I Corinthians 14:6-12: "The Gift of Tongues, part 2"
Paul continues discussing the inferiority of the gift of tongues, and the confronting the misuse of it in the church at Corinth. "But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what shall I profit you, unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching?" Paul, being an apostle, uses himself in the illustration. The point being even as an apostle that tongues would be meaningless unless it was interpreted and made understandable to its hearers. The main issue that was taking place was the Corinthians were claiming some superior knowledge, speaking a mysterious language that no one could understand. To them, it was yet another divisive practice that was "supposedly" a special language between them and God. They had completely twisted the proper gift which was given by God to certain individuals to edify and encourage the church through proper translation. Tongues are pointless and meaningless without an interpretation.
Paul then gives an illustration to reiterate his point. "Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in 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?" The purpose of a flute or a harp is that the musician makes meaningful and distinct sounds with it that those who listen may enjoy the sound. It will make sense to them and they can recognize it as music. If the flute or harp only made one meaningless tone, it would be worthless. In the same way, when you make meaningless sounds with your mouth that have no interpretation or meaningful purpose they are a waste of time and a mockery of the spiritual gift God intended it to be. MacArthur writes, "Rhythm, structure, harmony, and other such orderly qualities make a group of notes music instead of mere noise. For music to be music it must be intelligible in its own way; it must make musical sense. Each note, chord, and phrase has a musical purpose - to communicate joy, sadness, militancy, peace, strife, or whatever the composer intends". Paul then continues his illustration alluding to another musical instrument. "For if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?" The bugle was used to produce distinct sounds that alerted its hearers to certain situations. If a soldier heard a bugle, yet it was playing random meaningless notes, it would merely be a distracting annoyance. However, if played properly, the soldier would be made aware of a "Call to Arms" or a "Charge". Therefore, we can see that just as notes must be distinctive and informative, so must the gift of tongues. It does not do anybody any good if what is being played or said is unintelligible. Paul confirms this, "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". MacArthur explains, "The Corinthians were so carnally self-centered that they could not have cared less about communication. They were interested in impressing others, not communicating with them, much less edifying them. Paul compares those Christians to musical instruments blown into by one who is not a musician or a bugle played so poorly that what comes out is unrecognizable. From such incompetence, produced by pride and lovelessness, the Corinthian assembly could not have been other than it was: confused, disorderly, and unproductive (11:21; 14:23; etc)".
Paul continues his point, "There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning". Paul again reiterates the same point using language as the example. Language has a purpose in it, just as tongues does. Language by definition must be understood otherwise it is simply gibberish. There is no language in the world that is set up to be without meaning, otherwise, it is pointless and stupid. That is the point Paul wanted to get across, that the gift of tongues the Corinthians had perverted it into was pointless and stupid. Paul continues, "If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me". Here, Paul shows that language must be meaningful to both the speaker and the hearer. If the one speaking to another is not understood, no communication has occurred and nothing makes sense. MacArthur writes, "Barbarian was an onomatopoeic word derived from the twin syllables 'bar-bar'. To a person who does not know a language it often sounds as if the words are all alike and all meaningless. To most Greeks of Paul's day, anyone who did not speak Greek was a barbarian. His language was unintelligible". To wrap up his point that tongues are unintelligible he writes, "So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church". All along Paul's point has been that the so-called gift of tongues the Corinthians were practicing were not able to be understood by anyone and therefore would be pointless. If the point of having a spiritual gift was to edify and encourage the church, and the tongues being spoken could not be understood by anyone, they completely missed the point. Therefore, the Corinthians have to recognize that what they were doing was sin, and Paul wanted them to see it for what it was. The Corinthians were zealous for spiritual gifts, but obviously they were zealous for gifts that brought them attention, praise, or caused them to stand out. Their zeal was for themselves rather for the edification of the church. Paul's goal was to point this out to them and show them the foolishness of what they were practicing. Paul's charge to them is to seek after those gifts which can edify the church (ie prophecy). MacArthur comments, "The purpose of the gift of tongues, just as the purpose of all languages, was to communicate. Although it was a miraculous sign gift, it also was a communicative gift. From its first occurrence at Pentecost the Lord intended it to be a means of communication. The very miracle of tongues at Pentecost was in the fact that everyone present, though from many different countries, heard the apostles 'speak in his own language' (Acts 2:6, cf vv. 8, 11)". There is only one type of tongues that which is intelligible for edification. Every other form of it is not from God.
