40-Bible Teachings about Tongues - NAS

1. The Following Points Should Be Carefully Noted When Considering the Gift of Tongues.

the Gift of Tongues Was and Is a Spiritual Gift Addressing the Need for Communication in a Real Language in Order to Break the Language Barrier and Communicate the Gospel and Authentic Truth.

Acts 2:4-8 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them _utterance_. [5] Now there were Jews living in _Jerusalem_, devout men from every nation under heaven. [6] And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were _bewildered_ because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. [7] They were amazed and _astonished_, saying, "Why, are not all these who are _speaking_ _Galileans_? [8] "And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?

2. The Word "Glossalalia" Means Languages.
Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel flying in _midheaven_, having an _eternal_ gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people;

3. Acts Chapters 2, 10, and 19, Contain the Only Three Mentions of Tongues. In Each Instance, People of Other Language Groups Are Present. In Other Words, the Gift of Tongues Was Present for the Sake of Those Who Would Benefit by Hearing the Gospel in Their Mother Tongue.

In Acts 2, Tongues Are.
Acts 2:8 "And how is it that we each hear them in our own _language_ to _which_ we were born?

Acts 2:11 Cretans and Arabs -we hear them in our own _tongues_ _speaking_ of the mighty deeds of God."

4. In Acts 10, Cornelius and His Household Upon Accepting Jesus Spoke in Tongues.
Peter was a Jew. Cornelius was a Greek. Cornelius spoke in a real language which Peter understood. This confirmed in Peter's mind the reality of Cornelius' conversion.

 5. Cornelius Received the Same Gift the Disciples Received.
Acts 11:17 "_Therefore_ if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after _believing_ in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?"

Every time the Bible mentions tongues in Acts there is more than one language group present.

 6. The Corinthian Church Was Paul's Problem Church. In Corinth, Paul Attempted to Control the Abuse of the Genuine Gift. He Set Forth the Following Guidelines.
1 Corinthians 14:27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it _should_ be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must _interpret_;

1 Corinthians 14:28 But if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the _church_; and let him speak to _himself_ and to God.

1 Corinthians 14:32 And the _spirits_ of prophets are _subject_ to prophets;

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not a God of _confusion_ but of peace, as in all the _churches_ of the saints.

7. Paul Was Appealing for Intelligent Communication.
1 Corinthians 14:9 So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is _spoken_? For you will be _speaking_ into the air.

1 Corinthians 14:19 However, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten _thousand_ words in a tongue.

8. The Holy Spirit Interprets Our Prayers into the Language of Heaven, Interceding for Us at God's Throne.
Romans 8:26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself _intercedes_ for us with _groanings_ too deep for words;

Since the Holy Spirit translates our prayers, it is unnecessary to speak a language we do not understand.

 9. The Highest Faculty That God Has Given to Each of Us Is Our Mind.
Philippians 2:5 Have this _attitude_ in _yourselves_ which was also in Christ Jesus,

It is dangerous to allow any power, to control our mind. The mind is the seat of intelligence. It is with the mind that we worship God. Any form of worship which bypasses the mind can become emotional manipulation.

 10. Tongues Is Only One of the Spiritual Gifts. It Is Not the Sign of the Infilling of the Holy Spirit. Witnessing Is a Sign of the Infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:6-8 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are _restoring_ the kingdom to Israel?" [7] He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own _authority_; [8] but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My _witnesses_ both in _Jerusalem_, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the _remotest_ part of the earth."

11. The Purpose of All the Gifts of the Spirit Is to Strengthen the Church.
1 Corinthians 14:12 So also you, since you are zealous of _spiritual_ gifts, seek to abound for the _edification_ of the church.

12. Not Everyone Receives Every Gift.
1 Corinthians 12:29-30 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of _miracles_, are they? [30] All do not have gifts of _healings_, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not _interpret_, do they?

13. As God Sees Fit, He Gives Gifts to Each Person for the Purpose of Furthering His Work.
1 Corinthians 12:6-11 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. [7] But to each one is given the _manifestation_ of the Spirit for the common good. [8] For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of _knowledge_ according to the same Spirit; [9] to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, [10] and to another the _effecting_ of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the _distinguishing_ of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the _interpretation_ of tongues. [11] But one and the same Spirit works all these things, _distributing_ to each one _individually_ just as He wills.

1 Corinthians 12:18 But now God has placed the _members_, each one of them, in the body, just as He _desired_.

Next Bible Study: 41-The Bible's Longest Prophecy

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