TRISTAN SHERWIN

So, here’s the Youtube link (https://youtu.be/7BnZ9cz8QoI) and my notes on 1 Corinthians 14.

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READ: 1 Corinthians 14:1 – 15:2

NO “I” IN TEAM

Have you ever felt like a spare part? I used to hate PE at school, and I found that most sports that claimed to be “team sports” at school, weren’t. Especially football.

When it came to football, they’d be 11 of us on the pitch, all dressed in the same colours. From the outside, we looked like we were together, but the truth was we were a group of individuals.

Out of the 11 of us, they’d be possibly 4 people who could call themselves a “team”. They were the “special four” that had all the gifts, and so they would play the ball to one another, showing off their skills and talent as they did so. Whilst the rest of us would be “spare parts”; running around just to keep warm. And when one of us “spare parts” did manage to get the ball, we’d then find one of own, one of the “special four” tackling us, just to make sure we didn’t mess it up. As a result, we didn’t grow or develop; we just got worse, whilst they showed off and developed their private skills.

Now understandably, the “special four” wanted to win—that was their goal. But the thing is, we almost always lost. And whenever we lost, the “special four” would then blame it on the rest of us for not pulling our weigh, even though they never gave us the chance to play.

Their focus was wrong—the goal wasn’t to win, we weren’t playing a “match”, we were exercising/training. The idea behind team sports was that we would learn to move as a unified whole: discovering each other’s gifts, and encouraging and building up those who are weaker. But because their focus was wrong, instead of taking their gifts and serving the others, this “special four” just took it as an opportunity to strut their individualism. They misunderstood the lesson.

FRACTURED BODY

I think the Apostle Paul’s lesson in these chapters on Spiritual Gifts has also been misunderstood.

We know, when reading these passages, that Paul has something really important to teach the church in Corinth and, by extension, us today about the use of spiritual gifts. But whenever these passages crop up in discussion and we then try and implement our understanding of them—especially within Pentecostal churches—it’s amazing how many of us feel that the thrust of what Paul is at pains to communicate is, “exercise more of the spiritual gifts”. And so we go, and put on meetings were we can come together just to exercise our own, private spiritual gifting. When actually, Paul is stressing how much more important it is for us to behave as a body; a unified whole.

These passages, in Chapter 12 and 14, aren’t so much about gifts—they’re about the problems of division. As per the rest of this letter, Paul, after hearing about the arguments that are happening in the church (1 Cor 1:10), is writing to emphasise the importance of how the church is meant to function—what it looks like to be Christ’s body and to express God’s cruciform, self-emptying nature. Paul, right from the start of chapter one has been on the topic of division and how to behave as a body—and he hasn’t stopped to take a break here.

It’s not only just the social life of the church that is fragmented and failing to work as a body (through issues of social hierarchy, sexual abuse, pride and idolatry etc. that we’ve looked at in the previous chapters), but also when they gather together; when the church meets, its explosive (not in a good way).

Way back in chapter 11:17, Paul says, “But I cannot praise you on this next issue, for when you meet together, it sounds like more harm is being done than good”. He then goes onto to talk about how they eat the Lord’s Supper, and that the poorest and the weakest in the church community are being excluded and abandoned whilst the powerful stuff their faces because they’re follow the Corinthian conventions. In that passage Paul stresses to them the importance of “waiting upon one another” (11:33). This isn’t about waiting only in the time sense (as in waiting for others); waiting upon each other is about serving and being thoughtful of those weaker than yourself. But they’re not doing this because there’s elitism in the church at Corinth!

Paul then goes straight into the spiritual gifts (in chapter 12), because like their treatment of the Lord’s Supper, how those elitist Corinthians are exercising the gifts is also contributing to harm that is taking place when they gather together. Paul writes that he has to ‘correct [their] misunderstandings about the spiritual gifts’ (12:1).

