1 Corinthians 14:25

the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed.

'secrets of his heart are made manifest' -The inspired word of God digs deep into this man's life. (Hebrews 4:12) Lesson after lesson, speech after speech, inspired utterance after inspired utterance reveals to this man that the things he has tried to hide (secret sins, impure motives, sins that he has rationalized or justified) are going to condemn his soul. And hopefully the following will happen. After all, some did hear prophesy, and yet refused to yield. (Acts 24:25)

'fall down on his face and worship God' -the outward manifestation of such inward conviction.

Points to Note:

1. I'm not sure if the above verse is saying that the prophets specifically reveal sins that this man has committed, or that, the inspired preaching hits upon all the various categories of sin that this man has been involved in.

2. 'No wonder the Corinthians preferred tongues; it not only gave them. sense of being more truly "spiritual" BUT IT WAS SAFER! 'i.e. no one felt bad, since no conviction of sin took place.

3. Modern Application: We can see why various religious groups have strayed away from biblical preaching. Most people tend to move towards what is comfortable and enjoyable. Worship services filled with stirring testimonals, healing services, concerts, plays, dramas, etc...are much more comfortable, then listening to preaching that convicts us of our sins.

THE PROPER USE OF SUCH GIFTS IN THE ASSEMBLY:

'The basic problem Paul has with the Corinthian's singular zeal for the gift of tongues has now been addressed..because the gift is unintelligible, it neither edifies saints nor converts sinners. But that is not the only concern...Apparently there was. degree of disorderliness to their speaking in tongues as well...the argument of this section suggests that more than one of them was accustomed to speaking forth at the same time. Thus there appears also to have been. high degree of individualized worship in their corporate gatherings..' (Fee p. 688)