Exercising
the Charismatic Gifts of the Holy
Spirit
.
The Holy
Spirit's Gift of Tongues is for All
Who Believe in the Power of God
"They were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak in other
tongues
as the Spirit gave them utterance"
- Acts 2:4
by
Don Schwager
Tongues of Fire
The first signs of the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost were
the visible tongues of fire and the audible gift
of tongues which enabled the first Christian
disciples to speak out in languages which they
did not previously know.
What is the significance of the visible display
of tongues of fire at the feast of Pentecost?
The tongues of fire were a visible manifestation
of the presence and power of God at work in and
through the early disciples of Jesus who had
gathered in the upper room in prayer on the day
of Pentecost (Acts 1:12-14 and 2:1-4). God gave
each of them a tongue of fire to signify his
immediate presence and power to change them and
work through them in a new and mighty way.
Miraculous signs of fire were not unheard of in
the Old Testament Scriptures. There are a number
of occasions when God used fire to manifest his
presence and power to his people. One example is
the burning bush which Moses saw at the foot of
Mount Sinai (Exodus 3:1-6). This was a
miraculous fire which continued to burn without
consuming the bush and from which the voice of
God could audibly be heard by Moses. Another key
example is the Pillar of Fire by night and the
Pillar of Cloud by day which guided the
Israelites as they journeyed in the wilderness
for forty years (Exodus 13:21-22, Exodus 40:38,
Psalm 78:14). The Pillar of Fire and the Pillar
of Cloud were a continual reminder and a vivid
display of God's presence, protection, and
guidance for his people.
This manifestation of God's continual presence
with the Hebrew people in the wilderness points
to the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to fill his
followers with the Holy Spirit who would remain
with them. Just as the Pillar of Fire and the
Pillar of Cloud continued to guide the Hebrews
throughout their journey in the wilderness until
they reached the Promised Land, so, too, the
Holy Spirit continually guides and gives light
to God's people today as we journey to our
homeland in heaven.
When the Temple was dedicated in Jerusalem the
glory of God's presence was manifested in a
cloud which filled the Temple and a fire was
kept burning to remind the people of God's
presence with them. Now God's presence comes to
dwell in the people whom Jesus has redeemed and
made holy through his blood shed for us on the
cross. We are sealed in this new covenant
blessing and grace through the gift of the Holy
Spirit who dwells within us. Paul the Apostle
tells us that since the Holy Spirit now dwells
within us both corporately and individually, we
become living temples of the Holy Spirit (1
Corinthians 6:19-20 and Ephesians 2:19-22).
The Gift of Speaking in
Tongues
Why did the miraculous fire which appeared on
the Feast of Pentecost take the shape of a
tongue above the head of each of the disciples
(Acts 2:3)? The tongues of fire were a visible
sign of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon
each of the disciples and was immediately
followed by the miraculous gift of speaking in
other tongues or languages (Acts 2:4). The
tongues of fire pointed to the purifying action
and power of the Holy Spirit working in and
through the disciples of Jesus.
The gift of speaking in tongues was both for
the benefit of the disciples and for the people
they would witness to about the marvelous deeds
of Jesus who came to save his people and to fill
them with the Holy Spirit. The gift of speaking
in other tongues is a sign of God purifying our
tongues and anointing us with a spiritual gift
which is given by the Holy Spirit. This
charismatic gift enables us to pray and to speak
the praises of God and to declare his mighty
deeds in a new and direct way under the
inspiration and action of the Holy Spirit who
works in and through us for the glory of God.
This gift demonstrates how the charismatic
gifts of the Spirit work in and through us under
the anointing and leading of the Holy Spirit.
The gifts of the Spirit require our cooperation
- God gives the gift and the power to exercise
the gifts. We must then use the gifts as God
directs so that they will bear fruit and
accomplish what God intends. This is what
happened on the day of Pentecost. The disciples
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they
all began to speak in other tongues as the
Spirit gave them utterance.
