The Second Letter Of Peter- 10

Subtitle: Has God Changed His Mind About Judgment Day?

A link to the audio can be found at the bottom of this article.

2 Peter 3:8-10.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, September 27, 2026.

In this chapter, Peter has referenced scoffers in the last days who would particularly ridicule the Second Coming of Christ and the Day of the Lord.  They will say [are even now saying], “Where is the promise of his coming?”

The scoffer’s problem is partly willful ignorance and partly a blindness that comes from willfully ignoring the Word of God.  The cycle starts by pushing away truth and turning towards a desired lie.  However, this then hardens a person’s heart and leaves them insensitive.  It takes more and more powerful conflicts with truth to break through to their heart; and yet, they can just ignore that too.

Peter in these verses turns his focus from the scoffers to believers.  We must not let ourselves be affected by the scoffers.  We must hold fast to faith in God’s promise to judge the wickedness of this world, both spiritual entities and humans in league with them (knowingly or unknowingly).

Let’s look at our passage.

The issue of time with the LORD (v. 8-9)

We generally understand how time limits and affects us as humans.  However, it is easy to blindly insist that those same limitations are effective upon God.  Scoffers are not just willfully ignorant of the reality of God’s Word, but they do not understand the relationship between God and time.

We experience time as those who are being carried along by it and only have so much of it to do what we want to do.  If something takes longer than a lifetime, then we have difficulty waiting for it or working for it.  Our modern age has only exacerbated this reality.  If we do not have an immediate effect, we look for alternative ways to make it happen.  Or we give up completely and go in a different direction.

We might be able to conceive how angels think of time.  They were created at the beginning and have existed all this time, millennia.  They can think about long periods of time without becoming impatient.  However, God is not a high-powered angel.  He is the Creator of all things including time itself.  It has no control over Him and holds no fear to Him.  It is something that He imagined and brought into being.  He is the Lord of time and yet, works within it.

In verse 8, Peter tells us not to let “this one fact escape your notice…”  Unlike the scoffers who willfully ignore and become blind to these matters, we are not to let the following fact escape our notice.  We are not to travel down the same path as the scoffers.  The long period of waiting for God to keep His promise about the Second Coming and the Day of the Lord does not logically support the contention that it somehow disproves the promise or God Himself.  Instead, we are to keep in mind that “with the Lord” 1 day is like 1,000 years, and 1,000 years is like 1 day!

Let’s contemplate the second part of that, “1,000 years is like 1 day.”  This is not meant to be some kind of equation that we can use to crack the meaning of prophecy.  God does use symbolism in the length of time of His works, but we must be careful of treating this as a law of the prophetic universe.  It simply means that long periods of time to God are shrugged off like one day to God. 

It is probably even greater than Peter states because he is probably thinking of Psalm 90:4. “For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night.”  Notice that Moses doesn’t treat it as an equation.  It is not only like yesterday (i.e., one day), but it is also like a watch in the night.  This would have been about four hours. 

The point is that it is something short (though for humans a watch in the night might seem to take forever when you are sleepy).  In fact, when it is dark, it is easy to let the eyelids rest for just a moment.  Many an army has been caught off-guard by their enemy with such men on watch.

Because we are talking about the Promise taking so long, this is the salient part of Peter’s statement.  However, we should note that he also makes the opposite contention.  “1 day is like 1,000 years.”  God’s ability with time is beyond our imagination.  He not only takes long periods of time to do something, but when He does it, He can accomplish 1,000 years of work in a day, or even one hour!  His ability is beyond our imagination, but it should not be beyond our belief!

When a human delays decades, or even the majority of their life, it is easy to give up hoping for what they promise.  God is not like us.  He keeps His Word.  We should not read into the long period of time in which He works the idea that it is no longer going to happen.

Verse nine tells us that God is not delaying His promise as men consider delays.  The word for delay here is not just about something being late as in being tardy.  It also has the connotation of being so late as to non-fulfillment, i.e., that God has changed His mind about doing it or is unable to do it (it’s too late!).  It is one thing to make such determinations about human endeavors (though we can easily be wrong), but it is quite another to make such judgments about God and His works.

Now listen.  Scoffing is not just something that comes from outside of the Church.  There are plenty Christians who scoff at this promise.  Some have gone so far as to treat it all as an allegory about a person gaining enlightenment about the genius of Jesus and the path of love.  This is what Peter is nipping in the bud.  People coming up with alternative ideas within the Church.

God means to keep His promise.  So why is the coming of Christ taking so long?  Peter’s answer is that God is being patient with humanity.  The word for patient here has the sense of having a long fuse.  His patience comes from the fact that He does not want anyone to perish.  Some versions say that He does not wish for people to perish, but I think this is nonsensical with God.  He does not desire anyone to perish, so He has planned a long period of time.  For Jesus to come back is to shut the door on this age of grace.  It is to seal the fate of so many people.  Only God can righteously make such a call.

It is also His desire that people come to repentance [and faith in Jesus].  This is His path of escaping the path of perishing on which we are careening into the future.  Yet, God will not force people to repent and be saved.  This issue of freedom, desire, and power is at the root of all that we are facing today.

In any project, taking too long is not seen as good.  However, when it comes to issues of love, taking too long, or being unimaginably patient, is not seen as bad.  Rather, it is remarkable as a great goodness that is not deserved.  God’s long “delay” in sending Jesus is precisely such.  It is a powerful testament to His patient love towards us.

It seems that modern man wants its cake and to eat it too.  We want to blame God for the evil in the world, saying that He has taken too long, and yet, we repel at the idea of a God that will hold us accountable for our sins.  How dare God be so patient!  Yet, the true nature of God is perfect in these matters.  He is not quick to judge sinners, and in fact, does what He can to help them avoid the fate that is only right for those who cause pain and suffering in this world. 

