Last week I left out a verse from my post about fruitlessness because I ran out of room! Also, the verse covers a different subject than the others did, so it makes sense to treat it in a separate post.
All the verses in the previous article were negative. (We looked at Matthew 13:22, Mark 4:19, Ephesians 5:11, Jude 12, Titus 3:14, and 2 Peter 1:8.) Jesus, Paul, Jude, and Peter all warned disciples about the dangers of an unfruitful life.
So we would expect this final verse to be likewise adverse to fruitlessness. And it does come across that way.
Kind of.
Let’s start by reading the whole passage in which it occurs.
So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. 13For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified. 18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. – 1 Corinthians 14:12-19
In this part of his letter, Paul’s trying to straighten out how the Corinthians exercise spiritual gifts in their gatherings. Chapter 12 introduces an array of gifts, but chapter 14 focuses on two or three: tongues (and the interpretation of tongues) and prophecy.
The issue is intelligibility. Christians who pray in unknown tongues (human or angelic languages; see 1 Corinthians 13:1) build themselves up even if they don’t understand what they’re saying. Their spirit communicates with God in direct fashion, bypassing the mind. When believers pray or sing in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit expresses Himself through them to God. And that’s a blessing even if we don’t grasp the meaning of our own words!
Paul doesn’t oppose what Pastor Jack Hayford has called “the beauty of spiritual language.” By engaging the Father in this fashion, our spirits become fruitful.
But our minds don’t. At least not at that moment.
When we speak in tongues, neither we nor anyone around us comprehend what’s going on. It’s a spirit-based activity, but the mind is on hold. That is, unless we or someone else interprets the words.
The apostle promotes the personal value of spiritual language. But in social settings, he has a different opinion.
Sandwiched between two chapters about spiritual gifts (chapters 12 and 14) lies one of the most famous passages in the Bible–Paul’s ode to love (chapter 13). Gifts are powerful and can suffer abuse, but love will keep them in line. It provides the proper motivation and the right direction. Inspired by the love of Jesus, we will use the gifts of God’s grace to bless others.
When we’re alone, we can attend to our growth in Christ by praying with our spirits and with our minds. That way, we cover all the bases! But with other believers, we should esteem their welfare more than our own.
One of the ways we do that is by communicating the will of God to them in ways they can understand. This might not look spiritual to those captivated by charismatic experiences, but it pleases the Lord. And isn’t that our top priority?
So is praying in tongues worth it? What’s the value of an unfruitful mind? If we can discipline our minds to remain at rest while our spirits converse with God, we grow in Christ. We train ourselves to be still in His presence even as our spirits are active. And when we do this on a consistent basis, we find the Holy Spirit giving us a depth of self-control we never imagined.
God’s not hostile to our minds. He created us to explore, think, and learn. But when we follow Jesus, we will discover the kingdom is more than we can take in. The times and occasions when we put our minds at rest we open ourselves to the working of His Spirit. The fruitlessness of the mind is only temporary; the fruitfulness of our spirit lasts forever.
Because love lasts forever.
Recent Comments