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Being a True Pentecostal

by

Pastor Robert A. Pannier

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Published by
Bridge to Freedom Ministries
P.O. Box 385801
Bloomington, MN 55438

Copying for non-commercial purposes is permitted.

© copyright 2009
All Rights Reserved
Printed in U.S.A.

What is a Pentecostal? This is a question that many of you may not have even thought about before. We may have heard the denominational name, but never really thought about what separates a Pentecostal from the Believer of any other denomination.

The reality is that a true Pentecostal is not someone who is attached to a specific denomination by this name. It has to do with one's relationship with God, and how God is influencing their lives.

This study is intended to show you what the Bible says about Pentecostals. We will look at the very first Pentecost and compare that to the first Pentecost after Jesus' death. As we move through this study we will focus on the key ingredients that make one a Pentecostal and dispel the false teachings that have misled people.

While I do not intend to insult anyone in any way, I intend to speak truthfully about what the Bible teaches. If you find yourself threatened or aggravated by what I have said, I ask that you open your mind to see if I am really saying something that is wrong, and if not then consider how you can apply these teachings to your life.

The Pentecostal Denomination

While I understand that not every Pentecostal church is the same, there are some features of each church that are nearly universal. It is on these common traits that I will attempt to teach about what this denomination believes.

Pentecostalism is a Christian religion which places special emphasis on one's personal experience with God, especially with the Holy Spirit. In fact, it is believed that true Pentecostals have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and as a result are able to speak in tongues.

The primary Biblical text that supports the teaching of this theology comes from the events that happened in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came upon the Disciples. In Acts 2:1-11 we read:

¹ When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"

It is the Disciples' ability to speak in "tongues" that were not native to them that makes those in this denomination believe that a true Pentecostal is one who can speak a language that they have not learned.

Pentecostalism is quite a broad term for many smaller denominational groups, including the Church of Christ, Assemblies of God, United Pentecostal Church, Oneness and Holiness movements. Theologically, these various denominations emphasize the reliability of the Bible and the need of each individual to transform their lives through faith in Jesus.

Pentecostal theology was shaped by the movements that grew out of the Wesleyan Holiness and Higher Life movements. Members of these groups believed that after their conversion experience, known as the "first blessing," there was a "crisis experience of sanctification" (known as the second blessing). It was believed in this second blessing that one would find that sin had been completely eliminated from their life, resulting in "sinless perfection." Some however did not believe that sinless perfection could be reached and instead taught that this second blessing consecrated them for evangelism, while making the Believer much less sinful than before.

Together, there developed a three-fold process by which one was brought to sanctification: conversion, progressive sanctification, and baptism in the Holy Spirit.

While the level of sinfulness was an area of contention, one point of agreement was that during this second blessing one would be instilled with the Holy Spirit and be able to speak in tongues. According to most Pentecostals, tongues did not mean that one spoke in a language like Russian or French, but instead in an "unknown" language that allowed them to have a "private" line of communication with God.

Within the Pentecostal faith many of the traditional rituals are still followed, including both baptism and communion. However, they are in disagreement with other denominations in how the Holy Spirit has manifested Himself in the Believer.

Within Pentecostalism there is a deep emphasis on spiritual gifts, especially the gifts of healing, prophecy and speaking in tongues. One is considered to be filled with the Holy Spirit only after they have demonstrated their ability to exhibit these gifts. If a person is unable to show these gifts they are "coached" so that they can learn to perform them.

This is most prevalent in the area of speaking in tongues. Often Pentecostals speak in a gibberish language that is called glossolalia, or they articulate a language that they claim was once used in ancient times, but is now unknown to present day society. This language is called xenoglossy.

Pentecost in the Old Testament

Now that we understand some of what the Pentecostal movement is about, let us focus on how Pentecost came to be a significant date in the minds of Christians.

What is not understood by many Christians is that Pentecost did not begin in Acts 2. The first Pentecost had actually occurred some 1200 years before this when the Israelite people came to Mount Sinai, so that God could give them the Law.

If you remember, the Israelites had cried out to God, and He had sent them a savior in the form of Moses to free them from the captivity of the Egyptians. After God brought a series of plagues upon Egypt, Pharaoh finally agreed to let the people go after God struck down the first-born of the Egyptians. This event is commemorated in Passover.

The Israelites left Egypt and headed toward the land of Canaan, but as they came to the Red Sea Pharaoh had changed his mind and decided to attack the Israelites before they could get away. God then opened the Red Sea and they were able to cross to the other side. When the Egyptians attempted to follow them God brought the waters back and the Egyptian army was destroyed.

Safe from the Egyptians God then led the people to Mount Sinai. It was here that the people were going to hear God for themselves for the first time.

In Exodus 19:9 we read:

⁹ The LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you." Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said.

God wanted the people to hear His voice so that they would know they could trust the things Moses told them. God also wanted them to hear Him directly so He could foster a more personal relationship with them. In Exodus 19:4-6 God says of the Israelites:

⁴ 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. ⁵ Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, ⁶ you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

God wanted them to know that they would be very special to Him, and this would be accomplished by them hearing Him directly. It also meant that they would be able to communicate with Him directly.

After three days, God appeared to the Israelites just as He said He would. Verses 16-19 tell us:

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, ¹⁹ and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.

This must have been both an awesome and yet terrifying site. Here was God descending down upon the mountain with massive amounts of smoke and fire appearing, while the ground trembled violently. It must have caused the people to be nearly paralyzed at what they were witnessing.

In Exodus 20 we read that God then began to give the Israelite people the Law. They were intended to hear this for themselves so that they would know what God demanded of them, but they could not bear to listen. After He gave them the Ten Commandments they became too terrified to listen any longer and they ran away. Exodus 20:18-19 tells us:

¹⁸ When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹ and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."

They not only decided that they would not listen to God, but that they would simply do as Moses told them. It is interesting because God's original reasoning for wanting them to hear His voice was so that they would know that they could trust Moses. And this is what they begged Moses to allow them to do. It just proves that God is so far ahead of us in thought that it is staggering.

Moses attempted to encourage them to return and listen to God. Verse 20:

²⁰ Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."

Moses understood that if they did not hear God and listen to what He had to say that they would not have proper fear and respect for God, which would lead them to hang onto their sinful ways. The people remained at a distance however.

Even though the Israelites did not hear the entire Law from God, this day was still commemorated as Pentecost. Pentecost, the word, means fifty, and was related to the fact that it was fifty days after the people left Egypt at Passover that they heard God. This was the original feast of Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks.

But there was a big problem. The Israelite people had only heard the Ten Commandments and God had a lot more for them that they needed to learn. Since they would not listen for themselves, Moses had to receive the remainder of the Law to relay to them. So Moses went up the mountain to receive the Law from God.

He was gone for forty days and the people began to get restless. In Exodus 32:1 it reads:

¹ When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."

