Jean's Bible Study Topics of the New Testament

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1Cor 14,1-40

· (95c) Thy kingdom come Ø Positive attitude Ø Speaking in tongues Ø Tongues are a spiritual gift – Paul in no way downplays spiritual gifts; in fact, he has devoted chapters 12 through 14 to them. If there were anything that Paul downplayed about spiritual gifts, it was speaking in tongues, probably because it was abused even back then. However, we should make a distinction between three different kinds of tongues. First, there is your personal prayer language (Rom 8-26,27), which you can use as often as you wish without an interpretation, so long as you are alone. Second, there is the tongue that Paul is addressing here that is expressed in public, which requires an interpretation. Third and last, there is the tongue that speaks a foreign language that the speaker has never learned that the audience can hear in his own native language. This third form of tongue is addressed in verses 20-25 of this chapter.  

· (152i) Witness Ø Validity of the Father Ø Witnesses of the father Ø Prophets Ø The church holds the position of a prophet Ø Church operates under a prophetic anointing

· (176i) Works of the devil Ø The religion of witchcraft Ø Zeal without knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) Ø Passion without principles – This entire chapter is essentially about speaking in tongues in the church. Paul’s instruction about this is if anyone speaks in tongues among the congregation, then there must be an interpreter, but how many churches disregard this instruction and allow everyone to speak in tongues at the same time without an interpreter? This is not the format that Paul wants the church to follow. This is disorderly conduct; it is based on rebellion, and has caused many problems in the church, turning off the more fundamental denominations, such as the Evangelicals and the Baptists. They have seen and heard about these kind of practices and want nothing to do with them, hindering unity among churches of God. Full gospel, Pentecostal and Charismatic churches are just to name a few denominations that are guilty of this disorderly behavior. If there is an interpreter, he is interpreting for the entire church, which is unscriptural. You might say such practices are extra-scriptural, insinuating that though the Bible doesn’t say you can do this, it doesn’t say you can’t, but it does say you can’t! Paul was emphatic about it in verse 37&38, distinguishing his opinion from the Lord’s command, saying, “If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.” Our God is a God of order, and if any pastor does not recognize this, his ministry will suffer. If for no other reason, we should refrain from hosting disorderly services simply from respect for the will of God, but if we are unwilling to conform to the Scriptures in this area, what other portions of scripture outlining the will of God do we spurn? Anyone who sees this behavior in the church should treat it like the tip of an iceberg and assume there is for more rebellion then meets the eye. All they have to do is go back to the Scriptures and read for themselves that these things should not be happening. What damage have they done by allowing disorder to reign in the church? They have given the gifts of the spirit a negative connotation, causing people not to seek them after they have been used in all the wrong ways and for all the wrong reasons.

· (35j) Gift Ø God gives Himself to us Ø Gifts from the Holy Spirit Ø Spiritual gifts

· (77c) Thy kingdom come Ø Hunger for the essence of God Ø Hunger for His truth -- This verse goes with verse 39

· (107c) Thy kingdom come Ø Truth Ø Word of God creates faith – The one who prophesies edifies the church more than any other gift, except love, which is not a gift at all, but a fruit of the spirit. It is ironic that speaking in tongues is the least edifying gift, yet is most tied to the gift of prophecy. Remember what Jesus said to the rich man in Lk 16,29-31, who asked Him to send someone from the dead to warn his brothers of this place of torment where he found himself? “‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. `No, father Abraham,' he said, `but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'" So, the word of God is more edifying even than the effecting of miracles. Jesus went around performing all kinds of miracles, and how did the people respond to Him? They hung Him on a cross. His purpose for performing miracles was to prove His identity. Signs, wonders, and miracles authenticate the work of God, and will accompany the coming great endtime revival, just as it authenticated Christ in the flesh at his first coming.

