CLARIFICATION ON TONGUES
There are not three different types of languages. There is one language which has several uses:
1. proof of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Mk. 16: 17; Acts 2: 4; 10: 44).
2. to give messages to a church fellowship or individual which must be interpreted by somebody who has the Gift of Interpretation. Tongues with interpretation is a “sign for unbelievers” while “prophecy is a sign for believers” (1 Cor. 14: 22).
3. tongues or the gift of languages are to be used in personal prayer (1 Cor. 14: 14 – 15). And when we pray in the Spirit (language) the Holy Spirit will “utter mysteries in the Spirit” which means that He will explain things to us that we do not understand.
4. When a person prays in tongues (language), he or she will be edified. This doe not just mean that a person will feel good. It means that a person will receive healing when they are praying for themselves using the language which the Holy Spirit has given them.
5. A person can be given more than one languages to speak with. However in giving a message in tongues, the person who is giving it should not give the interpretation. It should be somebody else who has the Gift of Interpretation (1 Cor. 14: 27). If not, the person who gives the message will start to manipulate messages which will not be from the Holy Spirit but from themselves or an evil spirit or the devil. Interpretation should be done by someone else who has the Gift of Interpretation of tongues (1 Cor. 14: 17). In most church fellowships there will usually be two or more people who have the Gift of Interpretation of tongues and who will be able to agree on the interpretation. This prevents people from giving messages that are not from self, a lying spirit or the devil.
There was a man who was called Mr. Pentecost who had received seven different languages.
All public messages must be interpreted, not by the person giving the message but by someone else who has the Gift of Interpretation. There has grown up a wrong teaching that there are two languages: 1. one which a person receives when they receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as initial evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit , and 2. one which is a “prayer language” which not everybody receives. This is a wrong teaching. We all receive a tongues language when we receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit which is the same tongues language that we use in prayer and of which Paul writes, “Pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication” (Eph. 6: 18).
6. The Gift of Speaking in Tongues or new languages or Other National Languages gives the Holy Spirit and us self-control over our tongues and what we say so we will no longer have cursing and blessings coming out of the same mouth (Jas. 3: 1 – 13). Then the Holy Spirit can give us the right words to speak when we are arrested and give testimony we will be given what to say at the moment by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 10: 19).
And, we are supposed to listen to the Holy Spirit every day. This is he reason why Jesus commanded each of the Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (in Greek, every day) (Rev. 2: 7, 11, 17, 29; 3: 6, 13, 22).
And, by the way, when Jesus said, “And when he come, he will convict the world…..he will guide you into all the truth” (Jn. 16: 7 – 15), Jesus meant that the Holy Spirit can talk to us everyday in whatever our natural national languages are. So, the Holy Spirit can speak to us in English or whatever languages you can normally speak.
The question that I am asked most is this, “Is it necessary for Christians to speak in tongues?” Jesus said, “These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will ….. speak in new tongues” which means “new languages”. When we receive the Holy Spirit, He gives us the ability to speak and to pray in real languages spoken today or in the past which we have never learned before. The Greek word for “sign” as defined in the Greek Lexicon means: “a sign or distinguishing mark whereby something is known, sign, token, indication”. The four signs (Mk. 16: 17 – 18) identify authentic Christian Believers. Not everybody receives the Holy Spirit when they have their sins forgiven, as was the case on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4) in Samaria (Acts 8: 15 – 16) or with Paul (Acts 9: 17) or John’s disciples (Acts 19: 6). On the Day of Pentecost, the people in Jerusalem were from many countries and they all heard the 120 people speaking in their own languages which they had never learned naturally (Acts 2: 8).
The “Gift of Speaking in Tongues (languages) is proof that the Holy Spirit is in us. This is God’s unique way to give us control over our mouths and what we say. It shows us that only the Holy Spirit can solve our mouth problem of which James reminds us that “but no human being can tame the tongue-a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (Jas. 3: 8). The “Gift of National Languages” (tongues: 1 Cor. 12: 10) is God’s unique “Communications System” which changes our personal prayer life (1 Cor. 14: 4, 15; Eph. 6: 18) and when combined with the Gift of Interpretation of Tongues can give messages from God to people in worship. (1 Cor. 14: 22, 27).
When Paul writes, “Are all apostles? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?” The answer is “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! BECAUSE ALL HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT”. There were two groups of people in the church, just like today, who rejected the necessity of the Baptism of Holy Spirit: unbelievers (apistos) and outsiders, not fully fledged Christians (idiotes) (1Cor. 14: 24). The same proof is necessary today or else as many people tell me, “There is something missing in me” or “I feel empty all the time” or “Why do I never hear the Holy Spirit speak to me everyday”.
Jesus explained that forgiveness makes us into new wineskins and the Holy Spirit is the New Wine (Lk. 5: 37 – 39). But he also warns, “And no one after drinking old wine desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better’.” In other words, the Holy Spirit does not taste the way that we think He should. Most church people do not like the taste or feeling the Holy Spirit gives them, especially when it is necessary to speak in the new necessary languages that He wants us to have. They go back to the old wine of their ineffective religion. We cannot rely on our feelings (Is: 55: 8).
