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[0:00] book of 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 14, 1 Corinthians chapter 14. We will be looking at the chapter in its entirety, several verses that we will have to look at with one another, but it's one of those that we possibly could have broken it up into smaller segments, but I'm afraid that we would do it a little bit of disservice because with having a week between reading of it, we may have kind of broken away from what was God's intended meaning, and that is really just the orderly gathering of the body of believers called the church. So we're just continuing to make our way through the book of 1 Corinthians, and in particular, Paul has been speaking the last few chapters about their corporate gathering. He's been speaking of the reality of when they come together and they do church, right? When they come and they worship together, they sing together, they take the Lord's Supper together, they fellowship together by love feasts, what we would call fellowship meals, but really just what it looks like and what's going on there, and he's addressing issues that were happening in that church in particular, in that church local, but had application to church universal. So he is really writing to the believers, encouraging them of what the corporate gathering should look like, and for that purpose, it's very becoming of us to pay special attention to that. Now, we're very quickly coming up on the 15th chapter. 1 Corinthians 15 is a very familiar set of scripture to many of you. Some of you, it's your favorite set of scriptures, and rightfully so. There's some questions in there. We'll break apart the 15th chapter, but we're kind of wrapping up what it looks like here in this kind of subgroup within the group when the church gathers corporately. So if you are physically able and desire to do so, I'm asking you to join with me this morning as we read 1 Corinthians 14, and we look at an ordered body gathered. An ordered body gathered. Paul writes to the church.

[1:55] If you remember, he's been speaking some time now, and writing some time concerning spiritual gifts. He took a break from that and showed the excellency of love in the 13th chapter, and now he returns.

[2:07] Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God, for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.

[2:27] One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but one who prophesies edifies the church. Now, I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. And greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may receive edifying.

[2:43] But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching? Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, and producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp? For if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning. If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me. So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church. Therefore, let one who speaks in the tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 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.

[3:56] 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? For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified. I thank God I speak in tongues more than you all.

[4:14] 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. Brethren, do not be children in your thinking, yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. In the law, what 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. So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers, but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers, but to those who believe. Therefore, if the whole church assembles together, and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all. He is called to account by all, and the secrets of his heart are disclosed. And so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. 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. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two, or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret. But if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God.

[5:42] Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn, and all may be exhorted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

[5:58] For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. The women are to keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. Was it from you that the word of God first went forth, or has it come to you only? If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment. But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner. Let's pray.

[6:46] We thank you for your word. Thank you for this day. And God, we thank you for the opportunity which we have to read your word and to hear it. So Lord, now we come to you and we rely upon you to give us understanding. Lord, that you would speak to our hearts and minds with clarity, that it would not be the thoughts or the opinions of man, but it would be the very word of God that brings a revelation of who you are and who we are. And Lord, that through that revelation, we would come to a greater understanding, and our understanding would lead to lives lived differently for your glory. Lord, be magnified and be glorified in all that is said and done. And we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. It's okay after reading such a passage as this to go, whew, because sometimes it is well-deserving. Also know that it is okay that when I read such a passage as this, all of a sudden all attention is called and instinctively in your mind. You're thinking, well, I want to know how he is going to handle this one.

[7:48] I get that. I know it full well, and I wrestle with those two. And my answer to that is, well, I'm hoping that the God who authored the word will give you the word and speak through this mere fallible human being and help us to come to a greater understanding of what the word really says.

[8:06] And I mean that in all sincerity and truth, because we all come with our presuppositions, or we come with our, what the Romans called the sits in limbium, your situation in life. And we tend to read scripture through our life circumstances and our life situations.

[8:26] Sits in limbium in the Roman world was a thing that helped them to understand how you interpret things, how you understand things. It is situational interpretation. That is, your truth is relevant to how you interpret it based upon your life situation or your life circumstances. But when we come to the word of God, we understand that life circumstances and situations must be conformed to the truth rather than trying to conform truth to our circumstances. That is, what has happened to us or what we are going through the middle of should not be that which dictates how we interpret scripture, but rather we ought to say, let the word of God be true, whether I like it or not.

