Baptism in Spirit Study
Lesson Eight: He That Speaks in Tongues
TEXT:
1 Cor. 12:1-3
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. [2] Ye
know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were
led. [3] Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit
of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord,
but by the Holy Ghost.
1
Cor 14:1-4 - Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that
ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto
men, but unto God: for no man
understands him; howbeit in the spirit he
speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesies speaketh unto men to edification,
and exhortation, and comfort. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifies
himself; but he that prophesies edifies the church.
Isa. 28:11-13 - For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
As we continue this study on the mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost let's look at the benefit of speaking with other tongues has for both the individual believer AND the corporate Body of Christ. Many have asked the question, "How can tongues be of any help or service to anyone?" Most of the time these questions are asked in laughter, sarcasm, mocking and usually in an attempt to speak despairingly of this great gift. Some say speaking in tongues is nothing more than just babble, chatter, or incoherent jabbering. I can assure the reader of this one thing - the issue of the Baptism in the Holy Ghost is NOT and was not a humorous matter to Jesus when He commanded His followers to tarry in Jerusalem to be endued with power from on high, calling this great infilling of the Spirit, the "Promise of the Father."
Acts 1:4-5
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not
depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he,
ye have heard of me. [5] For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be
baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Luke 24:49
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city
of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
John the Baptist preached that Jesus was the baptizer in the Holy Ghost and with fire! Jesus knew friend the cost that was necessary to redeem fallen man from the clutches of sin and destruction. It was this same cost - His precious Blood - that paid the price for man to become a habitation of the Spirit of God and become able to receive this glorious gift that we term the "baptism in the Holy Ghost." In a recent journal I mentioned that sometimes terminology trips people up and the term "baptism," gets all sorts of arguments because there are many who believe the Bible teaches ONE baptism into the Body of Christ and that it where you receive this "baptism of the Spirit," - at salvation. That is only partly true.
The Spirit of God baptizes us INTO CHRIST when we get saved but AFTER we get saved it is CHRIST who then baptizes us INTO THE SPIRIT and immerses us with His power for us to be powerful tools of grace for the Kingdom of God. While some will agree with that, most will disagree and become enflamed when we state that the INITIAL physical evidence one has received this infilling of the Spirit is that they will speak with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them the utterance. Tongues brings on the fire sort to speak and pardon the pun. And while many in the church world mock and lampoon those who speak in other tongues as recorded in Acts 2:4 let me assure friend that God is not laughing because He knows the price that was paid for us not only to be saved but to be FILLED with His Spirit! The baptism in the Holy Spirit was FIRST experienced on the Day of Pentecost which Luke described in Acts 2:1-4 and has served as one of the foundations of this study:
Acts 2:1-4
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place. [2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. [3] And there
appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
[4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The promised blessing of the Father for which these who obeyed Christ had waited for CAME in the form of the Holy Ghost. Let the writer make this very clear to the reader: We cannot divorce God the Father from God the Son; so many try and attempt to do that through seeking a myriad of ways of salvation to God other than through Christ. There IS no other way to God except through the Son. Jesus is the Way. While we cannot divorce Christ from God the Father, we cannot divorce the HOLY SPIRIT from the ministry of Christ THEN and HIS ministry to us today! It was through the anointing of the HOLY GHOST that Christ did EVERYTHING that He did on Earth - as a man anointed by the Holy Ghost, thus becoming our example of what He would shed His blood to achieve through ALL those who came to Him in faith!
Acts 10:38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went
about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was
with him.
People want to worship a Jesus that is more of a historical figure than a LIVING Savior and Redeemer, seated at the Right Hand of the Heavenly Father, interceeding for the saints and releasing POWER upon the earth through the work of the Spirit. NOTHING friend and I mean NOTHING we get from God comes to us except it come through the means of the Holy Ghost!
1 Cor. 2:12
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of
God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
We cannot know God except we know Him through the office and work of HIS SPIRIT which operates within the parameters of what the SON accomplished on the Cross of Calvary 2,000 years ago. So we cannot divorce Christ from the Spirit as sadly the modern church does. IN addition to this, we cannot divorce the Holy Spirit from HIS WORK and MINISTRIES that He does either, and those ministries and gifts are recorded us in the WORD OF GOD, which incidentally was WRITTEN BY MEN INSPIRED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD!
