THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: Revelational Gifts: Discerning of Spirits - 3

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When we look at the life of Jesus, we see this gift in operation even as He ministered healing to others. There are times when He simply healed a physical sickness or disease without casting out a demon, like Peter’s mother in law who had a fever, Jesus simply touched her hand and healed her (Matthew 8:14-15). The blind man whom Jesus healed by placing mud on his eyes and then telling Him to go wash at the Siloam pool (John 9:1-6), no demon cast out there.

And then there were times when He cast out demons and people received their healings, like the mute man who was demon possessed, when the demon was cast out, he was able to speak (Matthew9:32-34). The demon possessed mad man of the country of the Gadarenes was set completely free from demonic possession that the people were amazed to find him clothed and in his right mind. (Mark 5:1-15).

The gift of Discerning of Spirit enabled Jesus to be effective and efficient in His ministry. The early church operated in this gift too, the apostle Paul is a good example.

¹⁶ Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. ¹⁹ But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. – Acts 16:16-19 NKJV

The apostle Paul operated in this gift and cast out that demonic spirit of divination from that slave girl. You see, the interesting thing is, that girl wasn't saying anything untrue, and she kept doing that for many days but finally Paul got annoyed, turned around and cast out that demon from her.

Now, I’m not entirely sure why it took Paul such a long time to deal with that spirit, could it be at first they thought the words being spoken were true so it was ok? Could it be Paul learned that she had powerful masters who could make life miserable for him and his ministry so he dared not rock the boat? Or could it be the gift of Discerning of Spirits wasn't in operation in them (for whatever reason) up to that point and when it finally was, Paul then did the needful? Could it be…maybe.. I think so!

Every believer who is baptized in the Holy Spirit can be used in this gift to bless the Body of Christ. All that is needed is our willingness to be used by God to bless others as He wills and then being open to the Holy Spirit and by faith stepping out in love to share what He reveals to us.

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Beloved, the Holy Spirit lives in us, so we shouldn't be surprised if He decides to reveal to us spirits that are around us and what they are doing and as He does, He will give us the wisdom to deal with the revelation He gives us. He is well able to guide us and keep us safe.

Blessings,

I am your brother,

Patrick

>>> Up Next: Power Gifts –Gift of Faith, Gifts of Healings and the Gift of Working of Miracles

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: Revelational Gifts: Discerning of Spirits - 2

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Now as we journey through life, serving the Lord in this physical world, the Holy Spirit equips us with His gifts to accomplish what He desires and one such gift is Discerning of Spirits. Through this gift we can “peer”, as it were, into the spirit realm.

This gift enables us to identify what spirit we are encountering or interacting with as we walk in love towards others and serve the Lord. There are four kinds of spirits that we can identify and distinguish from one another through the operation of this gift. These spirits are:

1.   The Spirit of God

2.   Angelic spirits

3.   Human spirits

4.   Demonic spirits

How Discerning of Spirits operates

The short simple answer is: as the Holy Spirit wills.

As with all the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, there is no one way that this gift operates, the Holy Spirit uses each one of us as uniquely as we are, but the key thing is, this gift is revelational. That means one can only be able to distinguish between spirits accurately by revelation, not by reasoning or by logically deducing events seeking to arrive at a conclusive identification of the spiritual entity behind a situation.

One may study all the different kinds of spirits, learn all the different techniques of discerning spirits and as helpful at that may be, it may hinder one from actually allowing the Holy Spirit to use them in this gift as they will be stuck in the “techniques” and “steps” of discerning they learned, and before long they find themselves walking in the fleshly counterfeit of suspicion or worse the spiritual counterfeit of divination.

Discerning of Spirits is a knowing, a certainty, an assurance of the identity of a spirit in one’s spirit by the power of the Holy Spirit. He may reveal it by an impression in your spirit, a word in your mind, a vision, a smell, a specific sensation in your body etc. Bottom line is, the Holy Spirit knows how to get your attention and how to reveal different things to different people, He knows us all, we would be wasting our time sticking to formulas and methods, let’s just flow with Him, we are to be in fellowship with Him after all, aren't we?

