Follow the way of love’. Those words of Paul bring us back to the true central theme for us as Christians. God is love; in his love he sent Christ into our world. Jesus demonstrated his love in laying down his life on the cross for us. His command to us his followers is to love both God and our neighbour. On top of that Jesus specifically teaches love for our enemies, as well as love for our fellow Christians.

But Jesus doesn’t place this great burden on us, this demand to love without giving the help and resources we need to do what he asks us to. Following Jesus’ return to the Father, the Holy Spirit is given to all believers. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to love. In another place in scripture Paul talks about the fact that God has poured his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.

Yet the scripture tells us that receiving the Holy Spirit is not a one-off experience; it is about an ongoing relationship with God through Christ. Jesus expressed that when he told his disciples to remain in him, or abide in him as the Authorised Version puts it. We saw in chapter 12 how Paul expressed the reality of the Holy Spirit coming into the lives of Christians when he said ‘we were all given the one Spirit to drink.’

Here in chapter 14 Paul is teaching the need to continue to receive the help of the Spirit. ‘Eagerly desire the spiritual gifts’ he tells the Corinthians. In chapter 14 he gives some teaching on two particular gifts, the gift of tongues, and the gift of prophecy. We will think this morning about these two gifts.

First let’s think about the gift of tongues. Tongues is the dramatic gifts that was first given on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples. They found themselves spontaneously praising God in languages that they had never learned. The crowd who heard them there in Jerusalem were amazed. They were people gathered for the Passover from countries all over the world, and the disciples were speaking in all the languages of those different countries.

If you read through the book of Acts you find several other references to the gift of tongues being given as the gospel spread to new places and new communities. It is a gift that is a powerful sign of the reality of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. There is much argument over this gift among Christians today. Some argue that the gift of tongues was only given on very significant occasions, for example the day of Pentecost when the church was born, and the occasion at the home of Cornelius when gentiles were first welcomed into the church.

Others say no, everyone who received the Holy Spirit in New Testament times received the gift of tongues, and all Christians should have the gift today. I believe the truth lies somewhere between these two views. Clearly a new pattern of experience had begun for believers on the day of Pentecost. As you read the Book of Acts you find a vitality that was a direct result of the activity of the Holy Spirit among the believers. As much as some of us wish that it did, the New Testament doesn’t spell out every detail of what happened.

There is evidence though; that the gift of tongues was received on more occasions than was specifically mentioned in the Book of Acts. For example there was no mention in Acts of the believers at Corinth receiving the gift of tongues, but our passage today clearly illustrates that they had. Neither does Acts mention that the Apostle Paul had received the gift of tongues, but he tells us in this chapter that yes, he does have it.

On the other hand however, Paul clearly states in chapter 12, that God gives different gifts to different people. Not all Christians have the same gifts and not all Christians have the gift of tongues. Paul does however help us in our understanding of the gift. As in Acts chapter 2 it is a way of praising God with your spirit. One purpose of the gift of tongues is to edify the individual, to build them up in faith and love. Even though Paul wants to deflate the pride of those who think they are superior because they speak in tongues, he still says that he would like every one of the Corinthians to speak in tongues.

There is, however problems at Corinth in the way people were using their gift of tongues when they came together in worship. In their worship together, use of the gift of tongues was probably becoming the prominent feature. Paul says no, you must change your focus, and you must do it for the simple reason that people can’t understand what you are talking about. Even on the day of Pentecost when the crowds were attracted by the disciple’s speaking in tongues, the central focus, the thing through which people came to believe was the preaching of the gospel in intelligible words that people could understand.

At Pentecost, initially people’s attention was drawn by the gift of tongues, but it was Peter’s preaching, in a language that they had all learned and understood that had enabled them to understand and believe the gospel. Paul says to the Corinthians, your focus too must be on communicating God’s truth in a way that people can understand. That is not to say that tongues have no place in your worship together. To some people God gives the gift to interpret tongues.

Paul says that if there is someone who is able to interpret what is said in a tongue that is fine. It may be a message that encourages and builds people up in faith. Paul’s concern is that there should be order in the life of the church. He is concerned that if outsiders should come in when everyone is speaking in tongues, then they will most likely come to the conclusion that Christians are mad. Now there are some occasions on which God can speak to and even convert people through the gift of tongues. Sometimes, as on the day of Pentecost people have recognised the gift of tongues as their own language; but generally it is best that our worship is in a language everyone understands.