We can't say "we believe in the Holy Spirit but we don't believe in speaking with other tongues." Why you may ask? Because everyone who spoke with other tongues in scripture SPOKE as the SPIRIT OF GOD gave them the utterance! It was the HOLY GHOST speaking through the voices of those obeying His unction and in reality one could easily say it was GOD speaking through their voices because the Holy Spirit IS GOD! Isaiah said that with stammering lips and an unknown tongue "I will speak to this people," yet they will not hear. Paul would quote this passage in Isaiah in the 14th chapter of First Corinthians when he gave an entire chapter dissertation on the matter of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance. Now listen closely to what I am about to say about speaking in tongues because this is where 99% of all confusion comes into play when people are asked why they don't believe in speaking with other tongues or why they have not received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
MOST, not all, but MOST of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14 was addressed to the Corinthian CHURCH BODY to correct abuses in PUBLIC WORSHIP services that were taking place by those at Corinth. These were Spirit-filled believers who spoke in tongues but had gotten arrogant and proud and had forgotten the fundamental reason for ALL that the Spirit of God does - POINT US TO CHRIST and EDIFY OTHERS as CHRIST edified the Church through His self-less sacrifice of His own flesh and blood for the salvation of fallen humanity.
If one sits down and reads 1 Corinthians 14 with an unbelieving heart or does not understand the text and the setting for which Paul is speaking, one may come away from 1 Corinthians thinking "well Paul was admonishing the church to shun tongues all together," which is the farthest from the truth. READ THE TEXT ABOVE and the FIRST FIVE WORDS, "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. Desire means to COVET passionately, seek after with one's whole heart, do what is necessary to obtain these gifts at ALL COSTS!!!!!!!!!! It is NOT an admonition to abandon spiritual gifts because of the immaturity of a few. One may say, "well he said that we should prophesy," instead of speak in tongues, yet that is not what he is saying. When one prophesies they it usually is a spiritual utterance given IN TONGUES and then someone interprets the message; that is how the gift of prophecy operates. Sometimes a prophetic utterance may be given first hand in English or the language of the hearers, don't get me wrong, but in most cases the initial prophetic utterance usually is given IN TONGUES.
So for one to argue that Paul is admonishing the
church to abandon this glorious gift is not scripturally correct and at the very
least shows a lack of understanding of Spiritual gifts. Some glibly say, "Well
Jesus never spoke in tongues so why should we?" That is what we call an
argument from silence and it is never a good idea to base one's theology on an
argument of silence. It is also not a good idea to base one's faith on this type
argument as well! Are we 100% sure Jesus didn't speak in tongues? NO! To be more frank and blunt, there are many
things that the scriptures did not record about the life of Jesus simply
because, as John said, if it had, there would not have been enough books in the
world to record them.
John 21:24-25 - This is the disciple which testifies of these things, and
wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also
many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every
one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that
should be written. Amen.
The Holy Spirit through the writer of Hebrews speaks of "strong crying," and "tears," the Lord offered up throughout His earthly life to the Father in light of the coming Cross.
Hebrews 5:7 - Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; [8] Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
When He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane His
prayer became so intense that drops of blood began to fall from His brow. No,
the Bible doesn't tell us that He spoke in tongues during those times but it
don't tell us He didn't either. In Romans 8 we see that one of the ministries of
the Holy Spirit is "travail and intercession with GROANINGS that cannot be
uttered." The term "uttered," is a verb used from the same word used in the
original language for "UTTERANCES," as found in Acts 2:1-4 and the term
"groanings," carries with it similar connotations as that of the "prayers and
supplications," spoken of in Hebrews 5.
Just as the gospels didn’t record everything Jesus did, neither did Acts record
everything the apostles did. There are spans of years where the Bible is silent
on activity in the lives of Peter, Paul, Barnabas and the other disciples. Just
remember this - ANY experience that involves the TRUE operation of
the HOLY GHOST WILL ALWAYS glorify CHRIST. Just be clear that there
are a LOT of things the Bible is silent on which is we have the HOLY SPIRIT –
to LEAD us into all truth.
John 16:13-14 - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall
hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify
me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
Whether Jesus spoke in tongues or not while on Earth is irrelevant to TODAY.
