1 Corinthians 14
“Follow the way of love and eagerly
desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.”
The way of love is a major theme to all
we have been reading in this book. Whether we've been talking about wisdom,
knowledge, the Lord’s Supper, Spiritual gifts or church discipline, love has
been the constant drum beat. It starts with the love that God has shown us in
Jesus, and then flows to the love we release to God and to others. God gives us our gifts to serve Him
and one another. That happens in our day-to-day lives as we serve one another,
work hard to the glory of God, and apply our abilities to care for our
families, feed them, give them shelter, etc. The use of these gifts is an
expression of love. This is part of God’s design. We help, edify, and build up
one another because of the love of God.
The gift of prophecy is one of the
important ways we do this because in this gift we actually speak God’s Word.
This is the Word that alternately convicts us of our sins or comforts us with
God’s love. This is the Word where the Spirit of God dwells to call, gather,
and enlighten us as Christians, and create faith in those who hear. John tells
us these things have been written down that we might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, and by believing we may have faith in His name, and in Romans we are
reminded that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Prophecy is an important gift when we
think about how we love others. By prophecy – the speaking of the Word of God –
we help to rescue people from sin, death and Hell, and help to lead them to
eternal life. God’s Word actually does the work, but we become the messenger
that brings that Word.
So tongues and all the other gifts are
exciting and wonderful; after all God gives them, and God does not give bad
gifts! The gift of prophecy, however, communicates the love and gives the grace
that moves us so that others may receive Jesus’ salvation.
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