“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
The Basket Case Chronicles #168
“I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue” (1 Cor. 14:18–19).
Paul distinguished praying in tongues for private edification from speaking in tongues in the assembly. He prays in tongues himself more than anybody, but in the church he would rather speak five intelligible words than ten thousand words that are unknown to the rest of the people there. As we will see a few verses down, unintelligible speaking in church is a sign of God’s judgment, not of His blessing. And if you fix that problem by translating what is said, you remove the element of judgment, but you have not removed the middle man. Why not just go straight to the interpretation? Why say something in church that nobody understands, then translate it, when you could just go straight to the meaningful talk?
Good question and it suggests another: why would Paul speak unintelligibly to himself?
Not only that, but might the translation itself be meaningful?
And it’s not even Wednesday. ……….
Doesn’t it add to the glory and power and mystery to hear the thing first in it’s raw form?
God is not the author of confusion. The propagation of the gospel was the primary (hopefully) motivation of the early church. If tongues was meant to help propagate the gospel and establish the church, would it not be explicitly useful for the mission fields, where the unreached could hear it? I believe those at Corinth who were using the gift in their home church were simply out of order. Possibly right motive, but wrong application, wrong place. God revealed Himself though His only Son. Revealing Himself to Mankind is an ongoing intent. Hiding behind unknown or unknowable language seems to… Read more »
Hi Kent!
“The propagation of the gospel was the primary (hopefully) motivation of the early church.”
Maybe we could agree that is was a motivation, but not the only.
To live faithful, joyful, obedient & loving lives as gospel believers was also strong motivation.
And to experience the Spirit speaking in & through you, however much you don’t understand Him with your mind, might be especially to your emotional & spiritual building up.
Who looks up to what He does in the heavens and understands it?
Yet His majesty so displayed & experienced is testimony to the soul.
Why read Scripture? Just go straight to the sermon.
Why give a parable (e.g 4 soils) and then explain?
Why Hebrew and Greek? Isn’t the KJV perfect?
God likes to pitch curves.