The Day of the Lord will come (v. 10)

In verse 10, Peter emphatically states that the Day of the Lord will come.  The Second Coming of Jesus is not equivalent to the term “Day of the Lord.”  It is only one aspect of the larger concept of the Day of the Lord.  It can be thought of as the event that initiates the Day of the Lord, but there are also events that lead up to the Second Coming, having been triggered by its timing.

The Day of the Lord is an all-encompassing phrase that refers to the judging of the world by God.  Revelation 19-20 reveals that this will be initiated in the years leading up to the Second Coming, often referred to as the Great Tribulation.  The pouring out of the wrath of God culminates in the Appearance of Jesus to remove the devil, and his angels, and the kings and powers of the earth.  This leads to 1,000 years of peace under a direct rule of Jesus and His resurrected administrators on this earth.  At the end of this time, the devil will be released from his prison and allowed one last deception upon humanity.  The ensuing rebellion will perish in fire.  The fire engulfs the heavens and the earth as all beings are brought before the throne of God for judgment.  Following this judgment, God creates New Heavens and a New Earth for those who proved righteous.  Those who did not prove righteous will be walled off from that good creation.  The Day of the Lord encompasses all of that.

Some may protest that there are places in the Old Testament where the Day of the Lord is used for a judgment that was in the past and not for all nations.  This may be true, but it is not what Peter is talking about.  Peter is looking ahead to a time when the elements of the heavens and the earth will melt with intense heat.  It is the ultimate Day of the Lord, of which all previous and smaller days of the Lord were only harbingers.

We must never let ourselves doubt that the day will eventually come when God triggers these events.  In fact, through Christians, the peace terms of Christ are going out to the whole world.  We are planting the seeds of truth, watering them, and harvesting as people respond with faith.  We don’t know when this time will be closed, but we can be faithful to God’s grace being extended through us.

Peter also describes the Day of the Lord as coming like a thief.  It is going to catch the world by surprise.  This is surprising since they will have been warned about it for thousands of years!  Paul makes this same point in 1 Thessalonians 5.  However, he adds something in verse 4. “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.”  We have been given the truth so that we can be saved, so that we are not taken by surprise on that day.  We will not be surprised by it because we live our lives holding on to the promise of the coming of our lord and His perfect judgments.

Sodom and Gomorrah were surprised on that day, but they didn’t have to be.  They could have remembered The Flood and God’s clear warning of judgment to humanity.  They could have taken note of the man Lot who testified to them that they were going too far in their sin.  Yet, they scoffed at such things and cast-off restraint.  They ignored God’s Word and so judgment caught them by surprise.

Peter speaks about the heavens passing away with a roar, or a sudden loud sound.  This seems to be a clear reference to the picture found in Revelation 20.  At the end of 1,000 years of peace under Jesus on this earth, there will be a rebellion.  This will lead to a rapid series of events.  Revelation 20:9 says that fire will come down from heaven and devour the rebellion.  Verse 10 states that the devil who deceived them will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever, never to return.  Verse 11 then states that heaven and earth “fled away” from the Great White Throne and Him who was seated upon it.  I believe that the fleeing away is connected to the fire that falls out of heaven in verse 9.  It doesn’t just engulf the wicked; it engulfs all of creation, melting it down as all beings are brought before the throne.  Thus chapter 21 opens with the presence of new heavens and a new earth, walled off from the wicked by a great firewall called the Lake of Fire.  Heaven will pass away with a sudden noise.

Then the elements (2 Peter 3:10) will be destroyed with intense heat.  The word translated “elements” refers to the underlying things that hold something else up.  In this case, we are talking about the creation.  Thus, the elements here can be thought of as the underlying things of matter itself, whether molecules, atoms, quarks, etc.

The word “destroyed” does not mean to go out of existence.  It is the idea of breaking the bonds of something that exists to the point that it is no longer what it was.  Like the temple of Jerusalem being pulled apart stone by stone and cast into the valley below is a destruction, so this destructive event will separate the bonds of matter itself.

How do you survive such an event?  You don’t, at least not as a mortal human.  Only those who have put their faith in Christ will come out the other side into the goodness that God has for them.  You survive it by knowing Jesus!

Finally, Peter says that the earth and its works will be burned up.  This is not just talking about the wicked works but works in general.  It goes beyond human works.  It involves even the work of God in the prior creation, or even post flood.  The mountains, the seas, the animals, and all living things on the earth will be burned up.  This is the final judgment of God upon this creation.

There is a textual issue with the word translated “burned up.”  There are some manuscripts that have a different word that means to be laid bare and exposed in a destructive sense.  Burned up could be expected due to the previous “intense heat.”  However, some older manuscripts have the word that pictures the works of the earth being uncovered and laid bare.  This is a concept that is often connected with judgment in the Bible.  It is a day of finding out the hidden realities of something and judging them.  Regardless, we end up at the same place.  A creation that will be so judged by God that it will be broken apart to the smallest degree and laid bare before the God who created it.

Has God changed His mind?  The short answer is no.  Believers do not need to fear the coming of the Lord.  For us, this is a promise that is meant to be our hope while we live in this life, often in the face of great wickedness.  God will judge all these things.  Yet, He doesn’t want to catch people by surprise.  He doesn’t want to catch you like a thief. 

May God help us to be the expression of His patient desire that none perish.

Has God Changed His Mind audio

The Second Letter of Peter- 3

Subtitle: Eyewitnesses of His Glory

2 Peter 1:16-21.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, July 26, 2026.

This passage is among several in the New Testament that speak of the glory and majesty of Jesus Christ our Lord.

