Chapter 2.17
Gift of Tongues
Glossolalia: From the Greek term tongue glossa
and speech lalia
The act of
speaking in an “ecstatic” language either unknown or
incomprehensible
to the speaker.
First
Word
The validity of speaking in
tongues today is mostly just an opinion. Most denominations say this gift is just not
valid. The Pentecostal denominations say
that it’s a must, so who’s right? I began this study by trying to find
scriptures that backed up my BS, my perceived Belief System;
my worldview. I must confess that many times over the years,
what I believed to be true was just not in the Book, so either I was wrong or the Book was wrong.
This study will probably change your BS, it did mine.
Your
Blessing
There are various kinds of
tongues with different ways to administer them. Most folks have a BS, a Belief System
about tongues, they only know what someone else has told them. Don’t give up your “RIGHT” to a
blessing. Receive and “set the example” of the way the
Christian walk should be. Don’t find
yourself sitting in the seat of the scornful.[1] Whether it is tongues, or any other gift that
you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive and you will.[2] We can pray with assurance and confidence that
God will hear anything we ask that is according to His will.
Jesus spoke
in Tongues
God said He will speak
to His people with a strange tongue.
Many will reject this one gift as God prophesized that they would in the
Old Testament and again as made references to in the New Testament. So it
is of no surprise that Tongues or the prayer language is so controversial. In the Gospel of Mark, we find an example of
Jesus praying in a tongue when he groaned or sighed and said “Eph-pha-thal”,
which was interpreted for us as “be opened”.
As best as I can tell this is not Hebrew nor Greek nor any other known
language.[3]
Abused
Gifts
We cannot say if I pray the
right prayer, the Holy Spirit MUST do what I
ask. A gift is a tool not a decoration;
gifts are given for the common good of the saints, equipping them for the work
of building up the body of Christ. If
you want the privilege of the gifts you must also accept the responsibility
that goes with administrating it.
Sometimes when gifts are given, there is jealousy about a gift someone
else has that you don’t. Others;
because of the gifts that they received, have a smugness and pride. Sometimes gifts are exploited for selfish
gain; this shouldn’t be.[4]
The gifts were not given to divide believers, but to unite them into one
body. We are accountable only for the gifts that we
have been given; not the ones we haven’t.
Nowhere in scripture are we told to seek results from our gifts, only to
employ them. Noah PREACHED for 120 years and only saved eight
people; him and his own family.[5]
I would be amiss if I didn’t spend a paragraph or two talking about “Speaking in Tongues”. There is a common practice today to measure
a person’s spirituality by whether or not they speak in tongues.[6] Paul is clear that
Tongues can come from the influence of the Holy Spirit; or
your own psychological
influence or that of Satanic influence.
John says to “Test” the spirits to see if they are
from God. There are those who have
abused the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
This has caused followers and seekers of God to reject anything that
resembles them. Paul warned us of this,
that we should not put too much emphasis on any one particular gift, that
It’s sad to see a spiritual gift misused for selfish gain or
unspiritual purposes.
Tongues vs;
Prophecy
To
study tongues we MUST first
understand where and why it all began.
Before we can go any farther we need to look at Prophecy which to us means to “foretell”
of things in the future. The Greek word
is “Propheteuo”
which means “To magnify God”, “To speak of divine things”, it
means the “forth
telling” of the bold message of the Gospel. Prophecy has nothing to do with foretelling
the future, but of witnessing to the grace of Jesus Christ and magnifying His
name. So when you read about being
filled with the Spirit and “prophesizing” they are praising God’s name and His
attributes. Paul wanted everyone to
prophesy, to praise the virtues of God’s Son.[8]
To eagerly seek
the gift of praising God; prophesizing.
Tongues are a SIGN to the pagan,
the unbeliever;
it is a “convicting experience”.
Prophecy; praising
God is a SIGN to the believer of the “in filling” of the
Holy Spirit.
Setting
the Stage
If
I said David went into a room and turned the light switch on and the
light came on; and I said that three times, then the next time I said David
went into a room and turned the light switch on, you would assume that the light came on even though it was not said. Ponder that for a
moment.
If the scriptures say three times that
they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, then everywhere the
scripture says they were filled with the Spirit, you would assume that they also spoke in tongues, AND THAT’S WHERE WE ARE.
Questions on the outpouring
Question; How did they know that they were filled
with the Holy Spirit? What was the evidence?
Question; How many times did it happen? Many
times. Check out just five of them
1)
The first time we hear about the baptism was on the day of Pentecost when about 120 followers of Christ were in an
upper room praying and the sound of a mighty wind was heard and they saw what
appeared to be tongues of fire resting on their heads and they ALL were filled with the Spirit; and as the Spirit enabled them, begin to speak in tongues or languages that were not previously known to them.[9]
2)
The Gentiles, who were thought of as not a part
of the Gospel; when they heard Peter witness to them, became filled with the
Spirit; the evidence was 1) that they spoke in tongues and 2) were praising God (Prophesizing)[10]
3)
Peter was speaking on another occasion and the
Holy Spirit fell there also on the listeners.
