The Truth About Tongues
14: 6-12
The truth about tongues DIG: What point is Paul making with the musical instruments and the trumpet? How does Paul raise the idea of war and spiritual war, and link it to the idea of spiritual war with Rosh Ha’Shanah? How does Paul give us good reason to believe that when Paul wrote about the true gift of tongues, he was referring to known languages?
REFLECT: How do you use your spiritual gift(s) to build others up? Do you know any foreign languages? Have you traveled to other countries where you had a difficult time communicating with the people who lived there? How did you compensate? Aside from the shofar, how does the Ruach remind you of the need to repent and correct your ways?
In order to benefit others, a person must communicate clearly and effectively.
Paul’s second major truth about the secondary position of tongues is that, in themselves, they can’t be understood. To strengthen his point, he uses himself as an illustration, saying: Brothers, suppose I come to you. Paul uses the rhetorical “I” to help his critique of tongues go down easier. Even as an apostle, speaking in tongues would be of no benefit apart from interpretation, through which the revelation or knowledge (internal), or prophecy or teaching (external) is made plain to those who hear it (14:6). It’s as if Paul was saying, “If I don’t make any sense when I come to talk to you, what is the use of me coming?” Any message is useless if it cannot be comprehended. Again, the private use of the gift of tongues is excluded. It is useless if it is not edifying the whole congregation.
It is incredible that some believers put a premium on private or public unintelligible utterances that no one, including the speaker, can even attempt to understand. In some instances, what is claimed to be an interpretation has proved to have no relationship with what was spoken. Persons who have tested an interpreter by speaking in Hebrew, or another language known to them but unknown by the interpreter, have had their words “translated” into messages that had absolutely no relationship to what was spoken. Like some the Corinthians such abuses not only put self-glorification above the edification of the church but add deception to the abuse.445
Paul used three simple analogies to prove his point that there must be understanding if the congregation is to be built up (to see link click Dl – The Word that Builds Up): musical instruments, the trumpet, and daily conversation. The analogies seem self-evident and all point out that in order to benefit others, a person must communicate clearly and effectively. Paul applied this principle to the Corinthian situation.
Musical instruments: Even with lifeless musical instruments, such as a flute or a harp, how will anyone recognize the melody if one note can’t be distinguished from another (14:7)? Presumably ancient people learned to sing music by listening to a tune being played, just as a worship team today might play an unfamiliar song once before the congregation sings it. But if the worship team does not give a clear distinction between the notes on their instruments, the people will be unable to learn the tune.446 The analogy is clear. Speaking in ecstatic utterance (see Ce – The Pagan Background of Counterfeit Spiritual Gifts) during public worship is like the harpist running his fingers all over the strings making strange sounds, but not playing a tune anyone could recognize. Aimless sounds mean nothing.
The trumpet: Changing the analogy somewhat, Paul points out that if the trumpet (see the commentary on Leviticus Ee – Rosh ha’Shanah) gives an unclear sound, who will get ready for battle (14:8)? If the soldier blowing the trumpet is not sure whether he is calling “Retreat!” or “Charge!” you can be sure none of the soldiers will know what to do either. Half of them will rush forward, while the other hand will retreat! The call must be a clear one if it is to be understood.447 A soldier gets no message from a bunch of random sounds. Here Paul raises the idea of war and spiritual war, linking the idea of spiritual war with Rosh Ha’Shanah, which is a day of blowing the trumpets. In a time of physical war, when the enemy approaches, we must blow the trumpets (Numbers 10:9). This verse emphasizes that during tribulations, Isra’el does not stand alone, ADONAI is standing by her side. But God’s help is not “automatic”. She must blow the trumpet, and as a result, it is as if she is brought to Ha’Shem’s attention, and then YHVH will save Isra’el from her enemies that rise up against her. During the Great Tribulation, the righteous of the TaNaKh will turn to God (see the commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ), and all Isra’el will be saved (see the commentary on Romans Da – The Redemption of Isra’el).
