Desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

 

Desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

 

1 Corinthians 14:1-5: “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in tongues does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he speaks mysteries in the spirit (pneumati). But he who prophesies speaks to men to build them up (oikodomen), to exhort and to comfort them. He who speaks in tongues builds up his own edification (oikodomei), but he who prophesies builds up the church. I want you all to speak in tongues, but I especially want you to prophesy. If he who speaks in tongues does not interpret to build up the church, he is inferior to the one who prophesies.”

 

"Spiritual gifts" refers to spiritual gifts and signifies the Gospel, which speaks the mysteries of heaven. When preaching the Gospel in the church, if it is based on doctrine, one may preach a Gospel of falsehood. Therefore, the Gospel is to be preached according to what the Holy Spirit is with and enables one to understand. Speaking in tongues signifies speaking to non-believers, while prophecy signifies speaking to believers.

 

The Gospel, which sounds like a foreign language, is personally helpful to the faith of believers because it is conveyed to them. Furthermore, the reason an interpreter is necessary when preaching the Gospel that sounds like speaking in tongues is that it serves as a witness. This is because the Holy Spirit plays the role of enabling the understanding of the meaning of difficult words when the Gospel is preached.

 

Therefore, although the Gospel feels like a foreign language and is spoken to the other person, it is the words of the Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit who brings understanding. Those who reject the Holy Spirit cannot receive forgiveness of sins. "He who speaks in tongues does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he speaks mysteries in the Spirit."

 

Oikodomen (οἰκοδομὴν) means to edify. Prophecy is the act of enabling believers in the church community to understand God's will by conveying the word of Ho Logos. Oikodomei, translated as virtue, means to be edified. Moreover, the expression "virtue" does not appear in the Greek Bible regarding the virtue of the church. It implies that the one who prophesies builds up the church.

 

Most churchgoers consider speaking in tongues to be a special language received from God as a result of longing for spiritual things. Before His resurrection and ascension, Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the Holy Spirit.

 

On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus' disciples in the Upper Room of Mark. The disciples then began to speak languages ​​other than Hebrew, and the diaspora from various nations—including Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, and Cappadociaans—who had gathered in Jerusalem to observe Pentecost at that time, witnessed this wondrous sight.

 

Acts 2:11 states, "We all hear them speaking in our own languages ​​the great works of God." At that time, when Jesus' disciples spoke in tongues, there were two reactions.

 

The first was the question of how Jesus' disciples, who were from the Galilee region, could speak such foreign languages. The term "tongues" implies a foreign language.

 

The second was that the disciples spoke of the great works of God. When many people (the diaspora living abroad) heard the disciples talking about the great works of God, they found it to be nonsense. Some even asked if the disciples were drunk. It meant they were rambling incoherently, speaking in a way that was incomprehensible to them. It was speech that was difficult for others to understand.

 

This story is about Jesus Christ being the Son of God who died on the cross and resurrected to save humanity, and it speaks of the spirit. At that time, such words were truly treated as the words of a drunkard.

 

In Acts 2:17, Peter explained the story of the Book of Joel to the people. "God says, 'In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.'"

 

The essence of what the disciples told the people lies not in the tongues—the languages ​​of various nations—but in the great works of God. Therefore, speaking in tongues is not speaking in unintelligible words, but speaking about the great works of God.

 

However, when the gospel is preached regarding the great works of the Kingdom of God, people neither understand nor accept it, and they avoid it. That is why the gospel sounds like a foreign language. This is what speaking in tongues is. The gospel, which becomes a foreign language, is personally helpful to the faith of believers because it is preached to them.

 

Prophecy is the gospel concerning the great works of God. In today's churches, believers cannot fully grasp the word of truth spoken in the Bible. The reason is that most church pastors preach based on doctrine. To preach what is understood through the power of the Holy Spirit is to convey the true truth. Thus, one comes to know the great secrets of the Kingdom of God. This is precisely what prophecy is. Prophecy is not about fortune-telling personal fortunes or misfortunes, but rather about properly preaching about the Kingdom of God within the church.

 

Speaking in tongues and prophecy are inseparable. Speaking in tongues is done to unbelievers, while prophecy is the gospel preached to believers. It is a blessing based on the same principle, differing only in the object.

 

Those today who describe speaking in tongues as "Lalalalala" are those who do not understand the word of the Bible. Believers must be spiritually awake and realize the true truth. Speaking in tongues is an individual speaking to God through the Holy Spirit, and it becomes language that non-believers cannot understand. To them, it sounds like nothing but noise. 1 Corinthians 14:7-11: “If a lifeless thing, like a flute or a harp, makes a sound, unless the note is distinguished, how can anyone know whether it is a flute being played or a harp being played? If a trumpet sounds an indistinct tone, who is prepared for battle? In the same way, unless you speak with your tongue in a way that is easily understood, how can anyone know what you are saying? You speak into the air. Likewise, there are many kinds of sounds in the world, but no sound is without meaning. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the sound, I am a stranger to the one speaking, and the one speaking is a stranger to me.”

 

When a minister lays hands on and blesses a non-believer, if they continue speaking in unintelligible words, the listener will not understand the meaning. They are merely praying spiritually. The Holy Spirit is in control.

 

Paul stated that he himself speaks in tongues frequently, and he continues to preach the gospel regardless of whether the other person understands or not. Therefore, believers, too, must continue to preach the gospel and sow seeds, regardless of whether the other person understands or not.