The Gift from God to the Church to Speak in Tongues – Post 1

I rarely hear anyone actual share why the gift of tongues was given. Why was it the sign given on the day of Pentecost? I have listened/read to a number of discussions and even arguments regarding the gift of speaking in tongues. And in most of the discussions, and in the back and forth of whether the gift is still viable or is in use today or not. It is my view that understanding why it was the sign/gift given on the day of Pentecost, that provides the context with which to speak authoritatively on the topic of its use for today in the Church when gathered together in a group or when alone in one’s private devotional with God.

A pastor friend of mine online made a post regarding this topic the other day and it began to stir my heart and thoughts and I prayed. I wondered if I should venture into this theological bog. To my knowledge, I have never spoken in tongues by divine power nor have I ever seen this done by others in which the Holy Spirit confirmed within me, that what these people claimed to be doing was speaking in tongues, was in fact speaking in tongues by divine power. So again I wondered, if I, without any experience in this matter should offer any teaching in this area. So again I prayed and when I brought up to the Lord that I didn’t have any experience in this and I told Him that by posting I would likely draw the ire of people on both sides of the issue, He simply told me to trust Him and to let Him worry about that. So for the next few days I will be sharing some passages of God’s Word and share what I believe I have received from the Lord, by His Spirit from His Word regarding this topic. So here we go…

As with any teaching, the most important part of the teaching is to lay first a correct and solid foundation. There must be a cornerstone set in place in the form of a declarative statement in which the arguments or assertions of the doctrine will rest. Of course ultimately the soundness of the doctrine is only as sound as the cornerstone laid… aligns with the entirety of God’s Word.

If you are still reading at this point I assume you are interested in this topic and want to hear what I have to share. With that, as a starting point, please open your bibles and turn to Acts chapter 2 and read the entire chapter to familiarize yourself with the entire passage.

In Today’s post, I am going to post Acts 2:1-4 and verse 12, just in case anyone reading doesn’t have access to their Bible at the moment.

Acts 2:1-4, & 12
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.

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

Indeed! The answer to the question in verse 12, “What does this mean?” is what will become the corner stone of this doctrine/teaching. In pursuant of that goal, please turn in your bibles to:

Genesis 11:1-9.
1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

As you read verse 8&9 again, which is the last two verses in the above passage, you will note that God did something! And the reason why God did it can be found in verses 1-7. It was the willful disobedience and the arrogant pride of the people which prompted God to do what He did.

Question… We know sin was behind the disobedience and arrogance, but what was it specifically that enabled the people to unify in their disobedience and arrogance?

Look at verse 1 – Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.

Because they all spoke one language, they were unified in their sinful disobedience and arrogance and the Lord confused the language of the whole world knowing the consequence would result in an outcome. That outcome was the destruction of the sinful unity which existed and caused them to divide asunder and scattered them.

Now compare that with what is happening in Acts 2. In Acts 2 we see God is doing something! And what He is doing… is going to bring about a result, an outcome. Here we see the Gospel being preached and God through divine power has enabled the apostles by His Spirit to speak in other tongues.

Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now if the result in Genesis 11 scattered the people because God confused the language, what would the result be if God made it possible for everyone to hear in their own native tongue what the apostles were saying? To answer the question in Acts 2:12 – “What does this mean?”, the answer is…

The primary purpose for God to give the gift of tongues was to enable the “Church” with the same power to communicate as when the whole world had one language and common speech as described in Genesis 11. But instead of this time unifying in disobedience and arrogance, this power God gave to the church to communicate… would through the sharing of the Gospel, produce a new kind of unity. And this Unity of the church was and is the unity of the Spirit. A unity of obedience and humility. This is why Peter tells them… to repent and be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. To be born again… to be one church, one body, and one with Christ. As Ephesians 4:3-5 says:

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

So the cornerstone I am laying down regarding the gift of Speaking in tongues is this:

The primary reason God gave this gift was to “enable” or empower the Church that would allow them to preach the Gospel of Christ to all the nations and peoples of the world and in that where ever those who heard the Gospel and believed, would result in unity in the body of Christ known as the Church.

This being the cornerstone, all discussions regarding the speaking in tongues should at some level find alignment or contextual roots regarding the unity of the church with God and with one another.

By Him and for Him,
God bless


The Gift from God to the Church to Speak in Tongues – Post 2

As mentioned in my first post, when it comes to the teaching/doctrine regarding speaking in tongues by divine power; what leads us to the cornerstone of this doctrine is in understanding why God gave this divine gift to the church. The first post dealt with comparing the events that happened in Genesis 11:1-9 with the events that happened in Acts chapter 2, and from this comparison, I presented the following conclusion:

The primary reason God gave this gift was to “enable” or empower the Church to preach the Gospel of Christ to all the nations and peoples of the world and wherever the Gospel is heard and believed, it would result in Christ building His Church and creating a unity through His Spirit between God and man and with one another. As such, it is my belief that all discussions regarding speaking in tongues should at some level find alignment or contextual roots regarding the unity of the church with God and with one another.