· (124d) Thy kingdom come Ø Manifestations of faith Ø Love Ø Acts of love Ø Love is one of the fruits of the Spirit – At the end of chapter 12 Paul says to earnestly desire the greater gifts, and then he says, “I will show you a still more excellent way,” referring to the love chapter (13). Then in the beginning of chapter 14 he starts by saying, “Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” These verses tie all three chapters together, proving that Paul was treating love as a spiritual gift. Although we know love as the primary fruit of the spirit, according to Galatians chapter 5, Paul is temporarily treating it as a gift to make the point that the whole purpose of the gifts of the spirit is to edify the church, which is what love does best. 

· (152e) Prophets (The word) (Key verse)

· (193l) Die to self (Process of substitution) Ø Turn from sin to God Ø Run to God Ø Run to God in your freedom to choose righteousness

· (248j) Priorities Ø God’ s preeminence Ø Values Ø The Highest Values Ø Top Priority – Paul said to pursue love, “yet earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” That is an amazing comment. There are spiritual gifts other than speaking in tongues and prophesying, such as the effecting of miracles. Why didn’t Paul want the Corinthian Church to especially pursue the gift of healing, for example? There are always those who get sick in the church and seeing someone healed of their affliction is a tremendous faith-builder, or is it? Everyone has heard it said that if only they could see a miracle from the hand of God, they would believe in Him. Maybe they world and maybe they wouldn’t. The purpose of miracles is to authenticate the work of God. In the church there is no purpose of miracles except if someone is sick. For we who believe, seeing miracles, signs and wonders performed do not have the kind of impact on our faith like the word of God. This is why Paul encouraged us to earnestly seek to prophesy, because it is more edifying than witnessing a miracle. 

1Cor 14-2

· (110k) Thy kingdom come Ø Spirit and the word Ø Spirit of revelation Ø Effect of the spirit on the word -- This verse goes with verses 6-8

1Cor 14,3-19

· (139h) Temple Ø Building the temple (with hands) Ø Edification -- These verses go with verse 26. The advantage of prophesying is that people can actually understand what you are saying, for edification is the main goal of spiritual gifts. This is why Paul said love is the more excellent way, because love defines edification. Speaking in tongues as a personal prayer language is perfectly acceptable to both God and Paul, but it’s when we bring our prayer language with us into the assembly and use it in front of other people that Paul has a problem, simply because it is not edifying.

1Cor 14-3

· (138i) Temple Ø Building the temple (with hands) Ø Exhortation Ø Exhorting the people to work together -- This verse goes with verse 31

1Cor 14-5

· (248k) Priorities Ø God’ s preeminence Ø Values Ø The Highest Values Ø Some things take precedence over others -- This verse goes with verse 19

1Cor 14,6-11

· (171e) Works of the devil Ø Manifestations of the devil Ø Outward appearance Ø Vanity Ø Vanity lacks worth -- These verses go with verse 16

1Cor 14,6-8

· (110k) Thy kingdom come Ø Spirit and the word Ø Spirit of revelation Ø Effect of the spirit on the word -- These verses go with verse 2

1Cor 14-6

· (80j) Thy kingdom come Ø Know the word to minister to people Ø To edify one another

· (109c) Thy kingdom come Ø Revelations of the Holy Spirit Ø Things revealed by the Spirit -- This verse goes with verse 26

· (239j) Kingdom of God Ø Pursuing the kingdom Ø Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom Ø Teachers Ø The gift of teaching Ø The ability to teach is a gift from God -- This verse goes with verse 26

1Cor 14-12

· (95f) Thy kingdom come Ø Attitude Ø Having a cooperative attitude Ø Cooperating with each other -- This verse goes with verse 26

1Cor 14,13-15

· (82d) Thy kingdom come Ø Three elements of prayer Ø Our approach Ø How to pray

1Cor 14-14

· (197f) Denying Christ Ø Man exercises his will against God Ø Man withers when he is in control Ø Fruitlessness Ø Neutral is unfruitful