Jesus ministered under the Old Covenant, but because of what HE DID FOR US AT
THE CROSS, we have been given a BETTER COVENANT BUILT UPON BETTER PROMISES! It's
called the NEW COVENANT that was established so that men could be BORN AGAIN and
be filled with the HOLY GHOST. Speaking in tongues was not available under the
Old Covenant because of the sin debt humanity owed God; when Jesus went to glory
and presented HIS BLOOD before the Father for ALL THOSE who would come to Him in
Faith, the door was swung wide open for the HOLY GHOST to INDWELL and MOVE in
power in those same habitations of flesh, which is what we are today - men and
women of flesh but indwelt by the power of the LORD GOD HIMSELF through the
ministry of the HOLY GHOST. Neighbor that is good stuff even if I have to amen
myself on that one. The Holy Spirit with His gifts and ministries could not come
until Jesus was with the Father in heaven. He had done all that was necessary to
save us and give us both the indwelling presence of the Spirit and the enduement
of power upon us by the Spirit.
Acts 2:32- 33 - This Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we all are witnesses. [33] Therefore being by the right hand of God
exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he
hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. [34] For David is not
ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit
thou on my right hand, [35] Until I make thy foes thy footstool. [36] Therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus,
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
When Jesus went to Father, He received the
Promise of the Holy Ghost and SHED HIM FORTH on the Day of Pentecost which
ISRAEL both SAW and HEARD. How did they hear? Because those filled
with the mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost spoke with other TONGUES as the SPIRIT
OF GOD gave the utterance!
He That Speaks In An Unknown Tongue
1 Cor. 14:2 - For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
As we mentioned in a previous journal, speaking in tongues is generally a language spoken SOMEWHERE in the world and known by some people in the world or in heaven. We are given insight to this when it states that there were devout men from EVERY NATION UNDER HEAVEN, (and, of course, this referred to the world known in those days). It says they had come together and were confounded because “how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?”
Acts 2:7-9
And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not
all these which speak Galilaeans? [8] And how hear we every man in our own
tongue, wherein we were born? [9] Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the
dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Acts 2:11
Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of
God.
It then goes on to list the people who were there – Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and at least 13 additional nationalities. Yet all these disparate people said, “we do hear them speak in our (own) tongues the wonderful works of God.” Now these individuals were not preaching to these people to be saved. They were merely praising the Lord in other tongues and speaking a language they had not learned. Some skeptics have tried to explain this away as some language the 120 had just learned prior to the day of Pentecost - how ABSURD our unbelief in the supernatural can get sometimes. In other words, according to these so-called experts, the 120 had suddenly become linguists and were praising God in other languages other than Aramaic, Hebrew, or Greek – the common local tongues. That argument would hold a bit of water without this one glaring fact that stares even the most casual student of the Bible in the face - these were uneducated Galileans and NOT students of languages. Most, if not all, were mainly blue-collar workers – fishermen by trade including Peter and John who were labeled "uneducated and unlearned," by the religious of Israel following the powerful preaching of Peter under this new found anointing.
Acts 4:12 -13 - Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. [13] Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
This is the way it ALWAYS is when people speak in tongues. There are
hundreds and perhaps thousands of languages and dialects in this world, and many
of them sound very strange to our ears. They are not strange, of course, to the
people who routinely converse in them. It is always a language spoken somewhere
in the world but not known by the individual speaking in other tongues. If you
will notice, when it came time to preach to these people about the Lord Jesus
Christ and give an invitation to be saved, Peter did not continue speaking in
tongues. He then preached in the common language of the day, which was either
Aramaic or Hebrew. Of course, all those present understood it. It was not the
same language they heard when the people were praising God earlier, which
were supernatural utterances given by God.
Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 13:1 of the "tongues of angels," which would also indicate that some heavenly languages that people receive when they are baptized in the Holy Ghost could possibly be languages heard in heaven and not on earth. We don't know that to be fact but it's certainly out of the realm of scriptural possibility. Before we are quick to criticize and judge tongues as being unknown gibberish and jabber and deny their significance for today, I would ask one simple question. What type language do you think is going on in heaven? Do you think God just speaks American English? Do you think He speaks only in YOUR dialect? Paul mentions “tongues of men, AND OF ANGELS.” The language of heaven is the language of the Spirit and the language of the Spirit is given to a believer when that believer is baptized, or endued with power from on high! Common sense tells us that if its the SPIRIT giving the utterance, which is ALWAYS the case, then it should be not hard to comprehend that men may speak in a heavenly or angelic, not an earthly language at times.