Today’s post continues along the lines of the above conclusion, that God’s intention in giving the gift of tongues was to bring about a union/unity of His Spirit via the Gospel. In light of this, one may be surprised to know that the giving of this gift was at least in part, the answer to our Lord’s prayer in John 17.

John 17:20-23
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

People often mistake the day of Pentecost, as the day the church was born or started, because many mistakenly attribute the events of God pouring out His Spirit “upon” the apostles to empower them with divine gifts… so that they could preform signs and wonders… which includes the divine power to speak in tongues…as receiving the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. However, the church was actually born or started many days before the day of Pentecost. You can read the account of this in John 20:21-23.

John 20:21-23
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

And so the apostles received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when Christ breathed on them. They were born again when Christ breathed life into them. So Pentecost was about receiving power, divine power from on high. The purpose of this was similar to what happen at Jesus’ baptism when the Holy Spirit descended and rested “upon” Him. This was His anointing for ministry and Pentecost was the anointing of the apostles with divine power for their ministry. As I have said in many other times, if God appoints someone to a ministry, He also anoints them with the divine power to accomplish His will in that ministry.

In Acts 1:3-5, we see Jesus after His resurrection spending time with His disciples before He ascends into heaven…

3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

We must remember that in Matthew 28;19 we are commanded to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

When you read the events that take place in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, you are reading the events in fulfillment of Jesus’ words when He said to the apostles in Acts 1:5… “but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

In the book of Acts there are two important passages that we need to read and see are the direct answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17… They are Acts Chapter 2 and Acts chapter 10. In accordance with Scripture, first for the Jew and then for the Gentile, God’s Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost to the Jews and in the same way God poured out His Spirit on the Gentiles at Cornelius’ house. This was to fulfill the promise made to Abraham, that through his Seed, meaning Christ, ALL nations would be blessed as Christ destroyed the division between Jew and Gentile making them….

One.

And so again it seems we have returned to this cornerstone, “unity” of the Spirit in Christ, this time by way of Jesus’ prayer that we be one. and that this was God’s intent or purpose to bring about this unity… and as proof… nothing can be more clear than two passages in the book of Acts.

Since we read Acts chapter 2 yesterday… I invite you to open your bibles and read Acts chapter 10. I am only going to post a portion of that chapter here.

Acts 10:34-48
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days

When you compare Acts 10 with Acts 2 you see :

– Speaking in tongues
– The Gospel is preached
– The result in both passages were many believed and became one in Christ and the Church, which now were made up of both Jew and Gentile believers became one body and grew.

By Him and for Him,
God bless


The Gift from God to the Church to Speak in Tongues – Post 3

In posts 1 & 2, I discussed God’s intentions as to why he gave this gift to speak in tongues and how it overcomes the confusion of the language barrier God put into place in Genesis 11 and its purpose was to empower the church to preach the Gospel to all nations so that as in answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17, we would be one in Christ. This unity in Christ is known as the unity of the Spirit (Eph 4:3-6).

Now that we have some insight to why and its purpose, today’s post is going to be more simple and direct by answering the question what is the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues as defined and described in God’s word? And also what instructions, does the Bible give to us regarding its use?

It is unfortunate that the very thing God gave to empower the Church to preach the Gospel among the nations and bring about the unity of the elect, became a source of division within the early Church due to its misuse and there remains many kinds of divisions in the Church today regarding it.

As is the case with many divisions within the Church, it comes about from people taking certain verses out of context in order to promote a differing view than what the Scriptures intended. Often, self validation or self importance are the underlying motives for taking verses out of context and we will see, in regards to speaking in tongues, how it was these very attitudes which caused the issues within in the early Church.

As we look at the context of Paul’s letters to the Church at Corinth, it is clear they had a number of problems. These problems included immoral behavior, lawsuits, doctrines, and abuses of the Lord’s Supper and spiritual gifts. At the root of all of these issues can be found the themes of worldly wisdom and self importance. Throughout the letters we see Paul addressing divisions, self-serving preachers, personal disputes, attitudes of spiritual inequality, lack of unity and lack of order.

As we come to 1 Corinthians chapters 12–14, Paul discusses the abuses of miraculous spiritual gifts and it is here we find him writing about the speaking in tongues and the proper role it plays when the Church gathers together. I would like to encourage you to open your Bibles and read 1 Corinthians chapters 12–14 to familiarize yourself with these passages. As you do, remember the context of the overall letter and why Paul is writing concerning the abuses of the spiritual gifts.

