Introduction to Tongues
.... Fifty days after the Passover when Jesus was crucified, and a week after His ascension to heaven, came the Day of Pentecost. On this day, the baptism in the Holy Spirit was given to about 120 of His disciples, as Jesus foretold to them:
.... "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
(Acts 1:5)
.... Immediately, all 120 disciples began to speak in other tongues, in languages unknown to themselves, though they were known to some of the other men who were present in the city at that time. In fact, men from every nation were in Jerusalem for Pentecost, and heard them speaking:
.... "And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? . . . we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God."
(Acts 2:8-11)
.... On several more occasions in the Book of Acts, groups of new believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit when they believed, and they, too, spoke in tongues. So it is evident that speaking in tongues accompanies this baptism very closely, but in all fairness we must present a balanced picture:.
.... If you’ve been part of the church for any length of time, or watched much Christian television, you’ve probably heard the phrase: ‘the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues.’ This phrase is based on the examples we’ve mentioned, yet the Bible itself never uses the phrase.
.
.
.... To many Christians, tongues have become the definitive ‘proof’ that a person has received the Holy Spirit, and when they actually do appear it is certainly a true sign (Mark 16:17). But if someone does not speak in tongues initially, it does not mean that they were not filled with the Spirit! For not everyone who receives the baptism will receive this particular gift:
.... "Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?"
(1 Corinthians 12:30)
.... Paul offers this rhetorical question in the context of his discourse on the body of Christ. Basically, he is telling us that different members of the body serve different purposes, and some parts will be able to do what others cannot (1 Corinthians 12:7-30). Through this, he implies that not all Christians will be able to speak in tongues because God has decided to bestow them with a different gifting: .... "And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied."
(Acts 19:6)
.... Again let’s emphasize that speaking in tongues is the most common gift to be received when Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit. If more than one person receives the baptism at the same time, we will almost certainly see most of them, if not all of them, speak in tongues. But there could still be exceptions. In the example above, as twelve people were filled with the Holy Spirit, two spiritual gifts appeared. Both tongues and the gift of prophecy were manifest, and it’s possible that still others could have been present. Since this topic is long, we’ll continue our discussion in the ‘comments’ section.
To proceed to the next lesson, click here
Daily Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 9
posted by loren at 12:02 AM
5 Comments:
For charismatics, tongues are an emotionally packed issue. To suggest that someone could be filled with the Spirit without speaking in tongues is almost anathema. But let’s consider the evidence fairly:
Paul says in another place, “I wish you all spoke with tongues.” (1 Cor 14:5). He wishes this because some Christians couldn’t; yet if they were to ask the Lord, perhaps He would grant them this gift as well.
It is my humble observation that some charismatics are adamant about tongues because it validates their own conversion experience. It happened to them, so it must happen to others. If it doesn’t happen to them, they feel that it calls their own experience into question. But there is no reason to feel that way. It’s not about them - it’s about the Lord:
”But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
(1 Cor 12:11)
By
loren, at 12/13/2005 10:52 PM
Some charismatics I’ve spoken with can become highly offended when I suggest that a person could be spirit filled yet not speak in tongues. They claim they have never seen an exception to this. But let’s look at the whole picture:
First, not to downplay their experience, but let’s remember that no one’s experience is a proper guide for our faith. Only the Scriptures can be used in that role (2 Tim 3:16,17). But as far as their experience goes, we should remember that it was probably influenced in that direction from the beginning. Here is the sense in which I mean this:
When the Holy Spirit is given in response to our prayer, remember that many Christians have been told to expect ‘the initial evidence of speaking in tongues’, and so they have probably requested this in their prayer. God has given the gift of tongues along with the baptism because they’ve specifically asked Him to do this. If they had not specifically asked for tongues, they might have received a different gift after all.
By
loren, at 12/13/2005 10:53 PM
If you will allow a personal example, the need for keeping an open mind was brought home to me in a very real way at a prayer meeting once, several years ago:
I had attended a late night prayer meeting in which a very sincere new Christian came forward and asked us to pray for him, that he might be filled with the Holy Spirit. We were delighted to do so, and gathered to lay hands on him and pray. And afterward everyone urged him to speak in tongues. He was very sincere, and he waited on the Lord for this, but he felt no utterance coming.
“I will gladly speak if the Lord moves me to,” he humbly declared, “but I just don’t feel Him doing that. But I do feel the Lord saying . . . this . . .” And the young man prophesied aloud; and his prophecy was Scripturally accurate.
That would not do, he was told; he must be sincere and try again. He was very confused and discouraged by this, I’m sorry to say, yet he humbled himself again and prayed as they had wished. But in the end, he felt the same result:
“I just honestly don’t feel the Lord moving me in that way; but actually, I do feel the Lord telling me to say . . . this . . .” and again he prophesied, giving a different word than the first, though it was equally valid when proved by Scripture.
This brought an even stronger reaction from the others at the prayer meeting, who were sure that he was missing God. Another round of exhortation followed, in which he prophesied to them for a third time! By now I’d decided to intervene, and quoted 1 Cor 12:30, and rebuked the prayer group. “He has prophesied to you three times! Don’t you see the hand of the Lord in that?” The result was that now they turned on me, too! But at least they backed off of him.
This young man was so sincere, yet the others were crushing his new faith by their misguided insistence. Worse, if they had continued in this, he might have felt pressured to fake it for the sake of pleasing them. I was absolutely convinced of his sincerity, and reached the conclusion that the others in the group were focused on something they did not fully understand.
By
loren, at 12/13/2005 10:54 PM
In the example above, and also in the example at Ephesus (mentioned in the main posting) the gift of prophecy came forth instead of tongues. But let us remember that seven other spiritual gifts could have appeared just as easily. And it is even possible that no outward ‘manifestation’ at all would occur at this point, for the true evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is in receiving the power to be witnesses for Jesus (Acts 1:8).
In case anyone is curious, when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit I was completely alone. I neither spoke in tongues nor prophesied, nor would I for months to come. But I was very ill at the time, and I was instantly healed. Also, I received a Word of Wisdom at that time. Furthermore, over the next several days, the Lord opened the door for me to share the gospel with 10 people – and this is the true evidence that the baptism in the Holy Spirit has been given:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me . . ."
(Acts 1:8)
In fact, because of my own personal situation at that time, God gave this to me as a very pertinent sign, based on Zechariah 8:23. And given those circumstances, it assure me far more than tongues ever could have.
By
loren, at 12/13/2005 10:55 PM
Let’s have a brief word about the languages that may be spoken through the gift on tongues. On the Day of Pentecost, 120 people were filled with the Holy Spirit and all of them spoke in other tongues. This meant that up to 120 languages were being spoken at once.
As we noted in the main posting, at that time of year in Jerusalem, devout men had gathered for the feast of Pentecost from all over the Roman empire, and between them many of those same languages were spoken – at least 14 of them, based on Acts 2:9-11. But that still left the potential for over 100 additional languages, spoken at the same time, which none of them had ever heard before. So what were those additional languages?
Based on the examples that we known of, there is every reason to believe that these, too, were legitimate, known languages. Known, that is, to God, for they were spoken to Him (1 Cor 14:2). As such they may have been distant, foreign languages unknown to the apostles; dead languages long forgotten; or even futuristic languages, like 21st century English. According to 1 Cor 13:1, angelic languages may also have been present.
Some have claimed, based on the Pentecost example, that an utterance in tongues should always be a known language to other persons who are present. This, however, is untrue. This will bring us to another spiritual gift call ‘interpretation of tongues’ which we will discuss in a future posting.
By
loren, at 12/13/2005 10:58 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home