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Raul Ries: But a person that understands the scriptures, because of the non-believer and because of the carnal Christian that may be there, he's not going to step out and speak in tongues. Why? Because not only will he quench the Holy Spirit, but he'll bring confusion to the body of Christ. So he wants to make sure that the order is proper there.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. As we sharpen our focus on living a spirit-led life today, Raul will explore the divine purposes and detailed parameters for our spiritual gifts.

Along the way, we'll see that the Holy Spirit has blessed each of us as Christians with unique gifts, not for our own benefit, but for the edification of others. And we can avoid confusion and chaos by following the biblical instructions for their use. Here's Raul Ries with our study, "The Proper Order of Gifts."

Raul Ries: If you have a Bible this morning, turn again to the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 14, for our lesson this morning. We're coming now to the end of the 14th chapter of the book of Corinthians, and Paul the Apostle has been dealing on how to use the gifts in public worship.

We dealt with verses one through six concerning the importance of prophecy over speaking in tongues. Paul the Apostle, beginning with verse one again, says this: "Pursue after love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but unto God. For no one understands him, however, the spirit he speaks mysteries or divine secrets."

So Paul clarifies for us that there are some people that speak in tongues and there are other people that do not speak in tongues. But even though if you speak in tongues or don't speak in tongues, or whatever the manifestation may be that God has given to you concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit, they all have to be practiced through love. Otherwise, they're of no value.

And then Paul the Apostle begins to make a proclamation that it's better to prophesy than to speak in tongues. There's a proper order that is given to us here concerning our place of worship. And so Paul wants to make sure that we understand.

Verse three says, "But he who prophesies speaks unto edification, unto exhortation, and unto comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue only builds up himself, but he who prophesies, notice, builds up the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more than you prophesied. For he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets that the church may receive the building up."

And that's in the setting of an after-glow service, when we're sitting together, then the proper interpretation would be given. Then he begins in chapter 14, verse six, with the understanding of what he's speaking about. He says, "But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by teaching or doctrine?"

Notice what Paul says. He's actually making a proclamation here saying, "What would it profit if I spoke in tongues?" First of all, nobody would understand it. So who am I trying to impress? He's really leading the people in a teaching on how to properly use the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

And Paul understood the condition of the church in Corinth. And there were men and women in that church, Paul says, they were very carnal. They had accepted Christ, but they did not actually walk in the spirit. They were walking in the flesh, and they were unnatural people. He'll tell you in a moment about these people.

He says, "Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction, it is the sound, how will it be known what is piped or played?" You see, it would be out of harmony in the body of Christ if this was actually practiced in a place where there were non-believers and carnal people that were not walking with Christ.

And then he says this, really interesting, in verse eight: "For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle?" And of course, now he's taking you back to the Old Testament, to the word shofar, which was the actual ram's horn.

And usually, among the Jews, they would have these ram horns. They were not only used to call an assembly together, but they were also used in a charge of battle. And every time they would blow the sound of the horn, there would be a different distinction in a sound to know what call it was being given by the one blowing the trumpet.

So Paul wants to make sure that we understand. Even as people in battle or are watchmen, or people in the city would not only come to a place of tuning in and say, "Oh, yeah, that's the 2:00 call or 4:00 call, that's for dinner, that's for breakfast," or whatever it may be, that we also would come to an understanding what is being piped or what is being proclaimed. So Paul uses that in the Old Testament there.

Then he says this in verse nine: "So likewise you, Christians, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, then how will it be known what is being spoken, for you will be speaking into the air?" Notice that, speaking unto the air. Nobody will be able to distinguish what you're saying.

Verse 10: "Therefore, or there are, it may be, so many kinds of languages or dialects in the world, but none of them is without significance." But then again, he goes on and he says this in verse 11: "Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be as a foreigner to him who speaks and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me."

Pretty interesting. The word that he uses here for foreigner is the word barbarian in the old King James. And literally, to the Greeks, a barbarian was one of a lower class, a person that was in the lowest class, a lower-class person.

That is, a person that people really didn't look up to. Maybe because he was poor or didn't have much. So what Paul again is making a proclamation here, he says, "Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language," he says, "then people like the barbarians, they're going to look down on you."

But then in verse 12, he clarifies it: "Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the building up of the church that you seek to excel." That's the key. And what did Paul say at the beginning? If you want to excel, what do you need? You need love in your life. That's the key.

We need to possess the love of Jesus Christ within each one of our lives. That's the only way that any one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be properly exercised in the church. And then verse 13, look what he says: "Therefore, let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret."

