Behave Decently and in Order in the Church

10There are, it may be, so many kinds of sounds in the world, and none of them is without meaning. 11If then I don’t know the meaning of the sound, I would be to him who speaks a foreigner, and he who speaks would be a foreigner to me. 12So also you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek that you may abound to the building up of the assembly. 13Therefore let him who speaks in another language pray that he may interpret. 14For if I pray in another language, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. 16Otherwise if you bless with the spirit, how will he who fills the place of the unlearned say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, seeing he doesn’t know what you say? 17For you most certainly give thanks well, but the other person is not built up. 18I thank my God, I speak with other languages more than you all. 19However in the assembly I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in another language. 20Brothers, don’t be children in thoughts, yet in malice be babies, but in thoughts be mature.

Although Jesus is the almighty God, glorious in himself, he is patient and goes on working to save the souls of men and women.

The souls he came to save are mere creatures, yet he never treats them rudely; with a gentle heart he has always shown us the example of humility and obedience.

Now it is our turn, as those who have become God’s children, to show that love through our lives: with humility and obedience, with patience, and with a faith that takes up its calling.

If we are to show that God’s love is different from the world’s, we will need the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit gives.

The gift the Holy Spirit gives is faith, and the very sight of God’s children holding on to that faith and living decently is itself what reveals the character of God.

The Spirit gives gifts to build up the church and to save souls. Those who have received a gift, therefore, must act according to God’s will even in the face of death and deny themselves in order to deliver an honest word.

1 Kings 22:18

18The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

People always want to be praised and recognized.

Even when they know they are doing wrong, they want God to praise them, and they long to hear that he will bless them.

But as I have been saying, God has no interest in anything but the saving of souls.

If a soul can be saved, he will commend it freely, and he will not hesitate to judge and rebuke either.

Only when you know for certain who God is and build your faith on that can you go by the quickest road and enjoy blessing even as you live by God’s will. If instead you live no differently from the world and want only to be blessed, you will find yourself in a hard religious life that has nothing to do with salvation.

Ahab, king of Israel, made an alliance with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to win back Gilead, and set out to attack Syria.

Jehoshaphat wanted to know whether this was truly a war God had sanctioned, so he wished to hear from the prophets.

About four hundred prophets who served King Ahab prophesied that God had promised to hand Gilead over to the king, if only he would go up and fight.

But when Jehoshaphat asked to hear Micaiah, Ahab stood in the way, saying that he hated the man because he never prophesied good concerning him, only evil.

As we know from Ahab’s life, he did not live by God’s word, and he did evil to God’s people. Although it was God who had made him king over Israel, he did not serve God as his King; instead he brought in many idols and worshiped them.

The ominous expectation proved true: Micaiah prophesied that if Ahab went to that war he would die. Ahab flew into a rage at the prophecy and threw Micaiah into prison. Even after hearing it, Ahab and Jehoshaphat set out for war against Syria, and Ahab died, exactly as it had been foretold.

I tell you about Micaiah’s prophecy and Ahab’s death because I want you to see what God desires.

Since God created the world and humankind, he knows well how sinners must live if their souls are to be saved, and what the order of things is.

When we live just as God’s word says, then, problems that seemed impossible to resolve are resolved. That is why you must read the Bible diligently and pray, so that you may understand God’s word rightly.

Micaiah gave Ahab a grim prophecy. Still, if Ahab had rejected the four hundred false prophets and listened to Micaiah, he would have been given another chance to meet God, to believe, and to turn back.

That is, if Ahab had known the word of God.

The prophecies of the prophets have one aim: to turn people back from the way of sin.

There is no need to mention what someone already does well; they will go on doing it well without being praised.

And when a prophet speaks of a fault, knowing the person would rather not hear it, it is because that one thing is all that needs to change.

God rebukes a person because, in his eyes, they could be richly blessed if they would only correct the one thing they are doing wrong.

However many blessings someone receives, if there is something unclean at the center, the whole of it turns to dirty water. Prophecy tells them to throw that thing out.

For the one who hears a prophecy, though, it brings to light what they wanted to hide or had overlooked, and their pride will be stung.

And because it feels like being pierced by the sword of the word, it can leave a wound.

But as you will know if you read the Bible, God is more given to exhortation and rebuke than to praise.

We do not fully realize that God examines even the smallest details.

Because he is always attentive and watching, he is able to rebuke, and able to commend as well. Those who are rebuked, understand God’s heart, repent, and turn back receive great blessing.

If God rebukes you, that does not mean your faith has gone wrong. He is teaching you that if you turn from what he rebuked, you can be blessed all the more. So when a rebuke comes, the wise thing is to turn.

When the people of Israel lived according to God’s will, God helped them grow strong and prosperous, and enabled them to rule over the nations with great authority.

