Lessons #505 and 506
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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Regulating tongues and prophecy in public worship (1 Cor 14:26-33a)
26 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. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. 29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
Recall the message of this section of 1 Corinthians 14:26-33a is this: All worship activities in a local church should be orderly. Apparently, there must have been confusion in the worship activities in the church in Corinth especially regarding the exercise of the two spiritual gifts of tongues and prophecy. In keeping with this message, we have considered the apostle’s instructions that regulate the use of gift of speaking in tongues in public worship of believers in verses 27 and 28. To continue with the message, we turn our attention to the regulation of the practice of the exercise of gift of prophecy during worship in a local church. The instructions that regulate the use of gift of prophecy are given in verses 29-32. These instructions that we will consider shortly reveal that there is a difference between the use of tongues and that of prophecy. In effect, although the apostle is not explicitly contrasting the two gifts here but the instructions that we will consider shortly about the exercise of prophecy show a further difference between the two spiritual gifts. The gift of prophecy is not viewed as that which is to be exercised privately during worship unlike that of speaking in tongues when no interpreter is present. Furthermore, there is no conditional statement in discussing the use of the gift of prophecy as in the case of speaking in tongues. The point is that even the regulations of both spiritual gifts convey that the two spiritual gifts are different in their use in the local church.
Be that as it may, Apostle Paul signaled that he was moving from his instructions regulating the use of tongues in a local assembly to another topic because he begins verse 29 with a Greek particle (de) that may be used to connect one clause to another, either to express contrast or simple continuation but in certain occurrences the marker may be left untranslated as adopted in the translation of verse 29 by the translators of the NIV and nearly all of our English versions. Although it is often translated “but” in the English when there is a perceived contrast between two clauses, but it has other meanings such as “now,” “then,” “and,” “so”, when it is used to link segments of a narrative. It can also be used to indicate transition to something new. In our verse, the Greek particle is used to indicate a continuation but to a different aspect of the subject matter pertaining to the use of another spiritual gift of prophecy. This being the case, the verse could be translated with the word “now” or any other way to indicate that the apostle changed from the consideration of the use of tongues to another related subject, that is, the gift of prophecy. At least, two English versions reflect this interpretation in their translations. The CEB began the verse with the phrase in the case of while the REB used of the to indicate a shift from the gift of tongues to the gift of prophecy. Anyway, the apostle by the Greek particle he used, signaled that he had shifted his attention from the instructions about use of tongues in public worship to the instructions concerning the use of gift of prophecy in worship in the local church of Christ in Corinth.
The apostle’s shift to the gift of prophecy is given in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 14:29 Two or three prophets should speak. Literally, the Greek reads prophets two or three let them speak. The literal phrase prophets two or three conveys that the apostle had shifted his focus from tongues to prophecy since the word “prophets” is the very first word of verse 29 in the Greek. The word “prophets” is translated from a Greek word (prophētēs) that we considered in detail in our study of 1 Corinthians 12:28. Therefore, we review briefly what we said about the word. The Greek word refers to a person inspired to proclaim or reveal divine will or purpose. In other words, a prophet is a proclaimer or expounder of divine matters or concerns that could not ordinarily be known except by special revelation. Such a person rebukes people or predicts events. To function as a prophet, of course, requires that a person should have the gift of prophecy. This aside, the concern of the apostle is with the regulation of the exercise of gift of prophecy in a local church. By the way, although the Greek used a masculine noun for the word “prophets” but we should understand that the Holy Spirit is concerned with those who have the gift of prophecy regardless of their gender. Although there is no direct reference of a prophetess prophesying in the early church but that is implied by mention of the daughters of Philip the evangelist in Acts 21:9:
He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
The four daughters of Philip must have exercised their gift in a local church for Luke to have reported that they prophesied. Hence, we contend that the Greek word translated “prophets” in 1 Corinthians 14:29 should be understood to apply to men and women with the gift of prophecy.
