Knowing the Church Series
The Church You Need To Know is people who give themselves away.
Many take the admonitions of 1 Corinthians 14 as a mandate for a well-ordered service. Order is not the passage's main point - edification (building others up) is. As in verses 4 and 5, "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;" God builds people up, and people being used of God build others up, but no one builds themselves up. Self-help is a worldly concept. Therefore, God does not motivate or empower the tongue to be used in this way.
Paul elevates prophecy as a gift more effectively used for building up. Furthermore, he continues, "...greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying." To interpret a language is to impart meaning to what is being said. The believing hearers will be built up if the meaning is a prophecy. Prophecy can be foretelling the future or forth-telling the meaning of God's Word.
Verse 26 says, "What is [the outcome] then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, and an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." As said before, edification is the main point. No matter what gift is used, edification is always the goal. One Greek commentator says that edification is "constructive criticism and instruction that builds a person up to be the suitable dwelling place of God, i.e., where the Lord is "at home."
Constructive criticism most usually involves two-way conversation. The home Bible study is accepted as a weekly get-together that people typically enjoy very much but not for Sunday worship. The thinking goes like this. Sunday is for professionals. Why? Because only professionals can get the job done well; that is what they are paid to do.
The Church You Need To Know is not motivated by money.
Jesus said, in John 10:12 and 13, "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters [them]. "[He flees] because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep." I am not saying that all paid pastors are hired hands, and not concerned about their flock. However, professionalism was not part of the first Church. Much of the New Testament was written to correct such errors.
Only when serving the Church is not about money or self-gratification of any kind does the servant give their life away. Jesus said, in Matthew 16:24, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." Each follower of Jesus Christ must refuse to associate with himself, who used to be swayed by love for the world's self-serving philosophy, its lusts, and pride. When the community observes the Church giving their lives away, they are assured of their sincerity.
The Church You Need To Know depends upon the Holy Spirit to live in every believer.
No one speaking in Church should ever do so to hear, "Good job!" No matter the hearer's reaction, we are there to please God and build others up in the faith - period. As discussed by Paul, the order is to be respectful and loving and not step over each other with our words. "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. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment." verses 27-29.
The purpose of Sunday morning worship service is not to elevate the preaching of one man. Judgment is to be made as to whether or not what he is saying is thoroughly biblical. The child of God has a grave responsibility before God to receive only the truth. Jesus Christ is the truth, and to believe anything other than truth is to reject and dishonor Him for a lie.
The Church You Need To Know is not a Church of professionals but of Spirit-filled believers.
"But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent, verse 30. As stated in my last post, Christ opened the scriptures to the disciples following His resurrection. The scriptures previously written were revealed as to their meaning. Those who want these verses to report that scripture was not yet written and, therefore, revelations were given have no scriptural basis for their belief. The writers of the New Testament always quote the Old Testament. A deeper meaning is given, but there is no new and foreign teaching to O.T. scripture. The Church You Need To Know recognizes two testaments. The prophecies of the first are fulfilled and explained in the second. Old and New are two parts of one whole; there is not even one greater than the other. The New Testament is nearly impossible to understand without the old.
"For you can all prophesy one by one so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;" Tradition, "higher learning," denominations, and the way we've always done it should never supplant God's word. For you can all prophesy is foreign to today's church in the West, and we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. The person who takes that accounting lightly is a fool, even though it is not about sin, which was paid for on the cross in full. There is much more to be said.
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