Bible Reading Challenge #46
Prayer and Understanding
1 Corinthians 14:13–19
13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.
14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.
15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.
16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?
17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Blessed to Be a Blessing
This concept goes back to Genesis 12, where God calls Abram to:
“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”
The gifts of God are not for self-promotion but for the common good.
The Holy Spirit moves and works in the hearts and lives of believers so that the rest of the congregation and community may benefit. When God gives me comfort, I am then called to be a comforter. When God gives me finances, I am called to be generous. When God gives me talents or wisdom, I am called to use them to bless others.
Paul once again addresses the issue of hoarding gifts for personal gain. God didn’t bless you for your sake alone. God wants to bless you so that you can be a blessing!
There is a place for personal worship of God, but there is also value in public worship — just as there is a place for learning, praying, and encouraging.
We are knit together as believers, unified under the cross and sharing a common hope for eternity. May we be focused on the common good, not our own comfort.
Bible Reading Challenge #45
Speaking in Tongues
1 Corinthians 14:6–12
6 Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?
7 If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played?
8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?
9 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.
10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning,
11 but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.
12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
I must confess that I have no direct experience of worshiping God in this manner or being part of a gathering where God was worshiped in this way. That is not to say it cannot happen in our day, but this personal form of worship can become dangerous to the church if handled improperly — as Paul warns here.
Paul gives several cautions about speaking in tongues during worship:
Tongues can be abused as a counterfeit style of worship. Some may fake a spiritual moment by speaking in gibberish and calling it worship.
Tongues should have purpose. Just as an instrument makes a distinct sound, human speech should be sensible and intelligible — even if it requires interpretation.
Tongues without interpretation are not beneficial for the common good.
John MacArthur says it well: “The purpose of every language is to communicate, not to impress, and certainly not to confuse, as the Corinthians had been doing with their counterfeits.”
I personally do not hold to a strict cessationist view of spiritual gifts. Cessationists believe that the sign gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 ceased after the death of the apostles. I do not believe we must limit God’s gifts to a specific era. I believe God can still use miracles, languages, and signs to bring people to Himself all over the world. While this is less common in our Western culture — where we enjoy the blessings of modern medicine, Bible translations, and the internet — I am not willing to say that God has stopped using signs altogether.
Bible Reading Challenge #44
Prophecy and Tongues
1 Corinthians 14:1–5
1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.
5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
Over the last two chapters, Paul has taught on spiritual gifts and then focused on a “better way” — the way of love. Now Paul returns to the topic of gifts to remind us that we must not ignore the gifting God has given the church. We are to use the gifts God gives us for His glory and for the common good!
You may be a bit confused when Paul encourages the church in Corinth to “prophesy.” Our first inclination may be to think of the prophets of old who predicted God’s future actions, but that is not the full meaning here. Following the resurrection of Jesus, the fullness of God’s message has been revealed. There is less need to foretell than to forth-tell — to proclaim. Proclaiming the Word of God, the truth of salvation, and the good news that brings great joy is what Paul has in mind here.
To prophesy, then, is to bring to the people a message of hope, mercy, and love.
You and I are called to live this out. We are called to show and share the love of God in our everyday lives — with those we love and those we have just met.
Bible Reading Challenge #43
From Micaiah Kelly
What do you think of when you hear the word mystery? My first thought is a magnifying glass or an Agatha Christie novel. Maybe you think of something scary—or perhaps a problem to be solved. Maybe, at just the sight of the word, your blood pressure rises and you feel a wave of anxiety. The unknown can be daunting. Thankfully, God has given us tools—and one tool in particular—to help us.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul teaches that as Christians, we must love in all things. In the previous chapter, he had just finished explaining the many gifts that God has given the church and how, in Christ, no one is greater than another. We are called to use our gifts in harmony with those of our brothers and sisters in faith. Now, in chapter 13, Paul reminds us that these gifts—without love—are meaningless.
He writes in verse 8:
“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
Why do these things pass away? Paul continues in verses 9–11:
“For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”
When Paul speaks of our limited understanding—“we know in part”—he’s reminding us that mystery is part of faith itself. What need would we have for prophets or teachers if God had already revealed everything to us? We live surrounded by mystery and the unknown, but God has given us faith and hope in the resurrection so that our wandering on this earth is not without direction. And He has given us love so that our journey through this world might carry eternal purpose and meaning. While mystery often makes us uneasy, Paul shows us that love gives us stability within it.
“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Love is what steadies us when we cannot see the full picture. It calls us to be patient with others, to offer grace freely, and to trust that God is working even in what we don’t understand. When we choose to walk in love each day, we live with purpose—even in the midst of mystery.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you are glorious in ways I cannot comprehend. So often, I worry about things that are beyond my control or understanding, and in doing so, I sin against you by turning to earthly things—or even to myself—for help. Thank you, Lord, for your sovereignty, your steadfastness, and your lovingkindness. Help me to trust you more and more, and to come to you first when I am in need. I love you, Lord. Amen.
Bible Reading Challenge #42
1 Corinthians 13:8–12
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
Paul makes a stunning claim — love never ends.
It doesn’t expire.
It doesn’t fade.
It isn’t something we outgrow or move beyond.
Every spiritual gift, talent, or moment of insight will eventually fade away. But love? Love lasts forever.
Or, to quote a modern philosopher — Buzz Lightyear —
“To infinity and beyond.”
That’s the best way to describe the kind of love Paul is talking about.
Love bears to infinity and beyond.
Love hopes to infinity and beyond.
Love believes to infinity and beyond.
Love is patient and kind to infinity and beyond.
Why?
Because the love we’re called to display is simply a reflection of the love we’ve already received.
We must stop being forgiven people who refuse to forgive. (See the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:21–35)
The same principle applies here — we are loved people who love.
We love to infinity and beyond because we have been loved to infinity and beyond.
God’s love doesn’t run out or run dry.
He doesn’t limit our chances or restrict His forgiveness.
His love is infinite — able to cover every sin, every failure, every regret.
That’s the kind of love Paul says never ends.