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COMMUNITY GROUP STUDY 4: GIFTS TO BUILD THE CHURCH
Jesus gives gifts to His church so they can do His works
Church has been traditionally seen like sitting in an airliner or cruise ship; we sit, get carried to heaven whilst we enjoy inflight entertainment. God has spoken to us prophetically, many times, about seeing ourselves more as a sailing ship- all hands on deck, responding to the wind of the Spirit. It’s an image of dependence on God and interdependence on one another.
i) WHAT IS A SPIRITUAL GIFT?
‘We may define spiritual gifts as: A spiritual gift is any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church.’ (Wayne Grudem)
There is no such thing as an exhaustive list of gift, as Sam Storms says,
‘I’m inclined to believe there are potentially as many gifts as there are needs in the life of the Church and in the experience of individual Christians. So, look for a need and meet it. Find a hurt and heal it. Be alert to the cry for help and answer it. Listen for the voice of God and speak it. Identify someone’s weakness and overcome it. Look for what’s missing and supply it. When you do, the power of God— the energizing, enabling, charismatic activity of the Holy Spirit— will equip you, perhaps only once, but possibly forever, to minister hope and encouragement to those in need. So, if you’re still wondering what your gift(s) might be, act first and ask later.’ (Sam Storms, Spiritual Gifts)
· Discuss/share about your experience of using or benefitting from the use of spiritual gifts?
ii) WE ALL HAVE SPIRITUAL GIFTS
By God’s grace we are not only saved, we are also gifted to serve Him, His people and the world.
1 Cor. 12:7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
1 Peter 4:10Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
· Read Romans 12:4-6 and discuss how the illustration of the body helps us to understand who has and how to use spiritual gifts?
iii) START USING YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS TO FIND YOUR GIFTS!
Imagine that you were stuck on a sailing ship on a long voyage. Imagine you had no training and so were clueless on what to do. I guess that you might go to the captain and ask if there’s anything that needed doing; you might see someone struggling and so help out; you might see a mess and clear it up… but, inevitably, if you get stuck in, you will find your ‘gifts’. You’ll come to realise that you are no good at navigation but you are great at cooking!
Finding your spiritual gifts is like a bit like this – you seek to serve and love people in word and deed and in so doing you discover who God has made you to be. We find and develop our spiritual gifts primarily through being prepared to serve a need - discovering and developing our gifts as we serve.
‘If we spend less time searching to identify our spiritual gift(s) and more time actually praying and giving and helping and teaching and serving and exhorting those around us, the likelihood greatly increases that we will walk headlong into our gifting without ever knowing what happened. God will more likely meet us with His gifts in the midst of trying to help His children than He ever would while we’re taking a spiritual gifts analysis test.’ (Sam Storms, Spiritual Gifts)
RESPONSE: READ, PRAY, GET GOING AND PERSEVERE
Read through the lists in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, 28, Roman 12:6-8, Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Peter 4:10-11 - What do you consider to be your top three spiritual gifts? (I’ve included a brief summary of each gift at the end of this section)
One who is lazy, fearful, prideful (haughty and easily offended) will not progress in using gifts. If you want to glorify God, love people are prepared to make mistakes and persevere, you are the kind of person the Spirit CAN AND WILL USE!
A LIST OF BIBLICAL GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
HOSPITALITY: ‘ Love of strangers’. Providing and open house and welcome to those in need of food and lodging.
TEACHING: The special ability to communicate information relevant to the health and ministry of the Body in such a way that others will learn.
HELPS: The special ability to invest their natural talents in the life and ministry of other members of the Body of Christ.
SERVING: Identifying the unmet needs involved in a task related to Gods’ work and to make use of available resources to meet those needs and help accomplish the desired goals. (We must remember that everyone is told to serve Galatians 5 v 13)
PROPHECY (spoken, sung can be received as a picture, dream or vision): Prophecy is declaring the immediate word of God to the church or an individual for edification and insight.
EVANGELISM: Sharing and teaching the church to share the gospel with unbelievers in such a way that men and women become Jesus’ disciples and responsible members of the local church
EXHORTATION and ENCORAGEMENT: The special ability God gives some members of the Body to minister words of comfort, consolation, encouragement, counsel or admonition to other members of the Body in such a way that they feel helped, healed, directed, inspired etc.
GIVING: The special ability God gives certain members of the Body to contribute their material resources to the work of the Lord with exceptional liberality and cheerfulness. (We must also remember that everyone is told to give cheerfully, 2 Corinthians 9)
LEADERSHIP: This gift does not refer to a particular official position but to anyone who gives a lead or example. Literally means “he that is placed in front”.
