LESSON 7
THE GIFT OF TONGUES: PART 1
You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible study programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.
In this edition, we continue with our series on The Gifts of the Spirit. The topic for this study is: The Gift of Tongues: Part 1. In 1 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul listed several spiritual gifts which are manifested in the body of Christ. These spiritual gifts include the following:
"12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; TO ANOTHER DIVERS KINDS OF TONGUES; to another the interpretation of tongues:"
(1 Corinthians 12:8-10; Capital Emphasis Added)
The passage above, coupled with several others (see Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11), outline various spiritual gifts that are provided by the Holy Spirit to members of the body of Christ. In this study, our focus will be on the gift of tongues. In this first part of our study on tongues, we will consider the main purpose for which Christ gave the gift of tongues to the church. An understanding of this lesson will give us a good foundation upon which we can consider other more crucial aspects of this gift later on in this series.
Beloved, when Christ was about to ascend to heaven, He gave the disciples a commission to spread the everlasting gospel to the ends of the earth (see Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). The Saviour knew that the worldwide work He had given the disciples could not be accomplished without a gift that would help them to overcome the numerous language barriers that characterised the various peoples of the world. To resolve this language barrier, Christ promised the disciples the gift of tongues which will enable them to overcome all communication barriers. From the gospel of Mark, we read the following in relation to this point:
"16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; THEY SHALL SPEAK WITH NEW TONGUES;
16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
(Mark 16:15-18; Capital Emphasis Added)
From the passage above, we see how the gift of tongues is clearly mentioned in relation to the gospel commission. From this background, it is clear that the gift of tongues is basically a supernatural ability that God gives to His children to speak in languages that they had not heard or learned as they moved forward with the gospel of Christ. At this point, it is important for us to note that the word 'tongue' in Scripture basically mean language (see Ezra 4:7; Daniel 1:4). Thus, as we have noted earlier, the gift of tongues was provided by Christ to empower the church to overcome language barriers as they proclaimed the gospel throughout the world.
It is interesting to note that the gift of tongues was never mentioned in Scripture until the time Christ proclaimed the gospel commission to the disciples (review Mark 16:15-18). To understand the reason for this situation, we need to understand the methodology that had earlier characterised the mission work of the people of God. You see friends, God chose the people of ancient Israel to serve as lights to the Gentile nations around them. It was the design of God that if Israel was faithful, He was going to bless them, and use them to draw the entire world unto Himself. As Israel lived in strict obedience to the precepts of Jehovah, their rich blessings from God was to attract the other nations to also come and worship the true God (see Isaiah 2:2-3; Micah 4:1-2).
It is important for us to note that in accomplishing this mission, the people of ancient Israel were not to actually intermingle with the heathen nations around them (see Deuteronomy 7:3; 1 Kings 11:2). Their task was to live in strict obedience to the precepts of Jehovah, and thus being blessed by Him, their rich blessings from God was to attract the other nations to come and also serve Jehovah (review Isaiah 2:2-3; Micah 4:1-2). Friends, it is clear that even as the people of Israel did not need to interact with people of other nations in carrying out their God-given mission, God did not see the need to bestow on them the gift of speaking in other tongues.
Besides this point, it is also worth noting that when Christ came to our world, His three and half year ministry was focused on the people of ancient Israel. In fact, the Messiah made the following definite statement in relation to the scope of His mission: "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24). And so when Christ sent the apostles to preach the gospel, He gave them the following command:
"10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, GO NOT INTO THE WAY OF THE GENTILES, AND INTO ANY CITY OF THE SAMARITANS ENTER YE NOT:
10:6 BUT GO RATHER TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.
10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."
(Matthew 10:5-8; Capital Emphasis Added)
From the passage above, we learn how Christ commanded the apostles not to go into the way of the Gentiles, but rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. We also notice that even though Christ empowered the apostles to perform various signs and wonders, conspicuously absent from the list was the gift of speaking in other tongues (review Matthew 10:8). From what we have gone through so far, it is clear that since the work of Christ and His disciples were basically focussed on the people of Israel, they did not need the gift of speaking in other tongues. Christ and the disciples perfectly understood the language of the people that they had to work with, and therefore it was unnecessary for God to bestow unto them the gift of speaking in other tongues that were unknown to them.
Beloved, this background we have gone through in this study must be pondered over with all seriousness if we are to understand this gift of tongues, and how it is to be used in the work of God today. As we have noted earlier, the gift of speaking in other tongues became necessary only after the three and half year ministry of Christ. You see, the people of ancient Israel, who were supposed to serve as lights to the Gentile world, miserably failed God with regard to the mission that had been entrusted unto them.
Many of them usually forsook the worship of Jehovah, and joined in the worship of the various gods of the heathen nations around them (see Jeremiah 13:8-10). Many of those who professed to serve God, only became hypocrites and partook of every abominable sin, until their eyes were blinded to know the time of their visitation (see Luke 19:41-44). In A. D. 31, they cried unto Pilate to crucify the Son of God (see Matthew 27:22-23). In A. D. 34, their probation closed, as they openly rejected the work that has been entrusted unto them with the stoning of Stephen (see Acts 7:54-60). At this point, God needed another agency to carry forward the work that His chosen people had failed to do. And this solemn responsibility, the Lord placed on the disciples of Christ.
Even though few in number, and largely uneducated, these disciples were chosen to take the good news of a loving God to the inhabitants of the whole world (review Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). They were to proclaim the love that the Creator God has shown towards fallen humanity by sending His only begotten Son to die for mankind (see John 3:16). Unlike ancient Israel, the disciples of Christ were not to be stationary, but rather to be on the move in order to carry the good news of salvation to every nation, language, kindred, tongue and people (review Acts 1:8).
To accomplish a task of this magnitude, the Lord knew that His church will need a divine power and gifts beyond what they already possessed. And so, besides the gifts of the Spirit that He had earlier given them (review Matthew 10:5-8), He also bestowed unto them the gift of speaking in other tongues (review Mark 16:15-18). Beloved, it is unfortunate to see in many churches today how a gift that is supposed to break language barriers for the proclamation of the gospel is now unintelligible, and is rather being utilised in the church as a test of whether one has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit or not. In the final part of this lesson on tongues, we will be considering in detail the false manifestations of this gift that Satan has raised to counter the genuine in several quarters of Christendom today.
Exhortation: "6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, AND TONGUE, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters" (Revelation 14:6-7; Capital Emphasis Added).
In our next study, we will consider the topic: The Gift of Tongues: Part 2. The Bible Study references for this study are Acts 2:1-11, Acts 10:1-48, Acts 11:15-18, Acts 19:1-7, Acts 4:31 and Acts 8:14-17. Please do well to go through these passages before the next study is released.
Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.
Maranatha!
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