I
believe that one of the most aggravating things to see is someone
claiming to be talking in tongues, they stand there uttering this
strange language and expect people to buy that what they are doing is
talking in tongues. What is sad is that many good people are misled
on this matter of speaking with tongues. They are very eager people,
often good Christians in the sense that they want all God has, and
they want to please God, searching for a miracle. They are
spiritually-minded, good people and that makes them a prey to people
who come along with false doctrine and a good deal of emotion and
exhortation, with not much Bible teaching, but I want to show you
what the Bible really teaches about talking in tongues.
In
reading what the Bible has to say about speaking in tongues, one
needs to realize that the sole purpose of the people speaking in
tongues was to get souls saved. Incidentally, talking in tongues
means speaking one language, such as Italian, and hearing it in your
own language, such as Chinese.
Why
Are There So Many Different Languages?
The
Bible teaches why God created all the different languages at Babel,
the essence of the story is that the people of Shinar (Babylonia)
decided to build a giant tower that would reach into heaven. It was
an enormous enterprise, so it took a long time and lots of
cooperation among people who all spoke the same language. After a
while, God disrupted the project. To make it impossible for the
workers to communicate, he divided the world into several languages.
"And
the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came
to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in
the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to
another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they
had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go
to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto
heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon
the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city
and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said,
Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this
they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which
they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound
their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So
the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the
earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of
it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of
all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon
the face of all the earth."
- Genesis 11:1-9.
The
story of Babel comes at a point after the flood where everyone is
seen as a descendant of Noah. Genesis 10 and 11 is a genealogy from
Noah to Abraham and an attempt to classify everyone in the known
world as a descendant. Babel (Babylon) was a society where everyone
spoke with the same language and through human cooperation attempted
to climb to heaven up a tower. This is not a God centered society,
but a fellowship of men dedicated to elevating man to his proper
position as God of this world. This decision was a direct refusal to
obey God's command to go out and fill the earth. Also, the tower was
designed for worshiping the sun, moon and stars. Mankind had chosen
to worship God's creations instead of the Lord Himself.
In
reading what the Bible has to say about speaking in tongues, the aim
is, first of all, to get people concerned about the main thing, the
power of the Holy Spirit to win souls, to keep people from being led
off into some cult and false doctrine, and to get a substitute
instead of the real thing. The talking of tongues took place on the
day of Pentecost, There were three
feasts that Jewish men were required to observe in Jerusalem, each
once a year. They were: the Feast of Unleavened Bread (called
Passover), the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Feast of Pentecost.
Pentecost literally means "fifty" and was to be celebrated
fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits. This was fulfilled by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, "But
now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them
that slept." - I
Corinthians 15:20.
Christ's
Promise Is Fulfilled On The Day Of Pentecost
Since
Pentecost came 50 days after the Feast of Firstfruits, it was on this
day, as promised by the Lord, that the Holy Spirit would come and a
new dispensation would begin. Christ had told them to wait at
Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came, "The
former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after
that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the
apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive
after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty
days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
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. For John truly baptized
with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many
days hence." -
Acts 1:1-5. Christ fulfilled the Feast of Firstfruits when He arose
from the grave (1st Corinthians 15:20,23). He then walked forty days
with them (Acts 1:3) before ascending back to Heaven (Acts 1:9). They
were to receive the Holy Spirit as PROMISED. The Holy Spirit would
not have come any sooner or later; but, only at the APPOINTED TIME,
set by God. The Holy Spirit was not the object of man's will by
PRAYING, BEGGING, or SEEKING; but, the object of God's will by
PROMISE.
Speaking Tongues On
The Day Of Pentecost
Now
this is the one great essential Bible passage that deals with
speaking in tongues during Pentecost. "And
when the day of Pentecost was 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 all the house where they were
sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,
and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out
of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the
multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man
heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and
marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which
speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue,
wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the
dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus,
and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya
about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and
Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of
God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to
another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full
of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his
voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at
Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:"
- Acts 2:1-14.
What does it mean? The Scripture says, "Every
man heard them speak in his own language."
The words, "tongue" and "tongues," come from two
Greek words, the word "tongue" is "dialektos,"
and means "dialect or language.", the word "tongues"
is "glossa" and also means "a language". In other
words, these are literal languages, but given miraculously as a gift
of God in a time of need. Here is the principal Bible passage on
talking in tongues.
These were not ecstatic utterances of
"jibber-jabber"; but, actual, known languages.
Pentecostalism and most tongues advocates claim Acts, Chapter Two, to
validate their "jibber-jabber" and ecstatic sounds as true
experience of speaking in tongues. One can easily see, by comparison,
that tongues advocates today are not exercising the same
manifestations of the Spirit as did those on Pentecost. If the
tongues movement is motivated by, and their experience is that of the
Holy Spirit, then they will coincide in every respect with what
happened on the day of Pentecost. When God does something, there is a
purpose behind it.
