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Biblical References...
Genesis 1:1-2...
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Exodus 31:1-3...
The Lord said
to Moses, “See,
I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of
Judah, and
I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with
knowledge and all craftsmanship,
Isaiah 28:11...
For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the Lord will
speak to this people,
John 3:16... “For God
so loved the
world, that
he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life.
Acts 2:1-12...
When the
day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing
wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on
each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under
heaven.
And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were
bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.
And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these
who are speaking Galileans?
And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native
language?
Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia,
Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to
Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,
both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them
telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What
does this mean?”
But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Acts 10:44-47...
While
Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the
word.
And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were
amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the
Gentiles.
For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then
Peter declared,
“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the
Holy Spirit just as we have?”
Acts 19:4-7...
And
Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to
believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”
On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they
began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
There were about twelve men in all.
Romans 10:9-13...
because,
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one
confesses and is saved.
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to
shame.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of
all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
1st Corinthians 12:4-11...
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them
all in everyone.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another
the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one
Spirit,
to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability
to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to
another the interpretation of tongues.
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one
individually as he wills.
1st Corinthians 12:29-30...
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all
work miracles?
Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues?
1st Corinthians 13:8-10...
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass
away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
1st Corinthians 14:5-6...
Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who
prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone
interprets, so that the church may be built up. Now, brothers, if I come
to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you
some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?
1st Corinthians 14:20-22...
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your
thinking be mature.
In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of
foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to
me, says the Lord.”
Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is
a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
Galatians 2:16...
yet
we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in
Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified
by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no
one will be justified.
Galatians 5:22-23...
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Ephesians 2:1-10...
And
you were dead in the trespasses and sins in
which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience— among
whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of
the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of
mankind.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when
we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you
have been saved— and
raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, so
that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God, not
a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
James 2:22...
You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by
his works;
Discussion thoughts...
The first mention of "tongues" in the bible is the
prophesy in Isaiah 28 which was a prediction that "tongues" would be used by God
to speak to people in their own language... the first mention of this happening
was on the day of Pentecost when the apostles spoke the gospels to the crowds in
their own language. The "tongues" on that day were not "unknown tongues" that
required an interpreter ("unknown tongues" which we will discuss later)... the
apostles spoke in languages that the various tribes present understood in their
own language... to say this another way... even though the apostles did not know
the languages of the various tribes, they spoke in "tongues" such that the
various tribes could understand! As described in
Acts 2... devout men from every nation
under heaven were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own
language!
Scholars
suggest that the Holy Spirit did not exist until the day of Pentecost...
we suggest that the scholars need to be a little more specific and say
that the Holy Spirit, that lives forever in man after he is saved and receives
the Holy Spirit, did not exist until the day of Pentecost! Various forms of the "Spirit" did exist in man before Pentecost... notice in
Exodus 31:1-3 that Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom...
this was not the "Holy Spirit" of Pentecost, this was a temporary spirit of
wisdom that Bezalel needed for his work.
Other forms of the "Spirit" were given to people for various reasons... some for
wisdom, some for prophesying, some for writing, etc. ---
none of those who received the "Spirit" received the "Holy Spirit" of Pentecost
because God did not decree that the "Holy Spirit" be given to man until
Pentecost. None of the old testament "Spirits" were
permanent... they were bestowed for a specific purpose and then expired!
Before we move on to the second part of this discussion we need to
mention that there are reports of missionaries of today who have spoken in
tongues like was spoken on the day of Pentecost... missionaries who did not know
the language of the people they were serving but spoke to the people in their
language!
Unknown Tongues..."Unknown tongues"
are exactly that... "tongues" spoken that no one understands except an
interpreter present to interpret what was spoken! These are the "tongues"
of today sometimes spoken by people who have the Holy Spirit (except
1st Corinthians 13:8-10
suggest they may have ceased) these "tongues" are
not a language spoken by anyone in our world today... the language is a language
spoken only by the Holy Spirit and is words direct from God!
1st Corinthians 12:4-11,
1st Corinthians 14:5-6,
1st Corinthians 14:20-22
explains this language.
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