A Short Exegesis of I Corinthians 13:8-14:40

(PART THREE)

Hi everyone and we continue today with part three of our series entitled;

A Short Exegesis of I Corinthians 13:8-14:40

{15} "What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also."

The point is, DO NOT PRAY IN TONGUES! It is unprofitable if no one knows what is being said. What they were doing (which many modern tongues claimants are claiming) is being used of God to talk to Himself. God gives them the utterance, they do not know what they're saying, and only God knows. God becomes the "Great Ventriloquist" speaking only to Himself.

{16} "Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? {17} For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified."
Once again, if the Church is not edified, it is useless.

{18} I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; {19} however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue." Tongues were not the great gift they thought it was.

{20} "Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature." Grow up!

{21} "In the Law it is written, 'BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME,' says the Lord."
For this part I am going to copy something I've already written. It is from my Article the Baptism of the Holy Spirit:

"So far in chapter 14 we've seen how tongues were supposed to be used and how the Corinthians abused this gift but we have yet to see a judgmental aspect to speaking in tongues. In verse 21 it reads: '"In the Law it is written, 'By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to me,' says the Lord." This is a quotation of Isaiah 28:11. As we turn back to Isaiah 28 lets' begin with verse 9:

"To whom would He teach knowledge? And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? For He says "Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line, a little here, a little there. Indeed, He will speak to this people through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them "Here is rest, give rest to the weary," and, "Here is repose," but they would not listen. So the word of the Lord to them will be "Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line, a little here a little there," that they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive. Therefore hear the word of the Lord, O scoffers, who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, for we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception."

The words in italics should not be translated. The words in Hebrew read "Sav lasav, sav lasav, kav lakav, Kav lakav, Ze'er sham, ze'er sham." These are sounds imitating the sounds a baby would make. The English equivalent would be "goo goo gah gah." God is telling Israel that because they would not listen to His commands, He would use people of stammering lips and a foreign tongue to proclaim His message of judgement. When the Baptism of the Holy Spirit took place, it was not in Hebrew that the terms of the new covenant were spoken, it was through about every other language except Hebrew (Acts 2:5-11). Just as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was a sign of judgement upon national Israel, speaking in tongues was a constant reminder that (1) the new covenant was for all, not only for the fleshly descendants of Abraham and (2) judgement is coming upon national Israel.

We will conclude our study thoughts for today and pick up here next week with the last section. May God bless as you continue to serve HIM.

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