[9:07] And there are a lot of difficult things here, a lot of things that Paul spends a lot of time on in this passage that he does not anywhere else. It would be really easy to open up 1 Corinthians 14 on a standalone message to ask you to turn to the 14th chapter and we turn to the 14th chapter and we can make it say anything we want to. We can twist and we can turn and we can contort that 14th chapter for any number of things which have been done throughout church history. And just to be quite honest with you, they have been very detrimental to the church and to individuals and to those who are part of the church. But when we read it in its context and when we understand where it is and why it is there and we understand who it is being written to, then it helps us come to a greater reality of exactly what God is saying. Now I say this as a way of long introduction because Paul is still speaking to the church gathered and he is speaking to the ordered body gathered that things should be done in order. I've expressed it to you a number of times and I know that you are very aware of that, that in my life I'm okay with things kind of being in disarray, but when it comes to church and when it comes to how we do things, I love for things to run very orderly and this is why. The Word of God tells us that when we gather together, we ought to be gathered in an ordered fashion. Things ought to not be confusing. There ought not to be any distractions. And the reality is not for my benefit or even for you as a believer's benefit, but as the Word of God says, in case an unbeliever is present, we understand that the representation of the holy God we serve is directly reflected by how we behave.

[10:48] That is, we are putting on display what we think of the Lord God we worship. And that is why Paul is so concerned about what church looks like. Now we need to understand when reading scripture, there are things that we must come to the realization when reading and studying and it is very becoming of us here. We need to take it within context. That is, there was a letter written to a very distinct group of people that lived in a city at a particular time.

[11:19] That is, there was the context of who it was written to and why it was written. There is who was writing it. Now context does not dictate truth. Truth is exhibited in that context. You say, what do you mean, pastor? Well, there is one grand, great truth that is consistent no matter which context you are in. But there were some things that had application in Corinth that may not have had application in Ephesus for existence. I mean, for example. And we will see that because there are things going on. Another reality which you need to understand is that your greatest commentary on scripture is scripture. So anytime you find a passage of scripture in which you say, well, I wonder what this really means. You can open up any number of great commentaries. I have a number of them in my office and you can go back there and you can pull them off the shelf. And I have a number that I would recommend to you. I have some that I would not recommend to you. And you can read all of these commentaries and I do and I don't mind reading them. But the greatest commentary on scripture is scripture. That is, things are consistent. This matters. All throughout the 14th chapter, this matters.

[12:30] There is a consistency in scripture which will not contradict itself. God is always saying the same thing the same way no matter the context. And we'll get to those. But we also understand that when Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, church didn't look like it does today. One glaring reality is the scripture had not been compiled. They did not have the fullness of the revelation which we call the word of God. And we know that because Paul is writing them a letter that is a part of the 66 books of the Bible called the word of God. And 2 Corinthians has not been written yet as had not another number of other books. So the fullness of the word of God was not yet there. They were dependent upon prophecy.

[13:22] We'll get to that in just a moment. Which is different than our dependency today. We looked at this last week. There are, or I think maybe it was last week or two weeks ago, probably two weeks ago, there are testimonial and signed gifts that had a season. They were for a season. And the season seems to have ended at some point by the mid 300 AD because it is there that the fullness of the canonization of scripture, that is, the book was compiled, the Bible was complete, and the word of God was there for every church to open up. Now we're not here to get into all of that.

[14:01] We're just here to see what an ordered body gathered looks like. Number one, when the body is ordered, there is always clarity. There is clarity. That is, there is clarity of beliefs, there is clarity of doctrines and there is clarity of understanding. Paul spends a grand amount of time in this chapter on speaking in tongues. The reason he does so is because it seems to be that that is the one thing that was bringing the most confusion to the church at Corinth when they came together. Speaking in tongues seems to be the thing which was being very distracting. It was being argued about. It was something that seemed to be causing divisions within the body. People were being esteemed based upon their ability to speak in tongues. Even the number of tongues that they could speak in, it seems to be that there would seem to be some hierarchy depending upon this one thing. And ever since Paul mentioned spiritual gifts, speaking in tongues has been a part of the conversation. It was a part of the conversation in the 12th chapter. It was reiterated in the 13th chapter. That is where we find that it is for a season along with prophecy and interpretation or knowledge. So there is it for a season, but love endures. It is now the main subject of the first half of the 14th chapter. This one matter in which

[15:29] Paul begins to spend so much time. He tells them in the first verse to pursue love. The great pursuit of every believer should be love. And in context, it is the love that is on display in the 13th chapter that is not a marital love. It is not a familial love. It is not a love of affection. It is a love for the church. That the great pursuit of every believer, and we could preach right here all day long, should be to pursue a love for the church. And I want to ask you, I mean, just real quick. Search your hearts.

