1 Corinthians 15:35-49 English Standard Version The Resurrection Body 35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. We are back to an agricultural metaphor now about sowing a seed and the harvest that is reaped and how the seed that goes into the ground dies so that it can produce something that is the same, but different. The seed in no way looks the same as the plant that comes from it, but the DNA of the seed and the plant are the same (if they knew about DNA at the time). Also, one seed is planted, but a plant comes forth the is fruitful and bears many more seeds so that like Jesus talked about there is a harvest that is 10, 50, or 100 times more that which is planted.
So it is with the gospel and the work that it does. Our natural bodies die and go into the ground and yet we receive a spiritual body that is fit for heaven. We are still the same person and we know from The Mount of Transfiguration that others--even those who have never seen us before--will recognize us as the apostles knew who Moses and Elijah were in their resurrection bodies, but yet there will be something different about them too as we know from Jesus' answer to the Sadducees that we will no longer be married or given in marriage but will "be like the angels" (I assume this to mean that we're genderless). Paul tells us that each of us will be unique in our new bodies in the same way that every animal is different and the sun and moon are different--each with its own glory, but we also see in other passages that we will also all be made in the very likeness of Christ (as all of us now are made in the likeness of Adam, but there is much diversity in all of humanity). What goes into the ground when our bodies is buried is different from what will be raised in the resurrection of the dead. For we now have a natural body of flesh, but we will then have a spiritual body like that of Christ. Our bodies now are fit for earth, but our new bodies will be fit for heaven and the New Heaven and the New Earth. So our earthly body goes from "ashes to ashes" and "dust to dust," but our spiritual body will be imperishable as it will no longer be influenced by sin. So the best answer I can give is that we will be the same person, yet we will have a different body in the same way that a seed is the same but different than the plant that comes from it.
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The Resurrection of the Dead 12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. 29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. So why does it matter to us here and now today that Christ was raised from the dead in a physical, bodily resurrection? Yes, it's an important tenant of our faith, but why is it so necessary for us to understand this truth and what hope is it meant to give us? Paul addresses that next in one of the few places where we are told about the resurrection of the saints to receive new bodies that are fit for a new heaven. For these bodies that are made in the likeness of Adam are meant for this earth, but we will one day be made in the likeness of Christ in both body and spirit to be completely fit for heaven.
For if Christ was not raised then we also have no hope of resurrections, and if He does not live then we have no hope of eternal life. We continue to be dead in our trespasses and sins and remain under condemnation and judgment, because if Christ died and stayed dead it would mean that His death was just and that He deserved to die for His own sins, for "the wages of sin is death," but since Jesus had committed no sins of His own, death and the grave had no power over Him and He was raised from the dead to show that His sacrifice had been accepted, that the word was truly finished, that no other sacrifice was necessary, and that Jesus now has all authority and power--even over death and hell, and the grave. We no longer need to fear anything. Romans 8:38-39 English Standard Version 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. If Christ had not been raise, the gospel would not only be powerless, but would be a lie, but Christ has been raised and our faith is not in vain and we know that we believe and hope in the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life--no one comes to the Father except through Him. The gospel is the power of God to transform those who were "in Adam" to new creations who are "in Christ" (see Romans 5). Now not only has Christ been raise, but He has been raise as the firstfruits of many brethren from among the dead so that when He delivers the kingdom of God to the Father (that's us, the Church). Paul also stops to tell us that He will reign until all of His enemies have been defeated and put under His feet (in subjection to Him)--I think referring to the millennial reign of Christ--even death will be defeated as the final enemy and death itself as Death and Hell will be cast into the Lake of Fire prepared for the devil and his angels. So we probably know a passage or two about Christ being Lord of all, but let me go back and point to one that Jesus Himself quoted during His trial when He claimed His divinity. Daniel 7:13-14 English Standard Version The Son of Man Is Given Dominion 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. This last part is a bit tricky because Paul is pointing to a pagan practice to say "see, even those who have it wrong believe in life after death" as there was some question among the Corinthians if they just ceased to exist when they "died" or if their soul lived on and if it did live on if they would be non-corporeal or if they would somehow be reunited with this fleshly body that we have and if that meant we would have have to battle with the desires of the flesh for all eternity and would it be possible for us to sin in heaven. These are all the basis for Paul writing this passage about the resurrections of Christ and the resurrection of the Church. Paul also points to Paul