1 Corinthians 14 (6)

Pray Psalm 84.1-4.
How lovely is Your tabernacle,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
My King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
They will still be praising You.
Selah

Sing Psalm 84.1-4.
(Holy Manna: Brethren, We Have Met to Worship)
LORD of hosts, how sweet Your dwelling; how my soul longs for Your courts!
Let my soul with joy keep telling of Your grace forevermore.
Like a bird upon the altar, let my life to You belong.
Blessed are they who never falter as they praise Your grace with song!

Read 1 Corinthians 14.1-40; meditate on verse 37-40.

Prepare
1. What did Paul claim about his writing?

2. How must we do “all things” in the church?

Meditation
Paul puts an exclamation point on his discussion of spiritual gifts, the more excellent way, and how God’s people should comport themselves in worship: He insisted that his teaching is the very Word of God (v. 37).

So, are we following this Word from the Lord? Identifying and using our gifts? Seeking daily to increase in love? Working for the edification of our brethren and our church? Doing all things decently and in order? If, like true prophets, we know the Word of God, and if the Spirit of God is working in us, we will recognize the character of God and acknowledge the authority of God in the words of the apostle Paul.

The Corinthians had a choice: Hear Paul and change their ways to reflect his teaching. Stop insisting they know better than the Lord how to live their Christian lives and build His Church. Stop making their faith a means of puffing themselves up at others’ expense. Start living as Paul has been teaching, with the mind of Christ and for the glory of God in all things.

Or choose to be ignorant and remain ignorant (v. 38).

For those who would hear him, Paul again urges them to learn the language of the faithful, the language of prophesying for mutual edification and love (v. 39). He does not forbid speaking in tongues, and neither should we. But we must work together in all we do to show the beauty of the Lord—decency, order, and peace—in all we do (v. 40).

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
Imagine having the kind of confidence Paul had: “the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Cor. 14.37).

However, this is not really something we must imagine, but a confidence we most certainly have. For every word of God is pure (Prov. 30.5), and His Law is truth (Ps. 119.142). In fact, “the entirety of [His] word is truth” (Ps. 119.160). And so, every time we speak a word of God’s we can boldly claim, “I’m speaking the word of the Lord!”

Want to always be right? Speak the word of the Lord.
Want to always be believable? Speak the word of the Lord.
Want to always be decent and orderly? Speak and obey the word of the Lord.
Want to always be Kingdomly active? Speak, obey, and do the word of the Lord.
Want to be a prophet and spiritual? Acknowledge that the things Paul wrote are the word of the Lord.

Want to always please the Lord with your prophetic words?
“For the LORD delights in you” (Is. 62.4).
“The prayer of the upright is His delight” (Prov. 15.8).
“The blameless in their ways are His delight” (Prov. 11.20).
“Those who deal truthfully are His delight” (Prov. 12.22).

We will never go wrong proclaiming the Word of God.
We will never mess up by doing things decently and in order.
But we must always make sure that, as the Angel warned Balaam, “only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak” (Num. 22.35). And then as Balaam learned, “The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak” (Num. 22.38). That Word. And only that.

For it is in speaking the pure and true Word of God, that confidence is imparted to proclaim—like Paul— “This is the word of the Lord.” Yep. I said it.

For reflection
1. How confident are you in your ability to talk to a non-Christian friend about the Word of God? To share the Gospel?

2. Do you talk with others about what God is teaching you from His Word? Should you? Explain.

3. Whom will you talk with today about what God is teaching you from His Word? How should you prepare for this?

The way to keep peace, truth, and order in the church, is to seek that which is good for it, to bear with that which is not hurtful to its welfare, and to keep up good behavior, order, and decency. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on 1 Corinthians 14.36-40

Pray Psalm 84.5-12.
Pray for strength to serve the Lord today. Ask Him to give you opportunities to edify your brethren in the Lord and to glorify Him in your everyday life. Look to Him to shield and protect you always.

Sing Psalm 84.5-12.
(Holy Manna: Brethren, We Have Met to Worship)
Blessed are they whose strength is founded in Your strength, O LORD above.
All whose hearts in You are grounded journey in Your strength and love.
Though they weep with tears of sadness, grace shall all their way sustain.
In Your Presence, filled with gladness, they shall conquer all their pain.

LORD of hosts, my prayer receiving, hear me, help me by Your grace!
In Your courts I stand believing; turn to me Your glorious face!
LORD, our sun, our shield, our glory, no good thing will You deny
to those who proclaim Your story, and who on Your grace rely.

T. M. and Susie Moore

Two books can help you see both the greatness and the smallness of God’s salvation. Such a Great Salvation and Small Stuff will show you how to think small, live big, and know the salvation and glory of God in all your daily life. You can learn more about these books and order your copies by clicking here and here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.