I’m sure many of us have discerned spirits even without being aware we are doing it, how many times have you “sensed” a “presence” that was either “good, sweet, calming, peaceful” as in a worship service or when you were just by yourself meditating on how good Jesus is to you? You just experienced the Spirit of God manifesting Himself and angels ministering to you. This has been my experience countless times and even now as I type this, I’m experiencing an angelic presence around me. From time to time I see three angels riding in my truck with me, I know my Abba Father is taking good care of me! Hallelujah! 

Those times when we “sense” an “evil, malicious, vicious,” presence, we should know we've encountered the host of hell, demons. This is especially common in deliverance ministry. I've personally experienced this many many times. For me it is usually a distinct tingling sensation on a side of my body or a vision of the spirit we are evicting or a putrid smell or a combination of all those things. As we seek to deliver those that the enemy has bound, we will encounter these spirits but greater is He that is in us! As we focus on He who is our victory – Christ – we will be victorious every single time.

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This gift is not limited just to worship settings or just to deliverance sessions; the Holy Spirit may reveal what spirits are operating around us and if they are demonic masquerading as “angels of light”, we can expose and expel them. The enemy can try to sneak into the church through individuals saying all the right words and acting accordingly and unless this gift is in operation in the assembly and especially in the leadership, casualties are inevitable.

>>> TO BE CONTINUED

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: Spirit Revelational Gifts: Discerning of Spirits - 1

Discerning of Spirits

…to another discerning of spirits;… - 1 Corinthians 12:10c KJV 

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This gift, as its name – “Discerning of spirits” – suggests, deals primarily with the spirit realm, more specifically with revealing the different entities that inhabit that realm. In simple terms it is the ability to distinguish between spirits, it is the ability to accurately identify different spirits. While the Word of Knowledge deals with the past and the present and the Word of Wisdom deals with the present and the future, this gift deals with the present – what is actually happening at the moment. I like to think of it as being a present continuous tense gift.

Now before we venture any further into understanding this gift of the Spirit, its purpose and how we operate in it, it is important that we grasp the basics of the spirit world and our interaction with it.

As we all know, God is the creator of all things visible and invisible and He is a spirit being, that simply means God doesn't have a physical body that can be accessed by the five senses like ours. Jesus made this plain when He said:

²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” – John 4:24 NIV(emphasis added)

God is also rightfully called the Father of spirits.

⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! – Hebrews 12:9 NKJV(emphasis added)

Even though God is everywhere present at once (Omnipresent) He has chosen to dwell in the spirit world we call Heaven.  God created all the angelic hosts and theirs ranks and they dwelt in His immediate/manifest presence, if you will, doing His bidding. However, later on some of the angels joined Lucifer’s rebellion against Him but others, many others, I might add, remained loyal to Him.

The angels who remained loyal continued to dwell in Heaven while the rebellious ones were cast out of Heaven, they are commonly referred to as fallen angels or demons. These fallen angels also live in the spirit realm. Now in case you are wondering why we are taking time to revisit the spirit realm, let me assure you that the importance of the knowing the spirit world cannot be overemphasized simply because, this physical, material world that we live in is heavily influenced and in some cases even controlled by what is going on in the spirit realm.

We may not be able to access the spirit realm with our five physical senses of touch, taste, smell, seeing or hearing, but it is a real world nonetheless, and in fact realer than this physical one. Doesn't the Word of God rightfully say

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what is seen is temporal but what is unseen is eternal? (2 Corinthians 4:18)

So, we too having been created in the image of God are spirit, have a soul and live in a body; our spirit is the only part of us that can access and function in the spirit realm and from there influence our soul and eventually our body in this physical world. Now when we are born of God, we have His Spirit in us and so we live in this physical world but at the same time we (our recreated spirits) are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, the spirit realm far above all principalities and powers. (Ephesians 1:20-21, 2:6)

>>> TO BE CONTINUED

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: Revelational Gifts: The Word of Wisdom - 2

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We see this gift in operation in both the Old and the New Testaments. King Solomon comes to mind, He had asked and received wisdom from God and with it unparalleled wealth. The wisdom of Solomon is seen early on in his reign by the call he made in determining who the real mother of a disputed baby was. (1 Kings 3:16-28). Verse 28 sums it this way:

²⁸ The people of Israel respected the king when they heard about this decision. They saw he had the wisdom of God to make the right decisions. – 1 Kings 3:28 ERV  

The gift of wisdom enables one to do the right thing or to make the correct choice when faced with a myriad of options of varying consequences.