So Aaron did as they asked and built a golden calf for them to worship, and worship that calf is exactly what they did.

God was outraged at what they were doing and intended to destroy them, but Moses talked God out of this. Yet when he returned to them, he too was angry at what they had done, and as a result he threw the tablets that contained the Ten Commandments that God had give him down to the ground, smashing them.

Moses then gave the people an ultimatum to choose who they would serve, God or these false gods. We are told the Levites chose God, and they were the ones who executed those who did not choose the Lord. That day 3000 were executed for their failure to follow God. I want you to keep that number in mind, because we will see its significance in a moment.

Pentecost in the New Testament

Forty days after Jesus' death and resurrection, He ascended into Heaven. The Disciples were alone. They were afraid and were hiding in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem. Ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, an amazing event occurred. We pick up the story in Acts 2:1-11:

¹ When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome. ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"

This was an amazing event in the lives of the Disciples, because it caused a dramatic transformation in them. Consider that just seven weeks prior to this Peter had denied three times that he even knew Jesus. One of these denials was made to a teenage girl. The rest of the Disciples had fled when Jesus was captured and killed, and after His ascension into Heaven, they had all been living in fear of being captured and killed.

Suddenly the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they are emboldened to speak for Jesus. Peter courageously speaks about Jesus and the sacrifice He made. Soon they would be going all over the area and preaching the Gospel message. Even when the religious leaders had them flogged they still bravely delivered this message without concern for their lives. Quite a difference from what was occurring before. The Holy Spirit had clearly changed them.

On the day of Pentecost Peter gave the first message about Jesus. Acts 2:37-41 then tells us:

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

³⁸ Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call."

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."

⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

As a result of these men and women hearing Peter's message three thousand became Believers that day. Remember in our last section the Israelites refused to hear God, and so three thousand died. This was around the time of the first Pentecost. Here we have Peter and the Disciples hearing what God wanted them to do, then going out and teaching the Gospel, resulting in three thousand being saved. What an interesting contrast in that we learn: when one listens, God is able to do amazing things. When we fail to hear, disaster occurs.

How Tongues Became So Important

The story told to us in Acts 2 is an amazing account of how God began the teaching of the Gospel message to the citizens of Jerusalem. This message would eventually spread throughout all of Asia and the entire Roman-controlled world of Europe and Africa, as well as into Ethiopia. It was all made possible by the Disciples willingness to hear what God wanted them to do, and to act obediently to that Word. This is the true message of this event - listen to God and obey.

However along the way the focus of this event has been placed on the fact that the Disciples were able to speak in tongues. The idea was then developed that one has the anointing of the Spirit on them when they are able to speak in tongues.

But this is not the only reference to a person being able to speak in tongues. In Mark 16:17-18 we read:

¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

This again seems to support the idea that one will demonstrate his or her conversion in Jesus by speaking in a new tongue.

Before I continue, I think I should clarify that a tongue is a language. Tongue comes from the Greek word glossa, which means tongue, as in language. So when we are told that one speaks in a tongue it means that they speak in a language. By implication this would mean a language that is known, such as French, Russian or Italian.

When Pentecostals began to review the text of what happened at Pentecost they focused on the fact that the proof to the people in Jerusalem that something amazing had happened was that the Disciples were able to speak in the languages of all the different people. We are even told that the crowd was "bewildered" when they heard the Disciples speak in all these different tongues.

This was a supernatural event. The Disciples did not know all of these different languages and the bewilderment of the people demonstrates that this is true. The only way that they could have spoken in these different "tongues" was if God had supernaturally given them the ability.

The theology then began to develop that one was only filled with the Spirit if you were able to speak in tongues. This was very distressing to many, because they were simply unable to speak another language, and so many turned to the so-called "unknown" tongue, which we will discuss later.

Understand that many were looking for some sort of validation that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The theology developed that the only way that one could "prove" that they were anointed by the Spirit was to speak in tongues, and so the push for using the "unknown" tongue as a way to communicate with God was instituted. Tongues therefore became the form of validation that many needed to feel and show they were anointed.

Corinth

In our next section we are going to be learning about Paul's references to tongues, but before we do so, I think it would be beneficial for us to know a little bit about Corinth. This may help us to understand the context in which Paul writes.

Corinth is highlighted by a star in the picture to the right. You can see that it was a perfect location for trade. Not only did you have people from the north, but you had merchant vessels coming from Africa, Asia and Rome that brought their goods to Corinth as well.

But goods were not the only things that were exchanged here. Because of the great diversity of the people that came, you also had a trade of cultures. Corinth was probably the most ethnically diverse area of the time.

It also was known for its diversity in religious beliefs and practices. If there was a religion that was known by the Romans it was practiced in Corinth. This meant that a lot of mystical religions were experienced there. Many of these religions used drugs and alcohol to enhance their experiences with their gods. This led to ecstatic behavior, including uncontrollable laughter and crying, as well as incoherent chanting, convulsions and rapturous dancing.

The experience of the person with their gods became the most essential aspect of their relationship. This began to infiltrate the Christian faith as well, as new Christians brought their experiences from their pagan gods and wanted to have those same feel-good moments with the Father.

It is in the backdrop of this culture that Paul addresses many issues with them including the gift of tongues.

What Paul Said About Speaking in Tongues

Within the Book of Acts and Paul's first letter to the Corinthians there are 22 references to tongues. In the interest of being thorough I will mention them all here as we go through this section.

In Acts there is only one reference to someone speaking in tongues. This is told to us in Acts 19:6:

⁶ When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongue s and prophesied.

This occurred while Paul was in Ephesus. If you read this account you will see that in the previous city that Paul had visited, Corinth, that he had met some opposition, and that this opposition had finally worn him down. He simply quit. Then God came to him and encouraged him to keep going, and so he did.

When he came to Ephesus amazing things began to happen. He was literally on a roll there. Vast numbers of people got saved, there was revival and healing like you cannot imagine, and the Gospel message was being spread all throughout Asia. It was an amazing time.

This whole revival began when Paul entered the city and met these men who had been baptized by disciples of John the Baptist, but who knew nothing of Jesus. Once they had accepted Jesus and had been filled with the Holy Spirit they were able to speak in tongues.

What I want you to see here is that this moment was much like that when the Disciples preached the message on the day of Pentecost. Ephesus was a major trading center between Southern Europe, Africa and Asia. Literally hundreds of thousands of people travelled through this city each year. Because of this there were people who spoke many different languages. By these men speaking in tongues, they would have been able to speak the Gospel message to all that were in the city. It would be another example of people saying, "Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?" (Acts 2:8) This dramatic moment of people hearing this message in their own language was done to reach these unbelieving Ephesians and visitors to the city.

I want you to see that while it is the Spirit that gave them the ability to speak in these languages we cannot assume that only if you speak in a new language are you filled with the Holy Spirit. In addition, this would not have been a case of people speaking in "unknown" tongues (which we will talk more about in the next section). The tongues that these men spoke were recognizable, and this enabled them to minister to the people in the city.

