First Corinthians 14 Part 2 Do Not Let False Teachers Lead You Astray. Know Your Bible.

God's love and spiritual discernment are needed in Christ's church.

1 Corinthians 14:1-2  Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. 2) For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. 

After introducing spiritual gifts in chapter twelve, Paul then spent an entire chapter teaching us about the love of God.

He showed us what God's love looks like in the life of a Christian and demonstrated things that God's love in us will never do.

Spiritual activity must be shaped by the love of God poured into our heart by the Holy Spirit (See Romans 5:5).

Paul is now going to give a clear contrast between the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues and the gift of prophecy. 

The word translated "mystery" or "mysteries" refers to mysteries of God. God hid His plan of salvation in eternity past. 

These mysteries are hidden from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the those in whom the Spirit of God resides.

In every place that the word "mystery" is used it refers to what God is doing in advancing His kingdom. 

This word is never used about believers in Christ speaking in an unknown, heavenly language between themselves and God. 

We must be discerning because televangelists will claim that they are speaking in some new heavenly language. 

This is why they often claim "God told me this" or "God revealed this to me" when in fact He certainly did not tell them anything beyond His Word. 

God's strong warnings against adding to or taking away from His Word.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2  Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. 2)  Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. 

Deuteronomy 12:32  What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. 

Proverbs 30:5-6  Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6)  Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. 

Revelation 22:18-19  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19)  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. 

We must learn and heed the clear warnings from God not to add or take away from His Word.  

Those who claim to speak for God by receiving some new word or knowledge or special revelation from God are liars.

Paul said "Let God be true and every man a liar" because false teachers and false prophets always add to the Word of God when they claim to be speaking some new thing from God (See Romans 3:4).

Remember what their motivation is: the love of money. 

Televangelists claiming to have the gift of healing or the ability to speak in tongues are the richest "fake pastors" in America. 

Televangelists cover more wealth and make merchandise of God's people. 

2 Peter 2:1-3  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2)  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3)  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 

As Peter said, they are making merchandise of people in the church by promoting lies and making false promises.

They use "feigned words" which means those who claim to have new revelation from God, are making up what they say to their audience.

Their words are counterfeit, meaning they are man's words not God's Word. 

False teachers intend to deceive and delude people with their words. They are pretenders and are not true pastors called by God. 

The words "make merchandise" literally mean to use people for your own financial gain. They use deceiving words to take advantage of Christians, much like scammers prey upon seniors.

Televangelists are covetous and want more money, bigger houses, expensive cars and expensive clothing. 

They are motivated by the love of money. This is why they do what they do (See 1 Timothy 6:1-10).

The Holy Spirit guided all the apostles to warn us about their pernicious methods so that we do not get caught up in their lies. 

If the gift of healing was still active as the televangelists claim, then Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn and all the others would go into hospitals and rest homes to lay their hands on people with serious medical conditions, and these sick people would be healed. 

In fact, they never go to hospitals, or nursing homes to heal anyone. In fact, there has never been a single, medically documented healing done by a televangelist. 

People allegedly coming to be "healed" at their rallies have been carefully vetted so that those with serious, documented health issues, are not allowed to go forward. 

Many undercover books and documentaries have exposed their lies. 

One of the better ones is written by Benny Hinn's nephew, Costi. He worked with his uncle for a long time but faced up to the realities that this ministry was built upon lies.

The book is titled "God, Greed and the (Prosperity) Gospel" and is widely available through Amazon and other vendors.

What is speaking in an unknown tongue?

1 Corinthians 14:2  For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. 

Let me be blunt this morning. If the gift of tongues were still operating today, not one English speaking missionary would ever need to take classes to learn a foreign language! 

The gift of speaking in tongues enabled ignorant men to preach the gospel in foreign languages of other nations, languages that they never learned and did not know.  

The pattern God set for the gift of tongues is found in Acts chapter two.

Notice that the King James translators italicized the word "unknown." 

The reason they did this was to let the Reader know that they added this word because it is not in the original Hebrew or Greek texts.

Thus, the passage literally reads "he that speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men but unto God, for no man understandeth him." 

False teachers will claim to speak to God in an "unknown" tongue, but this is false. Speaking in tongues as God intended must operate exactly as it did in Acts 2. 

The Corinthians abused and misused this gift because they liked the attention that it gave them. It mimicked the pagan religion that they were familiar with. 

Ancient historians document that the pagan religions included an element of ecstasy whereby they would speak gibberish and claim that the "gods" were speaking to them. 

The technical term historians used in describing pagans speaking in tongues is "glossolalia." 

This referred to a pagan priest or devotee connecting with their "god" and speaking the language of those "gods."

It is little wonder that since most of the Corinthians were saved out of paganism, that they would be susceptible to abusing the gift of tongues. 

They perverted the gift of tongues by making it conform to pagan practice instead of using it as God intended, which was preaching the gospel in other languages. 