Except, Paul doesn’t really write anything about the spiritual gifts at all. Which is telling, because when I first came faith I read numerous books about the gifts; pages upon pages about what they were and how they operate etc. But Paul gives no definitions whatsoever; no long diatribes on the difference between a word of knowledge, a word of wisdom and a word of prophecy; no explanation as to why a gift of faith is not equivalent to the gift of miracles.

This isn’t Paul’s focus. This isn’t the misunderstanding he wants to highlight.

He lists what the gifts are, bu before doing so he purposely points out that regardless of what gift we are given, it’s the same Spirit that works in us all. And that everyone of us, every person within the church, has been given a gift! (12:7) Why’s Paul’s stressing this? Because there’s this elitism within Corinth—some people feel that only some are gifted, and therefore better.

This is the misunderstanding Paul is addressing.

To further emphasize the point he making, Paul then talks about us being one body (12:12-31), and that it’s foolish for the hand to say it does not need the foot, and the eye not needing the ear.

By the way, Paul’s choice of body parts is really important: feet were seen as unworthy and filthy in Mediterranean cultures. Unlike hands, which you would extend to greet and embrace someone, showing your feet to somebody was seen as a huge insult. Eyes were also given more honour than the other senses because they were thought to be the inlet to all insight and the source of a person’s power. So by purposely picking these parts, Paul’s once again tackling some sort of elitist, superiority complex—where others think they’re more essential to the body and honourable. But Paul overturns all that by saying that the body parts they view as less dignified, are the most necessary, and therefore it’s those parts that require the special care and extra honour from the other parts. In other words, the hand’s role, if you consider yourself a hand, is to bathe and clothe the feet.

Paul then jumps into the marvellous chapter 13—the famous love passage. And his point is the same—it’s not about love in the abstract, it’s about loving one another. Love isn’t boastful, jealous and proud (like a “hand” is over a “foot”), its kind and patient. Love is not irritable (or, a better way of saying that is it’s not harmful). Paul begins this famous passage by saying, ‘loving one another is better than all the gifts’ (12:31b), and concludes with the sentiment that we are to make ‘loving [one another] our highest goal’ (14:1). Because if we don’t love one another, then actually, the gifts are useless and they cause more harm than good.

I hope you can see, that through all of this, Paul is trying to pull some people within the church away from their elitist, individualism. Because if we’re really following the Spirit’s leading, and expressing the Spirit of God in our lives, then the ultimate evidence of us being the body of Christ is not our gifts, but our love for one another. Or, as Jesus put it, ‘Your love for one another will prove that you are my disciples’ (John 14:35).

The truth is, that although nothing may separate us from the love of God, it only takes the minuscule to separate us from loving each other. So it’s no surprise that when Jesus tells us that, it’s only a few verses later when he speaks of sending the Spirit, the Counsellor (the Paraclete), to help us.

But back to Paul…

It’s only after laying this groundwork, that Paul finally swoops in a tackle their misuse of the spiritual gifts in chapter 14. And again, there’s an emphasis on the world all in this passage; doing what is helpful to everyone, and not just doing what you like. To paraphrase a summary by N.T Wright: “This chapter is all about making sure that public worship builds everybody up rather than simply [allowing some people] to develop their own spiritual giftedness and displaying it like strutting peacocks.”[i]

CHAOS AND EXCLUSION

Corinth is a mess! Individualism, elitism, and consumerism are paralysing it from expressing God’s love—even though they operate in spiritual gifts. I need you to know, that I what I am about to say, I say as some who speaks in tongues (during worship/praying etc.). The Apostle Paul does too (14:18), and he encourages the gift—he doesn’t want to see it put on mute (14:39). But Corinth is a mess because of how some people are using this gift.

They speak in tongues, and Paul affirms that it’s a good thing. But tongues only builds up the individual; it doesn’t help anybody else, unless there’s an interpretation (14:1-4). Paul has already written a list of gifts in 1 Cor 12:28 and he purposely puts tongues at the bottom, because all the others gifts above it are acts of service towards others (and, incidentally, he ranks the gifts of ‘helping others’ and ‘bringing people together’ as being more important).

