1 Corinthians 11

Chapter 11. The Worship and Fellowship of the ChurchFollow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy…. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. (1 Corinthians 14:1, 1 Corinthians 14:3)When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. (1 Corinthians 14:26)Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. (1 Corinthians 14:39-40)We find in this chapter and in some paragraphs of the 11th chapter the apostle unfolding some important and practical principles relating to the exercise of the gifts of the Spirit in the worship and fellowship of the Church. Preeminence of Love

1. He emphasizes afresh the preeminence of love. “Follow the way of love” (1 Corinthians 14:1), he says. The verb is an intense one. Literally it means “pursue love” as the hunter pursues his game, as the miser pursues his gold. It is the most valuable of all attainments, therefore pursue it. It is the most difficult of all attainments, therefore pursue it. It is the crowning perfection of Christian life. It may sometimes seem very tedious that we should, after long experience in the school of Christ, have to be held down to little tests and conflicts from day to day, when it would be much more delightful to sweep out into the larger scope of some great achievement, or even to bear some tremendous trial and be done with it. And yet the artist spends much more time in finishing the details of his picture than in drawing the outline. A few freehand touches will easily sketch the foreground and the perspective, but days and weeks and even months are spent in little touches, faint tints and deepening shades. And it is just these little touches that constitute the difference between the work of genius and the superficial attempt of an amateur. So, too, in the Christian life the finishing touches are the most important and often come very near the end. Let us not be weary in the school or easily give up the lesson, but let us follow after love, and so run that we may obtain. Let us always realize that more than all our works and words, our seemingly great achievements, our most heroic sufferings, it is patience that perfects love. And it is love that constitutes the essential quality and the crowning glory of all true character. Prophecy
2. The place of prophecy is next discussed. While we are to pursue love we are also to desire spiritual gifts, and chief among them the gift of prophecy. Now this gift is very clearly defined in the next verse. It is not merely or mainly the power which foretells future events, nor is it at all the mission of receiving inspired revelations and adding to the already finished Word of God, but it is a simple and practical ministry of help to men. He defines it by three terms: “But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3). In a word, the prophet’s business is to build up men, to stir up men and to cheer up sorrowing and troubled hearts. To strengthen (edify) includes the ministry of instruction. To encourage (exhort) belongs the important work of rousing, stimulating and awakening the consciences and hearts of men. This is quite different from unfolding the teachings of the Scriptures. This is the ministry which convicts men of sin and startles the slumbering conscience into action. This is the ministry which forces the heart and conscience to a sense of its shortcomings and failures. This is the ministry that arouses the will to decision and action for God and for duty. This is the ministry that inspires enthusiasm, stirs up high purposes and calls to noble sacrifice and service. It stands as the living mouthpiece of God, and kindles and sets on fire the truth that has been already unfolded. Then the third element in prophecy is the ministry of comfort. It binds up the broken heart; it dries the falling tear; it cheers the mourner; it lifts up the depressed and discouraged; it quickens faith, hope and patience; it sends us forth like Barnabas as sons of consolation; it takes healing to the sick, hope to the mourner and opens the gates of heaven to the dying believer. What an attractive ministry is the prophetic office, following in the steps of Him who said, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19) Tongues
3. Next is presented the place of tongues. The gift of tongues represents the less practical and more brilliant enduements of the Spirit in the early Church. It was a divine influence which elevated the soul to a state of ecstasy and found expression in utterance of an elevated character, impressing the hearer with the manifest presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the subject of this influence. But the utterances were not always articulate or intelligible either to the speaker or hearer, and in many cases had to be translated by an interpreter. This gift of interpreting tongues was just as distinct as the tongues themselves, and, where it was lacking, the tongues were not understood, and the message was not immediately helpful to the hearers. Indeed, without a proper regard to edification and decorum it might become a stumbling block and even a cause of confusion and disgrace. It is quite evident from some of the quotations in this passage that the gift of tongues was not primarily intended to be a vehicle for preaching the gospel to foreign nations: “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit” (1 Corinthians 14:2). Surely that is sufficient without any further argument to show that this was not usually a vehicle of intelligent instruction to a foreigner. Again, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church” (1 Corinthians 14:4). Again, “He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified” (1 Corinthians 14:5). Here it is evident that there had to be another person to interpret the tongue, or else the man himself might, if he understood his own tongue. Again, in 1 Corinthians 16:13 we read, “For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says,” i.e., let him ask God for a second gift, namely, the gift of translating the tongue in which he has spoken into the tongue understood by the hearers. Again we read, For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful…. how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? (1 Corinthians 14:14, 1 Corinthians 14:16) The apostle himself had the gift of tongues, but he says with great emphasis, “But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:19). Let us notice carefully, by the