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Post by Larry Marquez on Feb 7, 2017 9:09:28 GMT
In the first verse it says tongues are for unbelievers and prophecy for belivers, but in the next couple of verses it says the opposite. What does passage mean?
"Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” " 1 Corinthians 14:22-25
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Post by Jeff G on Feb 7, 2017 15:17:14 GMT
I've noticed that if you regard "tongues are for unbelievers but prophecy is for believers" as referring not to the person's status before hearing tongues or prophecy, but rather to their status after tongues or prophecy, then everything fits. Because, as you can see, verses 23 and 24 both deal with the situation of an unbeliever entering a gathering of the Church.
So an unbeliever comes in, hears tongues, and remains an unbeliever; but if an unbeliever enters and hears prophecy, they will become a believer.
The main trouble with this interpretation is that verse 22 doesn't specifically say we're dealing with the "after" status of the person hearing these things. Perhaps the way it is written in Greek allows for this possibility and the original audience would have figured out Paul's meaning.
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