MERCY: The special ability God gives to certain members of the Body to feel genuine empathy and compassion for individuals, Christian and Non-Christian, who suffer distressing physical, mental and emotional problems, and to translate that compassion into cheerfully done deeds that reflect Christ’s’ love and alleviate suffering.
WORD OF KNOWLEDGE: A supernatural revelation of facts about a person or situation which is not learned through the natural mind, but is a fragment of knowledge freely given by God, disclosing truth which the Spirit wishes to be known about a person or situation.
WORD OF WISDOM: Saying what God sees in a particular situation, applying God’s wisdom to that situation to resolve it. It can include showing how a word of knowledge or prophecy may be best applied.
HEALING: The gifts of healing are the actual events of healing themselves which the sick person receives.
MIRACLES: Some would suggest that this gift specifically refers to the driving out of demons – a power confrontation with the forces of darkness. It would also refer to miracles other than healing.
DISCERNING OF SPIRITS: The ability God gives some members of the Body of Christ, which enables them to know with assurance whether certain behaviour purported to be of God is in reality divine, human or satanic.
TONGUES: The gift of speaking for self-edification, in language (human or angelic) unlearnt by the speaker in which the conscience mind plays no part.
INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES: God given inspiration to speak in the language of the hearers, the dynamic equivalent of what was spoken in a ‘public tongue’.
FAITH: Faith is the mysterious surge of confidence when facing a particular situation or need, giving a certainty that God is going to act.
ADMINISTRATION: This word was known in Paul’s time to have a sense of steering or directing and was drawn from the role of a helmsman in steering a ship. Not necessarily a formal position that is in mind but rather the activity.
CELIBACY AND MARRIAGE: Both are presented as gifts from God. The gift of celibacy enables people to continue to devote themselves to Christ and his service in a way that married people cannot.
PASTOR: The ability given to certain members of the Body to assume long-term personal responsibility for the spiritual welfare of a group of believers.
APOSTLE: The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ which enables them to assume and exercise general leadership over a number of Churches with an extraordinary authority in spiritual matters that is spontaneously recognised and appreciated by these churches.
DAILY PERSONAL BIBLE DEVOTIONAL WEEK 4 – GIFTS TO BUILD THE CHURCH
MONDAY: WHAT ARE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND WHAT ARE THEY FOR?
i) WHAT ARE GIFTS?
It’s vital that we don’t confuse spiritual gifts as being something other than God being present and working among us, as Sam Storms wrote,
‘Spiritual gifts are nothing less than God Himself in us, energizing our souls, imparting revelation to our minds, infusing power in our wills and working His sovereign and gracious purposes through us.’
When we consider the varying lists in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, 28, Roman 12:6-8, Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Peter 4:10-11 it is clear that Paul did not have a consistent, exhaustive list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
What is a gift of the Spirit?
‘We may define spiritual gifts as: A spiritual gift is any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church.’ (Wayne Grudem)
A BRIEF LOOK AT 1 CORINTHIANS 12
Gift: ‘Charisma’ – a gift given by grace.
1 Corinthians 12:4aThere are different kinds of gifts,
All the gifts (not just the miraculous) are given by the grace of God.
The Spirit ‘distributes them’ as he determines
1 Corinthians 12:4b, 11but the same Spirit distributesthem…11. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributesthem to each one, just as he determines. (See also Hebrews 2:4)
We cannot control the gifts that we get or don’t get. Don’t judge yourself by other people; be content to respond to how the Spirit leads you.
Service: ‘Diakonia’ – Service of others
1 Corinthians 12:5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
The various Gifts are given for service and love.
Working: ‘energema’ – divine power
1 Corinthians 12:6There are different kinds of working,but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
The gifts and their outworking are dependent upon ‘divine energy’. Yes, one may be using a natural talent – music for example. But it becomes a spiritual gift, as it is inspired and made fruitful by the Spirit’s working.
Manifestation: ‘Phanerósis’ – a disclosure of what is hidden
1 Corinthians 12:7Now to each one the manifestationof the Spirit is given for the common good.
The invisible God is revealed through the gifts (principally in our meetings), as we sing, hear teaching, prophecy etc. God is revealed to us.
ii) WHAT ARE THE GIFTS FOR?
Many church seem to get along perfectly well with the gifts of the Spirit. But, in actuality, many churches will be using a narrower range of gifts without calling them gifts. They fail to see teaching and administration and those ‘hunches’ that leaders get from time to time as gifts!