way, that the word “unknown” used in the King James Version is not in the original, being printed in italics, and that the apostle is not here drawing a distinction between known and unknown tongues, but speaking generally of all tongues as unknown. The whole argument is confirmed and summed up by the statement in the 22nd verse, “Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers.” They are a sign of a definite influence present upon the speaker. But for that very reason they ought to be used with great caution. He illustrates this by a picture of an unbeliever coming into one of their meetings, when they were speaking with tongues, and concluding that they were mad. But, on the contrary, if he should come in and find them prophesying in intelligent speech he would fall down on his face and worship God, and report that God was in them of a truth. He adds, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God” (1 Corinthians 14:27-28). This surely settles the question. If more is needed to be said it would be sufficient to add that the apostle preached the gospel to the people among whom he moved through the Greek, Latin and Hebrew languages which he had himself acquired, and on one or two occasions his audiences were surprised to find that he could speak their language through the large and liberal culture which he had received. This gift of tongues being chiefly of the character of a sign, was liable to great abuse and seems to have been early withdrawn from the primitive Church. In modern times it has been revived, but with some liability of abuse. The story of Edward Irving is well known. After a career of extraordinary brilliancy and power, in his last days he adopted the theory that the supernatural gifts of the early church should be claimed in our own day, and there were undoubted instances, not only of miraculous power, but especially in the exercise of the gift of tongues. But through exaggeration of this gift and the strong temptation to use it sensationally, it became a source of much confusion and even ridicule, and a work that had in it undoubted elements of truth and power was discredited and hindered. In our own day there is the same strained and extravagant attempt to unduly exaggerate the gift of tongues, and some have even proposed that we should send our missionaries to the foreign field under a sort of moral obligation to claim this gift, and to despise the ordinary methods of acquiring a language. Such a movement would end in wild fanaticism and bring discredit upon the truth itself. We know of more than one instance where our beloved missionaries have been saved from this error and led to prosecute their studies in foreign languages with fidelity and diligence; and their efforts have been rewarded by supernatural help in acquiring foreign tongues in a remarkably short time, but not in despising proper industry and the use of their own faculties under God’s direction in acquiring these languages. The Place of Edification
4. Paul goes on to discuss the place of edification in the worship of the Church. “All of these must be done for the strengthening (edifying) of the church” (1 Corinthians 14:26). God’s object in everything He does is the practical help and real benefit of His people. God never works a miracle for the sake of showing He can work a miracle. He is a wise economist of force. He has no machinery simply for the purpose of displaying it. When we use any gift in order to show that we have the gift, we are desecrating God’s sacred trusts. The temptation of today is to the display of brilliancy, and easily runs into self-consciousness, vainglory and the worship of the creature more than the Creator. The true principle that should regulate all our words and acts is the glory of God and the good of our fellowmen. This will give attractiveness and sobriety to our words and acts in the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. The highest ambition that any minister can cherish is to supply plain, wholesome bread to the household of Christ. Let others go in for confectionery and pyrotechnic displays; let ours be the ambition to supply food to the children of God. There is nothing so popular and so sure to succeed as the simple gospel and the Word of the living God. Let us aim to reach the average man and leave it to others to attract the intellectual and the brilliant. Christ was a teacher for the common people, and we will find that His people in every age are still very simple, average people. The Church of Christ today is in danger of becoming a poor rival to the sensational journal and the extravagant modern stage. They can outdo us every time in this unequal competition, and we shall have not only the humiliation of defeat in bidding for the popular ear, but we shall have the displeasure and the curse of heaven for the sacrilegious abuse of an awful trust committed to us for the salvation and help of dying men. The Place of Testimony
5. Another practical principle Paul discusses is the place of testimony in the worship of God. Have we scriptural warrant for the testimony meeting, for the freedom of a service thrown open to the people and allowing everyone to have some part in the chorus of praises and witness bearing? Certainly we have. That is the very meaning of the remarkable verse which we have quoted above. “Everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation” (1 Corinthians 14:26). Let everyone come to contribute some part to the service. Break in with your chorus of grateful song, if the Spirit so impresses you, and let no one stare or sneer at the irregularity. Come out with your simple testimony of some truth that has helped you, and that you have been told to pass on for the help of others. Fear not to speak the message which the Holy Spirit has burned into your soul for the quickening and the rousing of your brethren. It will be a word in season for some weary soul. And if you have, in some simple form, even the old gift of tongues welling up in your heart, some Hallelujah which you could not put into articulate speech, some unutterable cry of love or joy, out with it. I remember a dear old black saint, now in heaven, who used to accentuate the most important periods and passages in the sermon, or the meeting, by sometimes springing to her feet with a burst of ecstatic overflow that no language could express. It was a sort of inarticulate cry, while her face literally blazed in its ebony blackness with the light of glory. She was simply beating time to one of God’s great strains, and while the ear of exquisite taste was sometimes offended, I believe the Holy Spirit was pleased, and the true heart of His Church ought always make room for the artless freedom of the Spirit’s voice. There are no monopolies in the Church of Jesus Christ, and reverent faith will always say, “Let the Lord speak by whom He will.” The Place of Order
