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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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SPEAKING
WITH OTHER TONGUES Acts 2:4-11
(5/19/13) Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. SPEAKING WITH OTHER TONGUES IN ACTS
(4-11) A. After being baptized with the Holy Spirit, and after being
filled with the Spirit, the disciples “began
to speak with other tongues” (Ac 2:4). 1. First, let it be pointed out that in this
particular case, Baptism with the Spirit was accompanied with the spiritual
gift of tongues. In Scripture, tongues is taught as a spiritual gift (1Co
12:10, 28), which may or may not accompany salvation and receiving of the
Holy Spirit (1Co 12:29-30). 2. A major question is what was the biblical
gift of tongues? The major answer comes from Ac 2:4-11. In simple terms, it
was the divine supernatural ability to speak in an unlearned human dialect.
There is nothing more clear than the fact that in Acts 2, tongues meant
speaking in an unlearned human dialect, and not an ecstatic, mystical,
unintelligible non-language. B. Meaning of “Tongues” (glōssa) 1. What does the word “tongues” mean? The
word “tongue(s)” is the Greek word glōssa and was used some 50
times in the New Testament. a) It can mean the physical organ of the
mouth, i.e. literal tongue (Mk 7:33; Lk 16:24). b) It can represent a tribe, people, or
nation defined by their language (Re 5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15
cf. LXX glossa - Is 66:18; Da 3:4, 29; 5:19) c) It can mean human dialect (Ac 2:4, 11;
1Co 14:21 cf. Is 28:11). d) Most lexicons suggest it can be an
ecstatic unintelligible language like that of pagan cults. C. Context of Acts 2:4-11 1. The context begins with the addition of
other devout Jews in Jerusalem observing the Feast of Pentecost (Ac 2:5).
They were from a multitude of backgrounds speaking in different dialects. a) In fact, Luke named these backgrounds and
dialects coming from at least 15 different origins, b) “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and
residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and
Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from
Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs” (Ac 2:9-11). c) Luke stated that the men were confused
and amazed because the apostles, who normally spoke in distinct Galilean
dialect and accent were now speaking “in [their] own language.” When these
foreigners said that what they heard was in their “own” (idios -
particular, Eng. idiosyncrasy, 6, 8) language, they meant their
particular language. It was indeed their own intelligible human “language,”
or to be more precise, “dialect” (dialektos - Eng. dialect). This word
is used twice in Acts 2 (Ac 2:6, 8). d) It was these men from different countries
and dialects who concluded that the tongues-speaking was in a intelligible
human dialect. Again, and emphatically, the tongues-speaking was in “their” (hēmereteros
- emphatic possessive adjective, “our”, 11) language. 2. We can conclusively determine that the
tongues spoken in Acts 2 was the supernatural gift of speaking in an
intelligible human dialect, without learning or having any previous fluency
of that language. D. Meaning of “Other Tongues” 1. In Ac 2:4, Luke described the effect of the supernatural gift
of tongues as “other tongues.” If we attempt to understand the phrase “other
tongues” (heteros - other, another) from Acts, it simply means “other
human languages.” It would not mean in that context “other than” human
language, as an ecstatic unintelligible non-language or even a mystical
heavenly language. 2. We therefore would have every reason to understand this phrase
in any other passage as intelligible human language (1Co 14:21 cf. Is 28:11). II. TONGUES IN 1CORINTHIANS 14 A. Views on Tongues in 1Co 14 1. Acceptable Ecstatic Utterances -
Some have suggested that Luke indeed described the true gift of tongues
(intelligible human dialect), but the Corinthians exhibited an ecstatic
mystical non-language. If this is true concerning the Corinthians, then their
ecstatic mystical non-language is acceptable because Paul concludes in 1Co
14:39, “do not forbid to speak in
tongues.” 2. Non-Acceptable Ecstatic Utterances
- Some have suggested that the Corinthians were guilty of abusing the true
gift of tongues and adopted the pagan use of tongues in ecstatic mystical
non-language. They maintain that the distinction lies between the use of
“tongues” in the plural to refer to the true gift and the use of “tongue” in
the singular to refer to a false gift. The problem is that even if there may
be some distinction between “tongue (sing.)” and “tongues (plur.),” Paul
endorses it by insisting on an interpreter being present (1Co 14:13, 27).
Paul would not permit a false gift to be exercised in the church. 3. Misuse of True Gift (Foreign Language)
- There are some who suggest that the Corinthians were abusing the true gift
of tongues in that they were speaking the true gift of tongues when there was
no one present with that particular dialect. a) This is consistent with Paul insistence of
an interpreter. b) It would suggest that many of the
Corinthians were spending the majority of the service speaking in tongues
(1Co 14:28). Therefore Paul regulates the maximum number of individuals
speaking in tongues to two or three (1Co 14:27). c) Paul indeed endorsed the spiritual gift
of tongues at Corinth, but not the impractical and unedifying use of it. d) The Third View appears to be the most
logical and consistent view within the context of 1Co 14. 4. Robert Gromacki in His book, The
Modern Tongues Movement, concludes …the usage of glōssa and the
description of the phenomenon in the New Testament reveal that only speaking
in known languages was involved. At least eighteen arguments based upon
Scripture and logic were presented to support this conclusion. 5. Tongues advocate, Harold Horton writes, Then
there is a notion abroad that tongues are a kind of gibberish, incoherent and
non-intelligible, a series of uninterruptable glossal noises. No. Tongues
were and are languages. They are mostly unknown to the hearers and always to
the speakers. But they might on occasion be known to the hearers, as at
Pentecost, where the tongues where unknown as they were spoken and known as
they were heard. (The Gifts of the Spirit). III. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. Concluding that the Scriptures teach that
the gift of tongues is a supernatural ability to speak an unlearned
intelligible human dialect, the majority of the present day charismatic
movement is involved in an unbiblical practice. B. If there is such a minority within present
day Charismatic Movement that practices tongues in a foreign language, one
wonders how many of these apply the biblical regulations. One might conclude
on this basis alone that the true gift of tongues has indeed ceased. |
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