DAILY REMINDER – Today, December 2’s Bible reading is 1 Corinthians 12-14.
NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, December 3’s Bible reading is 1
Corinthians 15-16. May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.
1 CORINTHIANS MOMENT – (02DEC19)
“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of
the Lord’s people” (1 Corinthians 14:33). In teaching the church of
Corinth the proper conduct and etiquette that they should have for one another,
as the body of Christ, the Apostle Paul included a subject which had to do with
orderly worship. But first, he taught them that they were one body consisting
of many parts just as the human body is. The were to work as one unit, for
without unity, they would not be effective witnesses to the world.
Within the body of Christ, there are
many gifts where everyone has an important role to play rather, they have one
gift or many. These gifts included: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles,
prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues
(1 Corinthians 12:8-10). The Holy Spirit is the One who gives the gifts as He
sees fit, and we are to use whatever gifts the Spirit gives to edify the Lord. Sometimes,
believers need training to refine their gifts for service, so proper
discipleship is needed by those within the church who can be a spiritual mentor
to these individuals until they mature spiritually and are able to use their gifts
effectively for the kingdom. The Bible says: “Now you are the body of
Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the
church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles,
then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of
tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:27-28). The Lord has equipped His body to do
great works for His kingdom, but we must be mindful that these gifts are not
for us to become pious and proud, but to lift the name of Jesus high. Yet, when
we use our gifts, we are not to forget that without love, we are nothing.
Paul gave the definition for love
in which the church was to have for God and each other as well as the rest of
the world. Paul wrote that love was patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not
prideful, did not dishonor others, not self-seeking, not easily angered, and
kept no record of wrong-doings. Love protects, hopes, perseveres, and never
fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). The problem with many in both the church and the world
is that they do not understand the true definition of love. Therefore, Paul wanted
the church to know what love entails, for when they truly loved one another,
they would understand the essence of who God is. Their gifts were nothing if they
were unaccompanied by the acts of love. The Bible says: “A new command I
give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By
this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”
(John 13:34-35). Jesus did not say that they will know you are my
disciples by your gifts, but He said that they would know that we are His by
our love. Having love far outweighs any gift that we could possess.
After addressing the matters of
unity, giftings, and love within the church, Paul dealt with the issue of
orderly worship. Paul did not want the church to misrepresent God due to the
lack of order. He asserted that it was good to be able to speak in tongues, but
they were not to do so if there were no interpreters present. Even then, they
were to do so with great care and harmony. The speaking in tongues was pointless
if no one could understand what they were saying, or if only some could
understand while others couldn’t. Therefore, those who possessed this gift was
to remain quiet if no one could interpret. The Bible says: “So it is with
you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know
what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly there
are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning”
(1 Corinthians 14:9-10). Having the gift of tongues was good, but Paul
wrote that having the gift of prophecy was better because it could convict the
unbeliever of sin. Even so, this was to be harmoniously within the church because
God is a God of order and would not have His church operating in chaos.
As part of Paul’s instructions to
the church regarding order in worship, there were customs of their day that
required for women to be silent in a worship setting. Paul instructed the women
to do so in accordance to their laws and to inquire of their husbands at home
regarding any questions they had during worship. This instruction of Paul has
been a great debate within the church over the centuries, but one must properly
analyze the text with spiritual understanding. Paul wrote: “Women should
remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in
submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something,
they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman
to speak in the church” (1 Corinthians 14:34). What law was Paul speaking
of? Was it the Ten Commandments? No! There was no such law forbidding women to
speak in the commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Was it the other 613 Levitical
laws? No! Not one of them had anything to do with a woman speaking in worship.
So, what laws was Paul referring to? The Talmud Laws. These were Jewish civil and
case laws. The history behind these laws would require an in-depth study which one
can do online, but in short, these laws were similar to our civil laws of
conduct for a free society.
Let’s use the example of a judge in
a courtroom calling for order in the court with his or her gavel. Is there a
Ten Commandment that says be quiet in the court room? No! Nevertheless, there
has to be some form of order in which we are to abide by so that we may have a
functional society. This is similar to Paul’s instruction about a woman’s
silence. It was not a matter of hell or Heaven, but a matter of civil conduct
that was appropriate during that time. Remember the book of Joel and what the
Apostle Peter restated from it in the book of Acts where God said that both men
and women would prophesy (Acts 2:18-19). What is prophecy? A Word given from the
Lord to His prophets or prophetesses to an individual and/or His people.
Therefore, in order for a Word to be given, there must be someone for the
prophet or prophetess to give it to. Something to ponder….
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