Tongues
Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be
sure you have named your sins privately to God the Father.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins) (1Jn 1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to
learn Truth from the Word of God.
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth."
(John 4:24)
ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC EVENTS in human history occurred on
the Day of Pentecost, A.D. 30 in Jerusalem. Eleven apostles miraculously
proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ in human languages unknown to them.
How did such a phenomenon occur? These men had just received the baptism
of God the Holy Spirit and His sovereignly-bestowed Spiritual gift of tongues.
This wondrous event inaugurated the unique era of human history — the New
Covenant Church Age.
Today, controversy over the gift of tongues persists in seminaries, pulpits,
and among countless Christians. Do believers still receive the Spiritual gift of
speaking in tongues? Does speaking in tongues manifest the baptism of the
Holy Spirit? When does the baptism of the Holy Spirit occur?
The Theological firestorm surrounding these questions was ignited on the
final evening of the nineteenth century during an unusual Watch Night service at
Bethel Bible Institute in Topeka, Kansas. The founder of the institute, Charles
Parham, had instructed his students that the power to live the Christian life and
to evangelize the world would come from a gracious gift after Salvation. He
identified this gift as the baptism of the Holy Spirit and asserted that receiving
the gift would be accompanied by speaking in tongues. As midnight
approached, an emotionally charged thirty-year-old woman requested that
Parham pray for her to receive the “Holy Ghost.”
At the conclusion of the prayer she began to speak unintelligibly. Everyone
present presumed that she was experiencing a revival of the Biblical gift of
tongues. This incident spawned the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement which
has captivated millions throughout the world and infiltrated almost every
denomination.
Video 1 Video 2
The only authoritative conclusions to the debate over the validity of tongues
are found in the Bible. Your Theological view must align with what the Scripture
says. Doctrinal error seeps into Christianity where the Bible is misinterpreted,
distorted, or ignored. To understand correctly, the proper role of tongues, the
Word of God must be rightly divided — “accurately interpreted.” (2Ti 2:15)
What do the Scriptures teach about tongues? For the answer, we must turn to
the Book of Isaiah. Old Testament prophecy is a key to understanding the
Spiritual gift of glossolalia found in the New Testament.
Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ, Isaiah foretold the
presence of a “foreign language” spoken by armies invading the land of Israel
— a sign of national punishment. In Isaiah’s day this would be the unmistakable
warning to Jews of Spiritual failure and the foreshadowing of another
occurrence of “tongues.” After the ascension of Jesus Christ, foreign
languages would once more be heard in the Land — this time as the Spiritual
gift of glossolalia. This miraculous gift that would evangelize the nation of Israel
in gentile languages would not only be the unmistakable sign to the Jewish
people of their Spiritual failure and imminent Divine judgment, but would also
proclaim the New Covenant Church Age.
In the Law [The Old Testament] it is written, “BY MEN OF STRANGE
TONGUES [Foreign languages] AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS
[Gentiles] I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, [The Jews] AND EVEN SO
THEY WILL NOT LISTEN [Negative volition] TO ME,”
[Quote from; Isa 28:11-12] says the Lord. So then tongues are for a sign...
(1Co 14:21-22)
ISAIAH IS ONE OF THE MAJOR SOURCES of eschatological [End Times;
Tribulation and Millennium] signs and miracles, each sign being an integral part
of the overall plan of God. Since Old Testament Prophecy encompasses the
Principle of ‘near and far fulfillment,’ Isaiah’s messages applied not only to his
generation, near fulfillment, but they also anticipated future events, far
fulfillment. For example, Isaiah recorded the signs that pointed to the First
Advent of the Messiah: His virgin birth; (Isa 7:14) His suffering; (Isa 53:3-4) His
substitutionary, Spiritual death on the cross; (Isa 53:4-5; Isa 53:10-12) His
burial; (Isa 53:9) His exaltation and return in glory. (Isa 9:6-7) The prophet
Predicted Israel’s failure to accept “the Holy One” of God, both among his
contemporaries and among the Jews of future generations.
(Isa 5:24) Therefore, Isaiah’s warning against apostasy was addressed to the
Jews of his day as well as their distant progeny.
Isaiah continually reminded the Israelites that Divine Thinking is the strength
of a nation.
And He [The Lord] shall be the stability of your times, A wealth of Salvation,
[Physical deliverance] wisdom, and knowledge; [Divine Thoughts] The fear
[Fellowship] of the Lord is his treasure. (Isa 33:6)
But Israel was not interested in the Divine “wisdom and knowledge” of the
Lord. Despite their negative volition, Isaiah’s solitary voice continued to teach
the Truth.
