"So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak it to the air."
1 Corinthians 14:9
Part 2
Yesterday:
“So likewise ye.”
Like musicians who cannot play the notes clearly, and we cannot tell what song they are playing, so are we if our words in our churches are not clear!
“Except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood.”
It is not about fancy words, or about churchy words, or speaking in tongues. Our spoken words need to be clear for all to understand what we are saying, especially at church!
Today:
If we are not using exact words, “easy to be understood,” then,
“How shall it be known what is spoken?”
Imagine how difficult it is to be immersed in another culture and not understand any words that are spoken from the voices around you. Talk about confusing! It has been one of the joys of our lives, for my wife and me to be able to travel as missionaries to several countries. What a pleasure to attend the worship services with our brothers and sisters wherever the Lord has led us. What a blessing to preach in a service that was actively translated into three languages, one after the other! The message was being preached in English, then translated to Spanish, and then into Aztec. A thirty-minute[1] sermon quickly became an hour and a half message, but to these believers, time was not the vital thing; everyone present understanding what the Word had to say was critical. After all, it is His Word, and His message, to His people.
Please pray for ministries around the world that are multicultural and are reaching many people groups. Harvest Baptist Church in Guam has fifteen plus language groups in the ministry there. Praise the Lord for their burden to clearly get God’s message to Oceana and Asia!
“For ye shall speak into the air.”
When the words in church services are chaotic, confusing, and not clearly understood, they cannot feed the hearers’ hungry souls. This is but one reason why “speaking in tongues” is pointless in church.
“For you will be speaking into the air: Speaking in tongues at a meeting of the church benefits no one else; it is simply putting sounds into the air, not into the minds and hearts of others.” [2]
Isn’t one of the primary reasons for the church to meet, to feed, and edify the church body? Paul says, “tongues” do not do that (1 Corinthians 14:2-4). In his preaching and teaching, his goal was to profit his hearers by clear, easy-to-be-understood words (1 Corinthians 14:6).
In this day of “many voices” in our world, we need to be especially careful that the voices heard in our churches are in unity with the Word of God. Lord, make our voices and message clear as we present your Word to the Church and to the lost world!
Quote: “And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:34-35). Bible teaching with clarity is needed by all.
[1] Interestingly, as the message that day in the mountains of Mexico was ending, after an hour and a half plus, the congregation asked why we were stopping so soon. So, the sermon had a supplement added for them. Wow, can you believe a preacher was asked to preach longer?! BTW, in our experience, this is not unusual in church services outside of the USA.
[2] Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword, emphasis theirs.