being in danger at all times in all places by both beasts and men as evidence of the life to come. There would be nothing to fight or contend for if there was no resurrection. If that were the case we should just be Nihilists who would find no meaning at all in life and just hope for the meaninglessness to end or we should be Hedonists looking to squeeze every ounce of pleasure out of this miserable existence that we can. We certainly wouldn't be out to make all kinds of men hate us become of the gospel nor would we battle the forces of nature to take the gospel to the far reaches of the uttermost ends of the earth. No, there is something more important and more powerful than death--Christ and Him crucified (and risen again)--that we must preach to the whole world--that is The Great Commission. So then, we have something to live for (not just something to die for), and we must live in accordance with the message we have to preach and teach. We should not keep on sinning, nor should we allow ourselves to be corrupted by the bad morals of those who we hang around with--we must choose our friends and partners in business and marriage carefully so that we are not "unequally yoked" with unbelievers. "Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good character" is a great memory verse for all of us, but especially for young people to remind them when they aren't around their parents that they need to make wise choices about who they hang out with and be good judges of character--and the best way to do that is to look at someone's morals. Look at the "fruit" they produce to try and determine what kind of "root" they have. It is going to be impossible to not associate at all with the world--Paul will come back to this later in 2 Corinthians--because that would make it impossible to fulfill The Great Commission. We must intentionally have some relationships with lost people so that we may show and tell the gospel to them, but be forewarned that they will always try to bring you down, and you are never going to lift them up, because it's not about making them have better works or better morality--if they think that's it, all you've given them is religion and an express ticket to hell. They can't do it on their own without the gospel of Jesus Christ changing them and making all things new and the Holy Spirit living in and through them. We should look like Christ and not like the world--that's hard, but we must be intentional about is as ambassadors of a King and Kingdom that is not of this world. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 English Standard Version The Resurrection of Christ 15 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Many of you may already be familiar with 1st Corinthians 15 as it is a passage that receives a lot of attention around Easter. Paul says something interesting here that the gospel that he preaches and which they received is the one and only gospel--we've heard that kind of message before from Paul. There is not one gospel that the Eleven received to preach to the Jews and a different gospel that Paul received to preach to the Gentiles. There is but one gospel by which we have all been saved (justification) are being saved (sanctification) and will one day be saved (glorification)--we'll see that later in this chapter.
Paul also says that this gospel is consistent with the Scripture--at this point, that would be the Old Testament, though we'll see later in the New Testament that New Testament authors cite each other's letters as Scripture and refer to each other's letters as Scripture (See 2nd Peter 3:15-16 for one example of this). Paul will argue here that Jesus died, was buried and was raise on the third day "according to the Scriptures" exactly as it was prophesied to happen--and, yes, even these Greek-speaking Gentiles had access to the Scriptures because of the Septuagint. Paul then goes into one of the best defenses of the resurrection we see, as there were even some people at that time that tried to deny the reality of the resurrection for various reasons--some were Jews who had been influenced by the lies told by the Sanhedrin that should have been seen as lies but God allowed the people to believe these strong delusions because their hearts were hardened (see Romans 1), and others who were Gentiles who wanted to either indulge their flesh because they believed that only the spirit would live on or people that believed that there was no afterlife and that whatever you did with this body was meaningless. Paul will deal with the issue of our resurrection bodies and their nature in another passage that is coming up next, but first Paul will establish that Jesus' resurrection was a physical, bodily resurrection that was witnessed by hundreds of people that were still alive at the time that he wrote this. You can't get better than eyewitness testimony that is recent to the time of the events, and Paul is going to make the argument that if anyone had any question as to the veracity of what he was saying, that they could go ask Peter or any of the other Eleven, or any of the 500 that were gathered together (probably in the Upper Room) or to James the brother of Jesus, and even Paul himself is an eyewitness as he saw the resurrected Christ during his Damascus Road experience. Paul then says that his conversion from being a persecutor of Christians to now being what he calls "the least of the apostles" (many today would argue that Paul was probably one of the greatest, if not the greatest apostle, but Paul is being humble here and genuine felt this way because of his past). Such a change does not happen naturally, but is evidence of the supernatural power of the gospel and the resurrection of Jesus--God has made those who were dead in their trespasses and sins alive in Christ, so why is it any surprise that God can take those who were physically dead and make them alive in Christ as well? We know that Jesus, just