Why did they speak out in different and varied
languages which they had not previously learned
or known? God obviously wanted to manifest his
presence and power through this new gift of
speaking in unknown tongues or languages. That
is why the Holy Spirit prompted them and
compelled them to utter words beyond their own
natural comprehension. They were given the
supernatural ability to speak under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit words which only
God could form as they yielded their physical
tongues to the inspired "utterances of the Holy
Spirit" (Acts 2:4). The Holy Spirit gave them
words of praise and revelation of the marvelous
works of God and the glory of God. Thus through
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit the Father
filled the disciples of Jesus with the
same glory which he and the Son share together
with the Holy Spirit.
The miracle of speaking in
tongues reverses the curse of Babel
What is the significance of the gift of speaking
in other tongues? And why was this the first
gift of the Spirit given to the disciples at
Pentecost? Speaking in unknown tongues or
languages normally causes confusion,
misunderstanding, and division among peoples. At
Pentecost God reversed the curse of the Tower of
Babel where he had confused the rebellious
peoples with diverse languages they could not
comprehend (Genesis 11:1-11). God caused
division and confusion at Babel as a curse and
punishment for their rebellious pride and
usurping of God's rightful authority and
sovereignty over them. Now God reverses the
curse of Babel by filling the disciples of Jesus
with the fulness of his Spirit which enabled
them to speak in diverse languages which they
previously could not speak on their own - both
heavenly angelic languages as well as many
varied human languages. Strangely enough this
diversity of unknown languages brought about a
wonderful and harmonious work of unity as the
disciples spoke and prayed under the inspiration
and prompting of the Holy Spirit.
The fact that the disciples did not know what
strange language they were each speaking out did
not hinder them from raising their voices loud
enough for all the visitors from around who came
rushing to hear what all the noise was about.
Then the foreign-speaking peoples who were in
Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of Pentecost
began to recognize in their own native language
what the disciples were speaking out. Luke lists
at least 14 different language and nation groups
present when the apostles and other disciples
began to speak out in foreign tongues (Acts
2:8-11).
The reaction of the bystanders was utter
amazement. They thought the apostles had gotten
drunk with wine even though it was still early
morning - around 9:00 am! That is why the Apostle
Paul would later write, "Do not get drunk with
wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit"
(Ephesians 5:18).
This miraculous gift of speaking in unknown and
strange languages now brings about a new kind of
unity in the Holy Spirit that both purifies and
unites all the diverse languages into a
harmonious language of praise and revelation of
God's glory among the human race. Now the
languages of heaven - the angelic orders who
sing their choruses of praise and worship - are
united with the multitude and diversity of
humans who praise and glorify God with diverse
tongues and languages. This united chorus of
angelic and human beings blend into a glorious
chorus of praise, worship, adoration, and
revelation of God's glory and majesty which
shine through all of his creation - both
spiritual and material, angelic and human.
The Holy Spirit unites and
draws us to the Lord
The hallmark of the Holy Spirit's action is to
always unite rather than to divide, to heal
rather than harm, build up rather than tear
down. The Holy Spirit does not drive people away
but draws us into the presence of God. The
Spirit gives us a direct immediate experiential
knowledge of God's presence with us. The Holy
Spirit witnesses with our spirit that the Father
has raised his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, from
the dead and and has exalted him at his right
hand in heaven. It is only by the Holy Spirit
that we can truly acknowledge that Jesus is Lord
over the heavens and the earth - he is the Lord
and Ruler over all his creation (1 Corinthians
12:3; Philippians 2:11).
The gift of tongues is a sign of God's
sovereign power to bring us into his presence
and to unite our spirit with his Spirit in a
chorus of praise, wonder, awe, reverence, glory,
and exultation.
