IS
SPEAKING IN TONGUES
NEEDED TODAY?
Paul
Wong
At the beginning of the Twentieth
Century when the Pentecostal Movement burst upon the scene many mainline
churches were alarmed at the rate of Christians who were baptized in the Holy
Spirit with the evidence of speaking with tongues. In order to stem the tide of this movement conservative
theologians have devised a dogma called “cessationism.” What this dogma teaches is that miracles,
signs and gifts of the Spirit including speaking with tongues would cease in
the Church when the Bible was completed.
From the aspect of fulfilled prophecy, speaking with tongues did
actually ceased in the visible professing Church, not because it is no longer
needed but because this gift had been withheld. However, there is evidence that over the centuries the gift of
speaking with tongues had been preserved in the Hidden or Remnant Church. There are several reasons why the gift of
tongues ceased to exist in the visible professing Church. One of them is apostasy or falling away of
the Church. There is unbelief in this
gift. Another is prohibition of this
gift. There are others.
The Pentecostal Movement urged
Christians who were baptized in the Spirit to “come out” from their
congregations. During the Fifties the
Charismatic Movement or Neo-Pentecostal Movement emerged. Adherents in this Second Movement were
encouraged to remain in their own congregations to spread the word. As a result of this movement many mainline
churches have embraced this truth.
Cessationism has lost much ground because there are many weaknesses in
their arguments. Let us study some of
them.
1. Difference
of Interpretation
One of the most inspiring portions
in the New Testament is the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians in which
the apostle Paul wrote about “Agape Love.”
He compared the permanence of love to the spiritual gifts of prophecies,
tongues and knowledge. Here is what he
wrote: “Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will
fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge,
it will vanish away.” (1 Cor. 13:8)
Everyone agrees with the importance of love that never fails, but there
is a difference of interpretation on the remaining part of the verse. What does Paul mean by writing that
prophecies will fail, tongues will cease and knowledge will vanish away. Cessationists teach that prophecies, tongues
and knowledge will no longer be needed in the Church. Paul does not mean that at all.
At the beginning of the chapter he wrote: “Though
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become
as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and
all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.” (1 Cor. 13:1-2) Paul meant
that without Agape Love speaking with tongues would just be worthless
noises. He was writing about the
futility and ineffectiveness of the gifts of prophecy and knowledge if it is
not accompanied by love. Having
spiritual gifts but without love makes a Christian became nothing, zero, zilch.
2. Problematic
Interpretation of Pauline Writings
When cessationists interpret 1
Cor. 13:8 they often separate tongues from prophecy and knowledge although
these three elements are in the same verse.
If tongues would cease because it is no longer needed in the Church then
by the same argument, prophecy and knowledge would also be no longer needed
because they are in the same verse. Can you imagine what would happen in a
church where there is no knowledge?
Where would the ministers get materials for their sermons? Obviously Paul did not mean that at
all. When we read a verse in the Bible
we should never read it out of context.
In 1 Cor. 13:8 it is clear that Paul was writing about Agape Love. He was comparing the permanence of Agape
Love with the temporal charismatic gifts of prophecy. The verses that follow verse 8 will give us a better
understanding of its true meaning. Paul
continued: “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.” (1 Cor. 13:9-10) Cessationists
interpret these verses point to the completion of the Bible. They teach that the spiritual gifts are no
longer needed when we already have the Bible.
Is this a correct interpretation of these verses? The interpretation of “when that which
is perfect has come” to mean the
completion of the Bible has some problems.
Paul did not record “when that which is perfect has been written.” “When that
which is perfect has come” can only
mean the arrival of a person. The Bible
cannot “come”
but a person can. Who is this
Perfect One? It is none other than our
Lord Jesus Christ. “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal
salvation to all who obey Him.” (Heb. 5:9) Let us continue to read. “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.” (1
Cor. 13:12) Now, we can see the interpretation of the perfect one
referring to our Lord Jesus Christ make more sense. The phrase “but then face to face” can only refer to the Second Coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We cannot be “face to face” with the Bible, but we can with Jesus when He comes
again. “Behold,
He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him . . .” (Rev. 1:7) Christians look “for
the blessed hope and glorious appearing
of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Tit. 2:13)
The phrase that follows “face to face” cannot
be interpreted any other way except the return of Jesus Christ. “Now I know in
part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (1 Cor. 13:12) The apostle Paul could not have
meant that when the Bible was completed he would know everything about himself
because he would have died long before the Bible was canonized. It just does not make sense to interpret “when that which is perfect is come” as the
completion of the Holy Bible. When we
interpret “when that which is perfect is come” together
with “face to face” and also “but then I shall know just as I also am known” as the Lord’s Second Coming it makes a whole lot of
sense. Read 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 one more
time with reference to the Lord’s Second Coming, then you will see the
truth. Tongues will cease only when
Jesus comes again. Today, tongues will
continue to be used in the Church.
