Troublesome Topic: PRECEPTS ABOUT TONGUES FROM I CORINTHIANS 14:12-15

A KEY RULE IS REITERATED

Once again Paul states clearly the rule that the spiritual gifts are always given for the benefit and edification of the body of Christ. He stated it clearly in 12:7 and is repeating it clearly here in 14:12. He will say it one more time in 14:26. What’s more, there are many statements in this passage which are built on this rule; without this rule, this chapter makes no sense.

BENEFIT TO OTHERS CAN COME FROM EITHER KIND OF PROPER TONGUES

Paul continues to drive home the rule that gifts from the Holy Spirit were intended to enrich the entire believing community. I believe verse 13 can apply to the proper kind of either public or private tongues. Paul’s point was that, in order for either form of tongues to be a direct blessing to the congregation of believers, there needed to be interpretation. This is because public tongues were for the unbelieving foreigners, while the interpretation was usually for Jews who did not accept Gentiles. If these Jews were also believers in Jesus, the interpretation would fit the criterion of enriching the body of Christ. The use of private tongues was eventually a blessing to others, but that only came after there was clarity, interpretation, Urim. In contrast, their counterfeit was of no value to others.

GOD WANTS OUR MINDS TO BE ENGAGED

He does not want us to do things mindlessly, but that is exactly what some of the Corinthians had been doing, according to the letter Paul received. What about praying for an unutterable burden? The fact that one cannot clearly articulate the burden does not mean the mind is disengaged. The mind is doing all it can to understand and articulate the burden, even though at the moment there is no clarity and the full picture cannot be seen.

UNUTTERABLE EXPRESSIONS OF GRATITUDE

Apparently, some of those in Corinth also claimed they were speaking in tongues as a special way to give special gratitude and praise to God. So Paul addressed this also.

He did not argue against the possibility, instead he said that he does that sometimes too, but whenever his singing took him to an ecstatic state, his mind was still engaged and functioning. He saw no reason for doing things in a mindless way as the Corinthians were reported as doing. He did not buy their argument that doing something “in the spirit” (i.e. ecstatically and mindlessly) was sufficient justification in itself.

It is not mentioned anywhere else that I know of, although it may be hinted at elsewhere, but there is a type of praise to God that corresponds with private tongues. While the private version of praying in tongues involves groans and tears, the private, God-inspired, sometimes miraculous form of private praise will usually involve quiet expressions such as tears (once again) and chuckles, and it may sometimes involve louder expressions such as laughter and shouting.

The reason this type of praise should be kept private is that in private it is obviously intended for an audience of One. But in a public gathering of the church, it is much more difficult to forget about everyone around us and make our expressions of worship only for our audience of One; usually we are afraid of having others see us, or we do want others to see us. If we are alone with God and find ourselves so overwhelmed by gratitude and praise to Him that we express our gratitude in strange ways, it is obvious to us and to God that we are genuine; however, if we produce strange sounds in a church meeting, there is no way for others to know if we are genuinely communicating with God or simply trying to get attention.

The next lesson in the Mid Length Series on Tongues is Precepts about Tongues from I Corinthians 14:18-19