We should observe, as we indicated previously, the exercise of the gift of prophecy is one that primarily functions during worship of believers. This fact is demonstrated in the cases of the use of the gift recorded in the NT. Prophet Agabus in a local assembly of believers in Antioch predicted famine that occurred in Roman world as we read in Acts 11:27–28:
27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)
The verbal phrase stood up and through the Spirit predicted indicates that Agabus prophesied while the believers were assembled to worship. The prophecy that led to the first missionary journey of Apostles Paul and Barnabas occurred while believers were assembled to worship as indicated in Acts 13:2:
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
It is true that a prophet was not mentioned in this verse but that is implied since there is no indication that Holy Spirit spoke directly to the local church. How else could the Spirit speak except through a prophet? When Agabus predicted about the suffering that awaited Apostle Paul in Jerusalem, he did this in the assembly of believers in Caesarea probably in the house of Philip the Evangelist as we may infer from Acts 21:10–11:
10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
We are certain that the prophecy of Agabus occurred before an assembly of believers because Luke indicated that besides the apostolic team, there were others in the assembly that pleaded with the apostle not to go to Jerusalem as indicated in Acts 21:12:
When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
The point we are stressing is that the exercise of the gift of prophecy recorded in the NT occurred when believers were assembled for worship.
In any case, the apostle limits the number of those who are to be involved in the exercise of the gift of prophecy during worship in Corinth and so in any local church to a maximum of three persons as in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:29 Two or three prophets should speak. This instruction may be understood as limiting the number of prophets during the entire period of worship service or simply as the number of prophets who should prophesy before any evaluation of prophecy takes place during a worship session. It is my interpretation that this instruction applies to the entire period of worship service. In effect, the maximum number of prophets who should exercise their gift during a worship service is limited to three. We say this because the apostle probably intended for us to recognize that the indicators used in regulating the use of tongues during worship service apply here. This is because although it is true that the apostle no longer used the phrase of at the most used in verse 27, he expects the reader to fill in that phrase as part of the instruction of verse 29 since he used the same numbers, he used in verse 27 in verse 29, that is, two or three. Furthermore, the apostle although he did not use the phrase one at a time of verse 27 he expected his readers to recognize that the same phrase still applies to verse 29 since his overall message is concerned with order in worship service of a local church. Based on these facts, we contend that the apostle limits the number of prophets that would exercise their gifts to a maximum of three individuals during a worship service of a local church.
Unlike the gift of speaking in tongues where there is a condition regarding its exercise, the apostle indicated what should take place during the exercise of the gift of prophecy which is evaluation of what is uttered. It is this that is given in the next instruction of 1 Corinthians 14:29 and the others should weigh carefully what is said or literally the Greek reads and the others let them judge. There are at least two general problems with this instruction. A first problem is whether this instruction is to be carried out after each prophet speaks or after all the prophets finished their utterances. There is no clear indicator as to when what is stated in the instruction should take place. However, it is probable the apostle meant that it is after each prophet speaks that what should be carried out by others will occur, probably privately to avoid disorder of people speaking and arguing with a prophet. For unless that is the case, it is likely that people may not remember what the first person or second prophet says after listening to the third prophecy. Furthermore, since there is instruction regarding what a current speaker should do when there is a fresh revelation, we will expect that what is said by each prophet is considered before the next person speaks.
A second problem with the instruction of 1 Corinthians 14:29 and the others should weigh carefully what is said or literally and the others let them judge is how to understand the word “others.” The word “others” is translated from a Greek word (allos) that may mean “other” in the sense of being distinguished from the person who is speaking as it is used for Apostle Paul preaching to individuals other than himself in 1 Corinthians 9:27:
No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
The word may mean “other” in the sense of being distinguished from an object or something previously mentioned in the context as the word is used to describe a different group of workers hired in the parable of workers that Jesus gave that is recorded in Matthew 20:3:
“About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.
