It was great to attend the AG ministers’ meeting today. Dr David Lim delivered a wonderful teaching on spiritual gifts. He concluded with much attention to the practice of tongues-speech in Pentecostal worship. He mentioned three uses of tongues: 1. Tongues for healing/personal edification/sheer delight. 2. Tongues for warfare prayer. 3. Tongues in congregational worship. But what I want to note here are two elements he stressed about all tongues speech. First, is that as we pray and worship through tongues, we should also seek interpretation of the tongues we pray (1 Cor 14:13). Second, in all tongues-speech we are proclaiming the “mysteries” of God (1 Cor 14:2). It’s important to note here, as Dr Lim pointed out, that “mystery” is a Pauline code-word for God’s redemptive purposes for all creation (Rom 16:25; Eph 3:9 Col 1:26). Therefore, Paul is actually saying, whenever you pray in tongues, “pray for the power to interpret! Interpret it! Give it meaning!” What does this mean? I suggest it means, God wants us to give meaning to His redemptive work as we see it happening right now. He calls us to give this meaning; to interpret the meaning of what He’s doing in us, through us, and in the world— and then respond to what He is doing and saying to us. Listen to the tongues, ruminate on their sounds, and then give them meaning. But keep chewing them over and over, Letting also the Spirit groan within you with words that cannot be uttered, Until the meaning you find— is charity for one another.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 14:48:07 +0000
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