•I Corinthians 14:36-40
•Decently, Orderly, and in Truth
•Corinth
36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.
(I Corinthians 14:33b-40, ESV)
Main Points
• These verses conclude the thoughts of chapter 14 and before
• When we gather the purpose is to build up the congregation in truth
• Our gifts are to be for each other rather than ourselves
• We should seek God’s holy character decently, orderly, and in truth
Application Points
• Decently, Orderly, and in Truth
– There is a tendency in our pride to believe that because we have “ascended” … that we far outpace those in the past
– While it is true we have come far…it is not true that they are less reasonable or have less to say
– The person living under a rock can say true statements as the most technologically inspired person
– Even with our influences we can still be speaking the truth
– Truth statements are true regardless of their origins
– There are those who would ignore the writings of the Scriptures based upon their incorrect view of truth
– We can believe that because our culture is better, or achieved more, that we are more capable of speaking about the truth than the Scriptures
– We have seen an increase in denominations and congregations who rely less on the Scripture
– They rely more on the scientist, sociologist, psychologist, and the culture in general to inform them
Application Points
• Decently, Orderly, and in Truth (2)
– There is also the new apostolic movement on the other side
– Those who believe the Scriptures enough to give themselves credence
– Enough for them to then go directly against the Scriptures
– There are those who do believe in the Scriptures, do not subscribe to the new apostolic movement, and still do the same thing
– Those who have abandoned the Church and the community because they feel they are spiritually superior
– All of these things show a lack of understanding of the truth
– A lack of what Paul says here, “If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.”
Application Points
• Decently, Orderly, and in Truth (3)
– I Corinthians has so far dealt with relationships, roles, spirituality, and sexuality
– He is inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the truth
– There is a warning to all of us at the end of the chapter
– For the prophet, if they encourage a lifestyle different than what is in the Scriptures, they are to be rejected
– For the spiritually superior, if they claim that following Jesus means going against what is written, they are to be rejected
– Those who go it alone is in itself a rejection of what Paul has written
– If the person going it alone is claiming to be a prophet or spiritual, then they should be encouraging the Church into greater faithfulness, not fleeing from it completely
Application Points
• Decently, Orderly, and in Truth (4)
– This all comes full circle
– The purpose of gathering is to bless one another with the various gifts we have been given
– Every prophecy, every teaching, must be sifted to see if it is aligned with the truth
– To know the truth, we need to know the Scriptures
– Sometimes we forget the great blessing we have from being able to read the Scriptures
– How can we properly sift what we hear and what is being taught if we do not know the Scriptures?
– How do we know the Holy Spirit from a false spirit?
– This is what John tells us
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
(I John 4:1-6, ESV)
Application Points
• Decently, Orderly, and in Truth (5)
– We are to be a responsible people
– We are to seek to emulate God’s Holy character in our lives and in our congregations
– Paul emphasizes here the need for order and decency, but throughout he has also focused on things such as love, knowledge, and building up one another in the truth
– In all these things we find a reflection of our God
– We can do no less when we seek, in our ministries and personal lives, to emulate the great God of all in character and deed
– Be encouraged by everything in these chapters
– Take them as a warning as well
– Let us seek to encourage one another to remain attached to the truth
– To honor God in decency, order, and in truth
•Application Points
•The Gospel of Christ
–Origins
–Where we began
–Fall
–What went wrong
–Redemption
–How it is fixed
–Glorification
–Where it at leads
