Well, the last time we gathered to study 1 Corinthians 14 was the evening service of October 6. And I mentioned at the close of the sermon that we would pick up our study next Sunday. But we did not pick up our study next Sunday because that was the week we experienced Hurricane Milton. And due to the craziness of that week, Pastor Joe spoke on Sunday night because I just wasn't able to prepare for two messages. And so tonight, we have the privilege of resuming our study of 1 Corinthians 14. We're gonna pick up right where we left off a few weeks ago with verses 13 through 19. Here's what Paul wrote. Therefore, let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the outcome then? I'll pray with the spirit and I'll pray with the mind also. I'll sing with the spirit and I'll sing with the mind also. Otherwise, if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say amen at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you're saying? For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified. I thank God I speak in tongues more than you all. However, in the church, I desire to speak five words with my mind, so that I may instruct others also, rather than 10,000 words in a tongue. Now, frankly, as I said this morning, these are some of the most challenging verses to interpret from chapter 14, which is a chapter filled with interpretive challenges. And one of the reasons that these verses in particular are challenging to interpret is because many of us have been exposed to how those in the charismatic movement interpret these words, and we haven't heard any explanation. in any other way. And so we tend to be a little bit brainwashed to thinking that this is the only way to interpret these. And so we've been conditioned to think that Paul is telling us in these verses that he prays in a special tongues language that no one, not even himself, understands. A prayer language in which he prays in his spirit without his mind, without his intellect actually comprehending what he's praying. Now let me say up front that this is not what the Apostle Paul is saying here. And the key that helps us to understand these verses and interpret them correctly is to know that there is a unifying theme, a unifying truth that brings us all together. It is the primary issue that Paul is addressing, that issue being edification. Edification meaning to spiritually build up others in the church. He is telling the Corinthians that when they gather on Sundays, their goal, their objective, their priority should be that there should be edifying messages that are given, and the only way that the church can be edified is by hearing messages they understand, messages in their own language. In that case, it would be the Greek language. So let's step back and see how we arrived at the passage that we're going to look at tonight. As you'll recall, the Apostle began this chapter by emphasizing in the opening five verses that when the Corinthian congregation gathered on Sundays, he told them that they should seek to allow those members with the spiritual gift of prophesying or preaching to minister the word. Notice what he wrote back in verse 1. Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. We interpret prophecy prophesying to mean preaching these days, proclaiming the word. Now, in stressing that preaching should be the priority of the church, which is what Paul is saying here, what the apostle was addressing was a problem at this church in that some people in the congregation were intent on getting up on Sundays and giving a message in tongues. Now, not the nonsensical utterances that many today call tongues, not gibberish, but rather the biblical gift of tongues, which were human languages, known languages, but previously unknown to the speaker. In other words, speaking in a foreign language that you hadn't studied before, you hadn't gone to school to learn. And as Paul goes on to explain in these opening verses, the problem with those who spoke this way was that what they said did not edify anyone in the church, meaning it didn't spiritually build up anyone. Why? Because no one understood what they were saying since they were speaking in a foreign language. And the main point that the apostle is making is that preaching rather than tongues should be, must be, the priority in a local church. Because preaching in the language known to all, that's what edifies them, since it's understood by them. While tongues doesn't edify because it's simply not understood by others. So having established the truth that preaching is to be what the church majors on, because preaching edifies all while tongues doesn't, the Apostle then proceeds in the next series of verses to drive home the problem that was happening at the Corinthian church with tongues. And he does this by focusing on how important it is to understand and to comprehend a message from God delivered by speaker. It's important that there be clarity and it's important that they understand it. The primary point he makes in the next section of verses is to highlight the fact that no one understands the person speaking in tongues so that he fails to communicate God's truth and therefore his message is of no edifying value, no benefit to the church since it comes in a language that is incomprehensible to others. And the way Paul develops this point about tongues not being understood, and therefore not edifying the church, is that from verses 6 through 12, which was our last study, the apostle lays out the problem that tongues does not profit, it does not benefit the church, because the message that a tongues speaker gives is in a language that the congregation simply doesn't understand. And it's in these verses that Paul stresses the importance of clear, Communication. Communication that could be understood. And he does this by making two specific illustrations. First, he illustrates this truth from the world of music. He mentioned several musical instruments that produce sounds that are intended to clearly