In Hebrews 1:1-3, Jesus is called “God’s Son” and is described as the “Radiance of God’s Glory” and the “Exact Representation of His nature.”  In Colossians 1:15, Jesus is called the “Image of the Invisible God.”

All of these emphasize that Jesus is far more than just a man.  His glory and majesty are themselves a manifestation of the Father’s glory and majesty.  We will see similar descriptions in our passage today.

Let’s look at our passage.

Peter gives a final exhortation

We have given you a witness of our Lord Jesus Christ. (v. 16-18)

Though Peter does not explain who the “we” are in verse 16, it seems obvious from the context that he is speaking about the other apostles, but particularly the three of them who witnessed the event called The Transfiguration.

It is important for us to understand what men like Peter had been given for our sake.  Peter is important.  He needs to speak and be led by the Holy Spirit as a witness, especially since he would not live forever in his mortal body.  Yet, Peter could not do what he has done and say the things he has said unless God hadn’t given him the experiences in the first place.

Everyone in Israel during the days of Jesus saw some remarkable things.  However, the twelve disciples of Jesus saw many things beyond what others saw.

This sharing from Peter (and the rest) to others was a critical part of God’s plan for humanity.  Peter could do nothing before God did what He did.  But, once God gave a witness to him and others, Peter had an imperative to share it.  God would not do it for him.

Peter also emphasizes that the witness given by those Apostles of Jesus were not cleverly devised tales.  Instead, they spoke of things they had seen with their own eyes.  Today, there are many who state that these things were not written down for a long time.  This is not the case.  Paul was writing his letters within 15 to 20 years from Christ’s resurrection.  Even this letter from Peter was written in the early 60’s AD, i.e., at most 30 years after the resurrection.  It would make sense that these men would write things down as they neared their deaths.  In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote down many of his letters because he was in prison.  They were eyewitnesses of powerful things.

Peter is alluding to the fact that it was common in those days for charlatans to travel from town to town seeking people who would pay to hear their lectures.  They used cleverly designed tales that were designed to capture the imagination of people (their attention) and to loosen their purse strings.  These kinds of men did not set people free from their sins and give them an inheritance in God’s kingdom.  They did not raise humanity from its fallen state to become the children of God.

We have a similar thirst for nice stories today.  Whether we buy it, or enrich people through interactions online, we can be hungry for things that are not truth.  Peter was not such a man.

Peter only focuses on The Transfiguration, but before we talk about that, let’s walk through some of the amazing things he saw.

He saw Jesus cast demons out of people with just a word of command.  These men went from tormented souls to being in their right mind within seconds.  Modern man can try to diminish these miracles by stating they were only psychological problems.  However, modern psychiatrists would love to have the power Jesus had.  They too are often impotent in the face of troubled minds, much less demon possession.

Peter also saw Jesus feed thousands of people with only the lunch of a boy.  He saw Jesus walk on water, even command a storm to stop, and it obeyed. 

Jesus told his disciples that he would be put to death but would rise again on the third day.  The resurrection of Jesus rocked their world, as he appeared to them multiple times over the course of 40 days.  On top of that, they witnessed Jesus ascend into heaven before their eyes.  Just one of these things would be unbelievable.  However, Peter witnessed each and every one of them.  They were all left with the truth that this is not just a normal man.

It was on the mountain (vs. 18) that Peter, James and John saw the Transfiguration of Jesus.  The descriptions in the Gospels can be found in Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-13; and Luke 9:28-36.

The word “transfiguration” is somewhat strange in modern English.  The word “transformation” might serve us better.  In our passage, Peter describes two aspects to this event.  Jesus was visibly honored and glorified in front of them as well as God speaking from heaven about him.  What they saw and what they heard pointed to the glory and majesty of Jesus.

Matthew 17 gives the description that his “face shone like the sun.”  His “garments became white as light.”  Mark gives the description that his clothes were “exceedingly white like snow…” and as “no launderer on earth can whiten them…”  Luke states that his “face was altered” and “his robe became white and glistening.”

Now, Jesus did not normally shine.  He walked around in human flesh looking and doing human things.  However, there was something greater about Jesus that was cloaked by his humanity.  Similar to the way the face of Moses was shining when he came down from the mountain where he talked with God face to face, this shining of Jesus is described in greater terms.

The voice that comes from heaven is clearly that of God the Father.  He says, “This is My Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased!”  Though Peter doesn’t mention this in his letter, the voice added at the end, “Listen to him!”

This is similar to the voice from heaven that spoke at the water baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:17).  Yet, this connects back to Israel coming out of Egypt.  When they arrived at Mt. Sinai, God spoke to them from the mountain.  A close study of this event makes it clear that the ten commandments were spoken by God from the mountain to Israel.  This so freaked them out that they asked Moses to go and speak to God for them.  They were too scared to hear God’s voice.  All true revelation has its source in God.  However, because we humans are commonly not close to God, He speaks through prophets.  The voice from heaven in these three events appear to emphasize that it is God who is speaking.  No one doubted that God spoke to Moses after that event.  Similarly, those who heard the voice from heaven regarding Jesus did not doubt that they needed to listen to Jesus.

It is one thing to read the Scriptures your whole life about God’s promise of a Messiah.  It is quite another thing to have the experiences that Peter and his fellow disciples had with Jesus.

We now have the prophetic word made even more sure. (v. 19-21)

Verse 19 presses the point home.  It may come across as if Peter is saying that the prophecies of Scripture weren’t certain before, but they are now.  This is incorrect.  The Scriptures were retained by Israel because they had proven to be true, and the men who spoke them had proven to be true.  Of course, these proofs were in the past, but it was the national history of Israel and God’s revelation to them.

