First Corinthians 12 Part 8 The Gift And Purpose Of Speaking In Tongues

1 Corinthians 12:10-11  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: 11)  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 

We are thinking about the gift of speaking in tongues. 

Let me begin by stating that there is much false teaching and distortion of the scriptures when it comes to this subject. 

If I may be blunt, there are many televangelists who "fake" speaking in tongues in order to solicit donations from their audience.

Televangelists promote the sin of covetousness. 

2 Peter 2:1-3  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2)  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3)  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 

Peter strongly warned us about false prophets who will bring in damnable heresies. 

The Greek word translated "heresies" referred to an army storming a city by force and overwhelming it. 

Damnable heresies are like storming a city, because they often spread like wildfire through Christ's church.

Such pernicious ways lead people to destruction and ruin because false teaching is spread instead of the gospel of Christ.  

False teachers use people by appealing to fleshly lusts. "God wants you to be happy, healthy and wealthy" is a common tool used by false teachers. 

False teachers specifically appeal to the sin of covetousness, which is wanting something that you do not have. 

Coveting is a powerful lust that leads to committing many different sins.

Exodus 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's. 

Coveting is a sin as noted in the above text. Televangelists promote the sin of coveting with their false gospel. 

The Bible tells us that godliness with contentment is great gain for the believer in Christ. 

We must learn to be content with the basic provisions for life that God gives to us. (See 1 Timothy 6:6-10).

Undiscerning viewers are fooled by their fakery and send millions of dollars to those who make merchandise of the people.

And so it is with televangelists who claim to speak in tongues. Their motives are corrupt and their false gospel must be rejected. 

The word translated tongues is a word that specifically means a language or dialect used by a particular people that is distinct from that of other nations.

An example of "glossa" as the Greeks used the word, would be that Americans generally speak English, while those living in Egypt generally speak a form of Arabic.

The gift of tongues is receiving the ability to speak a foreign language that you have never learned. 

The gift of tongues is not some heavenly, unintelligible language. It is not the "gibberish" that you hear  coming from the mouths of televangelists. 

It is a gift of human languages to those who don't know any other languages, for the purpose of spreading the gospel of Christ. 

The gift of interpreting tongues.

1 Corinthians 12:10  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:

The Greek word translated "interpretation" is contained in the word "hermeneutics" which is a study of the principles of accurate interpretation of the texts of scripture.  

Interpretation refers to translating what was said in one language into another language so that the hearers understand what was said. 

This word is only used twice in the Bible, both in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. 

However, the Spirit of God guided Paul to use a different word later in this chapter and in chapter fourteen. 

That particular word is used in connection with Paul laying down specific rules for speaking in tongues.

We will look at those rules later in our study. 

For now, it is sufficient to know that the interpretation is simply translating what was spoken in one language into another language. 

Again, I suggest reading the book "Faith Healers" by James Randi because he videotaped televangelists claiming to speak in tongues, along with their interpretation of what they said.

A few months later he interviewed one of the televangelists and asked him to interpret a video where he "spoke" in tongues. 

Instead, he asked the man to give the interpretation of what he said on TV. 

The televangelist had an entirely different interpretation during the interview from what he said previously on TV.

It is perilous to put your trust in someone falsely claiming to have a message from God. 

If we listen to someone claiming a new revelation from God, then we lose our reference point of living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (See Matthew 4:4).

Truth then becomes malleable and unsettled, subject to the whims of those who falsely claim to speak for God.

This is why we have the preserved Word of God in our hands. So that we can see for ourselves what God said about these things. 

The Bible is our filter, our grid and all that does not pass the test of scripture is false and must be rejected. 

These people cannot be trusted. What they say and do is directly contradicted by the scriptures. 

Their singular goal is becoming wealthier at the expense of people who fall for their deception. 

We must use that gift of discernment and reject all that is contrary to what God says.

Is there a Biblical model for the gift of speaking in tongue? Yes, it is found in the book of Acts.

This is the first mention of speaking in tongues and as such, this is the frame of reference, the pattern to follow for all other texts that address this issue.

Amazing manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1-4  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2)  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3)  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4)  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

First came thundering sounds of tempestuous winds followed by cloven tongues of fire. 

The next manifestation of the Holy Spirit was when He filled the disciples, enabling them with the ability to speak with other tongues. 

What was this like and what was the purpose for this manifestation of the Spirit?

They were filled with the Holy Ghost plentifully and more powerfully than ever before. 

The grace of the Spirit and His sanctifying influence made them more holy, heavenly, and spiritual. 

His filling helped turn the disciples from this world and brought the kingdom of God front and center in their lives. 

The Spirit of God comforted and aided the disciples and they rejoiced in the love of Christ and the hope of heaven.

The words they were "all filled" means to be filled to the brim. The Greek word is contained in the word "plethora." 

The word "plethora" means having an abundance or profusion of something. It means having a large amount, far more than you can deal with.  

The idea of filling the disciples connects with Paul telling us we must be constantly filled and refilled by God's Spirit. 

Clearly, we are shown that the indwelling Spirit of God is something that overflows into us such that we cannot possibly exhaust His ability to transform us. 

