Paul
the apostle told the church members in Corinth, “I
will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding
also”,
and in chapter fourteen and verse sixteen
of First Corinthians, Paul asked, “how
shall he that occupies the room of the unlearned say Amen at your
giving of thanks”,
where we read:
Else
when you shall bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupies the
room of the unlearned say Amen at your giving of thanks, seeing he
understands not what you say?
The
verse begins, “Else
when you shall bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupies the
room of the unlearned say Amen at your giving of thanks, ...”.
Paul began
with the words, “Else when” or
“since, because, if and in case” “you
shall bless”
or “the church members will praise, celebrate with praises, invoke
blessings and consecrate with solemn prayers” “with
the spirit”
which refers to “with their disposition or influence which fills
and governs the soul”, “how”
or “in what way” “shall he that
occupies”
which means “shall the person who fills up and supplies” “the
room” or
“the inhabited places, cities, villages and districts” “of
the unlearned” which
refers to “the illiterate man as opposed to the learned and
educated or one who is unskilled in any art”
“say”
which means “to utter or speak” “Amen”
or “so it is, so be it and may it be fulfilled” “at
your giving of thanks” which
means “the church members' thankfulness”. Paul referred to the
person who hears another church member who “blesses
with the spirit”
not being able to say “so be it” because he is “unlearned”.
The
verse goes on and says, “... seeing
he understands not what you say?”
Paul added
the word, “seeing” which
means “when, since, for this cause, seeing that and forasmuch as”
“he understands not”
or “the person who occupies the room does not perceive, pay
attention to, ascertain, inspect, examine or behold” “what
you say”
which means “that which the person blessing speaks, affirms,
teaches, exhorts, advises, commands or directs”? Paul questioned
how the person who heard someone “blessing
with the spirit”
could say “Amen”
if he didn't know what the person speaking said.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see how it is important to know
what another person in the church is saying in order to say “Amen”
or “so be it” in agreement with what is said. When a person
speaks in a language that is “unlearned”, there is no
comprehension to those words, and those hearing the speech are left
without “understanding”. The Lord Jesus desires there to be unity
within the church and unless a there is “understanding”
between the church members, it is difficult to have agreement. Let us
continue to learn the importance of the manner in which we should
exercise the “vocal spiritual gifts”, and allow the Lord Jesus
through the Holy Spirit to guide us into the truth.
Next
time Paul tells the church members, “he
that speaks in an unknown
tongue edifies himself”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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