communicate something understood by the audience. Second, Paul illustrates the same truth about the importance of clear communication from the world of languages by stating in verse 10 the general purpose of languages around the world. They all have the same purpose. He says in verse 10, there are perhaps a great many kinds of languages in the world and no kind is without meaning. In other words, although there are many different languages around the world, they all do exactly the same thing. They communicate meaningful words, meaningful messages that their audience understands. That's the purpose of a language. It doesn't matter what language it is, they all have the same purpose, all have the same function, and that's that the audience understands what's being communicated. So having made the point in these verses that speaking in tongues benefits no one because they can't understand the language that's being spoken, Paul now makes a conclusion and a very important application to the Corinthians. He does this in verse 12. So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church. He just keeps coming back to that. That's what's most important on his mind, edification of the church. So Paul's conclusion is that while the Corinthians were enthusiastic, very zealous, very excited about using their spiritual gifts, they had a problem, though, when it came to these gifts. And their problem was that they were using their spiritual gifts, specifically, he's talking about the gift of tongues, only to benefit themselves, the person who was the speaker, by trying to impress others with their speaking ability. Instead, Paul tells them to use their gifts to edify the church, and as he's already made very clear, the only way to edify the church is to communicate to them a message from God in a language that they clearly understand. So how could someone then with the gift of tongues do this? How could a tongue speaker speaking in a foreign language use their spiritual gift to edify the church when the people in the church couldn't understand what in the world he was saying, even though he was giving a message from God. Well, that's what Paul proceeds to explain. That's what he proceeds to answer, having made the point In verses 6 through 12, the tongues does not profit or benefit the church because the message is given in a foreign language incomprehensible to the congregation. He now moves on in verses 13 through 19 to give the solution to this problem. by explaining how tongues can profit and benefit the church. So we break in at verse 13. Therefore, let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. Now, the common interpretation of this verse is that Paul is telling the individual in the Corinthian church who speaks in tongues that he needs to pray that God will give him or give her the gift of interpretation so that they may interpret to the congregation what they've just said to them in a foreign language. And you know, at first glance, it certainly looks like this is exactly what Paul is saying. Pray for the gift of interpretation. But I want you to know that it can't possibly be what the apostle means by this. Because this would completely contradict what he has taught earlier in chapter 12 where he stated that God is the one who sovereignly distributes spiritual gifts to believers and he's already done this. making it useless to pray for a new spiritual gift to be distributed. The moment we're saved, we are given not only eternal life, we are given spiritual gifts. You don't get them later on. So look back, for example, at chapter 12, verse 11. But one in the same spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as he wills. You don't pray for it. God wills sovereignly on what gift to give you. Paul said essentially the same thing in chapter 12 verse 18 when he wrote, but now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body just as he desired. That's in the context he's placed members with certain gifts already in the body. You don't get a new gift. So it's not possible that the apostle is now, just two chapters later, telling them to do something contrary to what he just taught by telling someone with the gift of tongues to pray, seek the Lord, ask God to give them, in addition to the gift of tongues, another gift now, the gift of interpretation. In addition, this can't be what Paul is saying, also because later in this chapter, he gives a very different directive. Notice verse 28, the beginning of verse 28 of chapter 14. He says, but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent. in the church. In other words, instead of saying that a tongues speaker should pray for the ability to also be an interpreter, Paul says here that if there's no one in the congregation who can interpret someone speaking in tongues, including the tongues speaker, then the tongues speaker should just keep silent. Not pray to get the gift of interpretation, just be silent. Don't give a message in tongues. So clearly Paul is not encouraging someone who speaks in tongues to pray that he also may be given the gift of interpretation. Instead, what Paul is doing, he is acknowledging a very well-known practice that was going on in the church of Corinth. That practice being that when the church gathered on Sundays, some in the congregation with the gift of tongues were praying out loud In other words, their speaking in tongues was a message from God, but it came in the form of them praying out loud these truths in a foreign language. that nobody in the congregation could understand because they didn't speak that language. And what the apostle is telling those who pray in tongues is that they shouldn't do this. They shouldn't pray like this unless they also had the gift of interpreting tongues and were prepared to interpret their tongues prayer in a language that everyone in the church could understand. You see, what helps us to grasp what Paul is saying is to remember the context. by looking back at the verse right before this. I mentioned