There is MUCH good accomplished when one speaks in tongues which is the subject of this journal in this ongoing series. (THAT IS IF I HAVE ANY ONE LEFT ON THIS ONE AFTER FIRST THREE :) ) The first benefit of speaking with other tongues is they usher in the Holy Spirit: We have established the fact over and over that the Bible teaches that whenever someone was baptized in the Holy Ghost the initial PHYSICAL evidence the Holy Spirit came in was they spoke with tongues as the Spirit of God gave them the utterance.
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Tongues Are A Refreshing to the Believer
In Isaiah 28, as he gave prophecy concerning the Holy Spirit (in verses 11-13 –
as quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14), Isaiah mentions something of extreme
importance: “This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the
refreshing.
Praying in tongues builds up the believer spiritually as Jude records in the 24th verse of his one-verse book:
Jude 1:24
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
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Speaking in Tongues Helps One To Pray
Romans 8:26-28
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered. [27] And he that searcheth the
hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession
for the saints according to the will of God. [28] And we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.
When Paul wrote to the church at Rome,
he spent an entire chapter (8) on the will of God, intercession and the
important role the Holy Spirit plays in this.
The Greek says this of the “groanings that cannot be uttered” in verse 26 –
“which cannot be articulated in a normal or natural voice.”
This refers to speaking with other tongues as once again the SPIRIT OF GOD GIVES
the utterance.
Through these unknown utterances or tongues, the Holy Spirit helps us pray
because in essence HE DOES THE PRAYING FOR US! When we don’t know how to
pray about a certain situation, it is often because we don’t recognize the
complexities of the problem. God does. The Holy Spirit does
Thus, when we go before God in the natural, we many times ask for what WE see as the solutions – but which, in fact, aren’t. When we pray in the Spirit, which should be everyday as believers in Christ to be frank with you friend, or in other words when we pray in other tongues, the Holy Spirit brings not only a great refreshing, but a great assurance knowing that the God the HOLY GHOST is praying through us and He is always praying according to the will of God. The Spirit says things to the Heavenly Father that we would not know (and to be frank we don't WANT to know!!) what or how to say in our human, natural ability, but always in the best interest of the believer because that is what the Spirit's job is about on Planet Earth - to SEAL US till the day we see Jesus at the Judgment Seat of Christ! His work in us is eternal, not temporal and what He has begun, He will FINISH and not QUIT till the job is done! We can truly KNOW that ALL things are working together for the GOOD of them who love God and are CALLED according to His Heavenly Purpose!
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose.
Philip. 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
The Lord Jesus makes intercession for us in heaven; the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us here on earth. Glory to God. And that intercession is ALWAYS according to the will of God. Why is that so vitally important one may ask? Because according to what the Holy Spirit wrote in John's first epistle, we know when we pray ACCORDING TO GOD'S WILL we can be 100% assured God HEARS US and He answers whatsoever we ask of Him and desire of Him! Friend, now that's PRAYER! That's the key to intercessory, life-changing, nation-changing, church-changing, family-changing, house-hold changing, wife-changing, husband-changing, boss-changing, work-changing PRAYER! That's how nations are brought to Christ through revival and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost! When we pray in the HOLY GHOST i.e.pray in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance we KNOW we are praying according to the WILL OF GOD and HE WILL HEAR US and ANSWER US! Praise God.
I
Jn. 5:14-15 - And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any
thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us,
whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
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Tongues Are A Sign to the Unbeliever
1 Cor. 14: 24 - Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serves not for them that believe not, but for them which believe
Joel said that "in the last days I will pour out My Spirit upon ALL flesh." When one hears someone speaks in tongues they are seeing a sign we are living in the last days and it is a warning to the unbeliever- get right with God! It's a sign to a backslidden church - come back to God, come back to the Cross, come back to the preaching of the Gospel. Come back to lifting up Jesus Chris and Him crucified and the power of the Holy Ghost!
