1 Corinthians 15:36-40 (NIV)
Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
Paul concludes his instruction on the use of spiritual gifts, both in the Church in general, and in worship services. He began this instruction clear back in chapter 12 verse 1, and all three chapters together are a single exposition on the nature and use of spiritual gifts.
Paul ends with a challenge to those who were using their gifts, especially the ability to speak in tongues, to claim that it demonstrated that they had greater maturity and spiritual wisdom, to seek God’s face to verify that these regulations he is laying out really are God’s will for how these gifts are to be used. This challenge comes with a warning that if these people ignore God’s instructions given through Paul — remember that Paul was not only a called apostle, but a teacher and a prophet as well (Acts 13:1) — that they will in turn be ignored. That is to say, if they continue to misuse the gifts God has given them through the Holy Spirit, those gifts will be taken away from them.
Paul’s final point is that spiritual gifts were designed as a positive good for the Church: empowerment to move the work of making Christ-like disciples forward. Therefore, those gifts should be used everywhere: in public to show forth the reality of the gospel, and in the worship services to encourage and build up the Church. But they must not be used in such a way that they disrupt the orderliness of the service or interfere with what God is doing.
Father, this makes sense. It also reinforces the understanding of why it is so important to read Paul’s arguments as a single piece, and not take parts of them out of context to build or support our own positions. Paul is a master at building logical arguments that will help us to better know how You want things done IF we read them as he constructed them. Thank You for the gifts You have given not only to me, but to all Your people through the Holy Spirit. Help us all to use them always and to always use them as You intended: to do Your work in Your way, and to build up Your people. Amen.