3. Evidence of Being Filled with the Holy
Spirit
It is plainly taught in the Scriptures that speaking
with tongues was not an unusual occurrence in the Early Church. Every prominent account of conversions in
the Apostolic Church either plainly states or else strongly implies that the
convert did speak with other tongues upon being filled with the Spirit of God.
(See Acts 2:1-4, Acts 8:12-18, Acts 10:44-48, Acts 19:1-6.) To the above most Bible students would
agree. It is when we discuss the place of tongues in the present
Christian church that controversy arises.
The
essentiality of speaking with tongues is dependent on whether or not it is the
evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit.
Amongst Christians there are two principal views concerning this issue.
The first view states that some people who receive the Holy Spirit do speak
with tongues, while others who receive it do not. The second teaching holds
that all who receive the Holy Spirit do speak with tongues, and that tongues is
the sign that a person is being filled with the Holy Spirit.
If tongues are not the sign that a person has
received the Holy Spirit, how are we to know that we have received it? Some say
that a person receives the Holy Spirit automatically when he believes. (See
Acts 19) Others contend that the Holy Spirit comes when an individual is baptized.
Those holding the above views insist that we must accept by faith that we have
received the Holy Spirit with no outward manifestation or definite spiritual
experience. Can these teachings stand the test of the Scriptures?
The first question that we must answer then is,
"In the Early Church did all who received the Holy Spirit speak with
tongues?" Let us examine the historical record given to us in the book of
Acts. There are three in-depth accounts of people receiving the Holy Spirit.
The first of these is found in Acts 2:1-4. "Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come they
were all with one accord in one place. . . . 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) Notice
that here they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues. All who received
the Holy Spirit here spoke with other tongues.
Now let us look at another instance found in Acts
10:44-46. Here again, all who received the Holy Spirit did speak with
tongues. Further, this Scripture teaches that the way they knew that the
Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit was "for
they heard them speak with tongues." (v. 46) It is evident that speaking with tongues was
the sign that people had been filled with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:6 records: "And
when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them; and they
spoke with tongues and prophesied." Again in this record of the
Holy Spirit outpouring, we see that those that received the Holy Spirit did
speak with tongues.
Thus we see that in these three
accounts of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Early Church the
recipients did speak with other tongues when they were filled. In the book of Acts when the disciples of
Christ received the Holy Spirit they spoke with tongues. Why should we not believe that when we
receive the Holy Spirit we can also speak with tongues? Mark 16:17 "And these signs will follow those who believe; In my
name will they cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues." In this
passage our Lord Jesus Christ expects every believer to be able to cast out
demons in His name and also to speak with new tongues. According to our Lord's expectation speaking
with tongues is not optional but essential.
4. Many kinds of Tongues
The Holy Bible clearly states
there are different kinds of tongues. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but
it is the same God who works all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit
of all: for to one is given . . . . to
another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of
tongues." (1 Cor. 12:4-10) Although the
New Testament shows there are various kinds of tongues, they may be divided
into two main types.
1. Tongues as the evidence of
receiving the Holy Spirit
The disciples of Christ experienced this type of tongues on the day of
Pentecost. "And they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance (Acts 2:4). While
Peter was preaching in the home of Cornelius, the Gentiles also received the
Holy Spirit with this evidence of "speaking
in tongues' (Acts 10:44-46).
Again in Acts 19:6 we read about the Ephesian Christians receiving the
Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking with tongues. Because every Christian must have the Spirit
of Christ in order to belong to Him, every believer must have this type of
speaking in tongues. The original Greek word used for this gift is "Dorea". The functions of this type of
speaking in tongues is for prayer (1 Cor. 14:2, 14-15) and it also edifies the
individual Christian (I Cor. 14:4). Every Christian is encouraged to speak in
tongues (I Cor.14:5).
