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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Tongues, madness or sign for unbeliever | 1 Cor 14:22 | Just Read Mark | 150847 | ||
Please help me to understand this verse in context, especially the verses which follow directly after. How are tongues a benefit to unbelievers, when a few verses later it says that unbelievers see tongues as "madness"? |
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2 | Tongues, madness or sign for unbeliever | 1 Cor 14:22 | Makarios | 150851 | ||
Greetings Just Read Mark, 1 Corinthians 14:21-22 "In the Law it is written, "BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME," says the Lord. So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe." Here is a bit of commentary on these verses.. "14:21-22 The passage from Is. 28 indicates that the foreign language of the Assyrians was a sign to unbelieving Israel that judgment was coming on them. Paul deduced from this fact that tongues were intended to be a sign for unbelievers (v.22), as, e.g., in Acts 2:4-12. Similarly, prophecy was for believers (v.22) since it communicated revealed truth to those disposed to receive it (cf. Matt 13:11-16)." (1) "14:22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers. Explaining further, he says explicitly that all tongues are for the sake of unbelievers. In other words, that gift has no purpose in the church when everyone present is a believer. And once the sign served its purpose to pronounce judgment or cursing on Israel, and the judgment fell, the purpose ceased along with the sign gift. The blessing of that sign was that God would build a new nation of Jews and Gentiles to be his people (Gal. 3:28), to make Israel jealous and someday repent (see Rom. 11:11,12,25-27). The sign was thus repeated when Gentiles were included in the church (Acts 10:44-46). The sign also gave authority to those who preached both the judgment and blessing (2 Cor. 12:12), including Paul (v. 18). .." (2) 1 Corinthians 14:23 "Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad?" "14:23 ... unbelievers. Those who have made no movement toward saving faith. The context is a meeting of the church in which everyone is speaking in tongues with the result that general confusion reigns. you are mad. The visitors will be repulsed by the confusion, and the phenomenon meant to be an impressive sign will have a negative effect on the unsaved." (1) "14:23 Therefore if...all speak with tongues. As Paul explains in more detail later (vv. 27,28), even for unbelievers, even when the gift of tongues was exercised in its proper time in history, when it was dominant and uncontrolled in the church, bedlam ensued and the gospel was disgraced and discredited. out of your mind. The Gr. word means to be in an uncontrolled frenzy. When the real gift was used in Acts 2, there was no madness, and everyone understood in his own language (v. 11). In Corinth, there was charismatic chaos." (2) I hope that this helps! Blessings to you, Makarios (1) The Zondervan NASB Study Bible, 1999, the Zondervan Corporation, Kenneth Barker, pgs. 1681,1682 (2) The MacArthur Study Bible, 1997, Word Publishing, John MacArthur, pgs. 1752,1753 |
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3 | Tongues, madness or sign for unbeliever | 1 Cor 14:22 | Just Read Mark | 151055 | ||
Thanks for the in-depth answer. It is fascinating, and I appreciate how the OT quote is integrated into it ( ... although it is a strange passage for Paul to quote. It's relation to tongues is certainly metaphorical...). So, if I understand it right, Paul is saying that tongues are for unbelievers. If the tongues are improperly used, however, they will be discrediting to the church. If they are properly used, they will somehow reach unbelievers. I have two questions.... first, why would an unbeliever be impressed by unintelligable words? Second, if Paul's criticism is simply that they are using tongues badly, why doesn't he contrast "good tongues" to "confusing tongues" instead of contrasting tongues to prophecy? I hope I have made my questions clear.... it seems a bit muddled. JRM |
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4 | Tongues, madness or sign for unbeliever | 1 Cor 14:22 | Makarios | 151137 | ||
Greetings JRM, Acts 2 gives us the best example in scripture of how speaking in tongues could excite or impress a person who does not believe in the Gospel. If perhaps a believer would speak to a traveling person who does not already believe in his or her own language, then it would be most impressive indeed to the traveler - to meet a person who could speak in their language. That fact alone would catch a person's attention, and hopefully pave the way for the person to be receptive enough to receive the Gospel message through the believer. And if the traveler then believed, then the Gospel would spread through the traveler (Acts 8:39). On the other hand, an interpreter of the tongues is needed in the church, if the members do indeed speak in tongues during worship. When tongues is spoken in the church, it is used for the edification of the church as a whole, not just for any one person. Therefore, whenever there is someone in the church who speaks in a tongue, then there also must be an interpreter (1 Cor. 14:26-28), since the spoken message must be a message that edifies the whole body, rather than just the one. If only one is edified and there is no clarification through interpretation, then only confusion results, since tongues are spoken by one person at a time. But in church, all things are (or should be) done for the edification of the whole, rather than just the one. And if unbelievers were to join believers when even the believers are confused, then it would be discrediting to the believers and to the message that we are attempting to give to the unbelievers. With unbelievers, we must present the Gospel message as clearly as possible. Blessings to you, Makarios |
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