You are welcome to another edition of Insights from Gods Word, a Bible study programme that is committed to sharing Gods Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself. Beloved, i greet you in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Today, we continue with our study on spiritual gifts, with a particular emphasis on the gift of tongues. I have captioned the study for today: The Gift of Tongues: Part 1. Friends, as we learnt in our previous study on spiritual gifts, Paul mentioned diverse kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues as part of the gifts that are needed in the church of God. (1 Corinthians 12:10) Moreover, Paul made us to understand that, as the human body has several parts that work harmoniously for the welfare of the whole body, so should members in the church of God use their spiritual gifts to achieve the honourable goals of the church body. (1Corinthians 12:12-27 ) As we move forward today, and examine critically the gift of tongues in 1Corinthians 12, we learn two very important truths about this gift: 1. Contrary to the popular opinion in many Christian churches, not everyone in the church of God is supposed to speak with tongues. In 1Corinthians 12:29-30, Paul expresses the following rhetorical questions regarding the use of spiritual gifts. He says concerning the members of the church: Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? The obvious answer is a definite no. This is because Paul himself answered this question with the analogy of the human body parts as found in 1Corinthians 12:12-27. It is quite sad, friend, to realize the number of Christian churches today that have made this gift of speaking with tongues a test of whether one has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit or not. Some members even go to the extent of regarding lightly, people whom they think are not matured spiritually, just because such people do not speak with tongues. From Pauls own words, not all church members are supposed to speak with tongues, interpret tongues or perform all the other spiritual gifts at the same time. I hope this point is well made. 2. Another insight we gain in 1Corinthians 12 about the gift of tongues is that, even though this gift is important, it should however not be overemphasized. We discover with surprise from 1Corinthians 12:31, that Paul encouraged the believers to ... covet earnestly the best gifts... From Pauls statement here, we gain the impression that the various spiritual gifts can be ordered according to some form of ranking. The million dollar question in our study today then must be this: What are the best gifts of the Spirit that believers are supposed to covet? Thankfully, the Bible does not leave us in doubt. In 1Corinthians 12:28, the apostle Paul lists the various spiritual gifts in their order of importance. In 1Corinthians 12:28, we read the following: And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. In the text above, beloved, we clearly learn how Paul captures the gift of tongues in the very last position in his ranking of the various spiritual gifts. This might be interpreted in several dimensions. However, one clear fact is that, Paul obviously did not consider the gift of tongues as deserving a higher priority in the church. In fact, it was even the wish of the apostle that believers will rather prophecy (preach) than speak in tongues, so that the church body may be edified. (1Corinthians 14:1-5) This fact basically makes it clear, that if there are some best spiritual gifts to be desired, the gift of tongues will have to come up last on our list. Friends, i must be quick to add that the biblical insights we have gained above, does not in anyway suggest that the gift of tongues is not important. The message from Paul is basically that, this gift, even though important, should not be overemphasized. Beloved, it is interesting to learn that throughout the Old Testament and even in the four gospels, no Bible character, including Jesus Christ, made use of this gift of tongues. With this insight, a question that begs an answer is this: Can we say that these patriarchs and prophets who made use of all the other spiritual gifts, with the exception of the gift of tongues, had less of the Holy Spirit? Can we make the claim that Christ, who boldly proclaimed in Luke 4:18-19, that The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.; had less of the Holy Spirit because He did not speak with tongues? At this point, another very important question i want us to ponder over is this: Why is it that these patriarchs and prophets, even though making use of the other spiritual gifts such as healings, miracles, prophecy, dreams and visions, helps and governments etc. never made use of this gift of speaking with tongues? Beloved, the answer is very simple. The gift of tongues was not needed for the ministry of these patriarchs and prophets, and so God did not bestow this gift unto them. Now, a follow up question that also begs for an explanation is this: Why was the gift of tongues not needed or necessary for the ministry of these patriarchs and prophets? And even, for the ministry of Jesus? Friends, for us to appreciate the answer for the above question, we need to first know the answer to the question: what even is this gift of tongues? Beloved, the gift of tongues is basically a supernatural ability that God gives to His children to speak in a language that they had not heard or learned before, so that they can carry forward a mission that He has