The assumptive
evidence was that they spoke in tongues[11]
4)
Paul himself on another occasion received his
baptism of the Holy Spirit; the assumptive evidence was
that he spoke in
tongues.[12]
5)
Paul was later talking to a group that had not
even heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and he placed his hands on them and
they received the baptism. The evidence
was that 1) they spoke in tongues and
2) they
prophesied
(Praised God)[13]
NOTE: There were at
least two pieces of evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues and
prophesizing
(praising God) and probably other signs not recorded.
Now
we have the controversy
a)
Do we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit when
we are first saved or at a later date?
b)
Does everyone who has the baptism of the Holy
Spirit speak in tongues?
c)
Did the gift of tongues stop with the Apostolic
age? Stay tuned.
You get it all
In the very beginning,
John the Baptist’s message was of repentance and his baptism was all that was
known. They did not know of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So that’s why we see for some, the baptism of
the Holy Spirit came at a later date. Today when you hear the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and receive it, you not only receive salvation; the forgiveness of sin,
but you are also filled with the Holy Spirit.
You
get it all.[14]
The promise of salvation and the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit is
for us today.
Pentecost what did they hear?
First they heard the sound
of a roaring wind that drew their attention to the disciples. Next they spoke in Tongues; there is much debate over whether the miracle was;
a)
An “Unknown” language spoken that the listener
understood or
b)
That the Disciples actually spoke in the
listener’s “Known” language and dialect.
My reading of the scripture indicates that
the listeners heard the Disciples speak to them in an “un-known” language which they heard in their own
dialect. This was an unrecognized
language that the un-believing “SCOFFERS” had never heard before and just thought they were
drunk.
You must get this, today we might
recognize the sound of French or Spanish, but not understand it. This town often had many people coming through
speaking other languages that were recognizable although not understood.[15] What the un-righteous SCOFFERS heard sounded
like gibberish to them, like a drunk talking.
Point number one; you must get
this; the SCOFFERS had hard hearts
and were not God-fearer’s or they would have also heard the message in their
own language; but they did not.
Point number two; everyone was
all hearing and understanding at the same time regardless
of their native language; otherwise why would they be so amazed.
Sidebar; consider being at the United Nations and German
was being spoken, but every delegate heard the message in their own language
because they were wearing an ear piece and hearing a translator.
Did you get it? The God fearing hearers of the Gospel
Message were given the Gift of interpretation of
tongues.[16] The
miracle took place in the ear of the believer, not so much the mouth of the
Disciples. I base this truth solely on the
testimony of the scriptures.
Purpose of tongues
On the day of the feast of Pentecost,
the town was full of people from many places, speaking many different languages
and all coming to celebrate the day of Pentecost. This would be THE perfect opportunity to share to Gospel of Jesus
Christ to many who would wind up taking the Gospel message back to their own
hometown. The sound of a mighty rushing
wind got their attention. Then they were
amazed to hear the Gospel in their own language and 3,000 received the saving
grace of Jesus Christ that day.[17]
So the
purpose of speaking in tongues to the crowds was to share the wonderful
works of God and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the whole world in
every language; AND THAT’S IT.
Tongues rejected
Tongues were to be exercised
for the building up of the church and the mutual edification of its members. Many people will reject this one gift as God prophesied
that they would in the Old Testament and also made references to it again in
the New Testament.[18] So it is of no surprise that the prayer
language or tongues is so controversial today.
NOTE: What was said in tongues was understood. Some not only rejected the miracle of tongues, but also rejected the message.
Different Kinds of Tongues
NOTE: the gift of Tongues is plural, meaning more than
one language.
1)
One is known common languages,
but unknown to the speaker; there is no express instance in the NT of this gift ever being used to
evangelize others after the day of Pentecost.
I’ll say it another way, this was a onetime event and it happened no more.
2)
Another is an unknown prophetic languages requiring
interpretation; prophecy.
3)
Still another is a heavenly or prayer
language
or the language of the angels and spoken only to God.[19]
Perhaps there is
another one which I call a New Tongue, where we no longer use four letter foul words
and run people down with our mouth, but instead we say things that uplift
people. Note: The scriptures always list the most important
things first; tongues is listed last, it’s the least of the gifts. Tongues are just ONE of the manifestations of
the “out pouring” of the Holy Spirit.
