The Spirits Of Prophets

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #124k Written 05JUN08 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw

Chapter 14: Part Eleven—The Spirits Of Prophets

by dave c

First Corinthians 14:27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; 28 but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints (NASV).

Just as Paul has been exhorting the Church throughout the earlier verses of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, he is here emphasizing that there must be good order based upon love of Christ and consideration for others during the worship service. His ultimate argument being that “God is not a God of confusion but of peace”. Regarding the phrase “if anyone speaks in a tongue” the preceding tenor of Chapter 14 indicates that we should interpret the ‘if’ as ‘when’. Paul, himself, “thanks God that he speaks in tongues more than you all (14:18)” and it has been made quite apparent that the Corinthians were not shy about exercising the sign gifts during the assembly of believers.

Far from commanding the early Church to stop speaking in tongues and prophesying, the Apostle to the Gentiles is placing common sense boundaries upon the number of those actively participating in the manifestation of verbal sign gifts. Wedding receptions come to mind—which is actually very fitting. Frequently, friends and family of the bride and groom are invited to offer a short speech to and/or about the newly weds. In a group of any size, obviously, not everyone is expected to speak and certainly not all at once. Typically, between two and six people offer their comments one at a time, and then the reception moves on to other activities. It is the same in these verses. Paul is limiting those who speak to two or three “tongue speakers” (with interpretations), and two or three prophecies. It is interesting that he says ‘two or three’ in both instances and “you can all prophesy one by one”. This implies that these events were, and should be, common place and exercised by more than one person in the congregation so that over the course of time all those who are inspired to speak, may do so.

God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. Jesus does not burst into our minds and hearts—rather He “stands at the door and knocks (Re 3:20)”. When Paul says, “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” perhaps his statement is multi-faceted. He is saying that those who are spiritually inspired to speak out during a church service do so by choice (while they may feel encouraged to speak, they are not forced to do it). Additionally, he is saying that those who also have spiritual gifts (such as prophecy...or interpretation, or discernment, or knowledge, or wisdom) should evaluate the legitimacy and appropriateness of all that is said and done in the name of God during a gathering of the saints.

This sense of voluntary self-control within the individual who possesses a sign gift is very different from how some ungifted Bible commentators view, or imagine, manifestations of those gifts. Please consider William Barclay’s thoughts regarding speaking in tongues: “[Chapter 14] is very difficult to understand because it deals with a phenomenon which, for most of us, is outside our experience. Throughout Paul sets two spiritual gifts in comparison with each other. [IP] First there is speaking in tongues. This phenomenon was very common in the early Church. A man became worked up to an ecstasy and in that state poured out a quite uncontrollable torrent of sounds in no known language. Unless these sounds were interpreted, no one had any idea what they meant. Strange as it may seem to many of us, in the early church this was a highly coveted gift. It was dangerous. For one thing, it was abnormal and was greatly admired and therefore the person who possessed it was very liable to develop a certain spiritual pride; and for another thing, the very desire to possess it produced, at least in some, a kind of self-hypnotism and deliberately induced hysteria which issued in a completely false and synthetic speaking with tongue.” [The Daily Study Bible Series; the Letters to the Corinthians, Revised Edition; William Barclay; Westminster John Knox Press; Louisville, KY; 1975; p 127].

While there are a number of issues that make Barclay’s statements questionable, there are apparently many people who hold similar opinions. Firstly, the author says that exposure to speaking in tongues was “outside his experience”, yet he goes to great length in his description of how he supposes it would take place; e.g., “a man became worked up to an ecstasy and in that state poured out a quite uncontrollable torrent of sounds”. Secondly, he initially says “this phenomenon was very common in the early Church”, but then he says that it was “abnormal”. And thirdly, in spite of Paul’s statements that those who are gifted are in control of when and how they exercise those gifts, Barclay chooses provocative language that negates the Apostle’s teaching: “Quite uncontrollable”, “strange as it may seem to many of us”, “it was dangerous”, “liable to develop spiritual pride”, “self-hypnotism and deliberately induced hysteria”, and “completely false and synthetic”. I have to wonder how Barclay (and others) justify conclusions that so directly and specifically contradict Paul. To my mind, it is placing rational thought above Scriptural teaching that is “dangerous” and “because it is greatly admired [in today’s culture] it is very liable to develop a certain spiritual pride” in the person who practices it.