As we continue our study on the Holy Spirit, now looking at the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to the church, we come to one of the gifts that seems to be one of the most misused and abused. In I Corinthians chapter 12 Paul said "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given...different kinds of tongues...But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." I Corinthians 12:7-8, 10-11.
The gift of tongues or the speaking in tongues, GLOSSOLALIA in the Greek, seems to divide the body of Christ into two main groups, with a few in between those extremes. On the one extreme are what we might call the charismaniacs who believe anything and everything goes. On the other end are the charisphobics who are terrified of any of the spiritual gifts and believe they have passed off the scene. It is as Paul said in I Corinthians 14:40, "Let all things be done decently and in order." The charismaniacs have the first part down, "Let all things be done..." The charisphobics have the second part down, "...decently and in order." I truly believe that there is a balance that the Lord wants us to enjoy, as Paul said, let all things be done - but decently and in order!
We are going to spend a few minutes looking at what these two extremes believe to help us better understand the balance that God wants in our life. And if you are on one side of these extremes or the other, please understand that I am not putting you down. I am just trying to explain your position and see how it compares with what the Scriptures have to say. I find it interesting that right in the middle of Paul’s writings on spiritual gifts he spends a whole chapter speaking on love. That is very important, especially when we speak on spiritual gifts. As Paul said in I Corinthians 13:13, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
THE TWO EXTREMES REGARDING THE GIFT OF TONGUES
1. CHARISMANIACS
This group of people believe that the manifestation of being filled or empowered by the Spirit is speaking in tongues. If you don’t speak in tongues then the Holy Spirit has not come upon you or empowered you for service.
First of all that kind of attitude can easily led to spiritual pride and if you don’t have this gift there is all kinds of pressure placed upon you to manifest it, even to the point of faking it so you fit in with the spiritual elite. And yet that kind of thinking, that if you don’t speak in tongues you are not empowered by the Holy Spirit, is not Scriptural.
Paul, in I Corinthians 12:28 said "And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues." Tongues are way down on the list of spiritual gifts. The way some talk you would think that tongues is the most important spiritual gift. Yes it is important because God has given it to us, but lets not read into the Scriptures that which is not there.
Paul goes on to say in verse 29 of I Corinthians chapter 12 "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?" Paul is asking a rhetorical question with the answer being "No, not all speak in tongues nor do all interpret the message of tongues." That tells me that tongues is not the sign of being empowered by the Holy Spirit. Yes we do see this happen at times in the book of Acts where the believers were empowered by the Holy Spirit and then they spoke in tongues, but as you will see in a few minutes, that is not how it always happened.
Also, understand that not everyone is going to speak in tongues, don’t feel that you are lacking because you don’t. On the other hand we should not be afraid of this gift, as some are, because it is a beautiful gift that the Holy Spirit gives to us.
2. CHARISPHOBICS
This group generally believes that the manifestation of this gift of tongues has passed off the scene at the close of the apostolic period when the New Testament cannon was completed. And many times they will go to I Corinthians 13:8-10 as their proof text, where we read "...But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away."
Their rational goes like this. They believe that Paul, in I Corinthians 13:10, was speaking of the completion of the New Testament when he said "...when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away." Thus, the gift of tongues has ceased. The gift of prophecy has failed. The gift of knowledge is done away with. You see, we don’t need them anymore, we have the Word of God.
I don’t believe that is what Paul was speaking of when he said that. I think their understanding of this text is flawed. You see, when Paul spoke of "...that which is perfect has come..." he was not speaking of the completed Word of God. Listen to what the rest of what Paul has to say in I Corinthians chapter 13 beginning in verse 11. We read "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." I Corinthians 13:11-12. Also, in II Corinthians 3:18 we read "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
Notice the context, looking at God dimly through a mirror, the Word of God. We don’t have a clear or complete look at Him yet. We are being transformed into His image. But one day, when He comes back for His bride, the church, we will see Him face to face, we will have glorified bodies, they will be new. Thus, we won’t need the gift of prophecy for the Lord will be with us. We won’t need the gift of knowledge for the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth. And we won’t need tongues for these corrupted bodies of flesh will be transformed and praise will flow from our lips unto Him. And so Paul was speaking of Jesus at His second coming when he said "...that which is perfect has come..."
