Notice that after ending chapter 12 on the spiritual gifts, Paul goes into the importance of love in Chapter 13. Then, he starts off in 14 pointing out the importance of prophesy or teaching.
The important thing is that the church is edified or taught.
Here he emphasizes understanding, which is needful for instruction or edification.
Notice that we are to pray with the spirit and understanding. A man cannot pray in some language that he cannot understand and it come from God. To claim that God gave him those things (words), that he does not understand is to say God lied in 1 Cor. 14:15.
I like Paul plead my case here. Lets be men or adults when it comes to understanding the will of God.
Isa 28:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. The tongue speaking was for the unbelieving Jews. It was a sign given to them from God that they would know this was God's word.
Again Paul emphasizes the importance of prophesy, that is understood by all,unto edification.
Please notice what Paul wrote above and let us be honest with each other, our self and with God. "But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God." Please notice he is to speak to himself. That means that he is to understand what he is saying. Otherwise, he could not speak to himself. He is to understand, the people hearing him may not understand in which case he must have an interpreter. This is the truth form God's word. When we claim otherwise, we blaspheme the word of God by calling it a lie.
Now, let us gain understanding from what Paul has written by inspiration. There can be more than one speaker in an assembly, but they are to speak one at a time, "one by one". Notice in verse 31 "that all may learn ...", for all to learn from what one said then all must be present in the same place as the speaker. This is quite a contrast from what is so popular today. Bible classes or Sunday School classes are not in the Bible. Bible classes are neither described nor implied, they are not found in the Holy Scripture. When in a class arrangement, not all the congregation hears what is said by any of the teachers. God wants men to hear what the women are taught. He wants women to hear what women are taught. God wants parents to hear what is taught to their children. He wants teachers of the Church to hear what others teach. The same was true before Christ. Please read Duet. 31:12-13.
In the above verses we see the prophets (speakers) have control over themselves. No one is to speak out of turn and certainly God is not going to take control of an individual that he begins to talk out of turn.
Now this goes hard against the customs our day and society. The women are to be silent in the Church. The women are to be silent in the Church. They are not to take part in the discussion to the extent they are to ask privately any questions that they have. The pharse, “husbands at home” implies in a private situation. Some implied that he was talking about the prophets wives, and thus it did not apply to others. Certainly, if it is true for the prophets wives, then it is true for all women. Notice the phrase, “for it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church” by this we know that it applied to all women. It also applies to all women today. I know that this is not popular today, but it is still the word of God. How can we delete part of the word of God. If we decide to cut part out and keep part, we assume to know more than God who wrote it.
Certainly Paul did not lie when he said, “the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. “. If he lied then how can we believe anything that he wrote? If he did not lie, then what is written above is truly the commandments of God! “38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” is a very interesting statement. Surely, by this he is not saying that we are not to teach the unlearned. If this is what he is saying then he condemned himself for teaching it here. This does not make good sense and is not what Paul intended for us to understand. As some have suggested, what he is saying is, “if he does not know, let him be not known”
Therefore we do not forbid anyone to speak with tongues (different languages), but when he does he is to follow the guidelines given by Paul. We certainly want all things done decently and in order. We want to follow the order given to us by God.
Webster’s Dictionary defines the word secret as,” hidden, not made public, remote, secluded, private. There are secrets in I Corinthians 14. But who is hiding these things? Who is keeping the truth from being made public and open? Is it God? Hardly. “God is not willing that any should perish”. II Peter 3:9. Jesus spoke of the truth “setting us free”. And the Apostle Paul writes, “God is not the author of confusion”. We can easily conclude that God is not keeping the truth secret. Man is the culprit. Jesus said in Matthew 15:9 “But in vain they do worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”. Our exhortation to the reader is this: Search the scriptures as the noble Bereans that were mentioned in Acts 17:11. They searched for the sole purpose of determining if the things taught to them were true. You should do the same. Question your tradition. Question your Pastor. He is just a man. Conclude God to be inerrant and every man marred with imperfection. God is not keeping secrets regarding salvation and worship. The secrets of God’s will are hidden within man’s traditions and false doctrine.
How does a secret cease to be a secret. When everyone knows. Let's spead the word, send this page to everyone you know, and they will know what are the secrets. So, share these secrets with your friends.
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