Title Do it for edification
about dialects
Tongues are praying in the spirit, speaking to God and not to men. Tongues are not understood by others, nor are they understood by you. Therefore, it is not virtuous to the church, but beneficial only to itself. If tongues are to be of benefit to the church, one must have the gift of interpreting them. Because speaking in tongues is a completely new spiritual experience, receiving the gift of tongues gives you more confidence in God and the spiritual world. And when you see an unbeliever speaking in tongues, you know that there is something spiritual about it. We should not boast about having the gift of tongues by any chance or disregard those who cannot speak in tongues. If you pray in a tongue, you can pray long and deeply. Therefore, those who have received the gift of speaking in tongues should know that they have a mission to pray a lot.
about prophecy
Do it for edification.
The guide to the use of all gifts is to seek after love and for edification. Judging by these standards, we can see that prophecy is a far better gift than tongues. For tongues are good for themselves, but not the church, and prophecy is edification to the church. Paul emphasizes the benefit of the church rather than the personal benefit in the text. That is why tongues and prophecies are explained in the light of this standard. By this standard, tongues are limited, and prophecy is very informative.
limitations of dialect
Dialects are limited in three ways. First in clarity, second in personal integrity, and third in influence over outsiders.
The first limitation of tongues is that they do not convey a clear meaning (vv. 6-11, 16-17, 23). Those who hear it speaking in tongues cannot fully understand what it means. Even you yourself don't know it. This is the crucial limitation of dialects. If someone comes to me and speaks in a language I do not understand, no matter how sophisticated and meaningful the words may be, they will not communicate. The dialect is like this. No matter how pious the speaker may be, his prayers cannot benefit others without the gift of interpretation. Even if prayers and praises are spiritual, they should be comprehensible. Otherwise, the listeners will not be able to share in the prayer and praise.
A second limitation of tongues is that they do not achieve personal integrity. Those who pray in tongues are praying in the spirit. Therefore, deep prayer is possible. In this respect, tongues edify the individual. It's not good for the church, but it's good for you. But even if you pray in tongues, your heart is unfruitful (verse 14). Why? Because even the person speaking in a tongue cannot understand it. After all, speaking in tongues does not make your faith stronger and more mature. In this way, speaking in tongues also has limitations in the matter of perfecting the individual.
A third limitation of tongues is that they do not have a good influence on outsiders (verses 16-17, 21-25). There are people in the church who are just starting to receive evangelism. Some of them are now weak in faith, and some have attended worship services without any faith at all. In our church, these kinds of people should come out and worship together with us. Such people should be able to realize that God is truly present and working among us during the worship service. For that to happen, our worship must be truly filled with the Holy Spirit and full of God's grace. But what if all the saints speak in tongues during the worship service? Wouldn't new believers or unbelievers who can't understand it see it and say it's crazy? If that happens, those people will have more negative thoughts about the church, and it will be more difficult to evangelize them. In this respect, dialect has its limitations.
the benefits of prophecy
Tongues have these limitations, but the gift of prophecy is beneficial and edifying in all cases. Dialects do not convey a clear meaning. Not only are the listeners unable to understand what is being said, but the speaker himself does not know the meaning of what is being said. But prophecy clearly communicates God's will for us. Therefore, by edifying, admonishing, and comforting the saints, the saints are perfected (verse 3). Tongues have spiritual benefits only to those who speak them, and their hearts are unfruitful. So the Apostle Paul said: ?쏝ut in the church it is better for you to speak five words with an understanding heart, than ten thousand words in a tongue, in order to teach others??(verse 19).
Prophecy also has a beneficial effect on outsiders. When unbelievers come to church for the first time and attend a service, everyone will say they are crazy if they speak in tongues, and those who turn their backs on the church in that way will find it more difficult to evangelize again. But what will be the benefit of hearing prophecies for first-time churchgoers? Let's listen to the apostle Paul. ?쏝ut when all prophesy, unbelievers and ignorant people will come in, and they will be rebuked by all and judged by all, and the secrets of their hearts will be revealed, so they will fall down and worship God, and proclaim that God really is among you. ??Verses 24-25) When they come to church and attend worship services, when they hear these prophecies, they acknowledge that God lives and works. It is about discovering and believing in God. Likewise, prophecy is edifying both new believers and unbelievers.
to edify