Over the last few days we have read Acts chapter 2 & 10 and hopefully you took a moment to read 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14. I think from these passages we can set a simple straight forward definition of what speaking in tongues is and how it is used:

==================
==================
Biblical speaking in tongues is done when a person, who by divine power of the Holy Spirit, begins speaking a language they do not naturally know, for the purpose of preaching the Gospel to unbelievers of all nations, edifying them self by speaking to God and edifying believers by bringing some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction, which aligns with Scripture. In preaching of the Gospel and when using the gift to edify others, the speaker is using the gift to prophesy and as such the language the person is speaking, to have any value, must be a known language of those listening so that the hearers can understand. There must be at least one person who is listening who knows and understands the language being spoken either naturally or by means of a spiritual gift so that they can interpret what the person is saying for others who do not understand. If there is no interpreter, then what the speaker is saying has no value to those who are listening and should therefore keep quiet and edify them self by keeping it between them and God.
=================
=================

The above definition comes from an accurate understanding of the events that happened as recorded in Acts chapter 2 & 10 and Paul’s instruction regarding spiritual gift in 1 Corinthians chapter 12-14.

Acts 2:2-6
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 their own language being spoken.

Acts 2:8-11
8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our 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!”

Acts 10:44-46
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

1 Corinthians 14:4 & 5
4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.

1 Corinthians 14:6
“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?”.

1 Corinthians 14:9 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. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me.

1 Corinthians 14:28
If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.

In truth, speaking in tongues isn’t shrouded in some vast mystery or secret knowledge. It doesn’t make anyone any more or less spiritual than others in the body of Christ. Scripture makes it quite clear what it is and we just need to accept plainly what Scripture says and we need to reject any ideas or notions which is contrary to what Scripture says.

We have now covered God’s intentions as to why he gave this gift to speak in tongues and its purpose to empower the church to preach the Gospel to all nations and how it is used in the Church to edify oneself and others. In my last post, I will take everything we have said up to this point and answer the question of the whether the gift of tongues should be used by the Church today in evangelism, within the gathering of the Church for corporate worship and in one’s own private devotions with God.

By Him and for Him,
God bless


The Gift from God to the Church to Speak in Tongues – Post 4

We have now covered God’s intentions as to why he gave this gift to speak in tongues and its purpose to empower the church to preach the Gospel to all nations and how it was used in the Church to edify oneself and to edify others when used in conjunction with prophesying. So, the question which needs to be addressed is the question of the whether the gift of tongues is needed or used by the Church today.

Let’s reread the biblical definition of what it means to speak in tongues and then we will answer this question

Biblical speaking in tongues is done when a person, who by divine power of the Holy Spirit, begins speaking a language they do not naturally know, for the purpose of preaching the Gospel to unbelievers of all nations, edifying them self by speaking to God and edifying believers by bringing some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction, which aligns with Scripture. In preaching of the Gospel and when using the gift to edify others, the speaker is using the gift to prophesy and as such the language the person is speaking, to have any value, must be a known language of those listening so that the hearers can understand. There must be at least one person who is listening who knows and understands the language being spoken either naturally or by means of a spiritual gift so that they can interpret what the person is saying for others who do not understand. If there is no interpreter, then what the speaker is saying has no value to those who are listening and should therefore keep quiet and edify them self by keeping it between them and God.

There are many Christians and well-respected theologians which believe that certain gifts of the Holy Spirit are no longer actively given as they once were in the early Church time period. One respected theologian is John F. Walvoord, who does a great job at articulating why he and others believe that some gifts are no longer given.

For those interested, you can read it here and I highly recommend it – https://walvoord.com/article/162. Here is a small exert from that article:

“The Gift of Miracles. God as God can perform miracles in any age at any time suitable to His purpose. However, the gift of miracles mentioned in Scripture (1 Cor. 12:28) was a gift that was primarily used in the New Testament to authenticate the message that the apostles would preach. Though some believe that miracles are still valid, it is obvious that most of the work of God today is not accomplished on this basis but is based on the teaching and preaching of the written Word of God. While the gift of miracles may be considered as having ceased, God can continue to perform miracles in answer to prayer if He so chooses. But when a miracle is performed today, it is for a different purpose than that of authenticating the person who performs the miracle.”

As you can see Walvoord asserts that there were permanent gifts of the Spirit and there were temporary gifts of the Spirit given during the time period of the early Church. He explains that all the gifts were necessary to the early Church so as to lay the foundation through the works of the Apostles to establish and attest to the validity of the Gospel.

So is Walvoord, and those who believe like him, right?

I do not believe they are. I fully understand their position as it is presented and argued, but there are a number of glaring interpretive and logical fallacies that I see are being set forth in order to present and hold this position.

As an example, Walvoord himself says, “There is difference of opinion in the church today as to whether some of the gifts of the early church ceased or whether they continue. The true doctrine should be determined by the Bible itself rather than by human experience. It is obvious that the gifts of the early church are not being performed now in the same way they were.”

