Paul
the apostle told the “Brethren” in
Corinth, “be
not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be children, but in
understanding be men.”,
and in chapter fourteen and verse
twenty-one of First Corinthians, Paul declared, “with
men of
other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people”,
where we read:
and
yet for all that will they not hear me, says the Lord.
The
verse begins, “In
the law it is written, With men of
other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people;”.
Paul began
with the words, “In the law” or
“anything established, received by usage, custom or command and the
rule producing a state approved of God” “it
is written”
which means “because and since it is expressed in written
characters”, “with men”
which refers to “” “of other
tongues”
or “one who speaks a foreign language” “and
other lips”
which means “with another speaking mouth” “will
I speak”
or “would Paul utter a voice or emit a sound and articulate”
“unto this people”
which means “this people group, tribe, nation and all those who are
of the same stock and language”. Paul referred to Isaiah chapter
twelve and verses eleven and twelve as he shared concerning God
“speaking” to
“people”
with others who “spoke in languages” they did not know.
The
verse goes on to say, “and
yet for all that will they not hear me, says the Lord.”
Paul added
the words, “and yet for all”
or “and in this manner and thus” “that
will they”
which means “the people to whom the Lord is speaking” “not
hear me”
which means “who will not give heed to, comply with admonition and
obey”, “says” or
“speaks, affirms, maintains, exhorts, advises, commands and
directs” “the Lord”
which means “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he
has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the
Messiah”. Even though God “spoke” to the people with languages
from other people, they “would not
hear” Him.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see how the Lord desired to
share with people even with foreign languages. Paul shared with the
church members in Corinth about the “vocal spiritual gifts”,
and he likened them to God speaking to the people of Israel. Though
God spoke, He knew the people would not “hear” Him, and
sometimes the same is true today. Jesus Christ desires for His church
to “hear” Him, and should he choose to use the “spiritual
gift” of “speaking in tongues”, those who believe in
Him should be willing to “hear”.
Next
time Paul tells the church members, “tongues
are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe
not”,
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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