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Speaking In Tongues Edifies the Believer
1
Cor 14:4 - He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifies himself; but he that
prophesies edifieth the church.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:4 that a person speaking in tongues is edifying himself. Some have tried to use that statement to make tongues out to be a selfish act on behalf of those who have been baptized in the Holy Ghost. No where in that statement does Paul say this is wrong. Friend, unless you're SUPERMAN or God, which you and I are NEITHER, we need to have our faith BUILT UP daily due to the onslaught of the Satanic forces around us and the powers of darkness seeking to kill us and bring us into captivity. Now if there are any reading this that don't feel their faith is in need of building up on a daily basis, then tongues are probably not for you friend. I need HIM everyday of my life, every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every year of every century of every millennia for all eternity to HELP me while I'm here on this earth. I can't walk this Christian walk except the Holy Ghost walk it for me. In my flesh is NO GOOD THING and the second I depend on my flesh to get me out of trouble I usually just fall further into that trouble head strong and into worse oblivion.
Speaking in tongues strengthens the believer, builds our faith, and lifts us up – and not in selfishness - but just the opposite - in Spirit bathed humility that allows us to see our utter hopelessness outside CHRIST. . The Holy Spirit never does that. The Holy Ghost always does this in a healthy manner – and never makes a mistake by edifying the believer in a way that would corrupt the carnal ego.
Jude exhorts us to PRAY in the HOLY GHOST, building UP OUR MOST HOLY FAITH! This faith is MOST HOLY and because it's MOST HOLY the HOLY GHOST is connected to us because of our faith - which is to be in CHRIST and HIM CRUCIFIED at all times! That is why it's holy - because it's anchored in the MOST HOLY ONE of all - the LORD JESUS CHRIST, praise the name of the Lamb forever and forever.
Jude 1:24
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you
faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
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Tongues Are A Divine Form of Communication
1
Cor 14:14-15 - For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my
understanding is unfruitful.
What
is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding
also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
When our spirit unites with the Holy
Spirit and the Spirit of God prays through us it is a direct line of
communication to God and us. When we pray in the Holy Spirit, our understanding
may be unfruitful, but there are times when we need to get a hold of God
immediately. Paul said there would be needful times to pray both in the Spirit
and with our own understanding. When we are praying in the Spirit, even Satan
doesn’t understand what we are saying! Think about it. The only time when the
enemy cannot interfere with the flow of prayer between you and God is when
you’re praying in the Holy Ghost.
Doesn’t this make the arguments
against the Holy Spirit seem so childish? We’re fighting the very one thing
that can connect us to God and get an answer to our needs as the church. No
wonder the enemy has blinded so many to this experience and deluded others into
attacking it. You need the baptism in the Holy Spirit! You need to be filled
with the Holy Ghost as they were on the day of Pentecost. You need this
experience. It’s for today!
Do
All Speak with other Tongues?
A lot of confusion and controversy arises over Paul’s statement to the Corinthians that he would rather speak five words of understanding in his own language than 5,000 in another tongue. Many have taken this and argued that this validates the fact that some will not speak in tongues because not all will be given the “gift.” Others say, “well, you’re not supposed to speak in tongues if you don’t have an interpreter," and a myriad of other excuses why we don't want to believe that tongues are for today and relevant to the Spirit's ministry to the believer.
Others say, "Well, the Bible says, if a man don’t have an interpreter present, "he should just keep silent.” Sad to say, that’s what most of us do in our church gatherings whether there is an interpreter present or not - keep silent and NEVER utter a word of praise or thanks to God and act like some corpse down at the local morgue - until we get home and get in front of our television sets to cheer on our favorite team. The people who state such do not care one iota whether an interpreter is present or not and if you pressed them they don't even know what the role of the interpreter IS to begin with when dealing with spiritual gifts.
We do open our mouths from time to time in church - to cut down and tear down the preacher normally or our neighbor! This modern brand of Christian tends to have a great capacity to worrying about an interpreter present for someone allowing the Spirit of God to speak through them; I'm just wondering if we're worried as much about that interpreter being present as we should be worried about the gossiping, slandering, cursing and backbiting that comes out of most of our church member's tongues? Let me give you a memo: praying in the HOLY GHOST as the spirit of God gives the utterance and/or worshipping, singing and praising God in tongues is NOT of Satan. Backbiting, gossiping, slandering, murmuring, complaining - THOSE THINGS ARE OF SATAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The fact is that ALL can speak in tongues if they so desire but not all will. The question Paul was addressing deals with two different types of tongues: devotional tongues and the gift of tongues as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. We teach and preach that every recipient of the Holy Spirit, without exception, speaks with other tongues as he is baptized in the Holy Spirit. However, the initial physical evidence of this experience (as recorded in Acts 2:4) should not be confused with the experience and operation Paul spent three chapters on discussing in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
The GIFT of
TONGUES and INTERPRETATION of TONGUES are two of the nine gifts of the Spirit.
