Participants: Pastor Stephen P. Bohr
Series Code: SOP
Program Code: SOP000008A
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00:14 Well welcome to presentation number eight
00:18 in the series on, The Secrets of Pentecost. 00:21 We have a very exciting subject to study today. 00:24 The title is, The Tongues of Men and Angels. 00:29 What are the languages of angels? 00:32 Well, we're going to take a look and see. 00:34 But before we do, we want to ask for the Lord's presence, 00:38 as we always do before we open His Word. 00:41 So let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 00:45 Our loving Father, we come before Your throne, 00:48 as we have every session before, to plead for the 00:53 presence of Your Holy Spirit through the ministry 00:55 of the angels. 00:57 We are going to study very important things. 01:00 Things that are misunderstood to a great degree 01:04 in the Christian world. 01:06 And we want to understand things as You would have them 01:09 understood from Your Holy Word. 01:12 Remove preconceived notions, remove obstacles from our 01:16 minds and hearts, that we might be able to hear Your voice 01:20 speaking to us. 01:22 We thank You, Father for the privilege of approaching 01:25 Your throne in prayer. 01:26 And we know that You have heard this prayer 01:29 because we come before Your throne in the mighty 01:32 and powerful name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 01:35 Amen. 01:39 We'd like to begin our study today by turning in our Bibles 01:42 to Matthew 28:19-20. 01:48 Now these are words that Jesus spoke immediately before 01:52 His ascension to heaven. 01:54 And so let's read there in Matthew 28:19-20 02:00 where Jesus gives the great commission to His disciples. 02:04 It says there... 02:11 So where are the disciples supposed to go? 02:14 To all of the nations to make disciples. 02:16 And then what are they supposed to do? 02:37 So the great commission involves preaching, doesn't it? 02:41 Jesus is saying, "I want you to go out 02:43 and I want you to preach the gospel to all of the nations." 02:47 Now in Mark 16, there is a passage which is 02:52 parallel to this one. 02:54 In other words, it's taking place in the same time frame 02:57 as Matthew 28. 03:00 Only, it adds details that we don't find in Matthew 28. 03:04 So let's read that passage. 03:06 Mark 16 and beginning with verse 15, 03:09 and we'll read through verse 18. 03:20 So what is the mission that Jesus gives to His disciples? 03:24 To go into all of the world and preach the 03:26 gospel to every creature. 03:28 In other words, the purpose of the giving of the Holy Spirit 03:32 is to empower the disciples to preach the gospel. 03:36 And then notice that when they preach, 03:38 there are going to be believers. 03:49 So it's speaking about those who hear the message. 03:52 And then it says in verse 17, "And these signs..." 03:56 Remember that word, because we're going to come back to it 03:58 in our next study. 04:12 This is right before the ascension of Christ. 04:21 Now some people have misunderstood this 04:23 and they have church where they pick up snakes on purpose. 04:26 This is saying, if by accident a snake bites you, 04:30 you know, and it's a poisonous snake, you're not going to die. 04:33 And some people, some Christians, even drink poison. 04:36 They say, "Well, because God gave the promise that 04:38 if I drink poison, it's not going to hurt me." 04:40 Well the fact is, that's presumption. 04:43 It's saying, if by accident or somebody plans to kill you 04:46 by putting something poisonous in your drink, 04:48 God is going to overrule. 04:49 But it's not giving you license to pick up snakes 04:52 and to drink poison stuff. 04:54 And so it continues saying... 05:07 These are all spiritual gifts, aren't they? 05:09 Tongues, the gift of healing, the gift of exorcism. 05:13 In other words, God is going to give gifts to those 05:16 who believe and receive the gospel of Christ. 05:19 Now in summary, three key points that I want us 05:22 to notice in this passage. 05:23 Number one, the mission is to preach the gospel 05:27 in the whole world. 05:28 Number two, the purpose of preaching the gospel 05:31 is so that people will believe and will be baptized. 05:35 And those who believe and are baptized 05:39 will receive the gift of tongues. 05:42 It doesn't say everyone will receive the gift of healing. 05:45 It doesn't say everyone will receive the gift of exorcism. 05:48 It doesn't say everyone will receive the gift of tongues. 05:51 The Holy Spirit, we're going to find, gives the gifts 05:54 according to the need of the time according to what the 05:57 Holy Spirit wills, not what human beings will. 06:01 Now we need to ask the question, when Mark 16 says 06:07 that those who believe will speak with new tongues, 06:11 what does that mean, "new tongues"? 06:13 Well let me tell you what the Bible versions do. 06:16 The New Century Version, as well as many others, 06:20 translate the word, "tongues," there as, "new languages." 06:25 In other words, the word that is used there is, "glóssa," 06:28 where we get the word, "glossolalia," from. 06:30 Which means, to speak in tongues. 06:32 And so many Bible versions, they don't say believers will 06:37 speak new tongues. 06:38 They say that they will speak new languages. 06:40 And that's precisely what Jesus means, by the way. 06:43 We're going to notice that. 06:45 And a slim minority of Bible versions, such as for example, 06:50 the Good News Translation and Today's English Version, 06:54 they say that people will speak in strange tongues. 06:59 Now that is a mistranslation, because it does not 07:03 say, "strange tongues." 07:04 It simply says, "glóssais." 07:06 In other words, they will speak in tongues, in new tongues. 07:10 To say that they are strange tongues is an interpretation. 07:14 It is not a translation. 07:16 Unless by that you mean that they're strange 07:19 to the person who is speaking them because 07:21 they've never spoken that language before. 