In the twenty-eighth chapter, Isaiah calls the corrupt religious leaders of the
nation of Israel “the drunkards of Ephraim.” (Isa 28:1-8) His earthy imagery
depicts their disgusting dissipation.
And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and
the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger
from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering
judgment. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.
(Isa 28:7-8)
At the same time false prophets and teachers advised Israel to seek demonic
counsel. (Isa 8:19) This destructive counsel and the repudiation of Divine
Thinking by the inebriated priests, false prophets, and the people caused
Isaiah to indicate that the next generation would be the audience for his
message.
“To whom would He [God, through the prophet Isaiah] teach knowledge?
[Divine Thoughts] And to whom would He interpret the message? [Make it
clear] Those just weaned from milk? [New believers] Those just taken from the
breast?” [Babies] (Isa 28:9)
The series of rhetorical questions in (Isa 28:9) confirm that the current
generation had ‘deaf ears.’ The only hope of deterring judgment upon the client
nation that has rejected God’s Word lies in the teaching of Truth and the
subsequent Spiritual growth of the next generation.
Although three thousand years have passed since Isaiah’s warning, the
same rejection and apathy prevail today. Unbelievers still reject the Gospel of
Salvation and believers are still indifferent to learning and Thinking with God’s
Word, choosing to remain Spiritual babies. In every generation, unbelievers
must be evangelized, while believers must “grow in the grace and knowledge of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2Pe 3:18) There should be nothing more
important on your scale of values than the daily intake of the Word of God.
Truth should have the highest priority in your life! (Psa 138:2)
“For He says,‘Order on order, [Precept on Precept] Order on Order, [Tzaw
latzaw, tzaw latzaw] Line on Line, Line on line, [Qaw laqaw,qaw laqaw] A little
here, a little there.” [Ze’er sham, ze’er sham] (Isa 28:10)
Isaiah’s brilliantly constructed tautology in the Hebrew sarcastically mimics
the drunken, repetitious babbling of the degenerate priests, while at the same
time describes the method for accurate Biblical teaching — “Precept on
Precept, Line on Line.” The objective of Biblical teaching is inculcation of Divine
Thinking, Spiritual Thought on Spiritual Thought, but Truth in the soul
accumulates gradually in increments. One Precept builds upon Another.
“Precept on Precept” describes the classifications of Divine Thoughts. “A
Thought by Thought,” Word-by-Word, Verse-by-verse analysis, lifts these
Divine Thoughts from the pages of Scripture. Truth must be presented in an
Isagogical, (Isagogics is the interpretation of Scripture within the framework of
its historical setting or prophetical environment) Categorical, (Categories are
the classification of Bible Thinking according to subject matter By using the
hermeneutical Principles of exegesis and comparing Scripture to Scripture,
Biblical subjects emerge and are organized into divisions of Truth in order to
progressively build Thought upon Thought, complex Truth on basic Truth) and
an Exegetical manner (Exegesis is a Word-by-Word, Verse-by-Verse,
grammatical, syntactical, etymological, and contextual analysis of Scripture
from the original languages of the Bible — Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek — to
extract Principles and define Biblical Thoughts) — not once, but repeatedly,
until it lodges permanently in the soul. When Truth is faithfully taught and
consistently assimilated, “a little here, a little there,” the various portions of
Scripture eventually fall into place like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. (1Co 2:16)
Gradually, we expand our frame of reference for receiving and retaining further
Truths. We are now able to comprehend more advanced Concepts and Truths
until, God’s Thinking is our Spiritual Thinking and we become Spiritually self-
sustaining.
Isaiah tried to convey these Concepts to Israel, but the Jews continued to
reject his Message. Then suddenly, in the midst of his exhortation on the
importance of Truth, the prophet interrupted his message and announced one
of the most astonishing events ever to occur in history.
Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips [Alien
articulation] and a foreign tongue. [Language] (Isa 28:11)
What did this pronouncement mean? The judgment on Israel, both near and
far, would be announced in “a foreign language!”
THE IMPORTANCE OF DISPENSATIONS
The cataclysmic Prophecy of, (Isa 28:11) predicting judgment on Israel,
must be understood within the framework of God’s timetable for human history
— the dispensations. The sequences of Divine administrations that divide
human history into consecutive eras are called dispensations and constitute the
Divine Viewpoint and Theological Interpretation of history.
The dispensational approach is necessary to orient us to time as well as to
Revelatory and eschatological events and to accurately interpret the Scripture.
Understanding dispensations is how we, as believers, living at a specific time
can relate to God’s plan, will, and purpose for our lives. Human history may be
classified into seven dispensations: the Age of perfection, (Adam and Eve
before the Fall) the Age of the Gentiles, the Age of Israel, the Dispensation of
the Hypostatic Union, (The Lord Christ Jesus ) the Church Age, the Tribulation,
and the Millennium.