[16:12] Are you genuinely pursuing love for the church? Many people spend an unbelievable amount of time pursuing why they don't like the church, pursuing what is wrong with the church, pursuing something that would cause a division within the church. Pursuing, they spend all kinds of time pursuing things that would be harmful to the church when Paul says that we should pursue love. That is, the great pursuit of the believer ought to be a love, a growing love, an abounding love, an abiding love, and a gapeo, that is a sacrificial love for this thing called the church. And it is a church represented. It is not just the church in general. It is a church local because he is writing to local believers. Now think about this just for a moment. He is encouraging the believers. You know the church at Corinth, right? The most wicked church in all of the New Testament. I mean, there were things going on in the church at Corinth that Paul says are unheard of even among the Gentiles. There were things being welcomed and even celebrated within the body like, oh, you took your dad's wife. That is awesome but the freedom you have in Christ. There were things that were just unheard of. And Paul is telling these believers, pursue love for that church. Now, if God can command his people to pursue love for that church, then he can command us to pursue love for our church. And he is admonishing them to pursue that, but at the whole time to have a genuine desire for spiritual gifts. He says, but earnestly, desire earnestly spiritual gifts. He said, well, I want to be gifted by the Spirit. You are gifted. The Bible told us that. And you should have an earnest desire to be operating within your spiritual giftedness based upon your pursuit of love for the church. Now stay with me because your love for the church will dictate how you use your spiritual gifts. There are a lot of people who want to be gifted by the Spirit and they earnestly want that for their own benefit. But rather, it ought to be a genuine, earnest desire to be gifted so that you may use it for that which you love the most, that is the church. And we see the balance here. And with that shared, Paul begins to spend a long time on speaking in tongues.

[18:41] And it is here that he wants the church at Corinth to have clarity. And it is probably here that we need to have a little bit of clarity as well. Because we want to understand exactly what he is saying. Because to be honest, there are a lot of people, some denominations have based their theology upon this. Some Christians have been confused about this to no end. One of the things that I was asked, the very first question I ever asked, the first time I ever tried to enroll in any kind of Bible college was, how do you interpret speaking in tongues?

[19:08] What is your interpretation of speaking in tongues? Now keep in mind that I was being asked this by Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville, Kentucky. It's in the coal mining hills of Kentucky. And it is there that I took my first Bible classes.

[19:23] And I had been to Clear Creek Baptist Bible College and stayed on campus. And I had attended some of the associational meetings with my then mentor, Brother Billy Howe. And I'd went to these preachers conferences and I wanted to say, well, you coal miners speaking a lot of tongues up there because I don't understand any of the hut-huts y'all got going on when you preach. But we tried to get to a theological education of what it means to speak in tongues. But I wonder if you've ever asked yourself that question, how do I interpret speaking in tongues? Paul here is addressing this matter to a local church that is wrestling with it. And we could use this passage to say anything we wanted to if we pulled it out of context and we were basing our theology upon the 14th chapter. Some have done that. But there needs to be clarity because the first thing about this clarity is we understand what we understand of speaking in tongues scripturally. Your first clarity comes from what scripture says about it. Best interpretation on scripture is scripture, right? Best commentary on scripture is scripture. Anytime you come to an issue in scripture, you always want to take it back to the law of first mention. That's just a reality. You come to marriage and you're reading about marriage.

[20:34] You want to know what marriage was intended to be, what God had intended marriage to be? Go back to the first time marriage was ever mentioned. When you try to come to what the church should be, you need to find the place in scripture that the church was first mentioned. You need to go to what they call the law of first mention. The law of first mention speaking in tongues is Acts chapter 2. It's the very first time it's ever mentioned. In Acts chapter 2, tongues of fire rested upon the men of Pentecost. Remember those who gathered together in the upper room and tongues of fire rested upon them. But then we read in the rest of that part of Acts chapter 2 that men from every part of the world began to hear them all speaking in their own language. So when the tongues of fire fell upon the men gathered in the upper room and they were filled by the Spirit and began to speak in tongues, Scythians, all these people from everywhere else, Athenians, people from all over the place, were hearing them speak in their native language. So it is clear that it was a language, a known language in the world that was previously unknown to those who were speaking it.