Many people have written books about why it is no longer necessary to speak in tongues (languages) which proves that they do not have the Holy Spirit in spite of all of their eloquence. They may be religious people but not Spiritual people. It took me about six months to get accustomed to speaking in a language that I did not know and to later find out it was Portuguese. I like most people, had to acquire a taste for the New Wine. And, it opened up a new and exciting way of prayer. I was asked just a few days ago, “Did Jesus speak in tongues?” Yes, of course He did and does. He speaks in all the over 7,000 languages that are spoken on earth today. And through this unique Sign of Speaking in New Languages (Mk. 16: 17) as Jesus said, or as Paul says, “The Gift of Other National Languages” Jesus gives His church the ability to reach every language in the World.
If you have never received the real Baptism of the Holy Spirit, come to one of our meetings or call me on the phone and I will pray with you to receive the Holy Spirit with the signs following (Mk. 16: 17 – 18) of authenticity and proof that your salvation is secure (Eph. 1: 13 – 14).
FRUITS OR GIFTS?
Whenever people try to choose between the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5: 22 – 23) and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12: 6 – 8; 1 Cor. 12: 8 – 10) they are absolutely wrong. The Fruit of the Spirit develops the character of Jesus in us so that we can do the ministry of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit using the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. To think that a Christian can be satisfied with only the “Fruit of the Spirit” is a completely false understanding. That is what James is trying to get people to understand when he wrote, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (Jas. 2: 17). We cannot have one without the others.
For instance, people who say that it is not necessary to speak in tongues (Acts 2: 4) , have no self-control over their tongues (i.e. their mouths and their human tongues) and what they say (Jas. 3: 1 – 12). The Gift of Tongues (languages) gives the Holy Spirit some control over what we say when we are witnessing (Acts 1: 8) and delivers messages from God to His people when used with the Gift of Interpretation of Tongues (languages). The ignorance of the Fruit of the Spirit is unbelievable. For instance, the Fruit of the Spirit which is translated as “meekness” or “gentleness” in Greek the word is “prautes” is describes a person who is 1. submissive to the will of God, 2. teachable in all things, 3. considerate of people’s needs, 4. it describes a person who gets angry at the right time and never at the wrong time and then takes the appropriate action to change the situation. It describes the cheetah which, when it has been fully trained for hunting acts on command of its master. The best example of that was when Jesus entered the Temple and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.” He then drove out all of the people who were selling the animals and the money-changers and upset their tables and prevented anybody to carry anything into the temple. Jesus was demonstrating that we are supposed to get angry at sin and then take the appropriate action to change the situation.
Paul never acted in sin. He acted under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and he had the authority to curse his enemies and get angry with those who opposed the Gospel and challenge them with the Scriptural Truth. We are told that Paul “argued” with those who opposed the Gospel (Acts 17: 2, 17; 18: 4; 19: 9) or another word is to “contend” (Jude 1: 3). It is interesting that there are some ignorant people who would accuse Paul of sinning, when he is used by God as an example of a person who demonstrated “meekness/gentleness” in his ministry. His so-called critics, interestingly, do not have their names or their wrong judgements recorded in the New Testament.
We are supposed to get angry at sin and take the appropriate action to correct the sinful actions. This is the reason why we are told by no one other than Paul, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Eph. 4: 27). He wrote to Timothy, “By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith, among them Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1: 19 – 20). In other words, using his authority, Paul revoked the salvation of these two men. That is the ultimate result of Paul exercising his authority in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament refers to “the anger of the Lord” (Ex. 4: 14 and 101 other places). We are supposed to get angry with sin and offer salvation, healing, deliverance. We are supposed to get angry with sin and use the “Signs Following” to deal with sin. We are supposed to get angry with sin and use the 15 Gifts of the Holy Spirit to change the situation of sin. But many people try to use the Bible to excuse themselves from coming under the authority of Jesus Christ and telling us that the ministry works that we read about in the Scriptures are either not for them or for the church of Jesus Christ today. They are rebellious people who do not like the work of the Holy Spirit and are living in denial. Their end will be as Jesus describe the penalty for acting like goats instead of faithful sheep (Matt. 25: 31 – 46). We are told by Jesus, “Do not judge by appearances; but judge with right judgment” (Jn. 7: 24).
Sin is supposed to make us angry and then with the Holy Spirit’s guidance we are supposed to take the appropriate action to correct the situation. To even suggest that Paul was sinning when he dealt with people who were in sin is completely false. But, it does tell us something about those who would attempt to disregard his teaching. It tells us that they, themselves, are in rebellion against the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have proven that they are out of God’s will. For you see Peter referred to Paul and commended his teaching. He wrote, “So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures” (2 Pet. 3: 14 – 16).
Yours in Jesus,
Rev. Gordon Williams
Rev. Gordon Williams is a Spirit-filled evangelist, pastor, teacher & writer who preaches the full Gospel and who operates in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. He has and continues to witness to all people by leading them to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord and to receive physical, mental and emotional healing by receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. He also has a deliverance ministry. Gordon has preached and ministered in many churches of all denominations throughout Canada, United States and Europe
http://gordwilliams.com/
WALTER KAMBULOW
VICTORY MINISTRIES