it, but let me remind you again. Verse 12, where he states that spiritual gifts should only be used for the edification of the church. And now, in the very next verse, the very next statement, Paul's saying that the only way that a tongue's message, when spoken in a prayer, could be edifying is if the one praying in tongues is intent on also interpreting his own prayer so that others can understand it. In other words, he's telling this individual the only time you should pray in a foreign language is if you are prepared to interpret it for everyone else in the church to comprehend the message that's being conveyed in your prayer because only then will your tongues be edifying. Here's how Dr. Robert Thomas, longtime professor at the Master's Seminary, interprets Paul's words concerning praying in tongues and praying with tongues. He says, the general purpose of edifying the church, verse 12, is applied next specifically to a well-known practice in Corinth, praying with the tongue. It was possible for a person to speak with tongues publicly and still benefit the church if he did so solely for the sake of the interpretation as the objective. Stated negatively, the tongue speaker could not, with propriety, embark upon a tongues prayer unless assured in advance that an interpretation would follow. The tongues prayer was not to be the end in view, the goal was rather the interpreted prayer that would result therefrom. This and only this would bring benefit to the church because in effect tongues were converted into prophecy or teaching by this process. See folks, the issue here, as I've said, it is still edification. And edification only takes place when there is clear communication that is understandable. And the only way a prayer in tongues could possibly be understandable and thus edifying is if it would be interpreted. As I mentioned to you in previous messages, the New Testament does speak of the spiritual gift of interpretation. Specifically, it states this in chapter 12, verse 30, where Paul said, all do not have gifts of healing, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? He's talking about interpreting tongues. And just as tongues was the God-given supernatural ability to speak in a foreign language previously unknown to the speaker, so the gift of interpreting tongues was also the God-given supernatural ability to translate a message from a foreign language previously unknown to this individual into the language that the audience understood. Now, what affirms that this is the right view, that Paul is talking about praying in a tongue rather than praying for the gift of interpretation, what affirms this is that the very next verse, Paul speaks about himself praying in a tongue. Notice verse 14, for if I pray in a tongue, My spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. Now here Paul specifically speaks of himself as praying in tongues, just like they were doing in Corinth. But often this verse is interpreted to mean that when Paul prayed in tongues, he didn't understand what he was praying, that his mind was not engaged in his prayer because it was ecstatic gibberish going on in his head that made no sense to him, but only to God. But that's not what he means at all. See, what Paul is doing is using himself to present a hypothetical situation. So, in essence, what the apostle is saying is this. Suppose I prayed in a tongue, meaning foreign language, unbeknownst to others in the church, like some of you are doing, but I didn't follow my prayer by interpreting it for them, then what? Well, his answer is that if he were to do this, then this would be his spirit praying. So what does he mean by this? Well, some assume that by his spirit, Paul means his heart, his innermost being, his soul, someplace deep within him that prays, but without him having a clue, having an understanding of what he was actually praying. Let me tell you this, Paul couldn't possibly mean this because that would completely contradict what he said back in verse 4. So let me point you to verse 4. One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but one who prophesies edifies the church. What Paul is saying here is that those who spoke in tongues, and that would include those who also prayed, out loud in tongues, edified only themselves because, note this, they understood what they were saying. In other words, because he has understanding of his tongue's message, he's edified. But no one else in the church is edified because they can't understand the message. So Paul is clear that those who spoke or prayed in tongues, they knew what they were saying. They knew what they were praying, otherwise they couldn't possibly edify themselves. They knew what they were doing. Therefore, what the Apostle Paul is saying here, in verse 14, is that if he came into their church service at Corinth and he were to pray a message out loud in tongues, he certainly would understand what he was praying. Therefore, it is best to understand the words in his spirit, not as his soul, but rather as the manifestation of his spiritual gifts. In other words, Paul's using the term his spirit as another way of saying his spiritual gift, meaning the spiritual gift of tongues. That is to say, he's talking about when he exercises in his spirit the spiritual gift of tongues. So what would happen if the apostle did exercise his spiritual gift of tongues in a prayer. Well notice again verse 14, if I pray in a tongue my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. Now Paul isn't saying that his mind doesn't understand what he's prayed because he's already established the fact that those who spoke in tongues or prayed in tongues, they certainly did understand what they were saying. No, what Paul is saying is that when he uses his spiritual gift to pray in a foreign language, his mind is unfruitful, note this, in the sense that no one else can understand him. In other words, Paul's mind understands what he's praying, but because his prayer is in another language, those