Now from verse 3 we go to verse 7: “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for profit.” In what way is the manifestation of the Spirit given? “To one through the Spirit is given a word of wisdom...” (v. 8). The number one manifestation of the Spirit is in the word of wisdom, not in miracles, not in healings, nor in tongue-speaking. The first manifestation is the word of wisdom, then, “to another a word of knowledge.” The first manifestation is the word of wisdom and the second is the word of knowledge. This should impress us that in our home meetings we should be full of the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. In the meetings the word of wisdom is on the top and the word of knowledge is not as high. Wisdom is mostly related to our spirit and knowledge is related to our mind. Wisdom comes from our spirit, where the Holy Spirit dwells. Knowledge mostly comes from the mind, where our thought is. But do not despise the word of knowledge. These are the two top manifestations of the Spirit in the Christian meetings.
Verse 9 says, “To a different one faith in the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing in the one Spirit.” The faith here is the kind of faith that can remove mountains. Verse 10 continues, “And to another operations of works of power.” These are surely miracles. Three things are mentioned: faith to remove mountains, healing of diseases, and operations of works of power. Then it says, “And to another prophecy.” To prophesy is also to speak. The word of wisdom is for speaking, the word of knowledge is for speaking, and prophecy is for speaking. Following this it says, “To another discerning of spirits.” This is to discern what spirit is of God and what spirit is not of God. Then it says, “To a different one various kinds of tongues.” We know all tongues are for speaking. It continues, “And to another interpretation of tongues.” Interpretation of tongues is also for speaking. These are nine items of the manifestation of the Spirit. Five are for speaking: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. These five all are for speaking. Then you have faith to remove some obstacles, the healing of diseases, the operations of the works of power, and the discerning of spirits.
Then 1 Corinthians 14:26 says, “What is it then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation.” A psalm is not only for singing. Ephesians 5 tells us to speak one to another in psalms and hymns. Psalms are not only for singing, but also for speaking. Teachings surely are for speaking, and revelation is a kind of speaking. Verse 26 continues, “Has a tongue, has an interpretation.” These are all for speaking. A psalm is for speaking and singing. A teaching is for speaking. A revelation is for speaking. A tongue is for speaking. An interpretation of a tongue is for speaking. All of the five items which are mentioned in relation to the Christian meetings are for speaking.
We have to study the word in the Lord’s divine revelation very, very carefully. In chapter twelve, when Paul talks about the manifestation of the Spirit, he talks about nine items. Of the nine, four are miraculous things: faith, healing, miracles, and discerning of spirits. Five are for speaking: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Then when he talks about the meetings in chapter fourteen, he does not say a word concerning healing or concerning miracles. Instead, everything he says concerns speaking. You have to psalm. That means you have to speak or you have to sing. You need to voice it. Then you need to teach by speaking. You need to give a revelation by speaking. You need to speak a tongue, and interpret the tongue by speaking. It is all by speaking.
Then what are we to speak? Concerning all these kinds of speakings, Paul says in 14:1, “Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy.” The word prophesy both in Hebrew and in Greek, in both the Old and New Testaments, denotes three things. First, to prophesy is to speak for God, to tell people something for God. Second, it is to speak forth God, to tell something forth concerning God. Third, it is to foretell, to tell beforehand that something will happen. The third denotation is a matter of prediction. Today many Christians understand this word prophesy only to mean predict or foretell. But if you read 1 Corinthians 14, you can understand that the word prophesy in this chapter does not refer mainly to foretelling, but rather to speaking forth Christ and to speaking for Christ. To prophesy in this chapter is just to speak forth the things concerning God and to speak for God, or you may say, to speak forth the things concerning Christ, and to speak for Christ. Then verse 3 says, “But he who prophesies speaks to men for building up and encouragement and consolation.” This is surely not a prediction, but rather a kind of speaking in the word of wisdom or in the word of knowledge to build others up and to encourage, comfort, and console others.
Then verse 4 says, “He who prophesies builds up the church.” To speak forth Christ and to speak for Christ builds up the church. Verses 23 through 26 say, “If therefore the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak in tongues, and the unlearned or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are insane? But if all prophesy and some unbeliever or unlearned person enters, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all; the secrets of his heart become manifest; and so falling on his face, he will worship God, reporting that God is really among you. What is it then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.” Each one has! You have a psalm. I have a teaching. He has a revelation. Another has a tongue. And a fifth one has an interpretation. This is mutuality. A basketball team has five players. If, however, one player keeps the ball to himself and never lets it go, that is not mutuality, but rather individuality. The principle is the same in the meetings. We must practice mutuality. If during a meeting only one person speaks the entire time, everyone will leave feeling poor. But if everyone speaks mutually the meeting will be very much enriched.
The word tongue in verse 26 means a real tongue that can be interpreted. The tongue must be a dialect that bears a certain meaning that can be translated. In Acts 2:6 we can see that tongue-speaking was the speaking of a dialect. All the hearers were amazed that they could hear in their own language: “We hear them speaking in our tongues the great things of God” (Acts 2:11). First Corinthians chapters twelve and fourteen are also portions in the New Testament which talk about tongue-speaking. In this portion Paul says that if one speaks in tongues in the meeting, there must also be an interpretation: “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most three, and in turn, and let one interpret; but if there is no interpreter, let him be silent in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God” (1 Cor. 14:27-28). These verses show that any tongue spoken in a meeting must be a distinct dialect.
Once I was invited to speak to a Pentecostal group. I stayed with them for quite a few days. While I was there, I observed a speaking in tongues and an interpretation of it; however, the interpretation was several times longer than the speaking in tongues. Even the pastor admitted that this was not genuine. Later, I observed one person repeating the same tongue-speaking on three occasions, yet each interpretation was greatly different. This kind of tongue speaking is altogether false. When we speak of tongues, we refer to the genuine tongues. Not just a sound produced with the tongue, but syllables which are meaningful that can compose a language. This is a genuine tongue. This is what the Bible reveals.
In 1 Corinthians 12, nine different items are mentioned as the manifestation of the Spirit. The first is the word of wisdom and the second is the word of knowledge, but the last two are tongue-speaking and interpretation of tongues. Then in 1 Corinthians 14:26 there are five things related to the meetings, there is firstly a psalm for speaking and singing, then a teaching for speaking, then a revelation for speaking. These are the first three. Then the last two are tongues and interpretation. In Paul’s writings, tongues and their interpretation are at the tail of every list, but today’s practice makes the tail the head. In the Pentecostal movement, they make tongues not only the head, but nearly everything. The most important thing in a Christian meeting is not tongue-speaking; it is the speaking of the word of wisdom, the speaking of the word of knowledge, the speaking of a teaching, and the speaking of a revelation that can reveal something, that can instruct people, and that can build up the saints and the church.