Westtown Church
Westtown Church
Pursuing Love in Christian Worship
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Christian worship is spiritually rich and personal, but the Apostle Paul reminds us that Christians can sometimes be self-centered and unloving, even in Christian worship. What does it mean to "pursue love" (1 Cori. 14:1) in Christian worship and what difference does that make in our lives? Sunday we will explore that together.
Introduction to 1 Corinthians 14
Speaker 1Good morning Westtown Church . I told the first service this is not the shirt I wore in here . The first one got drenched but I happen to have another one upstairs so I'm dry , I hope you are , and I think it was a little friendlier on the second service coming in . But it's good to be with you . We're now moving on from 1 Corinthians 13 , the love chapter . We spent a good many months there . Corinthians 13 , the love chapter . We spent a good many months there , I think for good reason . But now we're going to move at a little bit faster pace . We're going to pick up the pace . We're going to look at the first half of 1 Corinthians 14 this morning .
Speaker 1If you're not familiar with the book of 1 Corinthians , or maybe by way of review from chapters 11 through 14 , paul's dealing with issues primarily dealing with worship in the broadest sense . You may remember . In 1 Corinthians 11 , he's dealing with their lack of love at the Lord's Supper . In 1 Corinthians 12 , he's dealing with their lack of love in the exercise of their spiritual gifts . 1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter . He spends a lot of time trying to explain what is the nature of love and now he's coming back to apply it again . He obviously wants them to apply that to the time of the Lord's Supper as well as in the exercise of their spiritual gift . But he also now , in 1 Corinthians 14 , is going to remind them that when you gather for worship , you're also to exercise love . That may be a subject that perhaps we don't think a lot about in our own day . How do you exercise love ? That may be a subject that perhaps we don't think a lot about in our own day . How do you exercise love in Christian worship with one another ?
Speaker 1But with that brief introduction , I'd like to invite you , if you are able to stand , to stand . I'm going to read God's word . I'm going to read the first 25 verses . This is the inerrant and fallible holy word of the living God , and so he sends it to you in love , and so let's receive it by faith and with love in our hearts and great gratitude to God for it .
Speaker 1Verse one pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts , especially that you may prophesy , for one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God , for no one understands him , but he utters mysteries in the spirit . On the other hand , the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation . The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself , but the one who prophesies builds up the church . Now I want you all to speak in tongues , but even more to prophesy . The one who prophecies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues , unless someone interprets , so that the church may be built up .
Speaker 1Now , brothers , if I come to you speaking in tongues , how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge , or prophecy or teaching ? If even lifeless instruments such as the flute or the harp do not give distinct notes , how will anyone know what is played ? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound , who will get ready for battle ? So , with yourselves is , if , with your tongue , you utter speech that is not intelligible , how will anyone know what is said ? For you will be speaking into the air . There are doubtless many different languages in the world , and none is without meaning . But if I do not know the meaning of the language , I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me . So with yourselves , since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit , strive to excel in building up the church . Therefore , one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret .
Speaker 1For if I pray in a tongue , my spirit prays , but my mind is unfruitful . What am I to do ? I will pray with my spirit , but I will pray with my mind also . I will sing praise with my spirit , but I will pray with my mind also . I will sing praise with my spirit , but I will sing with my mind also . Otherwise , if you give thanks with your spirit , how can anyone in the position of an outsider say amen to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying ? For you may be given thanks well enough , but the other person is not being built up . I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you . Nevertheless , in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue . Brothers , do not be children in your thinking . Be infants in evil , but in your thinking , be children in your thinking . Be infants in evil , but in your thinking , be mature .
Speaker 1In the law it is written by people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners . Will I speak to the people ? And even then they will not listen to me , says the Lord . Thus , tongues are a sign , not for believers but for unbelievers , while prophecy is a sign , not for unbelievers but for believers . If , therefore , the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues and outsiders or unbelievers enter , will they not say that you are out of your minds ? But if all prophecy and an unbeliever or outsider enters , he is convicted by all . He is called to account by all . The secrets of his heart are disclosed and so , falling on his face , he will worship God and declare that God is really among you . The grass withers and the flowers fade , but the word of the Lord endures forever . God's people said amen . You may be seated . Heavenly Father , we come now to your holy word and we thank you that you're a God who speaks . You don't leave us in the dark . Heaven is not silent , but you've spoken through your word and in your son . So , by your Holy Spirit , help us see the glory of Christ and help us to pursue love better , in Jesus' name , amen .
