Wow, I guess everyone is a little stirred up about this subject. While I can not claim to have any answers, I can claim victory in prayer by praying that you will learn to love and respect each other's differences. I think if I was given a choice between arguing a Christian belief, and doing a Christian work, well I think I would take the work every time. So, I will pray that you will learn to love each other as Christ has commanded us to do.
With Love
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
Tell me what you think of this post,
quote - When is comes to the gifts of the Spirit, God gives them severally as He wills (1Cor 12:11). According to (1Cor 4:1-10) He does not give all the gifts to every member just as the body is made up of many members and all the members are one body (Rom 12:3-8). He does give gifts to all men (Eph 4:8) and these good and perfect gifts come down from the Father (James 1:17).
In (Acts 2:1-8) we have the first demonstration of tongues in the NT and Luke recorded, as an eye witness, that the disciples were g
athered in one place and i
n one accord and all of
a sudden a sound from heaven, like a mighty rushing wind, filled the house where they were sitting.
There appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and it sat upon each of them (v/3). There was about (120) that were gathered (Acts 1:15).
Q.
Without presuming anything about the gift of tongues, is this the manner in which you received the gift of tongues? Luke was a first hand witness of this happening. Did any witness this happen with you AND have you witnessed this happen to others as Luke did and testified? Luke is not a false witness of this and he continues.
In (v/4) they were filled with the Spirit (
not because of the tongues but because of faith and the Holy Spirit that was in them), and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. This is taking place in Jerusalem, during the second of three feasts of the Jews, seven days after the Passover. There are devout Jews from every nation under heaven (v/6). They came together and were confounded because they heard these Galileans speak in their own language, their own tongue wherein they were born (v/6-8). Then Peter gets up to speak and being pricked in their hearts asked Peter what they must do. Three thousand (3,000) believed upon the name of Jesus Christ and were baptized There were many signs and wonders performed by the apostles but not one of them who were saved spoke in tongues or prophesied. Then the greatest demonstration of the body of Christ took place in (v/ 42-47).
There is no mention of Gentiles here or in (Acts 19:1-7) when Paul came to Ephesus and found twelve disciples that were baptized with John's baptism (
most likely Jews, because the scriptures never mention any Gentiles being baptized unto John's baptism). Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues and prophesied (v/6). The tongues spoken were not prophesy, they were separate. There was no one around to hear them (
as in Acts 2 when the disciples spoke) and their was no interpretation nor anyone to confirm or bear witness of the truth of the prophesy except Paul (1Jn 5:6-8, John 1:7,8)?
How did it profit them or Paul? The only conclusion is that the tongue was given to these Jews as a sign and the prophesy as edification with no evidence, reference or understanding in the scriptures. This probably came from God but it was an isolated indecent. You see this happening again in (Acts 10) with Cornelius, a Gentile centurion of the Italian band, who had a good reputation with the the nation of the Jews, who sent two men for Peter because an angel had appeared to him. Some of the brethren from Joppa, who were Jews, went with Peter to meet with Cornelius. Upon their return Cornelius has invited his friends and relatives, who were Gentiles, to his house. Peter found a large gathering of people in Cornelius' house and told them that it was against Jewish law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or to even visit him.
Peter then preached Christ and while he was preaching the word, the Holy Spirit came upon all that heard the message and the Jews that came with Peter were astonished that the Holy Spirit was also given and poured out unto the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. They were all baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. These Gentiles spoke in a tongue that was not their own as an isolated indecent to reveal to Peter and the Jews that were with him that God, was no respecter of persons and that the Gentiles should not be considered unclean and common.
All three isolated incidents (Acts 2, 10, 19) that happened were in the presence of Jews who needed a sign (1Cor 1:22, Mk 8:12, Lk 11:29) because of being an unbeliever or being in unbelief about God's impartiality with others including the Gentiles. Of all the churches in Macedonia and Asia, you will not find a single church, other than Corinth, that were involved in the gift of tongues. The scriptures provide no evidence that those who spoke in tongues, in those (3) incidents, were exercise in that manner again, nor was it being taught in any of those churches as it was in Corinth. A reasonable conclusion as to why tongues was an issue at Corinth (
located in Greece) could be that it was needed as a sign for those that were in unbelief in that part of the world. The Greeks did not require a sign like the Jews but they sought after wisdom (1Cor 1:22). Paul had to deal with both issues in that church.
My conclusion is this. God will give tongues only when it is needed as a sign for those in some form of unbelief. Believers have taken that gift and tried to make it into something that it was never intended for. When that happens Satan takes advantage of this and uses those that are weak in the faith and gets them involved with seeking that gift by convincing them it has something to do with being spiritual. So they substitute tongues for hearing the word of God and they never grow in grace and knowledge of Christ. -unquote