The word may pertain to that which is different in type or kind from other entities in comparisons hence means “another, different.” It is with the meaning of “different in kind” that Apostle Paul used it to describe a gospel other than the one he preached to the Corinthians that they put up with as we read in 2 Corinthians 11:4:
For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
The word may mean “more” as it pertains to being an addition as the word is used in Jesus’ parable of the Talents to report gaining more than was previously given by one of the recipients of two talents as we read in Matthew 25:22:
“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:29, the word is used in the sense of “other,” that is, not the same one already mentioned or simply “the rest.” Even with this meaning, we still have to determine what “the rest” means in the context. Of course, we have to admit that the Greek word used in and of itself does not enable us to interpret what the apostle meant. We say this because there are those who think that our Greek word is different from another Greek word (heteros) that may mean “other” or “different.” Some contend that the distinction between the two Greek words “is simply a difference between what is another in a series and that which is significantly different in kind.” A problem with this distinction is that the two Greek words are in some contexts interchangeable or are found together for variety, showing there is little difference between them as in the passage we cited previously, that is, 2 Corinthians 11:4:
For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
The expression preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached is more literally proclaims another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed. The adjective “other” or “another” that qualifies Jesus is the Greek word (allos) whereas the word “different” that qualified “gospel” is the Greek word (heteros) so it is difficult to differentiate the two Greek words and so the interpretation of what the apostle meant in the phrase 1 Corinthians 14:29 the others cannot be found in the Greek word used.
Anyway, the question remains as to what the apostle means by the phrase the others or the rest. There are three possibilities. The apostle could mean the rest of the prophets or the rest of believers in worship or a special class of believers with the gift of discernment. The interpretation that the phrase refers to the rest of believers in the worship service is possible if only believers were present, and they recognize that the apostle had in a sense given them the criterion to determine the Spirit of God speaking through a person because of what he stated to them in 1 Corinthians 12:3:
Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
This declaration that no one describes Jesus as Lord except through the Holy Spirit is similar to the criterion that the Holy Spirit gave through Apostle John regarding the distinguishing of spirits as we read in 1 John 4:1–3:
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
The interpretation that takes the phrase 1 Corinthians 14:29 the others as a reference to other prophets is supported by the fact that the apostle used a definite article before the word “others.” The definite article would imply that the apostle referred to the prophets he first mentioned in the verse in the Greek. Such understanding would be similar to the use of the definite article and our Greek word to refer to the rest of the disciples of Jesus Christ who saw the resurrected Christ that spoke to Thomas as we read in John 20:25:
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
The disciples were indirectly mentioned in John 20:24:
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.
We said that disciples were indirectly mentioned in the context of John 20:25 because the clause with the disciples when Jesus came is more literally with them when Jesus came, where the context indicates that the pronoun “them” refers to the disciples. Based on this usage of the Greek phrase the other in John 20:25 referring to the disciples because of context, one can argue that the same phrase in 1 Corinthians 14:29 refers to prophets mentioned in the Greek of the verse. Of course, some reject this interpretation on the ground that if the apostle meant the rest of the prophets that he would probably have used another Greek word (loipos) that may mean “other” or “rest of” to indicate he meant the rest of prophets. The interpretation that the phrase the other refers to those with gift of discernment is also possible because there seems to be a relationship between the gift of prophecy and the gift of discernment as there is a relationship between the gift of speaking in tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues as we may learn from 1 Corinthians 12:10:
to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
The apostle after mentioning the gift of tongues, followed with the gift of interpretation of tongues so we know that there is a connection between them. This being the case, it is probably the case that the Holy Spirit wants us to recognize that gift of prophecy is also related to gift of distinguishing between spirits so that those with the gift would correctly discern when a prophecy is from the Holy Spirit in contrast to evil spirit.
Which of the three interpretations of the phrase of 1 Corinthians 14:29 the others that the apostle had in mind? It is difficult to be certain which the apostle had in mind. It is probably that he had in mind all others in the worship setting who have the ability of discerning what those prophesying uttered other than the prophets that were prophesying. These would more generally consist of other prophets, those with the gift of distinguishing spirits, and those of Jewish background that are acquainted with the OT Scripture. This inclusion of those with Jewish background would become clearer later in our exposition of the verse we are studying. In other words, it is unlikely that the apostle meant the entire congregation, despite the use of “all” in verse 31 that we will get to later, because of the Greek word used in the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:29 the others should weigh carefully what is said or literally let them judge.