Speaker 1Well , there's going to be three hooks that you can hang this sermon on this morning Edification , intelligibility and maturity . Edification , intelligibility and maturity those are the three principles . They are related and they move through these first 25 verses of 1 Corinthians , chapter 14 . The first thing I want us to see is that pursuing love involves
The Purpose of Prophecy vs Tongues
Speaker 1edification . Pursuing love in Christian worship involves pursuing the edification of all . That's Paul's point here in verses 1 through 5 . Now he's commanding after the love chapter of chapter 13 . Now he's starting out chapter 14 with pursue love . It's a command to the body of Christ . And note he also says in verse 1 , earnestly desire the spiritual gifts . And now he's going to make an emphasis , especially that you may prophesy . Okay , that's a clue to the entire chapter and you'll see why .
Speaker 1I think as we go through the Corinthians you may remember Paul's addressing some spiritual problems pastorally in their congregation and one of the struggles that was a hallmark of the sin of the Corinthian Christians there was pride . Paul was addressing their pride in various ways and , as it applies to spiritual gifts , god would give them a miraculous gift , or some flashy gift , if you want to call it that , and they would become pride and they weren't using their spiritual gifts in a spiritual way and they were not assessing the value of all the members of the body based on the various gifts God had given them . They thought that some people , because they had certain gifts , were more important than others and so forth , and so they weren't loving each other in the receiving and in the exercise of those gifts . Well , they took the miraculous spiritual gift of speaking in tongues . They elevated that to a place that didn't belong , and that's one of the issues Paul's going to deal with here in this chapter . And , like any spiritual gift , being able to speak in tongues was a good gift of God , and so often the case with sinners such as us , we can take a good gift from God and mess it up with our sin , and that's what they were doing , even with the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit to be able to speak in tongues . Now I'll just say up front , 1 Corinthians 14 , if we're not careful , we will get lost in the weeds in this chapter , because there's several statements in here that are highly debated amongst theologians , and I don't want to get us lost in the weeds . I'd like to stay more in the main roads of this chapter and particularly focus on what's clear . I think that would be more beneficial .
Speaker 1Having said that , I want to take one brief diversion to just speak to this issue of tongues . And what is it ? You may remember , back in Acts , chapter 2 , right Acts , chapter 2 , there was a feast of Pentecost , and the Lord sent his Holy Spirit in great power upon those present in Jerusalem , and one of the signs that he had come in great power at that time was that they could speak in foreign tongues . And the miracle was they could speak in a foreign tongue which they had never studied . I told the first service I wish , when I was studying Spanish in high school , that God would have granted me with that gift . But it never happened and my grade showed it . But it was a miraculous gift and it was a remarkable divine sign that God was doing something special . It was an epical event in the whole history of God's redemption . An epical event , something special , something different .
Speaker 1This tongue , these tongues were not something that was normal , and so in Acts 2 , there were those who spoke in foreign tongues , having never studied the language , and you had the situation where , at the Feast of Pentecost which is , they would come to these feasts in Jerusalem three times a year , which were a week long , but at this feast they would come Jews from all over the world speaking all those various languages , and there would be others that would sometimes come checking out the biblical faith they would come to Jerusalem , and so , when they would gather . And then they heard these foreign tongues that they could understand , jews speaking foreign tongues into their ears , that they understood . They were amazed . And so in Acts , chapter 2 , tongues was a sign for the Jews and indeed for the world . That what was God doing ? By bringing that sign ? He was showing and enabling people to understand languages of one another again , who would not normally be able to understand each other . He was showing that God is now reversing the curse that he had brought upon the nations .
Speaker 1Back in Genesis , chapter 11 , at the Tower of Babel you remember the Tower of Babel ? All the nations of the world had gathered to build something for the pride of man , out of the pride of man , for the glory and honor of man . And God says I don't think so . God will give us his only begotten son , but he will not give his glory to another . And so he brought judgment upon the nations . And how did he do that ? He scattered them by confusing the one common language , and so we have to this day all kinds of different languages in the world . And what he's doing here ? He confused the nations through a judgment upon their language , making it now languages , and they scattered to various parts of the earth .
