Question on tongues

[Praize]

I have been told by some ppl that the bible says the gift of Tongues is specifically for speaking in foreign languages and that the book of Acts doesnt mention anything about an intimate dialogue/form of worship that only God can understand. I am a strong believer in the Charismatic gifts of the HOly Spirit and am asking for advice on how I can answer this question the next time its brought up.

 

[sandman]

I have been told by some ppl that the bible says the gift of Tongues is specifically for speaking in foreign languages and that the book of Acts doesnt mention anything about an intimate dialogue/form of worship that only God can understand. I am a strong believer in the Charismatic gifts of the HOly Spirit and am asking for advice on how I can answer this question the next time its brought up.

First I would ask them to prove their statement “specifically for speaking in foreign languages”
Second Acts does state that they {the Apostles} were speaking the wonderful works of God.
Third: most of the clarification on SIT is located in I Corinthians chapter 14. This gives us the explanation of when it should be used in meetings /w interpretation etc.

Several threads in this section contain much information on SIT that would be of value to you.
I have posted before, a list of some of the benefits to speaking in tongues, this may be helpful in stating your case; as follows.



Interestingly enough God uses two different words for the word “another “ in verses 8-10 of I Cor.12. The use of these two Words shows a distinction of the profit on two of the 9 manifestations that are specifically for the profit of the individual only; speaking in tongues and faith {believing}. The other manifestations are designed to profit the individual as well as others.

Tongues Benefits


1. To speak the wonderful works of God

Acts 2:11
Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

2. To magnify God

Acts10:46
For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.

3. To give thanks well

I Corinthians 14:17
For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified

4. To bring a message from God {when interpreted} I Corinthians 14:5, 27, 28;
5:… except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.

27: If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
28: if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.




5. Sign to the unbelievers I Corinthians 14:22, Mark 16:17;

I Corinthians:
Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

Mark:
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

6. To edify you, build you up. I Corinthians 14:4, Jude 20;

I Corinthians:
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.


Jude:
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost

7. To speak to God mysteries {divine secrets}

I Corinthians 14:2
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.



8. Makes intercession for us

Romans 8:26&7
26: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27: And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

_______________________________________________________________

God bless
sandman

 

[ragamuffin girl]

I'm an odd duck. I was part of a charismatic church till I was nine, and then we moved to another state where the only churches were Baptist, and the gifts of the spirit were no-no'd right from the pulpit. That was so hard for me, because both of my parents spoke in tongues, and I loved to hear my dad speak because it was one of the few times I really saw him open up and be--garsh, for lack of a better word--really sincerely happy in his Christianity. I guess it's a null issue for me now. I can't speak in tongues, though i'vebeen baptised in the Spirit twice. I guess some people would judge me for that and call me unspiritual or not having enough faith. But I love how Frank Peretti's book hte Visitation deals with that one.

 

[Andrew]

I have been told by some ppl that the bible says the gift of Tongues is specifically for speaking in foreign languages and that the book of Acts doesnt mention anything about an intimate dialogue/form of worship that only God can understand. I am a strong believer in the Charismatic gifts of the HOly Spirit and am asking for advice on how I can answer this question the next time its brought up.

If tongues is simply a foreign language that one has not learned b4, let's say Japanese or Korean, then consider:

1 Corinthians 14:2
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.

This verse (the bolded part) would not be true becos the entire population of Japan or Korea would understand the tongue.

The idea that 'genuine' tongues must be earthly foreign languages (based on Acts 2) is based on the idea that tongues is for evangelism -- again based on Acts 2.

But this is nothing but a myth. If you read Acts 2, it was not the tongue speaking that got 3,000 people saved, but Peter's annointed message to them.


Secondly, NO MAN on earth (I dont care how good a linguist you are) can objectively and scientifically prove that the tongues a person is speaking is not an earthly language. There are thousands of languages in the world, and not everyone of them sounds like or has to sound like English or French! I think most linguist at best can learn or recognise less than 100 languages?

 

[sandman]

I'm an odd duck. I was part of a charismatic church till I was nine, and then we moved to another state where the only churches were Baptist, and the gifts of the spirit were no-no'd right from the pulpit. That was so hard for me, because both of my parents spoke in tongues, and I loved to hear my dad speak because it was one of the few times I really saw him open up and be--garsh, for lack of a better word--really sincerely happy in his Christianity. I guess it's a null issue for me now. I can't speak in tongues, though i'vebeen baptised in the Spirit twice. I guess some people would judge me for that and call me unspiritual or not having enough faith. But I love how Frank Peretti's book hte Visitation deals with that one.

RG

I don’t know how Frank Peretti's book deals with it, but I will tell you that, if you are born again, and it sounds like you are, you can, absolutely speak in tongues.
It is not a question of faith; it is a question of what you believe, from what you have been taught.
______________________________________________________________
God Bless
sandman

 

[He put me back together]

The instances of speaking in tongues in Acts were not always in the presence of foreigners. Here is an example I don't think was mentioned earlier in this thread:

Acts 19:

1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[1] you believed?"
They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"
"John's baptism," they replied.
4Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.

Blessings

 

[Iddie4him]

Being able to speak in tongues is a gift from God, But, It is not for speaking in foriegn languages as some people may think. It is a gift that enables us as Gods children to speak and understand each other as we worship our God in Heaven. I have read the Left Behind series and fully believe that when we are given the gift and are in the presence of others that have the gift, we all can understand each other, even tho we may not all speak the same language. It is a gift that all Christians have so that we can all praise Gods Holy name while we are gathered wherever, or however. It allows us to be one in spirit, and praise God and understand each other. All without having to have a translation book in hand. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, we should all be able to be one when we gather for worship.

 

[joevberry3]

RG

I don’t know how Frank Peretti's book deals with it, but I will tell you that, if you are born again, and it sounds like you are, you can, absolutely speak in tongues.
It is not a question of faith; it is a question of what you believe, from what you have been taught.
______________________________________________________________
God Bless
sandman

Very true Sandman!

 

[twosteppin]

I have been told by some ppl that the bible says the gift of Tongues is specifically for speaking in foreign languages and that the book of Acts doesnt mention anything about an intimate dialogue/form of worship that only God can understand. I am a strong believer in the Charismatic gifts of the HOly Spirit and am asking for advice on how I can answer this question the next time its brought up.

you cant answer that question because tongues were a real foreign language. i guess you can try taking things out of context, like so many christians do today.

 

[Andry]

Sometimes I try to mitigate these arguements about 'a real foreign language' or just perceived 'jibberish' by illustrating the following:

The OED 2nd edition, the largest English-language dictionary, contains some 290,000 entries with some 616,500 word forms. Of course, there are lots of slang and regional words that are not included and the big dictionary omits many proper names, scientific and technical terms, and jargon as a matter of editorial policy (e.g., there are some 1.4 million named species of insect alone). All told, estimates of the total vocabulary of English start at around three million words and go up from there.

Of these, about 200,000 words are in common use today. An educated person has a vocabulary of about 20,000 words and uses about 2,000 in a week's conversation. (These estimates vary widely depending on who is doing the counting, so don't take them as absolute.)

How many stars are there in the universe? Lots and lots ad infinutum. But even we we were to add up all the known words of all the known languages, there still wouldn't be enough words to name each and every star. And yet God named them all, ie. he has a word or vocabulary for each. (What do we do instead? We use numbers to help us identify 'known' stars and galaxies.)

So the point being, I believe, there are other 'languages' (or at least vocabularies) that is not known to man, that God uses, to allow us to express things that we do not yet comprehend or conceive. And I believe 'tongues' is a 'gift' that God gives to do just that.

 

[missionarypoet]

I have a question about tongues...I have been in charismatic churches and very strict no gifts of the Spirit churches. My grandmother is very pro-charismatic movement and pushes us to speak in tongues, thinking that you aren't truly saved until you do so. Now, I have no problem with speaking or praying in tongues, though I myself never have, but I disagree with my grandmother. I've read in the Bible that there are many gifts of the Spirit, and that tongues is not greater that any other gift. I have experienced others of these gifts, but not tongues, and I don't feel that it is necessary that I do. Does anyone have anything to say on the subject one way or the other? I would appreciate hearing from any viewpoint.

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

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[joevberry3]

I have a question about tongues...I have been in charismatic churches and very strict no gifts of the Spirit churches. My grandmother is very pro-charismatic movement and pushes us to speak in tongues, thinking that you aren't truly saved until you do so. Now, I have no problem with speaking or praying in tongues, though I myself never have, but I disagree with my grandmother. I've read in the Bible that there are many gifts of the Spirit, and that tongues is not greater that any other gift. I have experienced others of these gifts, but not tongues, and I don't feel that it is necessary that I do. Does anyone have anything to say on the subject one way or the other? I would appreciate hearing from any viewpoint.

Tongues is not the greatest Gift. Remember Paul said I would rather you prophesy. I also disagree with grandma or anyone else that says we arent saved unless we speak in tongues.
I also speak in tongues. But, i prophesy lots more than speaking in tongues. Thank God for giving me the gifts of the Spirit.
I have a question for all: There was one time that I met a 'Preacher" and shook his hand. When I shook his hand, i felt in my spirit that he wasnt of God. Has this ever happened to any of you? Is this a gift?
God Bless,
Joe

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Tongues may not be the gift to covet the most but none the less it is a gift from God.

According to 1 Cor 14 there are two different scenario's of speaking in tongues. 1) A conversation between you and God (verse 2) or 2) public worship (verse 26). Number 1 does not require interpretation because it is a private conversation between you and God. In the spirit you are speaking mysteries (v 2).

In verse 4 it goes on to say "He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself". Does not our spirit need edification? In this type of prayer we pray according to the spirit which knows exactly what we need and prays accordingly.

Praying in our native language is all well and good, but of course is limited to what we understand with our own minds. Our spirit understands deeper and therefore will pray deeper. Because God is not a respector of persons, I do not believe He would give one believer a gift to aid in their maturing and growing closer to Him, but withhold it from another. Therefore, I believe that praying in tongues is available to every believer and the only reason every believer does not move in it is because they are choosing to not take advantage of it. It has nothing to do with salvation. It does however, make walking saved easier.

 

[TasManOfGod]

The speaking in tongues (as a communication with God) is important as it signifies that a beleiver has indeed received Baptism in the Holy Spirit. It has nothing to do with the 9 "gifts of the Holy Spirit" which are for the annointed believer to pass on to others. (even diversity of tongues applies here) There is certainly no value scale appointed to speaking in tongues as it really has to be applied to ministering in any of the other manifistations.

blessing
Tas