Woo hoo!!! Hang onto your spiritual seat belts, because this topic has and continues to bring up consternation amongst believers. Why are we always talking about this subject of Speaking in Tongues? Because people are always asking about it, that's why. This teaching will be in four parts in order to bring Truth to all the error that has been taught. The next paragraph will point out just a few of the wrong beliefs on this topic.
What about this thing called speaking in tongues? I’m not sure it’s for today. Scripture says it was done away with. I believe in the infilling of the Holy Spirit, but tongues are not for today. I’m not sure how to acquire the gift of speaking in tongues. What purpose does speaking in tongues actually serve?
Wow. What a subject. Lets study this and see just what the answers and conclusions are to the above statements and questions. Here, I’ll ask a question and then answer it. Do I have to speak in other tongues? NO….you get to. How’s that for a start?
What about this thing called speaking in tongues? How important is speaking in tongues?
Tongues are an important part of receiving the Holy Ghost. First, tongues are the initial evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:4). I didn’t say tongues are the only evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. I said tongues are the initial evidence that it took place.
Acts 2:4 – “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance”.
Acts 19:6 – “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied”.
Acts 10:45-47
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Here are just a few scriptures that show they received the Holy Ghost and immediately spoke with other tongues. Verse 47 of Acts 10 shows us another great truth. You don’t have to be baptized in water before you can receive the baptism in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Look, it says in verse 45 they were baptized in the Holy Ghost. Then verse 46 says they spoke in tongues. Then verse 47 says, or I should say asks, how can we forbid them from being water baptized since they’ve already received the baptism in the Holy Ghost and spoke with other tongues.
Oh Oh. Another pet snake has had it’s head chopped off. I mean another sacred religious cow has been slaughtered. I mean another religious false teachig has been exposed to the truth.
Did you notice that you don’t speak in tongues and then know you have the Holy Ghost. No, you believe you have the Holy Ghost first, and then you speak in tongues.
Notice Acts 2:4: “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost . . . .” If we stop reading there, we know that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. But if we continue reading, we find, “. . . and [they] began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). Speaking with other tongues was a result of those believers having received the Holy Ghost. You receive the Holy Ghost first; then you speak in tongues.
There are those that will preach and teach that tongues are not for today and when they can’t make that stick, they’ll change the false teaching. They’ll say, okay, it looks like tongues are okay, but you first need to be baptized in water. Or, tongues is a private thing, but you need to keep it to yourself and do it in private. We’ll look into this error als
Speaking in tongues is an integral part of the believer’s devotional prayer life. The Apostle Paul said, “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all” (1 Corinthians 14:18). This statement proves that Paul was from Texas. I think that “ye all” was really “y’all”. Or maybe it was yee hah. Anyway, Paul said he did it more than anyone else.
In the Church world today, many people say, “Tongues have been done away with, because the Bible says that tongues will cease.” Well, that’s not what scripture says. Lets look.
1 Corinthians 13:8-12.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
The Bible does say that one day, tongues will cease. We see that in this verse, but that is not referring to this present Church Age. How do I know that? Because I keep studying to find out when that will come to pass.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
Okay, right here is part of the proof that tongues are for today and have not passed away. The perfect has not come yet. “Oh yes it has Brother. The Bible is perfect”. No it’s not. I would agree it is inerrant, but it’s not perfect.
First of all, how could something that is not complete be perfect? What do you mean not complete? Well, look at John 21:25. “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
So you see, not everyone of the things Jesus did were written, because there wouldn’t be enough libraries in the world to house the numerous volumes of books it would have taken to record each and everything Jesus did. Whew that was a long sentence.
Here’s another place where the bible is not perfect. 1 Tim 4:1 uses the phrase “doctrines of DEVILS”. Well, as far as I know, only one devil exists. A better usage would have been doctrine of demons like the NAS uses. Okay. Onto verse 11.
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
It says “but then face to face”. When is then? When that which is perfect has come. Then face to face. The bible does not have a face. But then face to face means when we get to heaven in the presence of Jesus. In Heaven, there will be no necessity for tongues, because that which is perfect will have come. So, for now I guess we are just stuck with speaking in tongues.
There are those who purport to believe in speaking in tongues but do not feel that tongues are necessary for all believers. Well, I guess they have a right to be wrong. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is for all those who believe. Again, do I have to? No, you get to.
Acts 2:38–39.
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is TO YOU, and to YOUR CHILDREN, and EVEN TO THE GENTILES—ALL who have been called by the Lord our God.”
From those two scriptures we can see that it’s for everyone who is called by the Lord. All means All. No one is left out. Many have been robbed of the blessings God intended them to have by believing that speaking in tongues isn’t for everyone. But the Word shows us that every believer needs to be filled with the Holy Ghost. And the Word says that when we get filled with the Holy Ghost, we will speak with tongues.
Here comes the religious challengers with the following statements. “But wait a minute. I thought you said water baptism was not necessary in order to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit? That’s not what verse 38 says.”
That’s what happens when you don’t study and simply peel through scripture to try and find one little piece of “evidence” to destroy the mountains of truth that have been presented. As far as I can discover, this is the only instance in scripture where it says they were water baptized and then received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I’ve already presented several cases where they believed and were baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues.
Also, lets not forget what it says in Matthew 3:11. “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. But he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” This is John the baptist speaking.
You see even he knew what was to come. He knew that up until Jesus, his (John’s) baptism (baptism in water) was a baptism of repentance, as was also Christian baptism. John’s baptism pointed forward to Jesus, but it became obsolete when Jesus came. Christian baptism followed faith in the Lord Jesus. It was associated with His name (vs 38). Sometimes it preceded and sometimes it followed the receiving of the Spirit as we’ve already shown.
Now we are just getting started on this topic, so come back for part 2 and we'll start it by killing one more sacred cow while were on the subject of this verse 38 in Acts 2. You may already want to question what's been presented so far, but don't forget....there are four parts to this teaching. I'm certain the question you have right now will be answered by the time we are completed with this topic. It just gets worse for those who have wrong believing. Grace and peace.
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