Speaker 1Now , at Pentecost , 2,000 years ago , the Lord Jesus Christ , he died for the sins of the world and he's now risen from the dead bodily . And 50 days later after the resurrection , 10 days after the ascension into heaven , god sends forth his Holy Spirit , in the power of Jesus Christ , so that the people could speak miraculously foreign languages they'd never studied . And again , all these people now that have gathered in Jerusalem at this week-long feast , they're hearing this and they were amazed that they could understand language , these messages , in their own language . And so this was a sign of two things . It was a sign , like I said just a minute ago , that God was reversing the curse he'd put upon the arrogant nations
Understanding Biblical Tongues
Speaker 1of the world as they were . Now the church was going to take the gospel to the nations . Now is going to be a time of salvation for the nations of the world , at an acceleration and pace that had never been under the old covenant days . He was going to save people from every tribe , tongue and nation , and , as Revelation says , heaven will one day be filled with people from every tribe , tongue , nation and language . Aren't you glad for that ? God's got his heart for the world . So it was a sign that showed God's heart for the world to save sinners from all over the world . But it was also a sign to the Jews , especially those who knew their Old Testament and I'll show you in a minute what I mean by that . But it was a sign to the Jews , who had largely rejected their own Messiah , jesus Christ . It was a sign to them that God was soon to bring judgment upon them . Jesus Christ spoke about this in the Olivet Discourse and within a generation of Jesus' sermon at Olivet , on the Mount of Olives , it proved true . In AD 70 , god sent the Romans in to bring judgment upon the city of Jerusalem once again , but back to 1 Corinthians 14 . So tongues has a history , and here , in 1 Corinthians 14 , the miraculous spiritual gift of tongues is mentioned yet again . And without getting lost in the debate about what kind of tongues were these , whatever they were , whatever they are , they were able to be interpreted and translated . You see that in verse 13 of this chapter that makes it very clear . And what that tells me is is those are real foreign languages . Those are real languages . It's not just some heavenly language or some ecstatic gibberish . These are real languages that are being spoken .
Speaker 1Now you'll notice , in the first five verses of this chapter , the Apostle Paul . He's given emphasis to the fact that in corporate worship , prophecy is preferred over tongues . You remember , the first verse I said a moment ago was the clue to the whole chapter . Well , he's saying prophecy is preferred . Now , why is he saying that ? He's not saying that this miraculous gift of speaking in tongues was not a great gift ? Indeed , it was . But he's simply saying with prophecy , it's immediately understandable . When one speaks miraculously in a foreign tongue they've never studied . The other ones gathered in worship cannot understand , unless they happen to speak that particular language . But most of the people around them could not understand , few could understand what they were saying unless the message was translated . And so now , being filled with the Holy Spirit , one speaking in tongues may be having a wonderful personal spiritual experience . Spiritual experience , I'm sure it was . What was the problem ? Nobody around could take part . It's sort of like me just eating a piece of cheesecake in front of you . You know , wouldn't you like some ? You know ? I mean , that's just not , that's not love . Paul's saying that's not what corporate worship is about . It's not about you and your personal private experience . And Paul says prophecy is preferred over tongues for three reasons . Verse three makes that clear . He says prophecy , a direct message from God in the people's own language . What does that do ? It builds them up . Number one it encourages those who are gathered . Number two and number three it brings consolation or comfort to the listening congregation .
Speaker 1In verse five , the apostle Paul clarifies that if somebody interprets the miraculous tongue spoken , then the message from that spoken tongue now has the same benefit as prophecy . Why ? Because now they can understand , they can be edified and built up with it . Because they understand it and see . He gives two examples to illustrate and he does these two examples in verses six through 12 , you'll notice the principle is . In verse six he says now , brothers , if I come to you speaking in tongues , how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching ? You see what his basic point is To benefit you spiritually . You have to be able to understand what I'm saying . Imagine if I was up here preaching in a tongue you didn't understand , right . Someone must reveal its meaning or give another knowledge of what it means or interpret it . He says . In that case it becomes equal to prophecy right , or to teach concerning its previously unknown meaning in the foreign tongue that was uttered .
