Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. I Corinthians 14:12 Now we will digress to wrap up a few more spiritual matters before we go on to the rest of our theme verse. Galatians 5 and 6 contain a seven fold repetition of the one body signpost word, one another, which is the Greek word, all!lon. It contains a fascinating contrast between the things of the flesh and the things of the spirit, and we will see how that contextual inference of flesh versus spirit can be utilized to make this passage more plain. Romans 12-15 is the doctrine section. II Corinthians 8 is the reproof section. Galatians 5-6 is the correction section. These all deal with how we walk with one another in the Body. Galatians 5:13-15 Serve one another in love This is the beginning of this section. We will see repetitions of one another (7x), law (4x), love (4x 36 ), flesh (8x) and spirit (10x) that bind this together into a first-century paragraph. So the chapter break for chapter 6 should not actually be where it is. Galatians 5:16-21 Repetitions like the seven fold use of one another in this section, control the contexts where they occur. Because of that, it is inferred that this list is not referring to unbelievers manifesting these works of the flesh. 37 We now see more clearly that it is prohibiting these from being manifested by believers toward one another in the body. Adultery Fornication Uncleanness Lasciviousness Idolatry Witchcraft Hatred Variance Unlawful sexual relations in violation of marriage vows Unlawful sexual conduct for those unmarried, whoremongering Sexual depravity and perversions like homosexuality or bestiality Wanton, lustful behavior, excesses in worldly pleasures, greediness Putting anything ahead of God, attempting to receive spiritual aid from a source other than God Utilizing black arts or white arts for aid, protection or prediction of future, visiting witches, includes drug use Embracing enmity, long-standing bitter hostility, holding grudges Always sowing discord, always in disagreement taking the opposing side for the sake of argument, quarrelsome 36 I am counting the law of Christ as a reference to love. 37 Word meanings synthesized from Thayer, Bauer, Bullinger, and Lydell & Scott Greek reference books. 39
Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murders Drunkenness Revellings Jealous envy, uncurbed rivalry Burning intensely with lasting anger, explosive with a short fuse, where the reaction is greatly out of proportion to the stimulus, vengeant Ambitious striving to be superior at the expense of anyone or anything, gravitating to leadership at any cost, manipulative, weaving intrigue Inciting riot, dissension or dispute Separatists, take over fellowships via wrong and factious teaching Envious, jealous of others success Murderers, those who can t stand to see others happy and ruin it Slave to drink, alcoholic Late-night drinking parties, revelry, partying in the street Galatians 5:22-26 38 Love Joy Peace Longsuffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance Having a relentless devotion, a decision of unalterable commitment manifested by giving Having an effervescence or glow, to be lit up with light Having the absence of conflict, untroubled, having inner tranquility, quietness Being long on love with people, balanced: long on equilibrium before becoming disturbed, able to put up with people s idiosyncrasies, able to lovingly deal with difficult situations Having a soothing goodness, kindness, a healing touch Having a sterling attractiveness, having outstanding moral quality Apt to believe, faithfulness, trustworthiness, (the quality of having believing) 39 Being humble, free from haughty self sufficiency, being teachable and coachable Having self control, able to discipline one s self to achieve goals Believers who manifest the spirit gain these traits. It says that they are the fruit of the spirit, not the fruit of good works. In other words one must cultivate and work and perform spiritual things to gain spiritual fruit. So the more we manifest the spirit, the more fruit of the spirit we will display in our lives. Galatians 6:1 What does it mean by spiritual? In context, the ye that are spiritual must be those who are walking by the spirit and manifesting the fruit of the spirit. We are to restore because we are a mutually dependent. We need each other. Restoring takes time. Any believer who is manifesting one or more of the works of the flesh are actually not qualified to confront, reprove and 38 Word Meanings for the fruit of the spirit primarily from Fruit of the Spirit (Tape 522) Wierwille, Victor Paul, 1971. 39 Most of the fruit of the spirit are qualities i.e. ness, hence faith should be understood in the same light. 40
restore anyone who is overtaken, (caught in the act), in a fault. That makes this verse quite clear, doesn t it? Another thing that may cause confusion is why does verse one say, considering yourself lest you also be tempted? It is obvious that the reprover/restorer will not likely be tempted in the thing that they are helping the other person overcome So it must be speaking of the manner in which the spiritual one carries out the reproof, correction, and restoration. It is not that our responsibility is just to point out people s flaws, reprove them and then go our way, leaving them twisting in the wind. No. One cannot say that their responsibility is to simply reprove the offender, and then it is totally up to them to figure things out. We are to walk in love and be involved with them in carrying out all the steps to their recovery. So we must act in a manner that is conducive to positive results. That may mean getting our hands dirty, getting involved and wading in hip deep in their problems if necessary. That s love. Remember the shepherd who had the hundred sheep and lost one? Where did he go to rescue the one lost? Into the mountains. Mountains are indicative of the adversary s deeply entrenched position. 