Throughout chapter 14, Paul repeatedly calls the church to seek the gifts that will be helpful to others, but the Corinthians, rather selflessly, seem to champion tongues as the greatest gift. Their problem is that they speak too much in tongues; their lack of any real desire to listen and to speak to each other in an understandable way (in order to edify one another) just shows that they are actually childish and immature (14:20). They’re sole concern is their own private spirituality and enjoyment.

To a great extent, their overemphasis on speaking in tongues is blocking the more helpful gifts functioning within the church. [Even Interpretation—Pauls advice is that they have to seek out another’s gift]

You also get the impression in this passage, especially in Paul’s summary (14:26-33), that everything is happening all at once in Corinth. Everyone is speaking in tongues all at once (and no one is concerned about giving an interpretation). Everyone is Prophesying all at once—no one is assessing what’s being said. Everyone is praying at once, and no one is hearing the cries of another’s prayer and saying ‘amen’ to it. Everyone is singing different songs at the same time, and no one is moving and breathing in rhythm with the person next to them.

No one is actually waiting on each other, like Paul wants them to do around the Lord’s Table (11:33) and as he suggests in his summary, when he says that people should speak one at a time. So instead of one meeting, there’s many: one meeting per individual. It’s a free for all.

And in a meeting that is just a free for all; then it’s those who are the loudest and the most dominant that will come out on top, whilst the concerns and questions of the quiet, the prayers and petitions of the vulnerable, and even the words that God is speaking through the weakest are just getting buried in all the noise. That’s a major problem.

Not only does God deliberately choose to work through the weak things, and so they’re missing what God is saying (as Paul mentions in 1 Cor 1:27), but Paul also wants the most vulnerable of the community to be cared for. They need to be heard, God needs to be heard through them, but it’s all being shouted down by others who are operating in their spiritual gifts.

All of this sounds crazy, doesn’t it? There are people, operating in a Spiritual gift, that are actually working against what God’s Spirit is desiring to do in their midst. They want gifts—they want the supernatural—but they don’t actually want each other.

It’s important we hear this. Because as a Penetcostal church I hear a lot of peoples saying things like, “the Spirit hasn’t moved in the meeting this morning (there was no tongues etc.)”. But, I have to ask, did you not feel prompted to love someone this morning? Did you listen to someone? Did you pray for someone? Serve someone? Because if we, personally didn’t want to be moved towards others this morning, and if all we wanted is for the gifts to be exhibited, then we are merely replicating the same attitudes that are harming the church in Corinth—the attitudes Paul is trying to correct in this passage.

It’s good to desire the gifts. But if we desire the gifts of the Spirit, and we’re not desiring to walk across the room and greet someone we don’t know—that makes us a bunch of hypocrites. If we want to hear more speaking in Tongues or Words of knowledge, but we are unwilling to stop gossiping, bickering, slandering, and pulling down others within the church, than we are a living/walking contradiction (you’re just a clanging cymbal). If we’re wanting to perform healings, but we do not want God to deal with our racism or our prejudices—then we’re not healers—we are not peacemakers in God’s Kingdom. If we want to work miracles, but we can’t be bothered visiting the widow, the orphan and the prisoner, then we are not people who are filled with the Spirit of Christ (Matt 25:31-46).

To paraphrase Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:1—“Great, you speak in tongues! But without love, you’re still a nuisance to humanity and not a blessing.”

There’s an important lesson here; like Corinth, we could operate in the gifts of tongues—but it still doesn’t mean that God’s Spirit moved on or in us. If we’re not moving towards loving neighbour and loving our enemies as Christ did, if we are full of spectacle but empty of cruciform, selfless love, then maybe we’ve took a wrong turn somewhere and we need to repent.