Speaker 1So Paul gives two illustrations . He says look , just think about it . He's more or less saying this is common sense . He's saying in verse 7 , think about lifeless instruments . I mean , maybe it's a wind instrument like a flute , or a string instrument like a harp , but either way , if the notes that they give out are not distinct , what good is that garbled mess ? He's saying we even know this from the music world .
Speaker 1And he says , also in verse eight think about a military bugle If it gives an indistinct sound for battle . What good is that ? In fact , it's worse . It just causes great confusion . It's worse than nothing . It breeds confusion . He's using an example from how militaries have historically used trumpets or bugles to give off various commands , from the commander to the troops in battle . We even know in our day , reveille , or where you have taps . We know what those different sounds indicate . One says get moving , get up and get moving . The other one is give honor . Right , we know that . But what would a soldier do if they're on the battlefield and they can't make out what the message of the commander is because the bugler is making a mess of it ? Now , all you're doing is just breeding this confusion into this situation . And what Paul is saying is that's basically what's happening when you have all these people in the worship service . They're all speaking in different tongues , nobody can hardly understand one another . It's not interpreted and all it's doing is breeding confusion .
Speaker 1We have to remember , in Corinth it was a cosmopolitan port city in the ancient world . It was basically no kidding like an ancient Las Vegas . It was pretty wild . It was basically no kidding like an ancient Las Vegas , it was pretty wild . And you know , I don't know if they had sayings what happens in Corinth stays in Corinth , but they could have applied it to Corinth , just like Las Vegas . But what does that mean for us ? It means it was a city that had a lot of different foreign languages coming into it , people coming into the port from all over the world . Right , different languages were spoken , and so to translate into a language which all the different people could understand would mean translating it into the spoken Greek of the day . That was the international language of the day . That's why the New Testament's written in Greek . It's a sign that God is now reaching the world in a way that he did not under the old covenant in today's world , english would be the international language of the world . It's the business language , right . So same principle .
Speaker 1But what do we make of all this for our own day ? Well , reformed Presbyterians such as myself , we typically do not believe the miraculous spiritual gift of tongues is still in operation . We have differences from some of our brothers and sisters in
The Principle of Edification
Speaker 1Christ there , but our confessional view is that they were given as a special sign during the apostolic period . Not only is a sign that God is reversing the curse of the Tower of Babel and now going to take the gospel to save the people of all the various nations of the world and all those who all speak those various languages , but also a very important sign and a divine stamp upon the unique ministry of the apostles . The apostolic teaching and the role of the apostles had a very unique role in God's redemptive history , and Reformed Presbyterians typically believe that now the apostolic period is over and so with it goes the miraculous gift of tongues , because God was using that sign around the ministry of the apostles to put his stamp on it in a special way .
Speaker 1But how do we benefit from all of this ? The first 12 verses of 1 Corinthians 14 , what do we do with this for our day ? Well , I think if we boil it down and remember that the principle that Paul is dealing with here is edification . So the question becomes what do we do in corporate worship to edify others ? Whatever we do has to have an eye upon not just our own spiritual experience . We can't only be thinking about our preferences or our enjoyment . We're to be thinking about building up our brothers and sisters in Christ . Is that how we approach corporate worship ? And you see , as we begin to think about this , we realize this doesn't just apply to worship , does it ? We walk into worship ? It applies . But when we walk into our home , it applies . When we walk into our workplace , it applies . When we walk into our workplace , it applies Wherever we walk into . Are we concerned about building up others ? We're to pursue love and we're to begin to learn that , in the house of the Lord , of course , and in our families , but we should take that everywhere we go .
Speaker 1Is corporate worship primarily about us and God , or do we keep our Christian brothers and sisters in mind ? Is it about us and God ? When you got up this morning on the Lord's Day , were you thinking of the fact that you should go to worship not just to give honor and praise to God , but you're going to pursue love and coming to encourage and edify your brothers and sisters in Christ . I think this is one of the great weaknesses of the evangelical church in America today . One of our strengths is our relationship with God is to be personal . We don't want to ever lose that . That's very important , of course . But one of our strengths is we think personal means individualistic , that we need to discard . The Christian faith is personal , but it's corporate , and so we can think about and this is the same issue they were dealing with in Corinth , just in a different way . When you get up on Lord's Day , are you thinking God desires me to be present there to give him honor and to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ ? And you see , this becomes very important . Now I want to .