Exercising the gift of
tongues today
Some scholars and teachers argue that the
charismatic gifts of the Spirit, including the
gift of tongues, ceased with the death of the
last apostle. The historical record of
eyewitness testimonies of numerous people
throughout the past 20 centuries give ample
evidence of charismatic gifts and miraculous
signs and wonders recorded in the lives of many
saints, missionaries, martyrs, churches, and
renewal movements.
The gift of tongues did not completely cease
after the age of the early apostles. With the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the pentecostal
and charismatic movements which began in the
early 20th century, the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit and the charismatic gifts have spread
widely to many millions of people around the
world (see Dr. Vinson Synan's article on The
Century of the Holy Spirit - an historical
account of the Pentecostal - charismatic renewal
since January 1, 1901.) It is clearly the
largest growing Christian movement worldwide.
Today many millions of people experience the
charismatic gifts of the Spirit - including the
gift of tongues. Modern skeptics who do not
believe in miracles regard the "speaking in
tongues" as mere babble or incoherent sounds.
Paul the Apostle lists two kinds of tongues -
the "tongues of humans" and the "tongues
of angels" (1 Corinthians 13:1). Who are we -
mere mortals - to tell God that the gift of
tongues is impossible or too impractical for
modern skeptics and believers alike!
I have personally recognized some of the
languages which people have unknowingly spoken
out when they were praying in tongues or
prophesying in tongues under the anointing of
the Holy Spirit. I have heard people I know
personally pray out the Lord's Prayer (the Our
Father) and other prayers in perfect Greek or in
perfect Latin (two languages I had studied and
learned to speak in university) - even though
these people had no previous understanding or
ability to speak these languages. When I told
them what language they were praying out and
translated the words of the prayers they were
saying, they were completely dumbfounded and
amazed.
I have also witnessed and have spoken with
other observers who could identify the
particular language and dialect uttered by
people who were speaking in tongues they did not
previously know. I remember very vividly on one
occasion a visiting missionary who had been
stationed for several years with a small
isolated tribe in a remote section of Africa
attended our Thursday evening charismatic prayer
meeting. He was a professor who specialized in
linguistics. During the course of the prayer
meeting he distinctly heard someone close to him
pray out loud in an obscure foreign language
which he immediately understood and recognized
to be from the remote tribe he lived with in
Africa. The person who was praying in tongues
was a university student who did not have any
previous learning or facility for speaking in
another language.
This professor had spent several years working
with this particular tribe in order to deciper
their language and translate the Bible into
their native tongue. As far as he knew he was
the only person outside this isolated tribe who
had systematically studied their language and
could understand it well. Now, thousands of
miles away at a prayer meeting in the United
States he hears a young American student pray a
perfectly articulated prayer in this native
tribal dialect. The visiting professor stood up
in the prayer meeting and explained to everyone
present what he had just heard and understood.
He was absolutely convinced that this was a
miracle and a sign God had used for his own
personal edification.
In the past 45 years, since I was baptized in
the Holy Spirit in January, 1969, I have prayed
with thousands of people to receive a full
release of the power of the Holy Spirit and for
the gifts of the Spirit. Nearly everyone I have
prayed with have received the gift of tongues
during the prayer session for the baptism in the
Holy Spirit. A few received the gift of tongues
a few days or weeks later. I also know a few who
refused to ask for the gift of tongues because
they didn't want it. I am convinced that God
wants this gift for everyone because it helps us
to pray more easily and with greater expectant
faith and conviction. The Holy Spirit knows
better than we do how God wants us to pray and
what he wants us to pray out and intercede for.
Paul the Apostle describes how the Spirit helps
us pray:
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with
sighs too deep for words. And he who searches
the hearts of men knows what is the mind of
the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for
the saints according to the will of God
(Romans 8:26-27).
The Scriptures are full of examples of how the
Lord opens our lips to praise him and to speak
his word:
Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare
your praise. (Psalm 51:15).
