Using Tongues For Its Intended Purpose

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I was thinking about how I use the gift of tongues, and working out when I am speaking in genuine tongues and when I may not be. I came to the conclusion that the intended purpose of tongues for me is during my private prayer time with God where He is the sole listener to the language I am praying. In answer to my question whether the tongues would be genuine if I submitted an example to a linguist, I concluded that doing that would be outside of its intended purpose and it would be gibberish instead of tongues. This is why every example of tongues submitted to linguists has turned out not to be identified as a genuine language, It is not the intended purpose of tongues to be tested by linguists, therefore it would be gibberish spoken in the flesh and not the Spirit.

Also, for me, speaking audibly in the hearing of others would be outside of its intended purpose, therefore it would probably be in the flesh because Paul did not recommend that tongues be used in public gatherings without interpretation. But through the sovereignty of God, there is the exception to the rule, where, in my case, I was praying quietly in tongues during a church service and my NZ Maori friend sitting beside me told me that I was speaking in fluent Maori language and what I was saying was encouragement to her. In a church prayer meeting where there was a visitor from Ghana, my friend was praying in tongues (in that Pentecostal prayer meeting they all did), and Badu, the Ghanaian stopped the prayer meeting and told my friend that he was praising God in his own rural village dialect. There was no way my friend could have known that dialect. Therefore, God, through His sovereign will, caused those tongues to be understandable languages for the express purpose of encouraging those select people.

It is the same with healing. We know that divine healing is not guaranteed by demand, but God can and does heal through His sovereign will, even though He might not bestow the actual gift of healing on anyone these days.

So when I pray to God in tongues privately according to 1 Corinthians 14:2 where in that environment I am speaking mysteries in the Spirit, then my prayer language is genuine; but if I use the gift outside of its intended purpose for me it would be through the flesh and not the spirit, and so it would be meaningless syllables and words. So my advice is for those who are unsure about whether their prayer language is genuine or not, to seek the Lord and find out from Him what the intended purpose is for them in how they are to exercise the gift of tongues.

 

[Terri Dactyl]

o my advice is for those who are unsure about whether their prayer language is genuine or not, to seek the Lord and find out from Him what the intended purpose is for them in how they are to exercise the gift of tongues.

Not everyone has the gift of tongues. It is not necessary for salvation.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Not everyone has the gift of tongues. It is not necessary for salvation.

Of course. Only the lunatic fringe groups believe that tongues is necessary for salvation. I had an argument about that with one of those pastors, and I told him that he was blaspheming the blood of Christ in saying that the shed blood of Christ was insufficient for salvation.

Not everyone has the gift of tongues, because the Scripture says that the Holy Spirit distributes the gifts according to His will. Similarly, a road worker has a shovel but not a pen, while an officer worker has a pen but not a shovel. It depends on one's function in the body of Christ, and the Spirit gives the appropriate gifts for that person to function successfully. You wouldn't give a typist a forklift because she wouldn't have any use for it in the typing pool.

But the mistake that some cessationists make is that because the Scripture says, "Do all speak with tongues?" they assume that no one does. and that is adding to the Scripture a cessationist view that tongues ceased at the close of the Apostolic Age.

 

[tturt]

Tongues aren't necessary for salvation. According to Scripture, Any believer can have the gift of tongues.

Tongues are a sign - To unbelievers By believers
"Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not:" "And these signs shall follow them that believe; ...they shall speak with new tongues; (I Cor 14:22 and Mark 16:17)

Not every believer will be given the gift of tongues for interpretation. It's not translation but interpretation.

Purposes include:
-"For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God." (Acts 10:46)
-"For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.' I Cor 14:4
-"For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." ( I Cor 14:14-15)

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Tongues aren't necessary for salvation. Any believer can have the gift of tongues.

Tongues are a sign - To unbelievers By believers
"Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not:" "And these signs shall follow them that believe; ...they shall speak with new tongues; (I Cor 14:22 and Mark 16:17)

Not every believer will be given the gift of tongues for interpretation. It's not translation but interpretation.

The way I use the gift of tongues is not as a sign because I use it solely in my private prayer time where God is the only listener. Outside of my prayer room no one would know that I prayed in tongues at all. Therefore, because no one, especially an unbeliever gets to hear me pray in tongues, there is no way it could be a sign to them.

