Monday, July 23, 2018
Other tongues
Acts 2:4
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The matter of speaking in tongues or, speaking with other tongues, is one that has caused and still causes great debate, if not controversy, between and among various segments of the church.
Neither side doubts that, on the day of the first celebration of Pentecost after the ascension of Jesus, there was a spiritual phenomenon that resulted in the disciples speaking in languages recognizable by those from far-flung parts of the known world.
Luke records it this way, “they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”” Acts 2:7-11.
Pentecostal Christians argue that one must receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the first evidence of which is speaking with other tongues. Here is how my denomination puts it, “The principle distinctive of the Church of God as a Pentecostal organization is its belief in speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance and that this is the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.”
There is good doctrinal argument to support this position. Almost every reference in the Acts and later seem to suggest that the Holy Spirit being poured out on a group was accompanied by speaking with other tongues.
There was the case of the Gentiles at Cornelius’ house, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 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. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.” Acts 10:44-46.
And there was the case of the Ephesians, “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.” Acts 19:5,6.
Now the non-Pentecostals have good doctrinal argument too. For example, they always argue that the disciples, on the day of Pentecost, spoke in other known languages that were recognised by the foreign language speakers visiting Jerusalem that day. They didn’t speak some incomprehensible mumbo-jumbo.
The apostle Paul in answering some of the questions that the Corinthians asked seemed to suggest that both the comprehensible languages of men and the incomprehensible languages of heavenly hosts were envisaged. Making the point that love was the key he wrote, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1.
We are not trying to settle the tongues question today, at least not the bone of contention between the Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals. Sometimes we miss the forest for the trees. There is a language issue to be addressed in many parts of the church and it is very often overlooked.
Most Christians who are not otherwise multilingual tend to stick to worship, prayer, and ministry in their own tongue. Only those called to missionary service tend to put in the work necessary to speak another language. It is surprising that, with all the migration, so few are speaking other languages.
Language is often critical to success and failure in difficult circumstances. There is an example in Paul’s ministry when he confronted a mob in Jerusalem. He wanted to address them directly and asked the Centurion’s permission. “Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” He replied, “Can you speak Greek?” Acts 21:37.
I live in Guyana and the Internet assumes that we speak Spanish. Once our IP address points to a location, websites tend to default to Spanish or at least offer the Spanish language option. Interestingly, we are located on the Atlantic coast of South America where the languages spoken from east to west are Portuguese, French, Dutch, and then Spanish. Guyana is bordered by Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish speaking countries but the vast majority of us only speak English. This is a growing problem.
The challenge for the church today, though, is not so much the known languages of men and the unknown languages of angels. The challenge is that many are now speaking in unknown tongues and the church is unable to communicate.
Today’s culture wars are using formerly familiar words with new meanings and we are unable to adjust our thinking. Younger generations are using language in ways that defy traditional translation. And new technologies are creating new ways of using language in communications and new ways of communication without traditional language.
We have to accelerate our capacity to, as it were, speak in these new tongues if we want to effectively serve and minister to this generation. Words in our languages no longer mean what we think they mean, at least not to this generation. This is not our old-fashioned generation gap.
Confident that the Spirit is still speaking today, we have to speak with new tongues whether we are Pentecostal or not.
Think on these things:
- Have you had any experience of the Holy Spirit prompting you to speak in a different language?
- Does your church encourage speaking in other tongues as a normal part of Christian worship?
- Can you think of any ways in which people around you are using language, and communicating that are unfamiliar to you?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would be open to the ministry of the Holy Spirit so that through us He might minister to other generations and people groups.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex