Tongues Series

Intro

In our study of the gifts of the Spirit, we come to the gift of "kinds of tongues," listed in 1 Corinthians 12:10. Of the nine gifts of the Spirit, two were reserved for the Church and are not active in the Old Testament. Those gifts are the gift of divers kinds of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues. Before I talk about either of those gifts, I must first lay some foundation about tongues.

We first see believers speaking in tongues on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. This was a much-anticipated event. John the Baptist spoke of it in Luke 3. People were speculating that John might be the Messiah. His preaching carried an anointing and authority they had never seen before. Multitudes were turning to God under his influence. To set the record straight, John declared, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”i John was only the forerunner of one far superior to him. He baptized with water, but Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Here at the height of his public ministry, John is pointing people to the day when Jesus would baptize them in the Holy Spirit.

To understand tongues, we must first understand the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Jesus focused attention on the baptism in the Spirit on His last evening with His disciples. IN John 16:7, He said to them, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” The outpouring of the Holy Spirit would be the key to the Church’s success.ii The Holy Spirit would empower them to spread the gospel throughout the world. The Holy Spirit would enable believers to preach the word with signs following.

The gifts of the Spirit are an essential part of spreading the gospel. In Mark 16:15-17iii Jesus said, “…Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." One of the signs that would follow believers is that they would be speaking with new tongues.

Right before His ascension, Jesus commanded His followers not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, wait for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:5, He added, “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." Notice how Jesus continually pointed His followers to this baptism in the Spirit. They were asking Him questions about end times, and He was directing their attention to this essential experience from the Father. He makes the reason for this abundantly clear in Acts 1:8. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." This enduement with power is absolutely crucial for the Church’s success. It seems to me we have just about everything today except that power. We have money; we have buildings; we have crowds; we have talent; we have technology. But where is the power to raise the dead, cast out devils, heal the sick, and set the captives free? Where is the power that operated in the early Church and turned the world upside down?iv All our high-tech performances are not affecting the world. Like the magicians in Moses’ day, they can match it with their own resources.v What they can’t match is the power of the Holy Spirit—the conviction of sin that He brings, the healing of addiction that He supplies, the joy, peace, and love that flows through His influence.

It is the influence of the Holy Spirit that makes our testimony of Christ effective in the world. Without it, we cannot get the job done. But did this baptism and empowerment come to the church without tongues? It did not! Tongues were a part of God’s package deal. Whether we like it or not, speaking in tongues is God’s idea. This capacity came with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you….” Most people don’t associate tongues with power. But the Bible does! God created the universe by speaking it into existence. “Let there be light, and there was light… Let the earth bring forth grass…and it was so.”vi He put down the rebellion of Babel --how? By confusing their speech (Gen. 11:9). Prov. 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue….”vii Now lay Acts 1:8 beside that: “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Can we disassociate the power of the Spirit from the tongues that the Spirit gave when they were filled? I don’t think so. There was power in God’s words when He spoke the universe into existence. The wholesome words of praise that these believers spoke in Acts 2 were a tree of life and connected with the release of power.viii What God has joined together, let no man put asunder. God has joined the baptism of power with the speaking of tongues. Men try to separate the two. But there is a pattern here in Scripture that must be honored. Tongues are a powerful part of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.