It is from this point that all the references we have to tongues related to Paul are in his first epistle to the Corinthians.

Paul clearly spells out for us that speaking in tongues is a gift from the Holy Spirit. We read in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10:

⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongue s, and to still another the interpretation of tongue s

He reiterates this in 1 Corinthians 12:28:

²⁸ And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongue s.

Paul mentions a series of gifts of the Spirit here, which we see include miracles, healing, teaching and administration. It is important that we understand the way that Paul uses this word - gift.

A gift is not something that one forces someone to give them; then it is not a gift. It also means that we cannot force God into giving us anything. He does this according to His will and purpose. In 1 Corinthians 12:7 Paul states it this way:

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

The in verse 11 he tells us:

¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

Paul wants us to understand something about these gifts - the Holy Spirit determines who they go to and we do not. He decides who will use what gifts, not only for God's benefit, but for our own good as well.

What is interesting here is that the word translated as "to each one" in Greek is idios, where we get the English word idiot. Idios implies that the way that God gives these gifts seems stupid to us; that it makes no sense. When we place a theology that says that everyone who is baptized in the Holy Spirit can speak in tongues this honestly defies the way the Spirit works. He does not give gifts in such a way that seems to make sense to us. Remember that the wisdom of man is foolishness to God, and vice versa (1 Corinthians 3:19). So our wise idea that God demonstrates His Spirit by giving tongues to his people is a foolish idea to God.

You see Paul wants us to understand that no one person has all the gifts and not everyone has any one gift either. In 1 Corinthians 12:29-30 he writes:

²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

These are rhetorical questions. Are all apostles? The answer is obviously no. Are all prophets? Again this is no. This also means that not all are teachers, healers or speak in tongues. These gifts are not for all Believers, because the Holy Spirit does things according to His own "idiotic" way.

There was one thing Paul understood very clearly - that those who speak in tongues consider themselves to be superior to everyone else. It was true in Paul's day, and it is still true today. In 1 Corinthians 14:4-6 Paul writes:

⁴ He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵ I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

⁶ Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?

Those who speak in tongues often do so to build themselves up. They build-up a great deal of pride about themselves, and this is demonstrated in the Pentecostal movement. "We can speak in tongues, so we must be filled with the Holy Spirit." This is their thinking, and it is intended to edify themselves, and to tear others down.

Tongues are being used as a tool to hurt and belittle others. When we teach others that we are "better" because we have a gift that they do not have, then we make them believe that they are some how loved less by God. If this is the teaching why would we not imply the same idea toward those who are doctors? They are smarter than most and make more money, so hasn't God anointed them more than a person who is a secretary or dishwasher? Isn't this logic the same? But we do not consider doctors more anointed, and they have special gifts. Why are we considering those speaking in tongues to be more special?

You see the purpose of all gifts, including tongues, is to build each other up, spread the loving message of Jesus, and tear down the gates of hell. In 1 Corinthians 13:1 we read:

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

Unfortunately we have a lot of clanging cymbals going on.

In 1 Corinthians 13:8 he writes:

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongue s, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

You see if we truly loved one another we would not need tongues, but we don't have love for one another the way we should. This means that tongues are still necessary, but since they are being used so inappropriately we are seeing an even greater lack of love being displayed. They need to be used in the right way, which is in love.

It was for this reason that Paul gave some very clear instructions on how tongues were to be used.

In 1 Corinthians 14:13-14 we read:

¹³ For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.

He further writes in 1 Corinthians 14:26-27

²⁶ What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. ²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, two-or at the most three-should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.

Within this teaching Paul gives two very simple instructions related to the use of tongues: no more than two or three speaking in tongues at any one time, and someone must be there to interpret what is being said.

Whether you believe in the unknown tongue or not, which I will discuss more later, it is clear that only a few people should be speaking in different tongues at one time. The reason is that when there are a large group of people speaking in several different "languages" it causes chaos and looks silly to be honest.

This is seen a lot in churches that are more charismatic in nature. There will be a time of prayer where several people will begin to pray out loud in these "unknown" languages. I have been present at several of these services and have witnessed lots of people speaking in these unknown tongues. To be honest I am not sure if they are all speaking in the same language or not. To me it is very confusing, and I am a Believer. I can't imagine what it would be like for someone who does not know anything about tongues at all.

What becomes even more disturbing for me is that these languages are used without an interpreter. Even the person who is at the altar will often speak in these tongues without anyone interpreting what they are saying. This is not what should be happening.

When I raise this point with people I am often told that I should not complain - can't I see the Sprit moving? The answer to that is no. If someone is doing something that is in contradiction to what the Bible teaches, then they are proving that they are not being moved by the Spirit. God does not violate His own Word.

For those who are speaking in known languages, like Chinese, Russian or Arabic, the same rules apply. One can only speak in a language when there is someone present to interpret.

1 Corinthians 14:14-16 states:

¹⁴ For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. ¹⁵ So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. ¹⁶ If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?

This is the primary reason why tongues should not be spoken without an interpreter present. The whole purpose of any gift is to build up the church, all members of the church. Paul confirms this in the verse 17:

¹⁷ You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

There is nothing useful about one person praying or speaking in a language that no one else understands. How are we to apply the Word that is spoken or agree to a prayer request when we don't even know what is being said? The answer is that we can't.

This is what Paul wants us to understand. 1 Corinthians 14:9:

⁹ So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.

I want you to understand that I do not admonish anyone for speaking in tongues. Paul even writes that we should not forbid the speaking of tongues. 1 Corinthians 14:39:

³⁹ Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

I just want them used according to God's purpose, and also used in such a way that all of us can benefit and be built up. When we do not use tongues in a proper fashion then no one really benefits out of it except the person speaking in tongues.

This is why Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:18-19:

¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. ¹⁹ But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

It is important that all benefit out of the use of this gift.

It is also important that we understand the reason why this gift was given to us. God provided this gift so that the unbeliever would be able to hear the Gospel message in his or her own language. This is why the Disciples were able to speak in tongues in Acts 2 and why the men in Ephesus were able to do so in Acts 19. God was ensuring that unbelievers would hear the message clearly and not misunderstand.

Paul confirms that this is the reason that God gave such gifts. 1 Corinthians 14:22-23 tells us:

²² Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. ²³ So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

This not only provides us with the true purpose of why tongues was given by God, but it also shares with us some additional insights on when and why tongues should not be used. Returning to the point I was making earlier, if unbelievers come in and hear someone speaking the Gospel message in their language they are more likely to hear and understand that message. This is why God gave such a gift.

What we must see from the words that Paul writes is that he is talking about a language that anyone of us would identify as a language, like Russian, French or Spanish. The reason we know this is true is that he tells us that tongues were for the benefit of unbelievers. How would an unbeliever be amazed by God if the people in the church were speaking in an unknown tongue? They wouldn't. So he is clearly speaking about a known tongue or language.

