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NASB | 1 Corinthians 14:25 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 14:25 the secrets of his heart are laid bare. And so, falling on his face, he will worship God, declaring that God is really among you. |
Bible Question: 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? |
Bible Answer: 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 |