Admittedly, everything received from God is a gift, but there is a difference in
the devotional, infilling of the Holy Spirit that is a gift to all believers who
come to Jesus and asked to be filled, and the use of tongues in corporate gatherings where the Body of
Christ comes together to be ministered to and the spiritual "GIFT" of tongues as
outlined in 1 Cor. 12:10 is in operation.
1 Cor 12:10 - To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.
A person who speaks in tongues every
day of his life (and he should do this) may never be used in the gift of
tongues.
A person who is used in the gift of tongues in corporate settings should pray
and ask that God also
give him the gift of interpretation. These experiences are similar, yet
different. One is for personal worship. The other (1 Cor. 12) is for events
that transpire when the Body of Christ comes together in corporate times of
fellowship and union when the Lord may want to speak a message to the Body
through a tongue and interpretation of that tongue. When
the Bible says, “not all speak with tongues,” it’s not saying that when
you’re baptized in the Holy Ghost you won’t speak in tongues. It’s saying
that the Holy Spirit has given special gifts to people in the body and some may
be used in the gift of speaking in tongues to the Body corporately and some won’t.
When we say the gift of tongues, we’re talking about the experience where the Spirit of God moves on an individual, and that person gives a message in the body from the Lord. When the person finishes speaking the message in tongues, another should interpret what has been said. If an interpretation doesn’t come forth then the body has not been edified because NO ONE HAS UNDERSTOOD WHAT WAS SAID. When Peter preached the message of Pentecost, he had just come down from the most powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the history of the church. Yet, when he addressed those gathered, he didn’t give the message in tongues, he spoke in his natural language so that all could understand. This is what Paul is referring to when he says, “I would rather speak five words of my own understanding.” If we read just a few verses down we'll see that Paul was in no wise demeaning tongues for he says "I speak in tongues MORE THAN YE ALL," and "I would that YOU ALL spoke with tongues," meaning I would that ALL of you would be baptized in the HOLY GHOST AND FIRE and be filled with the Spirit of God and allow Him to give you a prayer utterance that is vital to your Christian walk and faith! Friend, we can't walk this Christian walk without the HOLY GHOST!
Look at 1 Corinthians 14 with me a bit and let's break this down line by line, verse by verse. The verse is in blue, our comments in red:
1 Cor 14:4-28 - He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifies himself (when he is praying privately in his personal devotional time with God); but he that prophesies edifies the church (this is where the gift of 1 Corinthians 12:10 comes into play). I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesies than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying (Paul is saying if there is no interpreter present it's better to give a word of prophetic utterance than go off in an unknown tongue and no one know what you are saying; he is not saying that prophesying is better than tongues, he's just saying that when we come together in corporate worship it's important for the BODY to be edified not just the individual). Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? (This is the foundation for ALL True prophetic utterances - a "revelation," "by knowledge i.e. something we learn about Christ, a "prophesying," or utterance that encourages, edifies or exhorts, or a doctrine, which may take the form of an exhortation to hold fast in the faith or beware of some false doctrine. THE HOLY GHOST IS ABLE TO DO ALL THESE THINGS IF WE LET HIM!) And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? (HE IS SPEAKING OF GIVING A MESSAGE IN TONGUE IN CORPORATE WORSHIP, NOT PRIVATE DEVOTION HERE) for ye shall speak into the air. (IF someone speaks in tongues in a service and no one interprets it will be just like that - someone speaking into the air) There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. (Some have taken Paul's words here and used them to mean that those who speak in tongues are as barbarians; how foolish and utter nonsense that spews sometimes from the darkened hearts of unbelievers, many who are "believers" but just don't want to believe in the power of God!) Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. (THIS IS THE KEY TO ALL SPIRITUAL MINISTRY) Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue (IN CORPORATE WORSHIP) pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue (INDIVIDUALLY in our private prayer time), my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit (I will pray at times in tongues), and I will pray with the understanding also (Because there are seasons we need to understand what we are asking the Lord for; other times there are needs only the HOLY GHOST can meet through His work of Intercession): I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. (The same can be said of singing in the Spirit and singing with my understanding) Else when thou shall bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupies the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understands not what thou sayest? For thou verily gives thanks well, but the other is not edified. I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; (Quoted from Isaiah 28:11-12) and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serves not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. (When those that believe not hear a message in tongues they are hearing the warning from heaven the last days outpouring is here and time is short; when prophetic utterances are given in corporate worship those are always for specific needs/areas the Holy Ghost is addressing within the Church) If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth. How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done (in corporate worship) unto edifying. If any man speak in an unknown tongue (give a message in tongue to the corporate gathering i.e. the whole church who has come together in one place), let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. (i.e. - keep your message in tongue to yourself until there is surety the BODY will be edified - this is NOT talking about individual worship or prayer!)