What cannot be understood can never edify. No advantage can be reaped from the most excellent sermons if spoken in unintelligible language. 

In contrast, Paul demonstrates that he who prophesies speaks in language readily understood by his audience  . 

Matthew Henry rightly observes "It seems, this was the gift on which the Corinthians principally valued themselves. This was more ostentatious than the plain interpretation of scripture, more fit to gratify pride, but less fit to pursue the purposes of Christian charity; it would not equally edify nor do good to the souls of men."

Speaking in tongues did not edify the church because the hearers did not understand what the speaker was saying. 

If a person in the church spoke the gospel in Arabic to a Greek speaking audience, then they would not understand and there would be no point in continuing to speak. 

The words "in the spirit speaketh mysteries" refers to apostolic truth and doctrines that declare what God did for us through Christ.

These truths were concealed, hidden by God in eternity past, so that His plan of redemption would move forward to its perfect conclusion with the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Christians living today have one tremendous advantage that believers in the early church did not have. 

We have copies of the complete Bible, in printed, audio or digital copies. 

The main reason why spiritual gifts of prophecy, the word of knowledge or word of wisdom, speaking in tongues or interpretation of tongues were needed, was because the churches did not have a full copy of the Bible.

Manuscripts of letters to the churches from the apostles were very expensive to copy and only the wealthy could afford them.

Later, copies were made more rapidly and costs came down so that more people had access to the scriptures.

It was when the printing press was invented that mass production of complete Bibles was possible.

Whenever common people did not have access to a Bible, then darkness returned. 

The mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ is now fully revealed.

Romans 16:25-27  Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26)  But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: 27)  To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.

Preaching the cross and the gospel of Jesus Christ was kept secret, but this glorious mystery is now made manifest by the apostles.

This mystery previously hidden truth now brought out into the light by gospel preaching and the ministry of God's Spirit with His Word in human hearts, converting many souls to Christ.

The indwelling Holy Spirit is ready to teach us the mystery of God's wisdom.

1 Corinthians 2:7-10  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8)  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9)  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10)  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

In chapter two of First Corinthians, we noted that the Spirit of God is ready to teach us all the fullness of the mystery of God's wisdom as to the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving work. 

In fact, most homes in America have multiple copies of the scripture. One study suggests that the average home has 4.4 copies of the Bible.

Sadly, it is clear that most Americans do not read or study scripture, as evidenced by the depraved culture we live in.

The mystery of God's will purposed in Himself.

Ephesians 1:9-12  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10)  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11)  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12)  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 

God has made known to the world the mystery of His will. 

This chapter begins by Paul telling us that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ (See Ephesians 1:3).

He will have all men to be saved (See 1 Timothy 2:1-5).  

He waits patiently for sinners to repent because He is not willing that any man, woman or child should die in their sins and spend eternity in Hell (See 2 Peter 3:9).

The mystery of the dispensation of grace in Christ. 

Ephesians 3:1-5  For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2)  If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3)  How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4)  Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5)  Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 

Part of the mystery of God is the dispensation of the grace of God that is connected to the great mystery of Jesus Christ. 

This mystery is now revealed by the apostles and prophets through the ministry of the Spirit of God. 

These are just a few examples of texts where we find the word "mystery" but these serve to show us what Paul means, when he speaks of a mystery.

Speaking mysteries in the Spirit refers to the mystery of our redemption. 

1 Corinthians 14:2  For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. 

I have labored on this point a bit because there are many voices out there who command large followings because they pervert and twist the truth of scripture into a lie. 

The gift of speaking in tongues was specifically so that an uneducated Christian did not have to learn Greek or Arabic or Latin in order to preach the gospel.

Instead, the Spirit of God enabled him or her to preach or teach the gospel in foreign languages to the people who spoke that language, so that they understood the gospel of Christ. 

Those who claim to have new revelation from God are liars and must be rejected. God's Word expressly warns us against those who add to or take away from the inspired scriptures.

Those who claim to be speaking in a heavenly language to God are lying. They make up the gibberish that they utter and pretend to know what it means.

God needs no special language for His people to speak to Him. He is omniscient and knows not only the language that we speak, but He also knows our thoughts.

If you are a Chinese Christian, you speak to God in your own language, for He understands it. 

If you are a Christian in Iran you speak to God in your language because He understands it. 

If you are a Christian in Russia, or Germany or the Netherlands, or wherever, speak to God in your own language, He understands it. 

The mysteries Paul speaks of are always without exception, connected to God's plan of salvation that He hid in eternity past, and that He completed by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I hope that these truths set a helpful framework for the remaining points Paul will make about spiritual gifts as we study chapter fourteen. 

May the Lord Jesus Christ be exalted by our lives and testimonies. 

May we praise our Father in heaven for His goodness in hiding His plan of salvation from the Devil's prying eyes.

May we rejoice that our Father is freely teaching us all things about His mystery and His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Bob