hearing him wouldn't have minds that understood his words, so that his mind's understanding of his prayer would not be fruitful, in the sense that it would not produce anything beneficial to anyone else. It's not fruitful in that it doesn't produce anything that's beneficial. That's what he's talking about. He's not talking about he can't understand it. He's saying others can't understand it. My mind wouldn't be fruitful in producing anything edifying. See folks, Paul is driving home the same truth he's been making all throughout this chapter. That speaking or praying in tongues without interpreting the message does not edify anyone because it doesn't produce clear communication and therefore understanding. And only when someone understands what they are saying Will they be edified? Listen, what Paul is doing is simply calling for tongues communication to also have interpretation so that people can know what's being spoken and therefore they would benefit from the message. I like the way my pastor friend, Carrie Hardy, paraphrased Paul's statement in verse 14 because I think this paraphrase I'm about to read to you captures the gist of what Paul is actually saying. The paraphrase goes like this, if I pray in a tongue without any interpretation to accompany it, my spiritual gift is certainly being exercised, but the accompanying spiritual gift of interpretation being dormant results in no understanding or fruitfulness to the hearers. And to this paraphrase, Pastor Hardy adds these words, so his point to them is don't do it. In other words, don't pray in tongues if there's no one to interpret your prayer. So in light of this then, Paul now proceeds to tell us what he has decided to do when it comes to praying out loud in a foreign language. In other words, praying a message out loud in tongues. Verse 15. What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I'll pray with the mind also. I'll sing with the spirit and I'll sing with the mind also. Simply put, what the apostle is saying is that he has decided to never exercise his spiritual gift of tongues to pray or to sing a song that his audience could not understand. Therefore, whenever he did exercise the gift of tongues, whether in a prayer or a song, he was determined that he would also use his mind as well, meaning that he would use his gift of interpretation to clearly communicate the meaning of the message to his audience. That is to say, Paul is using here the word mind to speak of his gift of interpretation, because in communicating to an audience a message given in tongues, one must use their intellect to communicate clearly. Again, folks, the issue is clear communication. That's what Paul is hammering home. Clear communication, because clear communication of biblical truth is the only way that any of us can understand God's Word, and as a result, grow in Christ, be edified in Christ. Listen, the most effective Bible teachers are those who clearly communicate biblical truth that is understandable. So, if you have a ministry of teaching in any capacity, whether it be to adults or whether it be to young people or children, make sure that you are understandable, that you are conveying profound truths in a way that people can grasp what you're saying. Use words they comprehend so that they don't have to run to a dictionary to figure out what you're saying. Use other verses to bring clarity to the subject. Use illustrations if you need to, but make sure that you are communicating truth clearly. That's the role of a teacher. That was what Paul is telling us he was determined to do, even when he had a message in tongues. His passion, he says, was to use his mind to communicate clearly to the minds of his audience. And the reason he was so committed to doing it this way was because if he didn't do it this way, if he didn't use his mind to clearly interpret the message to his audience, then the message would not be of any value. As he points out, notice in the next two verses, 16 and 17. Otherwise, if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say amen at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you're saying? For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified. Now, what Paul is saying here is that if in a church someone gets up and uses their spiritual gift to give a message of praise and thanksgiving to God. How will the person, he's talking about tongues, he gives a message in tongues of praise, thanksgiving to God. How will the person in the congregation who is ungifted, ungifted in the sense is that he doesn't have the gift of interpretation, so that he's ignorant of the foreign language being used, how will he know to affirm his agreement with what's being said by saying amen, since he doesn't understand what the tongue speaker is saying? And then Paul adds in verse 17, it's well and good that you're giving thanks to God in a foreign language, but the other person, the one who doesn't understand the word you're saying, he's not edified. Interestingly, the Greek word that is translated, ungifted, is related to our English word, idiot. Now in our language, the word idiot is a strong word. It's an insulting word. meaning someone with an extreme intellectual disability. However, the Greek word idiotes simply means someone who was unlearned. One Bible teacher explained the relationship of these two very similar words this way as it relates to the person sitting in the Corinthian church, unable to understand what was being said. He said, here was a Christian seated in a public worship service of his local church hearing sounds that proceeded from a speaker's lips, but unable to connect any meaning to those sounds because he himself was ungifted in interpreting, and no other person was performing that function for him. That person was forced into the role of an idiotus, or idiot. Placed at such a disadvantage, the listener was at a complete loss to affirm his agreement with and concurrence in the speaker's words of thanksgiving. So what Paul is saying