07:23 Now the question then is, for whom are these tongues new? 07:28 Are they new for the people who are speaking them? 07:33 Or are they new in the sense that they're not spoken 07:35 anywhere on planet earth? 07:37 I believe, in the light of what we've studied in our 07:39 previous session, they are languages which are spoken 07:42 somewhere on planet earth but which the preacher did not 07:45 previously know, which the preacher received 07:48 by a miraculous intervention of God. 07:51 Incidentally, in Acts 2:4, and verse 41, and verse 44, 07:58 we find the identical ideas that we just read in Mark 16. 08:04 You have the idea of receiving the Holy Spirit, 08:07 you have the idea of speaking in new tongues, 08:11 you have the idea of unbelievers believing 08:14 when they hear the Word spoken in their own language, 08:17 and you also have the idea of those who believe 08:20 being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit. 08:24 So we know that what Mark 16 is referring to 08:28 is the same gift that took place on the day of Pentecost. 08:31 And we've already studied that on the day of Pentecost, 08:34 those were not unknown tongues in the sense of gibberish, 08:38 a language that is spoken nowhere on planet earth, 08:41 but it refers to languages which those who spoke did not 08:45 know before, which the Holy Spirit gave them 08:47 the capacity to speak. 08:50 Now let's review what the purpose of the 08:52 gift of tongues is. 08:54 What is the purpose according to the passage in Mark? 08:58 It's for preaching the gospel to every creature, isn't it? 09:01 Isn't that the purpose of the gift of tongues 09:03 also according to Acts 1? 09:05 Let's read again what Jesus said in Acts 1:8. 09:10 It's so clear that the gift of the Holy Spirit 09:14 and the gift of tongues is given for witnessing. 09:17 It is given for evangelism. 09:19 It is not given so that a person can speak in a tongue 09:22 that is spoken nowhere on planet earth. 09:24 That's not practical, that's not going to win any souls, 09:27 because they're not going to understand 09:29 what the speaker is saying. 09:30 And so notice what Jesus said in Acts 1:8. 09:44 Notice the purpose of the power. 09:58 So the purpose of the gift of tongues is to witness. 10:02 Now did you notice the sequence of places where 10:07 the disciples were suppose to witness? 10:09 It says that they were suppose to witness in Jerusalem, 10:12 in Judea, Samaria, and then to the end of the earth. 10:16 By the way, this verse gives you the basic structure 10:20 of the book of Acts. 10:22 Let me just go through the book of Acts in broad strokes 10:26 so that you can see that this one verse gives you 10:29 the sequence or the movement of the gospel 10:32 in the entire book of Acts. 10:34 In Mark 16:15-17 where Jesus speaks of new tongues, 10:40 Jesus is in the upper room in Mark 16. 10:44 Actually, He's not in the upper room. 10:45 He's actually right before the ascension 10:49 with the disciples upon the Mount of Olives. 10:52 But then in Acts chapter 2 through chapter 7 you find 10:57 that the events are taking place in Jerusalem. 11:02 Remember, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 11:04 to the ends of the earth. 11:05 And so, from Acts 2 through chapter 7, 11:09 you have events that are transpiring in Jerusalem. 11:11 And of course, Acts 7 speaks about the stoning of Stephen. 11:16 But this is all happening in Jerusalem. 11:19 Then in Acts 8:1-2, which we're not going to read, 11:23 we're told that the disciples were dispersed to Judea 11:29 because of the persecution in Jerusalem. 11:31 So in Acts 8:1-2, the gospel has gone to Judea 11:34 because the disciples are persecuted 11:37 and they have to spread out. 11:40 Then if you go to Acts 8:4-25, the disciples are actually 11:46 preaching in Samaria. 11:48 Notice the sequence: Jerusalem, then Judea chapter 8:1-2, 11:53 then Samaria. 11:55 And it's interesting to notice in Acts 8:6-7 11:59 when the gospel goes to Samaria, two signs are mentioned 12:03 that the apostles were actually performing. 12:07 One was casting out demons, 12:10 and the other one was healing people. 12:13 Are those two of the gifts that Jesus had mentioned in Mark 16? 12:17 Absolutely. 12:18 Now when you get to Acts 9, you have the conversion 12:23 of Saul of Tarsus. 12:25 So I want you to notice the sequence here. 12:28 In Mark 16:15-17, Jesus is about to ascend to heaven, 12:35 and He speaks these words; that His followers will 12:38 speak in new tongues. 12:40 Acts 2 through 7, the events are taking place in Jerusalem. 12:43 Acts 8:1-2, the events are taking place in Judea. 12:47 Acts 8:4-25, the events are taking place in Samaria. 12:52 And then in Acts 9, you have the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. 12:57 Now why would the conversion of Saul of Tarsus 13:00 be particularly significant? 13:02 Because Saul of Tarsus was going to take the gospel 13:05 to the utter most ends of the earth 13:08 on his missionary journeys. 13:09 Right? 13:11 Which is what happens in the rest of the book of Acts. 13:14 In Acts 10 and 11, the gospel goes to Caesarea. 13:19 In Acts 18, the gospel goes to Corinth. 13:23 In Acts 19, the gospel goes to Ephesus. 13:27 And of course, there are many other places 13:29 where the apostle Paul took the message as well. 13:31 So do you see that the structure of the book of Acts 13:35 is found in this one verse? 13:37 The message begins in Jerusalem. 13:40 Actually, when Jesus is about to ascend to heaven 13:43 He speaks of the new tongues. 13:45 Then the message goes to Jerusalem, 13:47 then it goes to Judea, then it goes to Samaria, 13:50 and eventually it goes to the ends of the earth, 13:55 as Jesus had predicted. 13:57 Now I want to read you a couple of statements 14:00 from the spirit of prophecy on the gift of tongues 14:02 on the day of Pentecost. 14:04 One of these I've read before, but the other one I have not. 14:07 The first one from, Desire of Ages, 821, 14:10 I have not read in a previous lecture. 