the week before His own death, raised Lazarus from the dead to make one of His greatest "I AM" statements: John 11:21-27 English Standard Version21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” It is this idea of us experiencing eternal life and Jesus being the firstfruits of many brethren from among the dead and a similar physical, bodily resurrection of the saints that we will talk about next time. What are the implications of that? Will our body be the same or different? Will we be able to recognize one another? Will we be able to do the same kinds of things that we do now? What will be the purpose of these new bodies? I'm sure Paul was asked all of these kinds of questions and more by the Corinthians, but he chose to only answer certain ones here--we do see some answers to some of the others as we look to other passages of Scripture too, which is why it's important to read all of Scripture as we get more complete answers to these kinds of questions--however, there are some questions that we just simply don't need to know the answers to at this time. I think it's clear that we'll be able to recognize each other ins some sense because the disciples recognized Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, even though they had never met them in real life. I don't know how that happened, but clearly there will be some ability for us to know one another--even those we've never met. We were told by Jesus that we will no longer be married or given in marriage, probably because our design of our new bodies is no longer for procreation, but for service to God "like the angels." We'll have bodies that are fully equipped for the work that has been prepared for us to do and that are made in the likeness of Christ instead of in the likeness of Adam. If we want to know the kinds of things that our resurrection bodies can do, it's probably best to look at Jesus after His resurrection. He could eat and walk and talk, but He could also do all the supernatural things that He could do before then. Will we too be able to disappear from one place and appear somewhere else or walk through walls and locked doors? I'm not sure, because Jesus was able to walk on water before His resurrection and disappeared from the midst of the crowd that was trying to stone Him in Nazareth and lot of other supernatural things that you and I can't do now. Honestly, I'm not that concerned about that part though because the purpose of the resurrection and my resurrection body is not me and what I can do with it for myself. It is about God fulfilling everything He has promised to do as part of the Old Covenant and New Covenant and making a people for Himself in the very likeness of His Son so that we might have complete and total communion with Christ (and I believe with the other members of the Trinity) in the same kind of way that they experience communion with each other. We will exist "to the praise of His glory" and I know that we will be able to sing songs of praise and bow down in worship before Him. That is more than enough for me. I'm not sure that I will want to do much of anything else besides that as just getting to be in very presence of God will be so captivating, that I can't imagine wanted to be anywhere else or doing anything else and if I were away doing something else, I can't imagine wanting anything else other than to return to that intimacy as quickly as possible. 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 English Standard Version Orderly Worship 26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order. As stated yesterday, this passage should not be thought of as disconnected from the passages immediately before it, immediately following it, or in the rest of this letter--don't so can often lead to an improper understanding of the message that Paul is trying to deliver to the church in Corinth and that the Holy Spirit is trying to deliver to the Church at large, even today.
Remember that the Corinthians had an issue with claiming a new nature, but still being very much controlled by their old nature, That is where we start today's passage--everyone comes and wants what they want and there is chaos and disunity because there is argument and division because everyone wants their way, and wants to be seen and heard for their own gratification instead of using their gifts for the building up and edification of the entire congregation. Paul says that nothing should be done in the corporate church service setting that is not for the edification of the entire body. Specifically related to speaking in tongues, only one or two but at most three that should speak one at a time, never concurrently, and that they must each have an interpreter. If there is no interpreter, then they must keep silent as their message that is given to them is meant to be kept between them and God if there is no interpreter, since it does no good for the Body to hear a message in a language they cannot understand. Similarly for those speaking prophecy, at most two or three should speak one at a time, and they should stop speaking when someone else is speaking and listen to see if they are in agreement and so that everyone--especially the one to whom the prophecy is being made--can hear and weigh what is being said and be obedient to the Word of the Lord. There should not be confusion in the messages that come from the gift of tongues or the gift of prophecy, nor should they be a point of contention and division because God is not a God of confusion, but a a God of peace--that clarity and peace will come as we listen to His Word and obey it. That is not to say that God will explain every little detail to us so that we will understand everything to our satisfaction, but God will always speak clearly enough so that we know that we are supposed to obey what we do understand and trust Him with the part that we don't understand. Now for one of the most disliked verses in all the Bible. Paul