God Wants All To Speak In Tongues

We are continuing our time looking at the doctrine of speaking in tongues. Last time we saw that there was a difference between the gift of "divers tongues" meant for the public assembly and tongues meant for private edification.

How do we know that?

Well in the 1 Cor 12 passage it says that all the ministry gifts are .....

1 Cor 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

And then one of the gifts he list is the gift of "kinds of tongues." But later in ....

1 Cor 14:2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.


Now Paul is talking about something that is not for men or meant for the public, but for your own personal relationship with God.

1 Cor 14:4-5 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

Paul specifically states that the normal gift of tongues that comes with the Baptism in the Spirit, is not for the church but for self edification. It is about your personal relationship with God. He contrasts that with prophecy which is for the church.

A. It is a practice that is meant to continue
Acts 2:3-4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Pentecost was just the beginning of a lifestyle of self edification through the spirit.

B. Paul encourages the practice of tongues.
1 Cor 14:5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy.

God's desire is for all of us to speak in tongues, yet Paul says that he would rather have them prophesy, because prophesy is a gift that is for the whole congregation not just for self edification. But that doesn’t take away his desire to see all speak in tongues.

C. Praying with tongues is praying with your spirit.
1 Cor 14:14-16 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.

Paul contrasts the practice of praying with his spirit and praying with his mind. He says that he does both. Paul is also careful in Chapter 14 to give proper instructions for the public use of tongues in 1 cor 14:

Tongues are great, but don’t interrupt the meeting with them or draw attention to yourself with them unless there is an interpretation. This is the gift of divers tongues and interpretation to edify the hearers.

Praying in tongues builds you up spiritually. We saw that it says in 1 Cor. 14 that when we pray in tongues, we pray in the spirit. A minister once was away from home and he sensed a need to pray. He began to pray in the spirit, in tongues. The Holy Spirit revealed that there was a situation with his mother. Her life was in danger. As he prayed, he got the sense that she would be alright. Suddenly the phone rang and his wife told him that his mother had had a heart attack and was on the way to the hospital. But he encouraged his wife that she would be alright because the Lord had shown him. And she was.

D. Rules in the church regarding tongues usage.
1 Cor 14:27-28 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two-or at the most three-should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

Paul is clear that if there is no interpretation, the person speaking in tongues should keep his voice down and speak to himself and to God. This was not a prohibition on tongues, just that they would keep their voices down and not take attention from the proceedings.

RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Remember it is not about receiving tongues, but about receiving the Baptism In the Holy Spirit.
A. It’s a gift that is received by faith. So ask.

B. Laying on of hands
Many times the Baptism in the Spirit comes through the laying on of hands. Make sure you have someone that you trust to pray for you to receive. We will cover this topic later in this series as laying on of hands is considered to be a core doctrine according to the book of Hebrews 6.

C. Partner with the Spirit
Many times people misunderstand and believe that the Holy Spirit is going to control them like a robot. No, you must do the speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit will just give you the inspiration to speak. So when you pray and you sense the presence of the spirit, just open your mouth and partner with the Spirit pray in tongues. Give expression to it. Don’t think about what you are saying. Don’t pray in English. Begin speaking in tongues by faith. The Spirit won't pray for you, you must do it.

The Tongues that come From the Baptism in the Holy Sprit are for all believers. God wants us to have a spiritual empowerment and a prayer language as evidence of having received. Will you believe and receive ?