The Sole
Purpose For Speaking in Tongues
To show that those speaking were speaking by the controlled power of the Holy Spirit.
To show that the Holy Spirit had come as promised.
As evidence that their Messiah had already come and ascended back to Heaven (John 16:7).
To show that a miracle by God had taken place. It is certainly a miracle when a person can speak and many nationalities understand, each in their own language at the same time.
If
those today claim their gift of tongues is that of the day of
Pentecost then why does not every one of every nationality
understand? One may contend there are not various language-speaking
people in the local congregation; therefore, we do not see the
manifestation of the gift. On the Day of Pentecost, Greek was the
commonplace language, and God says that each understood in their own
language, including those who only knew Greek.
God's
Gifts For Individuals
In
Acts Chapter 12, the many gifts given by God to reach people with the
Gospel emphasizes what the believer's proper attitude toward the
gifts should be. "Now
concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols,
even as ye were led. 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. Now there are
diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences
of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of
operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the
word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same
Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 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: But all these worketh that one and the
selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."
- I Corinthians 12:1-11.
Verse 1 - "...I
would not have you ignorant." This is the purpose for the
next three chapters. After Paul concludes dealing with tongues, he
closes with "But if any man be ignorant,
let him be ignorant". In other words, if a person will
not study and take God's Word concerning tongues, they will have to
go on and remain ignorant as there is no talking to them.
Verse
3 - "...no man speaking by the Spirit of
God calleth Jesus accursed..."A very interesting
statement, for it informs us that some were speaking in tongues by a
false or counterfeit spirit and were actually cursing Jesus. The sad
thing is--those who were responsible thought they were speaking by
the Holy Spirit, when they were not. The demons were having a field
day in Corinth, cursing Jesus through the tongues speakers without
their knowledge. These questions arise: "How is it possible for
this counterfeit spirit to work through people and actually curse
Jesus? What did these people do wrong that enabled this to happen?"
The answers are given in the remainder of the Chapter.
Verses
4-6 - Three times we are told there are different gifts: "...there
are diversities of gifts" (Vs. 4), "there
are differences of administrations" (Vs. 5), "there
are diversities of operations" (Vs. 6). Notice how these
Verses present the Trinity: Verse 4, the Spirit; Verse 5, the Lord;
Verse 6, God. The Lord is telling us that there are many different
gifts. All of the gifts are not for one person and all people do not
have the same gift.
Verse 7 - "But
the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal." This is the conclusion to Verses 4-6. That is,
every Christian possesses at least one gift with which to profit.
Notice the Words, "every man. Every Christian has at least one
gift from the Lord. The Lord is now laying the foundation concerning
His gifts to the believer. Remember, those in Corinth were seeking
the gift they wanted, tongues, instead of realizing there were many
gifts in addition to tongues. This was their first error which
allowed a counterfeit spirit to operate with and through
them.
Verses 8-10 - Here the Lord elaborates upon the gifts,
so there will be no mistake or speculation as to what some of them
could be. Notice the gift of interpretation in Verse 10. At Corinth,
it was always to accompany tongues. This was their second grave error
which allowed a counterfeit spirit to work. In 14:5, one was to
interpret; in 14:26, an interpretation is expected; in 14:28, one was
prohibited from speaking in any assembly unless one interpreted. This
way a counterfeit spirit would be exposed, as the spirit of the
interpreter (through the Holy Spirit) would not bear witness with
that of the speaker speaking by a false spirit. Those in Corinth were
so zealous of tongues they were speaking without an interpreter;
therefore, the counterfeit spirit could operate unmolested,
undetected, and even curse Jesus Christ. The reason ... no one knew
what was being said.
Verse 11 - "But
all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every
man severally as he will." Here is the danger of not
knowing God's Word or will. At Corinth they wanted the gifts they had
chosen, instead of God's will. Notice carefully, the gift, or gifts,
given by the Holy Spirit are divided "to every man severally as
he (God) will."
God's
Gifts To the Church
Verses
12-17 - In these Verses the Lord likens each believer and his gift,
or gifts, unto the human body as a means of explaining the Body of
Christ and how each believer, with his gifts, fits in. The human body
needs all parts to function effectively; so all believers who make up
the Body of Christ have various gifts so it will operate in the same
way.
Verse 13 - The above passage reveals two major errors in the beliefs of Pentecostalism and tongues speakers of today."For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."
1. The Baptism of the Spirit is into the Body of Christ, not into tongues.
2. This Verse says all have been made to drink (same as "baptized") into one Spirit. Tongues cannot be evidence of the Baptism of the Spirit, since not all speak with tongues (Verse 30); but, all believers are baptized into the Body of Christ. Verse 13 refutes one of the major errors of Pentecostalism, who say that speaking in tongues is evidence of the Baptism of the Spirit.