But when, despite his warnings, they did not turn back, but worshiped idols, married foreign women, or lived as they pleased, he raised up foreign nations against them and made them suffer bitterly.

When you pray, too, if God warns you in a still small voice to turn back, you must heed that word. Why? Because God is the Lord not only of our lives but of life itself, and of the heaven that lies beyond death.

1 Corinthians 14:8

8For if the trumpet gave an uncertain sound, who would prepare himself for war?

If someone who does not fully know God’s will teaches the word, they are passing on what they themselves do not understand, so they speak without conviction. And since what their hearers receive is not a clear word, they hear it without understanding.

I sometimes watch Deacon Kim Hong-sik tuning the piano.

The tuning is done so that, when Deacon Cho Eun-hee plays the accompaniment, the piano gives out clearly the sound Deacon Cho is looking for.

Tuning takes a great deal of time, and Deacon Kim must know the exact pitch to tune the instrument accurately. If Deacon Kim had no ear for pitch, the piano could not be tuned at all, and even if it were, it could not be used.

The gifts are the same. Only when we first give our time to prayer and strive to hear his still small voice more clearly can we deliver a clear word.

Only when we always proclaim the truth precisely as we share the word can we stand against Satan and warn those in the church who are heading down the wrong road.

Therefore, in the church, those who proclaim and those who listen alike must stay awake.

Only those who are awake can hear the trumpet and tell whether it is calling them to prepare for war or announcing that the enemy has already attacked.

In table tennis there are singles matches, but there are doubles too.

In singles you simply play to your own ability, but in doubles it is vital for two people to move in rhythm together.

This may be true of every sport, but in doubles the partners give each other hand signals with their fingers, showing how they mean to serve: short or long, with spin or straight.

When one partner signals how they will serve, the other has only to read the signal and wait for the opponents’ return accordingly.

To win in doubles, both must follow without question the lead of whichever player better knows the opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. Two players who take the court as one team have to train together a great deal before they can move like one body and bring home the victory.

A pair thrown together at the last minute, however, will struggle badly, since they know nothing of each other, let alone any signals agreed in advance. And if one partner gets a signal and then, out of pride, does as they please, the match will be lost.

That is why it matters so much to move as one and to look out for each other.

The same holds for the relationship between God and his people, and for the relationship of one saint with another.

If God sends us a signal and we fail to understand it properly, we can never win the battle against Satan.

God rebukes his people because he knows Satan better than anyone. Afraid that those who are spiritually weak might fall away from salvation, he keeps sending signals through church members who have the gift of prophecy, or through pastors.

If we do not attend to God, who sees Satan’s schemes in advance and sends us signals, Satan will defeat us in the end.

Just as you train spiritually, Satan trains hard too.

Because the souls that Satan and his forces once locked in death have been set free by the blood of Christ, they spare no effort to lock them in death again.

Satan, who has set himself against God, trains this hard. If we, who have no power at all, grow lazy in our training, we will fail in the end. So we must always keep ready the sword of the word, which Satan fears most.

1 Corinthians 14:19

19However in the assembly I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in another language.

Speaking in other languages is not a gift that builds up those who believe. It is a sign for unbelievers, showing them that God is alive, the God who works through this spiritual language.

So it was that on the day of Pentecost, when the brothers who believed in Christ were gathered in one place to pray, the Holy Spirit came upon them and worked in them so that each could speak in a different language.

At that time Jews who had come to Jerusalem from many nations to keep the Passover were astonished to hear the disciples speaking in the languages of their own homelands.

Not knowing what the work of the Holy Spirit was, or what these languages were, some mocked, saying the disciples were drunk on new wine, while others began to wonder whether this Jesus who had borne the cross might truly be the Messiah.

To those who doubted, Peter declared that the disciples were not drunk; rather, the prophecy of the prophet Joel was being fulfilled right there.

At Pentecost those languages became a sign to people who did not believe, and in the same way the languages spoken by the saints are a sign to unbelievers that God is alive.

The gift of prophecy, for its part, rebukes our brothers and sisters who believe and brings to light what is hidden in their hearts. So rather than grumbling or taking offense at not being praised, the wise course is to obey the word.

Prophecy does not convey the thoughts of the one who has the gift; it is spoken under the leading of the Holy Spirit, which is why blessing comes when we receive every word as the will of God.

In this way the gifts help a saint live like a saint. Anyone who has received a gift, then, must have a full understanding of the word.

For us, then, proclaiming the truth, drawn from a deep understanding of the word, matters far more than speaking ten thousand words.

For example, you speak Korean very well, but before going abroad you would learn English or the language of the country you want to visit. The reason is simple: however fluently you speak Korean, the people there would not understand you.