He also reveals an essential reason for only speaking two or three at a time. If an unbeliever does come in and sees the chaos of everyone speaking in tongues he or she will think everyone is out of their minds. This is just as true of "known" languages as it is with the "unknown" ones. There should not be ten or fifteen people speaking in different languages. That would sound chaotic, confusing and disturbing.

This verse also teaches us the most important aspect about tongues.they are for unbelievers. If we are in a congregation of Believers there is no reason to speak in tongues. We all believe in Jesus, so tongues will not have any impact on us. This is where the problem results.

As I mentioned before, many use tongues as proof of anointing. They feel they need to use them as much as possible to prove they are filled with the Spirit, so they often use them in incorrect and unbiblical ways. They are concerned about how they look and not about what God wants.

This is my major concern about tongues. They are used to puff up those who speak in them, and to look down on those who do not. Even Paul understood this. We read earlier in 1 Corinthians 4:4:

⁴ He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

Those who speak in tongues really only build themselves up. They tell others "you have to speak in tongues to be anointed" and ignore what Paul says about the fact that the Spirit never intended for everyone to speak in tongues.

I want you to consider the cultural aspect of this for a moment. In Roman days everyone could speak Latin. It was the language of the empire. However, those who were well educated, especially the nobles of society, spoke Greek. If one could speak Greek they were considered superior to those who could not, based solely on the fact that they knew this "highly-cultured" language. Being able to speak in other languages was a greatly sought after skill, and when you had this ability you were treated better than others.

Paul would have been a very well-regarded man. He was from Tarsus, which was a Greek city and thus he would have been able to speak Greek. Being a Pharisee he would have also known Hebrew. It would have been required. But we also know that his ability to travel so freely throughout the empire (as far as Great Britain) meant he could speak Latin as well. He may have been able to speak even more languages, but we know for sure that he could speak these three.

When Paul says that he speaks in more tongues than them (1 Corinthians 14:18) he means he is able to speak more languages than they could, not that he speaks in these languages more often than they do. He could reach so many because he had this gift of languages. It was probably a primary reason why God called him. He was obviously not the only Pharisee who was persecuting Christians at that time, yet God chose him. It may be because he could speak to so many in their native language.

When Paul wrote this letter he understood the pride that came with speaking in other languages. He knew that one could be quite "puffed-up" if they could speak two or more languages, and so he wanted to give the Corinthians a little reality check. If they thought tongues were so important, it wasn't. Prophecy was more important because it benefits everyone, while tongues was only benefitting the speaker.

Now could Paul have been talking about an "unknown" language here? It is possible. He makes two statements in 1 Corinthians 14 that add credibility to this argument.

We first read in 1 Corinthians 14:1-2:

¹ Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. ² For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.

He then writes in 1 Corinthians 14:21:

²¹ In the Law it is written: " Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord.

The first of these quotes seems to say that a person is praying or saying things that are only understandable by God. This would be that unknown prayer language. It is made clear that these words are only spoken so that God can understand, and so the argument for the "unknown" language seems to be sensible. If one speaks to God in a language that is not common to most people, then he is uttering "mysteries" with his spirit.

This seems to be a very solid argument, but I believe it takes this verse out of context.

Another explanation is that when one speaks in these "mysteries" it is not about the language that is being used, but is instead about the content of what is said. In John Gill's Exposition on the Entire Bible he writes of this verse:

howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries; though under the influence and by the extraordinary gift of the Spirit he has, and to his own Spirit and understanding, and with great affection and devotion within himself, he speaks of the deep things of God, and the mysteries of his grace, the most glorious truths of the Gospel, yet the meaning of his voice and words not being known, he is a barbarian to them that hear him; and though what he delivers are truths of the greatest importance, they are a mere jargon to others, being unintelligible.

This could be one possibility. The words would seem unintelligible to most, not because the words are in another language, but simply because they are only understandable by God. Gill also tells us that it could have been people speaking in barbaric languages, which the Corinthians considered to be any language that wasn't Greek. (Barbarian is not as nefarious a term as we think today. In those days it simply meant someone who was not taught in the Greek way.)

In the Geneva Bible translation notes we are provided an interesting observation about tongues that fits into Paul's statement about them being used to edify oneself:

He reprehends their perverse judgment concerning the gift of tongues. For why was it given? The answer: so that the mysteries of God might be the better known to a greater number. By this it is evident that prophecy, which the gift of tongues ought to serve, is better than this: and therefore the Corinthians judged incorrectly, in that they made more account of the gift of tongues than of prophesying: because no doubt the gift of tongues was a thing more to be bragged of. And hereupon followed another abuse of the gift of tongues, in that the Corinthians used tongues in the congregation without an interpreter. And although this thing might be done to some profit of him that spoke them, yet he corrupted the right use of that gift because there came by it no profit to the hearers. And common assemblies were instituted and appointed not for any private man's commodity, but for the profit of the whole company.

The author here notes that it was the misuse of tongues, whether known or unknown, that made it so that only the Spirit understood the words. It is an intentional misuse of tongues which makes it so that men cannot profit in the revelation; that God is the only one who can understand it because He is God, and understands everything.

In the next verse (1 Corinthians 14:21) we are told of men that speak in "strange" tongues. This is a very unfortunate translation of this verse because it is quite misleading. The King James says it this way:

²¹ In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.

This is better because the King James translates the same word, heteros, the same way, using the word other, which is the correct interpretation. The NIV chose to translate this word once as foreign and the other time as strange. It is in the translation to strange that one might get the idea that he is speaking about glossolalia, but he is not. He is just speaking of languages that were different than those spoken in Corinth (Greek), and from people who were from areas other than this city.

This is not speaking about an unknown tongue. It is solely speaking about foreign languages.

The Deception of the "Unknown" Tongue

In light of what we have learned in our last section, and considering that Corinth was the center of pagan and mystical religions I think it is to our benefit to discuss these "unknown" tongues more thoroughly.

In 1 Corinthians 14:2-4 we read:

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.

³ But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

⁴ He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

I quoted from the King James Version of the Bible here, because in the NIV and NASB versions of the Bible the word "unknown" is not included at all. This is because "unknown" is a word that is added by the translators of the KJV. In the Young's Literal Version these verses read:

² for he who is speaking in an [unknown] tongue -- to men he doth not speak, but to God, for no one doth hearken, and in spirit he doth speak secrets;

³ and he who is prophesying to men doth speak edification, and exhortation, and comfort;

⁴ he who is speaking in an [unknown] tongue, himself doth edify, and he who is prophesying, an assembly doth edify;

They placed the word unknown in brackets because they wanted us to understand that this is not literally in the text. Clearly the translators understood that unknown was not written by Paul, but they could not resist including the word, probably because of their own opinion that "unknown tongues" are a way of communicating with God.