entrusted unto them. The word tongues in Scripture simply mean language. (Ezra 4:7, Daniel 1:4) I will be highlighting on the above definitions in our subsequent studies. Beloved, the Scripture makes it clear that God chose the people of ancient Israel to serve as lights to the Gentile nations around them. It was the design of God that if Israel was faithful, He was going to bless them and use them to draw the entire world unto Himself. People will come from various nations and enquire about the God who made the heavens and the earth. (Isaiah 2:2-3, Micah 4:1-2) Friends, it is important to note that in accomplishing this responsibility, the people of ancient Israel were not to actually mingle with the heathen nations around them. (1 Kings 11:2) They were however to live in strict obedience to the precepts of Jehovah, and thus being blessed by Him, their rich blessings from God will attract the other nations to also come and worship the true God. Beloved, even as the people of Israel did not need to frequently interact with people of other nations in carrying out their mission, God did not see the need to bestow on them the gift of speaking with tongues. It Is also worth noting that when Christ came to the world, His three and half year ministry was focused on the people of ancient Israel. In fact, He said in Matthew 15:24, the following: ...I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Moreover, in Matthew 10:5-6, when Christ sent His disciples to preach the gospel, He asked them not to go into the way of the Gentiles, but rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now, Since the work of Christ and His disciples were basically focussed on the people of Israel, they did not need the gift of speaking in tongues. They perfectly understood the language they had to work with and therefore it was unnecessary for God to bestow unto them the gift of speaking in other languages that were unknown to them. Friends, this background we have gone through in this study must be pondered we all seriousness, if we are to understand this gift of tongues and how it is to be used in the work of God today. In fact, the gift of speaking with tongues became necessary only after the three and half year ministry of Christ. The people of ancient Israel, who were supposed to serve as lights to the world, failed God miserably with regard to the mission entrusted unto them. Many of them, professing to serve God, became only hypocrites and partook of every abominable sin; until their eyes were blinded to know the time of their visitation. (Luke 19:44) In AD 31, they cried unto Pilate to crucify the Son of God. In AD 34, their probation closed, as they openly rejected the work that has been entrusted unto them with the stoning of Stephen. At this point, God needed another agency to carry forward the work that ancient Israel had failed to do. And this solemn responsibility, the Lord placed on the disciples of Christ. Even though few in number, and largely uneducated, these disciples were chosen to take the good news of a loving God to the inhabitants of the world. They were to proclaim the love that God has shown for fallen humanity and the grace that He has made available to all. Unlike ancient Israel, they were not to be stationary, but rather on the move to carry the good news of salvation to every nation, language, kindred, tongues and people. As spiritual Israel, the disciples of Christ were to be witnesses of their risen Lord, proclaiming the gospel of Christ not just in Israel and its surrounding areas, but to the whole world. (Matthew 24:14) To accomplish a task of this magnitude, the Lord knew that His church will need a divine power and gifts beyond what they already possessed. And so, besides promising them the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4,5,8), He also promised them the gift of speaking in foreign languages they have never known or learned. In Mark 16:15-18, we read the following: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Beloved, this is the first place in the whole of Scripture where we read about the gift of tongues. And we discover clearly, that among other gifts, this gift of speaking with new tongues was given in connection to the proclamation of the gospel message. And the reason for this is very simple. The young Christian church, who were now the repositories of the oracles of God, had the responsibility of reaching the entire world with the special message of salvation. And you can imagine!, with the number of languages we have in our world, they will definitely need the promise of Christ. The promise to be endowed with the gift of speaking in languages they have never known or learned; the promise of the gift of tongues. Exhortation: And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Revelation 14:6-7) In our subsequent study, we will continue with our study on spiritual gifts. We will consider the topic, The gift of tongues: Part 2. Stay tuned and never miss any of our upcoming Bible study sesssions. Have a blessed day and keep shining for King Jesus. Maranatha!!! To join our growing Bible study class, just send a hello to our whatsapp number +233243105287. You will then be receiving our Bible studies right on your mobile phone. Do not hesitate to send us your Bible questions, prayer requests or issues requiring direct counselling. From: Samuel Nyarko Speaker/Director, White Throne Media
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 20:20:33 +0000
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