THE KING’S BUSINESS
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understandeth.” It is true that he speaks “ in the Spirit,’’ but “he speaketh mysteries,” deep things, indeed, important things, but not comprehensible to the hearer, and so utterly unprofitable. This is true of much modern speaking: the hearer sits . and admires the scholarship of thé speaker who can use such incomprehensible words, but goes away unhelped. But when one “prophesieth,”’ i. e., speaks for God, under the prompting and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the truth in such a way that men can get hold of it, he “speaketh unto men" and profits them in a three-fold way: ( 1 ) By edifying them (building them up in knowledge and character) ; (21) By “exhor tation” (i.e., stirring up the laggard and teaching the path of duty and service. The English Revised reads “comfort” instead of “exhortation” but this change is very questionable and the American Revised goes back to “exhortation”) ; (3) by “consola tion” (i.e., comforting the sad and discour aged). He that speaks in a tongue that .others do not understand may edify himself, but he that prophesieth in speech easy to be understood (cf. v. 9) edifieth the church. It is better to edify the church than to merely edify oneself, and love will always lead one to edify the church instead of being occu pied only with one’s own personal blessings. Wednesday, December 12. I Corinthians 14:5, 6. Paul here tells the believers in Corinth that he would be- glad to have them all gifted with a knowledge of languages and able to speak with tongues but that he much preferred that they be able to speak in the Spirit’s power things that all could under stand. Again Paul emphasizes the fact that the one who prophesies, speaks in the Spirit’s power the truth of God so that others understand, was greater, far more important, than the one who spoke with tongues, unless the one who spoke with tongues interpreted in a language that all could understand, so that anyone in the church might receive edification. This fifth verse needs emphasizing in certain cir cles today where such value is placed upon
speaking in tongues, which the Spirit of God through the apostle Paul explains the unwisdom and comparative uselessness of. This verse would also be good for all insti tutions where men are being prepared for the ministry. | Some who are going out to preach the truth should know that the one who speaks in the Spirit things that men can understand is far greater than he that speaks in an unknown tongue (much so- called English is so pedantic that ordinary mortals cannot understand it). It is there fore, to them an unknown tongue as surely ' as if it were Latin or Greek) unless he translates into ordinary speech what he has been saying. Again in verse six Paul emphasizes the profitlessness of “speaking in tongues” in public assemblies. He goes on to say that there will be no profit in his speech unless he speaketh “by way of revelation” (i.e., declaring some revelation that God had made to him in such a way that they could understand it), or “by way of knowledge” (i.e., imparting a knowledge that is taught of God), or “of prophesy” (i.e., speaking for God in words easily understood, the truth the Holy Spirit impelled him to speak), or “of teaching.” There was a proper field in Corinth for the use of tongues among the people of many nations that flocked there, but to use them in the ordinary assembly of believers where they would not be understood, was merely a matter of display and spiritual pride and Paul sternly rebukes it. We have the same display of spiritual pride in the exercise of alleged speaking with tongues in certain assemblies today.. Way back early in 1901 before there was such a thing known as the tongues fanaticism in Los Angeles, which has “since spread throughout the world, a man wrote me saying that the gift of tongues had been bestowed upon his congregation and that some twenty lan guages, supernaturally imparted, had been discerned among hfs people. He went on to say that he felt moved to come to Chi cago and bring these people with him that they might display these gifts among our students in the Institute there. | I wrote
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