Corinth’s meetings are absolute chaos (they don’t reflect God, 14:33), but they don’t see it—those who are speaking in tongues are having a great time (well, at least some of them are) and in a previous message to Paul, they’ve also tried to defend their approach (which we’ll come to in moment). But no one is building up anybody else, no one is helping, or loving one another. Again, they are immature: they‘re doing church for what they can get out of it as individuals—they’re sole concern is their own private spirituality and enjoyment—THAT’S UNHEALTHY CHURCH.

OUTSIDERS

But not only is this attitude harmful to the church internally, Paul also says in this passage that this pursuit of their own private spirituality and enjoyment is also harmful to the church’s witness.

Within Corinth, there were many other religious groups—especially mystery cults; which professed to have special knowledge that only their initiates (those in the group) had access to. These mystery cults where known for going into trances and speaking in unknown languages. They did so to put out this idea that outsiders weren’t permitted to know this secret knowledge—it was a way of excluding people.

Paul doesn’t want the church to come across like that—the gospel, God’s offer of life is for everyone to hear: it’s not secret knowledge, and we’re not to keep it to ourselves. The Corinthians themselves, originally being “outsiders”, would not have heard and known God’s word if Paul and Priscilla hadn’t brought it to them (See Acts 18). But some of the Corinthian’s don’t agree [which is probably why they’re not seeking the gift of interpretation]. They believe they are in the right about keeping God’s words to themselves, and we meet their attitude in 1 Cor 14: 21-22.

Without going into some long scholarly conversation, I’m in agreement with a scholar called Lucy Peppiatt, when she suggests that verses 21-22 is not Paul’s opinion but the Corinthian’s (this makes better sense of the apparent contradiction that then happens in the verses which immediately follow). Like what we’ve seen in other parts of the letter (like chp 6), all Paul is doing is quoting/echoing what they’ve already said to him during the course of this conversation that has been happening through a number of messages/letters between Paul and the church.[ii]

They’re quoting Isaiah 28, because they misunderstand it as justifying their use of tongues to keep outsiders/unbelievers out. Not only this, but the Corinthians also think that prophecy is exclusively for those who are “in” (I.e, God’s “secret” words are only for those who are “in”).

But Paul rebukes these ideas in 14:23-25: All that will happen is that people will think you are crazy (or, to reflect back to problem with cults, that you’re in some ecstatic trance). But if you all prophesied—if you spoke in an understandable way about God’s Kingdom Gospel—then the people you are excluding would hear; God’s word would touch them and transform their lives.

Again, there’s this elitist idea that makes them feel that church is some “private” club. But the church, the body of Christ, is to be a vehicle of God’s blessing to the world. Paul wants them to understand that they don’t just exist for themselves (like he’s already hinted at in chapter 6). So not only are we to love one another and help one another in the church, but we also to love and be helpful to those outside the church, too.

An inward looking church—that seeks to amuse itself and neglect the rest of humanity—is an unhealthy church.

But there’s another health problem here… and it has to do with some women.

PUT ON MUTE

In verse 34, Paul appears to tell women to be quiet in church—that it’s improper for to speak.

Here’s a verse that’s caused a lot of harm to the church, again, because people have misunderstood the lesson. But before we run away with silly ideas about silencing all women, for all time, we need to pause and think.

There are a number of ideas about the context Paul is speaking about in this version. For some scholars, it’s a matter of women who have been segregated in the meeting shouting across to their husbands to ask questions; and this is causing disruption. For others, it’s the servant women of the homes that the church met in; that as they go about their servant duties (because they’ve been wrongly excluded from partaking in the meeting) they’re chatting amongst themselves or interrupting the service by asking questions. For others, like with the Isaiah quote, verse 34 and 35 could also be seen as the opinion of some dominant men within Corinth; so verse 34 is a Corinthian quote that Paul then rebukes in verse 36 saying, “What! Do you really think that God’s word begins and ends with you Corinthian men! Well, you’re mistaken”.[iii]

But let’s say that these are Paul’s words. This whole passage has been about the need for church meetings to be helpful. Paul has also mentioned in verse 26-33 about things not being chaotic—things should be done in order, people should take turns, one person speaks at a time, the others listen and assess; the whole passage is about not disrupting and interrupting one another, or shouting each other down, or making it a free for all. And it’s the same here.