Even The Message Bible feels a need to add to this verse, although they do not call these "unknown" tongues, but instead refer to them as "private" tongues.

I bring this up because a great deal of theology has been developed to push the idea that to truly be anointed by the Spirit of God one must be able to speak in these unknown tongues. I find this amazing that so much emphasis has been placed on a word that is not even in the Bible.

The only reason so many consider it "authoritative" to trust this is because they have been convinced that if you are not using the King James Version of the Bible you might as well be reading a cookbook; that only the KJV provides the true translation of the Bible. While I agree that the KJV is probably the most accurate, it is not without error, and this is one of those places.

Why I become so concerned with this idea is because so many believe that these tongues are proof that God has somehow anointed a person. The reality is that Satan uses tongues and glossolalia, too.

Let's return back to Acts 2 for a moment. In verses 12-13 we read:

¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine.

When all of these people heard the Disciples speaking in their native language they did not think this was God at all. In fact they thought this was the work of something disreputable like being drunk. They made fun of the Disciples for this.

What this shows us is that many had probably already seen this kind of "miracle" before, and those things were not connected with God or His Spirit. They were in fact related to drugs and Satan.

I will tell you that I personally saw a situation like this once. I worked in inpatient psychiatry in the army, and there came an 18 year-old man who had endured a psychotic break. During this break he could speak and write Spanish perfectly. He had never learned it, and was not raised around Spanish speaking people at all. When he was placed on medication and got better he could no longer speak Spanish anymore. This was supernatural for sure, but it was not for God's purpose at all.

I add this story because I want you to be aware of the fact that people do gain supernatural gifts like this and it has nothing to do with God at all. In fact, if we research the history of "unknown" tongues we will find that they were actually used by Satan first, and not by God. In George A. Barton's book, Archaeology and the Bible, he speaks of a young man who was an Amen worshipper who was known to speak in a strange, ecstatic "tongue," In the "Report of Wenamon," an ancient text which gives the oldest account of glossolalia we read:

"Now, when he sacrificed to his gods, the gods seized one of his noble youths, making him frenzied, so that he said, 'Bring the god hither! Bring the messenger of Amen who hath him. Send him and let him go.' "

We find that about 700 years later the Greek philosopher Plato discusses this "gift." In Phaedrus, he talked about several families he knew that spoke in an ecstatic speech, praying and uttering incantations while "possessed." He even mentions that during some of these times that people were healed of physical ailments and diseases.

Plato believed that these occurrences were caused by divine intervention, but he attributed them to the gods of the Greeks, such as Zeus, Helen and Athena. He even thought that these gods took control of these men and women while they slept and then inspired in them to speak these utterances when they had awakened.

The Great Roman Poet Virgil also attests to these phenomena nearly one-hundred years before Christ was born. He describes in his Epic tale, The Aeneid, about a priestess from Sibylline who lived on the Island of Delos. He tells of how she spoke in an ecstatic tongue, which caused her to be united with the god Apollo. We are told that this priestess was a prophetess who could foretell the future, and spoke through "mystic utterances" that were unintelligible to others. We are also told that while she was meditating "eerie sounds of the wind playing strange music" could be heard from the cave where she prayed.

The early church Father John Chrysostom also attested to these unknown utterances. He writes in his Homilies on First Corinthians:

This same Pythons then is said, being a female, to sit at times upon the tripod of Apollo astride, and thus the evil spirit ascending from beneath and entering the lower part of her body, fills the woman with madness, and she with disheveled hair begins to play the bacchanal and to foam at the mouth, and thus being in a frenzy to utter the words of her madness.

Throughout history many cults have used unknown utterances in their religious practices. We know pharaohs in Egypt spoke in strange, unintelligible languages in worshipping the god Osiris. Many other cults built the foundation of their religion around being possessed by spirits and this was manifested by speaking in strange, unknown utterances. This included the Mithra cult in Persia, and the Eulusinians, Dionysians, and Orphic cults in Macedonia and Greece. In fact these kinds of unknown utterances were widely used by the oracles at Delphi. We read in Moffatt's New Testament Commentary:

Oracles of the great 'lord' at the Shrine of Delphi, as Heraclitus put it, were revelations of the god's will through ecstasy, not through sensible words. So were the Sybil's unintelligible cries. A priest or priestess, seized by sudden trances of the spirit, uttered mystic sayings, which were held to be all the more divine as they were least rational or articulate. Philo in Alexandria had taken over the Greek notion, arguing that such ecstasy, when the mind or unconscious reason was superseded, was the highest reach of the human soul in its quest for God.

We also see that there is some mention in the book De Dea Syria, written in approximately 190 AD by Lucian of Samosata, of glossolalia spoken by a believer of June, the Syrian goddess.

As we can see here, unknown tongues are not a New Testament idea, and in fact are not even a Biblical idea. We should also know that the word glossolalia, which is used to describe the language by Pentecostals, was used as the word to describe these languages for hundreds of years before the day of Pentecost.

I mention all of this because I think it is important that we understand that we are incorporating a pagan belief as part of the Christian faith, and are believing that it is Biblical to do this. That should be a concern to anyone using these languages.

I know I first became concerned with this myself when I was in prison. I was so desirous of wanting to learn all I could about the Bible and was taking several Bible studies. A friend of mine told me I should be taking the Bible study by Jerry Savelle Ministries and so I wrote to them asking to get their materials. They wrote back to me with an application form, asking me to fill it out and send it back. One of the questions on it was, "Do you speak in tongues." I checked "no" and sent it back.

About three weeks later I received a packet of information on the need to speak in tongues to demonstrate that I was filled with the Holy Spirit. They even had instructions for me to "learn" how to speak in tongues. They said to simply start making noises and then let God do the rest. That sounded outrageous to me to be honest. I liken it to telling a child when he or she is only five months old to simply start making noises and it will just turn into English. No one would agree that this is a good idea, yet this is what they expected me to do.

We should also consider the lives of two people who we know were filled with the Holy Spirit - Jesus and John the Baptist. Jesus received the Holy Spirit on the day of His baptism, and I am sure we would all agree that He was filled with the Holy Spirit. Yet He never spoke in tongues; at least we are never told that He did. He prayed in front of His Disciples continuously, but not once are we told that He prayed in an "unknown" tongue, or even in a different language than them. Why was this? Because He wanted them to know what He was praying about. He wanted an "Amen" to His words (1 Corinthians 14:14-16).

Many Charismatics state to me that the reason that they speak in tongues is to have a private prayer language with God. A language where Satan cannot hear what they are telling God. My question for them is "Why would you not want Satan to know?" In all seriousness, I want Satan to know exactly what I am asking of God, because there is not one thing he can do about it. I want him to know that I asked God for something and God did it. I want him to see how weak and feeble he is in comparison to my God. If he does not hear what I am praying about he not only doesn't see the power of God, but he also doesn't see the authority that God has given me.

