if real miracles still existed? As we look in 1 Corinthians 13 and 14, we see a lot of things that are different from modern-day miracles. People today tend to view miracles from purely an emotional standpoint, rather than from a scriptural standpoint.
Timothy Sparks:
As we view the religious world today, we witness great confusion as people attempt to perform what they are calling “biblical” miracles. In 1 Corinthians 14:15, Paul addressed the confusion that can sometimes result from miracles. He told the Christians in Corinth that they needed to understand what they were doing, for example, when they chose to speak in tongues. Paul said, “I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” Paul’s point is that, in whatever we do, we must be able to communicate the message to people in an understandable manner. In 1 Corinthians 14:19, Paul went on to say, “I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.” The purpose of speaking words is to instruct. We learn in Acts 2 that on the Day of Pentecost, the apostles spoke in tongues (that is, languages they had never studied), and that through their message they communicated with people from various nations. There was a similar purpose for tongue speaking in Corinth. But apparently, by and large, there were not a lot of people for whom this would have been beneficial. As a result, some of the Corinthian Christians ended up misusing their ability to speak in tongues by using the gift when it wasn’t edifying or instructing anyone. Thus, Paul instructed them not to use their ability to speak in tongues merely to exalt themselves, but rather to use that ability for the purpose for which it was originally intended. Paul didn’t want someone to say, “Look how talented and gifted I am,” because that could cause division with the body of Christ, and would not give God the glory. As we see the division that had been caused by the misuse of spiritual gifts, it is little wonder, then, that Paul says, “God is not the Author of confusion, but of peace.” God wasn’t the One Who was causing the chaos and mass confusion that was occurring. We should do all things decently and in order (1 Cor. 14:40). Ben, tell us more about the confusion that was occurring in the church in Corinth, as well as how we can do more to ensure that things are done decently and in order.
Ben Bailey:
There appears to have been a lot of confusion in the church in Corinth. For example, women were speaking out of place, and were not acknowledging their proper role. People were speaking in tongues when there was no one present who could interpret—causing some to be confused. So, Paul instructed them to do all things “decently and in order.” This teaches us that when we worship God, we, too, must do things in a proper and decent manner. Quite often, when we hear people talk about performing so-called “modern-day miracles,” or when we hear about someone being “endowed with the Spirit,” they end up going into a wild frenzy where they run around, jump over things, yell things that no one can understand, and fall on the floor and flop around. How decent and orderly are actions such as those? Is that what Paul had in mind? Would Paul have condoned such things as being done “decently and in order”? Paul’s comments here appear to be addressing miracles within the use of worship. Yet we don’t read of anyone running around, falling on the floor, or speaking out of place in unknown languages. In fact, that very thing is what is condemned in 1 Corinthians 14:34ff. And so we need to do things in a very decent and orderly manner—things that will edify. Remember that love builds up. The improper use of miraculous knowledge brings only confusion. As we move into chapter 15, Paul “shifts gears” to concentrate on the resurrection of Christ. He says, “I’m going to declare unto you the Gospel”—which, as he explains in the first few verses of the chapter, has to do with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What is the Gospel all about? Here it is in a nutshell: Jesus died for our sins, giving His precious, perfect life on the cross for us. 1 Peter 2:24 says Jesus “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.” Jesus died for me, and was buried. The symbolic purpose of the burial is to teach us that we, too, must bury our old life. In Romans 6:1-4, Paul says that we, too, have a burial in baptism, in which we die to the old man, and then are raised a saint. But Jesus’ burial was not the end, because He was resurrected. And as a result of His resurrection, we, too, have the hope of being raised. Paul uses chapter 15 to discuss the importance of Christ’s resurrection. Sadly, some, even today, deny the resurrection.
Timothy Sparks:
And that is exactly what was happening in Corinth. Some were denying the resurrection of Christ. One of the parallel passages to 1 Corinthians 15 is Romans 1:4, which notes that Christ was “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” The resurrection is essential to Christianity. And in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul discusses the implications of the position of some in Corinth who suggested that there is no resurrection. Paul said that if there is no resurrection, then Christ has not been raised, and their faith was in vain. In addition, the preaching and teaching of all the apostles and disciples likewise was in vain—if Christ had not been raised. Paul said that people who did not believe in the resurrection were “of all men, most pitiable.” Why would they want to be Christians—and even put their very lives in danger—if there was no resurrection? If Christ had not been raised, their faith was indeed in vain! The resurrection is essential to Christianity. It is what puts the power into Christ’s death. Without the resurrection of Christ, then Christ would have died in vain. But through the resurrection of Christ, we learn that Jesus overcame death and its power, and that He is now reigning at the right hand of God. We, too, therefore, have hope of a future resurrection, because Jesus was resurrected. Remember John 11:25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus makes it very clear that He is the resurrection and the life. And just as He asked Martha, he asks us, Do we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
Ben Bailey:
In 1 Corinthians 15, we learn that there is a logical implication to not believing in the resurrection. In Ephesus and other cities, the popular philosophy of the day was, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry—for tomorrow we die!” Paul’s point is, If the resurrection isn’t true, then why not act in such a manner? If there is no resurrection, then let’s just eat, drink, and live life to the fullest because, when we die, it’s all over; that’s the end. But Paul makes it clear that such is not the case. The Bible teaches in Hebrews 9:27 that “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” There is going to be a judgment—a time when we will all have to give account. In John 5:28-29, Jesus said, “The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” One day, we’re all going to exit from our graves and give an account of what we’ve done in this life. The resurrection should offer us comfort, and help us to understand that there is more to life than the fact that “we live, we die, and that’s it.” But it also ought to cause us to fear God, knowing that we will one day stand before His throne and give an account of what we’ve done in this life. It’s sad that, even today, there are still some who say that the resurrection will not occur, or that it has already passed. What are the implications of suggesting that the resurrection has already passsed? One of the implications is that the Scriptures teach that when the resurrection occurs, we’re going to receive a new body. It’s going to be like Christ’s body, in the sense that it will be incorruptible and will not perish. If you think that the resurrection has passed, does your body ever hurt? Does it ever ache? Can you still burn yourself when you touch something hot? Do you still endure sickness and disease? If so, it’s evident that the resurrection has not taken place already. If it had, we wouldn’t feel pain; we would be in an incorruptible body. Someone might ask, “What is that body like?” I do not know. But I do not have to know. The Bible tells me that it will be imperishable and incorruptible. Whether or not I can identify with exactly what that body will be like is not the important point. The important point is that it is going to be a different body—one that will not fade away like our current body does. So, 1 Corinthians 15 is teaching us that the resurrection is at the heart and core of the Gospel. Friend, have you been resurrected—in a spiritual sense? Have you died to sin—so much that you have been “raised” to life a new life for God? The Bible tells us in Romans 6:4 that I must resurrect myself from the old, sinful life I once lived, and that I now must be faithful to God and His Son. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” I have to live a life of faithfulness every day to the Lord and to His cause, so that I can make sure I am doing what God wants me to do.
