August 27 Click on verses for Full Scripture

previous - - - - - - - - - - next

Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 14:22-25 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

We saw yesterday that Paul taught that tongues were a sign for unbelieving Jews to warn them of impending judgment. There is a practical application for us today. When we look at the modern Charismatic/Pentecostal movement we see an emphasis on speaking in tongues. The vast majority of this activity takes place in church. If tongues are a sign for unbelieving Jews, why is so much of the modern tongues movement directed toward allegedly believing Gentiles? In the New Testament, every time we see people speaking in tongues there are always Jews present, but that is probably not true in most Pentecostal churches today. So, this is another evidence that the modern tongues movement is unscriptural. According to the second half of verse 22, prophesying is not geared to unbelievers, but instead towards those who are saved. That is why prophecy edifies while tongues do not. The unsaved can not be built up for they do not have the proper foundation, which is Jesus Christ ( I Corinthians 3:11).

In verse 23 Paul addresses another problem with speaking in tongues. If the church is having a meeting, and everyone starts supposedly speaking in tongues, what will be the response of an unbeliever who walks in and is not familiar with any legitimate languages being spoken? What would your reaction be if you were in a similar situation? You would probably think that the church was filled with crazy people. This is the reaction that Paul says the unbeliever would have. The word translated "mad" is the basis for our English word "maniac". Henry Morris commented:

"The natural reaction of anyone encountering a person who seems to be speaking in gibberish, would be greatly augmented if he came into a building where many people were doing this simultaneously. Rather than being a sign which would bring unbelievers to Christ, this would drive them away."

However, according to verse 24, if all the people were prophesying, the unbeliever could be convicted by the speech of all of them. This would occur because the people were speaking a language that he could understand. Note that when Paul writes that this man would be "judged of all", he is not saying that the church members would be judging him. He is saying that the words that they were speaking would cause him to see himself properly judge his own spiritual condition appropriately. The end result of this, according to verse 25, is that he would see how truly wicked his heart is and will begin to worship the Lord. He will do this because it has become obvious to him that God is truly in these people, and thus what they say is true and must be believed. He thought that the people speaking in tongues were speaking foolishness, but he believes that the people prophesying are speaking truth. And thus he might respond by getting saved. Henry Morris also wrote,

"Even though the gift of prophecy is intended primarily for the edification of believers, an orderly exposition of the Word of God, whether coming directly from God through prophets or indirectly through God-called teachers expounding the Scriptures, will often bring an unbeliever to accept Christ."