If there’s one thing that I’ve seen destroy people’s lives, it’s confusion. Not knowing the truth or what is actually going on is the biggest hinderance to anyone’s life, but especially to a Christian(Hosea 4:6). Today, I am going to teach the truth about one of the biggest argument starters in Christianity. What most people call, speaking in tongues. Some don’t know what it is, what it’s purpose is, and if they even need it.
I’m going to address all of it & by the end of this teaching you’re going to have a fully comprehensive knowledge about what it is & what it is not. So, let’s get started.
First off, in order to understand “speaking in tongues” you have to explain what function “speaking in tongues” is operating in. Trust me, you’re gonna understand why I say that in just a second. Based off of Scripture there are 3 different “tongues” that the modern day Christian church has clumped into one term & it messes everybody up. So as soon you learn this you’re going to be able to make a clear distinction between what’s being used in private & in public with other Christians.
In the past I’ve taught on the power of baptism not just in water but in the Holy Spirit & fire as well. If you haven’t checked that out I’d encourage you to read up on that teaching first, it’ll bless you & it’ll lead right into this one.
First off, Jesus made it very clear that anyone who believes in Him will speak with new tongues as it is written in Mark 16:17 as a sign that they believe. That means that anyone who believes in Jesus can speak in new tongues if they believe, just like Jesus said they could. I’ll explain more on this in just a bit.
Y’see when you become filled with & baptized of the Holy Spirit(Holy Ghost) & fire, You gain an ability to do what’s called praying in the Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost, praying in your heavenly language or praying in tongues(1 Corinthians 14:14). This gift is a sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit & being baptized (or born again) of the Holy Spirit & fire, not the only sign(as it is written in Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Romans 12:4-8). You release your heavenly prayer language by faith.
The reason Christians need the gift of praying in the Holy Spirit is explained beautifully in Romans 8:26-27 & Jude 1:20-21. We as humans don’t always know what we should pray. We’re limited by our human understanding & comprehension. God’s Spirit on the other hand always knows what we should pray because He’s omnipotent & He knows everything we need. And as it is written in 1 Corinthians 6:17 we know that when we’re born again of the Spirit of God we are joined together, united to be one spirit with God. When we pray in the Holy Spirit, we’re praying the perfect will of God in & with Holy Spirit as Holy Spirit is praying the perfect will of God in, with & through us as individuals. Perfect unison. Perfect prayer. Every time.
When you pray in the Holy Spirit, you’re not communicating with anyone but God. There’s no need for interpretation of it. Also, that’s not to say that you can’t or shouldn’t pray in your known language, that’s fine. But praying in the Spirit is better.
Now, Jesus said that believers would speak in new tongues as being one of the signs of those who believe in Him. It’s 1 of multiple signs that show what a believer in Jesus looks like. No interpretation needed. Unlike praying in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues is a sign that you’re a believer in Jesus Christ( Mark 16:17; Isaiah 28:11-12; Acts 19:1-6; 1 Corinthians 14:22).
Next is one of the 9 1 Corinthians 12 gifts of the Holy Spirit that He gives to born again sons & daughters of God to serve one another & to win the lost to Jesus. It’s what is called the gift of divers kinds of tongues(1 Corinthians 12:10). This gift is when God gives a message to someone to speak out in a heavenly language for the edification, exhortation, & comfort of others. Since the word of the Lord is released through the heavenly language which we as humans don’t naturally understand, it always requires someone with the gift of the interpretation of tongues to interpret what was said so that whoever it was intended for can be blessed by it.
One could potentially have the gift of divers kinds of tongues AND the gift of the interpretation of tongues, thus being able to interpret a message that they themselves spoke.
Finally, we will address what’s solely found in the book of Acts, what is called tongues of fire. It appears in one of the most famous stories in all of the Bible, where the people in the upper room after Jesus ascended to Heaven received the first baptism of the Holy Spirit & fire, ever. When they received the gift of the Holy Spirit(the Holy Spirit Himself is a gift) they also received tongues of fire. As it is written in Acts 2:5-11 the Holy Spirit gives the believer the ability to speak the message of God in a heavenly language to someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you & they will understand it in their native language. No interpretation needed. How powerful! God is so eager to see the lost saved that He’ll destroy language barriers to do so. That’s love.
So now you know, that the term “speaking in tongues” is not enough. It goes so much deeper than that & we always need to be specific. We should always be diligent to differentiate between speaking in tongues, praying in the Holy Spirit, the gift of divers kinds of tongues, & tongues of fire. Remember, if you want the gifts of the Holy Spirit, just earnestly desire the best ones (1 Corinthians 12:31). I’ll expand on that at another time.
I pray this teaching blessed you & brought clarity to a easy-to-understand subject. God bless you!
Evangelist Josiah Powell