My Mind & My Spirit

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #124g Written 04MAY08 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw

Chapter 14: Part Seven—My Mind & My Spirit

by dave c

First Corinthians 14:12 So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church. 13 Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. 16 Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified (NASV).

Throughout the first 11 verses of First Corinthians Chapter 14, a lot of commentators insist upon forcing the text into what amounts to an ‘either, or’ approach to interpreting these Scriptures. “Either you pursue love, or you desire spiritual gifts.” “Either you speak in tongues, or you speak intelligibly.” “Either you speak to God, or you speak to men.” “Either you speak in tongues, or you prophesy.” That is, until we come to verses 15 through 17, when non-charismatic Bible teachers suddenly switch to a ‘both, and’ interpretative method. “I must only speak and sing in a way that is simultaneously both spiritual and rationally intelligible (with indifference implied as to whether I am in a public, or in a private situation).

While Paul makes it clear in verse 13 that I can both speak in a tongue, and interpret, it is readily evident that they won’t be taking place at the same time. It would be two separate events in time and space, even if one takes place immediately following the other. In the same manner, I can choose to pray with the spirit upon one occasion, and I can also pray with my mind upon another. I can choose to sing with the spirit one moment, and sing with the mind the next. This is just as valid an interpretation of the Greek text in verses 12-15 as saying that I must only spiritually pray and sing what is readily understandable to my mind. In fact, the establishment of a differentiation between the spiritual and the rational is more consistent with the overall tenor of what Paul is striving to communicate in Chapter 14. It is desirable to pray (and sing) in the Spirit as a manifestation of a gift of tongues, and it is essential to pray and sing intelligibly when in the company of an assembly of believers, but this can be dealing with two different events.

I continue to be amazed at how many of our contemporary translations and commentaries demonstrate a persistent tendency to move away from the spiritual/mystical nature of Christianity, and ever closer to wording that strongly reflects human rationality. Over the past 100 years there has been a not so subtle shift toward a formal Christian theology that adamantly stumps for a dichotomous model of self as propagated by classical Greek philosophy, historic Enlightenment teachings, and post-modern relativism where rationality and spirituality are cross-defined. This confusion of distinct aspects of existence inevitably leads to the elevation of mental processes, and the declension of the spiritual. In each of these schools of thought ‘the soul’, ‘the mind’, and ‘the spirit’ are all considered essentially the same thing. They are merely terms describing different facets of “the inner man”, in contrast to the physical body of “the outer man”. Unfortunately, an enormous segment of the Church has embraced this dichotomous model of humanity over the more Scriptural, and more theologically conservative, trichotomous model of man as ‘spirit-soul-body’ (1Th 5:23).

14:16 Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? Where the NASV says “one who fills the place of the ungifted”, the NIV translates the phrase as “those who do not understand” and the NKJV refers to these people as “the uninformed”. A few years ago the Holy Spirit grabbed my attention by saying, “Whoa...wait a minute, who is Paul referring to, here?” Our choices are obviously limited to their being either unbelievers or believers. While verses 14:23-25 make it abundantly clear that the Apostle to the Gentiles is not referring to unbelievers, even within verse 16 we are provided strong evidence that “the ungifted” is referring to a specific type of believer. Why would an unbeliever be saying “amen” to anything? Throughout the history of the Church, “amen” is the affirmative response of a believer to the preaching, teaching, and praying experienced during corporate assembly.

I find the subject of “ungifted believers” significantly interesting, and we will take a much closer look at the phrase in Part Nine. At this point, suffice it to say that Paul is making a distinction between three groups of people. There are unbelievers; there are believers who are ungifted/lack understanding/uninformed; and there are believers who are gifted, have understanding, and who are informed. As in all his writings, Paul is telling those who are mature in the faith to be prayerfully considerate of those who are spiritually and experientially less mature. Again and always, our words and actions should be rooted and guided by love.