GIFTS ARE GIVEN TO BUILD/MATURE THE CHURCH
Ephesians 4:11-13So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Here is a limited range of gifts but it is clear that God’s intention is that all gifts ‘equip for works of service… build up…unify…impart knowledge of Jesus…mature…creating Christ-likeness’
1 Corinthians 12:7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
Gifts are not given for the ‘bad’ but for the ‘common good’. Gifts are Jesus walking into our meetings and doing what we need for our health and the salvation of the lost.
GIFTS ARE FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF OTHERS
1 Corinthians 14:3-4But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.
Prophecy (and all the other gifts) is for ‘strengthening, encouragement and comfort’. This doesn’t mean that gifts don’t challenge – But challenge is for the purpose of restoration. In the public setting gifts do bless the giver, but they are principally for the blessing of the community. This is why Paul doesn’t encourage the use of private tongues in the gathered church (unless it is brought publically and interpreted).
RESPONSE
Read, meditate and pray continuing with 1 Corinthians 12,
1 Corinthians 12:8-11. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
The Spirit gifts all of us, by grace, empowered by Him, to serve and reveal Him to others. If appropriate, confess your failures, fear, pride, unbelief and your desire to be used by Him in the future.
Read, meditate and pray that you would have the following attitude,
1 Corinthians 14:26When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
TUESDAY: DO I HAVE GIFTS AND HOW DO I DISCOVER THEM?
AS PART OF THE BODY OF CHRIST WE ALL HAVE GIFTS
If we are Christians, the Spirit has united us with Christ and are therefore a part of His body,
1 Corinthians 12:12-15 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized byone Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
Paul is correcting disunity and lack of love, in the use of gifts, in the Corinthian church. Rather than deter this church from the use of gifts, he corrects and encourages them to use the gifts properly - the answer to bad use is not no use it’s proper use! Paul doesn’t, like many Christians, treat unity and love as an end in themselves; rather, he speaks of unity and love so as to use gifts properly. Being part of the body speaks of purpose and action – He gifts us so that, together, we can mature, grow and impact the world for the glory of God! As Paul says,
Ephesians 4:16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
‘Each part’ must do its work. As in a body, there are no redundant members!
HOW DO I DISCOVER MY PART IN THE BODY?
Paul understood that, like in the body each of us important and different
1 Corinthians 12:16-18 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
RESPONSE
Finding your gifts is like finding out what the different parts of your body do. As you learn to walk you soon discover that your face is not a foot! To discover your gifts – get serving and try things out.
WEDNESDAY: HOW DO I GROW IN USING GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT?
Do you remember when you first started to learn to ride a bicycle (or another skill if you can’t ride a bike). When you start it seems that this is a skill made for beings of greater skill than you will ever attain! But, through perseverance, your first tentative escapades without stabilizers become like… like riding a bike!
We can only grow in anything by being prepared to try, take advice and persevere – you may have fallen flat on your face but no one wants to live there!
It is well known that a shark stays small if put in a small tank. Many of us fail to grow because we put ourselves in a small ‘tank’ of risk-averse safety. Using gifts is risky! You will make mistakes, be misunderstood, be corrected, suffer self-doubt… but you will grow, and others will grow ‘as each part does it’s work’ (Ephesians 4:16).
FAN YOUR GIFTS INTO FLAME
2 Timothy 1:6-7For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Gifts are like a fire – they need to be tended. We tend the fire of our gifts by fueling our souls through worship, study, through the ‘oxygen’ of being filled with the Spirit, through hearing the encouragement of the Spirit through scripture. Will you fan into flame your gifts? Are you waiting for someone to give you some kind of permission? Are you making your progress dependent upon how others treat you? One last thing. The lazy will not grow. He’s told us that the ‘Spirit does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.’ As someone said, God made us with two ends – a head and a bottom – growth is dependent upon which end we use most! If we won’t pray, learn and persevere we will stay right where we are.
RESPONSE
How will you ‘fan into a flame the gift that is within you? How are you serving? I find the challenge of Francis Chan apt – What would the world-wide church look like if everyone was as committed, serving and giving like you? Let’s be stirred to find, use, persevere in your gifts through serving.
THURSDAY: DIFFERING MEASURE OF GIFTING (IT’S OK TO BE OK)
We are all exposed to rare brilliance on a regular basis. We see Olympic athletes, musicians, Artists, preachers… everyday with our modern media. I don’t think that any of us search YouTube for the boring, uninteresting and the mediocre! I can easily be tempted into thinking that I’m a useless good for nothing because I’m not that amazing person that I’ve just watched do that amazing thing. If you feel like this it’s because your foundations are shaky.