In the New Testament we see this gift in operation in the life of our Lord and Savior as well as in the lives of the early disciples. Whenever the Pharisees, the Priests, the Scribes and their allies, tried to trap Jesus so they can accuse Him, He saw right through their strategies by the gift of the Word of Wisdom.

Remember when they brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus? They came armed with the Law of Moses which demanded she be put to death on account of her sin. Now would Jesus uphold the Law of Moses or not? If He does… He toes the line and joins them, if He doesn't He’s guilty and must face the consequences. What a tough spot to be in! They were bent on destroying Him and they finally got him cornered, or so they thought…

If Jesus had tried to reason with them as perhaps we would've  along the lines of “this is unfair, where’s the man who committed adultery with this woman?” it wouldn't have been much help. But as He took His time to write on the ground with His finger, the gift of wisdom was in operation and it cut to the chase, the essence of the matter - Sin and the fact that the Pharisees and their crowds were all sinners facing judgment themselves. The result they all left one by one…and the woman eventually received the gift of no condemnation from the Savior and her life was spared. (John 8:1-11)

How the Word of Wisdom Operates

This gift is primarily revelational, one cannot activate it at will. The Holy Spirit will give you wisdom when there is a need for it. It may come to you suddenly by way of a thought that wasn't your own to begin with, or through a vision or a sudden inner knowing or through an angelic visitation etc. 

The Gift of the Word of Wisdom will not contradict the written Scripture, it will not seek to glorify man, it will not seek to manipulate or exploit people,  if any such traits are exhibited then chances are it is a demonic counterfeit and must be rejected immediately and decisively.

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Our part is to know and accept that this gift is available to believers today; we are to expect the Holy Spirit to use us in this gift to bless others and to glorify the risen Christ. We are to desire this gift and expect to be used in it as the Spirit wills and when we are in a situation that requires His wisdom, we shouldn't be afraid to step out in faith and share the wisdom He’s revealing to us. I’m sure many of us have been used in this gift without even realizing it. Have you ever said something so eloquently that you didn't even know how you knew it and it deeply impacted others as the solution to whatever they were facing? I would submit to you that, that was more than likely the Word of Wisdom in operation.

The Holy Spirit is with you and in you and He desires to use you in this and all the other gifts for the glory of God. Be sensitive to Him and step out by faith expecting His wisdom to manifest as you love and bless others.

I am your brother,

Patrick

>>> Up Next: Revelational Gifts: Discerning of Spirits

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: Revelational Gifts: The Word of Wisdom - 1

The Gift of the Word of Wisdom

⁸ For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; - 1 Corinthians 12:8 KJV

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Wisdom can be defined as the correct application of knowledge, common sense, good judgment, experience etc. That is common natural human wisdom.

According to the Word of God there are two different kinds of wisdom; there is Godly wisdom and then there is Worldly wisdom. Wordly wisdom results in the works of the flesh, the Word of God describes it this way:

¹⁵ That kind of wisdom doesn’t come from above. It belongs to this world. It is self-centered and demonic. – James 3:15 GW

God also equates this worldly wisdom to foolishness:

¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. – 1 Corinthians 3:19a NIV

Godly wisdom results in the Fruit of the Spirit; it is the complete opposite of worldly wisdom. The Word of God describes it this way:

¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. – James 3:17 NKJV

Jesus is made unto us Wisdom. He does not just HAVE wisdom, He IS Wisdom personified.         

³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 1 Corinthians 1:30 NKJV

The gift of the Word of Wisdom is the supernatural ability to unravel mysteries, to bring clarity to complex situations and to discern between good and bad. This gift is not the result of book smarts, neither is it from natural

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human intellect nor reasoning. It cannot be acquired by studying to fill one’s head with information, as worthy as that endeavor is; the Word of Wisdom is a gift, freely given by the Holy Spirit as He wills with the aim of accomplishing a specific purpose.

