Paul the apostle told
the church members in Corinth if, “every
one of you has a psalm, has a doctrine, has a tongue, has a
revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done unto
edifying”,
and in chapter fourteen and verse
twenty-seven of First Corinthians, Paul declared, “if
any man speak in an unknown
tongue, let it be
by two, or at the most by
three”,
where we read:
The verse begins, “If
any man speak in an unknown
tongue, let it be
by two, or at the most by
three, ...”. Paul
began with the word, “If” or
“whether” “any man”
which means “a certain or some people” “speak”
which refers to “to utter a voice, emit or articulate” “in
an unknown tongue”
or “in a language or dialect used by a particular people distinct
from that of other nations”, “let
it be by”
which means “allow it to be down from, through out, according to
and toward” “two”
or “twain”, “or at the most”
which means “at the largest number” “by
three” or
“trice”. Paul gave the order of those who “speak
in unknown tongues”,
and they were only to do so by “two
or three”
at the most.
The
verse continues, “... and
that
by course; and let one interpret.”
Paul
continued with the words, “and that
by course” which
means “a part due or assigned, severally or individually”; “and
let” or
“and allow or permit” “one”
which refers to “and only a certain one” “interpret”
or “to unfold the meaning of what is said, explain and expound”.
If people “speak in tongues”,
they should do so in an orderly way and someone should “unfold the
meaning of what is said”.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see there is an order to the
manner in which the “vocal spiritual gift” of “speaking
in tongues” is to be exercised. There are only to be “two or
three” people who use this “gift”, and those should be
in succession. The “tongues” were also to be
“interpreted”. The implication is that there were those
within the church that were not following this order, however, Paul
gave them instructions that would “edify” Jesus' church.
Let us follow after the “order” that is to be exercised with the
“vocal spiritual gifts”, and be certain that the
“edification” of people is our goal.
Next
time Paul tells
the church members if someone “speaks
in tongues”,
“if
there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church”,
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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