Then we come to 1 Corinthians 16. Paul is now going to encourage the members of the church to give as they are supposed to give. In this chapter, we see that he is discussing another act of worship to God. Christians came together on the first day of every week to give as they had been prospered—not begrudgingly, but cheerfully. When we talk about giving, we understand that we are to give—as we have been prospered—of our financial means. We learn from 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 that we also are to give cheerfully, out of a happy spirit. Giving helps us exhibit our love for God. Timothy, tell us how giving relates to our Christian walk.
Timothy Sparks:
In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul is going to say a lot more about giving. The text of 1 Corinthians 16 is actually a preliminary discussion to prepare them for what he will discuss more fully in his next letter. In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul says that Christians must set aside, to place into the church treasury, a measure of what they have earned. Paul established a command of God that applied to the Christians in Corinth, but that is equally applicable to us today as well. On the first day of every week, Christians are to give—give so that the Gospel can continue to be spread. Paul encourages the Christians in Corinth to give not only of their financial means, but also of themselves. We learn the following from 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” We are to be “on alert,” so to speak—so we can stand steadfast in the faith. This is the same type of principle taught in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 16:13 is that we are to watch, be strong in the faith, and be brave. Then, in verse 14, Paul says, “Let all that you do be done with love.” Paul says, “Give of your means. Give of yourself. Give to others. And let all that you do be motivated by love.” Love never dies (1 Cor. 13:8). Love is the bond that unites everything in perfect harmony (Col. 3:14). We see, through Paul’s discussion of the misuse and abuse of spiritual gifts, how important love really is. But Christianity has no power within it at all without the resurrection of Christ. Notice how Paul ends his comments on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:57-58: “But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Anything we do for God is worth doing, and is not done in vain. Plus, because Jesus died and was resurrected, we, too, have the hope of being resurrected on the last day (John 5:24-29).
Today, if you are not a Christian, you can come to the Lord, believing in Him with all your heart, genuinely repenting of your sins as you change your mind, change your life, and conform your will to God’s. Upon your belief and repentance, you then can confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. You can be immersed into Christ for the remission of your sins, that you might arise from the watery grave of immersion to walk in newness of life (Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3-4). “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). If we are faithful to death, Jesus will give us the crown of life (Rev. 2:10).
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Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul’s main thrust is the misuse of the spiritual gift of tongue speaking. Explain what speaking in tongues was—and what it was not.
2. There were basically two purposes behind the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. What were those two purposes?
3. What would you consider to be the most significant differences [notice the plural] between the kinds of miracles that occurred in the first century, and the so-called miracles allegedly performed by miracle workers today?
4. In 1 Corinthians 14:19, Paul wrote, “I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.” What is his point
5. It is apparent from Paul’s discussion in 1 Corinthians 14 that when some in the church in Corinth spoke in tongues, they weren’t doing it to speak to another person in the audience in a language that they, and the hearer could both understand. Why, then, were they speaking in tongues? And what did Paul say about this type of behavior?
6. Paul’s admonition to the Corinthian Christians was, “Let all things be done for edification.” What did Paul mean by that statement?
7. Paul commanded, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). What prompted the apostle to give that specific command to the church in Corinth?
8. How does the command to do all things “decently and order” impact Christians today?
9. If you were asked to summarize “the Gospel” in three words, what would those words be?
10. What prompted Paul’s discussion in 1 Corinthians 15 of the resurrection?
11. For a Christian, what is the significance of the resurrection of Christ? Consider both 1 Corinthians 15 and John 11:25-26 as you answer.
12. If someone who believes in the Bible as God’s Word was to suggest that the resurrection has already occurred, how would you answer him? Incorporate into your answer 1 Corinthians 15:53-54.
13. A philosophy that was popular in Paul’s day was, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” In light of the resurrection of Christ, is there anything wrong with such a philosophy?
14. In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul discussed a specific act of worship. What was that act, and what is its significance for Christians, even today?
15. How are Christians supposed to give of their means to the church treasury? Why are they to do this? And how often?
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