Even if you cannot speak English fluently, a few phrases you need for travel will let you see the sights you came for, buy what you need, and travel without trouble.

In the same way, even if we cannot teach the whole Bible in detail, if we can tell who Christ is in accurate, clear words, we can save souls. So you must know how to explain precisely who Christ is.

1 Corinthians 14:32-33

32The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, 33for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints.

Every community, every organization, needs order.

When the many people who make up an organization are wise, loyal, and of one mind, it can accomplish a great deal.

For an organization to succeed, its leader must be wise.

If the leader is foolish, indecisive, or has no vision for the future, then however good the proposals of those under them, there is no communication, and without it there is no progress.

A leader must always set themselves aside and be ready to listen.

They also need eyes that can take in the whole situation.

Only when the leader’s character and capacity exceed those of the members does the organization hold together, and do people serve faithfully without complaint.

How much more serious it is, then, when those who belong to God, who need only obey to be greatly blessed while the almighty God makes every plan and leads the way, live disorderly lives and fall into sin!

If we simply do as God commands, he takes responsibility even for the outcome. But if we do not believe that and so fail to obey his commands, we cannot abide in his grace.

A church, too, can be peaceful and orderly only when its pastor is wise and those who hold office have a right faith.

Many churches today are torn by conflict, and the responsibility lies with their pastors.

Conflict arises because pastors have not proclaimed God’s word clearly, and they have no standing to lead their people because they have not set an example of living by the word.

Because they have never been taught the word of truth, their people have no means of resolving problems when they arise; they turn instead to the methods of the world.

As you know from raising your own children, if you do not clearly teach little ones what is right and what is wrong, the child never learns how to deal with anger. Not knowing how to express their feelings, they cry, or scream, or stop listening to anyone at all.

This is the child telling the parents that they are struggling right now; their spirit is in disorder, so they do not know how to express what they feel.

Parents let the moment for teaching right and wrong slip by, thinking the child is still too young to understand, and not wanting to scold their own child.

While the parents hesitate, even briefly, the child fails to hear and learn how to govern themselves, which is why they are shaken every time a problem comes. I am not saying you should hit a little one or deal with them in anger. I am saying you should keep your eyes on the child steadily, not miss the moment, and show them the way through.

If pastors, like a trumpet that gives an uncertain sound, do not teach the word of truth clearly to their flock, those who have never been taught the word will not be able to let go of their own worldly thinking or discern the will of God.

At a church I used to attend, a dispute broke out. Whenever the pastor stood up to preach, the choir would suddenly rise and sing, and while the choir was singing, members of the congregation would shout at them. Watching this, I wrestled with the question of why Christians would act this way.

A building with a church sign on it, a pastor standing in the pulpit, a choir in robes, and a sanctuary full of members do not make that place a church.

I wondered how many could actually be saved in such a sanctuary, where people shouted to get their way and the pastor and the members would not yield to one another.

They act like this because they have never been taught the word and do not know what conduct befits a saint.

Just as a child’s wrongdoing lies at the parents’ door, the wrongdoing of the flock lies at the pastor’s.

The apostle Paul said that God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. These words warn us to fear how great God’s wrath is toward those who break the order of the church, which Jesus purchased with his blood.

He also said that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. This does not mean there is a ranking among the gifts; it means that those who have gone ahead, living out the word of truth, should teach those who are not yet sure of the truth.

Someone who receives a gift without knowing the word may act arrogantly, so the pastor must be sure to teach them well. And because gifts carry responsibility, members have to obey what the pastor teaches if they are to avoid mistakes.

In matters of faith there is no greater or lesser, yet the members of Christ’s body must keep an order of faith grounded in obedience and humility.

Those who have met Christ and been born again do not go back to the world.

They follow the rule of the church and live in obedience to the word, and so they live for the church rather than for their own advantage.

God will protect those who live by faith in this way.

Saints who are full of faith and have power, yet remain humble, will build up the church. And a church where such holy people gather teaches the truth to the people God has entrusted to it, so God’s attention cannot help but rest upon it.

I want our church to be such a church, one where God’s heart and eyes rest.

I hope you will set an example as children of God, in spirit and in body. May the adults guide the young adults, the teenagers, and the children with the word and prayer so that they grow up well in faith, and may the young adults, the teenagers, and the children honor their elders and serve them well.

Even as adults, if there is something about the word you could learn from the young adults, do not be ashamed to ask and learn. Then you will be able to teach the truth you have learned to others as well. My hope is that you will spare no effort to learn the word first.

For the work of salvation, God made every plan before the ages began, and he has carried everything out in good order.

It is thanks to Jesus, who atoned for our sins, that we now enjoy peace. May you, too, live as children who bear the likeness of God.