The Lord God has given me the tongue of those
who are taught, that I may know how to sustain
with a word him that is weary. Morning by
morning he wakens, he wakens my ear to hear as
those who are taught.(Isaiah 50:4)
Yielding to gifts of the
Holy Spirit
If we desire to receive
the gifts of the Spirit, then we must learn to
yield to the Holy Spirit. Jesus instructed his
disciples in how to pray with expectant faith
for the gift of the Holy Spirit:
And I tell you,
Ask, and it will be given you; seek,
and you will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you. For every one who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him
who knocks it will be opened. What father
among you, if his son asks for a fish, will
instead of a fish give him a serpent; or
if he asks for an egg, will give him a
scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will the heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke
11:9–13)
The first step to yielding
to the Holy Spirit is asking with expectant
faith. If God makes a promise, do we
expect him to fulfill his promise? If we ask him
to give us something he wants us to have now and
not later, then we ask with trust and with
expectant faith that he will answer us as he has
promised.
What do we ask for when we pray to be baptized
in the Holy Spirit? We ask with expectant faith
for a full outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our
personal lives - for a full release of the gifts
and power of the Spirit within us. We ask for
the Holy Spirit to give us the gift of tongues
and the gift of interpretation of tongues. We
ask for the Holy Spirit to give us the gift of
prophecy so we can speak his word to others as
he leads us to speak to them. We ask for
prophetic direction in being led by the Spirit
to speak with certain individuals the Spirit
wants us to speak with. And we ask for the
Spirit to give us the words and message he
wishes us to speak to others - especially in
evangelizing and sharing our testimony with
others.
Yielding to the gift
of tongues
Paul the Apostle writes,
"I would like every one of you to speak in
tongues" (1 Corinthians 14:4). Learning how to
yield to the gift of tongues is very
beneficial for us. It is first and foremost a
gift of prayer - a prayer that allows the Holy
Spirit to pray in and through us for the glory
of God (Romans 8:26–27).
The Acts of the Apostles
explains how the first disciples of Jesus
received the gift of tongues on Pentecost:
“And they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance” (Acts 2:4).
Notice in this passage
from Acts that "all were filled, not
some." Each of the 120 disciples did something
– they each spoke out in a language they did
not previously know. As they began to speak
out the Holy Spirit formed their speech into a
new tongue or language they did not know. When
we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give us the
gift of tongues it is important that we first
stop speaking out in our own language. We then
speak out whatever sounds, syllables, and
words the Holy Spirit begins to give us. As we
cooperate with the Holy Spirit, the new words
in another language will flow from our lips as
we allow the Spirit to speak through and
within us for the glory of God.
Learning to
exercise spiritual gifts
Speaking out and praying
in tongues is a cooperative work of the Holy
Spirit and the individual who yields to the
gift of the Spirit by speaking out with the
new tongue the Spirit gives. Learning how to
yield to the gift of tongues is an excellent
way for learning how to yield to the other
charismatic gifts of the Spirit. We ask with
expectant faith. We yield ourselves to the
leading of the Holy Spirit. We step out in
faith by acting and speaking out as the Spirit
leads us.
Do you want to grow in yielding to the Holy
Spirit and to the gifts the Spirit wishes to
give you? Pray with other Christians who have
experience and wisdom in exercising the gifts of
the Spirit. Learn from those who are wise in
discerning the spiritual gifts and who have
experience in helping others grow in using the
gifts of the Spirit. The Life in the Spirit
Seminars is an excellent and proven way to learn
how to yield to the Holy Spirit and gifts of the
Spirit.
[Three excellent books: Life in the Spirit
and Life in the Spirit Seminar for Children
by Jerry Munk, and Life in the Spirit Team
Manual all available from Tabor
House.]
See related articles:
> Baptized
in the Holy Spirit by Steve
Clark
> Spiritual
Gifts by Steve Clark
> Exercising
the Prophetic Gifts of the Spirit by
Bruce Yocum
> Forms
of Prophecy by Bruce Yocum
> Clues
for
Evangelism by Joe Difato
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