[21:42] That's what is clear. When we read the rest of Acts, we see also that anytime someone speaks in tongues in the book of Acts, they are also speaking a known language. Nowhere do we read them speaking an unknown language, what some would refer to, quote unquote, heavenly language in a heavenly tongue. They are speaking a language that they did not previously know. And they are supernaturally empowered to do it, but it is a language that is known by others.

[22:15] Scripture testifies to us that every time we see this gift being bestowed upon the people, it is a language. Even the Old Testament reference, though it's not the first mentioning of the Spirit resting on people and speaking in tongues, the Old Testament reference in the 14th chapter points back to Isaiah 28, and God says that by men of strange tongues, I would chastise and rebuke my people. He is speaking of the Assyrians coming in with their Assyrian language and the Jewish people of Jerusalem not being able to understand them. So it was a known language. I love what Charles Rodri said, is the greater weight of responsibility rests upon those who would like to believe otherwise. Because you're going to have to prove to me from Scripture that this is a heavenly, uninterpretable language. Because Scripture very clearly says it was a known language. And you have to compile what we read in the 14th chapter with the rest of it, and there needs to be clarity there. And the reason there needs to be clarity is because not only do we see what it says scripturally, we see that tongues were used symbolically.

[23:21] That is, there's a reason for them. Tongues were used symbolically. They're used as a sign of judgment, Isaiah 28, 11 and following. Paul quotes that here. At least he quotes the Septuagint version of it. So if you go and you turn in your Old Testament, you're reading a literal translation of the Hebrew, you understand that it's not that. He was quoting the Greek version of it, that these people of strange tongues would be used as a disciplinarian sign to his people that someone else would come in.

[23:47] And so we see it even with the Jewish people when they reject Christ, they reject him, they hand him over, he's crucified for the world. And then we read in the book of Acts that the Jewish people have turned from Christ, and they have forsaken him. Then all of a sudden we begin to see the gospel message being spread. Why? Paul says that since you have rejected it, it will now be taken to the Gentiles.

[24:07] And every time we see the gospel message go into another portion of the world, in the book of Acts, the Spirit comes and they speak in tongues. They speak another language. And it is used as a symbolic representation that what happened at Pentecost is happening all around the world. It authenticates the gospel message. Stay with me. You say, Pastor, this is very teaching. Well, yeah, I know. I mean, that's part of my job responsibility, right? Ephesians 4.12, pastor slash teachers, it's part of there.

[24:39] But it is symbolically used to authenticate the message. Now, here's a point of clarity you need to understand. Speaking in tongues to the book of Acts and nowhere else in scripture was never used to share the gospel. Even when the tongues of fire fell at Pentecost, Peter preached to them in a language that everybody understood. He preached to them on Armenian, right? He didn't preach to them, they didn't go around preaching their tongues. It was just to authenticate that the Spirit was moving.

[25:10] Something supernatural was happening. And then when everybody's attention was gathered, then the message was shared in one language that everybody could understand. And we see that when Peter goes into the house of Cornelius, when Cornelius and his whole household received the gospel, Peter speaks to him in his native language, right? He speaks to him in the same language that Peter would speak in. And he speaks this native tongue and everybody understands it. Everybody in the house, after they receive the gospel message, after they receive salvation, after they come to Christ, then they speak in tongues. And it authenticates. It's always a sign that God is doing something. So it has a symbolic meaning, which means that we're seeking for clarity here that when we see the gospel making its way all around the world, then we don't need that sign anymore because we understand these things are taking place. So there's a symbolic meaning.

[26:02] And then we can also read in Acts, in 1 Corinthians 14. Now stay with me. I'm almost done with the clarity part. And then we'll get into the part that you want to get to, right? Because you need to understand this before we understand the rest. I know you're waiting. You say, Pastor, you spend a lot of time on this. Well, yes. Because believe it or not, this is the one question that more people ask than any other. And unless we have clarity here, we don't have clarity in the rest of it.

[26:26] So we see that tongues, what they were represented scripturally, how they were used symbolically, and we see how they were also hurtful to others spiritually. What was going on in the church at Corinth is that people were speaking in tongues to an extent that unbelievers and uneducated people would come in. And Paul says that if everybody's speaking in tongues, they would say that you're all mad. Now that's doing spiritual harm to an unbeliever. They came to the church gathered.

