Reflection on 1Cor 14:3-4
“But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.”
At the beginning of chapter 14, it is said that we should pursue love but desire earnestly spiritual gifts, especially that we may prophesy. The Apostle Paul compares the gift of prophecy with the gift of prayer in a tongue. He explains that if someone prays in an unknown tongue, other people are not edified because it is the Spirit of God who prays to God the Father from the depths of the soul and no one understands it. He who prays edifies himself but not the community. It is different with the gift of prophecy. The gift of prophecy is no fortune-telling, although it is true that sometimes God reveals future things through prophecy. But this is not the purpose of prophesying. Verse 3 says what the purpose is: 1) edification, 2) exhortation, 3) comfort. Those who pray in a tongue certainly have the experience that the Spirit of God prompts them in this prayer to realize the urgent need to pray with their whole being for a particular thing and to abide either in the promise of God or in the faith in God’s word. At that moment, the Holy Spirit indeed makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered and with words unknown to us which we speak in God’s presence. If there are more people praying together in tongues, it is good to say after the prayer if someone has received a word of prophecy for encouragement or instruction. Then this prayer is for the edification of others too.
It would be good to read the whole chapter 14. The Apostle Paul says here that he speaks with tongues more than all others, yet in the church he would rather say a few simple words inspired by the Spirit for the encouragement of others than thousands of words in an unknown tongue. The purpose of the gift of prophecy is to encourage the believers on their way of following Jesus and in faithfulness to Him. Supposing this gift is intended to instruct and encourage, it is good to have knowledge of Scripture and the lives of saints, from which treasure the Spirit of God can then give us spiritual food for instruction and encouragement. Moreover, we should encourage one another by little miracles too which God works in our lives if we trust in Him even in small matters.
The gift of prophecy also involves rebuke, which is very painful for him who is rebuked but very beneficial too if he accepts it surrendering himself to God. Similarly physical operation is painful but without it the patient would die in many cases. In addition, if we accept rebuke with faith, it leads us to true humility and self-criticism, and we grow in life wisdom which we can then use for the benefit of other people. St Catherine of Siena says that the reason why there is so much evil in the Church is the fact that those who have the duty to rebuke neglect to do so. Why? Because they are held in slavery by their fear and prefer being held in respect by men to doing the will of God.
Humility is the greatest virtue as it is tied up with love and surrender to God. To practise humility even in little things is the way to holiness. It is above all by humility that we overcome the devil, his lies and cunning. Humility is no bootlicking or moaning about how unhappy you are to make others feel it and praise you. Humility is truth which unites us to Jesus.
For two weeks we are going to repeat these Bible verses about prayer in tongues and about the gift of prophecy which we should desire. God gives this gift to everyone who asks. However, everyone prophesies on the spiritual level one stands on. Someone prophesies from the gate of the temple, another from the sanctuary, another from the Holy of Holies. So the depth of the prophecy depends on the person – on his union with God. And this union depends on the level of humility, i.e. truth. God wants to use everyone, but the problem is on our end. As the saying goes, we need to adjust our set. God speaks in different situations but we often do not perceive it or perceive it falsely.
There is one very important principle which the Apostle Paul points out, saying: “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.” (1Cor 14:29) It used to be practised in some communities especially when prophecy concerned a change or a serious problem – the leader responsible for the community and his two assistants went out of the room and asked God for the gift of discerning spirits in a particular case. And then each of them expressed what he had felt while they were prophesying – whether peace or strange uneasiness – and finally they agreed on a definite conclusion which they announced to the others in the room. In case the word of prophecy was mixed with a strongly human spirit or another spirit, the leader said: “This and this was good for encouragement and instruction, but we cannot accept this matter as binding for the present in that we must wait until time shows whether it was fully from God or not.” Naturally, such criticism deeply hurts the one who prophesies in the community. However, if the person concerned accepts it with humility, this gift leads him to purification and holiness. It would be a great pity to take offence and say: “Well, I won’t say anything any more because all are just criticizing me.” Let us accept criticism, and God will then give us the light and teach us, especially through these painful operations. Why all this humiliation? Because, as the Word of God says, God prunes every branch that bears fruit, that it may bear more fruit. Moreover, if e.g. a fortune-teller has been converted and has not fully renounced that spirit, it can happen that she will be a luminary of prophesying. She will imitate the external form and terms but sooner or later such prophesying will break up the whole community. Example: A certain woman in a Christian community prophesied persuasively that all married couples had to adopt children – those who had their own children, even more so those who had no children, and even newly married couples because, as she said, they would otherwise never have children. Apart from that, she told them where they should be employed and if the couple worked together, she said that the husband had to leave the job. None of the believers was able to discern it and all of them thought that it was binding and that God was speaking through her. Finally, it required intervention of authority; otherwise it would have ended badly. Therefore people who were involved in occultism, and especially those who had a certain experience, must not be in a leading position in a community, and if they begin to prophesy, though very persuasively and vividly, their prophecy must be discerned and these people must grow in humility or else they will become mediums of the spirit of lies which at a crucial moment will break up everything. If someone speaks a word of prophecy and it really is from God, the matter of it being put into practice is not decided by the person prophesying but rather by the leadership responsible for the community. Even the person who has broken with various occult practices must himself be aware that if his gift is to be for the benefit of the community, he must be purified through humility and necessarily needs to submit to authority.
When a community of believers prays, there are several ways of using the gift of prophecy. It depends on the way of prayer. If the prayer order is established e.g. in such way that a community reflects on a certain truth from God’s Word for 15 minutes, which is followed by a short break in silence, and then this way of 15-minute prayer is repeated twice more, then after an hour of prayer there is an opportunity to share a testimony if God revealed a certain truth to someone or someone received a word of prophecy in this interior prayer. But there are other forms of prayer too – e.g. a community can pray in tongues or can even accompany it with singing, thus praying more freely, and if anyone receives a word of prophecy from God during the prayer, one can pronounce it while others are praying quietly in tongues. After the prayer, again, this word of prophecy needs to be discerned, and especially when prophecy concerns concrete matters and requires concrete steps, it is necessary that the leaders of the community should comment on it. The gift of prophecy may thus edify the church.
Download: Reflection on 1Cor 14:3-4