Paul then gives an illustration to reiterate his point. "Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in 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?" The purpose of a flute or a harp is that the musician makes meaningful and distinct sounds with it that those who listen may enjoy the sound. It will make sense to them and they can recognize it as music. If the flute or harp only made one meaningless tone, it would be worthless. In the same way, when you make meaningless sounds with your mouth that have no interpretation or meaningful purpose they are a waste of time and a mockery of the spiritual gift God intended it to be. MacArthur writes, "Rhythm, structure, harmony, and other such orderly qualities make a group of notes music instead of mere noise. For music to be music it must be intelligible in its own way; it must make musical sense. Each note, chord, and phrase has a musical purpose - to communicate joy, sadness, militancy, peace, strife, or whatever the composer intends". Paul then continues his illustration alluding to another musical instrument. "For if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?" The bugle was used to produce distinct sounds that alerted its hearers to certain situations. If a soldier heard a bugle, yet it was playing random meaningless notes, it would merely be a distracting annoyance. However, if played properly, the soldier would be made aware of a "Call to Arms" or a "Charge". Therefore, we can see that just as notes must be distinctive and informative, so must the gift of tongues. It does not do anybody any good if what is being played or said is unintelligible. Paul confirms this, "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". MacArthur explains, "The Corinthians were so carnally self-centered that they could not have cared less about communication. They were interested in impressing others, not communicating with them, much less edifying them. Paul compares those Christians to musical instruments blown into by one who is not a musician or a bugle played so poorly that what comes out is unrecognizable. From such incompetence, produced by pride and lovelessness, the Corinthian assembly could not have been other than it was: confused, disorderly, and unproductive (11:21; 14:23; etc)".
Paul continues his point, "There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning". Paul again reiterates the same point using language as the example. Language has a purpose in it, just as tongues does. Language by definition must be understood otherwise it is simply gibberish. There is no language in the world that is set up to be without meaning, otherwise, it is pointless and stupid. That is the point Paul wanted to get across, that the gift of tongues the Corinthians had perverted it into was pointless and stupid. Paul continues, "If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me". Here, Paul shows that language must be meaningful to both the speaker and the hearer. If the one speaking to another is not understood, no communication has occurred and nothing makes sense. MacArthur writes, "Barbarian was an onomatopoeic word derived from the twin syllables 'bar-bar'. To a person who does not know a language it often sounds as if the words are all alike and all meaningless. To most Greeks of Paul's day, anyone who did not speak Greek was a barbarian. His language was unintelligible". To wrap up his point that tongues are unintelligible he writes, "So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church". All along Paul's point has been that the so-called gift of tongues the Corinthians were practicing were not able to be understood by anyone and therefore would be pointless. If the point of having a spiritual gift was to edify and encourage the church, and the tongues being spoken could not be understood by anyone, they completely missed the point. Therefore, the Corinthians have to recognize that what they were doing was sin, and Paul wanted them to see it for what it was. The Corinthians were zealous for spiritual gifts, but obviously they were zealous for gifts that brought them attention, praise, or caused them to stand out. Their zeal was for themselves rather for the edification of the church. Paul's goal was to point this out to them and show them the foolishness of what they were practicing. Paul's charge to them is to seek after those gifts which can edify the church (ie prophecy). MacArthur comments, "The purpose of the gift of tongues, just as the purpose of all languages, was to communicate. Although it was a miraculous sign gift, it also was a communicative gift. From its first occurrence at Pentecost the Lord intended it to be a means of communication. The very miracle of tongues at Pentecost was in the fact that everyone present, though from many different countries, heard the apostles 'speak in his own language' (Acts 2:6, cf vv. 8, 11)". There is only one type of tongues that which is intelligible for edification. Every other form of it is not from God.
posted by amesfam | 4:02 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home