[26:58] That was to be the manifestation of the presence of Christ on the earth. Where two or more gathered together, I'm there as well. And everybody is speaking in tongues. He says, they say that you're mad. Why? You're not doing them any good. Because there's no interpreter. They don't understand that.

[27:16] And now Corinth seems to be a logical place for this to be happening because Corinth was a trade hub in which a number of languages were spoken. A number of languages. But what Paul is saying is unless there is clarity, then you're not doing anyone any good spiritually. So there has to be clarity as to why we're doing it. So application here. If anything that we do as a church is not a clear representation of the holy God we serve, of the Savior who paid the price for us, of the hope that we have to offer the world, if there is not clarity in what we're doing, then we run the risk of being more hurtful than helpful. Say it this way. I love the fact that we have a fish fry coming up. Love that. If we're not clear in why we offer a fish fry to the community, then all we're doing is feeding them fish. They can go to Captain D's and get fish. But if we're clear in the reality that we're offering a fish fry because we love our community and we want to serve the people of our community because Christ has put us here to be the hope of the world, to be walking beside them when they have questions, that we come to them with open arms so that they know we're here, then all of a sudden there begins to be clarity.

[28:40] And we begin to be helpful rather than hurtful. The first great part of an ordered body is clarity. Number two, conviction. There has to be conviction. There has to be conviction. Order is a direct result of the convictions you hold. In every aspect of your life. Order is a direct result of the convictions you hold. We can put it like this. What your life looks like is a representative of the convictions you hold, whether you acknowledge them or not. You say, well, I don't have enough time. I don't have enough time. I don't have enough time. I don't have enough time. There's not enough hours in a day.

[29:26] I would share that not too long ago. Oh, the world's busy. The world's busy. The world's busy. There's so much point in it. And I said, you're exactly right. But I also remember that when my wife and I had young kids, the world was busy then too. Why? Because kids make life busy. It just does.

[29:39] I understand that. I get it. I know. It's a different world I've ever lived in. But what I have found, no matter what time you read in history, there's nothing new under the sun. Look, Ecclesiastes said that. It's nothing new under the sun. How we live our lives, how they are ordered, is a direct representation of the convictions we hold. You want to say, well, I'm convicted of this, this, and this. When you can say that all day long, but until it is reflected in the order of your life, then it's not a reality. It's a good saying, but it's not a true statement. And when we come to church, what we come to church for and how we order church is a direct representation of the convictions we hold. So I say it like this. I know this can kind of be penetrating.

[30:28] What convictions do you have for being at church? Why are you here? Why are you here? Well, I need to be in church because God, you know, my mom, my dad, my grandparents, they always drug me to church, told me I should be there. And that's good. I appreciate people's spiritual input and I appreciate their, you know, people really imparting to your life. And well, I need to be here. It makes me feel better. I need to be here. This, this, this, this, and this.

[30:54] And I need to hear a word from God. Understand, I'm not trying to pick on you. I'm just asking you to examine your own life. What convictions do I have for being at church? Well, I come because I have time or I come because I think it's a good idea. And I come to think, you know, I understand that. I get that.

[31:07] And again, this is not trying to be hurtful. This is not trying to be harmful. This is just me trying to be honest because this is exactly what Paul is doing in the passage. Until we go to church, until we, until we gather together as a body, a corporate body full of conviction of why we're gathered, then we will not be well ordered. Paul says that this way, what's the result of when you come together? Everyone has this. Everyone does that. Everyone speaks of tongues. There's prophecy. There's speaking in tongues. There's singing the songs and all those things. And there seems to be confusion. He says, but God is not the God of confusion, but the God of peace.

[31:41] And he begins to speak to them about the reality of the speaking in tongues and prophecy and, and what's going on there. And, and he's imparting this great truth to the church. Remember why you are gifted by the spirit, right? Spiritual gifts exist not for you, but for others, for the exercise within the body of believers. I need your gift and you need my gift and I desperately need yours and you desperately need mine. And I need you to exercise your gift. And I, I hurt when other members do not exercise their spiritual giftedness and I am built up when they do. So the conviction ought to be this.