As one can see, a great deal of this 14th chapter of Corinthians speaks of CORPORATE worship, not our individual prayer lives and intimate walk with Christ.
If a person is just speaking in his own devotional language, worshipping the Lord, there is seldom a need for interpretation if ever. The GIFT OF TONGUES is not in operation. Sometimes in worship situations a person hears someone speaking in tongues and wonders what is called for. I’ve been preaching at times when the Spirit of God will give an utterance through me of worship. I’m not giving a “message” in tongues to those I'm preaching to, I’m worshipping the Lord. When I do this, there is no need to stop the message and get an interpretation. I had a lady just recently watch a video of a message I preached some years back and when I was preaching I began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit of God gave the utterance. Seeing the video, her comment to my wife was, “He was speaking in tongues on that video and that’s wrong since he didn’t have an interpreter present.” No, it wasn’t wrong since I wasn’t addressing the congregation in other tongues. I was praising the Lord in tongues but was addressing the congregation in English. Had that been the other way around that would not have been edifying to the congregation listening to me preach so THEN it would have been wrong!
On the other side of this coin, I’ve been in
Pentecostal churches where the preacher cannot even finish his message because
every one wants to interpret every utterance in tongues he gives. The gifts of
the Spirit are given for our edification, comfort and MATURITY in the Lord.
Tongues are not a sideshow to show off one's spirituality or lack of common
sense. Paul said that unless he spoke to them by revelation, doctrine and in
their own understanding he would be speaking into the air and would seem to
those who don’t know any better like a barbarian.
1 Cor. 14:6-12 - Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues,
what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by
knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? And even things without life
giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the
sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give
an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle. So likewise ye,
except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known
what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many
kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.
Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that
speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. Even so
ye, Forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to
the edifying of the church.
This dissertation in 1 Corinthians 14 is NOT a message against speaking in tongues. If preachers would stop for 3 second and THINK they'd realize how stupid it sounds that the HOLY GHOST, who is the author of 1 Corinthians 14, not PAUL, would have him write against the very thing the HOLY GHOST WANTS TO DO IN THE HEARTS AND LIVES OF EVERY SINGLE BELIEVER who has come to CHRIST!
The Holy Spirit was setting forth guidelines for those who would be used in the gift of tongues and interpretation as recorded in 1 Cor. 12:10-12.. Sadly, many argue against the entire experience of tongues with these scriptures. Just remember: a Spirit-filled person who has been baptized in the Holy Ghost may and should speak in tongues every day of his life, and he may well do so, but that does not mean necessarily they will EVER move in the "GIFT of tongues as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. One is for devotion, the other for the Body. Paul was giving correction, not a stoplight. The Corinthians had allowed confusion to intrude into their worship services. The Holy Spirit through Paul was saying, “Let it be done in order.” The Holy Spirit would NOT have been having Paul to admonish them to stop HIS work among them!! God forbid!
1
Cor. 14:18-24 - I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:
Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by
my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown
tongue. Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye
children, but in understanding be men. In the law it is written, With men of
other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that
will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to
them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for
them that believe not, but for them which believe. If therefore the whole church
be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in
those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? But
if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he
is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
In Closing
In closing, let me say this. Some of you reading this journal are at a crossroads. You have been saved by the blood of Jesus. If you died or Jesus came right now, you’d be taken to heaven to be with Him eternally. You love Him with all your heart. For whatever reason, ignorance, fear, traditional teaching or just unbelief, you have not received this glorious experience we have talked about and you want to. It’s just a matter of asking and allowing the Holy Spirit to anoint you with power. It’s already been paid for, just as your salvation was paid for at Calvary. In a later journal we’re going to talk about how one actually receives the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to beg God for this experience!! He wants to baptize us with HIS power. He wants His Spirit to come upon you just like it did His Son, Jesus Christ some 2,000 years ago.