Now within this group of charisphobics are those who believe this gift is totally a human invention of made-up sounds. Or some feel it is some kind of emotional outburst as you are worked up into this state of mind and unknown sounds come out of your mouth. Some even go as far as saying that the people that practice this gift are opening themselves up to demonic spirits to speak through them. How ridiculous that is, for God has given us this gift to be used in our lives today. This is not something outside the Scriptures, but clearly taught in the Scriptures!
Now as much as some would like to disagree with that, let the Scriptures speak for themselves. Lets not get stuck in our own personal biases. Jesus said in Mark 16:17-18 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Who is Jesus speaking to? That is a very important question. It was not just to the apostles. It was not just to the disciples, but "...those who believe...". And the way I understand that is Jesus is talking to all of us who believe! And one of those gifts that Jesus was speaking of was the gift of tongues. You see, if Jesus spoke of this gift we don’t need to fear it, we don’t need to assume it has passed off the scene, we don’t need to try to negate it, but just let the Scriptures speak for themselves and receive all that God wants us to have.
In saying all that, what is this gift called tongues? Simply put the gift of tongues is a supernatural ability that has been given to us by the Holy Spirit so that we can communicate with God in a language we don’t know and don’t understand. It bypasses the intellect. Now this can be a modern language spoken by others but one you have never spoke. It could be some ancient dialect from a people that have long since passed off the scene. Or it could be, as Paul tells us in I Corinthians 13:1, that it is an angelic language or a heavenly language. Lets look at some Scriptures to see a little closer what this gift is all about.
THE GIFT OF TONGUES
1. SPEAKING TO GOD
In I Corinthians 14:2 we read "For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries." This is important for us to understand, when we speak in tongues we are communicating with God. Prophecy is God speaking to His church. Tongues is man speaking to God in an unknown language. Thus the focus of what we say in an unknown tongue is God. We will deal more with this and the interpretation of tongues in our next study.
A. PRAYER
In I Corinthians 14:14-15 we read "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding." Prayer unto God can be in tongues at times, especially when we don’t know what to pray for. But that is not the only way we are to pray. You see, if we only pray in tongues we wouldn’t know when God answered our prayers.
But we can pray in tongues as Paul said in Romans 8:26-27, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." And thus, as we pray in the spirit, we pray unhindered by our flesh, so selfishness and other sinful attitudes are eliminated from our prayer. Think if it this way, as the fifteenth-century Italian reformer Savonarola put it, "When prayer reaches its ultimate, words are impossible."
B. WORSHIP
In I Corinthians 14:15-16 we read "What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say ‘Amen’ at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?" As we speak in tongues we are worshiping the Lord, our focus is Him.
C. GIVING THANKS
In I Corinthians 14:17 we read "For you indeed give thanks well..." When we speak in tongues we are giving thanks to God, something we should be doing not only in tongues!
D. STRENGTHENS THE INNER MAN
In I Corinthians 14:4 we read "He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself..." Tongues does not necessarily build up the church, for the words are unto God, but it does strengthen the individual who is exercising this gift. We read in Jude 20 "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit."
Now that we have seen what this gift of tongues is and its purpose in our lives, lets spend some time looking at some New Testament examples and then we will look at a modern day example of this gift of tongues being exercised properly in the body of Christ. The best place to start is where the gift is first mentioned, for, according to the Law of First Mention, it lays down the meaning for how it is to be used in subsequent verses of Scripture, it helps us to define it.
NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLES OF THE GIFT OF TONGUES
1. THE DAY OF PENTECOST - ACTS 2
Lets begin reading in Acts chapter 2 starting in verse 1. We read "Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:1-4.
