We’ve tried to establish in the first two articles about I Corinthians 14 that a tongues message when interpreted in a corporate gathering can significantly add to the edification of those gathered. When a tongues message is given in an orderly way and it is interpreted in a mature Spirit enabled way, believers gathered together can be edified just as much as they can by a prophecy. If you didn’t read the first two articles, I would highly encourage you to read them before you read this one. You can find them here: https://www.kingdomstreams.net/post/pursuing-the-greater-gifts-i-cor-14
To appreciate the critical truths of this chapter it is important to note that when the church gathers for worship, we can expect that very likely three different types of people are in the room. First there are gifted believers – that is believers who have begun to operate in the greater gifts of prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues or revelation (see vs. 26). Second there are the “ungifted”, which are mentioned in vs. 16, 23, & 24. The ungifted are those who do not yet operate in the greater gifts of prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues. They very likely operate in other spiritual gifts like leadership, teaching, administration, service, giving, etc. Third, there are those who are still unbelievers (vs. 22,23, 24). These people may attend church services regularly. They may even serve in some way or another. But they are not yet born again by the Spirit of God.
We may not know for sure who the ungifted and the unbelievers are among us. But God knows. And He is very concerned that we do church in such a way that they have the best opportunity to know Him and grow in all of His fullness, which of course includes the greater gifts.
One of the primary things that will determine whether that will happen or not is whether we do everything we can to make sure the ungifted and unbelievers understand what is being said whether through a prophecy or through a tongue message that must be interpreted or through a “revelation” that vs. 26 speaks of.
Even though when a gifted believer begins to speak in tongues he may be giving thanks to God (see vs. 16, 17), if it is not interpreted in a corporate worship setting - God is not pleased and the people listening are not edified.
Now, some leaders in the church have used vs. 21 & vs. 22 to maintain that tongues are solely for unbelievers and therefore should not be exercised in our church worship gatherings. This first of all assumes that every person in our gatherings are believers, which is a faulty assumption in my experience. Second it ignores all that Paul has positively said about tongues so far if they are interpreted, and it ignores what Paul clearly says should happen every time Christ’s church gathers later in vs. 26, “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation., Let all things be done for edification.”
The first time I ever gave a tongues message that was to be interpreted was in my first year as pastor of the church that I now serve as Associate Pastor of (my son is the Lead Pastor). This was 29 or so years ago. I’ll never forget it. I sensed before the service started I was to speak in a tongue, and I desperately did not want to do it. One big reason I did not want to do it was it so happened that that morning the parents of one of our leaders, who are not believers, attended our church for the very first time and sat right behind Anne and I and our children. I presumed they would react negatively. So I sought confirmation from the Lord and He provided that. During worship I walked up to one of our elder types (we had not appointed elders yet) and whispered to him what I was sensing – kind of hoping he would give me a way out, but he did the opposite. So I obeyed the Lord when there was a pause in between songs. And then waited for what seemed like an eternity for someone to stand up and interpret. Someone did. Later that week I contacted the leader whose parents came expecting that they would have greatly stumbled over such an unusual occurrence. But they did not stumble at all. That was a much needed lesson to me that God cares about the lost much more than I do and Jesus the Head of the Church knew what He was doing when He gave these greater gifts to His church.
It concerns me greatly that we church folk especially in the West have a tendency to attend our church services with little expectancy and lots of complacency. We leaders have learned how to so choregraph and plan out our minutes together that there is little room for surprise. We almost don’t need God at all. And sometimes there is little room for Him to do what He wants to do and say what He wants to say in the way He wants to say it. He loves diversity btw.
Well He knows our frame and our weakness. So He gave us the gifts of prophecy and tongues and interpretation of tongues so that He could break in and get our full attention. If a fellow worshipper is about to fall asleep or is day dreaming - when someone stands up and speaks in an unknown tongue and then a fellow believer stands up and by the Holy Spirit’s anointing seeks to interpret that tongue – I can promise you day dreaming will stop and everyone will be at full alert. The same is true when someone in a spontaneous Spirit led way stands up and sings a spontaneous psalm or spiritual song, or gives a spontaneous teaching or proclaims a spontaneous revelation (per vs. 26). These things are not planned, nor are they polished. But they are definite attention getters especially when what is said speaks very powerfully and personally and specifically to an unbeliever or an ungifted believer as vs. 24,25 state (or to the rest of us).
Having believers stand up in our worship services and prophesy, speak in tongues and interpret the tongues messages will not solve all our problems. They in and of themselves will probably not bring about the revival we so desperately need. But they are an important piece of the puzzle. And God is certainly not pleased that we have chosen to leave them out.
If you come from a background like mine (i.e. anti charismatic), I can understand how difficult it might be to grow in and pursue these things. All I can say is “Faithful is He who calls you and He also will bring it to pass.” (I Thess. 5:24). He loves His church and can be counted on to complete what He has begun in us (Philippians 1:6). May He give us all greater and greater understanding of the truths in these two long chapters (I Cor. 12 & 14) and an obedient heart to pursue them for His glory in Jesus’s name. Amen.
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