Paul
the apostle continued to share with the church members in Corinth
about “spiritual gifts”,
and he declared, “follow
after charity, and desire spiritual gifts,
but rather that you may prophesy”.
In chapter fourteen and verse two of First
Corinthians, Paul told the Corinthian church members, “he
who speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God”,
where we read:
For he
that speaks in an unknown
tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God: for no man understands him;
howbeit in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
The
verse begins, “For
he that speaks in an unknown
tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God:”.
Paul began
with the word, “for”
which means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and
therefore” “he that speaks”
or “the person who utters, emits or articulates a sound to declare
or disclose one's mind or thoughts” “in
an unknown tongue”
or “the language or dialect used by a particular people distinct
from that of other nations ” “speaks”
which means “utters, emits or articulates a sound to declare or
disclose one's mind or thoughts” “not
unto men”
or “not toward human beings whether male or female”, “but”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated “unto
God” which
means “toward the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of
God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. The person who
exercises the “spiritual gift”
of “speaking
in an unknown tongue”
“speaks unto God”
and not to other people.
The
verse goes on to say, “for
no man understands him;
howbeit in the spirit he speaks mysteries.”
Paul
continued with the words, “for” or
“even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and therefore”
“no man” which
refers to “no human being whether male or female” “understands”
or “is endowed with the faculty of hearing, attending to or
comprehending” “him” which
refers to “the person who speaks in
an unknown tongue”
“howbeit” or
“moreover and” “in the spirit”
which means “the simple essence, devoid of all or at least all
grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring,
deciding, and acting ” “he speaks”
or “the
person utters or emits a sound with his voice, tells and declares”
“mysteries”
which refers to “hidden, secret and not obvious things”. When a
person “speaks”
in a “tongue”
that is “unknown”,
no one understands him because he “speaks”
“hidden and secret things” which are in the “spiritual”
realm.
When
we think through these words from Paul, we understand “tongues
in the spirit” are directed toward God, and not to other
people. Although the person speaking in “tongues” is
emitting sounds, those sounds are “mysteries” to the
hearers because they cannot understand or interpret the words.
However, God knows what is being said. As Paul continues his
discussion in this area, let us keep in mind that Jesus Christ
desires to use “spiritual gifts” to edify His church, and
while we consider the “gift of tongues” may we constantly
be aware of the benefits or lack thereof to Jesus' desire for His
believers.
Next
time Paul tells the church members, “he
that prophesies speaks unto men to
edification”,
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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