Notice the counsel here that he gives. Let's say we're in an after-glow service and somebody speaks in tongues, then what we would do is we would wait and see what the words that were actually coming out of that person's mouth would be.

And the proper interpretation would be just like a song or a psalm or praise unto the Lord. It would be praising God, not man. That would be the proper interpretation. Watch this: "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays." What do you mean by my spirit? My inner being is spirit, actually speaking.

You see, so when I am expressing myself in tongues, what I am doing is I am expressing my deepest concerns and my deepest needs to God that I cannot express in English to him, even though I do not understand it.

And those of you that have never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit or maybe have never spoken in tongues, maybe you feel like a second-class citizen. You don't have to do that. Because Paul in Romans 8:26-27 last week, remember what he said?

He says you also, even if you don't speak in tongues, you can express in the deepest fashion to God by groaning, which cannot be understood in your own spirit. And God understands what you're going through. God understands your situation. God understands your needs in your heart.

Why? Because we're expressing, we're groaning, or we're speaking in tongues, how, with our inner being? The innermost of ourselves as we're speaking to God. We just submit and we surrender everything to God. And it's kind of neat that the spirit within us makes intercession. That's the link. That's where we connect. I don't understand it in my finite mind, my earthly mind, but in the spirit man, I'm connected. Totally connected to what God is saying and what I am expressing to God.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You radio with Raul Ries. Our goal here is to help you live a God-glorifying life in obedience to his word. Visit somebodylovesyou.com for Bible-rich resources. If you have Bible questions for Raul, you can email him anytime at pastorraul@somebodylovesyou.com. Now, back to more of today's study.

Raul Ries: And then verse 14 again, he says, "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful," because I don't understand. But God does. "What is the result then? I will pray with the spirit," but watch this, "I will pray with the spirit, but again, I will also pray with understanding. I will sing in the spirit, but I will also sing with understanding."

What does he mean by that? That he's going to sing in a language which is common. At that time was Koine Greek. Here, we're speaking English. Verse 16, watch this: "Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, then what happens? How will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say 'Amen' at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?"

I want you to underline that verse. Because what is he saying? First of all, he's explaining to you that if there are people here that have accepted Christ but are backslidden, they're not spiritual people. And they hear you speak in tongues, you're going to blow them away because they're not really listening to anything that's edifying and it's not a message in tongues.

But they're listening to you blessing the Lord. Notice that, you're blessing God, you're praising God, which should be done in your own closet, not in front of people. How will he be able to say "Amen" to your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?

But if prophecy, if the teaching of the word of God is being taught in English and that person that is backslidden comes and he's sitting here and he hears the word of God, the Holy Spirit begins to convict him and it brings him to what, to repentance? Why, because he understands everything that is being said. He can say "Amen" to that. Paul's very clear in what he teaches.

Then again, watch what he says again. Verse 17: "For," he says, "you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not," notice, "the other is not, the person that's sitting there speaking in tongues is not building up. It only builds you up, it doesn't build anybody else up." So it would be wrong to do it.

And then Paul says, and he's not boasting, he's not being proudful, "I thank my God that I speak with tongues more than all of you, more than you all." He was part Texan. Notice that. "Yet in the church," what's that, right now as we're sitting here together? "In the church," Paul says, "I would rather speak five words with English or understanding that I may teach others also than 10,000 words," notice, "in tongues." I like Paul.

So Paul is actually forbidding tongues in the church. The only way that Paul is allowing tongues to be exercised legally and biblically and doctrinally is where, in your own devotional private life or in an after-glow service. That's Paul's teaching.

No confusion at all as he explains it biblically, line upon line, precept upon precept. And then Paul the Apostle brings something interesting up again. Watch this, verse 20: "Brethren, do not be children in understanding, however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature."

What does he mean by that? He's literally defining and separating the Corinthians, those that were immature to those that were mature. It would be a sign of immaturity. You see, of immaturity to start speaking again in tongues in a setting like this. It would show you that you're not really rooted and grounded in the word of God, and it would show that you really don't understand the scriptures. This is what Paul says.

But a person that understands the scriptures, because of the non-believer and because of the carnal Christian that may be there, he's not going to step out and speak in tongues. Why? Because not only will he quench the Holy Spirit, but he'll bring confusion to the body of Christ. So he wants to make sure that the order is proper there.

And so he wants us to understand what Paul says in that time. Now watch this, verse 21. He says, "In the law it is written," and that's in Deuteronomy 28, and then he quotes from Isaiah 28:11-12, a very important prophecy.