1Cor 14-15

· (252f) Trinity Ø You shall put no other gods before Me Ø Worship God Ø Worship God who is Spirit Ø Worship God in the Spirit -- This verse goes with verses 24&25

1Cor 14-16,17

· (82i) Thy kingdom come Ø Prayer Ø Thankfulness Ø Giving thanks for His blessings

1Cor 14-16

· (171e) Works of the devil Ø Manifestations of the devil Ø Outward appearance Ø Vanity Ø Vanity lacks worth -- This verse goes with verses 6-11

1Cor 14-19

· (248k) Priorities Ø God’ s preeminence Ø Values Ø The Highest Values Ø Some things take precedence over others -- This verse goes with verse 5

1Cor 14,20-25

· (142c) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Old Testament bears witness to the new Ø Prophesy about evangelism – Paul encourages the Corinthians to be babes in evil, but in their thinking be mature, and then quotes a verse from the Old Testament in regard to speaking to people in a foreign language, introducing a spiritual gift that enables the preacher to spontaneously convey the gospel in a foreign language that the preacher never had to learn but is native to his audience. An account of this gift is found in Acts 2,1-12, during Pentecost when the Spirit rested upon many of the saints and they prophesied in a foreign tongue so the strangers in their hearing could hear the gospel preached in their own native tongue. Thousands of souls were added to the kingdom of God resulting from this powerful demonstration of the spirit. This is a totally different gift of tongues from the subject of heavenly tongues that has been the subject of conversation for the last couple chapters. Paul did not do well to communicate this shift in topics from speaking in a heavenly prayer language to speaking in a foreign language. This should clear up any confusion in verses 22-24, when Paul says that the gift of tongues is a sign to unbelievers that God is among those who preach the gospel in a foreign language, and then describes the scenario of an unbeliever wandering into an assembly of those who are all speaking in their prayer language, concluding that they are all mad. If you speak your prayer language in people’s hearing, they will think you are mad, but if you speak their own foreign tongue by the spirit of God, they will fall on their faces confessing that God is certainly among you. Speaking in a known language that you have never learned is a miracle, whereas speaking in your prayer language is not considered a miracle, because the hearers are not edified. Paul is referring to two different gifts of tongues in one context. Paul then says in verse 24 that prophecy is a sign to unbelievers after he made the same claim about the gift of tongues two verses earlier. All this confusion can be cleared up when we understand that Paul was speaking about two different gifts of tongues.

1Cor 14-20

· (42f) Judgment Ø Satan destroyed Ø Be like Jesus Ø Innocent of all evil

· (62l) Paradox Ø Anomalies Ø Being clever Ø Grow up

· (79d) Thy kingdom come Ø Renewing your mind Ø Monitor your thoughts

· (137i) Temple Ø Building the temple (with hands) Ø Maturity Ø Maturing in Jesus is hard work Ø Maturity is a training process

· (194e) Die to self (Process of substitution) Ø Turn from sin to God Ø Hate evil Ø Condemning sin Ø Hate evil by being innocent of it

· (196f) Denying Christ Ø Man exercises his will against God Ø Immaturity Ø Not mature enough to seek God Ø Unable to know the mind of Christ

1Cor 14-22

· (20f) Nature of sin Ø Seeking a sign

1Cor 14-23

· (2i) Responsible to avoid offending God Ø Get out of His way Ø Do not touch the apple of His eye – the weak in faith – This is a difficult portion of Scripture, because it says in one instance that tongues are a sign for unbelievers, and then in the next instance it says that if all speak in tongues and an unbeliever enters, he will think you are all mad. Therefore, he is speaking about two different kinds of tongues, one is the ability to speak by the Holy Spirit in a foreign tongue, the language that the unbeliever knows, and the other refers to speaking in your personal prayer language. Paul is saying that if the members of your congregation speak in their own prayer language, the visiting unbeliever will think you are all mad. Therefore, refrain from such practices, since it turns off the unbeliever from wanting to be a Christian. If you want to edify the unbeliever who enters your sanctuary, then speak in his own foreign tongue. 