40 So that shepherd courageously went into the very teeth of the adversary to rescue the lost sheep. Are you brave enough and tenacious enough to do that? Someone may have even done that for you at one time. If you re mature and spiritual and you re the one who saw the infraction, then don t pass the buck. Get involved and get to see God s deliverance in action first hand! That s truly walking in love, fulfilling the commandment of the law of love. Galatians 6:2.3 What is the Law of Christ? The law of love. We can bear one another s burdens and walk in love, but there is a balance here because of what comes up next. Galatians 6:4:5 What is the difference between the burden of verse 2 and verse 5? Wait a minute. I thought it just said that we ought to bear one another s burdens, but now it says everyone must bear their own burden. What gives? The two Greek words for burden are different. The first one is a burden that can be shared, the second is one which is only one person s responsibility. This close proximity of these two similar words implies that there is a balance that must be discerned. We cannot go overboard in our efforts to help someone and intrude into their personal matters. Those who are spiritual will know how far they can go to help. Those who walk by the flesh won t. There are some burdens that are none of our business. As we learned in Romans 14, matters of culture such as personal tastes in the arts, apparel, or diet are not to be legislated and controlled. Personal and family affairs like marriage, finances, housekeeping, and child raising are also off limits unless the person asks for help. Back in Genesis 2 God said the man and wife were to leave their father and mother and cleave to each other and become one flesh. Why did God institute that? To remove the potential for the parents to intrude into the affairs of the young family, so the man and wife could 40 God s absolute power over the spirit realm, Nessle, Jon, 1992. 41
learn on their own and each man could be the head of his own family. If God instituted that to keep those most familiar out of a family s affairs, who are we, who know even less, that we think we can do better? Stay out of people s personal affairs unless they ask you for help or unless what they are doing is illegal in our society or injurious to others. Galatians 6:6-10 Sometimes there won t be opportunity. This clarifies how we are to help one another in the body, and how those who are spiritual can help best. The Worship Manifestations There is only one place in the Bible where the worship manifestations are discussed and that is in I Corinthians 14. This category of manifestations is the only one which is specifically designed for daily use in a fellowship. Wow. God thinks of the fellowship of believers so much that He designed two of the nine manifestations just for it. I Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love and earnestly desire spiritual matters. This verse refers back to where Chapter 12 left off. There were two ways to get the best gifts. One was to desire them earnestly, the other as so beautifully expressed in I Corinthians 13 is to walk in love. Both can work, but the greater is love. Remember the I section of I Corinthians 13? There is no room for ego if you want the best gifts The Connective Words in I Corinthians 14:1-5 1 earnestly desire spiritual matters in contrast but rather that ye may prophesy. 2 reason why For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, in contrast but unto God: reason why for no man understandeth him; in explanation howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. 3 in contrast But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; in contrast but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. 5 I would that ye all spake with tongues; in contrast but rather that ye prophesied: reason why for greater is he that prophesieth in comparison than he that speaketh with tongues, in contrast except he interpret, purpose that the church may receive edifying. 42 Chart #5
Noting the connective words will help us understand this section. The word, but in verse 1 is contrasting spiritual matters with prophecy. Verse 2 explains why. The word, but in verse 2 contrasts speaking to men with speaking to God. The word, but in verse 3 contrasts speaking in tongues and speaking to God with prophecy and speaking to men. The word, but in verse 5 contrasts speaking in tongues which edifies one s self with prophecy which edifies the church. The word, but in verse 6 contrasts speaking in tongues with prophecy saying the latter is to be preferred. And then it explains why using the word, for, saying that prophecy is greater. However, there is an exception to the reason why and that is if the one who speaks in tongues interprets. This is crucial to understand. Because if prophecy is not greater than speaking in tongues with interpretation, as the exception clearly states, what could it be? It is equivalent. The repetition of the church being edified by both prophecy in verse 5 and the interpretation edifying the church in verse 6 shows that they must be equivalent. Who does the one who interprets speak to? The Church. Some have mistakenly taught that the interpretation is back to God, but does God need edifying? None of the occurrences of edification in the Bible say that God is the one who receives it. No, men need edification. The way that the connectives point makes it obvious that the one who prophesies edifies the Church in the same way that the one who speaks in tongues and interprets does. I Corinthians 14:6-14 I Corinthians 14:15-21 I Corinthians 14:22-25 The issue is that the Church receives edification. Tongues must be interpreted Prophecy preferred for mature believers The words, believe not in verse 22 and unbeliever in verse 23 and believeth not in verse 24 are all apistos in Greek, which means not having been instructed enough to fully believe. But they have to believe something to show up at your fellowship, so the implication here must be that they are not fully uninstructed. This is further indicated by the word, unlearned in verses 23 and 24. Those are both the Greek word, idiot!s, which means totally uninstructed, that is, babes or new people who know very little of the things of God. The point here is that verses 24 and 25 are a snapshot of what happens when the worship manifestations are carried out properly. Those who are in the need to learn category are lovingly told their faults and examined to the end of inquiring into their difficulty and helped by all. 41 Are they specifically confronted and told their faults? No. Verse 25 explains it clearly, that the conviction and motivation to proper action will occur within the hearts of the hearers. Verse 25 says that the secrets of their hearts will be made manifest. To whom? To them. The secrets of the heart are the deep things of the heart, those things that often are not framed by words. But when the manifestations are accurately and believingly operated, they will speak to everyone s hearts and minister 41 Power for Abundant Living (session 11), Wierwille, Victor Paul, 1968. 43