[32:16] Paul says that we ought to come together for the edification of others. The one word that keeps being repeated in this passage is edification, edification, or edify, edify, edify. When you speak in tongues, he says you edify yourself, but when you prophesy, you edify others and you build them up. And you, the edify means to build up. It means to lay a foundation and to kind of strengthen and build it on its way up. It is a image used in the building process of erecting buildings. And it is to make stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger. And Paul says the conviction that you have for gathering together is you ought to have the conviction that you're going to church to build others up. Not just for what you can get out of it. Big difference. Now there are times, and we need to be honest with this, there are times where you're like, I'm just spiritually empty right now. I cannot pour into others. I need people to pour into me. So I'm going to the body. Everybody's going to walk through those seasons, right? You're going to walk through that season where you have to be at church so that people can pour into you and you can be built up, but you can't stay there.

[33:27] When I do pre-marriage counseling, it's not with me. His last name was actually Harley. I think it was Willard Harley. I always take couples to this thing called Love Bank. And it's emotional needs questionnaire, his needs, her needs, all those things. And it has application here. And just like Gary Chapman says that everybody has a love language, you exist by one of five love languages. I believe it was Harley who said that you have a love bank, a love tank. So everything that everybody does either makes a deposit or withdraw in your love bank. So people are either making deposits or withdrawals all day long, all day long. And there are ways that you receive love, not just in your love language, but so you need to know as a spouse, you need to know what emotional needs your spouse has so that you can make sure to make more deposits than withdrawals. Because danger happens in a marriage because unlike your bank account, you will not let your love tank go negative.

[34:17] That is, if it's not being filled at home, you will go find somewhere else to fill it. That's where marriages get in trouble. That you have to have that somewhere.

[34:29] And so you have these deposits and withdrawals, deposits and withdrawals. And so when I walk with a couple through that, I always tell them, I say, listen, I'm going to be honest, there are seasons where you will not, and it's shocking, right? Because most of the time when people are coming down and saying to me, you know, we're still working that ooey gooey love and things are all great and everybody, you know, it's all, the butterflies are flying and the roses are smelling and it's all springtime and it's great. And I always tell them, I say, I know this is going to be shocking to you, but there will be a season in your life where you don't feel like loving your mate and she's not going to be lovable. And I, and I shocked them in. I said, and there'll probably be more seasons where you're not very lovable yourself.

[35:02] The goal is you better have made more deposits before that season comes. And that season needs to be very quick. You need to go back to making deposits. Now on a spiritual level, it's the same way. There are seasons in our life where we come in and we need to be built up. But our whole conviction for coming to church, once we get past that season should be, I come to edify others. Your presence is the building up of other believers. And until you see it that way, you will think your presence is all just about you. But when you understand by conviction, I go to church because other people need me at church. Why does the book of Hebrews tell us forsake not to gather together one another? He said, well, so that I don't fall into temptation.

[35:58] Right. And so that also you could be the instrument that God uses so that others will not fall into temptation. So that you may build others up and undergird them. And somebody may have a desire or may have a need, or they may have a burden on their heart that you alone can answer. It is to edify other people. That is a conviction. There is a great need for edification within the body to build one another up. And I'm just, just, just bearing my heart here. Edification is not the sole responsibility of one or even a few. It's a responsibility of all.

[36:33] That's why scripture says to build up one another, to encourage one another, to love one another. And that is a conviction. And Paul says that that needs to happen. Your gifts exist for the purpose of edification. And when you begin to exhibit them that way, and you're convicted by that reality, that God has given you a great gift, and you have the conviction that your gift has been given so that you may edify other believers, then you can't wait to display that gift in the church, however it seems fit. Like, pastor, put me to work. I need to do this. He's given me something. Somebody needs that. Anytime somebody comes to me and says, pastor, I want to do something. I said, well, tell me how you gift it. Tell me what your ambitions are. Tell me what your desires are. Tell me what excites you.

[37:15] Because I can put you anywhere, but unless it excites you, then it won't be good for you. But when it excites you, it's going to be good for everybody. Right? You can build them up. People love seeing others excited. They do. I've preached some sermons where I didn't feel very excited.

[37:35] I've preached some sermons where I didn't feel very good. Most of the time at the back door, I get, we'll be paying for you, brother. We'll be praying for you, brother. We'll be praying for you. I've preached other sermons where I get so excited, I can't hardly see straight. You know, and I start getting kind of crazy. And people are like, oh, that was a great sermon.