14:12 The second one I have. 14:13 But I want to read it again because it tells us 14:16 what the gift of tongues, of speaking in new tongues, was. 14:20 It says there in, Desire of Ages, 821... 15:07 The spoke the languages without an accent. 15:10 That's amazing. 15:12 Now the second statement, as I mentioned I already read, 15:15 Acts of the Apostles, pages 39-40. 15:20 Speaking about the gift of tongues that was given 15:23 to the apostles, it says... 15:33 What is meant by, "fluency"? 15:36 Naturally, easily. Right? 15:53 Remember what happened at Babel? 15:55 The tongues were confused because God didn't want 15:57 evil to consolidate, to centralize, in one place. 16:01 So God says, "I'll make it very difficult for evil 16:03 to consolidate and to form a global system against God. 16:07 So I'll spread them out in different languages, 16:09 in different tongues, different cultures, 16:11 so that they don't get along and so you don't have a 16:14 united rebellion against my kingdom." 16:16 Of course, that created a problem on the day of Pentecost. 16:19 Because the apostles could only speak Aramaic, 16:21 and there were many languages there. 16:23 And so God says, "I'm going to undo what happened at Babel. 16:27 I'm going to give My servants the capacity 16:29 to speak those languages." 16:30 And so she continues saying... 16:56 What was it they were going to speak? 16:58 They were going to speak gibberish, right? 16:59 Words that nobody could understand. 17:01 Of course not. 17:18 A sign, if you please. 17:20 Those are my words there. 17:26 So was this a sign to unbelievers that God 17:29 had worked powerfully for them? 17:31 That's an important point. 17:32 Because tomorrow, 1 Corinthians 14, 17:34 we're going to see that the gift of tongues is for unbelievers. 17:37 Now notice what it continues saying. 18:00 But now we need to ask the question about Corinth. 18:04 For some reason, you know, people say, "Okay, we accept 18:08 the idea that in Acts 2 the gift was languages. 18:11 And we accept that in Acts 10 the gift was languages. 18:15 And we accept that in Acts 19 it was languages. 18:18 But in 1 Corinthians 14 that was a different kind of language. 18:24 That was an angelic language that is spoken 18:26 nowhere on planet earth." 18:28 What they're saying is that the gift in 1 Corinthians 14 18:31 is different than the gift that God gave 18:35 in all of these other places. 18:36 Now there are three main views. 18:38 Let me summarize those three main views 18:40 about what was happening in the church of Corinth. 18:44 View number one is the idea that the gift of tongues 18:48 in Corinth was a genuine gift that was unrelated 18:54 to the gift that God gave in Acts 2. 18:57 In other words, the idea is that the Corinthians were speaking 19:01 an angelic language. 19:04 Not a language of the nations like happened in Acts 2. 19:07 In other words, it was a genuine gift, 19:09 but it was the gift of speaking in an angelic language, 19:11 not a language that was spoken somewhere on planet earth. 19:15 There's a second view. 19:16 And that is, that the Corinthians were speaking 19:19 in a language that is spoken nowhere on planet earth, 19:23 but that this was a counterfeit. 19:26 In other words, they were speaking gibberish, 19:28 but this was not a true gift of the Holy Spirit. 19:31 This was actually a counterfeit. 19:34 And number three, there was the view that the gift 19:38 that was given in Corinth is the identical gift 19:42 that was given in the book of Acts. 19:44 In other words, it's not a different gift. 19:46 It is the same. 19:48 It's languages that are spoken somewhere on planet earth. 19:51 Are you understanding the three points of view? 19:53 First point of view is that it was a genuine gift 19:57 that the Corinthians had, but it wasn't the same gift as Acts 2. 20:01 It wasn't languages, it was an angelic language. 20:03 But it was a true gift. 20:05 The second view is that they were speaking gibberish, 20:08 a language that is spoken nowhere on planet earth, 20:11 but it was a counterfeit. 20:14 It was a false gift. 20:15 And the third view is that the gift in Corinth was the same 20:20 as in Acts 2. 20:21 It was the ability to speak real languages that are spoken 20:26 somewhere on planet earth. 20:28 Now was the gift of Acts 2 a different gift 20:32 than 1 Corinthians 14? 20:35 Was, in other words, the gift in Acts 2 the ability to speak 20:39 languages that are spoken somewhere in the world, 20:42 whereas 1 Corinthians 14 the gift is the gift to speak 20:45 some angelic tongue that is spoken nowhere on planet earth? 20:50 That's the question that we need to ask. 20:51 Now let me give you some very important details. 20:54 The word, "tongues," in 1 Corinthians 14, 20:58 which is the word, "glóssa," is identical to the word 21:02 that is used in all of the passages 21:04 that we've already studied. 21:06 It's identical to the word that is used in Mark 16:17 21:10 where Jesus said that they will speak in new tongues. 21:12 It is identical to the word that is used in 21:15 Acts 2, Acts 10, and Acts 19. 21:19 In other words, in 1 Corinthians a different word is not used. 21:21 It's the same word for, "tongues." 21:24 Secondly, the expression, "speaking in tongues," 21:28 appears in only five places in the New Testament. 21:32 The expression, "speaking in tongues." 21:34 It is used in Mark 16:17, 21:37 it is used in Acts 2, Acts 10, Acts 19, 21:42 and 1 Corinthians 12 through 14. 21:44 Would that lead you to believe that the gift in 21:46 1 Corinthians 12 through 14 is the same gift that you find 21:50 in Mark 16:17, Acts 2, Acts 10, and Acts 19 21:54 if the same expression is used? 21:57 Absolutely. 21:58 Now additionally to this, if the apostle Paul 22:02 was speaking about a counterfeit gift there in the 22:07 church of Corinth, that they were speaking gibberish 22:10 and that this gibberish was actually a counterfeit gift 22:13 of the Holy Spirit, one wonders why the apostle Paul, 22:17 in 1 Corinthians 12 through 14, would refer to tongues 22:20 as a gift of the Holy Spirit. 