So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
1 Co 14:23-26 NIV
Therefore, if the whole church assembles and all of you speak in [unknown] tongues, and the ungifted and uninitiated or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are demented? But if all prophesy [giving inspired testimony and interpreting the divine will and purpose] and an unbeliever or untaught outsider comes in, he is told of his sin and reproved and convicted and convinced by all, and his defects and needs are examined (estimated, determined) and he is called to account by all, The secrets of his heart are laid bare; and so, falling on [his] face, he will worship God, declaring that God is among you in very truth. What then, brethren, is [the right course]? When you meet together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a disclosure of special knowledge or information, an utterance in a [strange] tongue, or an interpretation of it. [But] let everything be constructive and edifying and for the good of all.
1 Corinthians 14:23-26 Amplified
I read and re-read this passage, trying for a moment to ignore all I have ever heard or thought about speaking in tongues, and just concentrate on the rest of the passage. It actually provides an interesting account of the early church. Paul not only sheds light on what a church "service" might have looked like, but also provides a glimpse of the "method" employed in the conversion of a soul.
First of all, what is the church doing? Singing hymns, teaching, and giving inspired testimony. That sounds a lot like what we do now. But I was intrigued by the Amplified's emphasis on "all" (all prophesy, called to account by all).
And what is the response of the unbeliever? His heart is laid bare, he worships God and declares that God is present among them.
Of course there is so much more to be said about conversion, but I appreciated the implication that when God's people are going about God's business with complete sincerity that unbelievers walking into their presence are affected to the point of repentance and conversion. That is to say that the church did not meet for the purpose of converting that soul, but the soul, walking into the service, was converted. It speaks to our purpose and method of meeting as a church.