is that the person in the congregation who didn't have the gift of interpretation was forced into the role of being like an ignoramus because the tongue speaker insisted on using a language that the ungifted person did not understand. I mean, can you imagine sitting in a church where the message is in another language? Just imagine that. I've had that experience in Italy, except that an Italian, who also spoke English, was sitting next to me translating what was being said. I've also had the experience of speaking in several Italian churches where the people did not understand English and would not understand a word I was saying if there wasn't someone translating my English into Italian. So folks, this is what was going on in Corinth, being so self-centered, those who spoke in tongues were insisting on displaying their gift without any concern for those who were listening to them. All that mattered to them was that they be heard, even if those who listened to them didn't know what they were hearing. Someone compared what was happening to Corinth to someone, and I quote, playing a beautiful piece of music to a group of people totally deaf. Now up to this point, Paul's been speaking hypothetically about if he were in a church, in a service, praying in tongues. But in the next verse, he returns to what's real in his own experience with tongues. Verse 18. He writes, I thank God I speak in tongues more than you all. In this statement, Paul makes it clear that just like some of the Corinthians, he too was given by God the gift of tongues. So he certainly wasn't opposed to this gift. He had this gift. He just wanted it to be used properly. And Paul did use this gift properly. In fact, notice that he says that he spoke in tongues more than the Corinthians did. That's quite a statement. Now, why would Paul have the need to speak much in foreign languages? He certainly didn't speak in tongues in a local church since that wouldn't be edifying unless he was going to interpret. And he certainly didn't speak in tongues privately for his own use since all spiritual gifts are for the sake of others. Listen closely. Paul's use of tongues was for his public ministry as an apostolic missionary, so that when he spoke all around the Roman Empire to various linguistic groups about Christ, he could speak in their own language. Not only would this be a miraculous supernatural sign, verifying his authenticity as a true apostle of Christ, but he would also be communicating, clearly communicating, the gospel in a language that his audience understood. So Paul spoke in tongues, and he did a great deal of speaking in tongues as a public ministry to various groups with different languages. But what about in the church? Did Paul use tongues in a church service like the Corinthians? Well, he tells us the answer in verse 19. However, however, in the church, I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also rather than 10,000 words in a tongue. When it came to the local church, Paul says that he would rather speak five words that his audience understood so that they could receive his instruction than 10,000 words in a language that nobody understands. As someone has put it, five words that can be digested are far superior to 10,000 in a language foreign to its listeners. Now, I realize that these verses, they're not only hard to interpret, they're hard to directly apply to our lives, simply because we're not in the same situation, not even close to it, that the Corinthians were in. We don't have the problem of people speaking to our congregation in a foreign language in order to impress others with their linguistic, supernatural abilities. We don't have that. However, the primary principle that Paul has been teaching in these verses does directly apply to us. That principle being that God is concerned that his people be edified by clear teaching that instructs them. That's the point. That's the main point. That's the primary point. This is why Paul said in verse 19 that his goal, his goal as a speaker, as a teacher, was to instruct God's people in church. I want you to know, and I think you do know this, that's our goal at Lakeside too. When we gather on Sundays, our goal is to instruct you, whether I'm in the pulpit or someone else, the goal is to instruct you in God's word in a manner that is accurate. in its interpretation, that is clear in its presentation, and that is practical in its application. And the reason we do this is because the only way you will be edified and grow in your faith is if you understand the text of Scripture. And by God's grace, that's what we're going to continue to do until Jesus comes for us. Let's pray. Our Father, I realize that this is a very difficult passage to study, to interpret, even to teach, but I pray that you've given us understanding tonight. I pray that you'll protect our people from the nonsense of the charismatic movement and the things that are so popular being taught today from that movement. I thank you, Lord, that your apostle, was so concerned, as you put it on his heart, and inspired him, that the church would be edified. Lord, help us at Lakeside until you come, or until you take us home, that we will always be true to the word of God, always teaching the text of scripture with a desire to interpret it correctly, and present it clearly, and apply it practically. I pray, Lord, that that would continue. I pray that as we go from here, I pray that we'll not get confused and lost in all the details that have been spoken tonight, but we'll understand the primary truth of edification. And edification only takes place when there's understanding. So I pray to that end. And I pray, Lord, if there are any here tonight who have never received Christ, or those who might be watching live stream who've never received Christ, may you open their hearts to the gospel. May they see their sinful hearts and recognize their need for Christ and come to him falling upon his mercy and being saved. This we pray in Jesus' name, amen.