View source for 17.What are divers kinds of tongues? .

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Supernatural ability given to some members of the Body of Christ so they may be able to communicate the will of God in languages other than their native tongue, and that they have not learned through study.

Again, notice that a plural grace ("kinds of tongues") is given to a single individual ("to another"—literally, to a "different one").

From the frequency of its mention in the Book of Acts we may infer that the Holy Spirit considers speaking in tongues to be an important aspect of the Kingdom of God and of becoming a saint. God, who does not use words carelessly in the Scriptures, would not have associated speaking in tongues with the birth of His Church unless there was an excellent reason.

Paul stated his desire that all the saints speak in tongues, although he preferred they prophesy. We understand, therefore, that it has been granted to every Christian to speak in tongues and to prophesy since these are fundamental expressions of the Holy Spirit. We understand also that to certain members of the Body of Christ a special anointing for speaking in various kinds of languages has been given.

We personally have not witnessed the gift of speaking to other nationalities in their own language, but supernatural occurrences of this type took place in the early years of the twentieth century. It is our belief that the gift of languages will be restored to the Christian churches as a necessary part of the worldwide revival the Scripture foretells for the years just prior to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ from Heaven.

In the Pentecostal movement we have utterances are referred to as "messages in tongues" and "interpretation of tongues." They consist of someone speaking for a few moments in an unknown language, and the same person or another person following with an exhortation in English or in a language usually spoken by the assembled church members.

Of the many instances of this manifestation we have witnessed, there is no doubt in our mind the majority are sponsored by the Holy Spirit. Edification, exhortation, and comfort have resulted from these utterances.

On such occasions, one believer is giving voice to the present burden of the Holy Spirit by praying in the Spirit in a tongue unknown to himself, and then another believer picks up the burden by prophesying in the language native to the assembly. The prophecy is not a literal translation of the utterance in tongues but an independent expression of the current burden of the Holy Spirit.

We do not believe these are what is referred to in First Corinthians, Chapter 12 as "kinds of tongues" and "interpretation of tongues."

No doubt there are occasions when there is a message given to the assembly that is a direct pronouncement in a language, and then someone else in the Spirit translates the pronouncement word for word, neither speaker having command of the language under ordinary circumstances. Such instances of actual translation of an earthly or angelic language appear to be in the minority.

Although we ourselves speak much in tongues in prayer, it is not our point of view that only those Christians who speak in tongues possess the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to be a Christian without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as the most elementary knowledge of redemptive grace makes clear; although it may be true that some Christians have a greater portion of the Spirit than do others.

The reason there are many born-again Christians today who do not speak in tongues (although they should have this blessing) may be understood from the pattern of the restoration of the Christian Church since the days of the Protestant Reformers.

The born-again experience and the pursuit of a holy life were restored before the speaking in tongues. The program of restoration from the time of the Reformers until the present becomes quite evident to anyone who studies church history.

Speaking in tongues and Divine healing have been restored to the Christian churches, and they are here to stay until Jesus returns. Christian people who resist tongues and healing as being of the devil are resisting the Spirit of God and denying a substantial portion of the Bible, while maintaining that the Bible, a record of tongues-speaking and Divine healing, is the infallible Word of the almighty God.

Every Christian should speak in tongues, according to I Corinthians 14:5. He who is speaking in a tongue is building up himself in the most holy faith. If speaking in tongues is available to all saints, and builds us up in God, then we want it. We want every blessing in Christ we can obtain in order to help us through the days in which we are living.

If the reader is a born-again Christian you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. If you have never spoken in tongues, and you believe from the Book of Acts and from First Corinthians you can and you should, why don’t you go to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to give you this blessing.

If you will covet the speaking in tongues earnestly, and give thanks to God and obey Him, it is likely you will find yourself speaking in tongues before many days have passed.

It certainly is true that the ability to speak in tongues in the Spirit of God is an aid to our daily pilgrimage. It is difficult for those of us who pray in tongues a great deal to imagine how believers can get along without this spiritual ability.

Speaking in tongues enables us to enter the "rest of God." As we speak in tongues we cease from our own works and yield to the burden of God’s Spirit. God has been resting since He created the world, knowing that all He has planned shall come to pass. We are to enter that rest, and speaking in tongues helps us to do so.

For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. 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 28:12).

One of the miracles in evidence as the Holy Spirit fell for the first time on the waiting disciples (Acts, Chapter Two) was the proclaiming of the wonderful works of God in the different languages of the listeners, by the disciples who knew nothing of these languages.

On the occasion of the building of the Tower of Babel, God slowed down the rapid development of world culture by issuing several different languages, dividing the one human race into competing factions. God was not ready for mankind to destroy itself by developing a way of life apart from Himself.

When the Holy Spirit was sent forth into the earth, God enabled the members of the Body of Christ to overcome the problem of the language barrier. God was revealing that He will have a world culture governed by Christ in the Church. The Body of Christ will speak the languages of all nations and will describe to them the wonderful works of God.

It is the opinion of the writer that during the unprecedented worldwide preaching of the Gospel with signs and wonders to the ends of the earth, that will take place prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth, the Christians will not be hindered by the language barrier. They will be enabled, through the Holy Spirit, to move out quickly to every city and village, announcing the good news of the Kingdom of God that is at hand.

Our conclusion is that every Christian may speak in tongues. To some members of the Body of Christ there will be given the ability to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom in the various languages they encounter as they obey the Lord’s personal command to them to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every person.


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