22:23 And one would also wonder why the apostle Paul would say in 22:26 1 Corinthians 14 that all of us should desire this gift. 22:30 If it was a counterfeit, why would he say that 22:32 we should desire this gift? 22:34 Furthermore, the apostle Paul says that he spoke in tongues 22:37 more than everyone, he says in 1 Corinthians 14. 22:40 If it was a counterfeit gift, would he say, 22:43 "Oh, I speak in counterfeit gifts more than anyone." 22:45 Of course not. 22:47 And so these indications show that the gift that was given 22:51 in Corinth was the same gift that was given in Ephesus, 22:57 in Caesarea, in Jerusalem, and of which Jesus spoke 23:01 in Mark 16:17. 23:04 Now there's an additional reason why I believe that in 23:08 1 Corinthians 14, you're dealing with the same gift 23:10 that you find in the book of Acts. 23:13 And that is that there are only two verses in the Bible 23:16 that use a combination of three words. 23:20 Now in the Old Testament, in the Septuagint... 23:22 You know, that's the Greek translation 23:24 of the Old Testament. 23:26 ...you find in Genesis 11:7 these three words... 23:30 And I want to read Genesis 11:7 as it appears in the Septuagint, 23:35 as it appears in the Greek translation 23:37 of the Old Testament. 23:38 And the reason I do this is because Corinthians 23:42 is written in Greek. 23:43 So you have to read the Old Testament text in Greek 23:46 in order to compare it with the New Testament text in Greek. 23:50 Are you following me or not? 23:51 And so it says in Genesis 11:7... 24:00 "...language..." 24:01 It's the word, "glóssa," where we get the word, 24:03 "glossolalia," from. 24:05 "...that they may not understand..." 24:07 That's the second word. 24:09 The word, "akouó," in Greek. 24:11 "...one another's speech..." 24:13 Which is the word, "phóné." 24:15 So in Genesis 11:7, it speaks about confusing the language, 24:22 "glóssa," that they may not understand, "akouó," 24:26 one another's speech, "phóné." 24:29 As I mentioned, there's only one other verse in the Bible 24:32 that uses the combination of those three words. 24:34 And it's found in 1 Corinthians 14:2, 24:38 which we will study in detail, Lord willing, 24:41 in our first session tomorrow. 24:43 It says there in 1 Corinthians 14:2, 24:46 here the apostle Paul is speaking, 24:47 "For he who speaks..." 24:49 That's the word, "phóné," in Greek. 24:54 "...in a tongue..." That's the word, "glóssa." 25:00 "...for no one understands..." That's the word, "akouó." 25:08 So if this combination of words in Genesis 11:7 25:13 refers to languages of the world, and in 1 Corinthians 14:2 25:18 the same three words are used in the same verse, 25:21 one would have to conclude that it's the same gift. 25:23 Are you with me or not? 25:25 Now, did the Babel builders speak real languages? 25:30 Of course they spoke real languages. 25:32 Did they know those languages before? 25:35 The ones who spoke them, did they know those 25:37 languages before? 25:39 No. 25:40 Instantaneously, they were given the ability to speak 25:44 a different language than they knew before, right? 25:47 They all spoke the same language before. 25:49 And so when they got the gift of tongues, you know, 25:52 one was speaking French, another was speaking English, 25:54 another was speaking Spanish, 25:55 another Japanese, another Korean. 25:57 They were speaking all the languages of the world, 25:59 but they were real languages. 26:01 And one group could not understand the other group 26:04 because they spoke in different languages. 26:07 I believe that what was happening in Corinth 26:09 is that the Corinthians were returning 26:12 to what happened at Babel. 26:13 They were speaking real languages, but they were 26:16 speaking these languages in church where nobody understood 26:19 the language that they were speaking. 26:21 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 26:23 In other words, you go to a church where the language 26:26 is Latin, and here they're rattling off Japanese. 26:30 Well you know, people cannot understand that language. 26:34 Right? 26:35 They can't understand it, but is it a language 26:37 that is spoken somewhere in the world? 26:39 Of course it's a language that's spoken somewhere in the world. 26:42 So what was happening in Corinth is that everyone in the church 26:46 was speaking in the tongue that God had given them. 26:49 And incidentally, when God gave the gift of tongues, 26:51 it remained with people for life. 26:54 The gift of tongues was not that God gave the apostles 26:57 the ability to speak in a language, and then after 27:00 they shared the gospel they forgot the language. No. 27:02 It was given to them for life. 27:06 Which is very important to realize because if it was 27:09 given for life, that means that when the Corinthians 27:11 received the gift, you know, here they go to church 27:14 and you have who knows how many, fifty of them, 27:18 rattling off a tongue that nobody can understand 27:21 even though they're languages. 27:22 Nobody can understand because the people 27:24 don't speak those languages. 27:25 Are you with me or not? 27:27 In other words, what they were doing was that they were 27:29 abusing the gift of tongues that God had given. 27:32 And the gift of tongues in Corinth was not like the gift 27:37 that Kenneth Copeland used recently in that meeting 27:40 with all the Pentecostal leaders where Tony Palmer 27:44 was there, you know, sharing a message from the pope. 27:47 You know, nobody could understand what 27:49 Kenneth Copeland was saying. 27:51 I don't think even God was understanding 27:52 what he was saying. 27:54 You know, there was no interpreter. 27:57 And even if there was an interpreter, how do you know 27:59 that the interpreter was really interpreting what 28:02 Kenneth Copeland was saying and not inventing some message? 28:05 Are you following me or not? 28:07 That is not the gift of tongues. 28:09 It's not speaking a language that is spoken nowhere 28:11 on planet earth that no one can understand. 