6. Following the practice of freedom in testimony Paul points out the place of order in the worship of the Church. But along with all this we must never forget the reverence and decorum due to the house of God and the services of His sanctuary. “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:40) is the apostle’s mandate. There is no need that devotion should run riot or that emotional excitement should carry us off our feet or lead us into extravagance and excesses of mere natural feeling. Let one wait for another. Let there be thoughtful deference and loving consideration. Even if the Spirit does impress you to speak, He can wait for the fitting opportunity. If you are controlled by Him you will wait, too. “The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets” (1 Corinthians 14:32). The Holy Spirit does not ride roughshod over a sanctified judgment and a sensitive courtesy. He always recognizes the rights of others and your own sense of propriety. Some people are afraid to yield themselves to the Spirit for fear He will make them do some crazy thing. He does not act in this way. He has given us an instance of delicacy, modesty, order, self-respect, and He never outrages it in His children. He is a gentle Spirit. He suggests, directs and even commands; but He wants our whole being to work in harmony with Him. A true regard to this would prevent many rude exhibitions of fanaticism or wild fire which are justified too often by the pretence of divine inspiration. “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:40). The Place of Women
7. Finally, Paul deals with the place of women in the work and worship of the Church. What right has a woman to minister in the Church of Christ, and how far is she restricted by the apostle’s guarded regulation? a. Let it be remembered that in previous passages (1 Corinthians 11:5) he has already recognized woman’s right to prophesy and pray in public, simply requiring her to do it modestly and with simplicity, which was then recognized as her subordinate place as a woman. If, then, he recognized the right of ministry certainly it would be inconsistent to suppose that he withdraws it. b. Women did exercise many vocations of Christian ministry in the apostolic Church without question. We read of those women that “labored with him in the gospel” (see Philippians 4:3), and we know that Phoebe was a deaconess in the church at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1). c. Prophesying, which was recognized in 1 Corinthians 11:5 as a woman’s legitimate ministry, included speaking unto men “for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3). Therefore, a woman’s right to speak to men as well as to women for their instruction, quickening and comfort is clearly recognized. d. What then are the restrictions? Well, it is very certain that she is to so exercise her ministry as not to transcend the limits of modesty and womanly propriety. The wearing of the covering upon her head was the recognition of this in that day, and it simply means today that she is to act with such reserve that she will never unsex herself or try to take the place of a man. The apostle distinctly recognizes not her inferiority to man, but her subordination to man. She is man’s equal in ability and honor, but she is subordinate to his authority. Just as two judges who sit on the same bench are equal in ability and dignity, but one is the head of the court and the other is a member of it. “The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man” (1 Corinthians 11:3). The head of Christ is God, and yet Christ is equal to God. Every modest and sensible woman will clearly recognize the scriptural principle and save herself the loss of power that always comes from getting out of place. Further, this was more marked in the case of the wives than of other women. In the relationship of home the woman voluntarily placed herself under the authority of her husband. Rotherham solves the difficulty in this passage by translating the word wife for woman. “Let the wives keep silence in the churches, and if they will learn anything let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for the wives to speak in Church” (1 Corinthians 14:34-35). This translation throws much light upon the passage, which is increased by the word “disgraceful,” which seems to refer to the social customs of that day, especially the discredit that would attach to a woman by bursting through the etiquette of their time. Were a woman in the East today to throw off her veil and appear with uncovered face to the public it would be a shame, and yet it would not be a sin. It would at once, however, brand her as a woman of bad character. There is yet one more consideration which throws light on this passage. It is the technical sense of the word Church. It does not mean a church building, which they did not then possess, but it meant the ecclesiastical order, formal assembly of the congregation. In this view the passage might mean that woman was not to take an official place in the ecclesiastical organization, was not to be one of its elders, its rulers, its ecclesiastical leaders. But within these modest and reasonable restraints, a woman has no restriction placed upon her highest usefulness. He who allowed a woman of old to be His preeminent instrument of witness and blessing to the world, has put no unreasonable barrier in the way of her testimony and service now. She was first to herald the Savior’s resurrection, let her be the first to welcome Him at His advent and to strike the note that will announce His coming. In a day when a woman is not ashamed to expose herself on the indecent stage, and in the wild and riotous revel of modern society, let her not be ashamed to stand for Christ as His loving and faithful witness, and be found when He comes not only with Mary at His feet, but with Anna of Jerusalem, and with the Magdalene of the resurrection morn going forth with flying feet to tell to men the glad story of His resurrection, ascension and coming again.