The Greek word (diakrinō) that we are concerned is translated in the NIV in the expression “weigh carefully.” The Greek word used has a range of meanings such as “to judge” in the sense of rendering legal opinion, but we limit our consideration to the meaning that is more relevant to our passage. Thus, the word may mean “to judge correctly” although the translators of the NIV used the meaning “interpret” to translate our Greek word in the context where it is used to describe the Lord Jesus’ rebuke of the Jews about predicting coming storm by reading the sky while unable to correctly read His appearance among them as recorded in Matthew 16:3:
and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
The clause You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky is literally You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky. The word may mean “to criticize” as it is used to describe the response of some in the church in Jerusalem to Peter’s visit to Cornelius’ house to preach the gospel to them as we read in Acts 11:2–3:
2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
The word may mean “to recognize” as it is used in connection with inadequate response to the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:29:
For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
The word may mean “to doubt” as it is used to describe what believers should not do when they pray as we read in James 1:6:
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
The word may mean “to dispute” as it is used to describe what transpired between the archangel Michael and Satan over the body of Moses as we read in Jude 9:
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:29, the word has the sense of “to pass judgment,” that is, “to weigh carefully” or “to evaluate carefully.”
The thing that is to be evaluated carefully is not directly stated since the literal Greek of the expression the others should weigh carefully what is said we are examining in 1 Corinthians 14:29 reads the others let them judge. The context indicates that what is to be judged or carefully evaluated is prophetic utterance. Consequently, the translators of the NIV gave the expanded translation of the Greek as the others should weigh carefully what is said. Of course, the apostle did not state the purpose of carefully evaluating what a prophet says but that does not mean that there is no purpose for such evaluation. Although the apostle did not state any purpose, he would have meant that careful evaluation of what is stated prophetically is to determine its truthfulness. The OT Scripture gives two important tests for determining true prophets and the truthfulness of their prophecy. The first is the fulfillment of what is prophesied as we read in Deuteronomy 18:21–22:
21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
The second is if the content of the prophecy promotes righteousness in the sense of avoidance of idolatry as stated in Deuteronomy 13:1–4:
1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.
Since idolatry is a sin, we can generalize this criterion to mean that any true prophecy must not encourage sin. It is for this reason that the prophets who did not denounce the sins of Israel were considered false as we read in Lamentations 2:14:
The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.
The first criterion that involves fulfillment of prophecy would not be immediately applicable in the worship service of believers in Corinth or any local church. Therefore, it is the second that would be used by those who evaluate carefully what a prophet utters. In effect, those who are qualified to evaluate what a prophet says would see if what is uttered promotes righteousness. If not, they would know it is false. We have already mentioned the criterion that those in Corinth would apply. It is the test of what the prophecy says about Jesus Christ as the apostle gave as he began his consideration of spiritual gifts, as we cited previously, that is, 1 Corinthians 12:3:
Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
Similar test is provided by the Holy Spirit through Apostle John as we stated previously, that is, in 1 John 4:1–3:
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
Why did Apostle Paul include careful evaluation of what those with gift of prophecy utter? He did not directly state but he knew his OT Scripture where prophets are extensively discussed and so based on information provided in the OT Scripture, we can provide the answer to our question. First, the apostle was aware that prophets could prophesy by saying things that are intended to appease people because of what is popularly accepted. This would be similar to the instruction of those King Ahab sent to consult Prophet Micaiah that encouraged him to agree with what other prophets have said as we read in 1 Kings 22:13–14:
13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what the LORD tells me.”
The instruction given to Micaiah by the messengers of Ahab is similar to what Yahweh through Prophet Jeremiah said that the false prophets gave their visions and dreams based on what the people want them to say as we read in Jeremiah 29:8–9:
8 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the LORD.