Thus, the proven, trustworthy Scriptures were now even more proven by the events surrounding Jesus.  Peter witnessed Jesus demonstrating his glory and power on that day.  It was a demonstration that underscored all that had been said and all that Jesus taught his disciples.  It was a demonstration that exampled what the glorified Jesus would look like at his Second Coming.  Thus, the effect of what Peter is saying is this.  The Scriptures were already sure, but now they are even more sure!

Because it is so certain, he tells them that they would do well to pay attention to it.  The clarity of God’s Word through the work and person of Jesus puts even more responsibility upon those who hear it.

Peter uses the imagery of a lamp in a dark place.  The eyewitness testimony of Peter, especially the written record of it, is the lamp here.  Jesus is the light of the world, but he told his disciples that they too were the light of the world.  This is because Jesus had witnessed to them of the Father.  Peter then could witness to others what was told to him and what he saw.  This lamp metaphor is very important.  The light does not come from Peter or from us.  We are simply containers.  Yet, we must be faithful to share the witness that we have received for the light of Christ to shine through us.  We also need to be careful to live a godly life as Peter has just exhorted us to do in order to be a light.  We today need to take up this torch of truth and continue to spread the light of God.

Of course, the dark place is this world.  Even after 2,000 years of the Gospel light of Jesus, we see humanity pursuing their own dark ways over the top of it.  It is as if they have fingers in their ears saying, “We don’t want to hear it.”  It is as if they have hands over their eyes, “We don’t want to see it!”

If we don’t pay attention to the revelation of Jesus found in the New Testament, then we will not do well (the failure to listen to Peter’s command in verse 19).  In light of what Peter said in verse 11, to not do well is to have the “entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ [not] supplied to you.”  We ignore God’s Word to our own peril.

Not to pay attention to these things is to be shut out of His eternal kingdom.  To follow our flesh will lead to destruction, but to follow the Spirit of God will lead to eternal life.  In fact, both the destruction and the eternal life are partially experienced on those two alternate paths.  In many different ways, God supplies eternal life to those who believe, and the consequences of unbelief supply countless small destructions leading up to a final destruction.

In verse 19 we have the word “until.”  So, we would do well to pay attention to the witness of men like Peter “until” the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.  This represents an ending point to paying attention to the eyewitness testimony of Peter and others.  This may sound strange or even heretical, but there will come a day when we won’t have to read a passage about what Peter saw.  Why?  We won’t because we will witness something even greater.

The daybreak here is a reference to the Second Coming of Jesus.  All prophecy points to a coming in great glory, riding on the clouds.  This will be a spectacular event.  It is understandable that some may read the phrase, “the morning star arises in your heart,” as a reference to a person being saved (having faith in Jesus).  However, this does not make sense.  Peter would be saying that we should pay attention to his witness until we are saved.  This is contrary to all the other places that emphasize the importance of the Word of God in our Christian walk.  Jesus is the morning star, but he is also the glory of the dawning day.  The picture is of a person witnessing the glory and majesty of Jesus for themselves in an event that will remove the false governments of this world.  This is not talking about our salvation today, but about the solidifying in our hearts that will happen on that day.

No one will have to explain to you how glorious Jesus is anymore.  No one will need to convince you that his words are trustworthy and should be obeyed.  It will rise up in your hearts the same way that it did to the apostles as they received a glimpse of his glory on that day.

We are still before the “until” of this passage.  Therefore, we need to continue paying close attention to the witness of Peter and the other apostles.  We need to closely follow the words of God given to us by these men.

In verse 20, Peter reminds us that true prophecy (that was written down) has never been the result of a prophet’s own interpretation or idea.  In fact, that is the definition of false prophets and false prophecy.  There were many false prophets throughout the world and even in Israel.  Their words proved to be false and untrustworthy.  Those who truly heard from God were proven to be true and trustworthy.  Thus, true prophecy is not something men can make happen.  It can only have its source in God.

Israel often did not listen to the prophets while they were alive.  Yet, their words would prove true.  They didn’t listen then, but later they understood that the words were from God.  It also helped that there was always a remnant who clung to the words of God and refused to let them be lost.

Thus, Peter says that true prophecy was not made by an act of human will.  It came about as men were moved by the Holy Spirit.  The word moved has the sense of being carried.  Some use the image of a river, and this would be fair.  They were carried along by the current of the Holy Spirit to say the things they said.  However, it could also simply be the Spirit of God carrying them as a young child needs to be carried by an adult.  In themselves, they would have given up or fallen short, but the Holy Spirit carried them and enabled them to give the message that God the Father wanted Israel (and us) to have.

The death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus become the exclamation point on why His words can be trusted, and why the words of Peter as an eyewitness can be trusted.

We should recognize that not all false prophets are religious.  We have many voices today shilling truth to those who will listen.  They prophesy a coming dawn that is antichrist, not connected to Jesus (or at least the True Jesus).  They seek to lead the world into a new age by tossing the Jesus and God of the Bible aside and recreating them in a different form.

If we continue to listen to God’s word and follow the Christ of the New Testament, then we will do well and be abundantly supplied the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  What a day that will be!

Eyewitnesses audio

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit- 4

1 Corinthians 14:20-33. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, June 28, 2026.

Today, we come to the end of our look at how the Holy Spirit empowers believers with spiritual gifts. 

Paul has been correcting the Corinthians over their over-fascination with speaking in tongues in their worship assemblies.  They had carried pagan understandings of spirituality into Christianity which caused them to be at odds with the work of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at the rest of chapter 14.