Illustration
In each age God operates according to His grace policy. Salvation is
always received in the same way — faith alone in Christ alone. In the Old
Testament dispensations the object of faith was the Second Person of the
Trinity, the Prophesied Messiah; in the Dispensation of the Hypostatic Union
the object of faith was the incarnate Jesus Christ; in the Church Age and the
Tribulation the object of faith is the resurrected Jesus Christ; in the Millennium
the object of faith is also Jesus Christ who will then be reigning on earth.
Likewise, restoration of fellowship is the same in every dispensation — naming
sins to God the Father. (Psa 32:5; (1Jn 1:9)
The first two dispensations, perfection and the Age of the Gentiles, began
with Adam; the Age of the Gentiles terminated with Moses. From Adam until
after the worldwide flood of Noah, this era was characterized by one race and
one language. All evangelism was conducted in that one language. There was
no written canon of Scripture; God revealed Himself and His plan through
dreams, visions, angelic appearances, and Theophanies. Following the Flood
came a population explosion. The descendants of Noah began to contemplate
a way to preserve and protect the human race through their own efforts. Their
utopian solution was to unify. To monumentalize their vainglorious alliance, the
people decided to construct a magnificent building.
And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose
top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; [Arrogance]
otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
(Gen 11:4) cf. (Isa 14:14)
With the convenience of a universal language a coalition was quickly
established. The combined population presented themselves as “masters of
their own destiny” and self-sufficient, apart from God. (Gen 11:6) Their city
became the hub of opposition to God’s Mandate to disperse over the earth.
(Gen 9:1) The purpose of this satanically inspired rebellion was to unite the
people of the world in an anti-God coalition. To prevent a tyrannical global
government that would ultimately destroy them, God stepped in and judged this
abominable alliance. He “scattered” the people and confused their language.
(Gen 11:7-9)
The multiplicity of languages generated a multitude of nations, frustrating all
attempts at unification. The many languages now in existence called for a new
method of evangelism — missionary activity from one centrally located
missionary base. To launch this endeavor, God appointed His own
representative, a Gentile named Abram, an aristocrat from the third dynasty of
Ur. Abram responded to the Gospel and followed God’s direction, crossing the
River Euphrates and entering Canaan, a foreign land. God Promised that he
and his progeny would someday possess Canaan (Gen 13:14-15) and be a
great nation through which all nations would be Spiritually blessed
(Gen 12:1-3) In anticipation of the day when that Promise would be realized,
Abram chose to live as a transient, “an alien in the land of Promise . . . dwelling
in tents.” (Heb 11:9) He had a tremendous impact on all those he met. Although
Abram’s native tongue was Chaldean, he adopted one or more of the
languages of Canaan, among them Phoenician and Ugaritic. By combining
Chaldean with Canaanite words, the patriarch was soon able to evangelize the
people of this strange land. Many responded; the names of three of his
converts are recorded in, (Gen 14:13) Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner.
Abram became the father of a new Spiritual and racial species, the last and
most illustrious of all races — the Jews — and for this God renamed him,
Abraham. Believing Jews in the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were to be
God’s chosen people. (Gen 21:12; Deut 7:6; Rom 9:6-8; Heb 11:18)
As the race greatly increased, they became the nucleus for the first client
nation in history.
The Age of Israel began with the Exodus from Egypt and lasted until the
virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although Israel would remain a relatively
small nation under God, (Deut 7:7) the Jews were destined to have an impact
far beyond their borders. As the only Theocracy in history, they were
Mandated by God to fulfill two special Commissions: custodianship of Divine
Revelation (Rom 3:1-2) and dissemination of the Gospel to all other nations.
(Isa 43:10-13) Yet time after time Israel failed to evangelize other nations,
thereby defaulting on their missionary responsibility. And time after time, as a
result of their failure, they suffered Divine discipline.
The failure of the Jews individually and nationally reached rock bottom when
they rejected “the Holy One of God,” Jesus the Messiah, at His First Advent.
The virgin birth, (Isa 7:14) as well as the two deaths of Christ on the cross,
(Spiritual and physical) were two signs that the nation of Israel’s punishment
was forthcoming. The final sign of their impending judgment would be the
Spiritual gift of glossolalia.
Any study of the Bible must make the distinction between the Age of Israel,
(A political, racial and Spiritual Kingdom) and the New Covenant Church Age.