As they waited for this day, it has now been some 10 days since Jesus was taken up into heaven, and some 50 days after His resurrection now, and the Holy Spirit falls upon them and empowers them to be witnesses of Christ. And we see two manifestations that are never repeated again in the book of Acts or in any other part of the Scriptures. First was the audible sound of a mighty rushing wind. Second was the visible tongues of fire resting upon them. These were never seen again and were unique for that day.
What was not unique was they were filled with the Holy Spirit! To often we focus on the wind or the fire, but that is not the issue. The issue is the empowering of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Now as they were empowered by the Holy Spirit they did not become helpless puppets, moving as the Holy Spirit pulled their strings. Paul seems to point this out in I Corinthians chapter 14 when he said "But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God...For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." I Corinthians 14:28, 33. Paul is pointing out that we have control of the gift of tongues. We in fact can even speak to God quietly within ourselves or in a whisper if we feel the Spirit moving instead of interrupting a service. One woman, speaking of what transpired when the Holy Spirit got a hold of her said she was at the grocery store, at the check-out counter, and all of a sudden she just started speaking in tongues, she couldn’t control herself. That is wrong! In fact if that were the case we would all move around in fear never knowing when the Holy Spirit was going to do this to us, at a business meeting, a movie theater, or whatever. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, and thus the confusion comes from the enemy.
Lets continue on reading in Acts chapter 2, beginning in verse 5, "And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, ‘Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.’"
Jerusalem was packed for the feast of Pentecost with Jews from all of the known world, speaking their own language, or DIALECTO in the Greek. And as they heard this wind and saw the tongues of fire, they also heard these men speak in their own dialect perfectly. That amazed them because they knew these men were Galileans and they had their own accent and were also thought of as the simple country folk of their day, they were looked down upon.
And so here we see the gift of tongues being exercised right after they were filled with the Spirit, and they spoke known dialects perfectly even though they didn’t know what they were saying, but the other people were able to hear them in their own dialects speaking praise unto God for all His wonderful works.
2. EMPOWERING BY THE SPIRIT - ACTS 4
In Acts chapter 4 Peter and John are thrown in jail for healing a lame man. And after a period of time, when the religious leaders realized they could not hold them any longer, they threatened them and told them not to speak of this Jesus any more. And Peter and John said "...‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’" Acts 4:19-20.
As they were freed they went to their brothers and sisters in Christ and had a prayer meeting. And in verse 31 of Acts chapter 4 we read "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness." What was the evidence here that they were empowered by the Holy Spirit? They spoke the Word of God with boldness. Yes tongues is A evidence that a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, but it is not THE evidence as some like to teach.
3. REVIVAL IN SAMARIA - ACTS 8
In Acts chapter 8 Philip goes down to Samaria and revival breaks out, people are getting saved. Now Peter and John head to Samaria to help out, and as they get there they pray for these new believers to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. We read in Acts 8:17 "Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."
Notice that it doesn’t say anything about tongues being exercised here. We know that something was different in their lives at this point because Simon the sorcerer wanted to purchase it with money, which was a common practice in the occult back then, selling your secrets, your powers. Thus, there was something visible that was manifested in their lives, but we shouldn’t try and imply that it was tongues, it could have been something else or even a combination of gifts being exercised by these individuals.
4. SAULS CONVERSION - ACTS 9
In Acts chapter 9 Saul is on his way to Damascus to persecute and arrest Christians. And on the road he has an encounter with Jesus and Saul gets saved. And Saul, temporally blinded, goes to Straight Street waiting and praying for three days. And God sends Ananias, who was a little reluctant at first knowing the reputation that Saul had. And when Ananias gets there he prays for Saul and lays his hands on him, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit and scales from his eyes fall off and he could see again.