[37:49] Why? Because you love seeing people operate in their excitement. And when you have been gifted with the Spirit, you have this conviction that your gift is for the edification of others. You can't wait to do it. Why? Because it gives others a genuine experience.

[38:06] Paul says, just like if everybody was speaking in tongues, and the unbeliever, the uneducated man comes in and he hears everybody speaking in tongues, he's going to say, you're mad. He says, but what if everybody is speaking the word of God?

[38:17] They're prophesying, they're operating within their spiritual giftedness. And then the uneducated, the unbeliever comes in and he begins to hear God speak to him. And God is revealing to him through everybody, everything that's going on in his life. He says, then he's going to fall on his face and worship God and say, there's something about this place.

[38:33] Because everybody is speaking to me. Everybody has told me what's going on in my life. I guess everybody's been reading my mail, but it's not. It's God speaking through the people. And all of a sudden it begins to be an instrument used by God to bring this person to a genuine experience.

[38:54] Why? Because when God draws an individual into the church corporate, he wants that person to experience his presence, not just our presence. And the greatest way unbelievers experience his presence is through our conviction. We're here to build everybody else up.

[39:13] And all of a sudden the word of God begins to resonate and people of God say, man, everybody's clicking on one level and God speaks to that individual and it gives them a genuine experience because there is great power in the church educated when it understands why it exists.

[39:30] Why it understands why it exists. Number three, and finally, let's answer that question you have in your mind, how the pastor is going to handle that one. We see clarity, we see conviction, and we see consistency. We see consistency. Third and finally, when a church comes together as an ordered body gathered, there's always consistency. Paul says, what is the outcome, brethren? Verse 26. 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. Again, they were dependent not on a man or an individual to stand up and open up the word of God because the word of God was not available to them. They had the Old Testament and even then, they didn't have, everyone didn't have a copy of the Old Testament. They were dependent upon God to speak to them. What a great place of dependency though. And then this revelation of what God was saying that was consistent would be spoke through prophecy. It is forth telling, this is what God says. And he tells them to test, the prophets were to test one another, right? Because here's the consistency, the first consistent we see that if individuals were standing up saying, well, God told me this and God told me this and God told me this and God told me this and this is what I'm seeing in Revelation and this is what God is opening up to me. This individual speaking a word of prophecy would not contradict this individual speaking a word of prophecy.

[40:57] God does not contradict himself. That's where they would test the prophets, right? And it was necessary for the infant church because they didn't have the fullness of the word of God. They were dependent upon the spirit of God to speak to the people and the people to be able to speak to one another. And so he says, he said, everything needs to be done in order. He says, if anyone speaks in a tongue, there should be two or three at the most. And each in turn, one must interpret. If they're not an interpreter, don't speak. Again, the reality that there could be an interpreter means it was a language that somebody else knew. There's clarity, right? He says, don't do it. That he must keep silence in the church and let him speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak and let others pass judgment. I thought the Bible says we shouldn't judge. When it comes to the clarity and the reality of the word of God, you need to pass judgment. The believers that are the individuals at Berea searched the word of God to make sure that what they were saying when they got there, speaking a word was true, right? There needs to be judgment. He says, for you can all prophesy one by one so that all may learn and all may be exhorted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace. As in all the churches of the saints. So let's stop right here. We're getting there. I know you're waiting.

[42:11] First thing he says is that God is a God of order. He's a God of consistency. And he's that way in every church. So what he's telling the church of Corinth is what you do in your church shouldn't look different than what is being done in every other church. If you're ever doing church in a new way, maybe you need to be careful because God is consistent. I tell people when I read scripture and I study scripture that I don't consult commentaries first, really just go to the Bible, read the word, read the word, read the word, read the word. And I come to what I believe is the reality of what God is saying to me through his word. And then I'll go into the commentary. And I said, now, if I go into the commentary and I find out that I have something totally different than anybody else had, I said, well, the problem might be me because God is consistent. All right, let's stay here. So we see this consistency. He said, the women are to keep silent in the churches.

[43:04] It says it right there, right? It says it right there. Well, I can argue that. It says it. We're going to get to that in just a minute. For they are not permitted to speak, but to subject themselves to the law, just as the law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. Now, I want you to understand that verse 36 does not apply to the women. Okay. We're coming back to that in just a minute. I'm not skipping over it. Was it from you that the word of God first went forth or has it come to you only?

