Results 1 - 8 of 8
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Contradiction with 1 Cor 14:22 and 24 | 1 Cor 14:25 | johnclin | 122953 | ||
I guess what I'm not understanding is why Apostle Paul would say "22Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers." and then in the next part "contradict" what he just said. Am I not reading it right? | ||||||
2 | Contradiction with 1 Cor 14:22 and 24 | 1 Cor 14:25 | Rowdy | 122961 | ||
Copied for reference: 1 Cor 14:20 Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. 21 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. 22 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. 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? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. 26 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; 28 but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. There is an alternate interpretation to this discussion. I and millions of other christians believe as follows. First of all, I'm convinced that these two powers, speaking in tongues and phrophecy is just two of the powers bestowed on christians. Second, speaking in tongues just simply meant speaking God's Word in the first two centuries to people from all over the world through the Apostles or some select few who had never studied or spoken that language beforehand. Phropecy was an all inclusive power to speak God's Word as it applied to a new situation or in some cases to foretell the future. A prophet just as in the OT was merely a mouthpiece for God. Remember during this timeframe the NT was in the process of being written and being collected and dispersed throughout the world. The Bible clearly shows this endowment of miraculous powers from the Holy Spirit in ONLY two cases: Day of Pentacost in Acts 2 and onto Cornelius and his household in Acts 10. All other demonstrations of these powers (other than Apostles themselves) were manifested ONLY by those who received the "laying on of hands by the Apostles." So when all the Apostles died and all these other recipients died, it's clear that all these miraculous powers from human beings died with them. BUT just in case you or anyone else differs with this position, we do agree since we're Bible students that the Bible sets the standard and provides the characteristics to evaluate "miracles" from human beings in today's world, right? So we're talking about raising the dead after a several days of confirmed death, restoring a severed body part, enabling a person to see or to walk after a lifetime of not being able to enjoy these abilities. In other words, miracles must be feats of the supernatural, confirmed so that absolutely no one could possibly deny its coming from God. In this context, it's a little easier to understand verse 22. Speaking in tongues was done by God through those christians so that unbelievers would hear the Gospel and become believers. Prophecy was God speaking through christians to christians so they would know how to deal with the difficult issues confronting christians of that age without the NT and without the guidance of the Apostles in person at that moment. I hope this helps and God bless. --Rowdy |
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3 | Contradiction with 1 Cor 14:22 and 24 | 1 Cor 14:25 | Morant61 | 122973 | ||
Greetings Rowdy! You wrote: "In other words, miracles must be feats of the supernatural, confirmed so that absolutely no one could possibly deny its coming from God." Yet, people constantly doubted that the miracles performed by Jesus were from God! :-) The phrarisees even accused Him of healing people by the power of Satan. Secondly, how does your interpretation of 'tongues' fit v. 23? The people thought that those speaking in 'tongues' were out of their minds? Why would they think this if they were simply preaching the Gospel in earthly languages? Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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4 | Contradiction with 1 Cor 14:22 and 24 | 1 Cor 14:25 | Rowdy | 122974 | ||
Your first point is yet another good reason why our God saw that it wasn't good for mankind to continue through this miraculous phase of Christianity. As a race of rational human beings, we really don't deal very well with the supernatural or something we don't understand. Just look at all the modern science fiction movies in today's theatres. I don't really have a solid Biblical response to your comment, as you have already quoted from scripture. We can only read and acknowledge its truth. However, on your second point/question, we do have clear Bible guidance. In Acts 2, this jump to conclusions by the public at large is seen. Suffice it to say that people in every age, men and women love to gossip and are quick to sieze anything to promote that tendancy. (My guess is, this thought of "being out of their minds" was coming from those who didn't understand the language being spoken.) My main point here is the fact that there were certain individuals who did understand; otherwise they were strictly instructed by Paul to hush and wait for an interpreter. Finally, I would challenge you and all Forum participants to come up with one single Biblical example of such a person who had miraculous abilities showing his source other than one of the two methods I've cited in my earlier post. For clarity, I'll repeat those sources: the Holy Spirit Himself as in Acts 2 and Acts 10 OR the laying on of hands of the Apostles ONLY. Thanks for participating in this discussion. Awaiting your response and God bless. --Rowdy |
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5 | Contradiction with 1 Cor 14:22 and 24 | 1 Cor 14:25 | Morant61 | 122977 | ||
Greetings Rowdy! Your up and about early my friend! :-) I can't show a source other than the Holy Spirit, because Scripture says that the Holy Spirit is the Giver of all spiritual gifts! :-) 1 Cor. 12:11 - "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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6 | Contradiction with 1 Cor 14:22 and 24 | 1 Cor 14:25 | Rowdy | 122982 | ||
So we're in agreement on this point. The Holy Spirit does to this day dispense gifts to us as christians, some more to others but I'm convinced He wants to stay "behind the scene." Thus our faith is built up along with our spiritual maturity as we see the Hand of God and the Holy Spirit in our lives as They guide us through perilous difficulties and help us avoid sin if we let them. Futher, if we're studying God's Word on a regular basis and maintaining a regular prayer life, They will help us identify opportunities for doing good, dispensing acts of kindness and many other good deeds. Hopefully, our daily ocassions of stumbling are less frequent AND less severe. We grow more and more mature and less dependent on God when we can finally say with confidence and much grey hair on our heads, "Lord, take me home." "To die is gain but to keep living is Christ" and whatever Your will is, that I will do. God bless you, dear friend. --Rowdy |
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7 | Contradiction with 1 Cor 14:22 and 24 | 1 Cor 14:25 | Morant61 | 122986 | ||
Greetings Rowdy! The only point I would differ on my friend is that the more mature we get, the more dependent we are upon God! :-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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8 | Contradiction with 1 Cor 14:22 and 24 | 1 Cor 14:25 | Rowdy | 122989 | ||
You're correct of course. We do need to see ourselves as dependent on God for sustanance of life, both physically and spiritually. I guess what I was trying to say is that while we're here on earth, as we mature more and more, our priorities line up closer and closer with God's and we realize we don't need God to provide for our physical needs quite as much and we certainly don't need our wants to be filled nearly as much. What a wonderful concept. Unity on such a controversial subject. It truly is a blessing, dear friend. --Rowdy |
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