Growing in Christ
gift of prophesy
Tongues and Prophesy – Part II
03 years ago
I posted recently on a try at interpreting 1 Corinthians 14:20-25. This was a part of trying to work out how to understand 1 Corinthians 12-14, and the Biblical teaching on the gifts of tongues, prophesy, healing, etc. So, in an attempt to get a better handle on the text, I read Showing The Spirit by D.A. Carson last week, which is a “Theological exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14” (subtitle) – precisely what I’m thinking through. So when I came to the passage that I had taken a stab at a few weeks ago in Carson’s book, I was a little surprised when he said the same basic thing that I had gathered from the text. So, in an attempt to further this discussion, and possibly clarify where I might not have been clear, I’m going to quote Carson’s main argument on this text:
In the context of Isaiah 28:9-13, the “strange tongues” of foreigners (i.e., the Assyrian troops) represent God’s visitation in judgment on his people. They had refused to listen to him and repent when he spoke clearly; now he will visit them through invading hordes by whom he will “speak” in a language (Assyrian) whose content they will not understand, even though in it they will “hear” a message of judgment. The “strange tongues” therefore do not convey content to the unbelieving Israelites, but they do serve as a sign – a negative sign, a sign of judgment. This is the example of which Paul appeals. In the Law it is written (and by “Law” here he means what we would call the Old Testament Scriptures) that at a crucial juncture in the history of the covenant community, God “spoke” to his people through “strange tongues.” But when he did so, he was speaking a message of judgment, the lips of the foreigners to the unbelievers, at least here it is a sign of his judgment upon them.
It may have been that some believers in Corinth were justifying their undiscriminating overemphasis on tongues by extolling their virtue as a witness to unbelievers, as a sign to them of God’s powerful presence in the life of the church. Paul replies, in effect: Yes, you are partly right. Tongues are a sign for unbelievers. But if you examine how the Scriptures describe the relationship between the unbelievers and “strange” (i.e. foreign and unknown) tongues, you discover that they constitutes a negative sign. They are a sign of god’s commitment to bring judgment. But when the same verse (v. 22), Paul says that prophesy is a sign for believers, does he not mean this in a positive sense? (Showing the Spirit, 113-114)
He goes on to say that signs can be both positive and negative at the same time (i.e. one thinks of the plagues of Israel against Egypt). He goes on to say:
If this approach to the sign value of tongues is taken in verse 22, then there is no longer any difficulty in understanding verse 23. When outsiders and unbelievers come into a Christian assembly where everyone is speaking in tongues, it will not be surprising if they simply conclude that the believers are possessed (which is probably what the word mainesthe means)…It appears, then, that these tongues to not have exactly the same function as those in Acts 2… If an unbeliever enters the congregation when everyone is prophesying, instead of speaking in tongues, then communication takes place. It may even be communication designed by the Spirit to expose the secrets of his own heart and thereby convict him of sin, bringing him to repentance and worship (14:24-25). (Showing the Spirit, 115-116)
Anyhow, thought I’d share this since I’d had a few questions from my friends on that last blog. I think any serious interpretation of this passage in 1 Corinthians 14:20-25 will have to appropriately understand and accommodate for Isaiah 28:11,12 in 1 Corinthians 14:21. I hope this helps. For any that are curious however, I am meeting with one of my pastors to talk through these issues with him.
The Nature of the Gift of Prophesy
03 years ago
I have recently struggled with the gift or prophesy in the New Testament. It is not so much that I struggle affirming its use for the church today, I have struggled with the nature of its revelation. I am a continuationist when it comes to understanding the gift, and continue to be more convinced as time goes on of this interpretation. So my dilemma has been this: What is the nature of the revelation within a prophetic word that is different than the nature of the revelation within the inspiration of Scripture? My deep concern has been over the language we use about the gift without clarifying how revelation in the gift of prophesy is different than the revelation in Scripture.
So, I was describing this wrestling to a friend last night over dinner. Thankfully, God has made all my friends around me smarter, wittier, and more godly than me – especially better looking than me as well – and he had the following observation about this question: The difference between the revelation within Canon and the revelation within the gift of prophesy is over the revealing of new things about God. In the revelation that constituted Scripture, its nature was to unveil and disclose God more clearly – to teach new things about God. Hence, this is why Paul makes the exclusive claim about Scripture that it is, “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16,17). Scripture is our authority. The nature of the revelation within the inspiration of Scripture by the Holy Spirit is an unveiling of God, and thereby an authoritative rule on our lives. But it is closed, complete, without error in its authorship, and binding upon God’s covenant people.