Speaker 1I'm going to speak to the members for a moment , so we're going to have a sidebar for the members . Okay , if you're not a member of this church , it may or may not apply to you directly , but it's possible to come to worship in a self-centered , selfish way . Isn't that something Back in chapter 12, ? Well , what do I mean by that ? Some may be watching online right now in their PJs sipping their coffee . How do you edify your brothers and sisters when you just decide you're going to hang out by yourself ? I actually think that's Now . If you're sick , if you can't get here , what a blessing to be able to watch online .
Speaker 1If you're checking out a church or something like that , or you're checking out Christianity , what a blessing to be able to kind of check out from afar a little bit . You know , god gets all that , he understands all that . But if you've made vows , the fourth vow , to support the worship and work of the church in this church , and you're hanging out in your living room and your PJ is sipping your coffee on Sunday morning , just because that's what you wanted to do , that's a selfish sin . Just because that's what you wanted to do , that's a selfish sin . And so in the very act of worship , we've kind of lost sight of who we are worshiping , which is the Lord Jesus Christ . How does Jesus try to help us understand this ? In the Apostle Paul he says the church .
Speaker 1But remember back in chapter 12 , the church is like a body . It's like a body , and so the heart and the hand and the eye and the foot . They don't operate by themselves , but they're vitally connected and they rely upon the other parts of the body . What if you got up this morning and your body was ready to go to church , but your heart said I tell you what . You other parts go to church , I'm going to hang out here at the house . Or maybe your body wants to go to worship , but your mouth says you know what , why don't you other body parts go to worship ? I think I'll stay here at the house . You others go ahead . And of course , that's an absurd illustration , right , but that's the whole point . It shows the power of the metaphor . As a body , we're to do things together and to edify your brothers and sisters in Christ , you have to be bodily , physically present . You have to be bodily , physically present . One of the great losses of being sick or being a shut-in and having to watch from TV is you don't have that blessing to be able to come and give joy to others bodily and physically , in the same kind of way that you used to , and vice versa . And so it's very important .
Speaker 1Christian worship is about worshiping Jesus Christ . What did Jesus do ? Well , he went to the cross to save the world , right ? He went to the cross to die for the sins of the world , that we might not have to drink the cup of God's wrath , but that he would drink that cup of hell in our place , that we can freely receive , by faith alone , salvation , the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life . He was concerned there about God's glory , but when he went to that cross he had his people upon his heart .
Speaker 1So if we're to have the heart of Christ you see the self-denial in Christ , in love for the good of us and the good of others we need to have that same approach , that Christ mind , that cross-centered view of what it means to truly worship God and the way that applies . It means that we not only receive Jesus by faith but then we work it out in love amidst the body of Christ . It's not enough for us to just like in Corinth some were having this wonderful personal spiritual experience without hardly any thought to their brother or sister in Christ next to them , and that is a sin and God does not bless that . It's a very self-centered view of worship . And so I just want to say to you when you're tempted to hang out in your PJs , don't do it . Put on your clothes , Come on over here and edify your brother and sister in Christ , and God will bless you for it .
Speaker 1You see , the order of worship , if we understand things right , I believe . First it's first and foremost always about God above all . It's always about His glory above all things . That's true of all of life , including worship . It's all about the glory of God in Christ . Then it's about others , then it's about my family and that's about me . That's the order , and I think each of us has to search our own hearts before God and say is that the order of worship in my heart and my life Is my worship about God , and then others , and then my family . And then , yes , it's about me , but I'm at the end of that . I'm the caboose .
Speaker 1Isn't that what Christ is teaching us on the cross ? What's he dying there for ? He put himself last that we could be raised up . He died that we could live . He sacrificed that we would be not only saved but edified and transformed and encouraged . And so , yes , that's the order . So I just want to encourage you . We can even , just like they took the miraculous gift of tongues and abused it , you can take the modern gift of technology and abuse it If we're not edifying the saints , we're not pursuing love and worship
Intelligibility in Worship
Speaker 1. But second , pursuing love and Christian worship means pursuing intelligibility , for all Intelligibility .