1Cor 14-24,25

· (35h) Gift of God Ø God gives Himself to us Ø The anointing

· (89k) Thy kingdom come Ø God convicts us of sin Ø Conviction makes us conscious of sin

· (105d) Thy kingdom come Ø Pure in heart Ø Secrets of His heart are disclosed

· (110a) Thy kingdom come Ø Spirit and the word Ø Spirit speaks through you Ø Word of knowledge Ø knowing their thoughts by the mind of Christ

· (154g) Witness Ø Validity of the Father Ø God bears witness against the world Ø Witness that the world is rebellious against God Ø Witness against sin

· (193g) Die to self (Process of substitution) Ø Turn from sin to God Ø Repent Ø God grants repentance

· (212g) Sovereignty Ø God is infinite Ø God is all knowing Ø Nothing hidden Ø God knows your heart

· (252f) Trinity Ø You shall put no other gods before Me Ø Worship God Ø Worship God who is Spirit Ø Worship God in the Spirit -- These verses go with verse 15

1Cor 14-25

· (32k) Gift of God Ø Father will honor your devotion to Him Ø Honor a fruitful life

· (68f) Authority Ø Jesus Delegates the Holy Spirit to us Ø He guides you into all truth

1Cor 14-26

· (95f) Thy kingdom come Ø Attitude Ø Having a cooperative attitude Ø Cooperating with each other -- This verse goes with verses 37&38

· (109c) Thy kingdom come Ø Revelations of the Holy Spirit Ø Things revealed by the Spirit -- This verse goes with verse 6

· (139h) Temple Ø Building the temple (with hands) Ø Edification -- This verse goes with verses 3-19

· (239j) Kingdom of God Ø Pursuing the kingdom Ø Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom Ø Teachers Ø The gift of teaching Ø The ability to teach is a gift from God -- This verse goes with verse 6

1Cor 14,27-40

· (10d) Responsibility to keep order in the church

1Cor 14-29

· (69f) Authority Ø Righteous judgment Ø Meditate on discernment Ø Judging what is true

1Cor 14-31

· (138i) Temple Ø Building the temple (with hands) Ø Exhortation Ø Exhorting the people to work together -- This verse goes with verse 3

1Cor 14-32

· (60b) Paradox Ø Two implied meanings Ø Prophecies are subject to interpretation / Spirit of prophesy is subject to the one who prophesies – When a prophecy is given, others in the church should judge as whether it came from God or not. We are not to simply accept every prophecy as coming from God, because it may not be the case. Paul explains why this is true in verse 32, handing down a principle of Scripture that is often misplaced, “The spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets” (note that the word “spirits” is in lower case, meaning not the Spirit of God). So, to what “spirits” is Paul referring? The spirit of the prophet (the person prophesying) is ultimately in control of the prophecy, not the Spirit of God. A person does not fall under the control of the Holy Spirit when prophesying; his eyes do not take on a cold stare; nor is the person held in captivity as we have seen on horror movies. Satan might be interested in controlling the will of man and force people to do all kinds of strange things, but God would never take away a person’s faculties or force anyone to prophesy. God would never transgress our will under any circumstances. For that matter, neither will He allow Satan to transgress our will. Therefore, demon possessed people have a will. Casting out demons can be tricky business, not because the devil has power, but because the person will not release him. The devil has the person convinced to let him stay or has him convinced that no one can make him leave, but the fact is once the possessed man realizes he can be free and tells the demons to leave, they have no choice. Likewise, God may place a word in a person’s heart, but if he doesn’t prophesy, then the prophecy will not be delivered. God has put us in charge of His gospel, and He will guide us by His Spirit, but He will not make us do anything. Nothing is more important to God than our will. It is far more important to Him than it is to us, until we have it violated. Then we begin to understand how important our will is to God.