2. Tongues as the Spiritual gift for the Church.
This type of tongues is listed as one of the nine gifts of the Spirit for the
common good (I Cor. 12:4-7, 10-11). The original Greek word used for this
Spiritual "gift" is "charisma".
This should be distinguished from the first type of gift that is translated
from the original Greek word "Dorea".
This Spiritual gift (Charisma) of
tongues is not given to every believer (I Cor.12:30). In contrast to the first
type, which is to edify each individual Christian, this second type is to edify
the Church (I Cor. 14:26). Unlike the first type, which is used for prayer, the
Spiritual gift of tongues must be interpreted so that the Church may be edified
(I Cor. 14:5,13). The rule in the
Church for this type of speaking in tongues is that
"only two and at the most three"
can speak during a service and there must be one interpreter. "But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them
keep silence in Church and speak to himself and to God" (I Cor. 14:27-28).
Speaking in human languages.
Cessationists often try to
discredit the modern tongues movement by using the argument that the Early
Church spoke in human languages on the Day of Pentecost whereas present day
Christians speak in gibberish sounds.
What they fail to realize is that the gift of speaking in human
languages was recorded only once on the Day of Pentecost and was never repeated
elsewhere in the Acts of the Apostles.
On other occasions the Christians mostly speak in "unknown tongues" (KJV). The apostle Paul wrote: "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." (1 Cor. 14:2)
"For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding
is unfruitful." (1 Cor. 14:14) What some
people call gibberish sounds are, in fact and truth, a prayer language that
cannot be understood by men but only by God.
Speaking in tongues is speaking mysteries in the spirit that no one can
understand. No one should try to
criticize something he cannot understand.
Throughout the New Testament there
is only one reference to speaking in tongues that is translated from the Greek
word "dialektos" which means language or dialect. This reference is
found in Acts 2:8 that states, "and how is it
that we hear, each of us in his own native language?" Some
explain the disciples were speaking in monosyllabic sounds but God gave the
Jews from foreign countries the gift of hearing. This explanation has some
problems. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that believers would "speak with new tongues" but did not say they would be "hearing new
tongues." It would be transferring
the miracle of speaking with tongues to hearing tongues which is not what the
Bible states. Interpretation is one of the nine Spiritual gifts given to
the Church (I Cor. 12:4-11). It is difficult to accept how all these 3,000 Jews
who had not yet received the water and Spiritual baptism could have the
Spiritual gift of interpretation. The Bible does not state that the people
interpreted the tongues into their own languages, but clearly states that they
heard them directly in their own native languages (dialektos).
What happened is that the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ
"were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak with other tongues (glossalalia), as the Spirit gave then
utterance." Acts 2:4) This gift of the Holy
Spirit is "dorea"
and they were praying in tongues that could not be understood. This is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that
our Lord Jesus Christ had promised them.
After receiving the Holy Spirit they were then able to receive the
spiritual gift (charismata) of speaking in
human languages (dialektos)
that could be understood by the devout Jews "from
every nation under heaven." (Acts 2:5)
The gift of speaking in human languages is not given to
every believer.
Those who are opposed to speaking
in tongues often use “Do all speak with
tongues? Do all interpret?” in
1 Cor. 12:30 to support their position.
The answer in this context is obviously “No.” In this verse the apostle Paul was writing about a special gift
of speaking with tongues like the ability to speak in the language of another
country as experienced on the Day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:5-13) The Greek Interlinear indicates the original
Greek word used for “language” in verse Acts 2:8 is “dialektos”
meaning a dialect, a human language.
The disciples of Christ had never learned any of those languages, but
they were able to speak them supernaturally.
This is a special gift that is not given to every believer, but only to
certain people on certain occasions. This
is a charismatic gift.
There is another type of tongues
that is manifested when a Christian is baptized with the Holy Spirit. In the record of Acts 2:4 there is this
statement, “And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.” The Greek word used for “tongues” in this verse is “glossalalia”
which means sounds caused by the movement of the tongues. This occurs when a believer receives the
Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This
speaking with tongues “glossalalia” is different from the “dialektos” which is a human language. Notice that Acts 2:4 states that “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to speak with other tongues.” There was no exception.
Every one of the 120 or so disciples spoke with tongues “glossalalia” but
not everyone spoke “dialektos.” How do we know that? Read this.
