Speaking in tongues Part II

There are a few more things I needed to include regarding speaking in tongues. Here they are:

Praying with the Spirit and the Understanding

In I Corinthians 14:15 Paul says, “What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with my understanding; I will also sing with the spirit and sing with the understanding also.”

There are those that believe this means we can pray and sing in “tongues” (i.e. gibberish), and in our native language. This is not what the text means. What Paul means here is when he prayed or sang, his spirit and mind were totally engaged in the process. He was not saying that he was praying or singing in tongues in private worship. In Paul’s time praying in the spirit could have meant in praying tongues, but I do not believe it applies to us today due to what I said in Part 1 of this article under the subtitle, Has tongues ceased?

Speaking in tongues as a means of spiritual warfare

There are also those in the Charismatic, Pentecostal movement…etc, that believe we can babble in tongues as a means of spiritual battle against principalities. Ephesians 6:18 is the primary passage for this. It reads, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplications for all saints.”

The passage is grossly misused to justify this practice. The writer was even caught up in this practice over twenty years ago. Prior to my Tuesday night bible study, we would have “prayer warrior classes”. In this class the youth pastor said our assignment was, “To bring down the principality that was presiding over the city of Santa Monica California”. You may be laughing right now but I’m very serious! In my ignorance, I was fully committed to what I now know to be a ridiculous and a unbiblical exercise. He later reported through the “prayers in the spirit” of all the prayer warriors, we had brought the “Prince of Santa Monica” down. You can see how tongues has been abused up until the present time. The man that coordinated these meetings was well intentioned but self deceived and deceived all of us. While it’s true we had these classes, the results weren’t real, it never occurred. It was a lie.

Tongues was never designed as a means to fight demonic spirits in heavenly places. This once again proves that those who are claiming to speak in tongues, are using a counterfeit. All Ephesians 6:18 is saying when we pray in the spirit, we’re praying by the Holy Spirit’s leading; that’s all.

The purpose of the gifts was to authenticate the speaker and his message. Jesus declared to the disciples before he ascended into heaven, “And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18).

Jesus himself authenticated his office with signs and wonders (John 4:48; John 10:25; John 14:12) as did the Apostles (Read at the least the first 16 chapters of Acts). You would do well to read the entire gospels.

Keep in mind that the church was a new revelation to all; particularly the Jews. The focus was now off of them and focused on the Gentiles; the nations surrounding them. This period was transitional and never happened before in history, the Lord had to show all that this was from and by him. He gave to some the supernatural ability to speak in tongues and perform other miraculous signs to prove he was truly among them. Tongues is only mentioned three times in the book of Acts and in three chapters in I Corinthians and only because there was chaos and disorder in regards to use of the gifts. Paul had to provide instruction so that all things would be decent and in order (I Corinthians 14:40) There’s not one mention of tongues in any of his other 12 books he wrote in the New Testament. Paul wrote I Corinthians in 55 A.D., one of his earlier books. The gift of tongues may have been used less frequently when he wrote his other epistles.

When it comes to the gift of tongues we do well to remember this wisdom: Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and in all your getting, get understanding (Proverbs 4:7).