gives and instruction not just to the church in Corinth, but to all the churches that women should be silent in church for they are not permitted to speak, but are to be in submission as the Law also says. Now that's interesting! Paul just appealed to the Law to teach something about how we as the Church are supposed to conduct ourselves in worship. We normally don't look at the Old Testament for any such instructions, but here we are. While this may be connected to teaching, preaching, prophesying or speaking in tongues, the more immediate context seems to be that the women needed to ask questions of their husbands at home when they did not understand something instead of interrupting the service with their questions or constantly whispering to their husbands to ask them to explain things to them. This passage is strongly debated now that woman are at least as educated as men in most countries, but I don't think it's simply an issue of knowledge here, but a respect for God's created order, and I believe that's the reason why we see Paul appeal to the Law. For sure there were educated women at that time like those that even helped start some of the local churches and allowed Christians to meet in their homes, and although these women played significant roles in ministry with Paul, they apparently left it to the men to preach and teach in the church and to answer their questions at home in a way that was not disruptive. Is this a prohibition for women to ever be teachers or to prophecy? I don't think so as we definitely see the Holy Spirit came upon women in the Old Testament and New Testament--women like Deborah and Miriam and Hannah, and Anna to name a few. These women all prophesied, but the context of their prophesy was never to stand up in front of the congregation and teach them something or to exercise authority over the Body of Christ, and we'll see a more specific prohibition from Paul later in his pastoral epistles for women to be in the position of elder, though it seems clear they are not prevented from being a deacon as we see that that there were women who were deaconesses in the book of Acts. This passage in no way says that women don't have something to contribute, but their primary role in teaching is to teach their children at home, and to do so in concert with their husbands who have the primary responsibility for teaching their wives and their children. God has given the responsibility of leadership of the Church to men like we see in marriage and the wife follows the leadership of her husband. In the same way the Church follows the leadership of the elders that are following the leadership of Christ. Now, Paul speaks from an apostolic role in this last part in a way that is a little unusual even for him. He basically says that he knows that they won't like the instructions that he is giving them, but those instructions are from the Lord and anyone who doesn't like these instructions and refuses to follow them should have no voice in the congregation as they are rebelling against the instructions of God. We are not to be cessationists that discourage prophecy or speaking in tongues (as long as there is an interpreter), but we need to do everything in a way that is orderly and reflects the nature of our God who is not a God of confusion, but desires for a clear message to be given to His people that they can understand and obey and is done in a way that is consistent with the order that God has set forth in creation. These are not the words of me, nor simply the words of Paul, but this is the Word of God, not just to the church in Corinth, but to all churches in all places in all times. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 1 Corinthians 14:1-25 English Standard Version Prophecy and Tongues 14 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. 6 Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, 11 but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. 13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. 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. Again, this is not a passage we can read in isolation and get the full meaning--it ties in to everything we have just discussed about love and gifts of the Spirit and also will be closely connected with our next topic of Orderly Worship--namely that there are right ways and wrong ways for gifts such as the gifts of prophecy and tongues to be used in a worship service. We'll get to that next time though.
Paul tells us that as we pursue love, we should desire to have the gifts of the Spirit especially prophecy as it helps us to proclaim God Word and his nature and works to everyone. Speaking in tongues only benefits those who can understand the one who is speaking and possibly the one who is speaking as they should know what they are saying, but prophecy is understood by all and is for the benefit and edification of the entire body of Christ and also calls those who are not saved to repentance and salvation. In this context Paul says that tongues is only useful to the congregation if there is an interpreter, otherwise the person speaking in tongues is benefiting no one other than himself and there seems to be an indication that the Spirit would not want to act in this way as it is His purpose to glorify Christ and not the vessel through whom He is working. Paul argues that only messages that have have meaning and can be understood are useful and he goes back to instruments and draws a distinction between wind or stringed instruments with distinct notes that can give different notes and tones for different meanings--such as a trumpet that would sound to let someone know that they need to prepare for battle. Everyone clearly hears and understands the meaning of the sound because it is distinct, but something like a gong or drum that could have no such variation could not be used for messages with such meaning. We've already seen in 1 Corinthians 13 where