The kind of thing Yahweh said about the false prophets telling the people what they want to hear is what many preachers in the past or at the present do. They tell people what they want to hear because they do not want to say anything that is contrary to the popular sentiment even when that sentiment is wrong. This is not that surprising because the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul had already indicated that in the later days that that would be the case as we read in 2 Timothy 4:3:
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Thus, it should not surprise you that prophets would have prophesied lies based on what is popular and what people want to hear. Second, the apostle knew that prophecy could be a result of deception or coming from deceiving spirits as conveyed in the OT Scripture, especially in the explanation of Prophet Micaiah when he finally gave King Ahab a prophetic message that was unpopular as we read in 1 Kings 22:19–23:
19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20 And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ “One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 “‘By what means?’ the LORD asked. “‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. “‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’ 23 “So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you.”
The explanation of Prophet Micaiah about deceiving spirit should cause every believer to be careful to evaluate carefully a given prophecy knowing that evil spirits could deceive those who claim to be prophets. This fact is implied by the Holy Spirit through Apostle John when he implied that there are evil spirits in the world that are capable of deceiving people. Anyway, the point is that the apostle knew the existence of evil spirits meant the possibility of prophecy being false. Third, similar to the second fact we stated, the apostle knew that prophets could prophecy based on their own imagination as in the description of false prophets Yahweh gave to Prophet Jeremiah about the prophets who gave Israel false hopes as we read in Jeremiah 23:16:
This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
The sentence They speak visions from their own minds implies that these false prophets spoke what they imagined so that what they prophesied originated from within their minds and not from Yahweh or the Holy Spirit. Fourth, Apostle Paul knew that false prophets in the OT times carried out such activities because of financial gain or that prophets were capable of being false because of financial benefit as we read in Micah 3:11:
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us.”
These reasons we have given that the apostle certainly knew because he knew the OT Scripture would have been sufficient reasons for him to want the utterances of prophets during worship in the local church in Corinth or other local churches to be carefully evaluated to determine their truthfulness. Of course, I contend that not everyone is capable of proper evaluation of prophecy in worship assembly in Corinth only those with gift of prophecy, distinguishing of spirit, and those with Jewish background since those with such background would have also been aware of the criteria for evaluating prophecy. This fact that not everyone is capable of evaluating prophecy also applies to the teaching of the word of God today. People often reject what is taught because they think they know better but most of the time such individuals actually base their rejection on their preconceived notion of what is true. A person who is qualified to evaluate the truthfulness of a teaching is one that is well versed in Scripture, not merely being able to quote passages but to understand what they mean in the context. Let me emphasize that no one that is not versed in the word of God is competent to evaluate correctly a given teaching. A person would be in the right if the individual’s opinion or evaluation is based on Scripture that the person knows and applies correctly. This fact was demonstrated by James during the church council that determined the relationship of Gentiles to the Mosaic Law. He cited a specific scripture and from it he rendered his judgment or opinion as reported in Acts 15:19:
“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
James gave his opinion based on the Scripture he quoted in Acts 15:15-18 which is from the book of Amos. It is based on what Prophet Amos wrote that James rendered his opinion. Hence, it is only if a person is versed in Scripture that the individual would be competent in evaluating a given teaching. The Bereans were commended for evaluating what Apostle Paul preached because they examined the OT Scripture to see if what the apostle preached or taught agrees with what is written in it as we read in Acts 17:11:
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
The Bereans would not have done what is reported if they were not versed in the OT Scripture. Anyway, Apostle Paul instructed that what a prophet utters in the local church should be carefully evaluated to ensure its truthfulness and so its application to the church of Christ assembled for worship. In any event, the apostle having limited the number of prophets who should exercise their gifts in a worship service and having instructed about careful evaluation of what prophets say, proceeds to another instruction that should govern the exercise of prophecy during worship service.
The next instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul regulating the use of prophecy during worship service concerns the condition under which a prophet who is speaking should stop so that another prophet would speak. The condition is that another prophet receives another revelation from God the Holy Spirit. It is this condition that is stated in 1 Corinthians 14:30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. A literal translation is But/and if (something) is revealed to another sitting, let be silent the first (person).