Public Tongue
Public
tongues seem to be limited to just a few who also have the gift of
interpretation or know someone that is present that has the gift of
interpretation. These tongues were the
equivalent to prophecy, for worship and for the edification of the believers. Scripture goes on to tell us, that should we
desire to pray or sing in the Spirit in public, that we should also pray and
sing in the understanding so that those listening may also be edified. The Book says that
if you utilize the gift of tongues, your body will be edified although you do
not understand what you have said.[20]
Prayer Tongue
The
Book says to sing and pray to
God in the “understanding” as well as in the “Spirit”. These “ecstatic utterances” are not an earthly
language; they are a prayer language directed
toward God and not toward man. I find
myself doing this often when I don’t know how to pray about something. The Spirit intercedes for us with words we do
not understand.[21]
I had a friend to tell me he was singing in the shower, when all of the
sudden he was expressing praises to God with a few words he did not understand
or expect. While he pondered if this was
tongues, he thought NO and dismissed it. Maybe he was right. Paul asks the rhetorical question; will all
speak in tongues? The answer was NO.[22]
NOTE: This is a good time to point out that there
were many signs that followed the believers besides tongues. They could get rid of snakes without fear of
death. If they drank something that was
poisonous, it would not harm them. They
will heal people and Drive out demons and would prophesy.[23] (Praising God’s attributes.)
The infilling is observable
When the Holy Spirit is
received; it is obvious to the observer and the followers were aware of
whether they had received the Holy Spirit or not.[24] The observable change is some became
Apostles, others prophets, teachers, and workers of miracles; there was those
with the gift of healings and that of administration as well as speaking in
tongues.[25]
The way we talk/respond to others changes because we have the fruit of the
Spirit; Love, Joy, Peace,
Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.[26]
NOTE: “Fruit” of the Spirit is singular; it’s all one
fruit. If you have the Spirit, you will exhibit
ALL of the fruit. Before we are filled with the Spirit, the Book says the natural works of man is bent toward
fornication, uncleanness, lust, idolatry, witchcraft, fussing fighting,
jealousy, bad mouthing, drunkenness and more. [27]
So you can see the Spirit has quite a job to do in us. It’s an observable change.
Tongues
Controversy
The controversy over the use
and misuse of tongues started almost immediately and was addressed by
Paul in his letters to the church. There
is still much debate even today. Paul
warned us that we should not put too much emphasis on any particular gift, that
ALL the gifts are important to the body.[28] He did
not associate the gift of tongues with the “fullness of the Spirit” or with
special sanctity. He plainly states that
everyone does not speak in tongues.
NOTE: Paul did not forbid tongues; which was an
acknowledgement of their importance to the body.
I include an abbreviated part of Paul’s
extensive monolog with the Church so that you can see how DIVISIVE tongues can be by attaching
such importance to this one gift.
1 Corinthians 12:14-31 – We need all the gifts;
not just tongues.
14 Now the body is
not made up of one part but of many.
15 If the FOOT should say, "Because I am not a HAND, I do not belong to the body," it
would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
16 And if the EAR should say, "Because I am not an eye, I
do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part
of the body.
17 If the whole
body were an EYE, where would
the sense of hearing
be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
18 But in fact
God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted
them to be.
19 If they were
all one part, where would the body be?
20 As it is, there are many
parts, but one body.
21 The eye
cannot say to the hand, "I don't
need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"
29 Do all work
miracles? (NO) -
Do all have gifts of healing? (NO)
Do all speak in tongues? (NO) - Do all
interpret? (NO) NIV
The
Take Away
On the day of Pentecost
they heard the sound of a rushing wind and they ALL began to speak
in other languages. Tongues was one of
the SIGNS that was observed among those that were
filled with the Holy Spirit. The evidence of what we call “The baptism of the Holy Spirit”. Tongues are just one of the Gifts of the
Holy Spirit. I count some 18 Spiritual
gifts; the Believer receive at least one gift, others more.
We are NOT commanded to be
“Baptized in
the Holy Spirit”; rather we are exhorted to be “FILLED” with the Spirit. In the beginning, we see the filling of the
Holy Spirit happening at different times in the believers’ life. Some were baptized into John’s baptism of “Repentance”,
then received the Holy Spirit later. NOW YOU GET IT ALL. Baptized once
and filled a bunch of times. Being
filled with the Spirit happens many times, as the believer LEAKS.
Worship, praise, reading, studying, pondering and sharing Gods word
refills the believer. The filling of the
Holy Spirit is an observable phenomenon; people’s lives are changed. The purpose of tongues was to share the
Gospel of Christ to the world in every language. It is also a prayer language spoken only to God as the Holy Spirit, knowing
God’s perfect will; intercedes for us in groans and expressions we can’t
understand.
The scriptures in the OT pointed out that the gift of tongues WOULD BE rejected.