Now I know many people feel that tongues is a sign that a person is empowered by the Holy Spirit, but here Saul has scales fall from his eyes, and I don’t see anyone saying that this too is a sign or an evidence of being empowered by the Holy Spirit. God works in many ways, lets not limit Him or move outside His Word looking for new manifestations of God.
5. ENCOUNTER IN EPHESUS - ACTS 19
In Acts chapter 19 Paul goes to Ephesus and finds a group of people who were followers of John the baptist, but not of Christ, they were not saved as yet. And so Paul shares Christ with them, and we read beginning in verse 5 of Acts chapter 19, "When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all." Acts 19:5-7. Here they not only spoke in tongues but they also prophesied, which shows us different evidences for the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
PRESENT DAY EXAMPLE OF THE GIFT OF TONGUES
1. JON COURSON
Jon Courson is the pastor of Applegate Christian Fellowship in the Applegate Valley of southern Oregon, and he tells us of this story he was involved in. He said:
"I’ll never forget a meeting I attended at the Lake Arrowhead Hilton where about 100 believers had gathered together for a time of waiting upon the Lord. Since hotel rules dictated that the bar remain open whenever the conference room was in use, the bartender stood in the back of the room polishing glasses while we studied, worshiped, and prayed."
"Towards the end of the meeting, a fellow stood up and gave a beautiful utterance in tongues. Because there was no interpretation, the brother overseeing the meeting wisely said, ‘We thank the Lord for that utterance, but since there is not interpretation flowing here tonight, that will be our only public utterance in tongues.’"
"When the meeting concluded, the bartender approached us, and with tears running down his cheeks, said ‘I must talk to that man who stood up and prayed. How does he know my tongue? I’m Iranian, and he worshiped the True and Living God in perfect Farsi.’"
"Needless to say, the bartender Got saved that night."
Do you see how that was done without confusion. There was no interpretation, and thus no further tongues were publicly allowed at that time. And yet there was one person who understood the language that was spoken, the bartender, who heard this man speak in his dialect even though the man speaking didn’t understand a word he was saying. But the bartender did and he heard him praise the True and Living God and this man got saved! That is a good look at what the right way is to utilize the gift of tongues in a public setting.
Now Paul the apostle spoke in tongues, for he says in I Corinthians 14:18, "I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all." Why was the gift of tongues important to Paul? Because he recognized it was a language of praise and worship unto the God he loved that bypassed human intellect and was a perfect form of praise and worship.
But Paul goes on to say in verse 19 of I Corinthians chapter 14, "yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue." Why would he say that? Because prophecy "speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men." You see, prophecy builds us up, it encourages us and it comforts us, the body of Christ. It is God speaking to His church while tongues is man speaking with God in an unknown language.
A couple of years ago, at one of our summer concert outreaches, a person came up to me, someone I didn’t know, and said he had a word from God for me. Now something happened that caused a delay in him speaking to me, but when he did come back Joe was with me. And once again he expressed his desire to share with me what God had spoken to him about me, a word from God that he had for me.
Know I don’t know if I was exercising the gift of the word of knowledge here or I just knew what was going to happen before it happened. I was positive I knew what this guy was going to do. And you know what, he did just that, he spoke this message to me in tongues, and there was no interpreter. So I have no idea what God was going to say to me that day, and I guess I will never know. And that just shows me that it was not of God, for if God had a message for me, He would have allowed me to understand it.
And the reality is, the gift of tongues is not God speaking to man with a message, but tongues is man speaking to God in an unknown language. If he did have a word of God for me it would have been a word of prophecy, not tongues!
It is as Paul said in I Corinthians chapter 14, beginning in verse 6 "But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle? So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel." I Corinthians 14:6-12.
Paul’s point is simple, prophecy speaks to the church, and that is the gift that should be desired in a public setting. Tongues is used more in your private devotions. If you desire this gift, ask God and just wait upon him for He will give it as He sees fit. It is a beautiful prayer and praise language unto God, don’t be afraid of it. As Paul said "For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries." The gift of tongues!