“Then they were amazed, and marveled,
saying to one another, ‘Look, are not all those who speak Galileans?”
(Acts 2:7) Amongst the 120
disciples who had assembled in the Upper Room in Jerusalem only Galileans had
the special gift of speaking with tongues “dialektos.” The
Pentecostal experience in Acts chapter 2 does indicate the two basic types of
speaking with tongues. “Glossalalia” is for every believer whereas “dialektos” is only given to some believers. The charismatic gift of speaking in human
languages "dialektos" occurred on the Day of Pentecost but it occurred again at
the beginning of the Twentieth Century.
5. The Modern Pentecostal Movement
The modern Pentecostal Movement
that began on New Year's day of 1901 in the city of Topeka, Kansas in a Bible
school is reminiscent of the events that occurred in Jerusalem on the Day of
Pentecost in the First Century.
The first person to be baptized in
the Holy Spirit accompanied by speaking in tongues was Agnes Ozman, one of
Parham's Bible School students, who spoke in tongues on
the very first day of the new century, January 1, 1901.
Shortly after midnight, she asked several
of the men present to lay hands on her that she might receive the Pentecostal
blessing promised to all believers. As they did so, she began to speak very
quietly in fluent Chinese. For the next
three days she could speak nothing but Chinese.
Whenever she attempted to write in English, during
this three day period, the result was always the same - Chinese
characters. Copies of her writing were
published in various daily newspapers, and her experience attracted widespread
attention.
Those who had been standing near Miss Ozman when she
received the Holy Ghost, reported a halo of light appeared about her head. For three more days the students sat in
God's presence, waiting for another divine manifestation of His power. Then, on the night of January 3, 1901, with
about seventy-five assembled for a regular service, twelve ordained ministers
from various denominations received the Holy Ghost simultaneously. Heavenly brightness once more filled the
room, as the twelve spoke in tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance.
Of those who received the Holy Ghost that night, some
were sitting, some were kneeling, and some were standing with upraised
hands. Although some trembled slightly,
there was no evidence of violent emotion.
Just as on the Day of Pentecost, tongues as of fire sat upon each of
them. Finally, in unison, the minister
recipients began to sing "Jesus. Lover of My Soul." They sang in at least six languages, but the
blending of their voices sounded like an angelic choir.
When all this was "noised abroad" the
crowds began to gather. Reporters from
as far away as St. Louis came to investigate and report. So convinced were they that their stories
resulted in front page accounts with banner headlines. Soon, other reporters converged on Topeka,
bringing with them government interpreters and language experts. The languages being spoken by those at the
College of Bethel were verified as legitimate and fluent languages of men,
languages these recipients could not possibly have known.
The modest, Christian behavior of these students,
coupled with the undeniable fact that they were all speaking known languages
with correct accent and intonation, caused all who saw and heard to admit that
it was real.
And so, day after day, student after student was
caught up into glory and scripturally sealed with the Holy Ghost, as evidenced
by speaking with other tongues, exactly as the apostles had done on the Day of
Pentecost."
[Excerpt from "The Winds of
God" by Ethel E. Goss - pages 52-54]
6. Testimonies of
Speaking in Human Languages
Houston, Texas I recall an incident that we experienced
here in our Houston congregation several years ago. There was disunity
and disharmony amongst our members and people were raising their voices in
argument. When it came to a point when the people could no longer tolerate
each other I requested that we all stop the arguments and pray to ask God for a
solution. We all knelt down and prayed in the Spirit. When we came to a
point where everyone was seeking the Lord in quietness. It was so quiet
that "you could almost hear a pin drop", proverbially speaking. Suddenly someone spoke firmly in a loud
clear voice in Mandarin Chinese, the common dialect in China that all the
Chinese believers in our congregation could understand. The message is:
"You must have love, have love." She said the Chinese words "Ren-Ai" that means "Agape Love." It was the voice of a sister from the
Caribbean Islands. Being of African descent she had never learned Chinese
in all her life. Of course, everyone in the congregation who are mostly
Chinese had great fear. We all heard in
our own language what God had wanted us to hear. We had been arguing a
long time to no avail. God had given a special gift of tongues to someone
who had never learned the language to teach us Agape Love. Our Church in
Houston began as a House of Prayer in 1981 and became a Church in 1983. Throughout all these years this is the only
time when we ever experienced a member speaking in a human language that she
had never learned. God is great. What He did two thousand years ago He can
also do today. Praise the Lord,
HalleluYah!