Jesus understood this. He not only wanted His Disciples to know what He was saying, He also wanted Satan to know. It was like Jesus was rubbing His prayers in Satan's face, telling him: "Here is what is going to happen, and you can't do anything about it." Jesus was declaring that He had all the authority, and when I am praying I want Satan to still remember that.

John the Baptist was also filled with the Holly Spirit. In Luke 1:15 we are told that he was filled since his birth:

¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.

Yet he, too, never spoke in tongues. His manner of speaking was different (which we will discuss in a later section), but he did not speak in "unknown" languages. God wanted people to know what John was praying about.

Even John's mother, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, but she did not speak in an "unknown" tongue. In Luke 1:40-45 we are told that she was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to shout blessings upon Mary. Here was her tongue.

⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

It was not a different language, but a different way of speaking.

I will elaborate more on this later, but for now let us realize that speaking in a "new tongue" can mean speaking differently than you did before. This is what Elizabeth did. She was inspired by God to say something she would not have known to say had she not been filled with the Holy Spirit.

Now are there unknown tongues? I would say yes. It is clear from the accounts that I have given here that unknown tongues have existed for over 3000 years. But it is also apparent that these languages have mostly been used in cults and pagan rituals. We have even seen that people using these languages were able to heal people and speak prophecy. This should tell us that we need to be very discerning about using them or listening to those who are using them.

This warning should be even more important to us considering the area that we are talking about. We read earlier that Corinth was the center of mystical religions, where experience with one's god played the most prominent role in the relationship with that deity. When we start to emulate the behavior of those people, this should be cause for us to reflect on whether that "experience" is really about God or not.

Ecstatic chanting and speaking in "unknown" languages was an integral part of these pagan, mystical religions. When we see others speak in this way why are we not drawing some concerns about what we are witnessing; especially when we know (using Paul's explanation) that most are doing it for their own benefit?

Again, I am not saying that these tongues do not exist, and are not used by God, but that we need to be discerning about what we see and what we do as to whether it is truly about God or not. We know why the Corinthians used them. It is time that we ask ourselves if we are trying to be more like them, or more like Jesus.

We need to understand that often ideas and rituals that are in other religions look appealing to many Christians. This is why Saturnalia turned into Christmas, Mary is worshipped as co-mediator, and religious leaders are worshipped as gods. We incorporate pagan ideas, and this could be the case here.

Valuing All Gifts of the Spirit

One thing that is very clear is that whether we are talking about tongues, prophecy, or healing, there are many who are valuing some gifts as more "blessed" by God; that when a person is able to demonstrate certain gifts they are somehow more anointed than others. This is not only inaccurate, but is unbiblical as well.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 reads:

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

We are told by Paul that all gifts come from God's Spirit. What this means is that all gifts are equally valued by God. And here is something that I think is often missed. All these gifts require other gifts to be able to work.

Later in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 Paul gives us a list of some of the gifts of the Spirit:

⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

If you look at each of these gifts you will see one gift will not work without the benefit of at least one other gift. For example, if one had knowledge then he or she would be able to know what God's way is. Yet, if someone with God's wisdom was not present then the knowledge would be useless. If wisdom was not there to demonstrate how to apply the knowledge then knowledge would be of no use. And if there was wisdom, yet no knowledge as to what needed to be changed then the wisdom would be useless.

This is true of tongues as well. If there is a person speaking in tongues, yet no interpreter, then the message spoken would be useless. Likewise, if there is an interpreter present, and no person who can speak in tongues, then the interpreter would be useless.

What this shows is that we need each other and we need all these gifts.

It is comparable to saying that all should know English, but not math. Or that math should be less valued than science. I am sure that if our school systems said that they were only going to teach science because it is way more important to learn than any other subject, we would be upset about that. In essence, this is what Pentecostals are teaching.

Paul tells us that there are different kinds of services, gifts and workings of God, but the same God is behind it all. All of what the Holy Spirit provides to us is at the orchestration of the Holy Spirit, not by our direction. By convincing everyone that they must speak in tongues they are not letting the Spirit guide; they are letting their spirit direct.

He then writes in 1 Corinthians 12:7:

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

This is one of the greatest indictments against the idea of everyone speaking in tongues. We already read that tongues are for the edification of the person speaking them, and not really for the benefit of all. Here we are told that everyone should benefit from someone's gift. This is not what is happening with those who use their gift of tongues. They are only edifying themselves.

The Holy Spirit has given us these gifts because He wants all of us to grow and build up each other. For this to happen all of us must use the gifts that God has given to us, by His reasoning, to benefit each other.

Paul continues to drive home the idea that all gifts are essential and important, and that each gift is given to some and not all, by describing Believers as a body. In 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 we see:

¹² The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

¹⁴ Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The most telling of his insights comes in the latter part of these verses where he explains to us that an ear does not tell an eye that it should be an ear, and that if a whole body was an eye that it would be useless. This is true of the body of Christ as well. If all of us are focused on just a few gifts then we are not going to be a fully functioning unit winning people for Jesus and defeating the gates of hell.

Truthfully, we do not need everyone to speak in tongues, to prophecy, or to heal. God provides what we need all the time, just in the nick of time, according to His plan. If there is a situation where God is going to heal someone, He will provide a person who will be able to heal. It may mean that a person receives a one-time anointing to heal. Regardless, when God is going to supernaturally heal someone you can be sure it will happen.

If we need a person with a word of knowledge, we need to know that God will provide it for us. We do not need to teach that all of us need to go and speak in a tongue or to heal to make us a better body. We just need to encourage those who have specific gifts to use them.

I will tell you that I know I have a few gifts from God. I have been gifted to teach and pastor, and I have the gifts of knowledge and wisdom. While I can keep records, I am terrible in administration. I am one of the least organized persons that there is, as evidenced by my desk. This is not a gift of mine. I need someone to assist me in administration for me to be more efficient. I can speak a little of a few different languages, but this is not my gift either. If I need something said in another language I have lots of friends who can translate my words into other languages.

You see this is how God wants it. He knows that if I want to teach a person in Mexico what God has revealed to me then I need a tongue-speaker - a translator. I then become in need of another person to assist me in doing God's work.

This is God's plan for all of us. He wants us to see the need for each other. If all of us have the same gifts His work will not advance as it should. We need each person to use the gifts that God has given them so that we can win this world for Jesus.

We ALL Speak in a New Tongue Already

While I disagree with the idea that we are all intended to speak in these "unknown" languages, I do think all of us speak a new language when we become Believers - the language of God's love. When a person commits to Jesus the Holy Spirit comes to them and transforms the manner in which they speak.

