How does 1 Corinthians 14:21 connect with Isaiah 28:11's message? Opening Snapshot: Two Verses, One Message • Isaiah 28:11: “Indeed, He will speak to this people with stammering speech and a foreign tongue.” • 1 Corinthians 14:21: “In the Law it is written: ‘By strange tongues and foreign lips I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to Me, says the Lord.’” Paul lifts Isaiah’s line straight into his teaching on the gift of tongues, treating Isaiah’s warning as literally fulfilled in his own day. What Isaiah Was Addressing • Isaiah confronted Judah’s leaders—mockers who dismissed God’s word (Isaiah 28:9-10). • God promised judgment: invaders would march in, speaking an unintelligible language (cf. Deuteronomy 28:49; Jeremiah 5:15). • The foreign tongue itself would be the sign that the people had rejected clear, gracious instruction (Isaiah 28:12-13). Paul’s Use of Isaiah in Corinth • Corinthian believers were enamored with speaking in tongues. • Paul reminds them that Scripture already attached a meaning to unintelligible speech: it is a sign to unbelievers, not merely a badge of spirituality (1 Corinthians 14:22). • By quoting Isaiah, Paul anchors the New-Testament phenomenon in a concrete, prophetic precedent. Key Connections • Same Speaker—God: Isaiah records God’s words; Paul cites them verbatim, underscoring divine consistency. • Same Sign—Foreign Speech: in both texts, unfamiliar language confronts hard-hearted listeners. • Same Audience—Unresponsive People: Israelites in Isaiah’s day and unbelievers in Corinth alike refuse to heed God, even when He speaks in startling ways. Implications for the Gift of Tongues 1. Sign of Judgment – Just as Assyrian tongues signaled judgment on Judah, so New-Testament tongues warn unbelievers that God is acting (Acts 2:4-12). 2. Evangelistic Wake-Up Call – When visitors hear languages they cannot grasp, they are pushed to ask, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:12). – If they persist in unbelief, the sign still stands as testimony against them (Mark 16:17; John 12:48). 3. Order in Worship – Because Isaiah links foreign speech with unbelief, Paul insists on interpretation in church so believers are edified (1 Corinthians 14:27-28). Take-home Truths • God’s Word interprets God’s works; Isaiah 28 unlocks the purpose of tongues in 1 Corinthians 14. • Unintelligible speech is not an end in itself. It is a red-flag reminder that God desires clear, obedient hearing. • The faithful response is to move from the sign to the substance—repentance and wholehearted trust in the Lord who still speaks today through His unchanging Word. |
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