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil In the mid Eighties I used to travel to
Brazil on missionary trips. One of my
most trusted and reliable co-workers in Brazil was Brother Antonio Toledo. He was an ex-naval officer in the Brazilian
navy and he spoke four languages fluently.
He was a gifted linguist so he was my interpreter throughout my
missionary trips in Brazil. I had
attended a Bible Conference in Sao Paulo and he interpreted for me during those
four days. After the conference I had
to fly from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro for my connecting flight back to the
U.S.A. The flight time was only about
forty minutes. Brother Toledo was
flying home to Rio de Janeiro and he sat next to me in the plane. We talked about the conference and he said
that he had been thinking about what I had said concerning the Baptism into the
Lord Jesus Christ. He asked me whether
or not I could baptize him and his family when we got to Rio. I looked at my flight schedule for Rio de
Janeiro to Miami. I had only about four
hours waiting time for my return flight to the U.S.A. I told Brother Toledo that I would baptize him and his family but
we needed to pray for God's guidance because of time limitation.
We rented a car and drove to Brother Toledo's home up
in a mountain village about 50 kilometers west of Rio. I preached to his family that included his
wife and four children. They all
accepted the truths and we drove straight to the famous Ipanema Beach and I baptized
Brother Toledo's family into the Lord Jesus Christ. On the way home we bought pure wheat flour and fresh grapes for
the Holy Communion. I also administered
Washing of Feet to the whole family.
After the Service I rushed to the airport and found out that the door of
the airplane was already closed. I
prayed and pleaded to the check-in counter clerk to call the air steward to
open the door. Praise and thank God the
door was opened just for me and I was on my way back to the U.S.A.
On my return trip to Brazil Brother Toledo came to
the Rio airport to pick me up.
Trouble! My baggage did not
arrive. I called the airline office
every day. Still no baggage. The
airlines told me they had looked everywhere and they could not find my baggage. Most of the things that I had brought to
Brazil were lost. The basic things that
I needed were in my Samsonite briefcase.
The most important thing needed for my trip was my Holy Bible. Praise
God I had it with me. The Lord had
taught me something during that missionary trip. I read what our Lord Jesus Christ told His apostles what not to
bring with them when they go on missionary trips (Mt. 10:7-10). On that trip I had learned not to rely on
material things but to pray more than at any other time. Our God is truly a Provider. HalleluYah!
I am now coming to my testimony on the gift of
speaking in a human language. It was a
Saturday morning and we were preparing for the Sabbath Service that was
scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. The
service was held in Brother Toledo's home.
The family had called several of their relatives and friends. Brother Toledo went out very early in the
morning to another village to bring an elderly woman to the service. He had traveled by bus. The time had arrived
for the service to begin. It was
already 11:00 a.m. Brother Toledo was not home yet. By that time some of the family's relatives and friends had
already arrived. They started singing
some hymns in Portuguese. We
waited. 11:15 a.m. Still no Brother Toledo. 11:30 a.m.
Brother Toledo still did not show up.
When it was 11:45 a.m. I was
desperate. Brother Toledo, my only
interpreter was not there. What was I
to do?
I looked at Sister Toledo and placed my palms
together and gestured to her that we should all pray together. We knelt down and prayed in one accord for
God to bring Brother Toledo back as soon as possible. I began to pray in the Spirit and spoke in tongues. The language began to flow out of my
mouth. While still kneeling and praying
in tongues I opened the Portuguese Bible and began to read some verses from it
and continued to pray in tongues. The
language that I spoke while praying sounded like Portuguese but I did not
understand what I said. I did not know
how long I was praying in that language but after some time I stopped and
opened my eyes.
When I turned around I saw Brother Toledo standing on
the other side of the room. He
apologized for arriving late. He said
the bus that was returning from the other village had broken down. He had to wait for another bus. I quickly asked him to come forward to
interpret for me. He said to me in
English, "Carry on, Brother Paul, you were doing fine." I asked him what I was saying. He said: "You were preaching the Gospel
in Portuguese." He also said that
when he entered the room I was already preaching in Portuguese. He had wanted to hear what I was preaching
therefore he did not interrupt me. He
also told me that everyone in the congregation understood what I was
preaching. Praise the Lord! HalleluYah!