(A Spiritual Kingdom of Jews and Gentiles) This contrast is a recurring theme
in the New Testament (Acts 10:45; Rom 11:25; Gal 6:15; Eph 2:11-22;
Heb 3:5-6) and is the cornerstone of dispensational Theology. What makes
the separation of these two dispensations so significant? The Dispensation of
the Hypostatic Union — the First Advent of Jesus Christ! This epoch recorded
in the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, began with the
virgin birth of Christ and terminated with His death, burial, resurrection,
ascension, and session at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. Because
of Israel’s rejection of Jesus as Messiah terminating the Dispensation of the
Hypostatic Union, God has temporarily set Israel aside until the Tribulation
period begins.
Since Israel would no longer be God’s official representative on earth, God
summoned a new entity called the Church. (2Co 5:17) God replaced Israel with
a new missionary agency. The Church, called the Body of Christ, (1Co 12:12)
are those who “in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1Co 1:2) They come from all walks of life, all parts of the world, and speak
many different languages; yet all share the common bond of faith alone in
Christ alone. (Gal 3:26)
The New Covenant Church Age is divided into two time periods.
The pre-canon period of the Church Age is that period of time before the New
Testament canon was completed in writing. It began on the Day of Pentecost,
A.D. 30, and ended A.D. 96 with the completion of the Book of Revelation and
the death of the Apostle John. The post-canon period of the Church Age began
with the completion of the New Testament and will end with the removal of
Spiritually mature Church age believers. (Rev 3:10)
This age is the unique dispensation. No other age is more demanding or
rewarding and in no other dispensation have believers been given more
Spiritual assets. Believers in the New Covenant Age are permanently indwelt
and initially filled by God the Holy Spirit, a privilege never given to any previous
dispensation. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a permanent relationship
acquired at the moment of regeneration in which the body of every believer is
transformed into a temple for the indwelling of Christ as the Shekinah Glory.
(1Co 3:16; (1Co 6:19-20; (2Co 6:16) The filling of the Spirit is the initial
entrance into fellowship with God at Salvation and is maintained through
admitting sins privately to God the Father. (1Jn 1:9) This filling of God the Holy
Spirit is the provision of Divine power to execute the unique Spiritual life of the
New Covenant Age. (Eph 5:18) For the first time in human history every
believer is in union with Christ — a member of the royal family of God. We are
royal priests, ambassadors for the absent Christ, and responsible to God to
witness for our Lord. Moreover, there exists for the Church Age believer the
completed canon of Scripture, the Bible. The entire realm of Truth is readily
available to every believer for advance to the high ground of Spiritual maturity.
In the entire economy of God, no dispensation other than the age in which we
live presents so great a challenge to put Divine Thinking to the test.
The April 02, 2009 G20 agreement, is the start of the countdown to the
Tribulation period and resumption of the Age of Israel; THAT BEGINS
September 2012. (Dan 8:11-14; Dan 9:27; Dan 12:11) and ends with the
Second Advent of Christ. (Deut 4:30; Isa 34:1-6; Jer 30:4-8; Eze 38:1; thru
Eze 39:29; Dan 9:24-27; Dan 11:40-45; Dan 12:1-3; Matt 24:1-51; Rev 6:1
thru; Rev 19:21) etc. The Tribulation will be the most horrendous period of
human history — satanic tyranny and chaos will reign. (Rev 13:11-17) This is
the time of the devil’s desperation, (Rev 12:12) in which Satan unleashes all his
power in a futile attempt to destroy the Jews.
The final dispensation, which follows the Tribulation and the Second Advent
of Jesus Christ, is the Millennium.
(Psa 72:1-20; Isa 11:1-16; Isa 35:1-10; Isa 62:1-12; Isa 65:8-25;
Zec 14:4-11; Rev 20:1-15) The King of kings will reign over the earth for a
literal one thousand years of perfect environment. The angelic conflict will be
restrained while Satan and his demons are incarcerated in the Abyss.
(Rev 20:7) As victors with Christ, Spiritually mature believers will rule with Him.
(Rev 20:4-6) The Jews will be preeminent once more among the nations of the
earth as God’ s restored client nation and will receive all that God promised in
the Old Testament Covenants. (The Abrahamic Covenant;
(Gen 12:1-3) the Palestinian or Real Estate Covenant; (Gen 15:18) the Davidic
Covenant; (2Sa 7:8-18) and the New Covenant to Israel.
(Jer 31:31-37) In the meantime, however, the plan of God for the ages must
run its course. With this dispensational framework in mind, we resume with
Isaiah’s bombshell: “He will speak to this people through . . . a foreign tongue!”