Application for the sake of unbelievers (v. 20-25)

Up to this point, Paul has been explaining how to apply his teaching for the sake of other believers.  He challenged them that tongues were good because through them a person edifies themselves (builds themselves up to be more like Jesus).  However, in the assembly of believers, the desire should be for gifts that are understandable.  If a person speaks in tongues, and it is not interpreted, then no one else will be edified.  This is good in your private devotions, but not within an assembly. 

A person may ask why it wouldn’t be fine for everyone to gather and edify themselves.  However, edifying yourself through the Holy Spirit is best on your own.  In Christian gatherings, it is the will of the Holy Spirit to work through us to minister to others and to work through others to minister to us.  This is God’s way, but we can also see how it keeps us from becoming myopic and insular.

Now, Paul deals with the situation from the standpoint that unbelievers may also be in the meeting.  What is the effect on unbelievers of everyone speaking in tongues without interpretation?

Paul first brings up the issue of spiritual immaturity.  He mentioned this back in chapter 13.  “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”  Verse 20 challenges them to stop being children spiritually and start being spiritually mature in this matter.  He continues the maturity language, “in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.”

This is similar to Paul’s statement in Romans 16:19, “Be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.”  Their wisdom was driving them to practices that were not good and were even evil.  Their actions were evil because they were at odds with the Holy Spirit’s good purpose, and it was causing harm to the gospel and people.

This is a thread throughout this first letter to the Corinthians.  Their wisdom led them to lift up one leader above others.  It led some of them to try and have “spiritual marriages” by refraining from sexual intercourse with one another.  This may sound spiritual, but Paul saw that the devil would use it to destroy them.  The Holy Spirit was not given to cause us to cease from having sex.  That will be our condition following the resurrection, but not now.  Their wisdom led them to these problems with the spiritual gifts as well.  All of this is childish thinking in regard to the legitimate spiritual gifts.

Paul then traces this issue of unknown languages back into the Scriptures (Old Testament).  He quotes from Isaiah 28:11-12.  Several things will become clear if we go back to that chapter and read it.

First of all, right before this section, God rebukes Israel for not listening to His instructions through the prophets (in a language they understand even).  Can God teach the children when the adults won’t listen (verse 9)?  Because they were not listening to His words through the prophets in their own language, He would now speak to them in a language they don’t understand by foreigners (especially Assyria and Babylon).

God is not presenting the foreign tongues as a solution to their lack of listening to His prophets.  As they hear the foreign tongues, they might “that they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive (verse 13).”

The foreign tongues are connected to being cast out of the land due to sin.  It is connected to being far from God and His place of dwelling.  Yet, this connection goes back further than Isaiah.

Strange tongues originated at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11.  Nimrod had led the people into a rebellion against God’s command to fill the earth and be fruitful.  They build a tower at Babel in order to connect to the fallen Elohim from before the flood.  God’s judgment upon the tower project was to confuse the language of the people.  This became the origin of nations.  They could not understand one another.  We are told that God then handed them over to the powers of the heavens and determined the boundaries of their dwelling places (Deut 4:19; Deut 32:8-9; Romans 1:23-24). Genesis 10 pictured around seventy different nations.  Again, the strange tongues surrounding you, i.e., not understanding the language of those speaking around you, is a sign of God’s judgment upon the nations.  They are being cast out as the humans who will dwell in His presence with a special relationship.  Instead, God then turns to call Abraham in order to make a new nation (Israel) who can serve Him.

The ministry of Jesus set off a cascade of events.  God was calling Israel to embrace Messiah and become a light to the nations.  However, as a nation, they refused.  Yet, a remnant believed.  Thus, we have an event where some who are unbelieving are under the judgment of God, but others who are believing are not under the judgment of God.  All of this is within Israel.  Outside of Israel, the nations who have been under the judgment of God for millennia are entering a new era of grace.  God’s intention is now to speak to them in a language they understand in order to call them to faith in Messiah Jesus.  Of course, they too have a choice to make in which some will not believe and a remnant will believe.

All of this is the backdrop to what Paul is trying to cause the Corinthians to understand.

All of this is important for Paul because he is building a case, or argument, for why we would want unbelievers to understand what the Spirit is saying.

He states in verse 22 that tongues are a sign to unbelievers (not to believers).  He does not mean they would be a sign that they could read and understand.  He means it in the sense we have described in Isaiah and Genesis.  God speaking in a language you do not understand has always been a sign of judgment.  You are not God’s target audience.  This has changed since Jesus.  God is now targeting all humanity with His message concerning Messiah Jesus.

Before you jump to the conclusion that tongues should never happen, let Paul’s argument sink in.  God’s purpose is for unbelievers to hear the Gospel.  If they come into a church service and only hear foreign tongues, then they will continue in unbelief because they haven’t heard the good news.  At least, they haven’t truly received an opportunity to believe.

All of this is in the context of a gathering of people.  Paul earlier made it clear that he spoke in tongues more than any of the Corinthians (vs. 18).  Yet, in a gathering, he would rather speak 5 words in an intelligible language than 10,000 words in a language people don’t understand.  Thus, it is clearly implied that he mainly spoke in tongues during private devotional times.  Paul’s argument against uninterpreted messages in tongues in Church gatherings cannot be used to disqualify uninterpreted tongues in private prayers.  There is no hint of a problem in the private devotional life of the Corinthians.