If you were to ask me whether or not I think praying and speaking in
human languages that one has not learned is possible in the Church today? My answer is "Most
certainly." I have actually
experienced it.
I began missionary work in India in 1969 and have
seen and experienced many miracles, signs and wonders that are described in the
Holy Bible. In all those years up till
today that miracle in Brazil when I preached in a human language that I have
never learned had happened only once throughout my ministry. We are already in the End Time and our Lord
is coming soon. The Gospel of the
Kingdom must be preached to all the nations of the world and we need supernatural
power of the Holy Spirit. We must pray
that our Lord Jesus Christ will bestow gifts of the Spirit to many ministers so
that His commission of world evangelism may be accomplished as soon as
possible.
7. Speaking in Tongues for World Evangelism
Those who object to speaking in
tongues often assert there was no Bible in the First Century church therefore
God had used this gift for preaching and teaching. Wycliffe Bible Translators informs us that currently something in
the area of one thousand language groups still do not have the Bible available
in their own tongue. Printing and
distribution of Bibles in various languages is propagation of the Gospel
through the written word of God.
Speaking in tongues is witnessing and propagation of the Gospel through
the spoken word of God. Both are needed
in all ages.
In the Great Commission our Lord
commanded His disciples, "Go into all the
world and preach the Gospel to every creature. . . And these signs will follow
those who believe: In My name they will
cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; . . . And they went out and
preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through
the accompanying signs. Amen." (Mk. 16:15-20) Speaking
with tongues is one of the accompanying signs given to believers. It is an essential part of the Great
Commission. Our Lord Jesus Christ
prophesied "And this Gospel of the Kingdom
will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the
end will come." (Mt. 24:14) Speaking with tongues is one of the
accompanying signs that confirm the word that is preached. As long as our Lord Jesus Christ tarries and
the end has not come this gift of speaking with tongues will been in the Church
of Jesus Christ.
Some claim that
the gift of tongues, together with the other spiritual gifts, was only given to
the early Church to get it established, and passed away with the death of the
original Apostles. However, there is no Biblical support for this
assertion. The verse "Whether there are
tongues, they will cease" (1 Cor
13:8) cannot be taken as proof of this, for the passage goes on to
read "But when that is perfect has come"
talking of the day when we see Jesus "face
to face" (vv 10,12).
Tongues will only cease when the perfect One Jesus Christ returns and we
see Him face to face. All the spiritual
gifts were given to the Church, for the building up of its members "till we all come to the unity of the faith. . . . to
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4;13). Clearly that day has not
yet arrived, so the various gifts and ministries are still needed and
available.
We see then, that there is absolutely no support for
the teaching that tongues have ceased. If the original church of Jesus Christ
practiced speaking with tongues, why shouldn't the present Church of Jesus
Christ also speak with tongues? Did not the Lord promise through the Apostle
Peter on the day of Pentecost. "For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall
call." (Acts 2:39) He was referring to the gift of the Holy Spirit
accompanied by speaking with tongues; and Peter was saying that it was promised
to those who were yet afar off. This includes people in our present time. If
God has promised it to us, why not believe it, embrace it, and receive
it?
8.
Speaking with Tongues is still needed in the Church today
A.
It is the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ who said, “And
these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out
demons; they will speak with new tongues.” (Mk. 16:17) Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should
expect to speak with tongues.
B.
It is the manifestation of having received the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:1-6)
Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the new birth in the Spirit (Jn. 3:5-8;
Acts 1:4-5)
C.
It is an exquisite prayer language. “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.” (1 Cor. 14:2) We
still need to pray to God in a way that He listens.
D.
Prayer with tongues is prayer with the Spirit. (1 Cor.
14:14-15) Praying in the Spirit is
according to the will of God. (Rom. 8:26-27)
E.
Speaking with tongues edifies the Christian. (1 Cor.
14:4) When we pray in the Spirit we
build ourselves up on the most holy faith. (Jude 20)
F.
Paul wrote: “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even
more that you prophesied . . .” (1 Cor. 14:5)
It is the apostle’s wish that we all speak with tongues.
G.
Paul also wrote: “Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to
prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.” (1 Cor. 14:39)
May God bless you
For comments please write first to: arkpw@sbcglobal.net
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Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International. |
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