[Language] (Isa 28:11)
THE PROPHECY OF JUDGMENT
Isaiah’s long and faithful ministry (739-685 B.C.) occurred during a crucial
time in Israel’s history. Shortly after the death of Solomon (Around 926 B.C.) a
revolt against Divine authority had split the nation of Israel into two entities. The
Northern Kingdom, (The ten tribes) called “Israel” or “Ephraim,” established its
capital at Samaria; the Southern Kingdom, (The two tribes) called “Judah,”
kept Jerusalem as its capital. Isaiah prophesied the doom of both kingdoms. In
721 B.C., almost twenty years after Isaiah’s warning, the apostate and
degenerate Ephraim was destroyed in the fifth cycle of discipline, administered
by Sargon II, the Assyrian king. (Isa 28:1-4) (The five cycles of discipline are
progressive stages, each becoming increasingly harsh for the disobedient
nation. First cycle of Discipline: Loss of health; decline of agricultural
prosperity; terror, fear, and death in combat; loss of personal freedoms due to
negative volition toward the Word of Truth. (Lev 26:13-17) Second cycle of
Discipline: Economic recession and depression; increased personal and
individual discipline for continued negative volition in spite of the first warning.
(Lev 26:18-20) Third cycle of Discipline: Violence and breakdown of law and
order; cities laid waste. (Lev 26:21-22) Fourth cycle of Discipline: Military
conquest; foreign occupation; scarcity of food; (Reduced to one-tenth the
normal supply) separation of families. (Lev 26:23-26)
Fifth cycle of Discipline: Destruction of a nation due to maximum rejection of
Biblical Principles (Lev 26:27-39) cf. (Rebound; Lev 26:40-46) Yet Ephraim
had accomplished its own internal destruction long before being conquered by
the Assyrian invaders. The stability and vigor of any client nation depend on
Spiritual factors: the evangelism and subsequent regeneration, (Faith in Christ;
being born into the family of God) of unbelievers, custodianship of Scripture,
and the dissemination and application of Truth among believers. In the absence
of these stabilizing factors, hostile pressures from other nations merely finished
the ruin which Spiritual decadence has begun.
Down through the centuries, the Jews have always received gracious
warnings from God of approaching judgment. The Prophetic Messages, the
Principles stated in the Mosaic Law, and the punitive measures of the five
cycles of discipline all describe what happens to a people who reject God and
His Word. (Lev 26:14-46)
Moses had earlier warned Israel that the sound of a foreign language in the
Land was a harbinger of the fifth cycle of discipline — judgment and
destruction of the nation.
“The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the
earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not
understand.” (Deut 28:49)
Jeremiah had also taught Israel about the warning sign of judgment.
“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,”
declares the LORD. “It is an enduring nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation
whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say.”
(Jer 5:15)
Isaiah’s warning prophecy of Chapter 28 was voiced to his contemporaries.
The arrogant and apostate Ephraim was still standing when Isaiah announced
the impending fulfillment of the prophecy — the end of the “fading flower.”
(Isa 28:1-5) The Assyrians were advancing on Ephraim to vanquish the nation.”
A foreign tongue,” the sign of judgment, was heard in Ephraim, yet national
disaster could have been averted. Isaiah’s emphatic Declaration concerning
foreign languages was also a last call to recover from apostasy.
The destruction of Ephraim in 721 B.C. was a warning to Judah. If they
persisted in the same idolatrous practices for which Ephraim plunged into
slavery, calamity would also befall them. (Isa 28:14-23) While the impact of
Isaiah’s message and the response of the believing remnant prolonged the life
of Judah for 135 years, Judah eventually reverted to apostasy. They failed
Spiritually, economically, socially, and militarily; they ignored the Doctrinal and
Divine establishment Principles by which a client nation functions to the glory of
God. (Divine establishment is the Principles ordained by God for the survival,
stability, protection, and perpetuation of the human race, believers and
unbelievers alike, during the course of human history) Since the Jews did not
heed the warning, the Chaldean language was heard in Judah for twenty years
(605-586 B.C.) before the judgment.
Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest of the Chaldean rulers, first invaded Judah in
605 B.C. and deported hundreds of thousands of Jews to Babylon. (The first
deportation was in 605 B.C. and the second, in 598 B.C. In 586 B.C.
Nebuchadnezzar completely devastated Jerusalem after a siege of eighteen
months and deported the third group to Babylon) In 586 B.C. the final, terrible
judgment occurred. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the nation, demolished the
Temple, and led the surviving Jews to slavery in Babylon. After the Chaldean
Empire fell and the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity were concluded,
Jews were resettled in Judah by a decree of Cyrus the Great of the Media-
Persian Empire. However, thousands of Jews decided to remain in Persia.
Their descendants became the economic backbone of the Persian and later,
the Parthian Empire.
Further Jewish dispersion occurred in the days of Alexander the Great.