We see very little evidence of the gifts displayed today, so most
believe they have ceased. The gifts of
the Spirit, including tongues did not cease with the era of the apostolic age;
but are still active today. In fact the Book says they are “irrevocable”, and activated as the
Spirit wills, however ALL the gifts will
cease when Jesus Christ returns.[29]
All do not have the gift of tongues.
You do not have to speak in tongues to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You are not a second class Christian if you do not speak in tongues. Tongues are just one of the tools used to
equip the Saints to spread the Good News of the Gospel. The
purpose of tongues is to exhort, lift up, edify and preach the Good News of
Christ. Tongues are a SIGN; a “convicting experience” to the Un-believer and
Prophecy is
a SIGN to the Believer.
There
is a Common Tongue or language
not known to the speaker, but commonly spoken somewhere. This seems to have happened only once at
Pentecost and documented no more in scripture. It was for the day of Pentecost
only.
There
is Public Tongue of exhortation and sometimes with prophecy,
requiring interpretation. The only evidence of this today is found among the
Pentecostal denominations.
There
is a Prayer Tongue or language
that is a “heavenly
language” directed to God alone in prayer and in song. This private tongue seems to be found across
all denominations although rarely disclosed.
Most denominations are “Cessationists”, teaching that tongues have
ceased. Although tongues are the least
of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Book says
that they edify the body of the speaker.
All the gifts are given “in part”
not the whole. Like one word in a sentence or a sentence in a
whole paragraph.
Can we receive spiritual
miracle gifts today? YES, but they are activated as the Spirit wills. With that said, the gifts are in subjection to
the believer and are “expected to be” used orderly fashion.[30] We are told to seek the best gifts such as
prophecy; praising the attributes of God; the gift of Prophecy is not FORETELLING, but FORTH TELLING. As for me, I seek the gifts of Healings and
the discernment of good and evil spirits. SELAH
"I must
preach the
good news of the kingdom of God to
the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." Luke
Jesus did not come to preach the
Gospel,
but came in order that there
might be a Gospel to preach.
Billy Graham
[1] Psalms 1:1 – Don’t sit in
the seat of the scornful
[2] Mark 11:24 – Ask and
believe that you receive
[3] Mark 7:33-35 – Jesus
prayed in tongues -- Isaiah 28:11 – God will speak to His people with strange
tongues -- 1 Corinthians 14:21 - I will speak in strange tongues - you will NOT listen
[4] Ephesian 2:9 – Don’t
boast about your gift -- 1 Corinthians 12:14-26 – One gift is not more
important than another -- Ephesians 4:11-12 – Gifts are given to build up the
body of Christ
[5] Genesis 7:13 - Noah saved
only eight people
[6] 2 Corinthians 10:12 –
Don’t use yourself as a yardstick of importance -- 1 John 4:1 – Test the
spirits to see if they are from God
[7] 1 Corinthians 12:29 – Do all speak in tongues? NO
[8] 1 Corinthians
[9] Acts 2:1-4 – The day of
Pentecost they spoke in tongues as the spirit enabled them
[10] Acts
[11] Acts
[12] Acts 9:17-18 – Paul
received his baptism on a different occasion
[13] Acts 19:2-6 – Another
group received the baptism of the Spirit at a later time
[14] Acts
[15] Acts 2:1-13 – People
heard their own language being spoken; Parthians,
Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia,
Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene, Rome, Cretans, Arabs, Jews and converts to Judaism
[16] 1 Corinthians 12:10 - Gift of the interpretation of tongues
[17] Acts
[18] Isaiah 28:11-12 –
Prophecy; God will speak in strange tongues and will be rejected -- 1
Corinthians
[19] 1 Corinthians 13:1 –
Tongues were thought of as the language of angels
[20] Ephesians 5:18-20 – Be
filled with the Spirit and sing and give thanks -- 1 Corinthians
[21] 1 Corinthians
[22] 1 Corinthians
[23] Mark 16:17 – Spirit
filled will drive out demons and speak in tongues -- Mark 16:17-18 – Spirit
filled will handle Snakes, drink Poison with no consequences and heal the
sick
[24] Acts
[25] 1 Corinthians
[26] Galatians
[27] Galatians 5:19-21 - Our
nature is opposite the Spirit’s nature; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness and revelries
[28] 1 Corinthians 12:14-31 –
We need all the gifts; not just tongues. -- 1 Corinthians 14:1-13 – Prophecy is
a more desired gift than tongues -- 1 Corinthians 14:6 - Pray that you can
interpret what you are saying in the Spirit -- 1 Corinthians 14:27-40 – If there is no interpretation or interpreter, then BE SILENT -- 1 Corinthians
[29] Romans 11:29 – The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable -- 1
Corinthians 13:8-10 – When Jesus returns the gifts will cease.
[30] 1 Corinthians 12:11 – The Spirit determines which gifts you will receive
No comments:
Post a Comment