God is Omniscient, He knows and sees everything perfectly. The Word of Wisdom is but a tiny portion of God’s supernatural wisdom that provides insight, clarity and direction. The Word of Wisdom has a future orientation aspect to it as it instructs, directs and reveals what’s next on God’s agenda for specific situations.

>>> TO BE CONTINUED

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: Revelational Gifts: The Word of Knowledge - 2

How Does the Word of Knowledge Operate?  

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The Word of Knowledge operates differently in different individuals. The Holy Spirit has many diverse ways of revealing things to us, He knows us very well and knows how to get our attention and how to communicate with us.

        ⁴ Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

⁵ And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

⁶ And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 KJV

This particular gift usually operates by revelation, I call it a “sudden knowing” of facts concerning a person, a circumstance or a situation. This may come through open visions, dreams, an inner voice, an audible voice, visions of one’s mind, sympathetic pain in certain parts of the body, words and or pictures – both still and or moving pictures like a TV screen over people etc.

It is vitally important that we each learn how to flow in the Gifts of the Spirit and that we can only do by paying attention to what the Holy Spirit is saying and revealing to us. This means we need to cultivate a lifestyle of fellowship with the Spirit to the point where we instantly recognize His voice and that unique way in which He speaks to us. We can each develop intimacy with the Holy Spirit by praying in tongues, spending time in the Word and promptly obeying Him.

As with all the other gifts, the Holy Spirit will not hijack you and cause you to operate in the Gift of the Word of Knowledge, no, you will have to decide to obey Him and speak out what He is revealing to you. The enemy will always want to paralyze us with fearful thoughts such as “what if you’re wrong?”, “What if you missed it?”, “You’ll make a fool of yourself” and on and on… don’t fall for such thoughts, the enemy wants you to take your focus off of Jesus and look at yourself and every time we do that we will draw back and miss an opportunity to be used of God to bless others. Beloved, let us remember it is not about us, we’re not drawing people to us but to Jesus, it is all about Him, He is the Savior, He is the Healer, He is their ALL (and ours too).

Another thing is, we may not understand what the Holy Spirit is revealing to us but we've got to trust Him and step out in faith. I've been guilty of shying away from operating in this gift at times just because I thought the revelation I got didn't make sense. I remember a while ago seeing a vision of a person falling off a chair with a desk in front of them as I ministered to someone online, I told my wife what I saw and said I wasn't sure it made any sense, I brushed it off and continued on giving them some general words of encouragement, then this person (says) types “I fell off a chair at work, my back hurts”. I was floored, as you can imagine…One thing I've learnt is, it takes love, faith and humility to operate in this gift.

Now, even if I don’t understand what the Holy Spirit is revealing to me but I have His peace, I would just go ahead and speak it out. I would say something like “I’m seeing or I’m hearing or I’m feeling (whichever the case may be) such and such, does it make any sense to you?” and the response is often “why, yes, how did you know?” And more often than not Jesus is glorified and a door for ministry is opened.

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The Holy Spirit is so faithful and so eager to touch others more than we are, He is ever so ready to use us more than we can imagine. We are not waiting on Him, He is waiting on us to ask Him, trust Him and step out boldly allowing Him to love and bless others through us.

Let us desire earnestly to be used by God in this gift and reach out to those around us in love. The love of God in us is what motivates and compels us to touch others with the Good News of the Gospel of the grace of God.

Blessings,

I am your brother,

Patrick

Up Next>>> Revelational Gifts: Word of Wisdom          

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: Revelational Gifts: The Word of Knowledge - 1

The Word of Knowledge

⁸ …to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; - 1 

Corinthians 12:8 KJV

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This Gift is the ability to know certain facts concerning a situation without learning, studying or consulting others. It has nothing to do with one’s natural intelligence quotient or academic prowess. It is correctly called the Word of Knowledge as it is a tiny portion of God’s infinite knowledge that is revealed to the recipient to accomplish a specific purpose. The Word of Knowledge is the ability to know past and present stuff about people, places and things by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This gift deals with the past and the present, not the future but can and many times does operate together with the Gifts of Prophecy and the Word of Wisdom, both of which have some aspects of futuristic orientation to them.

