Always Building Up

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

ALWAYS BUILDING UP

1 Cor 14:1-5

14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.   3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

NIV

Having somewhat dealt with the way of love, although we doubt that we will ever grasp the fullness and depth of how to follow the way of love, and we considered that we should eagerly desire spiritual gifts, we now should look at the differences between prophecy and tongues.  It cannot be any clearer than from these verses, that when the gift of tongues is manifested in a worship service, the one speaking in that language given to him by the Spirit is a form of worship and praise to God. Never ever can someone who the Spirit gives the gift of interpretation speak about anything from God, for that person who understands that language spoken can only speak of what that person said in praise, giving God all the glory. This is where some have gone astray and decided to manufacture their “Gift”, which then is no gift, but the flesh just jabbering meaninglessly into the air. This can apply both to the gift of tongues, interpretation, and prophecy. As we already discovered that when the gift of prophecy is present in a worship service the words given by the Spirit will always build up, strengthen, encourage, and comfort the people of God hearing those words. Anything else spoken that does not accomplish those three aspects is again, simply the flesh yapping away, flapping their lips into the air. The speaker who is speaking the words of God given by the Spirit will always edify the church, or as a more wooden translation of the Greek word oikodomeoo, is to build. However, it is also to restore a building, to repair, and when taken metaphorically means to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, and blessedness.  It is always spiritually correct to edify the church, to build it up, and perhaps to even repair it, which could be seen through correction or maybe even rebuking, however, in the truest sense of repairing a building, no correction of the worn part is done, but rather it is replaced with a good part. So then when the church is edified through a prophetic word, the church, or the people of God, will get goodness, good parts, that strengthen them, encourage them, and comfort them. These are all positive activities within a worship service. However, tongues, although Paul says that it edifies the speaker are only true if there is no interpretation, for when that language is spoken, and interpreted God is lifted up and glorified and that is what worship is all about. Once again, let us desire these spiritual gifts, so God and the people of God are lifted up.