20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” 22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
-1 CORINTHIANS 14:20-25
1 CORINTHIANS 14 INFANTS IN EVIL AND MATURE IN THINKING
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
As we walk in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ
We need to be infants in evil and adults in our mind
Our life as believers need to be a constant aim to grow
It cannot be a desire to be comfortable and to resist change
We ought to let go of childish ways and embrace change
God’s Spirit transforms us so that we can focus on worshipping God.
Paul drives a very important aspect of how Christians need to live their lives for the Lord.
It is quite interesting how he tells them that speaking in tongues is a sign for unbelievers and prophecy is a sign for believers. What does this mean? In verses 23-25, he gives an example how this applies. I am particularly humored by verse 23 because when I was a newly born-again Christian, I went to a church where many Christians were uttering different gibberish sounds and doing all sorts of worship like dancing, laughing and drawing and painting. I was confused and didn’t know where to look but I was made to think that it was spiritual and so I just went with the flow. I never went back to that church. I only went there once. Years later, as I grew in my study of God’s word. I knew it wasn’t right to have all those performance-based worship. The Holy Spirit whispered to me at that time I was experiencing it that it wasn’t true worship. Paul explains it very well in this letter how those Corinthians misuse these gifts of the Spirit.
REFLECTION
- Share insights about how Christians should worship the Lord our God.