In 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 Paul discusses the use of tongues quite extensively. He stops right in the middle of this discussion to share what love is all about. In 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 we read:

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Paul understood that people were taking their gifts, especially the gift of tongues, and were using it in a very unloving and selfish way. This is why he wanted to reiterate to them what love is all about, because when we understand love and love one another there is no need for all these languages. In fact, when we love one another then we all speak the same language - the language of God's love.

Besides language there are two other uses for the word "tongue" in the Bible. The first is the physical tongue in your mouth and the second is the words that come from one's mouth. It is in this form that I believe all of us begin to speak in the tongue of God.

When you accept Jesus there should be a change in everything you do. It should not just be a removal or decrease of sin in your life, but should be a change in your actions, a transformation in the way you think, and an overhaul in the way that you speak. You should find yourself saying things that bring glory to God, edify one another, and demonstrate the face of God. This is done in the things we say.

The Book of Psalms gives a great contrast between the tongue of God and the tongue of man. We read of the tongue of man:

Psalm 5:9 - Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.

Psalm 10:7 - His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.

Psalm 50:18-20 - ¹⁸ When you see a thief, you join with him;
       you throw in your lot with adulterers.  ¹⁹ You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. ²⁰ You speak continually against your brother and slander your own mother's son.

Psalm 52:2,4 - ² Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit.. ⁴ You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue!

There are more examples, but I think you get the idea of what the tongue of man looks like. It is a tongue full of deceit, which uses harmful words, bringing shame to God. It is deplorable on every level.

But understand that it is not the physical tongue of a person that is bad. It is the words that come from a person's mouth - the language they speak. This is used to destroy others and to tear each other down.

It is very well summarized in James 3:5-6, where we read:

⁵ Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

It is what comes out of our mouths, our words, our way of speaking, our use of the language, which brings such corruption. This is the language that must be changed.

God then shows us how a Believer's language should change when they accept Jesus.

Psalm 15:2-3 - ² He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart  3 and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman,.

Psalm 35:28 - My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long.

Psalm 37:30 - The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.

Psalm 126:2 - Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongue s with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."

Again, there are many other verses that teach us what the tongue of God is like, but we can see from here what our language should be. We should be praising God, speaking things that are true and righteous, and doing nothing to injure our neighbor. We should be edifying each other, and this is what Paul wanted us to do. He told us that these gifts were to build up the body, and when we speak the tongue of God we can do nothing but build up others.

If you are looking for a really good summary of what the tongue of man looks like in comparison to the tongue of God, look at Galatians 5:19-21 in comparison to Galatians 5:22-23:

¹⁹ The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control.

If you want to know what God's language looks like just ask yourself how your words rate in this list. Do you fly off the handle and start yelling at people when you get mad, or do you maintain your cool, and explain things to teach others the right way? Are ALL of your words said with love or do you find yourself using hateful words to talk to and about others? Do you speak discord into situations and gossip, or do you bring peace and unity to other lives through the loving words you say?

You should find yourself speaking words to edify each other. They may not all be this way at first, and it may take time to master this language, but keep in mind no one learns Spanish in a day. It takes time, and learning God's language will as well. I bet many of you can see that your language has changed already. You probably swear less, tell fewer course jokes, speak friendlier to others, and have more positive words for people. If this is true, you are beginning to master the language of God. You are already speaking in tongues!

What It Means to Be a Pentecostal

We have spent the greater part of this book discussing how Pentecost got started, and then we discussed some of the fallacies about being a Pentecostal. We now move to understand what makes a Believer a true Pentecostal.

If you remember back in the first two stories about Pentecost (Exodus 19-20 and Acts 2), there was one common theme between the two. It was a time when people heard God for themselves.

The Israelite people came to Mount Sinai for one reason - they were supposed to hear God. As we read before, they refused to do so and ran away. This led to them continuously following false gods.

About twelve hundred years later the Disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to preach the message of the Gospel. They too heard God's voice, but in the form of the Holy Spirit speaking to them in tongues of fire. Acts 2:2-3:

² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

The tongues of fire came and rested on them. In relation to God fire is always a symbol for the Lord's cleansing and presence. We saw that the Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush. He appeared to the Israelite people in a dense cloud of fire on Mount Sinai. He then came upon the Disciples as tongues of fire.

The reason behind this is because fire is often used by God to purify. I understand that people often equate fire and God with eternally burning in hell, but most often in the Bible when God is shown through fire it is because He is about to do some form of cleansing. In this case He came upon the Disciples to commission them to do the work that Jesus had called them to do.

It was through being able to hear God that they then went out to do His work. God spoke to them through these tongues of fire, and when He "settled" on each of them, they were not only anointed, but heard Him very clearly.

It is the combination of these two events that then shows us what a true Pentecostal is - it is someone who hears God for him or herself. So many people are focused on the idea that it is related to talking to God, when it is instead about hearing God for yourself.

In all seriousness, whether you speak in an unknown tongue or not, all of us have no problem talking to God. Most of us have incredible prayer times where we can talk for hours non-stop. So what would adding some other language do for this skill? Nothing. Yet we think this is some kind of special anointing.

Hearing God for yourself is really what sets people apart. It is the ability to hear God that makes one a Pentecostal. But even more than hearing one must have an attitude of obedience to what God says.

The Hebrew word translated as "hear" is shema. It not only means to hear, but also to obey. A Pentecostal then is one who hears God and is willing to do what God commands. I am not saying that they are perfect or do everything right all the time. It is simply having an attitude that wants to do it God's way.

David was a true Pentecostal. God even described him as a man after His own heart. This was because David had an attitude that God was always right, and that He was to be obeyed.

I understand that the popular teaching of today is that one is a Pentecostal when they can speak in tongues, but it is time that we establish that speaking has nothing to do with reaching this level. It is achieved when one can hear God for him or herself and has the heart to obey what God commands.

Hearing God for Yourself

We now understand what makes someone a Pentecostal, so the question becomes how do we hear God for ourselves? For some it may be a question of whether you really want to hear God. Not all of us do. Some are honestly afraid to hear what God has to say. Moses was. The Israelite people were. So do not feel like you are alone if you feel this way.

The reality is that God may ask you to do some things that you are not comfortable doing. You want to do as He wishes but you fear the expectations that God may have for you. Or you fear what He might tell you that you have to give up. This is a big one for many people. They don't want to give up certain aspects of their lives and they would have to do so if they were to truly turn their lives over to God.

This is understandable, but I want you to see that it you choose to not hear it will mean you will only go so far in your relationship with Jesus. Your relationship will be limited. As we will discuss in our next section, it will mean that you will be forced to listen to others about what God says. This is not what God has in mind for you.

I do understand that it can be scary to hear the voice of God, but it is necessary if we are to draw closer to Him. This is true of any relationship. If you do not listen to others your bond will not grow. In fact I would say that if you did not listen to them you would not be in that relationship for very long.

