Guy Duininck So Many Voices ! In his first epistle to the Corinthians, Paul wrote important words of instruction and insight about speaking with other tongues. One of His goals was to inform the Corinthians about the function and purpose of speaking in other tongues and then, on the basis of that purpose, instruct them to not use the gift of speaking in tongues without the tongues being interpreted because there was no spiritual advantage for doing so. He informed the Corinthians that it was not spiritually profitable for the body of Christ at large if an individual spoke in tongues, but there was no interpretation of his words. Paul’s teaching and direction about not speaking in other tongues without an interpretation of those tongues was based on the broader principle that without clear and understandable speech, God’s people can not be accurately instructed or directed. Although words would be spoken and speech would be being made, no direction, correction, teaching, or revelation of the will of God would be being communicated. In I Corinthians 14:6-11, Paul wrote these words, “Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.” Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians about not using the gift of speaking in tongues in a public forum without interpreting those tongues was predicated upon the foundational fact that without clarity in the message being spoken, no one could understand what was being said and, therefore, no one could respond appropriately to what was being said. In the context of this teaching, Paul said, “There are...so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.”It seems to me that in our current church world, there are also, “so many kinds of voices.” None of these many voices is without signification, as Paul said. But the constant cacophony [unpleasant loud sounds] of the many competing voices saying and shouting so many different things begins to sound much more like Noise to the ears of the body of Christ than like Clear Teaching and Clear Direction from the Lord! Paul stated that when there is no “distinction in the sounds” it cannot be “known what is piped or harped.” He revealed that when there is not a “clear trumpet sound” then those who are listening for instruction or direction don’t know whether they should sit or move, fight or rest, go to battle or go to bed! We need Clarion Voices in the body of Christ. We need ministers who speak with accuracy, authority, clarity, and humility, declaring, “This IS the will of God! This IS the Truth! This IS God’s direction!” We need ministers who can, as Paul wrote, “utter by the tongue words easy to be understood.” And we need believers in the body of Christ who understand and embrace the reality that not every voice currently being lifted up in the church is the voice of God. We need believers who understand that not every minister speaking is accurately articulating what God is saying as a trustworthy “oracle of God.” We need believers who have the spiritual skill to tune out the Noise being created from so many voices and lock on to the True Voice of the Good Shepherd! We need believers who are willing and able to “test all things and hold fast to what is good!” Today, there are many voices saying many things. These many voices saying many things can lead to confusion; can cause the “sound of the trumpet” to be indistinct so that we, the church, don’t know what God is saying and so don’t know how to respond to Him and whether to move or not. Paul’s message to the Corinthians was not only his specific instruction to not speak with tongues without accurate interpretation in the public forum because to do so would be to only bring sound, but not to bring the much needed clear instruction. His message, on a deeper level, was also about the Necessity of Clear Voices bringing Clear Messages about God’s Truth and God’s Direction!
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 06:19:34 +0000
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