Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

1 Corinthians 14:22-25

Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

Paul once again talked about the difference between tongue and prophecy. He specifically pointed out that tongue is not a sign for believers, like a way to split the believers into two camps. The greatest mistake made by the radical Charismatics is to use tongue as a way to label the believers, for they consider those without the gift of tongue not having been filled by the Spirit. There are even extreme factions of Charismatics that believe that one who's not filled by the Spirit does not have the Spirit inside, thus equal to not having been saved. Paul actually made is very clear in this passage that tongue is a sign for the unbelievers.

The Book of Acts talked about how the Holy Spirit came upon the early church on the Pentecost, and disciples started speaking other tongues. Many people came from out of town and they were awed by the hearing their native tongues. They were then convinced by the work of the Spirit and their hearts turned to Jesus Christ. Therefore, tongue is not for comparing who's more spiritual, but it's for demonstrating the power of God to the unbelievers. On the other hand, prophecy is meant for the believers, not the unbelievers, because prophecy edifies the church. I must emphasize that speaking prophecies is not an exclusive right for the ministers, but it's for all believers to speak words of encouragement and comfort to one another during a gathering. When the gift of prophecy is released during a gathering, the secrets of the unbelievers will be revealed and they will recognize that God is truly among us.

There are many such testimonies in the cell groups. When cell group members are praying for unbelievers, God's Spirit may prompt someone in the group to see their real needs in life, and thus pray and bless them accordingly. Once God's word is released, the unbelievers are touched and even drove to tears because they know that God is speaking to them, and they realize that God is there. That's how the gift of prophecy can be exercised in a cell group. May God help us not to reject tongue, and to exercise gift of prophecy appropriately, so that all believers may participate in the work on the Holy Spirit.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you because you give us all kinds of spiritual gifts. We ask that you bless us, prompt our hearts during gatherings so that we may speak words to encourage and edify others. Let our words touch the hearts of the unbelievers among us so that their hearts may turn back to true God. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!