(356-323 B.C.) Again a foreign language was heard in Judah. Alexander
invaded Israel intending to besiege Jerusalem. To his surprise, Jaddua the High
Priest, escorted by the priests and citizens of Jerusalem, led a procession out
from the city to welcome him. Jaddua carried the sacred scrolls of the Holy
Scripture in his arms. Solemnly, he unrolled the scroll of Daniel and showed
Alexander that his conquests had been prophesied by God! So profound was
Alexander’s amazement and admiration of the Jews that he appointed certain
ones as administrators in cities throughout his far-flung empire, some as far
away as India. A group of Jews who had settled in Alexandria, Egypt, later
translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek. The Septuagint, as it was
called, made Scripture available in Greek to Jews induced by dispersion to
abandon their native Hebrew.
Under the principle of the far fulfillment of Prophecy, God permitted Isaiah
to look down the corridors of time to view the dismal failure of a future
generation of Jews. The long-range fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy would again
be national dispersion, (A.D. 70) when another generation of apostate Jews
would suffer horrible judgment for their obstinacy. So specific and lucid was the
Prophecy of tongues that the meaning was unmistakable. In that distant future
God would again warn the Jews of impending national punishment by the sign
of foreign languages — this time not by foreign gentile invaders, but by fellow
Jews and Gentiles wielding the Spiritual gift of glossolalia. (Acts 2:4)
For through men stammering in speech [Bila’ agi saphah] and through a
strange gentile language, He [God] will speak to this people. (Isa 28:11; literal
translation)
Bila’ agi saphah, translated “stammering in speech,” emphasizes the
harshness of foreign gentile languages on the Hebrew ear. The speech of the
people who surrounded Israel sounded coarse and spluttering to the Jews.
What added force to Isaiah’s Prognosis was his obscure style — he became
elliptical by omitting verbs and cryptic by emphasizing the shocking nature of
the sign of strange gentile languages. The Jews, who had once been given the
Truth, would someday be forced to hear the Truth in foreign tongues.
While this Prophetic sign may not seem of great significance to us today, it
was offensive and insulting to the Jews of Isaiah’s era. “Think of that!” they
must have said, “Imagine gentile languages speaking God’s Word to us! We
were given the Law; we are the custodians of Scripture; we are to evangelize
the world. How dare Isaiah tell us that crude and grating gentile languages will
bring us the message of Salvation!” To their thinking, the announcement of
evangelism of Israel in gentile languages was a totally revolting, repugnant, and
horrifying concept; they could not believe such a thing could happen. “Surely
God would not set aside His privileged people.” So they haughtily ignored the
Prophecy of Isaiah.
All Biblical Prophecy comes true at some point in time. The eternal Son of
God was born of a virgin (Isa 7:14) and came to dwell among men.
(John 1:14) Thirty-three years later, on the Day of Pentecost, (The Feast of
Weeks) ten days after the ascension of Christ, the Spiritual gift of tongues was
given. Every Jew who understood the scroll of Isaiah realized this sign
announced catastrophic judgment on their nation.
CURSING TURNED TO BLESSING
The fifth cycle of discipline would again place Israel under a curse; yet God’
s grace always provides the means whereby cursing can be turned to blessing.
When Isaiah predicted the sign of judgment, he also declared a message of
hope.
He [The prophet] who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen. (Isa 28:12) cf. (Jer 6:16)
“Rest” refers to Salvation and Spiritual maturity. Jesus Christ said:
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
"Take My yoke [Spiritual life] upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My
yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30)
Only when Salvation is appropriated through faith alone in Jesus Christ
alone is cursing immediately turned to blessing. The grace of God provided
Salvation and Spiritual maturity for man, not from the works of the Law;
(Gal 2:16) cf. (Gal 3:1-3) or human efforts. (Tit 3:5) Salvation is freely offered
to all who will receive it. (Rev 21:6)
On the very day that the curse of the fifth cycle of discipline was announced
to the Jews, they were also given the Gospel — the opportunity for
deliverance! Although national dispersion was imminent and the judgment would
affect all the Jews, (Deut 28:64-68) God could not abandon them. The issue
for them was and remains: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be
saved.” (Acts 16:31) Cursing is turned to blessing by the evangelism and
regeneration of individual Jews. In the grace period between A.D. 30 and AD.
70, God used a special method to Communicate cursing and blessing to the
Jews — the gift of tongues, however stammering and repugnant it may have
seemed, was designed to awaken them to another imminent dispersion and
present Christ as their only Savior.