encouragement or comfort. This constitutes the inquiry into difficulty and the help rendered. This can be so impressive that they will fall down on their face and declare that God is in you of a truth. Now in our culture, people don t express amazement by falling down on their face, but you ll be able to see it in their face! Some have asked why are the manifestations of Interpretation and Prophecy so similar? They are similar, but there is a place for each. Prophecy is preferred when the fellowship is made up of more mature believers. But speaking in tongues with interpretation has a distinct function, when there are less knowledgeable believers present. It says it is a sign, and a quite powerful one and obviously supernatural. It also exposes the less knowledgeable to speaking in tongues in a decent and in orderly fashion. I Corinthians 14:26-28 Let all things be done unto edifying This is the only place in the Bible where the worship manifestations are set in order in a worship service. Everything must be decent and in order. Other contributing information from earlier in the chapter also is pertinent. We know that there have to be at least three believers present, for I Corinthians 14:3 says speaketh to men, that is the person speaking plus at least two more. We also know that the manifestations are given to every man and operated as he, the man wills, from I Corinthians 12:11. Finally, we know from I Corinthians 14:5, that he who speaks in tongues is the one who also should interpret, for it says for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret. This is reinforced by I Corinthians 14:13, Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray [implies believing] that he may interpret. These verses are clear. Verse 27 says If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course [in order]; and let one interpret. The let one interpret must be understood in light of what we already know, that is everyone has the ability to interpret and that if anyone does speak in tongues in public in a worship service, they need to believe to interpret. So in light of the clear verses, the let one should be rendered, let each. Then in verse 28 where it says, but if there be no interpreter, we should understand that as if he is unwilling to be the interpreter. The Greek syntax can support this. I Corinthians 14:29-33 I Corinthians 14:37-40 Ministries of Prophets Everything decent and in order How to Interpret Working the manifestation of the Interpretation of Tongues is just like all the rest of the manifestations. It works by freedom of will (Genesis 2:16,17). You speak as God gives you the words to speak. It actually is easier to do than normal speech. Why? Because with normal speech, one must think about what they are going to say. That makes many people self conscious about speaking to a group of people. But God takes all the fear out of that, for He will inspire you to say what will be said. The 44
worship manifestations come by inspiration, because the holy spirit is part of you. God never forces or controls, you have to speak the interpretation, but what you speak comes from God. Luke 11:11-13 God gives good things. He won t embarrass you. Just do it and you will see it s so. John 16:13 This is how all the manifestations work. God teaches His spirit in you, which is your holy spirit, and part of you, and then your spirit teaches your mind. Then as you act with believing it is manifested. 42 In other words as you exercise it, God energizes it. The only way that you can learn to trust God in this category is to do it. As you do so, you will learn how He works with you. This trust is fundamental to working the rest of the manifestations. The Definition of the Manifestation of the Interpretation of Tongues The manifestation of the interpretation of tongues is the inspired speaking forth of a message from or for God in your language, giving the essence of the meaning of that which you have just spoken in tongues, which will build up the believers present by encouraging and comforting them. When the worship manifestations are carried out in a believers meeting, they should always be done decently and in order. The guideline for interpretation is by two or the most by three. Being in order implies that someone is in charge of the meeting and is responsible to see that order be maintained. Whoever is in charge of the meeting may call upon people or they may simply ask for those who are inspired to stand and speak. Keys to How to Interpret 1. Free will We exercise and then He energizes. 2. Love We are doing this because we love God and each other, everyone else loves you and is believing for you. When we are determined to succeed there is no more room for fear. Commitment promotes boldness. God loves you and the messages He gives will always be loving. 3. God is Faithful. You will ALWAYS have the first word on the tip of your tongue. Speak it and the rest will come. God guarantees it. 4. We are a Family We are doing this because we want to edify the body. Everyone else is pulling for you, lifting you by prayer. 5. Speak rapidly Don t breathe in between the manifestations, speak in tongues rapidly and rapidly give the interpretation. 6. Don t speak in tongues for a long period of time on your first attempts. 7. The interpretation will always be a complete thought. It will generally be the same length as the speaking in tongues. 42 Intermediate Class on Power for Abundant Living, Wierwille, Victor Paul, 1974, the Great Principle. 45
Chart #6 The Word says that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. This is the next step of growth. We have sunk our roots deep into the Word and grown toward the light. Now we are ready to beautifully blossom. At this time if you have 3 or more manifesting believers, you may have the Receivers Session number 3 - see the Appendix: Receivers Session Guide for details. 46