[43:27] That's not saying to the women. That's saying to the church. So he's telling the church, you're not the first ones to believe. So you don't at Corinth, don't get the opportunity to decide how to do church, right? You believed it just like everybody else. So you should be consistent in your practice. Now let's go back and see this other part for the women. Uh, should be, are to keep silent in churches. The word women there literally means wives. Okay. It's a literal translation. It means wives. Now it could mean women in general, more in particular means wives because he is writing here and he is exhorting what's going on in the public gathering together. He's already spoken to the single women earlier. Remember the shaving of the head, dancing around. He's also said that when a woman profits, prophesies. So he spoke of that reality, uh, but now he is shifting to what's going on corporately. And when they gather together as one body, right? He's already said that, uh, these single women can't be running around. Even the wives cannot be running around dancing and just making a big show of themselves because they begin to look like the prophetess as from the auto temple. And they can't do that. I'm not give that perception and they shouldn't live this way and shouldn't behave that way because things in the church need to be corporate. So in context, we make sure we keep it in context, but also make sure we keep it in consistency with the rest of scripture. In context, he's speaking of them judging what's the word from God is. It is either prophesying publicly for the church gatherer, speaking in tongues. So he's saying the women aren't to do that. Now I know I'm, I'm, I'm pressing in on time and I'm trying not to rush through this because

[44:55] I want you to understand it. Consistency with the rest of scripture. If we go into first Timothy chapter two, Paul, same author says he's not allowed the women to rule over men. Again, in the same text, consistency, speaking to the public gathering, to the church corporate body. It does not say that I don't let the women teach. I don't let the women to have a place within the church. It's not saying that they can't speak at all. We're speaking of context of either making a public declaration to the church corporate gather together. That's not the time, not the place.

[45:35] And then he says this thing, and I know, understanding my audience, I understand this. He says that if that's, if they want to say something, they have a question, then they need to go home and ask their husband. She said, well, I don't have a husband to ask. And I understand that. I understand him a context, but I want to keep it to this because this is where the reality, this is where rubber hits the road. This is where he does. He said, just as it says in the law. Now in the law, he's directly referenced in Genesis chapter two. You know the passage that'll get husbands in trouble a lot if you point to Genesis chapter two in a wrong way. In Genesis chapter two, after the fall of man, and before we get into the third chapter, and he follows even in the third chapter, he tells a man that by the sweat of his brow, he will work the land. He will labor, sweat of his brow. And he tells the woman, the wife, that a direct result of the fall is that she will have pain in childbirth.

[46:22] So, wow, that's, that's miserable, right? And then that she will have a desire for her husband, but her husband would rule over her. Now rule just means to lead. That he is given responsibility to the men. Consistency in scripture. So as pastor, that was a long time ago, that was before all this happened. Stay with me.

[46:46] Because the reality is this. The greater weight of responsibility falls on the men in this passage because what Paul is implying is the husbands ought to be spiritually mature enough that when they go home, they can answer the question. The great shame and the great harm has come when the men have surrendered their responsibilities and therefore have made it unavailable or left a void that will not remain as a vacuum. And the grand responsibility that Paul says here is there ought to not only just be physical leadership, there ought to be spiritual leadership.

[47:27] And the church owes a great apology for when it's failed in that. Because in failing to do that we have failed to remain consistent with what all the scripture says.

[47:39] I know that doesn't make me popular. I know that doesn't make me modern. I know that doesn't make me whatever. I would rather be scriptural than popular or modern or up to date.

[47:51] And when I find it that it causes harm this is where that situation in life happens it is always pointed back to the direct failure of the man.

[48:10] His passivity his sinfulness his failures have caused the problem.

[48:21] His. And what needs to happen is there needs to be a consistency that displays the power of the peace and the divine purpose of God throughout the church.

[48:37] And when it hasn't happened that's when great harm has taken place. But when it does there's an ordered body gathered together for the glory of God. Let's pray.

[48:50] We thank you for this day. I thank you for your word. God I thank you for the truth that it has that it speaks into our lives. We pray that through the power and presence of the spirit we would come to a greater understanding of it.

[49:05] Lord we love you and we praise you and we give you all the glory. And we ask it all in Christ's name. Amen. Amen.

[49:47] Amen. Thank you.