The Word of Knowledge can be seen in operation in both the Old and New Testaments. 

Here are a couple of examples from both Testaments.

Here’s an instance from the Old Testament:

When Saul went looking for His father’s donkeys that were lost, he met Samuel the prophet who immediately by the gift of the Word of Knowledge said to Him:

²⁰ But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. – 1 Samuel 9:20a NKJV

Notice Saul hadn't even mentioned the purpose of his wanting to see the prophet, he had just barely greeted him, so there is no way that Samuel could have known what Saul came for except the Lord revealed it to him and that’s exactly what happened. There are many instances of this gift of the Word of Knowledge in operation in the Old Testament.

In the New Testament there are plenty of instances of this gift in operation. The Lord Jesus as well as the apostles and the disciples operated in it. Our Lord Jesus operated in this gift as He spoke to Nathaniel. He also operated in this gift as He spoke to the woman at the well. He knew the thoughts of people’s hearts through the operation of this gift.

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” – John 1:47-49 NIV

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This gift of the Spirit is available for us today, we are to desire it, yield to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to use us in this gift as the need arises. We are encouraged to desire and ask for those gifts that would be of benefit to others, that way Jesus is glorified and others are blessed. For example, if someone needs physical healing, the gift of prophecy may not be beneficial to them or if someone is bound by condemnation or guilt or shame, the gift of faith may not do them nearly as much good as the gift of prophecy would… well, you get the picture.

TO BE CONTINUED>>> 

          

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: Speech Gifts: Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues - 4

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The Gifts of Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues: Basic Guidelines and an Overview

Basic Guidelines:

1.   The Gift of Tongues or the Interpretation of Tongues or any other Gift of the Spirit is not a sign of spiritual maturity. The Gifts are simply the result of yielding to and cooperating with the grace of God on our lives to bless others.

2.   Every believer is to pray in tongues as much as they can on their own just like the Apostle Paul as well as in structured settings e.g. In worship services where all can sing in the Spirit etc.   

3.   In a public gathering when a message in tongues is given, an interpretation is to follow. If no interpretation is forthcoming the service should go on.

4.   A maximum of Three Messages in tongues followed by their respective interpretations (per service) is the Apostolic instruction given, to go beyond that isn't sin but it may lead to abuses and potential ridicule (since each member present is at a different stage in their spiritual growth and unbelievers as well may come in) – 1 Corinthians 14:27

5.   Interpretations of messages in Tongues are to be weighed and judged in light of the Written Word before being accepted or rejected. True interpretation will line up with Scripture and there will be confirmation in the spirits of the saints present. Counterfeit interpretation will not pass these tests.

Overview on the Gifts of Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues

The Corinthian church was caught up in trying to outdo each other in their gatherings when it came to the Gifts of the Spirit; the result – the church as a whole was not being edified. The Apostle Paul spent a good part of 1 Corinthians 12 - 14 correcting them and instructing them in the proper use of the Gifts of the Spirit. Everything should be done out of love, the aim being to build up others, no wonder 1 Corinthians 13 -  “The Love Chapter” is smack dab right in the middle of his instructions on Spiritual Gifts.

The Word of God tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), the Word also declares that faith works by or through love (Galatians 5:6) and the Word also reveals God’s nature and essence as Love. It therefore follows that anything done without Love (operating in the Gifts of the Spirit included) is at best futile.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. – 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 NIV  

Beloved I submit to you the completeness that is to come that is described here is not “the Bible” as some have suggested but the fullness of God Himself and all these Gifts are but expressions of Him who is perfect Love! If we are to go with that line of reasoning what then do we do with the prophecies in that very same Bible that haven’t come to pass yet? what about knowledge? Why only single out tongues? You see the logic behind such reasoning is not Scriptural to say the least.

It actually is a huge stretch, for starters, do we really have a complete Bible? Where is Paul’s letter to the Laodicean church that he asks the Church at Colossae to read and have them (the church at Laodicea) read his epistle to the Colossians (Colossians 4:16)? Could the church today missing something from that epistle to the Laodiceans? So again do we have a complete collection of all the inspired writings in the Bible? I wish I could boldly say YES but then I wouldn't be truthful now, would I?