28:13 It is a language, but the Corinthians were speaking 28:16 in different tongues that people could not understand 28:19 just to show off the gift that they had received. 28:23 Now let me share with you some of the 28:25 characteristics of Corinth. 28:28 Corinth became a Roman colony in the year 44 BC. 28:33 It was a major junction between the eastern 28:37 and the western Mediterranean. 28:39 In other words, people from the eastern and western 28:41 Mediterranean all passed through the city of Corinth. 28:45 It was also a bridge of trade between northern 28:48 and southern Greece. 28:50 It had a population of approximately 200,000, 28:55 which was composed of Romans, Greeks, Jews, 28:59 and people from many other nations. 29:02 We know that the apostle Paul spent a year and a half 29:04 in Corinth during his second missionary journey. 29:08 Corinth was one of the most immoral cities of antiquity. 29:13 A terribly immoral city in the continent of Europe. 29:17 It was a metropolitan and cosmopolitan center. 29:21 And the gift of tongues was necessary in order to reach 29:25 all of the language groups that passed through that city. 29:29 Are you understanding the reason for the 29:31 gift of tongues in Corinth? 29:33 It was a place where there were so many nations 29:36 and so many languages that it was necessary to give the 29:39 church members the ability to speak those languages 29:42 so that they could share the gospel. 29:45 Now Corinth was a messy church. 29:48 Actually, there were several churches in Corinth. 29:51 Some of the problems that the church in Corinth had 29:54 were factions or clique in the church. 29:57 There were jealousies and quarreling, 29:59 as you read the books. 30:00 There was one case of incest that was being committed 30:04 by one of the church members. 30:06 Some of them were participating in prostitution. 30:09 They were suing one another in court. 30:12 They were criticizing people who ate meat 30:15 that had been offered to idols. 30:17 Some of them were celebrating orgies. 30:20 They were abusing the Lord's Supper. 30:23 Some of them were denying that Jesus resurrected. 30:26 They were saying that the resurrection was spiritual. 30:29 And they were also misusing and abusing the gift of tongues 30:34 in the church of Corinth. 30:36 Now let's ask some questions about 30:39 1 Corinthians 12 through 14. 30:41 We're not only going to study chapter 14, 30:43 we're going to take a look at chapter 12 and 13 because 30:45 tongues are also mentioned in those chapters. 30:48 And let's just ask a series of questions about 30:52 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14. 30:54 Here are the questions. 30:56 Number one, must everyone speak in tongues? 31:01 Number two, is the gift of tongues the most important gift? 31:08 Number three, is the gift of tongues for personal edification 31:13 or a sign of spirituality? 31:17 Number four, is the gift of tongues the ability to speak 31:21 the languages of the nations of the world 31:24 or is it an unknown tongue that is not spoken anywhere 31:28 in the world? 31:30 And finally, what conditions must exist in order 31:34 to receive the gift of tongues? 31:37 Those are the questions that we're going to try to answer 31:39 as we take a look at 1 Corinthians 12 through 14. 31:44 Now I want to mention that there are four lists 31:47 of spiritual gifts in the writings of the apostle Paul. 31:50 Four lists. 31:52 There is one gift only that is mentioned in all four lists. 31:56 That's the gift of prophecy. 31:58 Tongues are only mentioned in two of the four lists. 32:02 Now I want us to take a look at these four lists 32:05 to see if tongues is the most important, 32:07 if everybody needs to speak in tongues, etc, 32:10 to see if we can find answers to our questions. 32:12 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 has the first list of spiritual gifts. 32:18 Here, the apostle Paul says... 32:20 And we're going to emphasize certain points. 32:23 "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one 32:27 for their personal edification..." 32:29 No, no, no, no. That's not what it says. 32:31 For what? 32:33 "...for the profit of all." 32:34 Let me ask you, if I was preaching here in Papiamento, 32:38 which is a dialect from the Netherlands Antilles, 32:42 would that be for the profit of all? 32:44 Now if I knew Papiamento, would that benefit me? 32:47 Of course it would benefit me because I would understand 32:49 perfectly what I'm saying. 32:51 But it wouldn't benefit you at all. 32:53 It certainly would not profit you. 32:55 So the apostle Paul is saying, "The manifestation of the Spirit 32:58 is given to each one for the profit of all." 33:01 Not for your profit, not for your self-edification, 33:03 not for a spiritual high for you. 33:06 But for the profit of all. 33:07 Now notice... 33:43 Now let's notice some details about this passage. 33:46 Where are tongues mentioned in this list? 33:50 They are mentioned last. 33:53 The gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues 33:56 are last on the list. 33:59 Furthermore, we noticed that none of these gifts are for 34:03 personal self-edification or to experience 34:05 a personal spiritual high. 34:07 All of them, as we noticed, are for the benefit 34:10 of the whole church. 34:12 And verse 11 explains that the Holy Spirit decides 34:17 who gets which gift. 34:19 We are not to seek the gifts. 34:22 The Holy Spirit gives the gifts that He knows that the 34:24 church needs at any given moment of time 34:28 as He sees necessary. 34:31 And the reason why I mention this is because there are many 34:34 charismatics who actually feel guilty because they don't 34:37 speak in tongues, and they do their utmost 34:39 to receive the gift of tongues and to speak in tongues. 34:42 And they feel guilty, they feel like they're not even saved, 34:45 if they can't speak in tongues. 34:47 Because they're told that everybody has to have 34:49 the gift of tongues. 34:51 Now let's go to list number two. 34:53 It's found in 1 Corinthians 12:28-31. 34:59 Here, the apostle Paul says, "And God has appointed..." 