The only prerequisite for receiving the
baptism of the Holy Spirit is salvation. Nothing more, nothing less. You can’t
make yourself anymore worthy to receive this blessed gift than you are now.
However, there are some factors that will keep one from receiving which are
basically unbelief, and not yielding our tongue to the Lord. There are others
who may have unforgiveness in their heart to others and that too hinders the
flow of the Spirit. I'm not one of those who believe you have to clean yourself
up FIRST before the Holy Spirit will fill you. If you are struggling with a
bondage then YOU friend are the very one HE wants to assist and deliver! There
is nothing you can do to save yourself and there is sure nothing you can do to
FREE yourself from the bondage you find yourself in.
The church world has erroneously taught folks "God helps those who help themselves." That is a fairy tale, not scripture! God helps those who ASK for His help! We had to BY FAITH ask the Lord Jesus into our heart at salvation; He did not bust our hearts door down and just come in; there had to a willingness and confession that we could not save ourselves and we needed Him. Well the same is true when One is seeking the Holy Spirit. As believers we are born again but we're not saints YET! There are many flaws still in our lives that the Holy Spirit is called upon to deal with through the process of sanctification. This is not a wham-bam in your face one moment experience. For most of us, it's a lifelong walk and sometimes one that is marked by failure and disappointment. If we're struggling then we NEED TO CONFESS our struggle and ask the Lord Jesus to baptize in the Holy Ghost and with Fire! He WILL do that and the Holy Spirit will be more than willing to take up the task of changing and conforming us into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The very
moment a believer asks the Lord Jesus to fill him with the Holy Spirit God’s
promise of the Coming Comforter will work. Down inside there will be words or phrases or sounds that
will start to form and seek expression. The Holy Ghost is giving utterance.
The
Holy Ghost Will Not Speak For You
I’ve never met two people with the same prayer language and I’ve never met two people with similar expressions or experiences when it comes to being baptized in the Holy Ghost. We are all different. God created us that way. Your experience may not be like mine, but YOU WILL SPEAK IN OTHER TONGUES! Ignore the voice of the skeptics and Satan telling you “this surely isn’t the way it should sound.” Friend, the HOLY SPIRIT is the one GIVING you this utterance, not man. You can't learn this in school or seminary. As you feel these impressions and "words" in your inner most being, just open your mouth and start to speak; the Holy Spirit will do the rest. You’ve asked you’re Heavenly Father for the Holy Ghost, now rest in HIM for He won’t give you a stone or a serpent instead.
Luke 11:11-13
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a
stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? [12] Or if he
shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? [13] If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
The Holy Spirit does not impose. He
suggests. He leads. And no leading of the Holy Spirit will cause you to do
anything improper. You retain full control of all your faculties at all times. By the same token, He will not FORCE you to speak in tongues.
Notice the passage in Acts 2:4 – THEY BEGAN TO SPEAK with other tongues
as
the SPIRIT GAVE THEM THE UTTERANCE. The Spirit plays a role in this experience,
BUT YOU PLAY a role too! Just relax and allow the Lord Jesus to baptize you in
His precious Holy Spirit. It’s His plan for your life as His child and just as
you came to HIM in child like faith as a sinner drawn by the Holy Spirit, Jesus
now wants to baptize you in this same Holy Spirit who saved you at some point in
your past. We receive EVERYTHING from the Lord, in
1 Cor 14:38 - But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant
Paul said, let him that wants to be
ignorant of these things – BE IGNORANT. This experience is for today and God
is still filling people with the Holy Ghost. If you want to fight it, fight it,
but you sir will find yourself happily fighting against GOD!
Heavenly Father, we pray for everyone who reads this and is seeking this mighty experience. I pray in Jesus name that everyone reading will be filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues and they did on the day of Pentecost; as they did in the house of Cornelius; as Paul did when he received his sight; as those Ephesus believers did that day Paul laid his hands on them; as the people of Samaria did when Peter and John came down and laid their hands on them; Fill them in Jesus name. Remove the doubts and fears and tradition that has blinded them to your will for their life. We bind the voice of the enemy who would lie to them and tell them this experience is not for them. Be filled with the Holy Ghost in Jesus name!!
