21 November 2024
Gift of Tounges
Gift of Tounges is a very important gift of the Spirit.
● 1 Corinthians 12:10 Kjv
speaks about ” different ” kinds of tounges.
● 1 Corinthians 12:28 also says “diverse” tounges.
●Tounges is the door into the supernatural.
● It’s the best gift among the 3 utterance gifts of prophesy, diverse tounges, and interpretation of tongues.
●Speaking in tounges is the initial physical evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit.
●What is the outward evidence to know that a person has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
It’s speaking in Tounges.
●Utterance in public assembly.
Tounges is the most frequently manifested gift of the Spirit.
●Tounges and interpretation of tongues are distinctive to the ” church age “
●This is specific to the age of grace.
●In the Old Testament, we come across all the other gifts like prophesy, healings, miracles, faith ,and all other gifts other than speaking in tounges and interpretation of tongues.
●Prior to Acts of Apostles, we don’t find this gift.
●Even in the ministry of Jesus Christ,we see the gifts of Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, healings, gift of faith, gift of miracles, raising of the dead ,but there too we do not see the manifestation of speaking in tounges.
●The gift of speaking in Tounges is a gift given to people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
●Paul gives prominence to tounges.
●The gift of tounges is the most important gift as it is the gift that is manifested in a spirit filled person most often.
●Tounges can be called the vocal miracle .
●Mark 16:17 says
These signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues
●Here ,Jesus says this is one sign that will follow the belivers.
●So this is a good reason for us to keep speaking in other Tounges.
●In the Old Testament, no prophets spoke in other tounges.
●They never experienced the infilling of the Holy Spirit as we experience in the New Testament times.
●As we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and become born again, our spirit becomes a new creation.
●This gift is unique to the dispensation of the Church Age, where we experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
●We are saved because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
●Our position and experiences are far greater than Old Testament believers .
●As we study the New Testament, in the Acts of Apostles, Infilling of the Holy Spirit is mentioned in 5 places.
●In three out of these five places, it’s specifically mentioned that the people concerned spoke in other tounges.
● So, as said in Mathew 18:16
But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’
● So by these 3 instances where it’s explicitly mentioned that they spoke in Tounges, it can safely said that speaking in tounges is a sign of infilling of the Holy Spirit.
●Let’s consider the 5 instances mentioned in the New Testament.
● The 1st instance is in Acts Chapter 2 ,where all had gathered together on the day of Pentecost
Verse 3 says:
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
●It was not only just Jesus’s apostles , but there were many others who were present there that day on the day of Pentecost.
●Both men as well as women were present there on that day .
●Even Mary the mother of Jesus was present there among the 120 that were gathered there that day and even she spoke in Tounges.
●This is the first recorded portion about speaking in tounges.
●So when a person is filled with the Holy Spirit ,he will speak in tounges.
● The second instance is in Acts 10
●While Acts 2 is generally referred to as the Jewish Pentecost.
●Acts 10 is referred to as the Gentile Pentecost.
●This is called so because in Acts 10 :44-46 it says
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
●Why were the Jewish people astonished?
●How did the Jews know that the Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit?
●It’s because they heard the Gentiles speak in Tounges
and glorify God !!
● The Third Instance of people receiving the Holy Spirit and speaking in tounges is in Acts 19
Acts 19:5,6 says
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
●This happened many years (almost more than 30 years probably) after the day of the Pentecost.
●These three passages evidently shows that each in each instance ,as people received the Holy Spirit, they spoke in tounges.
● The Fourth Instance is seen in Acts 8:14-18
Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,
●Here the verse says that when Simon saw
●This phrase indicates that there should have occurred some sighn that might have been captured by Simon’s physical senses!
● Next (5th) instance is in Acts 9:17
, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
●Here too it does not say that Paul spoke in tounges
●But in 1 Corinthians 14:18
Paul says
I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all
●This is infact evidence that Paul indeed did speak in Tounges.
●When did he receive this gift of speaking in tounges? On the day he received the infilling of the Holy Spirit!
●in Verse 17 Ananias says
receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit and then later Paul says he speaks in tounges .
● From all these instances we can conclude that in each of these five instances people spoke in tounges.
●This is enough evidence that tounges is a sign of being filled in the Holy Spirit.
●Speaking is tounges is actually a Vocal Miracle.