35:02 Who has appointed? 35:04 So am I suppose to say, "Lord, give me tongues," 35:07 and the Lord gives me tongues? No. 35:08 The Lord gives the gift of tongues when He sees 35:11 that it's necessary, not simply because I want it. 35:18 Now is there a hierarchy of gifts here? 35:20 Yes there is. 35:37 Where does he put tongues? 35:39 Last on the list. 35:41 And then verse 29 he asks the question, 35:44 "Are all apostles?" 35:47 What would the answer be to that? 35:48 What answer is the apostle Paul looking for? 35:50 No. 35:52 "Are all prophets?" No. 36:04 "Do all speak with tongues?" 36:06 What would the answer be? 36:07 No. 36:09 "Do all interpret tongues?" Of course not. 36:12 Do you notice, once again, that he puts the gift of tongues 36:16 last on the list, and the interpretation of tongues 36:19 last on the list? 36:20 And he's establishing a hierarchy of gifts, 36:23 because he says, first, second, third, and then after that. 36:26 So he's prioritizing the gifts by their importance. 36:30 And then he says in verse 31... 36:39 And of course, the more excellent way 36:41 is found in chapter 13, which is the way of love. 36:45 Love is the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit. 36:48 So summarizing, there is a hierarchy of gifts 36:52 denoted by the words, first, second, third, and after that. 36:57 Second, last on the list is the gift of tongues. 37:02 All did not receive the gift of tongues, 37:05 according to the apostle Paul. 37:08 Third, the entire argument of 1 Corinthians 12, 37:12 if you read the whole chapter, is that there is one body 37:15 with many members, and each member has a different gift 37:20 for the benefit of the body. 37:22 What good is it for everybody to have the same gift? 37:24 That's like your whole body being a head. 37:28 Or your whole body being a foot. 37:30 Or your whole body being an arm. 37:32 There are different gifts given to different individuals 37:36 for the benefit of the entire body. 37:37 The ideal of God is not that everybody have the same gift, 37:42 the gift of tongues. 37:44 Now the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:8 37:48 that tongues will cease. 37:50 So it's not one of the most important gifts. 38:03 Now let's go to list number three. 38:06 It's not found in 1 Corinthians. 38:07 It's found in Ephesians 4:11-13. 38:11 Here, the apostle Paul says, "And He Himself gave..." 38:16 Who gave? 38:17 Once again, it's the Lord, isn't it? 38:29 And I continue reading. 38:30 "So that they can show how spiritual they are, 38:34 and they can experience self-edification." 38:38 No, that's not what it says. 38:39 What is the purpose of these gifts? 38:49 Not yourself. 38:51 For the edifying of the body of Christ. 39:02 Tongues is not even mentioned on this list. 39:06 And the gift is given for the good of the body. 39:09 It is for equipping the saints for ministry 39:11 and not merely for personal edification. 39:16 Now let's go to list number four. 39:18 It's found in Romans 12:4-8. 39:22 Once again, tongues is not mentioned in the list. 39:27 It says there in Romans 12:4... 39:38 So if everybody spoke in tongues, would they have 39:40 the same function? 39:42 Of course they would. 39:43 So he says... 39:59 "Having then gifts..." What? 40:02 Ah, differing. 40:03 So does everybody have the same gift? 40:05 No, it says, "Having then gifts differing 40:08 according to the grace that is given to us..." 40:31 Does everybody have the same gift? 40:33 No. 40:35 There are many gifts in the church. 40:37 And the Holy Spirit gives out these gifts according to the 40:41 need of the body; the needs of the church. 40:44 I want to underline, once again, a very important fact. 40:49 And that is that the word, "tongues," and the expression, 40:53 "speaking in tongues," is identical in Mark 16:17, 41:00 in all of the passages in the book of Acts, and in 41:03 1 Corinthians 12 through 14. 41:06 This would seem to clearly indicate that the gift in 41:09 1 Corinthians 12 through 14 is the same gift 41:13 that we find in Mark 16:17, as well as in all of the passages 41:18 that we find in the book of Acts. 41:21 Somebody might say though, "Pastor Bohr, have you ever 41:25 read 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 where it speaks about 41:29 the language of angels, tongues of angels?" 41:33 Well, let's read 1 Corinthians 13:1-2. 41:36 Because many charismatics today say, "Oh no, the apostle Paul 41:40 says that we're suppose to speak in the language 41:42 or the tongues of angels. 41:44 That's the language that's spoken nowhere on planet earth. 41:47 It's a heavenly language," is what they say. 41:50 Well, let's take a look at this. 41:52 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 41:54 Here, the apostle Paul says... 42:22 There's one word which is a very important word 42:25 in these two verses. 42:27 It's the word, "though." 42:29 What does the word, "though," indicate? 42:32 It is a conditional statement. 42:35 The apostle Paul is not saying that the Corinthians 42:38 were speaking in the language of angels. 42:40 He's saying, "If I could speak the language 42:44 of men and angels..." 42:46 "If I could have the gift of prophecy..." 42:49 "If I could know all mystery and all knowledge..." 42:51 Let me ask you, is it really possible for us to know 42:53 all mysteries and all knowledge? 42:55 No, it's a hypothetical statement. 42:57 The apostle Paul is not saying that the Corinthians 43:00 spoke an angelic language. 43:01 He's saying, "If I could do that, if I had all knowledge, 43:06 and if I spoke in the language that the angels speak in, 43:10 but I don't have love, it would be like nothing." 43:14 He's not saying that we're suppose to speak 43:16 in the language of angels. 43:17 He's saying, if we could. 43:20 So it's a hypothetical statement. 43:22 It's not a statement of reality. 43:25 But let's dwell for a few moments about the idea 43:29 concerning the language of angels. 43:33 Do we ever find in Scripture an angel speaking 43:37 in an unknown tongue? 