Various Tongues

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

VARIOUS TONGUES

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 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.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

We have come to one of the most controversial gifts within the church, well at least within the denominational strife’s that exist as well as the interpretation of what this means by many of the non-Pentecostal or charismatic churches. It is interesting the Greek words are simply Genos Gloossa, which means kinds of tongues. The "different" has been added for clarity, which we think is not needed as the Greek is clear enough. The word Genos, is where we get the word gene, which has the meaning of what a parent passes on to their children, or in this sense various types of genes, or various people, and then it would mean various tongues, or languages, for the tongue is used in speaking. What we always fall back on is that moment the disciples were filled with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and they spilled out onto the streets of Jerusalem speaking in various languages that they did not naturally acquired. Some would say that was a one-time event, others would say it continues and at the moment one gets baptized in the Spirit, one receives this new language. There are several occasions in the Acts of the Apostles as recorded by Luke that people did, in fact, speak an unknown language when they received the Holy Spirit. That was after that one day in Jerusalem. However, we would have to say those were not the gift of the Spirit, but rather a result of the Spirit coming within someone, or what we would call the baptism of the Spirit. Again, some would say this baptism occurs simultaneously with salvation, while others see this baptism of the Spirit as a second event, just like the disciples experienced on the Day of Pentecost, days after they had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, in fact, Thomas called Jesus, “My Lord and my God” when Jesus appeared after his resurrection, but before his ascension when he sent the Spirit. But again, this event is not the gift, but an event as a result of the Spirit dwelling within for the first time.  This gift of various tongues is a gift that is manifested by the Spirit as He determines. So the question is how do we accept some of the gifts, but reject this one and the one that follows, the interpretation of the tongues. With the combination of this gift, we have to conclude that these various tongues refer to a language not naturally acquired and unknown to either the speaker or those hearing the speaker of this language. Again, this gift, like all the others, must meet the qualification that it is for the common good and therefore we would have to think the Spirit would manifest His gift in a corporate setting for a purpose of edifying the church. We have to jump forward in this letter to find that Paul makes sure this is understood. That when the Spirit manifests this gift of tongues, the speaker is speaking to and praising God, and so the interpretation must be of what that person said to God, so the whole church can be lifted up, through the Spirit's work. However, what may have occurred in many churches is that we have determined when and how the Spirit is to manifest His gifts, especially this one. What should we do? How should we deal with this? Can we simply ignore His gift and not allow Him freedom? Are we saying we know better than God? Just saying that is bizarre. Of course, we want the Spirit to work in us, for the common good as He determines. Of course, we want to be open to being used by the Spirit for the common good. Of course, we what Him to determine when and through who is manifests His gifts. So then, what should we do?