Verses 18-24 - These Verses emphasize one central point--no matter who has what gift, each are of equal importance. God's Word emphasizes this. Personally, I hear a thousand times more about the gift of tongues than any of the other gifts. Something is wrong--God says they were all equal. Verse 18 gives the conclusion to these Verses: "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, AS IT HATH PLEASED HIM"
Verse 25 - This adjusted their attitude to the proper level. In Corinth, tongues had become an obsession. Their attitude toward others incited division because of tongues. One should never consider themselves a more spiritual being because of a particular gift. We must remember, we possess a gift because God gave it to us. With this attitude, we will have the same care for one another and there will be no division. This is exactly what Verse 25 states, "That there should be no schism (division) in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another."
Verses
28-31- In closing Chapter 12, the Lord reminds them again that not
all have the same gift, not all are to speak in tongues. "But
covet earnestly the best gifts;..." This is the one, or
more, that God has given you! It is interesting to note that
the gift of tongues is listed last of all the gifts; yet, the
Corinthians had put them first. Everyone wanted the lesser gift of
tongues which, outwardly, appeared spiritual; but, in reality, was
the most carnal. "And I, brethren, could
not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as
unto babes in Christ." The "more excellent way"
in Verse 31 is the love, or "charity," of Chapter 13. It
does not matter how spiritual you might appear to be by speaking in
tongues. Is the true Holy Spirit working in your life to manifest the
true love which is evidenced by unity and caring one for another?
(Verse 25)
The Charismatic movement today is parallel in error
to the Charismatics at Corinth. Speaking in tongues signaled to them
that they must be in touch with God. A comparison of this Charismatic
claim against the Word of God illuminates the darkness of this
movement. Let us read Verse 30 of this Chapter, "Have
all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all
interpret?". The original Greek of this passage reveals
that these are rhetorical questions to which a negative answer is
assumed. Therefore, the answer to all questions of Verse 30 is, "No!"
It could not be any clearer. Not everyone was to have the gift of
tongues. The Lord would be the One Who decided what gift, or gifts,
He would give to each believer.
Tongues
of Today Cannot Be That of Pentecost:
There are several
reasons why the so called tongues spoken today are not the same as on
the day of Pentecost.
1. It Is For The Wrong Motive.
The languages spoken on Pentecost were spoken for God's glory.
You do not find in Acts 2 where any of those that spoke in tongues
ever used this to judge the spirituality of other persons or
themselves. Tongues advocates claim this for their glory as a sign of
their mature spirituality. Yes, they say it comes from God, praising
Jesus! But, in reality, they glory in their own manifestation of
speaking in tongues as "evidence" of the Spirit's working
in them.
2. It is For The Wrong Purpose.
On the Day
of Pentecost, God wanted His Word preached so that all would
understand, regardless of nationality. That was God's purpose and He
accomplished it. Is this the purpose of tongues speakers today? If
so, why do they not go to the foreign fields with God's Word, and not
waste time training in the language schools. If they want all nations
to hear, as the Lord did, why are they not preaching in tongues to
the various nationalities abroad? (I understand those who actually
try this are soon home again!). No, their purpose is not that of the
Lord's, nor do their activities match what took place on Pentecost.
3. It Contains The Wrong Manifestation.
Of
all the nationalities present on the Day of Pentecost, each one
understood. I have never understood nor heard of anyone who
understood any of the words spoken in tongues, let alone those
speaking a foreign language. Something is wrong. The problem: It is
not the same thing that took place on the Day of Pentecost.
4.
They Have The Wrong Spirit.
It is either the Spirit of
the Lord or the spirit of the Anti-Christ. Jesus said,
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would
thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither
cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." -
Revelation 3:15,16. In 1st John 4:1 we are told to, "...believe
not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God:
because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
If what is being done in the name of the Holy Spirit
coincides with the working of the Holy Spirit as portrayed in the
Bible, then I can be sure it is of the Holy Spirit! If it does not
coincide, then we can rest assured that the working is that of a
foreign spirit trying to counterfeit the working of the Holy
Spirit.
God also told Isaiah to warn Israel about going after
familiar spirits, "And when they shall say
unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards
that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God?
for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they
speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in
them." - Isaiah 8:18,20. The "familiar spirits"
were those doing things by some spirit other than the Holy Spirit.
Wizards that "peep and mutter" is actually "to chirp
faintly, by ventriloquism." The soothsayers caused a low sound
to proceed as from a grave or a dead person. They were the mediums of
today. God tells us how we can tell the True Spirit from a false, or
counterfeit spirit. Remember, speaking in tongues is today accredited
to the Holy Spirit, yet the true manifestations of the Holt Spirit do
not coincide with the tongues speakers' activities, motives, or
purposes. Thank God for the Bible, His Word, to which we can go to
find the truth. This is exactly what God tells us to do.The Word of
God is the Final Authority to determine the true from the false.
