03.09. Conclusions Drawn from Paul's Instructions in Chapter 14

CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM PAUL’S INSTRUCTIONS

Conclusion #1 The Holy Spirit will manifest Himself throughout the Church Age. He may manifest Himself in one way here, and in another manner there, but manifestations always will be present in the Church. When God rings down the curtain on the present age, these things no longer will be taking place, because the need for them will be gone.

Conclusion #2 Individual Christians and the corporate meeting are unlike anything else in the world. The living presence of God dwells within. Prior to His departure, Jesus did not dictate a host of rules and religious ceremonies which His followers had to obey in their own strength and discipline.

Instead, He promised an ongoing living relationship, to be experienced through the presence of the Holy Spirit within each believer and manifested through the charismata in the corporate meeting. A church meeting is not just a group of people with a common faith and purpose. It is 41 a time in which believers encourage and edify one another, but it is even more than that. A church meeting is a time when Our Lord, through the Holy Spirit, ministers to His people.

Conclusion #3 The Holy Spirit imparts various abilities to various individuals, enabling them to be instruments of edification to the church. These abilities are freely given gifts, which the Holy Spirit dispenses according to reasons within himself. Not everyone will manifest every gift. Some may manifest more than one. We do not have in the Bible a single exhaustive list of the ways in which the Holy Spirit will manifest Himself.

Conclusion #4 It is appropriate for believers to have a passion for blessing the corporate gathering. One way that this is done is through prophecy. Therefore, if the motivation is to be a blessing to the body, a desire for the gift of prophecy is appropriate.

Conclusion #5 Church leaders should not control a service to the point that there is no liberty for the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself through various members of the congregation. A service constructed in a manner that forces everyone to be a spectator is not the New Testament model. This does not mean that the meeting cannot be planned or organized, but flexibility is important.

Elders should realize that they are responsible for overseeing the service, but that the service does not belong to them. It belongs to Our Lord Statements such as, “Holy Spirit, we invite your presence here,” and “Jesus we invite you to move among us,” imply that the meeting is ours and we are inviting Him to attend. He clearly said that when we meet in His name, He will be in our midst (Matthew 18:20). A better perspective is that this is God’s meeting, and we thank Him for allowing us to come into His presence.

Conclusion #6 Regardless of what the elements of a service might be, all things should be done in an orderly manner. God is a God of order; disorder neither represents Him nor glorifies Him. A meeting that is a disordered cacophony is exactly what Paul proscribes in 1 Corinthians 14:1-40.

Conclusion #7 Prayer in tongues is praying in a legitimate language, spoken somewhere on the globe, either in the past or in the present, or a language spoken by angels. Tongues truly are, “prayer language.”

Conclusion #8 Tongues are given for the purpose of communicating with God. Tongues are not for communicating with the church. One should not pray out loud in tongues in the corporate gathering unless a known interpreter is present. Only one person at a time should pray in tongues and then be interpreted, so that the congregation can “amen” the prayer.

Conclusion #9 Praying in the Spirit, and praying with the spirit do not mean the same thing. Praying in the Spirit means praying at the impulse and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Praying with the 42 spirit is praying in tongues. All prayer at all times is to be prayed in the Holy Spirit, whether it is with the human spirit (tongues) or with the human mind (known language).

Conclusion #10 Tongues, and perhaps all charismata, may function apart from the Holy Spirit. This is seen from the following, · Charismata should be ministered in a manner that edifies the body, as an expression of love.

· Paul’s corrective statements make it obvious that some of the Corinthians were seeking to elevate themselves through the public display of tongues, which was neither edifying to the body, nor an expression of love · The Holy Spirit would not motivate anyone to exercise a charismata in order to build someone’s fleshly pride or to display an attitude of competition.

· The one exception would be in a case of judgment on the church. If the Holy Spirit motivated a plethora of tongues speakers to display uninterpreted tongues in the corporate meeting, this would be a sign of judgment on the church.

· Since God was not pronouncing judgment on the Corinthian Church, and the Holy Spirit was not motivating those who were displaying the gift of tongues in a divisive manner, then those who were speaking/praying in uninterpreted tongues were functioning apart from the Holy Spirit.