If you are perplexed as to what good praying in tongues would have for a believer, i.e., how does it edify me (vs. 4), I have spoken to this before now.  So, I will give a few points.  First, speaking in tongues is instigated by the Holy Spirit within us.  To recognize that and yield yourself to trust the Holy Spirit builds our faith in Him.  It isn’t important for you to understand all that the Spirit is praying through you because the fact that you are working with the Holy Spirit to speak to God in ways He can understand strengthens our confidence in His work in us.  Second, if I am used to speaking things that I don’t understand in languages I don’t understand, then it will be easier for me to speak the things I do understand in a language others will understand.  This strengthens our obedience to the Holy Spirit in real time.  In fact, when the Holy Spirit compels us to speak certain things in particular situations, we don’t always understand the wisdom and purpose behind them, even though we perfectly understand the words.  Trust in God is something we need to become better at doing.

If you are wondering about the speaking in languages at Pentecost, we can say that the messages were interpreted by the people outside of the group who understood what was being said.  However, Pentecost is a unique event (no other event like it).  The way that tongues happened on that day should not be turned into a pattern anymore than we should expect tongues of fire on our head or the sound of a mighty wind in our meetings.

In short, God is reversing the judgment of Babel through the work of Jesus Christ and His Church.  We need to seek for unbelievers to hear the message of the Spirit in a language they understand.

On the other hand, Paul tells us that prophecy is a sign to believers that God is still working with us and through us (vs. 22).  It is meant to spur us on in becoming like Jesus. 

Verse 23 introduces a hypothetical situation of a gathered church all speaking in tongues only.  There are two categories of people mentioned: “ungifted or unbelievers.”  There is no question what “unbelievers” means.  It is referring to those who have not put their faith in Jesus.  They may be open or hostile.  Regardless, they are not a part of the church yet.  The “ungifted” as the NASB translates is not as straightforward.  There are a variety of translations which all involve trying to interpret what Paul means.  The word essentially has the meaning of an unlearned or untaught person.  But, in what way is this meant?  “Ungifted” is interpreting it to mean those who don’t have a spiritual gift in order to interpret the tongue.   However, they may only be unlearned about what spiritual gifts are.  It is also possible that they are a category between believer and unbeliever.  They are not opposed to believing.  They are simply uninformed regarding the gospel.  Regardless of how we translate this term, we are still dealing with the same dynamics.  People who are not believers and not learned in the things of the Gospel will hear everyone speaking in tongues only.  They will then conclude that everyone is crazy.  The Corinthians will essentially put them in a “judged of God” position in which they don’t understand what is happening and continue down a path of being lost.

The problem with all of this is that God is no longer excluding the nations, unbelievers, the uninformed.  He is calling all men everywhere to hear the truth, repent of sin, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Their actions were actually contradicting God’s purpose.

Speaking in tongues alone will not save the lost.  It will only push them away further.  However, Paul states that prophecy (speaking in a language they understand) can convict them and lead them to repentance.  Of course, they can reject it and remain unbelievers.  However, they will no longer be uninformed regarding the message of Christ to them.

Ordering spiritual gifts in the assembly of believers (v. 26-33)

Starting in verse 26, Paul lays down some rules that will bring proper, godly order to their worship gatherings.  The first point is that the assembly of believers is for the purpose of ministering to one another with the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit distributes.  Paul then states that all things in the service should be done for edification.  We could insert after edification, “for everyone.”

This is a point that many churches should take to heart.  Church is not about everyone gathering to get something from a couple of leaders.  Rather, Paul pictures everyone gathering with something to share with all the rest.  This doesn’t mean that everyone has vocal gifts.  However, every gift will be exercised in order to edify the rest of the group.  The average Christian in the West does not come to church with some way to minister to everyone else.

In fact, we must be careful that the way we do church doesn’t squelch God’s work and opportunities to do so through His people.  We can have an attitude that the leadership has the Holy Spirit, so nothing is needed from the lowly “receiving class.”  A tightly controlled service can quench the Spirit.  However, the Corinthians had the opposite problem.  Their lack of control was quenching the work that the Spirit was endeavoring to do.  We must find a balance between strong leadership that protects us from abuse and a leadership that is so lax that anything goes, i.e., the only thing that matters is that we look spiritual.

Paul gives us a good example of a leader who is calling the church back to cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

We should note that Paul’s conclusion is not that there should be no messages in tongues in the assembly, but that there should be a limit, two or three at the most.  Each of these messages in tongues should be done one at a time, and they should be interpreted.  He is not getting rid of tongues in the assembly.  His concern is not that an unbeliever would hear a message in tongues, only that it should be interpreted.

In all of this, let’s keep in mind that Paul is correcting a particular error in Corinth.  He did not teach them these things from the beginning because He believed they would exercise the spiritual gifts properly.  Is Paul saying that all churches in all generations should follow these same rules?  No, he is not.  However, all churches need to process the truths that Paul lays out.  We all need to work for the overall vision that Paul has for the use of spiritual gifts in our assemblies.  It is possible for a church to have more than three messages, if they are not making the error that the Corinthians did.

We should also notice that Paul does not refer to times within the worship service where people are praying, worshipping, in a private way.  It is often the case that people pray and even speak in tongues but to themselves.  They are not lifting their voices above the group so as to call attention to what they are saying. Yes, their neighbor could stop praying and listen in on their prayer.  Is it possible that praying in tongues, with your spirit, in such a way does not breach the issues Paul raises?  I think so.

Paul makes it clear that if you believe you have a message in tongues for the group, but you also know that there is no one there with the gift of interpretation, then you should not give the message.  You should keep it to yourself.  You should keep silent in the assembly (silent in relation to giving the message in tongues).  Instead, you should speak to himself and God.  I do not believe Paul is setting up an environment where we are all keeping an eye (an ear) on one another so that no one speaks in tongues in church at all.  Rather, we are ensuring that everything that is publicly addressed to the whole body conforms to Paul’s rule of intelligibility.  When tongues are interpreted, they fit this bill.