What was the manifestation of speaking in tongues? 

In the simplest terms, 120 men and women who only knew their birth language and Hebrew, were enabled to speak in foreign languages. 

This is our model for understanding speaking in tongues. 

It is not being enabled to speak with nonsensical babbling and claiming to speak in tongues. (Yes, there are unethical televangelists who do just that.)

Rather, the gift of speaking in tongues would be someone like me suddenly speaking the Spanish language fluently, even thought I never studied Spanish. 

Luke makes it clear that speaking in tongues was orchestrated by the Holy Ghost. 

He is the one who gave them "utterance", which means the ability to speak with an elevated, gospel focused discourse, rather than speaking in everyday language. 

Multitudes of Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem. 

Acts 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 

Now, Luke gave us an important layer of context. Remember that Pentecost was the high point of a week long feast of ingathering. 

The law of Moses required all Jewish males to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for this week of praising God and celebration for His goodness. 

Thus, Luke tells us that there were Jews who traveled to Jerusalem from every other nation where they had been dispersed. 

He even lets us know that these men were devout, that is they wanted to obey and honor God. 

It helps to remember that many of the Jewish pilgrims were multilingual. That is, they knew the dominant language where they were born and raised. 

For example, Jews born and raised in Babylonia knew the Chaldean language. They also learned Hebrew so they could understand the scriptures. 

They learned the Aramaic language spoken in the holy land during that point in history so that they could communicate when they arrived at Jerusalem.  

Speaking in tongues caught people off guard. 

Acts 2:6-8  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7) And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8) And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 

When the disciples began speaking in foreign languages, this news traveled like wildfire. 

A huge throng of pilgrims came together to see and hear this wonderful manifestation of the Spirit of God. 

This is how we know that our understanding of speaking in tongues is correct. 

Each disciple began to speak in a language that they had not acquired and yet it was a real language understood by those travelers from various nations. 

It was not random jargon or gibberish, but was clear, intelligible language.

Jews who traveled great distances to be in Jerusalem for this holy week, were confounded and bewildered. 

Why were they so perplexed? Because they heard the gospel preached in their own native language. 

They were amazed and marvelled because a group of unlearned Galilean Jews were speaking in foreign languages. 

The word "amazed" means to be astonished, astounded and caught off guard. 

For example, they could not understand how an uneducated Galilean Jew could speak the Persian language of their homeland. 

How do we know that this gift is no longer active? 

If this gift were still active today, not one missionary would need to acquire years of language training. 

Instead, all missionaries would be empowered by the Spirit of God to speak the native language of the nation where they are called to serve. 

Pilgrims came from many different nations.  

Acts 2:9-12  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10)  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11) Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12) And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

Luke gave us a record of where all the Jewish pilgrims traveled from. 

His list included 17 different nations that were part of the Roman empire, linked by Roman roads and law. 

Here are some of the distances that the Jewish pilgrims traveled to get to Jerusalem. 

Libya is about 883 miles from Jerusalem and Babylon about 550 miles. It is 716 miles from Jerusalem to Cappadocia and 2,589 miles from Rome to Jerusalem.

What did those people speaking in tongues talk about? 

Remember that the word "utterance"  means speaking in a heavenly or gospel focused speech, instead of speaking in everyday common language. 

When the disciples spoke in tongues they spoke about the wonderful works of God. 

Jewish pilgrims heard the glorious things of God proclaimed in their own native languages and were astonished and wondered what it all meant. 

Peter will preach his first sermon to answer their question. 

Isaiah foretold the sign of tongues.

Isaiah 28:9-12  Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10) For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: 11) For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. 12) To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. 

Isaiah taught us about progressive revelation in the scriptures, because doctrines and topics that were introduced early in the Bible and more fully explained later in the text. 

He refers to speaking in tongues as the gospel message going out with stammering lips and another tongue to the Jewish people in particular. 

Here we have seen the full, complete and amazing manifestation of when the Spirit of God came at Pentecost.

Spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit at Pentecost are culmination of His Divine presence. 

1 Corinthians 12:7  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 

1 Corinthians 12:11  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 

Here is a principle governing spiritual gifts. Gifts of the Spirit are given to each believer to be a great benefit to Christ's church.

Spiritual gifts are given so that church leaders may bless and build up the body of Christ. 

Gifts are dispensed according to the sovereign will and purposes of the Spirit of God. 

We shall see that some gifts have indeed passed away while others remain active today. 

Spiritual gifts are not given for show but for service, not for self glory but for edification of others.

This gift that Paul writes of, had a specific purpose. Enabling the disciples to speak the gospel in languages that they never learned before. 

This gift was given to show that the mission of making believers fishers of men was about to begin in earnest. 

This is why the Spirit of God came, to elevate Christ when the disciples preached the gospel. 

He will bring conviction of sin, convincement of Christ's righteousness and the fear of certain judgment upon all who hear. 

He will call sinners to repentant faith in Christ. 

What a privilege we have today to be part of the Great Commission of evangelizing the world with the gospel of Christ. 

May the Spirit of God fill our hearts with fresh passion and enduring zeal to serve God. 

May He help us look above to the things of God instead of looking out at the things of this world. 

Bob