THE SIGN OF TONGUES
Two Prophecies declared the end of the client nation of Israel and the
coming of the Church Age: One addressed to the Jews; the other to the
Gentiles. The approach to the Jews, who always clamored for a sign,
(Matt 12:38-39; (1Co 1:22) was evangelization in gentile languages. The
approach to the Gentiles was Jesus Christ’s Prophecy of the baptism of God
the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:5) As the Church Age commenced, the two Prophecies
merged. (Acts 2:3-4) On the day of Pentecost (AD. 30), (The implication is that
they returned to their own countries, bearing the message heard, thus avoiding
the long delay which a missionary’s experience in learning the language of the
people to whom he goes would have caused.
It was in the power of God to reverse the experience of Babel, which He
evidently did for a time in Jerusalem this day) the apostles received the
baptism of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by glossolalia — gentile tongues
through which the Jews were to be warned and evangelized. Glossolalia
continued for forty years (A.D. 30—70) signaling the coming destruction of
Jerusalem by Rome. This purpose for glossolalia is clarified by the Apostle
Paul fifteen years before the catastrophe.
In the Law [The Old Testament] it is Written, “BY MEN OF STRANGE
TONGUES [Languages] AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS [Gentiles]
I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, [The Jews] AND EVEN SO THEY WILL
NOT LISTEN [Negative volition] TO ME,” [Quote from; Isa 28:11-12] Says the
Lord. So then tongues are for a sign, [A warning to Jewish unbelievers of the
proximity of Divine judgment and dispersion] not to those who believe, but to
unbelievers but prophecy (The teaching of God’s Thoughts filled with God the
Holy Spirit) is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe.
(1Co 14:21-22)
Since the destruction of Jerusalem would be a devastating disaster, God
provided a prelude of intensive evangelism. All who accepted the gift of
Salvation during the interim would escape the curse of the fifth cycle of
discipline. Those who recognized the sign would know what it foreshadowed
and flee to safety in accordance with Divine Instructions. They would also
receive the baptism of God the Holy Spirit and become members of the Body
of Christ — a part of the Church in the new dispensation.
Although the Jews remain under Divine discipline for the duration of the
Church Age, God never condones anti-Semitism. God needs no help
administering His discipline. He is righteous, just, and forever gracious in all His
dealings with man. God blesses those who bless the Jew and curses all who
raise a hand against him. History testifies to this principle: Nations that offer
refuge to the Jew are blessed (Gen 12:3) and nations that become
anti-Semitic are destroyed.
THE PROMISE OF GOD THE FATHER
And gathering them [The apostles] together, He [Jesus Christ] Commanded
them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had Promised,
“Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me.” (Acts 1:4)
During the forty days before His ascension to heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ
summoned the apostles for a last-minute briefing. (Acts 1:1-4) He Commanded
“the eleven” to remain in Jerusalem and “wait for what the Father had
Promised.” God the Father Promised that upon the Lord Jesus Christ’s return
to heaven, that God the Holy Spirit’s PERMANENT New Covenant ministry
would come into the world. The apostles had been told by Jesus that the Holy
Spirit would be their Teacher, (John 14:26) Mentor (John 14:16-17; John 16:7)
and Guide to the entire realm of Truth. (John 16:13)
The critical element of the Lord’s Command was “not to leave Jerusalem,”
for it was there on the day of Pentecost God the Holy Spirit would dramatically
descend to baptize and bestow the gift of tongues. This was to be a unique
moment in human history.
THE FULFILLMENT OF
ISAIAH’S PROPHECY
And when the day of Pentecost had come, they [The eleven apostles] were
all together in one place. (Acts 2:1)
“Pentecost” (The Feast of Weeks) was the fourth of the Spring feasts in
Israel. The first of these holy days was Passover, the first annual pilgrimage
feast requiring all Jewish males to celebrate at the Temple in Jerusalem.
(Exo 23:17; Deut 16:16) Immediately following Passover was the week-long
Feast of Unleavened Bread. On the third day of that week was the Feast of
First-fruits (Lev 23:9-14; cf. (Num 28:26-31) — the Resurrection Day. Fifty
days after Passover was Pentecost, the “Feast of Weeks,” (Exo 34:22) the
third annual pilgrimage feast.
The “they” of, (Acts 2:1) refers back to the nearest antecedent, Matthias
and the “eleven” of, (Acts 1:26). On this particular Pentecost morning in A.D.
30, the eleven apostles plus Matthias, in obedience to the mandate of Jesus
Christ, (Acts 1:4-5) remained in Jerusalem to await the arrival of the Holy Spirit.