Paul’s not against women speaking in church. After all, in chapter 11, when talking about head coverings, Paul clearly expresses his desire to see women speak in church, as they pray and prophesy (11:5). To prophesy is to bring God’s word to the church—it’s preaching. (Also, at the start of this passage, Paul expresses his desire to see all the believers in Corinth to be able to prophesy–and all is a pretty inclusive word).

Not only that, but let’s not forget whose household Paul is addressing; Chloe’s household—Chloe’s the patron of this house church (1Cor 1:10). Additions, in Acts chapter 18, when Paul establishes this church, he does so with the help of a lady called Priscilla. And after he leaves for Ephesus, and a man called Apollos arrives at Corinth, its Priscilla who teaches Apollos the more accurate truth of the Gospel (Acts 18:24-26). [And there’s many other references to women in ministry in Paul’s letters, the gospel and the OT].

What we also need to see is that these particular women aren’t the only ones that Paul tells to keep silent! He tells everyone to be quiet in church—except the one person who’s currently speaking; like these women, the rest should also be silent/submissive and assess/evaluate what is being said until they have time to speak (14:29). So Paul is asking no more of these particular women than what he has already asked of the entire church. Throughout this letter Paul has continually taught Corinth to submissive to one another; they’re to adopt a cruciform, self-emptying, Christ-like posture of love towards each other. No one is to dominate, or be in authority.

Paul also tells tongue speakers to shut up as well—unless there’s someone to give an interpretation, they should keep quiet.

Of course, we know that in both these cases he’s not saying that people should be silent, it’s an activity he’s addressing. Paul wants everything to be done in a way that is helpful and orderly. It’s the same thing in v34. This is not about gender. Paul, if this is Paul, is not saying all women should be silent; it’s the interruption and disruption of some particular women that’s being addressed.

And we could stretch this principle even further; Implied within this whole passage is the idea that anything that is not good for the whole church, anything that doesn’t edify the body of Christ or speak clearly to those outside of it, should be put on mute.

Or, to echo Paul’s powerful speech in chapter 13, if we aren’t going to be motivated by love towards each other—regardless of what spiritual gifts we operate in—then we shouldn’t be doing it at all. If it’s not in love, it’s worthless, it’s irritating and it’s of no value whatsoever (13:1-3).

Without love for each other, the church (and subsequently, anything the church does) diminishes into being oppressive and divisive.

We want the power of God to move amounts us. But we can’t forget the foolish, upside-down pattern of God’s power and wisdom that Paul had described in chapter one of this letter: the crucified God.

When God acted in love—when Christ poured out his life on that cross—it wasn’t oppressive or chaotic, it was the act that saved us and liberated us from chaos, despair and death. The Cross of Christ, like I’ve said before in this series, is the pattern for the church’s life and it’s meetings together; and that’s why we need to be reminded of the Gospel. Which is what Paul will explore next in his letter to the Corinthians as he moves into chapter 15.

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ENDNOTES

[i] N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians, “1 Corinthians 14.1-5, Priorities in Worship” (SPCK, 2012), p.181.

[ii] See Lucy Peppiatt, Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul’s Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians (Cascade, An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2015), p.128-129.

[iii] For a small cluster of opinions cf: N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians, “1 Corinthians 14.26-40, Last Instruction for Worship” (SPCK, 2012), p.199. Lucy Peppiatt, Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul’s Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians (Cascade, An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2015), p.130-131. Cynthia Long Westfall, Paul and Gender: Reframing the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ , “Women in Service or Silence” (Baker Academic, 2016), p.228-239. Personally, I’m sympathetic towards Peppiatt’s insight.