As believers, we encounter two different kinds of dangers: physical war and spiritual war. And ten days before Yom Kippur, we blow the shofar and ask God to come and deliver us spiritually. And here we see the aspect of repentance, and mental preparation before the Day of Atonement (see the commentary on Leviticus Ej – Yom Kippur). The blowing of the shofar reminds us of the need to repent, the need to correct our ways, and in addition, the blowing of the shofar brings us up before God for help, for salvation. The Torah teaches us that without this combination of repentance and sacrifice there is no forgiveness of sins. Yeshua is our sacrifice, but the responsibility of repentance rests on our own shoulders. The shofar also alerts us, those who believe in Yeshua as the Messiah of Isra’el and the world, to repent, to return to our Messiah, to return to security in our salvation. During Rosh Ha’Shanah it is customary to read “The Binding of Isaac”. It is as if we do this to remind God that, in the end, He took pity on Isaac, and at the last moment, God saved him. So is the hope that at the last moment, on the Day of Judgment, God will have mercy on us. But more than that, we, the people of God, remember that Isaac was not sacrificed. Instead, a ram was sacrificed. In our case, it was Yeshua who was sacrificed in our place, He paid the price in full. Therefore, in Yeshua, we can stand with confidence on Judgment Day (see the commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment).448
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the joy of Your accepting our repentance. What a comfort it is to know that You forgive when there is heartfelt sorrow over the wrong that was done. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (First John 1:9). Your forgiveness lifts the burden of sin and shame from our shoulders. Praise Your omniscience that knows the heart attitude and can clearly see if the grief is a true godly sorrow leading to repentance or merely sorrow for the consequences of our sin. You were grieved to the point of repentance. For you were grieved according to God’s will, so that you might in no way suffer loss from us. For the grief that God wills brings a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret. But the world’s grief brings death (Second Corinthians 7:9b-10).
You are all knowing and You hear beyond the mere words. Sometimes the word” “sorry” is said so casually and flippantly. You put emphasis on actions that show a heart-felt grief over sin and not on mere hollow words (Matthew 7:21-23). Godly grief will not focus the consequences of our sin, but will always focus repentance. For see what this very thing – this grieving that God wills – has brought you! What diligence, what defense, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what rendering of justice! In everything you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter (Second Cor 7:11). Please help us to have genuine repentance when we are wrong and actions to show it.
I rejoice in how complete Your forgiveness is when the repentance is genuine and has brought a desire to turn from the wrong and to follow Your path for their life. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:11-12). I am grateful that You accept our heartfelt repentance. I choose to live in a way that my thoughts and actions will bring You glory. In Your holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen
Daily conversation: Paul connects the analogies to the situation in Corinth. They were so carnally self-centered that they could not have cared less about communication. They were interested in impressing others, not communicating with them, much less edifying them. Paul compares them to musical instruments blown into by one who is not a musician or a trumpet played so poorly that what comes out is unrecognizable. From such incompetence, produced by pride and lovelessness, the Corinthian congregation could not have been anything else than what it was: confused, disorderly and unproductive. It’s the same with you: how will anyone know what you are saying unless you use your tongue to produce intelligible speech? To which Paul adds the biting words: You will be talking to the air (14:9)!449
Paul continues to hammer away at the same point. There are undoubtedly all kinds of languages in the world, and none is altogether meaningless (14:10). He simply mentions the obvious. A language without meaning is pointless. In fact, a language without meaning is not really a language at all. It is the meaning that makes a language a language. The many kinds of languages in the world all sound different. This gives us good reason to believe that when Paul wrote about the true gift of tongues, he was referring to known languages and not some “heavenly” language.450 The purpose of the genuine gift of tongues, just as the purpose of all languages, was to communicate. From its first occurrence at Shavu’ot, the Lord intended it to be a means of communication. The very miracle of tongues at Shavu’ot was in the fact that everyone in present, though from many different countries, heard all of the righteous of the TaNaKh speak in his own language (Acts 2:6 and 8-11).
That has always been a characteristic of the genuine gift of tongues. The tongues spoken at Shavu’ot, and every true manifestation of tongues after that time until their cessation (13:8), were understandable – either directly (Acts 2:6) or through an interpreter (14:27). ADONAI did not give two kinds of tongues, one intelligible and the other unintelligible. The Bible speaks of only one gift, whose characteristics and purpose did not change.451
Not only must a legitimate language be used in order to communicate, but both the speaker and the hearer must understand it. By definition, communication is a two-way street. Otherwise, if I don’t know what a person’s sounds mean, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker will be a foreigner to me (14:11). Anyone who has ever lived in or visited a foreign country knows the frustration created by the inability to understand or to communicate except by primitive sign language. Paul’s critique of tongues implies that it does more than simply create frustration; it erects barriers of alienation – the sick feeling that one does not belong. What is worse, these feelings are awakened in a place where one is supposed to feel at home: the community of believers. Paul’s fear is that if people are chatting away in ecstatic utterance without interpretation which dominate public worship, then the church will become like Babel, people merely speaking gibberish.
Likewise with you: since you eagerly seek the things of the Spirit, seek especially what will help in edifying the congregation (14:12). Paul’s concern is that their ambition for spiritual powers or phenomena needed some constraint, without putting the breaks on it entirely. He would redirect their zeal to those things that build up the entire church. That ruled out tongues since they only built up the person who was speaking (14:4). The most important spiritual gifts are those that build others up.452
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