1 Corinthians 14:16-40 | Episode #1000

August 8, 2025

Hope Alive: Applying God’s Word to Your Daily Life

1 Corinthians 14:16-40

I am Chad Harrison, and I am the teaching pastor of Lake Community Church and had been serving as a pastor for 25 years. I'm also a practicing attorney. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word and find God's will for your life. The purpose of studying scripture is that you might know the character of Jesus Christ, and that you might see the world from the Father's perspective. That you gain wisdom that changes your life. I pray in the name of Jesus right now that God would open His word to you and allow you to see Him and to know Him. To know His will, that you might glorify Him and that you might walk in faith and power each day, especially today. In Jesus name.

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Transcript

This is Chad Harrison, and you're listening to Hope.

Applying God's word to your daily life.

As we finish Faithful Finance, we want to produce our winter Bible study done at Lake Community Church on First Corinthians.

It'll be a fairly long Bible study.

We will break it up into different parts and so you will get a really good, really fast study through the book of 1 Corinthians before we move on to the book of Joshua.

Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say amen? Meaning, if you're going to do something spiritual that glorifies God, you need to do it in such a way that everybody can do what say amen to it.

They can glorify God for it. Right?

He says, for you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.

I thank my God that I speak with tongues more than you all.

What he's saying is, I do this a lot,

so don't act like I. You don't know what I'm talking. I don't know what I'm talking about. I can say that I'm not that way.

I. I probably use the gift every other day. Some.

Most of my prayers are in English.

Well, Southern ease, you know,

South Alabama hillbilly language.

But.

But sometimes I do. Sometimes it just happens.

Yet in the church, I would rather you speak five words with my understanding that I may teach others also than 10,000 words in a tongue.

So what is he saying? Good ratios five to 10,000.

All right,

five words in a tongue to 10,000 words of edification.

Makes sense, doesn't it? So it shouldn't be just a big old frenzy. Should.

Should be done at the right time, in the right place.

Brethren do not be children in understanding. However,

in malice be babes. Meaning if you're going to be malicious about this, if you're going to have malicious,

malicious intent. And by the way,

that's not there by accident.

So he's saying some people operate in their gifts with malicious intent.

He says,

in malice be babes,

but in understanding be mature. He says, I want you to understand how this works.

I think it's important for the church to do that. In the law, it is written with men of other tongues and other lips. I will speak to this people,

and yet for all that, they will not hear me.

Meaning, he says, I can speak to them in all kinds of languages,

but that doesn't mean it doesn't matter if I speak to them in language, if I don't speak them by the Spirit,

which is prophecy.

Therefore, tongues are for a sign,

not to those. Now, this is where he's explaining the Pentecost side of it. Okay?

He's explaining Pentecost here.

Therefore, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but. But to unbelievers.

But prophesying is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. What he's saying is, is the way this worked is you would speak an unknown tongue to someone, but it would be known to them,

and that's for them. And they would realize you don't even. They. You don't know my language. And how do you. How are you speaking to me these words?

And it would make them believe.

He says, therefore, if the whole church comes together in one place and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are all out of your mind?

And as a Baptist, I used to call it Rama lama ding dong. And you know what I'm saying? He's just running and nobody knows. And they'd go, y' all are nuts.

And if a church. If people say you're nuts because you're out of order,

that's your fault.

But when people come in and see it used properly and see the manifestation of the Spirit and feel the Holy Spirit move and know the truth that's gained by it, they will honor God.

He says, but if all prophesy and an unbeliever, uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all,

and thus the secrets of his heart are revealed. And so falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

Now, we're fixing to get in another section where he's going to get on to the women here in Corinth. Okay?

Apparently, the women in Corinth were majorly out of control. Okay,

I'm going to say again this week, like I said to y' all last week,

this is not us.

We do not have out of control women.

Okay? We don't have men who are not doing their jobs in the kingdom.

We've got men properly functioning as they should in the church. And we have women who are serving, leading, ministering, prophesying, doing all the things that they should be doing.

But they didn't have that in Corinth. And that's why he wrote this letter.

How is it then, brethren, whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.

If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or three, or at most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.

So if we're going to do it, we got to have an interpretation.

But if there is no interpreter, let him be silent in the church and let him speak to himself and to God.

Let two or three prophets speak and let the others judge, meaning let somebody else stand up and give a word of knowledge, a word of prophecy, and then the other ones judge whether or not it's right.

And by the way, we meet every Monday morning and.

And. And judge whether or not what I said was right. Right.

Or whoever preached that Sunday.

We actually do this,

don't we?

Amen.

He says.

He says, but if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first bit keep silent.

For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and that all may be encouraged.

And the spirit of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

Meaning who gets to decide?

Those who are in charge.

Okay?

There's no way to get around that.

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.

If people are leaving here confused, that's a problem.

Okay?

As in all the churches of the saints. Now he's saying that's the way it is. Notice he always mentions this before he gets on to whatever was going on there.

He mentions this,

he says, when they're talking about hats and not wearing hats and covering your head, he says it's not so with all the other churches, but I've got to talk to y' all about it,

okay?

Which means, Mike, you can wear a hat, although you've got some beautiful gray hair. Okay?

He said.

He says, let your women keep silent in the churches. What he's basically saying is, y' all are out of control. Shut up.

For they not permitted to speak, but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want. Now remember,

look at him. The gift. The man who has the gift of works got the heater cut off.

Thank you, brother.

He says, let your women keep silent in the churches. And if they want,

he went back to the law.

He says, if y' all not gonna act right, we gotta go back to the law.

And the law says you gotta shut up.

Now,

I want you to hear me.

Are we under the law?

No, we're not under the law.

Are there Jews and Greeks?

No.

Are there slaves and free?

No.

Are men and women different under the cross?

No.

But if you ain't going to act right, Then we got to go back to the law,

he says, which means you just be quiet and ask your husband.

And if your husband don't know, then write him about it because he needs to know.

Amen.

God deliver me from pastoring. Men who don't know want to know about who he is.

I don't have that in this church, but I have had it.

The worst thing that possibly be is men who want to remain ignorant.

Am I right,

he says, or did the word of God originally come for you? Or was it only that it reached?

Are you the only one that it reached? If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.

Which means if somebody gets mad about what I just wrote,

test it and see whether it's not from God.

That's what he's saying.

That's what you think about that.

But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.

Which means if you want to keep being ignorant, we're going to treat you like you're ignorant.

Therefore, brethren desire earnestly to prophesy and do not forbid the speaking with tongues.

Now, listen to me. I don't got onto the tongue speakers, okay?

The. The charismatics,

Paul said, do not forbid the speaking in tongues. So I don't care where you come from. That is clear in scripture. He says, do not forbid it.

So if you say, we don't want that in our church, you are out of line with First Corinthians, chapter 14.

Sorry. You are. And you have cut off an aspect of the working of the Holy Spirit in your church, and that's a problem.

And what other aspects of the working of the Holy Spirit are you cutting off?

And what other benefits are you missing out on?

And why do you have anger and.

And malice and divisions in your church?

Well, maybe because you're not one body. Maybe you cut off your arm and your left foot.

Maybe you plucked your eyes out. Or maybe worse,

you yanked your ears off and you can't hear from God.

Just a little prophesying.

Let all these things be done decently and in order.

This is not a show.

It ain't a show.

I sure hope you don't think it's a show.

As you go today, I pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you,

that he'll make his face to shine upon you, and that he will give you hope and peace today in Jesus name.