He states that true doctrine should be determined by the Bible and not by human experience, and then in the very next sentence contradicts himself by citing human experience makes it obvious that the gifts of the early church are not being performed now in the same way.

A logical fallacy he puts forth is that the primary purpose or reason for these signs to have occurred is to “authenticate” the testimony of the Apostles. Of course, they authenticated the Apostles as scripture says, but there were more reasons why these signs happened, and it was not just to authenticate the Apostles message. His entire argument falls apart on this fallacy alone. Jesus didn’t say to himself; I will heal this person and i will be authenticated to all that see it. No, Jesus healed people because he loved them and had mercy and compassion and wanted to free people from the suffering of demon possession. And while signs and wonders does provide authentication, that is not the only purpose or reason for signs, miracles and wonders.

In regard to speaking in tongues, Walvoord asserts that the bible is complete and there is no “new” revelation. I agree 100% that the Bible is complete and that there is no “new” revelation to be given, but he mistakenly interprets the word revelation to only mean “new revelation” when there are other types of revelations. I study God’s word, and everyday God “reveals” new spiritual truths (1 Cor chapter 2) to me by His Holy Spirit and gives me deeper understanding. This often happens when I am listening to a pastor preach the word of God and the Spirit opens up a new understanding of the truth to me, if a person speaking in tongues with an interpreter was edifying the body by prophesying, how is that any different?

And when he implies that the speaking of tongues is the least of all gifts, he draws that conclusion to be absolute rather than contextually as Paul wrote it. If all you did was read part of 1 Corinthians 14:5…

5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues,

then you would have to agree with what Walvoord said, but that is not the whole verse… the ending of the verse is…

5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.

And so if someone interprets, then they would be doing exactly the same thing as the one who prophesies and in every way just as valuable. Additionally, if there is a person with the gift of speaking tongues and a pastor of a church went to some remote place together and the one speaking in tongues began to preach the Gospel in their native language…. shall the pastor who doesn’t speak their language stop the one speaking in tongues so he can teach the Gospel? So you see the roles in “this context” is reverse and whatever the pastor would say would be of no value because no one would be able to understand what he is saying.

One thing that should be made very clear… there is no verse in scripture which says these gifts are temporary and that they ceased. Walvoord says their absence makes it obvious that they were only temporary and no longer are given and practiced today within the church. Again, I would say there could be many reasons which could explain why we do not see the gifts of the Spirit. When was the last time anyone reading this, invited someone to church who did not know or understand the language of the people at church? The early Church often found itself in situations where people from other cultures and who spoke different languages ended up gathering together with the Church in homes and in jails. And there was much more of an opportunity for the use of these gifts then there are today, unless one travels to places where the language is unknown, is there even any opportunity to actually participate in the speaking of tongues? Why would God have someone speak in tongues in a church that all perfectly understands the pastor speaking at the pulpit?

As to the argument that they are not as needed as the once were for authenticating the apostle’s testimony, I disagree. A missionary in the church today, is also by definition an apostle. The word apostle means “one who is sent out.” In the New Testament, there are two primary usages of the word apostle. The first is in specifically referring to the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The second is in generically referring to other individuals who are sent out to be messengers/ambassadors of Jesus Christ. Missionaries are sent to places where language is often a barrier and they do experience and have more opportunities to use the gift of speaking in tongues as they encounter people who speak different languages, and so it is just as necessary in authenticating the missionary’s testimony as it was in the time of the early Church.

While I have the utmost respect for John Walvoord, I truly disagree regarding the teaching that some gifts given to the early Church by the Holy spirit were only temporary and are no longer given or practiced today. Among these gifts was the speaking in tongues for the work of the Kingdom of God.

Someone may want to say hey Rich, what about 1 Corinthians 12:8 which says:

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

And they try and use this verse in speaking about how completeness is speaking of the time in which the foundation of the church was being laid by the Apostles but now that this is complete, some gifts are now ceased. Of course, the obvious problem with this is that the context of this passage is about when completeness comes… and also in verse 12 which says – “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

So, to conclude:

Yes, I believe that speaking in tongues is still a needed gift within the body of Christ, for numerous reasons, as we do the work of the Kingdom of God. To authenticate, to overcome language barriers, to edify the church when used in conjunction with interpretation in the same way prophesying is and beyond this, no where in scripture does it say this gift is temporary or will cease, that is until completeness comes as mentioned above. And so until completeness comes God’s word gives this clear command…

1 Corinthians 14:39
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

This post (post #4), is the final post regarding my view of speaking in tongues and are they for the church today. I will be glad to listen to any feedback or if you have any questions. I may in the future write an addon to these 4 posts in regard to understanding what Paul meant in 1 Cor 12:1 when it says… If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels…. But that will have to wait for another time.

By Him and for Him,
God bless