He then gives similar rules to prophecy, two or three at the most.  They should be done one at a time, and others should judge the prophecies whether they are from God or not.  He even challenges the prophets to work together.  If one prophet has been speaking for a while and God moves upon another prophet, the first prophet should stop and allow the second to speak.  In other words, jumping up first does not give you the public floor for the rest of the day.  Work together.

It is easy with such rules to protest.  “When the Spirit moves upon me, I have to move.  I must speak what the Spirit is stirring in me!”  Yet, Paul reminds them in verse 32 that the spirits of the prophets are “subject to the prophets.”  His point is that the Spirit does not take control of our body.  Rather, all spiritual gifts are a cooperation between the Spirit of God and the spirit of a person.  God moves upon us, but then we wisely and righteously minister that to others (unless He is only speaking to you).  Paul is not denying the source of their urge to prophesy and speak in tongues.  Rather, he challenges them to work with the overall purpose of the Holy Spirit when feeling the urge to use the vocal, spiritual gifts in the assembly.

The Holy Spirit can be strong and powerful, but you are still in control of yourself and expected to remember all that the Spirit has revealed in Scripture.  God doesn’t want to control you.  He wants you to speak out in faith as He works by His Spirit within you.  Yet, He wants you to respond wisely and in the knowledge of His ways.

You are not squelching the Holy Spirit to refrain from giving a message in tongues when no interpreters are present.  You simply understand that there is a proper timing.  You are waiting on the Lord for the proper timing and place.

The Corinthian problem is not our problem.  We are often afraid of things getting out of control.  We are tempted to make our services “safe” from the work of the Holy Spirit, even though we would never say that.  In truth, we are more likely to offend the Holy Spirit in order to avoid offending people.

Paul ends this instruction in verse 33 with a statement that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.  Chaotic environments are not His doing.  They are the work of our enemy, and people who wittingly or unwittingly do his bidding.  People following their flesh can think that they are quite spiritual, whether they are in the error of a Corinthian style or they are in error by shutting down all spiritual gifts.

The Holy Spirit is here working to use us within the church.  We need to listen to Him in order to bring peace to such chaotic environments.  This starts first in each one’s own heart.  When peace rules in my heart, I can then minister the peace of God into my family, and then my church, and then my Republic or nation.

The spiritual gifts are a work of the Holy Spirit for today.  However, we must exercise them in keeping with His overall purpose of people being drawn to put their faith in Jesus.  May we be filled with the Holy Spirit and His mighty power in all that we do.

Gifts of the Spirit 4 audio

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit- 3

1 Corinthians 14:1-19.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, June 14, 2026.

Having explained in chapter thirteen the importance of love as a permanent foundation to everything that we do as followers of Jesus, Paul now turns back to the issue of spiritual gifts and the abuses happening within the Christian gatherings in Corinth.

Chapter twelve introduced Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts in general.  He ended that chapter with the instruction to zealously desire the greater gifts.  This statement in and of itself is not problematic to the Corinthians.  They would believe that they were seeking “the greater gifts.”  However, Paul is setting up why their fascination with speaking in tongues is a misunderstanding of what actually makes a spiritual gift greater than another.

This is why chapter thirteen may feel like it is disjointed.  Paul lays the groundwork of why love for God and others must direct our choices in the area of spiritual gifts before he comes back to spiritual gifts in chapter fourteen, where he explains why tongues is not the greater gift compared to prophecy.

Let’s look at our passage.

The need for intelligibility in the assembly of believers (v. 1-5)

Chapter fourteen narrows its focus to the spiritual gifts of speaking in tongues and prophesying because this is where the trouble was occurring in the Corinthian church.

His main concern is that speaking gifts that are exercised within the assembly of believers (i.e., during a church service) should be intelligible, understandable, to those gathered so that they can be spiritually edified.

We should not let our modern concept of church gatherings cloud our understanding of this.  A Christian gathering is not about the building.  It can be in a home, in a cave, or out in the jungle.  Regardless, when believers are gathered to worship God and encourage one another in the faith, the emphasis must be on the ability of people to understand the language of what is being said.

We should also note that Paul does not argue that the Corinthian believers do not have the Holy Spirit or that the gifts they are exercising are not legitimate.  Rather, his argument is that they are abusing them or using them in a way that is grievous to the Holy Spirit who is enabling them in their lives.

Paul opens up with tying chapter twelve and thirteen together with twin imperatives.  They are to pursue love while also zealously desiring spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy (rather than speak in tongues).

Please note that he uses the same verb, zealously desire, for spiritual gifts in chapter twelve and fourteen.  However, he chooses a different verb for love; pursue love.  This can be pictured as always chasing after something that is illusively out of grasp, but the better picture is that of a pathway or, even better, the person of Jesus Christ himself.  The love of Christ is always before us as an example and guide.  We must make that our aim and pursuit while exercising (or desiring) spiritual gifts.

Verse 1 also answers the question that Paul has set up at the end of chapter twelve.  What is the greater spiritual gift?  Prophecy is the greater gift within the assembly of believers.  You could also add any other word of wisdom, knowledge, etc. that is given in a language that the people understand.

In verse two Paul begins to describe some differences between speaking in tongues and prophesying.  A person who speaks in tongues speaks to God not man (v. 2).  No one understands him, and he speaks mysteries (i.e., no one understands what he is saying).  A person who speaks in tongues also edifies themselves (v. 4).  All of this can be changed if the message in tongues is interpreted for the people in attendance.  The interpretation would then be addressing the people (not God), and it would be understandable to them.  The message in tongues that is interpreted will also be able to edify the whole church.  At that point, speaking in tongues with interpretation would be functionally equivalent to prophecy.