The reason for the use of the word “but” or “and” in the literal translation is because we have a Greek particle (de) we stated previously may be used to connect one clause to another, either to express contrast or simple continuation but in certain occurrences the marker may be left untranslated. Some of our English versions translated it with the meaning “but” in 1 Corinthians 14:30 while others used the meaning “and.” Either translation is permissible since it is possible that the apostle is contrasting the instruction given in verse 29 about speaking to the one in verse 30. That notwithstanding, it is probably that the apostle used the Greek particle to continue the instruction about prophetic utterance mentioned in previous verse but he interrupted to give another instruction that involves evaluating a prophetic utterance. After that he resumed or continued his instruction regarding speaking by a prophet. This being the case, the use of the word “and” in translating the Greek particle in verse 30 would be more appropriate.
Be that as it may, the apostle recognized that what he stated in verse 30 may or may not happen. In other words, the apostle was not dogmatic or certain that what he said would happen but that it could. This we say because of the word “if” that he used. The word “if” in verse 30 is translated from a Greek particle (ean) that may be used as a maker of condition of a reduced likelihood of occurrence of an activity referenced with the meaning “if.” It can also mean “when” as a marker of point of time which is somewhat conditional and simultaneous with another point of time. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:30, the apostle used it to describe something that could probably take place which if it occurs, leads to the instruction the apostle gave.
The situation that could occur is that another prophet receives a new revelation from the Holy Spirit as in the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:30 if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down. The word “revelation” used in the NIV appears to be a noun, but the Greek used a verb since a literal translation of the conditional clause is if (something) is revealed to another sitting.
The word “revealed” in the literal translation is translated from a Greek verb (apokalyptō) that means to cause something to be fully known hence, means “to reveal, disclose, bring to light, make fully known.” The word may be used in a general sense of revealing of something, as it is used in revealing of a righteousness from God in Romans 1:17:
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
However, the word is often used especially for divine revelation. Thus, the apostle used the word in asserting that God the Father revealed Jesus Christ to him in Galatians 1:16:
to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man,
Paul, no doubt, had heard about Jesus Christ; otherwise, he would not have been persecuting Christians in Jerusalem prior to his conversion. So, when he said that God revealed His Son in him, he meant that God caused him to know more fully who Jesus Christ is. God caused him to know what he has not known before about Jesus Christ. It is not difficult to understand what Paul meant here in light of the fact that most people on the planet today have heard about Jesus Christ, but they do not fully know who He is for if they did, they would trust in Him for salvation and so be saved. It is only to those that God makes Jesus Christ fully known who come to faith in Him and so are saved. That aside, in our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:30, the word has the sense of “to be revealed,” that is, to become made known publicly information that was especially known to a few people. The Greek used a passive voice in our verse implying that the agent responsible for the revelation was not mentioned. God is the source of revelation but sometimes a specific member of the Godhead is identified with revelation. Thus, God the Father is said to have been the source of revelation given to the disciples in Jesus’ praise of the Father as we read in Matthew 11:25:
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
This reference to the Father notwithstanding, prophetic revelation is more generally attributed to God the Holy Spirit. Consequently, Simeon who dedicated the baby Jesus was said to receive revelation from the Holy Spirit regarding the time of his death as we read in Luke 2:26:
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Apostle Paul referenced the Holy Spirit as responsible for revelation. So, he wrote to the Corinthians of this work of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 2:10:
but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
He referred to revelation by the Holy Spirit to the apostles and prophets in Ephesians 3:5:
which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.
Because the apostle often referred to the Holy Spirit as the member of Godhead that is concerned with revelation, he must have meant that the Holy Spirit is responsible for revelation that is stated in the conditional clause of 1 Corinthians 14:30 if a revelation comes to someone or literally if (something) is revealed to another sitting. There is more to the instruction of verse 30 but we are out of time, so we pick it up in our next study. But let me remind you the message of this passage is: All worship activities in a local church should be orderly.
03/24//23