So these verses cannot be cited to claim that tongues have ceased, however when the end comes and we all get to heaven all the gifts will cease. There won’t be a need for prophesy, tongues, discernment, healings, etc. for we shall be perfect spirit, soul and celestial body.

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It is important to remind ourselves that the Gifts of the Spirit are not for our own selfish use, neither are they for novelty’s sake, they are for building up others; Love always seeks to benefit others so when it comes to church meetings, prayer gatherings and such, we should seek to edify one another, not just ourselves. In such settings if one were to speak in tongues then there might need to be an interpretation so others may understand what is spoken and be edified.

Finally beloved, as I bring this installment to a close, let me leave you with these words from the Apostle Paul,

³⁹ Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. ⁴⁰ Let all things be done decently and in order.” 1 Corinthians 14:39-40 NKJV

I am your brother,

Patrick

Up Next>>> Revelational Gifts – Word of Knowledge, Word of Wisdom and  Discerning of Spirits

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: Speech Gifts: Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues - 3

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Tongues for Public Ministry

Not every believer will give a message in tongues in a public setting, but only those who the Holy Spirit will decide to use. Tongues in public ministry isn't to be confused with Tongues as a prayer language for edification which is for every believer.  In a public setting, if a message is given in an unknown tongue, an interpretation is to be expected.

However, there are those rare settings in which a message in an unknown tongue may not need to be interpreted as it may be directed towards an individual present who knows that language. The day of Pentecost is a case in point.

Personally I've experienced this to some degree, years ago as we (a good friend of mine and myself) ministered in a remote rural area, praying for people to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, we were amazed to hear a teenage girl of about 15 or 16 praise God is perfect English complete with a Southern twang (an American accent) . After the service we asked her where she went to school and learned to speak English like that and guess what…she’d never been to school her whole life, couldn't read nor write and didn't understand a word she had spoken in tongues, she couldn't speak a word of English, so there…

I've also been in a meeting where a message was given in tongues in a language that no one understood but one person who jumped up in shock and shouted, “that’s ki-Maasai, that message is for me”. We later learned that the message was in the Maasai language and the man who jumped up was the only Maasai in that meeting and that message spoke directly to his situation, He got Born Again following that direct message in tongues. The speaker was not a member of the Maasai tribe, obviously.

Again, these are rare occurrence, as a general rule messages in tongues are to be interpreted to benefit the hearers. If there’s one thing I've learned it’s this – when the rubber meets the road, your theology gets adjusted pretty quickly! 

More on the Gift of Interpretation of Tongues... 

The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues

This Gift almost always accompanies the Gift of Tongues in public and even in private worship settings. This gift is the supernatural ability originating from the Holy Spirit that enables one to interpret a language they have never learned.Notice one thing: this Gift is NOT Translation BUT Interpretation of Tongues. It is not a word for word translation but an interpretation of what was spoken in tongues. Therefore the interpretation may be a one liner or a few paragraphs.

This gift makes it possible for the church to be edified from a message delivered in an unknown tongue. The Apostle Paul encourages believers who give messages in tongues to pray for this gift as well.

⁹ So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. ¹⁰ Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. ¹¹ If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. ¹² So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.¹³ For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say – 1 Corinthians 14:9-13 NIV 

As members of the Body of Christ, we each have different functions and so when we come together, each one of us functions as we are uniquely graced and gifted to. It is in this context that the phrases “not all speak in tongues” and “not all interpret tongues” fit in. It is incorrect to take this verse to mean that not everyone filled with the Spirit can pray in tongues.

²⁹ Not all are apostles. Not all are prophets. Not all are teachers. Not all do miracles. ³⁰ Not all have gifts of healing. Not all speak in different kinds of languages. Not all interpret those languages. – 1 Corinthians 12:29-30 ERV

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While it is true that in Christ we can do all things, in ministry settings we are to only do what the Holy Spirit gifts us to do. He has the big picture as it were, He is the one in charge, He knows what He is accomplishing in and through each one of us, He is not the author of confusion but of order and peace. So with this context in mind we can certainly understand why everyone is not to speak messages in tongues in a public setting and neither is everyone to be interpreting messages in tongues in a public setting.

TO BE CONTINUED>>>