Paul continues his discussion of the phenomenon of "speaking in tongues".
1 Corinthians 14: 21-25, Sensitive to visitors and inquirers
In the Law it is written: "Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord. Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.
So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
The church is to be sensitive to visitors and "inquirers", described here as "someone who does not understand." In this setting "tongues" are chaotic and strange; in contrast, a prophetic voice should be convincing. So Paul discourages "tongues" and instead suggests "prophesying."
Whether dealing with strange things like "tongues" or other strange aspects of church culture (of which there are many!), we have clear advice here that churches should be sensitive to the visitor and the seeker.
In the Law it is written: "Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord. Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.
So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
The church is to be sensitive to visitors and "inquirers", described here as "someone who does not understand." In this setting "tongues" are chaotic and strange; in contrast, a prophetic voice should be convincing. So Paul discourages "tongues" and instead suggests "prophesying."
Whether dealing with strange things like "tongues" or other strange aspects of church culture (of which there are many!), we have clear advice here that churches should be sensitive to the visitor and the seeker.
The quote from "the Law" in verse 21 is from Isaiah 28:11-12.
1 Corinthians 14: 26-33a, How to make "tongues" part of church order
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
If anyone speaks in a tongue, two--or at the most three--should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.
Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.
The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
The emphasis is on church order, on actions that lead to strengthening the church.
1 Corinthians 13: 33b-35, Greeting
As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
Here we have a very controversial statement -- "women are to remain silent..."! Most interpretations of this passage assume that Paul is giving instructions to churches in that time and culture, within conflicts over Jewish customs and Gentile practices. In other passages (such as I Corinthians 11:5) Paul mentions women speaking and praying out loud in churches and in a number of places (Romans 16) Paul speaks of women in leadership. Some specific chaotic practice is being confronted here. (Even those who insist on the strongest form of complementarianism do not attempt to enforce this passage!)
1 Corinthians 13: 36-40
Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.
Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
Ok, here we go. Note that quotation of "the Law" in v. 21. The cross reference notes cite 2 passages: Deuteronomy 28:29 and Isaiah 28:11-12. For brevity I'll just summarize. We need to appreciate the power of language as the anchor of identity and for Israelites, the medium of revelation. Jews today still read the Hebrew text and the one coming of age at a Bar Mitzvah reads the Torah in Hebrew as the central ritual of the ceremony. "English only" nationalism in the US pales by comparison. So to be dominated by speakers of a foreign tongue is to lose freedom and identity. In this context, the Deuteronomy passage pronounces a curse if Israel forsakes the covenant made at Sinai, the Isaiah passage applies that curse to the situation prevalent in Isaiah's time. The Assyrians were threatening and ultimately carried off the Northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity. They spoke Akkadian, which the Hebrews did not understand. Later, Babylon conquered Judah, who also did not understand, ushering in a time of domination by a succession of foreign language speakers.
ReplyDeleteBy the first century, this process was so complete that the diaspora of Jews living throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East spoke a wide range of languages _as their first language_. To them, this was a sign of the persistence of the curse (still is to Orthodox Jews at least). So in this context, what was Pentecost except a pronunciation of the extension of the curse? Each one heard the apostles speak the great things of God in his own first language, which for most of the audience was not Hebrew or Aramaic. And that is essentially what Peter tells them in his sermon in Acts 2, and frankly, it is essentially what they hear as evidenced by the response "what shall we do?"
What I love about Pentecost when seen this way is how it maps onto Romans 9-11, especially 11:15: "If their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?" You see the "reconciliation of the world" part playing out throughout the book of Acts as the Gospel spreads to Gentiles and the remnant of Jews throughout the Roman world. And in that context, the outbreak of tongues speaking at crucial moments in the spread of the Gospel--e.g. Cornelius in Acts 10 and John's disciples at Ephesus in Acts 19, suddenly take on powerful covenantal significance. It is not just that the Holy Spirit is filling, important though that is, but that the reconciliation of the world is being accomplished through the Gospel. And Resurrection is coming!
Yes, good points. The new "tongues" certainly occurs at pivotal points in Acts, as ways of expressing God's acceptance of the "foreigner", in a variety of contexts.
DeleteOne more thought on this: the contemporary tendency to read Pentecost as mostly about those who received the filling of the Holy Spirit is a consequence of Western Individualism, which disposes us to read the Bible in individual terms. The Holy Spirit fills _me_. While there is truth in that, what's lost is the covenantal communal context where _the bulk_ of the events of the Bible take place. Even when they are personal, they take place in a larger covenantal communal context. And we must understand that context in order to get the fullest meaning out of the text.
ReplyDeleteOh! Oh! and _that_ was part of the Corinthians' problem!
ReplyDeleteThe Corinthians were very "western" in some ways, very "modern." (Even their worship of sex is modern!) Our American individualism can be traced (at least partially) to the value we give to the Greek ideas and philosophies. With this individualistic mindset, the Corinthians were ready to abandon the community of the Gospel (and Jewish beliefs) and so Paul had to repeatedly confront their divisiveness.
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