The list in 1 Corinthians 12 includes "various tongues", which shows that tongues has different purposes depending on the role that the believer has. Therefore one believer may manifest tongues as a sign to unbelievers, while another believer may use the gift privately and therefore not as a sign.

 

[Hazelelponi]

I was thinking about how I use the gift of tongues, and working out when I am speaking in genuine tongues and when I may not be. I came to the conclusion that the intended purpose of tongues for me is during my private prayer time with God where He is the sole listener to the language I am praying. In answer to my question whether the tongues would be genuine if I submitted an example to a linguist, I concluded that doing that would be outside of its intended purpose and it would be gibberish instead of tongues. This is why every example of tongues submitted to linguists has turned out not to be identified as a genuine language, It is not the intended purpose of tongues to be tested by linguists, therefore it would be gibberish spoken in the flesh and not the Spirit.

Also, for me, speaking audibly in the hearing of others would be outside of its intended purpose, therefore it would probably be in the flesh because Paul did not recommend that tongues be used in public gatherings without interpretation. But through the sovereignty of God, there is the exception to the rule, where, in my case, I was praying quietly in tongues during a church service and my NZ Maori friend sitting beside me told me that I was speaking in fluent Maori language and what I was saying was encouragement to her. In a church prayer meeting where there was a visitor from Ghana, my friend was praying in tongues (in that Pentecostal prayer meeting they all did), and Badu, the Ghanaian stopped the prayer meeting and told my friend that he was praising God in his own rural village dialect. There was no way my friend could have known that dialect. Therefore, God, through His sovereign will, caused those tongues to be understandable languages for the express purpose of encouraging those select people.

It is the same with healing. We know that divine healing is not guaranteed by demand, but God can and does heal through His sovereign will, even though He might not bestow the actual gift of healing on anyone these days.

So when I pray to God in tongues privately according to 1 Corinthians 14:2 where in that environment I am speaking mysteries in the Spirit, then my prayer language is genuine; but if I use the gift outside of its intended purpose for me it would be through the flesh and not the spirit, and so it would be meaningless syllables and words. So my advice is for those who are unsure about whether their prayer language is genuine or not, to seek the Lord and find out from Him what the intended purpose is for them in how they are to exercise the gift of tongues.

 

[ss51]

He will grow any of us as much as we will be grown. The "gift" was the Holy Spirit, given to each who accept Him as Savior, and make Him Lord of our lives. Every gift Jesus manifested is available to every believer, to date none have come to equal what Jesus modeled for us to seek, some have manifested very strong gifting in areas.
The Divine prayer language allows us to pray as He knows we need to pray, He knows each of us better than we know ourselves and knows what we need to pray about and for. There is no better way to grow in relationship and power.
blessings

 

[Terri Dactyl]

Tongues aren't necessary for salvation. According to Scripture, Any believer can have the gift of tongues.

Tongues are a sign - To unbelievers By believers
"Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not:" "And these signs shall follow them that believe; ...they shall speak with new tongues; (I Cor 14:22 and Mark 16:17)

Not every believer will be given the gift of tongues for interpretation. It's not translation but interpretation.

Purposes include:
-"For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God." (Acts 10:46)
-"For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.' I Cor 14:4
-"For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." ( I Cor 14:14-15)

tongues are a spiritual gift. Even Paul says that not all speak in tongues. There are many gifts of the Spirit. If they are for a sign to unbelievers, then what is going on in charismatic churches? Why aren't they out and about preaching in tongues?

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

tongues are a spiritual gift. Even Paul says that not all speak in tongues. There are many gifts of the Spirit. If they are for a sign to unbelievers, then what is going on in charismatic churches? Why aren't they out and about preaching in tongues?

The way tongues work as a sign is when someone speaks out in a public meeting where unbelievers are present, and one or more of those unbelievers hear the tongues in their own language. Because they know that the person speaking has no way of naturally knowing or has learned the language, they know that God is in the midst and they are more likely to listen to the Gospel and take it more seriously. Also this is more likely to happen in meetings where the Gospel is actually preached, because there are many Charismatic churches where the Holy Spirit is more glorified than Jesus Himself. The true Gospel is Jesus Christ and Him crucified and resurrected, not the Holy Spirit, His working and His gifts. Although the Holy Spirit is present in every believer, He works according to the preaching of the Gospel, which is the real power of God, not the falling down and bizarre behaviour that is often attributed to the Holy Spirit in some Charismatic churches.

 

[ss51]

divine prayer language and also public Holy Spirit tongues