Strengthening, Encouraging, comforting

DEVOTION

CORINTHIANS

STENGTHENING, ENCOURAGING AND COMFORTING

1 Cor 14:22-25

22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

NIV

This seems a most confusing statement at first. If tongues are a sign for the unbeliever, why then would they think those of us who are speaking in an unlearned, but gifted language out of our minds? And if prophecy is for the believer, why then would an unbeliever fall down and worship God when he hears us all speaking words about future events and actions of God? It would seem as in the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit filled those in the upper room and they all spilled out in the streets speaking in tongues, or languages they had not learned, but were gifted and indeed many infidels, unbelievers heard the gospel message in their own tongue and thus is was and is a sign for the unbeliever. But does is have value in a congregation of believers? Should not this gift be used in the spreading of the Gospel? Well perhaps there are unbelievers in the assembly, ever church has them and so in that case it would be a sign to them, if of course there were to understand the words, or at least the words were interpreted for them. But as far as those believers in the assembly, there is far more need for them to hear words of instruction about the coming events and of what God is going to do in the future, so as to live a life worthy of being His own. Surely again though it seems these words of prophecy are intended for the believer, but it appears here that unbelievers when hearing them see their sin exposed, are convinced they are sinners, and fall down and worship God. What truth lays here is that the whole purpose of the assembly is to bring sinners to God. What truth is laid out for us is that the gifts of both tongues and prophecy are used by the Spirit to speak into the hearts and minds of those who need to know Jesus either for the first time, or to know him better than ever before. The gifts are not for the edification of the user, or of the one the Spirit is using, but they are for the common good, both to unbelievers, and to believers. The gifts are for the purpose of bringing everyone closer to God, they are for the edification of God, the glory of God. They are for building up, strengthening, encouraging, comforting everyone.