That is why Paul tells the Corinthians to especially seek and develop the gift of prophecy.

When we think of the word prophecy, we think particularly of the ability to foretell the future. There is an aspect of prophecy that is to do with the future, but at its heart, prophecy is about God inspiring and enabling people to speak his wisdom into the present situation; to guide, challenge or help his people at the present time. There is consistency right through the scripture regarding prophecy. It was prophets who conveyed God’s message to God’s people. It was prophets who wrote down the Old Testament Scripture. Even Jesus himself was ultimate prophetic figure bringing God’s word to mankind.

There were also prophets in the church of New Testament times. When Paul was writing to Corinth, there were no bible colleges. There was not even a written new testament. The Church at Corinth hadn’t got experienced preachers they could book each week. What were they to do? Paul tells them I want you to especially seek the gift of prophecy.

Some people say prophecy is expository preaching. That doesn’t sound at all like what Paul is talking about here. He tells the Corinthians that he would like them all to seek the gift of prophecy. Michael Green, a modern day writer who has studied 1 Corinthians 14 has defined the gift of prophecy, I believe his definition will be helpful: ‘Prophecy is a word from the Lord through a member of his body, inspired by his Spirit and given to build up the rest of the body’.

That is the sort of thing that we should be encouraging and developing among all God’s people today. Paul tells the Corinthians that when they come together in worship, although they have no minister or leader, they should encourage each other in the faith through their spiritual gifts. If some people have a tongue, then they can use that gift provided that there is someone to interpret so that people can understand the message.

Then people can use their gifts of prophecy, to bring God’s word to guide and encourage in the faith. Paul also says though, that the prophecies should be listened to and that other people should weigh up the content of the prophecy. There is the danger in the church today as there was then that if a person feels they have a message from the Lord that every one should accept it without question.

Because a person has the gift of prophecy, that does not make them infallible, it’s important that together God’s people weigh and evaluate what people believe that God is saying. There are also some general principles that apply to the gift of prophecy that are consistent with all valid prophecy.

The first one is that they must have a focus on Jesus. The Old Testament prophets were ultimately pointing forward to what God would ultimately do in Christ. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus. The prophets of the New Testament did also. Above all, God calls us to focus on Jesus.

The second principle is that if we are to bring God’s word to people, then we can only do that if we spend time waiting on the Lord; in prayer, meditating on his word. Prophets have always been people who have been in relationship with God, who have communed with God. The gift of prophecy can only come to one who is in living relationship with God through Jesus.

The third principle is that prophecy is for the purpose of encouraging and sustaining fellow believers. Isaiah talks about sustaining with a word him who is weary. Job talks about word’s that set men on their feet. Paul makes it clear hear that the purpose of prophecy is to build people up.

The Fourth principle is that to be a faithful prophet, you not only need to be open to God, but you also need to have the courage to speak the truth in the face of opposition. That always has been true, sinful people do not always like the truth, but in the end we need God’s truth to guide us and we need the courage to challenge the worlds agenda. After all, we are not of the world.

Eagerly desire the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

Of course I would be a coward if I didn’t mention the bit about women being silent in the church. There are a few matters that may help us understand this passage and you must weigh what I say. We know that the gospel broke down the old barriers of division between men and women. ‘There is neither male nor female, all are one in Christ’, Paul wrote. We also know that in the early church women had the gift of prophecy and exercised it, Philip’s daughters are mentioned in Acts 21 v9.  

It seems in Corinth however, that there were probably some radical feminists adding to the general pandemonium of church life, Paul’s teaching in the early part of chapter 11 suggests this may have been the case. Paul could no more support the belligerent stance of a radical group of feminists than he could at that time have supported a rebellion on the part of slaves. The gospel contains the powerful seeds that have, and let us hope and pray will continue to change the world for good.

But change for the good can only ultimately be brought about by the ways of Jesus; by the way of love and peace and truth. As we live out the gospel together as a church, and individually as followers of Jesus; may we play some small part in enabling the changes to happen that will see more of God’s kingdom come, and more of God’s will being done here on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen.

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