43:39 Can you mention one example in the Bible where an angel 43:43 came and spoke in a language that human beings 43:45 could not understand? 43:48 Did they? 43:49 I don't know of any. 43:51 Let me ask you, did the angels sing in a strange tongue 43:54 when Jesus was born? 43:56 Did they sing, "Glory to God in the highest," 43:58 in a tongue that nobody could understand, 44:00 in their own angelic language? 44:01 Absolutely not. 44:03 How about when the announcement was made to Zacharias about 44:06 the birth of John the Baptist? 44:08 Did the angel speak to him in an unknown tongue 44:11 that Zacharias could not understand? 44:13 Of course not. 44:15 He spoke to him in his own language. 44:17 When the angel appeared to Gabriel to explain 44:19 the 2300 day prophecy, did Gabriel speak in gibberish 44:24 that Daniel could not understand? 44:26 No, he spoke in the language of Daniel. 44:31 Now Revelation 5:11-13 speaks about a praise service 44:37 in heaven, and it's given in the language of the prophet. 44:42 Let me ask you, why would God speak to us in a language 44:45 that we can't understand? 44:46 It would be impractical for someone to speak in a language 44:51 that no one can understand when they could speak 44:54 to people in a language that they can understand. 44:58 It's senseless. 44:59 Incidentally, the angels have the gift of tongues. 45:04 Because they spoke to Peter in Greek, 45:06 they spoke to Daniel in Hebrew, 45:08 and they spoke to Ellen G. White in English. 45:11 And so the angels have the gift of tongues. 45:13 Don't they? 45:15 Because they have the capacity of speaking human languages. 45:18 Now, I'm sure that the angels have their own language. 45:23 Would you believe that the angels have their own language? 45:25 I believe that they do. 45:27 But what use would it be for the angels to speak to us 45:29 in their language? 45:31 We wouldn't be able to understand 45:32 anything they're saying. 45:34 It is undoubtedly true that the angel's speak a different 45:37 language than we do. 45:39 But in the course of time, listen carefully, 45:42 in the course of time, everything on earth 45:44 has degenerated. 45:46 Languages have degenerated. 45:48 In fact, Ellen White makes several statements 45:50 where she says that God condescends to speak 45:54 in our language, because if He spoke in His language 45:56 we wouldn't be able to understand what He's saying. 46:00 Now notice these statements. 46:02 These are remarkable statements from Ellen White. 46:04 The Faith I Live By, page 10. 46:09 She says, "The Lord speaks to human beings 46:11 in imperfect speech..." 46:12 Do you think God has a perfect language? 46:15 Do you think the angels speak a perfect language? 46:17 Of course they do. 46:19 Would we be able to understand God and the angels 46:21 if they spoke to us in the language they speak? 46:23 No. So would it be practical for the angels to speak 46:26 in their language that we can't understand? 46:28 Totally impractical. 46:30 Notice... 46:35 Now notice how God condescends. 46:55 What practical purpose would there be if the Corinthians 46:57 were speaking in an angelic language that nobody could 46:59 understand when they could really speak in a language 47:03 that everybody could understand? 47:05 It's senseless. 47:06 God does not waste words. 47:09 God is a practical God. 47:12 Now notice this other statement. 47:14 God's Amazing Grace, page 198. 47:18 It says this... 47:58 So God speaks to us in imperfect speech. 48:01 Why does He talk to us in imperfect speech? 48:03 Because if He spoke in perfect speech, we would not 48:06 be able to understand what He's saying, 48:08 and it would be useless to us in our salvation. 48:13 In another statement that we find in, Selected Messages, 48:16 volume 1 and page 20, Ellen White says... 48:49 Would it be impractical for me to speak in a language 48:53 that even God cannot understand? 48:55 Of course, it would be terribly impractical 48:58 to speak in a language that I can't understand, 49:01 that God can't understand, 49:02 and that other human beings cannot understand. 49:05 The purpose, folks, of the gift of tongues was to communicate, 49:09 to communicate the gospel of God to the world. 49:12 It was not for self-edification, to show off your high degree of 49:16 spirituality, to edify yourself. 49:19 None of those reasons. 49:20 It was given for practical reasons so that the gospel 49:23 could be shared in the language that people can understand. 49:27 One final statement, Early Writings, page 19, 49:31 where Ellen White says... 49:36 That is, in heaven. 49:42 Does Canaan have a language? 49:44 Of course Canaan has a... Heaven has a language. 49:47 But would God speak to us in the language of heaven? 49:49 Of course not. 49:51 He speaks to us in the language of earth 49:53 because He wants to get the message across. 49:56 And so she says... 50:06 So God's language is pure and perfect, 50:11 which has not been corrupted in the course of time. 50:15 If God spoke to us in the language that the angels 50:19 use in heaven, we would not be able to understand. 50:23 So God condescends to speak our language 50:27 in order to fulfill the mission of Revelation 14:6 50:31 which takes the first angel's message, 50:33 it's actually the three angels' messages, 50:35 to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. 50:39 But God has never commanded us to speak in a language 50:42 that is spoken nowhere on planet earth. 50:46 So let's answer the questions that we formulated 50:50 at the beginning of our study today. 50:54 Must everyone speak in tongues? 50:58 The answer, the obvious answer, is no. 51:01 The apostle Paul says, "Folks, not everyone has the same gift." 51:06 It's like a body, like I was mentioning, it's like the body 51:09 being just a heart. 51:10 The whole body being a heart. 51:12 Or the whole body being lungs. 51:14 Or the whole body being a foot. 51:16 You know, it takes many different members 51:18 to make the body function. 51:20 And so it takes many different spiritual gifts 51:23 for the church to function properly. 