Speaker 1So the first 12 verses focus on edification . 13 to 19 is on intelligibility . And so verse 13 here shows us that some who could speak in tongues , they were able to interpret the message themselves . So God gave them a double gift there . Others could speak in tongues but they didn't have the ability to translate .
Speaker 1So if someone prays to God miraculously in a foreign tongue but it's unable to interpret the message they may , paul says here in verse 14 , pray with their inmost being . He says my spirit prays . That's how he puts it . That's like the groans and the sighs of prayers mentioned in Romans 8 . They're unintelligible but yet they're genuine . Sometimes it's hard for us . Sometimes our greatest prayers are tears and groans . We're having a hard time putting it into words exactly how we want to say it . People that grieve understand that . God understands it .
Speaker 1But the Apostle Paul's concern here is that our worship is intelligible . What does that mean ? It means it addresses the mind . Christian worship addresses the mind , not just your spirit , not just your affections . To bypass the mind in Christian worship according to Scripture , not just your spirit , not just your affections , to bypass the mind in Christian worship , according to scripture here in verse 14 , look at the word it's unfruitful . It's unfruitful Whether we're praying or singing . It should be intelligible why ? Because to bear fruit we have to address the mind . In Christian worship we get to the heart through the mind . We don't bypass the mind . It's more than the mind , but it's not less than the mind . So this is Paul's reasoning is why the miraculous gift of tongues should be interpreted , because then it takes going from that person having a wonderful personal experience to spreading the benefit to the others . It goes from me eating my piece of cheesecake in front of you to saying , hey , would you like some ? Would you like some ? That's what the interpretation does , and now it can benefit everybody that's here . As verse 16 puts it .
Speaker 1How can you all give an amen as I preach if I speak in some unknown foreign tongue to you ? If I was speaking in a foreign tongue to you , I would lose my amen corner . I got an amen corner in the first service usually sits right over here . I love my amen corners . So if you like amen corners , say amen . See , I'm going to train you up , man , I'm going to train you up . Talk to me . How could you be filled with thanksgiving if you can't understand me ? He says in verse 16 . You see , if I was just speaking in a foreign tongue up here , is your heart going to be filled with thanksgiving . You're not even going to know what I'm saying , because we're thankful for specific things . You got to understand to be thankful .
Speaker 1I have to admit , ed Bassmaster is a comedian online and he has this little character he calls Mumbles and he walks around and he'll go into places and he'll just start speaking to somebody and talking and he has this gift . It sounds like he's sort of kind of saying something , but he mumbles on purpose and the people are looking at him , trying to understand . So I was thinking of Ed Bassmaster and mumbles when I was reading this chapter . But , paul , he has the spiritual gift of tongues and he spoke in tongues much . He says . Verse 18 alludes to that , but he emphasizes his point in verse 19 . Look what he says .
Speaker 1Nevertheless , in church , that's , in the assembly ecclesia , in God's gathered body , I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others you hear the word instruct than 10,000 words in a tongue . Somebody said to me recently , pastor , when you preach , you teach a lot . There's a reason for it , I know to reach your heart , I got to get to your mind . The way to your heart is through your mind . It's by taking the truth of God and taking it into your mind . The spirit takes it down into your heart . As a matter of fact , biblically , your mind is part of your heart . I'd rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue if I'm off having a personal spiritual experience myself .
Speaker 1Do you see the emphasis that the Apostle Paul's giving here ? That's why the Apostle Paul says to the Christians in Rome , in Romans 12 , do not be conformed to this world , but what ? Be transformed by the renewal of your mind . Now , mind , there is your whole inner being , but it includes what we call the mind , which is a narrow idea that by testing you may discern what is the will of God , what is good and acceptable and perfect . You see , it's the kind of renewal of the mind where we grow in discernment that we can think now about how to best love people in this situation , how to best honor and glorify God in the various particular situations we're in . That's what spiritual discernment is . And so why is it desirable to pack worship full of the Word of God , full of the truth of God ? It's not only so that we'll be saved from our sins and give honor to God himself , who is the source of all that truth , but it's also that we'll be transformed to be like Christ . The truth transforms , as DJ Kennedy used to say , and so we want to take every opportunity we have in the Christian life to worship God in a manner that's full of His Word and truth .