Comparatively, a person who prophesies speaks to the people and they can understand them.  The prophecy is given to edify the whole body and not just the speaker.  Paul gives three examples of the way that prophecy can help the church: edification (build them up to be like Jesus), exhortation (whether commands or encouragements), and lastly consolation.  Paul sees these three aspects in the purpose of prophecy.

Analogies that argue for intelligibility (v. 6-12)

Verse six restates the problem in a personal way.  Paul again resorts to putting himself in the position that the Corinthian mindset would encourage.  “If I come to you speaking in tongues,” this implies if he only did this, like the Corinthians liked to do.  Paul asks how this would be able to benefit them.  It would only be profitable if he spoke a language that was intelligible, whether a revelation, knowledge, prophecy or teaching.

Thus, Paul is emphasizing that intelligibility allows for people to be built up in the faith and character of Christ.  The profit here is spiritual profit.

Paul then points to areas of life where the principle of intelligibility is necessary.  In verse seven, he speaks of a flute or a harp.  Music requires a distinction of tones in order to produce a pleasing sound as opposed to a raucous noise.

In verse 8, he moves to a bugle.  This was used in the military to quickly direct men.  Particular tunes were used to get men out of bed, or to warn of attack, etc.  If the bugler does not clearly blow the right notes, it would confuse the men and leave them open to danger.

In verses ten and eleven, Paul speaks of foreign languages around the world.  The message encoded in each language is real but is also inaccessible to a person who does not understand it.  I am a foreigner to them, and they are a foreigner to me.  The term “barbarian” was a Greek term that mimicked the sounds of a foreigner “bar bar bar” and became barbaros or barbarian in English.

If you were in a group that knew you did not speak a different language, but they kept speaking it among themselves, the result is that you would feel not only left out but also pushed out.  Paul makes the point that an unknown language makes you a foreigner to the speaker.  We will be isolated from one another and limited in our ability to work together or help one another.

Christians are to be a new people.  We don’t all necessarily have the same native language, but we speak a common language in order to accomplish the purpose of God with one another.

These examples all highlight the importance of intelligibility when it comes to the verbal spiritual gifts in church gatherings.

Paul ends this section in verse twelve by calling the Corinthians who are zealous of spiritual gifts also “to seek to abound for the edification of the church.”  In other words, they should exercise them for the greater purpose of God, building up believers to be more like Jesus.

They should not be zealous for a spiritual gift as a status symbol.  They should not settle for everyone edifying themselves (everyone for themselves) when they are gathered together.

The Corinthians may have imagined that everyone was being edified in the church when they were all speaking in tongues.  However, Paul will now move to explain the purpose of tongues versus the purpose of prophecy.

Application to the believing community (v. 13-19)

Paul now moves to describe how tongues and prophecy should be exercised within our gatherings.  The first application is that the person who speaks in tongues should pray for its interpretation.  He doesn’t make clear if this is before speaking or after speaking.  The main point is not to settle for continuing in tongues without interpreting the message.  The onus is put upon the person who believes they have a message in tongues to give.  We should leave room for churches to discover in trial and error just who in the may or may not have the spiritual gift of interpretation.  Regardless, it would eventually be clear whether someone is present that is used in that way by the Spirit.

In verse fourteen, Paul describes praying in tongues, which is addressed to God, as praying with your spirit.  This is placed next to the idea of praying with your mind, which is praying in a language you understand.

When you pray with your spirit, i.e., in tongues, your mind is “unfruitful” (there is no intellectual benefit) other than the knowledge that the Spirit of God is enabling your spirit to talk with God in an unknown language.

Verse 15 includes singing in this.  To sing with my spirit is to sing in tongues, and to sing with my mind is to sing in a language I understand.

Praying with your mind is important, and most people can understand this.  However, how does praying with your spirit build you up?  It teaches you how to trust the Holy Spirit and have confidence that God knows what your spirit is saying.  It gives you a comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit is helping you to pray to the Father.

Some may refuse such things, declaring that they will only be edified through their mind.  This seems to be a short-sighted and selfish attitude.  God knows what we need.  Why would we shut off any help that He wants to provide?

In verse sixteen, Paul questions how someone can say, “Amen,” in the assembly to something that they do not understand.  They are called “the uninformed” (some versions have “ungifted,” but this seems to be more of an interpretation).  This could be a reference to non-believers, or it could be believers who are not taught in regard to spiritual gifts (or simply don’t have the gift of interpretation).  However, it seems most likely that this is a reference to those who are uninformed in the Gospel.  How will they hear the truth and believe (say amen) if it is not in a language they understand?

Paul may even be saying that you are turning your fellow Christians into those who are uninformed by the fact that they don’t know what you are saying.  The point is that they are left out of any meaningful interaction with what is being done.

Of course, Paul is not putting tongues down.  He says in verse eighteen that he speaks in tongues more than all of them.  However, he apparently does the lion’s share of his tongue speaking when he is by himself (in personal times of prayer).  Five intelligible words are worth more than 10,000 words in tongues that are unknown.

There is a modern contention among some that there should be no tongues at all in churches today.  Yet, the Bible tells us to desire spiritual gifts because it is God who desires to work them through us for the good of the body of Christ.  We should follow love and follow the Spirit because they are one and the same.

Second, we should not let fear cause us to shrink back from spiritual gifts.  We should trust God and exercise them properly for the benefit of all who are attending, not just for ourselves.

We will stop here today and pick up later.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit 3 audio