This is true of your relationship with God as well. He wants to be able to talk to you, while also listening to what you have to say. He desires that you would allow yourself to open your heart to what He says and would embrace it. He wants you to be open to Him. As it says in Hebrews 3:15, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." The Lord does not want you to shut Him out.

Jesus also wants us to understand that hearing God's voice is very important. In John 10 Jesus explains that He is the Good Shepherd. That He is the one who watches over and cares for His sheep. But He also explains that there is a way that His sheep know to follow just Him. Verse 4:

⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

The sheep follow their shepherd because they know his voice. If you do not know God's voice you are likely to follow other shepherds. Jesus explains that those "false shepherds" are thieves who intend to harm you. They are trying to steal you away from Jesus.

While it may be scary to hear God because of what He may ask of you, isn't it absolutely terrifying to find yourself following the voice of someone other than Jesus? These voices lead away from our Lord and to the path of destruction. Therefore we must avoid them with all due diligence.

So how do we hear God's voice? And if we do hear a voice, how do we know it is God's?

I am not going to spend a large amount of time discussing this, because it is a subject that does require some detail to accurately explain well. However, I will give some information to help you to get started, and then I will let God do the rest.

First understand that God does not necessarily think and communicate as we do. He may not like to talk loudly, or speak in some kind of slang. He most likely will want to speak to you in a way that requires you to focus on just Him.

In 1 Kings 19:11-12 we are told the story of when God spoke to the prophet Elijah:

¹¹ The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Many of us think of God using some booming voice like in the movies, but this is not how He operates. Notice that He was not in the great earthquake, or the powerful wind, or in the massive fire, but instead He was in the gentle whisper. What this means to us is that we need to slow down and concentrate on listening or we will not hear Him.

This is the primary thing I will tell you if you are seeking to hear God for yourself. Go someplace by yourself or do something that you will be able to focus on Him, and just listen. I talk to God a lot when I go running. It is a time when I can just listen and not be interrupted. I know some people that go on walks, or sit in a quiet room and just listen. Where is not important as long as it can be about just you and God.

If you really want to hear God, I will invoke the 20-80 rule with you. This means that twenty percent of the time you are talking and eighty percent of the time you are just listening. Once you have a really clear idea that you are hearing from God then you can change those percentages, but let Him have His time to talk first.

When you do hear from God you may wonder if you can be sure it is Him. Paul says to test everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21). If you think you are hearing God see if what He says aligns with His Word, the Bible. He is not going to tell you to do anything that contradicts what the Bible says, so if you hear a contradiction, you know you are not hearing God. If it does align, you can be sure that you are hearing from God. That will be such an incredible blessing because then you will know to follow the Good Shepherd.

What I do want to encourage you about is to have faith that God will talk to you. We have a God who speaks, and if you read the Bible you will see that there are numerous examples of when God spoke to people. Let me assure you, He has not stopped speaking. He still longs to build a relationship with His children, and would love to talk to you. If you hear God, then just have faith that it is Him. If His words align with the Bible then believe. Have faith. It may be a little scary at first, but the blessings will be amazing.

Letting Priests Speak for God

When the Israelite people came to Mount Sinai they were to hear God for themselves. There was no longer going to be a need to have someone, like Moses, tell them what God said. God would have a personal relationship with His people.

But this is not what happened. The people ran away, and as a result a priesthood was created so that God could still tell the people what His wishes were. The Levites became God's chosen group to be His priests. This meant that not only did the people become corrupted, but so did the Levites.

You see two problems developed out of this system. First, the people did not hear for themselves what the instructions of God were, so they did not have the same reverence and awe for God that they should have had. It would be like the Space Shuttle lifting off. I could tell you all about it, but my words would never inspire as much awe as if you saw it take off yourself. The Israelites did not develop awe for God, and because of this they continuously disobeyed Him.

The second problem was that the Levites, and later the Pharisees and rabbis, did not always tell the people exactly what God said. They added their own biases and interpretations to the Words of the Lord. In fact, they often referred to God as Memra, which in Hebrew means message or word. This was their way of separating God from the message. They cannot ignore God obviously, but they could ignore His message, because that is all He was to them, a message. They could then modify or disregard certain things He said, because it was just a message after all. This is why John began his Gospel by declaring that Jesus was the Word; in Greek, the Logos; in Hebrew, the Memra. He wanted the people to understand that the message of God and Jesus were one in the same. That God's words could not be separated from Jesus.

This relationship where the priests acted as mediators between God and the people did not work. It is why God provided a different way. No longer did the people need to bring their sacrifices to a priest to offer at the temple. God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, would reside in each of us, as His temple. 1 Corinthians 6:16 tells us:

¹⁶ .For we are the temple of the living God..

God inhabits His temples, each one of us. This means that no longer do we need to go to a priest to ask him what God says or wants; God can tell us Himself. When the Holy Spirit came upon the Disciples on the Day of Pentecost, the relationship that God wanted with His people for over 1200 years was about to come true. God would be able to speak to each one of us directly, without the need of a mediator.

But a funny thing happened on the way to that relationship forming - the people still wanted priests, pastors, ministers, and bishops to tell them what God said and to interpret its meaning. They still refused to hear what God had to say, and as a result we have hundreds of millions of people in a denominational system, where the leader of the system is the one who tells all of his or her followers what God says and they all say "Amen" to it. We have in essence placed ourselves back into the bondage of this system, needing a "Moses" to tell us what to do.

Understand that there are very few "Moses-types" today however. Very few of the people that we put our trust in are hearing God any better than you may be hearing Him. Yet you are assuming that because he or she has a title in front of their name that they are more spiritual and important to God. This is hogwash at best!

I mentioned in the last section that God wants to speak to you directly because then He can tell you what He has in mind for your life, and share with you His thoughts about what is best for you. When you are struggling He wants to tell you how He can help, or what He is teaching you through the struggle. When someone you care so much about is ill or dying He wants to show you that He has an amazing plan through this suffering. He wants you to have trust in Him.

The truth is that many times when we are struggling we want to know why God is allowing this to happen. We cry out to God asking Him why He would do such a thing. But we do not really ask Him to explain. Instead we go to the church and ask the pastor or priest to explain what God is doing. Does he or she know? Maybe, but I know who does know - God! He has all the answers and would love to share them with you. But we must open ourselves to hearing His words, or we are destined to be misled.

In Joshua 24:15, Joshua asked a question of the Israelite people that is true for us today.

¹⁵ But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

If you want to serve priests, ministers, pastors, preachers, or bishops then continue to rely on them to explain to you what God says or means. Let them give you their interpretations, and commit yourself to following their way. In this way you will build up trust in them, and come to rely on them to help you. But you will not further your relationship with God.

If you want to be closer to God you have to listen to Him. By listening you will learn to have greater confidence in Him, and to know that when He speaks to you that you can count on Him to deliver. Most importantly you will learn that you do not need a religious leader to tell you anything about what God is saying. You will hear it straight from Him in His temple, your body.