Speaker 1To discuss the Bible together , I want to encourage you this morning . Highly value the life of the mind in the Christian faith . I'm telling you it matters . That is not being academic . Satan wants you to lack discernment , and the only way you can grow in discernment is to grow in your understanding , in the mind , of the truth of God . This is one of the great things that John MacArthur did in his ministry . God , rest his soul . Saturate your life with the truth of God .
Speaker 1Don't just read the word of God , pray through it . Listen to God and respond in prayer . Meditate upon God's word . Don't let it just rush over you like it does over concrete . Be more like grass so that when the water comes down , it can sink into your mind and get ahold and go down into your
Maturity in Christian Thinking
Speaker 1heart and begin to transform you in a way .
Speaker 1Discuss God's word with your family and small groups , various Bible studies and youth group . Why do we do that ? Because that's how God bears fruit where it goes into our mind , it transforms our heart and it comes out our fingertips in love . You need , for real heart transformation , understanding . I would rather give you five words you can understand than 10,000 you don't . And so to love one another , well , it has to be intelligible . And we want to make our worship service here . If you're coming in and you don't understand the Christian faith we want to be able to express to you in a way that you understand . So you have the principle of edification , that's what it means to pursue love and worship . The principle of intelligibility , that's secondly what it means . And lastly and thirdly , maturity . Pursuing love and Christian worship means pursuing maturity of thinking . In all this piggybacks on intelligibility , but it goes a step further Verses 20 to 25 , you have this principle of maturity , which is more than intelligibility , which he talked about through verse 19 .
Speaker 1There Paul's again emphasizing here the importance of the mind . And yet he has a different point . Basically , what he's saying here is is that our thinking we need to not only hear the gospel so we get secured into heaven , we need to hear the truth of God throughout the Christian life , that we can go from preschool spirituality and grow into college and beyond spirituality . Or , to put it in Hebrew's terms , from milk to meat . We need to grow . Thank God , we serve a Savior that says let the little children come unto me . Right , the Christian faith can be very simple , but God doesn't want us to be simpletons . He wants us to . He'll take us where he'll start us where we are , but he wants us to grow . And we cannot grow , we cannot grow in bearing fruit in the Christian life unless we're growing in our understanding of the truth of who God is and what he's done for us .
Speaker 1And so Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 4 , that he gives apostles , prophets , evangelists , pastors , teachers , not only to equip us for ministry , but for what ? Listen ? For the building up the body of Christ . Sometimes we think about I want to go to that Bible study because you know what I'd like to learn something . But do we ever think you know , I want to go to that Bible study because I want to be better equipped to help my brother or sister in Christ . Do you see the difference ?
Speaker 1One has a love mindset , that my spirituality isn't just about me , to equip me for my ministry , but that I can build up other people with the truth , that God grows , helps me understand , for the building up of the body of Christ to mature manhood , to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . Paul says so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine . You see , even in the Ephesus , in the book of Ephesians , there Paul's having to remind them you need to grow , you need to grow and you grow through your understanding . It's not all that needs to be done , but it's something that's very important , and so God's will is that we would mature in our thinking , that we can be more effective to do what ? To pursue love ? To pursue love , we have to think well , you see , we have to be able to discern what's the best way to love this person right now . How can we love others ? Well , well , we have to know Jesus more and his ways . And then he makes a bit of a complicated argument here in verses 21 and 22 . He argues from the prophet Isaiah , the 28th chapter . In fact it's verses 11 and 12 of Isaiah 28 .
Speaker 1But Paul reminds the Corinthians of a lesson from the Old Testament here . What's he saying ? That when God's covenant people , israel , were rebelling against God during the time of the prophet Isaiah , which is 700 BC , 700 plus years before Jesus came , things were going well in Israel . They were prospering . In Judah they were prospering , the economy was humming , they were living largely wealthy lives . But here's what God's message through Isaiah to them was , and that's what Paul's reminding them of here . He says to the Israelites of old and those in Judah if you continue to refuse to listen to the plain truth of my intelligible word to you in your own Hebrew tongue , which I'm bringing to you through the prophets and the teachers and the priests , or if you refuse to listen to the simple and straightforward teaching of my word and here's how Isaiah puts it , precept upon precept , line up online in your own intelligible language . Here's what's going to happen I'm going to bring judgment upon you by bringing the Assyrians in and bringing the Babylonians in , and they're going to bring a judgment on you . And then you know what . You're going to listen to Foreign languages in your ears which you don't understand , and those foreign languages are going to be a reminder that the judgment of God is upon you , and so that's what Paul's calling them . He's saying look , foreign languages have historically been associated with judgment upon God's own disobedient people rather than God's blessing . We're blessed when we can understand God's word . We were cursed when we had foreign languages of people who did not love the Lord , and we were cut off from the Word of God , and so that's the reason he says this .