51:27 Now let's ask the second question. 51:29 Is the gift of tongues the most important gift? 51:32 No. 51:34 We noticed in the lists that the gift of tongues 51:36 is always mentioned what? 51:38 Is always mentioned last. 51:40 And the interpretation of tongues is also mentioned last. 51:44 And in two of the lists that we noticed, two of the four lists, 51:48 there was not even a mention of the gift of tongues, 51:51 not first or last. 51:53 And so the answer, is the gift of tongues the most 51:56 important gift, is no. 52:00 The next question is this: 52:02 Is the gift of tongues for personal edification 52:05 or a sign of spirituality? 52:08 No. The Corinthians thought so. 52:10 We're going to study tomorrow about 1 Corinthians 14. 52:13 We're going to study it verse by verse. 52:15 And we're going to see that the Corinthians, 52:17 they were speaking languages of the world. 52:19 Languages that were spoken somewhere in the world, 52:22 but they weren't spoken in the congregation 52:24 that they were speaking to. 52:25 And they were all speaking at the same time. 52:28 Can you imagine what it would be like if in this place 52:31 we had 200 people, and those 200 people 52:35 were each speaking in their own language? 52:38 It would be pandemonium. 52:39 It would be like at the tower of Babel revisited once again. 52:43 And so, folks, very clearly the answer to this question, 52:47 whether the gift of tongues is for personal edification 52:50 or a sign of spirituality, is no. 52:53 Why was the gift of tongues originally given? 52:56 It was given, clearly according to the different passages, 53:00 because the gospel needed to be shared in the languages 53:04 of the nations that were represented on the 53:06 day of Pentecost and the nations that would pass through these 53:09 cosmopolitan centers where the gospel needed to be preached. 53:15 Now here's another question. 53:17 Is the gift of tongues the ability to speak the languages 53:20 of the nations of the world or is it an unknown tongue 53:24 that is not spoken anywhere in the world? 53:27 The answer is that it is the ability to speak what? 53:31 To speak languages that are spoken somewhere in the world. 53:35 And I'll repeat what I said before. 53:38 I do not have the gift of tongues. 53:41 You know, I speak Spanish fluently. 53:43 And not only fluently, but I can use the idioms 53:46 and I have the idiosyncrasies. 53:49 You know, I am not only bi-lingual, 53:51 but I'm also bi-cultural. 53:53 And so people say, "Oh, you have the gift of tongues." 53:55 No I don't. 53:57 Because I learned Spanish when I was a kid. 54:00 You know, from the time I was four years old 54:02 I grew up with Spanish. 54:03 So you can't say that it was a miraculous endowment by God. 54:07 No, it was a learned phenomenon. 54:09 But the gift of tongues, folks, was not a learned phenomenon. 54:14 The gift of tongues was a supernatural, miraculous, 54:18 instantaneous gift that God gave to the apostles 54:21 to speak different languages to those who believed. 54:24 The ability, for example, to speak perfect French 54:28 when you didn't even know one word of French before. 54:32 And it's kind of like the angels, you know, they have 54:35 all of these different dictionaries, or all of these 54:37 different courses, and somehow electronically 54:40 they take the language and they plug it into their brain, 54:45 and suddenly you can talk the language and you can 54:47 identify with the culture, you can use the idioms. 54:50 And you speak it perfectly without an accent. 54:52 That was the gift of tongues that God gave that impressed 54:56 on believers and said, "These guys didn't know 54:58 these languages before. 54:59 And here they're speaking these languages. 55:01 We better listen to what they have to say." 55:05 Now the final question, what conditions must exist 55:09 in order to receive the gift of tongues? 55:11 In order for God to give the gift of tongues, 55:13 what condition must exist? 55:16 It must be what? 55:19 Well yeah, you need to cleanse your soul. 55:21 But I'm mean, under what circumstances will God 55:24 give the gift of tongues? 55:26 For what reason would He give the gift of tongues? 55:29 He gives the gift of tongues when you have a circumstance 55:32 where those who are present need to hear the Word 55:36 and they don't know the language that you know. 55:41 The gift of tongues is given for practical reasons. 55:44 It's given to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. 55:47 It is not given for people to simply show off that they can 55:52 speak in a language that even God doesn't understand. 55:55 It's not like the "gift," in quotation marks, 55:58 that Kenneth Copeland showed in the Tony Palmer meeting, 56:02 you know, where he started rattling off, blessing the pope, 56:04 in a language that nobody could understand. 56:08 How do you know that this message is not a message 56:11 from the netherworld? 56:14 And if somebody interprets the message, how do you know 56:16 that the interpreter is not inventing some interpretation? 56:19 The fact is, folks, the only way that you can check it out 56:22 is by seeing if what the person teaches 56:25 is in harmony with God's Word. 56:27 To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according 56:30 to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 56:33 We have to check what Kenneth Copeland or anyone else 56:36 teaches to see if it's in harmony with the Bible. 56:38 We cannot go by some supposed supernatural language 56:41 that he speaks that no one can understand, and say, 56:44 "Oh, this is a gift of the Holy Spirit." 56:46 Now you say, "But what about 1 Corinthians 14? 56:50 What about the apostle Paul saying, speaking about, 56:53 you know, when you speak in a tongue, you speak mysteries?" 56:56 And it refers there to strange tongues, etc. 56:59 How do we deal with 1 Corinthians 14? 57:02 Well, folks, that is the subject of our next study. 57:06 So I hope you don't miss it. |
Revised 2016-11-03