Paul has likened speaking in tongues to the noise of a gong. So our speech must be intelligible to the audience to whom we are speaking or it would be as fruitless as shouting into the wind. There is clearly a place for the gift of tongues as Paul says there are many languages in the world and that if they could not understand each other then no communication could take place. We now spend long amounts of time training missionaries in language school and about the culture of the lands where they are going (assuming we have this information), and if missionaries are going to people without a written language, then establishing an alphabet, lexicon and rules for grammar and syntax are one of the important places to start--either teaching the people a known language or making a brand new written language for them as the missionaries want to get to a point where they can give the people the Word of God in their own language--even if that means that they need to translate the Bible into a new language for them. There are entire missions organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators (and their partners at JARS) and other organizations like Trans-World Radio (TWR) that are committed to getting the Word of God to unreached people groups--whether that's flying missionaries into jungle airstrips, making new translations of the Bible, or setting up radio stations and sending in pre-tuned radios to the people so that they can hear the Word of God in a language they can understand. Paul argues here that speaking in tongues is less important than the interpretation and that the one who has the gift to speak in tongues should be praying for an interpreter so that the message may be heard clearly and understood by all and be edifying to all so that it is not heard as babbling (yes, that's connected to the Tower of Babel in Genesis 10 when the languages were confused and the people were divided). If there is no interpreter, then Paul says that the person who wants to pray in tongues should pray silently in their heart because they are only going to edify themselves and God will hear and understand them either way--only speak out loud if it is something that the other can hear, understand, and give their agreement to by saying "Amen" ("it is true"). Notice that Paul says that he speaks in tongues and does it quite often, but that if he is among the congregation, he would rather speak 5 words they could understand than 1,000 words that they could not understand because he was speaking in tongues. So, let's talk about the elephant in the room (and we'll get to this more tomorrow). What then about the churches that seem to be built on violation of these principles who say that everyone must speak in tongues to prove they are saved and they encourage for many to speak in tongues "as the Spirit moves" and there is no interpreter and so many are speaking at the same time that nothing can be understood? What about if there is supposedly two people with the gift of interpretation and they give different interpretations of what is said? What if the person prophecies in tongues (quite common in some churches) and the prophecy fails to come true? Paul has addressed some of these issues already, many are coming up in the next section of the text, and still others will be addressed in some of his other letters as he speaks more about false prophets and false teachers. Paul then says that tongues are a "sign gift" not meant for believers, but for unbelievers so that they might believe the message that is being spoken to the people that is new and foreign to them. Paul then says that if the speaking of tongues is done in a disorderly way like above where everyone is speaking in tongues all at once, would not an unbeliever who entered think that everyone were made and talking gibberish to themselves? But if prophecy (speaking in a way that says "thus sayeth the LORD...." is spoken in a way that can be clearly understood by both believers and unbelievers, will not the unbeliever be convicted by the Word of God that they can hear and understand? It is the Word of God that is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword able to divide joint and marrow, and it is the Word of God that we are promised will not return void. Therefore, it makes sense that we should prophecy by proclaiming the Word of God and whether it brings forth repentance or condemnation as it goes it, it will accomplish its work, and it will be to the benefit of all who hear, both saved and unsaved alike, and it will bring people to a place of desiring to worship God--the ultimate goal of the Sprit as we exercise any of our gifts of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 13 English Standard Version The Way of Love 13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Many of us think we are very familiar with this passage and would just read it quickly and assume like many when they read it on its own apart from the rest of the book of 1 Corinthians that this is talking about "love" as we think about it in marriage and romance. While that kind of personal relationship is part of what we are talking about here, that is not primarily how this passage should be read as then the single person would think "well, I'm not married, so this passage doesn't apply to me." No, this passage is talking about "the law of love" that we see in the Greatest Commandments--"Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength, and.....love your neighbor as yourself." We also see Christ say "If you love me, you will keep my commandments," and "By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another." We also see the converse of this in the epistle of 1 John where we are told that if we say that we love God, but hate our brother that we are a liar and the truth and light are not in us. (See 1 John chapters 3 and 4 in particular, but also the rest of the book talks about this as a main theme).