The gift of prophesy, however, is not an unveiling of God’s nature, or his purposed and plans. The nature of the revelation within the gift of prophesy is a Spirit lead word of encouragement for the believer to strengthen faith in the Gospel. The revelation within it is aimed, not at being authoritative or unveiling new things about God, but being the moving of the Spirit within the community of faith to persevere, encourage, strengthen, edify, and draw attention to Jesus Christ. This is why Paul says that “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3). To me, this is the only way of reconciling the finished authority of the revelation within Scripture and Paul’s explicit teaching that prophesy is revelation (1 Cor. 12:6, 25-26) in the confines that there is no indication that the gift will cease prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
So, in short, the revelation of Scripture is the unveiling of God’s nature and purposes; the revelation of the gift of prophesy is the prompting of the Spirit for the encouragement of faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus, we find that the gift of prophesy is always subject to the authority of Scripture – for how do we know what is true faith, what is its true object, and what are its true movements unless we judge it by its authoritative rule and source?
I have further thoughts on this that I will be posting soon, but I wanted to keep this short.
Tongues and Prophesy in 1 Cor. 14:20-25
04 years ago
I have to say that my understanding of the spiritual gifts is very weak, but bellow is a meditation I’ve been doing today on the nature of the gift of tongues. I’m working through this, so it’s not likely to be exactly right, but I pray for mercy for illumination and understanding on this issue.
20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” 22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. ~ 1 Corinthians 14:20:25
I’m beginning to see the theology of tongues and prophesy in relation to the Gospel age (or rather, the fully unveiled gospel age we presently live in). Paul quotes Isaiah 28 and Deuteronomy 28 saying that tongues that are not understood are a judgment upon unbelief. Where there is a people who refuse the Lord, a judgment from God may be to send foreign tongues upon them to cause confusion – similar to the sense of 1 Kings 22:22.
Thus, the tongues Paul speaks of are a sign of judgment upon unbelievers – and in this they are given a sign. Prophesy on the other hand works differently. Because it is a public display of the judgment of God against sin in Christ for mercy, it is particularly focused on those who taste of mercy most acutely: believers. This is why prophesy is a sign to believers. The “sign” here is not a limiting factor, but a distinguishing factor between judgment and mercy, unbeliever and believer, natural and spiritual. The “sign” factor points to this fundamental distinction in how it highlights the workings of mercy and judgment upon the two groups.
So the thrust of the passage is this: in the public setting, tongues that are not interpreted will be an evidence of God’s judgment upon the unbeliever to their ruin and destruction. However, prophecy functions to deal with the reality of sin and redemption. As God’s covenant people, we understand our sin, and love the Savior in light of the cross. Prophesy is the gracious leading and applying of Scripture by the Holy Spirit for conviction and encouragement in the Gospel. It is a sign focused on those who have received mercy. But if an unbeliever is in the group, it is a sign with the intention to expose their own depravity before God and need of a savior (v. 24-25). They need tob e a part of the people of mercy; they need God for them, not against them. Hence, with prophesy as a sign to believers, this means it is a sign of God’s gracious mercy to believers and all of his covenant people of his dealing of sin in the cross of Christ- a sign of invitation to unbelievers.
This then is why Paul calls them to mature thinking – mature thinking adjusts reality to the view God has – the Gospel of Christ for sinner’s redemption. This is why then Paul calls to maturity: the Gospel is always central, even in prophesy, which, if it is by/of the Spirit, it will inherently be focused on the Gospel because even unbelievers will be converted to the glory of God among the congregation. Hence, tongues is more focused on the up building of the individual (v. 14, 15), where as prophesy is more focused on the up building of the congregation – and in contrast to our modern era, Paul says the up building of the congregation is more important. So it seems to me that the work of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of Christ in this passage is to strengthen believers in their own devotion to Christ, potentially through the gift of tongues; and to strengthen the congregation through gifts of prophesy to encourage them in the faith, and bring people into that faith. It seems that the Holy Spirit is working to do what Christ commissioned it for: building up the people of Christ. Hence, the wisdom Paul calls us to in this passage is to value each other as better than ourselves, and to seek in all things to uplift the church by the Gospel of Christ.