FOUNDATIONS OF BEAUTY
You and I have worth because God says we are of worth – that’s it! If you are tempted to discount your existence because you can’t do a backward summersault it’s because you are building on the ungodly foundation of performance = worth – that’s not good!
Paul speaks of the value of every part of the body,
1 Corinthians 12:21-23The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty.
IT’S OKAY TO BE OKAY!
If you make your joy and worth depend upon becoming a superman (or woman) you are in for a rough ride – you just may not bother to ride at all! You’ve set the bar so ridiculously high! How many times have you heard someone say – “I can’t sing” (exchange ‘sing’ for anything else) and what they mean is “I can’t sing like Pavarotti or Ed Sheeran…” Do you know how I know you can sing? Because God commands all of us to sing! (Eph. 5:19)
It’s okay to be okay. God has gifted all of us in different measures and He calls us to use the gift and measure that we have. This is so releasing! You can be wildly successful because it’s only God that we are seeking to serve.
A FEW THOUGHTS FROM ROMANS 12:3-6
‘…For by the grace given me I say to every one of you…’
Paul reminds us that his salvation is the gift of God’s grace. Grace is the only foundation on which to receive, and healthily use, the gifts of God. Paul also reminds us that, by God’s grace, he is an apostle and has authority to teach them (James 3:1). We must not think of ourselves have having no teachers or authority – Some people are set over us, to teach us, in the Lord.
‘…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought…’
The antidote to pride is the gospel, as we read in 12:1-2. Pride is the antithesis to the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5) and love (Rom. 12:9-21; 1 Cor. 13). Humility is a key to a Spirit-filled life and church.
‘…But rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you…’
‘Faith’ should be translated ‘measure of faith’. Faith is the driver of what we can do for God. God gives great faith to some and less to others. It is a ‘sober’ person who learns to find their measure and live up to the grace has given them without idolizing or, indeed, even despising, others.
‘…For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have differentgifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with yourfaith…’
Again, as in 1 Corinthians 12, prophecy is treated as the pre-eminent gift, through which the church is encouraged. But, he urges us to use it ‘in accord with your faith’. Don’t allow pride to tempt you into prophesying things that you don’t actually believe for!
Do you strive for recognition and ‘think of yourself more highly than you ought’? Do you become embittered if you are not promoted, given leadership, asked to do things, feel overlooked? We are all tempted to pride and self-pity. Ask for grace of the Spirit to be like Christ in your humility.
We all have different gifts but we also have a ‘measure of faith’. Like the parable of the talents (Matt. 25), God has given us a measure of ability and opportunity. Don’t scorn your ‘1 bag of gold’ to invest – invest it!
‘He dispenses these gifts to His people in the Church according to the measure that He Himself has determined.’ Lloyd Jones Ephesians 4:1-16
RESPONSE
Are you working toward your ‘measure of faith’ by using the unique gifts God has given you?
Are you jealous and haughty as others do what you would like to be doing and how can you better deal with this?
FRIDAY: WHAT IS PROPHECY AND HOW CAN I DO IT?
We can all prophecy in some measure but some prophecy on such a regular basis and with such power that they are recognized as prophets.
WHAT IS PROPHECY?
In the gifts list earlier, we summarised prophecy,
Spoken, sung can be received as a picture, dream or vision: Prophecy is declaring the immediate word of God to the church or an individual for edification and insight.
Some would claim that prophets and prophecy no longer exists now that we have the bible – we have God’s word, they say, so why do we need lesser words from God? All I can say is that the bible itself promises prophets, prophecy and gives direction on who to do it! So, to honour God’s inerrant word (the bible) we have to accept the imperfect words of prophets! Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 13 that when Christ comes the gifts will cease; but, in the mean time we,
1 Corinthians 13:9 know in part and we prophesy in part.
EAGERLY DESIRE SPIRITUAL GIFTS ESPECIALLY PROPHECY
1 Corinthians 14:1Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy (See 12:31).
Love is the motive for prophesying. One who loves the church will be ‘eager’ to bless her through gifts, especially prophecy. I know that I can be passive at times, my desires being far from ‘eager’. What are you eager for? At around lunch time I ‘eagerly desire’ food. We eagerly desire what we actually need. I can be tempted to think that I can live life and do church without the Spirit and His gifts – without prophecy. Let’s eagerly desire Him and His gifts and see the fruit that comes as a result.
HOW TO PROPHESY IN THE CHURCH?