Read this chapter now with fresh eyes and see how it deals with the root issues to the problems of sin that are at work in the church in Corinth. They are selfish, divisive, contentious, resentful, and all the other things that Paul tells them that love is not. Likewise they are none of the things that God through Paul tells them that love is. So how is it that these people that call themselves children of God that are supposed to be marked by one supreme character trait of love according to Christ look nothing like the image bearers of God that they are supposed to be? Simply put, it is quite likely that they are lying to themselves and that the truth and light are not really in them. If we love God, we will love His people, and we will even love our enemies. We will love them because God loves them as people that belong to Him or as people that He died for so that they could belong to Him. We will have mercy and forgiveness to the point of being taken advantage of and abused because that is what Christ did for us and we are to love in the way that we have been loved and in the way in which we want God to love us and to have the kind of grace and mercy for others that we want to be extended to us. We see the ideas of love and obedience to the Law of God closely connected in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. As we remember who God is and what He has done for us, it drives us to love Him and to love others (See Exodus 19 and 20 to see how the Law was all about the gospel). Now we have just talked much about the gifts of the Holy Spirt, and Paul comes back to say that even if he had the giftings that people most desired of tongues and prophecy because they are flashy and he didn't have love, that his words would be as meaningless as the sound of gong or a cymbal used in pagan worship services. Then Paul says that children are childish and selfish but eventually grow up and become adults and put away childish things as they become mature, and that the church in Corinth (and we too) need to put away selfishness and the flesh and live according to the Spirit which will always be a life full of love--a covenantal love that is sacrificial called agape love. This is not the love of family or friendship or even husband and wife, but is the love of God that is demonstrated through the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is only through us being made into the very likeness of Christ through the gospel that we are able to love God and love others with this kind of love as the Spirt of God (the Holy Spirit) live in and through us and produces this fruit--the first fruit that we see in the list of the fruit of the Spirit. Paul says that this kind of love is to be desired far above any worldly wisdom or wealth or power, and it is even more desirable than faith or hope. It is the defining characteristic of anyone who belongs to God and those who claim to belong to God and show contempt for other people, especially the people of God, are liars for if they belonged to God, then they would reflect His nature and invisible attributes, one of which we know to be this kind of love being described here. Read this passage again with fresh eyes and see this like the Beatitudes as something that none of us in our own power can be, that only Christ can fulfill fully, and that we can only become by God making us new and letting the Spirit of God live in and through us. We will one day see God and His perfect love fact to face when we get to heaven, but for the time being we are be reflectors (even if we are imperfect reflectors) of the love of God and we are not to allow ourselves to serve the flesh any more, but as we walk in the love of God (not the world's definition of love), we will naturally become the people that God has called us to be and do those things that God has called us to do. If we love God, we will love His Law, and will keep His commandments because that will be our nature. We will walk as Jesus walked as we walk in the Spirit. So then the answer to all the issues of the Corinthian church are solved by these verses in this one chapter--love God and love others as God has commanded, and everything else should naturally follow, but if you have never been born again, it will be impossible to love God as we love Him because He first loved us and it is because of His love that we are able to love others--even those who are our enemies. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 English Standard Version One Body with Many Members 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. I feel like this may be the key passage to the entire book of 1 Corinthians right here. While there have been many other messages, we've come together to a picture that everyone should be able to grasp onto--the body takes commands from the head (that is Christ), are interconnected with each other, and work together to accomplish the commands that the Head issues. The parts of the body don't get to be selfish, there are some parts that may seem more important because they are more invisible, but the really important stuff is all invisible (our vital organs) and every member needs to be there and healthy and obedient to the commands given to it for the body to work correctly
Like all analogies, this one breaks down a bit when you try to talk about excommunication (one of the topics brought up earlier in the book) as no part of the body can survive on its own apart from the body, but isn't that kind of the point? Christians are not meant to live in isolation, but to be in fellowship with one another as we live under the authority and Lordship of Christ. It is only through Christ that the miraculous can happen and that someone who has been "cut off" (excommunicated) can be restored once again to the Body of Christ--as mentioned previously, we'll come back to that idea of restoration in 2 Corinthians since the Corinthian church missed that being the goal in this letter and obeyed when Paul said that someone living in sin should be excommunicated, but didn't let him back in after he repented. We also see that we are part of one body--this is where we get "catholic" from in some of our creeds and names of our churches as we all belong to one faith and one church (one body). The thing is that we like the Corinthians aren't really good about the whole unity thing, but we major on finding the differences and making divisions over