June 3 - Understanding the Spirit

1 Corinthians 14:1-19

On initial reading of this passage, I'll admit it was a little confusing to me. Paul says speak in tongues, but then says don't speak in tongues, and only speak in tongues under certain circumstances! And then I think to myself, "I've never spoken in tongues or prophesied to my knowledge in my life so does this passage even apply to me?!"

But I think it's later in the passage where we can find the roots of what Paul is saying here, particularly in verses 13-19. In verse 15-16 he says, "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. Otherwise, when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else...say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying?"

I draw two conclusions from this passage. The first is that we should be worshipping God with our whole selves. Serving and worshipping God is not just something we do with our spirits, but with our hearts, our bodies, and our minds as well. If we only engage one part of ourselves in worship, we can miss out on deeper connectedness with God through true understanding. We can also miss out on deeper connectedness with God through involving others in our worship, which leads to the second conclusion: worshipping God is a communal. In other words, we are meant to worship God not just with our whole selves but with our neighbors as well. And if we are led by the Spirit in tongues or prophesies or understanding or visions or nudges or even just the joy of God's presence, to share that with those around us is to strengthen, build up, and expand the community of God through the power of his Holy Spirit. Although we might not experience people speaking in tongues every Sunday at church, we are still called to communal worship where we share our spiritual experiences--the joys, the burdens, the love, the light, the hardship, the passion, the truth, the understanding.