“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
– Jeremiah 33:3
James tells us plainly, “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2b). We are in fact invited by The Lord to call on Him for answers to things we don’t know and would like to. This is especially relevant to knowledge concerning God and His things. When and how He answers is up to Him, but the promise remains that God will answer us when we call on Him and it will always be in line with the written Word, the Bible.
As a young man I was the first in my family to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speak in other tongues (see Acts 2:4). Having grown up around denominational churches all my life I had a lot of ignorance concerning the true gifts and manifestations of the Spirit; things the Bible actually tells us not to be ignorant of (see 1 Corinthians 12:1). After I entered a circle of people who spoke in tongues and had the Spirit of God demonstrably active in their lives, I asked The Lord in simple childlikeness to begin teaching me about tongues from the Scriptures. I knew if it was for us today it would be in His Word.
It is necessary for every believer to get settled on the Word about these things for themselves. My opinion or yours isn’t going to satisfy the heart’s longing for truth. Answers to Bible questions are not found while ignoring the Bible. If you want to know more and grow in any Bible subject don’t stay out of the Book – go to it! We can only take a stand on the truth that is within us. The written Word is the Source of all truth and Jesus said the Spirit would “guide [us] into all the truth” (see John 16:13).
Remember, the Spirit of God is our Teacher (see John 14:26). It is the Spirit who enlightens our hearts according to the truth of the Word (see 1 Corinthians 2:9-13). The fresher the Word is to our hearts the clearer the Spirit’s voice will be in teaching us from it, so familiarizing ourselves with the Scriptures is essential. Nobody is smart enough intellectually to get spiritual things without the Spirit’s help. And never think that you have to get everything your self from the Spirit and the Word. God gave us the benefit of the five offices of Ministry listed in Ephesians 4 to minister His Spirit inspired Word to us.
Well, I had asked The Lord for help and knew confidently He would answer that prayer. As you might imagine, I started reading 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14 where I knew the Scriptures talked most explicitly about tongues and spiritual gifts. I’ll be honest with you though, even as I studied those chapters about tongues, in my deep ignorance and lack of experience I couldn’t make heads or tails out of what I was reading. In my own unlearned thinking it seemed that different verses and passages contradicted each other. Of course they don’t really disagree, I just didn’t yet see how. All the Word agrees.
I think many people are in that same place. But thank God we don’t have to understand every thing about every thing to know whether a thing is of God or not. The basics from the Word are enough to get the ball rolling and the Spirit will bear witness with our spirit whether something is of Him (see Romans 8:16). However, as I continued to read the Scriptures, the same Holy Spirit who came into my heart when I was born again began to enlighten my heart and mind to things that years later, I still find provide clarity.
Of course what is covered here and in the next chapter was not learned between just me, the Holy Ghost and my Bible in one sitting. Considering that books can and have been written on the subject, this is simply an introductory teaching and a little testimony. I’ll tell you the truth of it. A lot of what I know about tongues and the gifts of the Spirit came as I sat at the feet of great men and women of God who went before of me or through their books and audio teachings. And I hunger to learn and experience more! If you hunger and thirst for what is right, Jesus said – You will be filled!
Spirit-inspired Utterance in an Unknown Tongue
In referring to the gifts of the Spirit the word tongue in the Bible does not just mean the muscle with taste buds on the inside of your mouth. It simply means language. A tongue is a language. Therefore, tongues are languages. In the primary list of spiritual gifts given us in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, tongues is listed not merely as “tongues” but as “different kinds of tongues.” That’s significant because there isn’t just one kind of tongue (singular), but different or various kinds of tongues (plural).
(Quick note : There are many good reasons we and the Scriptures themselves speak of “different kinds of tongues” as just “tongues”. The main reason being – it’s all tongues!)
Different kinds of tongues doesn’t just mean different like Spanish or Chinese or Italian. It also means there are various ways that the gift of different kinds of tongues manifests. All of course “as He [the Spirit] wills” (1 Corinthians 12:7). A manifestation is how something – or in this case Someone, the Holy Spirit – shows up. There are different ways the Spirit can “show up” in different kinds of tongues but they can all be called tongues. Knowing the distinctions between the various kinds of tongues, which we’ll talk further about in the next chapter, clears up a lot of confusion about the subject.
Right now it would be good to just cover what they are. So Biblically, tongues are a Spirit-inspired utterance in a language unknown to the speaker. No one has the gift of tongues on account of their ability to fluently speak more than one language. If that were the case you would not even have to be born again to have it. It would simply be natural and intellectual. But the gifts and manifestations of the Spirit are supernatural. They are beyond man’s natural ability and intellect.
If it were as some have said in terribly gross error that tongues were of the devil, how come Satanists and “extreme” sinners don’t do it, and the people who do – have the Scriptures to support it. No, the enemy whispers those and other [blasphemous] things in people’s ears about the manifestations of the Spirit being of the devil to keep them out of the Blessings of God. Even as a mentally and spiritually clueless young man, freshly introduced to tongue-talking circles, as I read my Bible the Holy Spirit inside me opened my eyes to the three different manifestations of the Spirit the Bible calls “different kinds of tongues.” They can all be found in the Scriptures.
In the next chapter we will look at the different kinds of tongues in Scripture and see how certain passages and rules apply to specific manifestations of this gift and not to others. Thus we will uphold the governing rule of all spiritual gifts and manifestations, “But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner” (1 Corinthians 14:40). We’ll see how the Scriptures themselves draw the lines between the different kinds of tongues so that we can begin to recognize and give place to what the Spirit wants to do through everyone of us in this area. Amen.
continued in Part II. . .
// Scripture reading //
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
– 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 NASB
Simplicity of Christ 
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