them--some divisions among "denominators" are really important and would keep us from being able to worship with each other because some of the divisions have to do with issues that are central to the gospel and issues that are so big, they can't be ignored--in fact, some are so big that someone might be a part of one of these churches and think they are a Christian, but not really be saved if they have never heard the gospel, received it, believed it and allowed the gospel message to take root and produce fruit in their lives (and be careful that you don't think "fruit" is good works that you accomplish on your own power, I'm talking about transformation and metamorphosis like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly). We have seen other places in Paul's letters where he had talked about unity as we are all lead by one Spirit, so let's move on as we've covered this topic several times already as we've studied most of the other letters that talk about this. We also see that our being a part of the Body doesn't depend on if we feel important, nor can we simply declare that we don't need the rest of the body. That would be as silly as the foot trying to say that it could exist without being connected to the ankle and the leg and the rest of the body. It wouldn't be able to do anything on its own, nor would its function be seen or understood unless it was connected to the rest of the body as it is there to help the other parts stand up and move where they are supposed to go. It may not be seen to be as important as say a hand that can pick up and manipulate things, but that hand couldn't get within arm's reach of the object that it wanted to touch if it wasn't for the feet getting the body over there. Now should the entire body all be the same--this goes back to our conversation of gifts of the Spirit from yesterday's blog and how the Spirit gives different attributes and giftings to each member of the Body to accomplish that member's task and function. Even though every cell in the body shares the same DNA as every other cell in our bodies, our bodies know how to make cells that are varied for different purposes so that we have bones, ligaments, voluntary muscles, involuntary muscles, neurons, and skin cells (I know I'm missing something, but you get the idea). Every cell has the exact same information and they all started off with the same potential to become any of these kinds of cells as stem cells, but they were given specific instructions to become the specific types of cells they were to perform the function that was needed and not part of our body is meant to rebel against its nature or assignment--it just does what it is made to do. When cells stop performing within the roles and assignments, then that is usually what we call cancer and usually such cells have to be cut out from the rest of the body for the good of the entire body because they will consume all the resources for themselves (they are selfish) and will spread throughout the entire body until they take over and kill everything else--this the exact kind of image of what was going on in the Corinthian church, there was a "cancer" there that needed to be dealt with before it became destructive and killed off the healthy people of God. Paul then circles back around to the topic of giftings of the Spirt (as I said yesterday, this is all one idea between these two sections of text). I'm going to group these gifts into three main groups based off of their primary function (some gifts may actually fit in more than one category). I'm going to pull from some other lists of gifts of the Spirit from Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and this passage in 1 Corinthians 12.:
There will be a day coming when it will be necessary for God to once again use the gifts of prophecy and tongues to speak to people in the last days, presumably because those people that are left will be cut off from direct access to the Word of God and that generation will have no knowledge of the truth of the gospel (we see a combination of them hardening their hearts and God hardening their hearts as we saw with Pharaoh in the Old Testament--in fact we will see that God will once again use plagues like the plagues in Egypt and use angels from heaven and send prophets from heaven (presumably Moses and Elijah, but we don't really know) to proclaim the gospel with power and mighty signs. The 144,000 witnesses and the prophets will be killed, and the signs will be willfully ignored, even though the people will understand both the message and the Messenger, but God will continue to be faithful to proclaim the gospel to the end, even to those whom He knows will refuse to believe it and even when that "good news" comes in the form of God is just and His judgment is coming on all who rebel against Him, as even this is a call to repentance. We saw this happen in the book of Jonah where God called Jonah to speak a message of repentance, but Jonah desired the judgment to come on the people he perceived to be his enemies and instead preached only that judgment was coming and the people of the whole city repented before Jonah even got halfway through the city. Will we see such revival in the end times? It is unlikely, but we can pray for it. How are you using your spiritual gifts to glorify God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ? How are you using your gifts to support the work of others and edify the members of the Body of Christ? Are you coveting someone else's gift? Are you being faithful to use the gifts you've been given where God has you here and now trusting that if God has more for you to do that it is different that He can and will equip you to do those tasks when He calls you to do them? Are you encouraging others to be team players and looking for those whom God has equipped or are you trying to play a game of solitaire where you are trying to do everything yourself? Remember that we were not called to live or minister in isolation and even those who pour themselves out in teaching and preaching still need to be ministered to and encouraged. Pray for how God wants you to use your gifts, especially in this particular time of isolation for many of us as we face lockdowns, quarantines, and some becoming shut-ins by choice due to the situation of the coronavirus. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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