1 Corinthians 14:29Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 also)
· There is limited time and ability to digest what’s said and so God put’s a wise limitation on the amount of prophesies in a meeting.
· Prophecy should be ‘weighed carefully’. The ‘others’ who weigh could be the church or the elders but weighing should happen. At CCP it’s the elders to who do this by thinking and praying about what is shared.
A FEW POINTERS ON HOW TO PROPHESY
· Be consistent in your devotions and scripture study as the Spirit will inspire you to share scripture that’s is in you or to shape what you feel to share.
· Personally ‘Weigh’ your prophecy by scripture in advance of sharing it – is it in line with truth?
· Listen to what’s happening in the meeting – is your word in accord with what the Spirit is already saying?
· Think about what you are going to say so that you can be concise.
· Pay attention to things that come into your mind: words, scripture, images thoughts etc. that seem to have surprisingly ‘turned up’ in your mind.
· For obvious reasons, be very cautious in using “The Lord is saying…” (Something like it is used in Acts 21:11 so can’t be ruled out). Use a softer approach like “I feel that God may be saying…but please weigh what I’ve shared with you”.
RESPONSE
Everything that we do we, at some point, did for the first time. Gifts and prophecy will only happen if you decide to be open to the Spirit’s prompting. Are you eager to acquire and use spiritual gifts? How will you go about putting this into action?
Why not make a commitment to share something in every Community Group or Prayer meeting that you attend – a prayer, a scripture reading, prophecy…
As your confidence a skill grows be open to sharing on a Sunday morning.
SATURDAY: WHAT IS THE GIFT OF TONGUES?
SURELY TONGUES IS JUST STRANGE
If we took out of the bible everything that was strange, upsetting and embarrassing we would have very little left! As evangelical Christians we accept the whole word of God… the invasion on Canaan and tongues included!
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT THIS GIFT?
This gift seems to be common when the Spirit is powerfully working,
Acts 2:4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tonguesas the Spirit enabled them. (See also Acts 10:46, 19:6)
One could say that these are special and inapplicable moments until we read Paul’s teaching on the subject,
1 Corinthians 12:1-11Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.To one there is given through the Spirit…speaking in different kinds of tongues,and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
If the gift of ‘public tongues’ and interpretation were not good for us why would the Spirit, ‘distribute them as he determines’?
Paul also speaks of the private use of tongues,
1 Corinthians 14:2Anyone who speaks in a tonguedoes not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. (See also 14:4-5)
Paul teaches that tongues is particularly apt for the private setting. It is speaking to God.
CAN EVERYONE HAVE THIS GIFT?
It seems simple to just quote 1 Corinthians 12:10, 30 as teaching that not all have this gift. However 1 Corinthians 12 is about the public setting so one could see this as teaching that in the gathered church not everyone will have a public tongue to use. On balance, my conviction is that all can have the private prayer language of tongues. Paul even says,
1 Corinthians 14:1,18I would like every one of you to speak in tongues… I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
HOW CAN I START SPEAKING IN TONGUES
Of course, on occasion, the Spirit comes on one in such a way that one begins to speak in tongues as we see in 3 of the 5 accounts in Acts that we’ve looked at. Most of the time, and this is my experience, one desires to have the gift, asks God for it, has someone pray for them, begins to speak by choice as one takes a step of faith – this is as helpful as I can be!
HOW DO I USE TONGUES IN THE CHURCH?
1 Corinthians 14:27-28 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 to God.
· Similar to prophecy, because of limits on time and capacity to digest what’s said, God has put wise limits on the use of public tongues.
· Public tongues must be interpreted so that the church understands and is built up. Getting an interpretation is similar to the process of receiving a prophetic word (See that section on page 26). In my experience, one usually experience a burning desire to pray, praise or sing toward God about who He is, His salvation etc.
· Tongues is toward God rather than prophecy which speaks toward people (See 1 Corinthians 14:2-3)Therefore, we should expect interpretations to be in the form of a prayer or worship toward God.
RESPONSE
1 Cor.14:2,4,15Anyone who speaks in a tonguedoes not speak to people but to God. No one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit…Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves… if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, I will also sing with my understanding.
Do you have a godly attitude to tongues? Do you see that it’s a gift from the Spirit, to speak to God, a gift to build you up (‘edify’)? Will you, like Paul, pray that you will be enabled to ‘pray and sing with your spirit’?
If you already have the gift, are you using it? Paul teaches that tongues is particularly apt for the private setting. It is speaking to God. Therefore, let me encourage you to focus on God, who is present, when speaking in tongues in a private setting.