He says, "With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people, and yet for all they will not hear me." And a lot of times, again, people will try to use that scripture to back up that Paul is encouraging people to speak with other tongues because they said in the Old Testament already it was prophesied that this would come to pass. And that's true, but not the whole truth.

This is the whole truth. This scripture is in reference to Isaiah 28:11-12, where the prophet Isaiah is prophesying how God is going to use not only the Babylonians and the Medo-Persians and the Assyrians and the Grecians, and later on the Romans will come.

And he will use people that speak another dialect, not Hebrew, but their own language, and they would come and they would bring God's judgment upon Israel. God would use those people as instruments of his judgment. That's what God's talking about here.

But at the same time, as the scripture is being developed here, he's again setting up the teaching for verse 22 and 23, which has brought a lot of confusion in charismatic groups. And that is this: What happens if there's a non-believer here?

Well, this is what charismatic people say. They say that the reason they speak in tongues in a setting like this is because tongues is a sign for the non-believer, which means that God, again, a message in tongues will come forth and say, "whoever you may be here, repent of your sins, God is speaking to you," whatever they would come through.

But that's not what Paul is teaching. Paul will teach here that the sign that God gives to the non-believer, it is a sign that his presence is in the church, but it's a sign for repentance, for them to come to repentance. Where the sign would be to the unlearned, which would be the carnal Christian, to actually understand and repent and turn back to the Lord. And he's going to tell you in a moment that.

And this is where the confusion comes. Watch what he says, verse 22. "Therefore, tongues are for a sign." And what is the sign? The sign is repentance. Not tongue. Repentance, that's the sign.

"Therefore, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to the unbelievers. But prophecy is not for the unbelievers, but for those who believe." Why? Because we speak English. And what happens as the word of God is being taught, the unlearned, which is the carnal Christian or the carnal person or one that is not walking with God, will be convicted and will turn back to the Lord. He'll be able to understand the message plainly.

But then watch this, verse 23: "Therefore, if the whole church come together and all speak with tongues and there comes in those who are uninformed," that is the carnal Christian, "and unbelievers, heathens, will they not say that you are crazy?" It's true.

So Paul says we have to be careful. Watch this, verse 24: "But if all prophesy," and again, here is the teaching of the word of God. If we speak their language, then what happens? "If an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, then he is convinced by all and he is judged by all, and thus the secrets of his heart are revealed. And so falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you."

Notice how he explains it. That's the key. You see? So teaching, prophecy teaching, the word of God is more important than the exercise of the gift of tongues in the church. Why? Because people will come to repentance. They understand the message.

Then in verse 26, as he's concluding the chapter, he now comes to speak about the order of the church. And look what he says there. "How is it then, brethren, that whenever you come together, each one of you," notice, "has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation?"

What Paul is saying is he says, "Why is it that every time you come together, you actually have a wild time in the church, disorder?" People would stand up and say, "Well, I got a song from the Lord and I got a praise," and people everywhere in the whole services were being not only disturbed but distracted, and the word of God never got preached.

It's what Paul's talking about. Watch again what he says. "Let all things be done for the building up, for edification, not tearing down or not bringing confusion. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let it be by two or three at the most." And again, he refers back to the after-glow services, to the smaller group cell groups.

Watch what he says. "And each in turn let him one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church and let him speak to himself and to God, to himself and to God." And there's the true interpretation.

"Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent." For example, you're sitting there and God is showing you something, don't just blab it out. Wait upon the Lord. You wait, you sit, you put it in your heart, and then God will show you what needs to be said.

Guest (Male): Use of the Holy Spirit's gifts can add depth and richness to our corporate experience as a church. And as we've learned today, they are not meant to be used in an atmosphere of chaos, but with order and purpose.

You're listening to Somebody Loves You radio with Raul Ries. If you'd like to review Raul's teaching about the proper order of spiritual gifts, we can send you an unedited copy for a donation of five dollars or more. Just call us at 800-634-9165 to make your request.

To help you better understand God's parameters for a spirit-filled life, we'd like to offer you a series titled "Filled, Empowered, and Equipped." It's available on CD or USB. Featuring today's lesson as well as six others, this study illuminates the unique influence of the Trinity's third member and underscores the transformative work he can do in and through us when we surrender to him.

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Thanks for your partnership in this listener-supported ministry. Every gift you give helps us keep spreading the wisdom of God's word. Join us again next time as we continue our study of the Holy Spirit with a challenge to make the most of the spiritual gifts he gives us by working in harmony with our fellow believers. This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You radio in Diamond Bar, California.