1Cor 14-33

· (158i) Works of the devil Ø Essential characteristics Ø Divide and conquer Ø Division (Cliques) Ø Satan is the origin of division

· (199b) Denying Christ Ø Man exercises his will against God Ø Frustrating the grace of God Ø Frustrating Jesus Ø Frustrating the Father -- This verse goes with verses 37-40

1Cor 14,34-36

· (3h) Responsibility to the Family Ø God addresses both genders Ø Instruction about women – This is another difficult portion of Scripture for women to accept, at least at face value, but I believe there is a story behind these verses. Since Paul never spoke like this to any other church in any other epistle, this could be an isolated incident. There may have been a period when women dominated the Corinthian Church and ran roughshod over men. This was a blatant disrespect for the man’s role in the church; therefore, Paul commanded the woman not to speak in Corinthian Church from that point on and for that reason. However, things have changed since then, and if women have something to say, they should by all means say it, but respectfully. Comparing verses 1-19 with 34,35 of this chapter, Paul compares speaking in tongues with women speaking in church. His instruction is: don’t do it without an interpreter, the husband in this case being the interpreter. Just like his instruction about using our gift of tongues at home, so women should take their questions home and ask their husbands. Paul seemed severe on women, as though they had very little to offer the church. I think Paul had a problem with women. In our day, whether women have anything to offer or not, they make up the majority in attendance at Sunday service in many churches. The Old Testament doesn’t say much about woman good or bad, and when they are mentioned, they take a submissive role. Paul really did have an orthodox view of women. In today’s world women have at least as much authority as men, and at the same time we are fast approaching the end of days, but there is no correlation, or is there? Is Paul right in his instruction about women? It all depends on whether women currently have achieved their authority through a spirit of rebellion or through good motives. The Bible does not give women any room to achieve a status of authority over men, so they must have achieved it outside biblical principles. Perhaps this is one reason the Bible has less of a place in our society, and is continuing to slide as an influence in social consciousness.

1Cor 14,37-40

· (199b) Denying Christ Ø Man exercises his will against God Ø Frustrating the grace of God Ø Frustrating Jesus Ø Frustrating the Father -- These verses go with verse 33

1Cor 14-37,38

· (6f) Responsibility Ø Being spiritual Ø Ministering to God by obeying His word

· (95f) Thy kingdom come Ø Attitude Ø Having a cooperative attitude Ø Cooperating with each other -- These verses go with verse 12

· (222f) Kingdom of God Ø The elusive kingdom of heaven Ø Do not give what is holy to dogs Ø God does not entrust his treasures to dogs Ø Do not recognize dogs 

1Cor 14-37

· (152k) Witness Ø Validity of the Father Ø Witnesses of the father Ø Prophets Ø The church holds the position of a prophet Ø True prophets – We know there are prophets and then there are Prophets (differentiating with a capital P), just like there were people in the Old Testament who prophesied and then there were the Prophets we know by name, such as Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. So when Paul asks, ‘If someone thinks he is a prophet,’ he is referring to someone who has the gift of prophecy, not one who is an actual Prophet (you would know if he were a real Prophet). For example, Paul was both an apostle and a Prophet. That didn’t just mean he could prophesy (though he could), but that God gave him foundational truths that were applicable from horizon to horizon, changing the very nature of the church, whereas the one who has the gift of prophecy ministers to his church only, revolving around the ministry of exhortation, edification and consolation. Paul’s greatest contribution to the gospel is that the gentiles have been included in God’s salvation of the Jews. When you look at Scripture, without Paul’s input the fact of the gentiles’ inclusion would have been vague, which would have become a point of contention. As it was however, Paul made it perfectly clear that the gentiles were indeed included in God’s salvation. This revelation became the direction and force of his ministry and has had a profound impact on the faith of every non-Jew for the last two millennia. This the kind of impact true Prophets have on the church.

1Cor 14-39

· (77c) Thy kingdom come Ø Hunger for the essence of God Ø Hunger for His truth -- This verse goes with verse 1

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