Speaker 1Now what do we—think of church history ? What did the Reformation during the 16th century bring back ? One of the great things it brought back was this I grew up as a Roman Catholic in my childhood days and I'm grateful for what I learned there . But here's something the Reformers brought back People need to hear worship in their own language so they can understand it . Even when my dad was going to mass in the mid-1950s , they would still hear it in Latin , and oftentimes the priest's turn was backed and he's speaking in Latin the other direction , and most people can't speak Latin . Well , I'm just telling you right now that's unbiblical . There's plenty of examples I could tell you about Protestant churches that are the same thing . So it's not about Roman Catholic Protestant . It's about what's biblical , true worship is , in a language that you can understand , and so this is why Bible translation work is so important , supporting Wycliffe Bible translators and others .
Speaker 1Our own Westminster Confession of Faith I don't have time to read it to you , but chapter one , section eight , speaks to this very issue that people actually have a divine right to hear the word of God in their own language . It's a very strong statement have a divine right to hear the word of God in their own language . It's a very strong statement and it's Paul's point here . He says in verse 23, . Look what he says . You're going to have outsiders and unbelievers in your midst . That's the terms he uses . People that come in that are maybe checking out the faith or whatever . They don't understand . Their heart is not going to be addressed if they can't understand with their mind . That's his point . In verses 24 and 25 , he says this how is an unbeliever going to be convicted of his or her sins if they can't even understand what you're saying ? And how are they going to know the need for the saving grace of Jesus Christ if they can't understand what you're saying . How are they going to know about the love of God if they can't understand what you're saying ? And I want to emphasize this point regarding mature thinking . I've heard this now .
Speaker 1I've heard some Christians say that worship is only about God and his people . Well , worship is about focusing on God . There's no question about that . But Paul has already made clear it's about edifying fellow believers . But I want to go a step further clear
Closing Prayer and Application
Speaker 1. It's about edifying fellow believers , but I want to go a step further . It's also about being concerned about an outsider or unbeliever in our midst . That's how we pursue love , not only of God and our fellow Christians , but pursuing love with our neighbor .
Speaker 1In Christian worship . There was a time we were lost , without God and without hope in the world . Aren't you glad that we could walk into worship service and actually understand what was being said , that we could hear the gospel , that we could see that God loved us in spite of our sin , and so it's important that we remember that too . So , yes , is it primarily about God ? Yes , is it primarily a gathering of God's people ? Yes , but we're to love everyone who's present , and if you're checking out Christianity Today or you're a guest with us . I'm glad that you're here . I hope you're encouraged . I hope you can understand what I'm saying . Every pastor's prayer .
Speaker 1But to say that worship has nothing to do with an unbeliever , that is infantile thinking , that's immature thinking , according to Paul here . So worship is not evangelism , but it's to be evangelistic . Why ? How do we know that ? Because the very last verse of this section look what it says . Our goal when helping an outsider unbeliever understand what we're saying , is that they would fall on their face and worship God and declare that God is really among you . So this is what it means to pursue love and worship , to edify , to present things in an intelligible manner and to go toward maturity in our thinking .
Speaker 1Let's pray , father . We thank you for your good word and we're thankful that you're patient with us . We're thankful that you've gotten the gospel out of the Greek into the English language and into the language that we were taught and to help us understand your love in Christ . Help us , god , to be about edifying others . Help us , god , to make your truth understandable and intelligible . Help us value the mind . Help us be concerned for our neighbor too , who's in our midst . We want to love you well . We want to love the body of Christ . Well , we want to love our lost neighbors . Well , god , help us to pursue love by the grace of the Holy Spirit . It's in Jesus' name God's people said