And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind,
and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to
them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of
them. (Acts 2:2-3)
“And suddenly” came the awe-inspiring signs that proclaimed the baptism of
the Holy Spirit and inaugurated the New Covenant Church Age. A roar like a
tornado reverberated throughout Jerusalem, announcing the commencement of
the new dispensation — the New Covenant Church Age. This sound of “violent,
rushing wind” was the initial herald for God the Holy Spirit’s arrival. Like the
enormous power of wind, God the Holy Spirit is the source of Divine power for
executing the unique Spiritual life of the New Covenant.
At the baptism of Jesus Christ that inaugurated His earthly ministry,
(Luk 3:21-23) the presence of God the Holy Spirit was manifested in the form
of a hovering dove; (John 1:32) but on the day of Pentecost God the Holy Spirit
was made known by the appearance of “tongues as of fire.” Fire represents
judgment in Scripture (2Th 1:7-9; Rev 1:1-15; Rev 21:8) and this miracle was a
foreboding sign of the holocaust to come.
THE MIRACLE OF TONGUES
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other
tongues, [Glossa — languages] as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
(Acts 2:4)
The instant God the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost and bestowed the
Spiritual gift of tongues, the apostles were simultaneously indwelt and filled
with God the Holy Spirit. As evidence of this new status of Spirituality, they
suddenly began speaking in foreign languages. The miracle was even more
amazing since these apostles were all Galileans. Why is that significant?
In those days two kinds of Jews lived in Palestine: the Judeans in southern
Palestine and the Galileans in the north of the Land. Judeans were more
academically accomplished and often trilingual. They conversed in Latin, (The
language of the Romans) Greek, (The language of culture) and their native
Aramaic, (The language of commerce in the Middle East) Galileans, however,
were typically uneducated farmers and fishermen who spoke only Aramaic with
a distinctive, rural accent. These Galileans, however, were God’s chosen
instruments. The monolingual apostles were suddenly transformed into gifted,
multilingual Galileans proclaiming the Gospel to the Jewish pilgrims from distant
lands, the far fulfillment of Isaiah’s warning.
WITNESSES TO THE MIRACLE OF TONGUES
Now there were Jews living [Katoikeo] in Jerusalem, devout men, from
every [Gentile] nation under heaven. (Acts 2:5)
As always, God’s timing is perfect. In painstaking observance of the Mosaic
Law, thousands of Jews were converging on the Temple in Jerusalem to
celebrate the spring feasts, including Pentecost. The present active participle
of katoikeo, translated “living,” signifies their temporary residence in Jerusalem
for the duration of the holy days and distinguishes these travelers from the
permanent residents of the city. They had come from Asia Minor, Europe, and
North Africa to fulfill the mandate for worship. Because their ancestors had
been dispersed in other countries for over three hundred years, they were no
longer conversant in Hebrew. Scripture describes them as “devout men” —
intensely religious, meticulous keepers of the Mosaic Law, yet like Nicodemus,
unsaved. (John 3:1-21)
We can easily reconstruct the events of the Day of Pentecost. The narrow
streets of Jerusalem were congested with festive crowds when a violent wind
took the city by surprise. Overwhelmed with curiosity and alarm, both visitors
and citizens thronged to the place from which the supernatural sound had come.
And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were
bewildered, because they [Jewish pilgrims] were each one hearing them
[The apostles] speak in his own [Gentile] language. [Dialektos] And they were
amazed and marveled, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking
Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language
[Dialektos] to which we were born?” (Acts 2:6-8)
The Jews were astonished. The foreign-born Jews had returned to the land of
their ancestors fully expecting to hear only Aramaic spoken. Instead, they were
amazed to hear their native, gentile languages, foreign to the Jewish people in
Palestine. Certainly they never dreamed that these simple Galileans would
suddenly become accomplished linguists.
The word used here for “language” is not glossa but a synonym, dialektos.
Since dialektos means “language of a nation or a region,” it follows that glossa
also refers to human language. (Acts 2:4) This completely excludes any notion
that speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost was an angelic language or
some form of ecstatic utterance. God the Holy Spirit bypassed the mentality of
the apostle’s souls and controlled their vocal cords to enable them to
communicate the Gospel in gentile languages familiar to the foreign-born Jews.
Consider the wide variety of languages represented.
“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 — we hear them in our own tongues [Glossa]
speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” (Acts 2:9-11)
The Parthians migrated from central Asia during the fifth century B.C. and
came under Persian and later Macedonian rule. When Alexander the Great
conquered Parthia, he established several cities and left behind his Jewish
administrators. As Alexander’s empire disintegrated, the Parthians seized
power. (250 B.C.) Their military strength effectively prevented the eastward
expansion of Rome into India. During this period, large Jewish settlements
promoted commerce in the region. These Jews spoke the ancient Parthian
language. On the day of Pentecost the apostles miraculously proclaimed the
Gospel in the Parthian dialect.
In the high plateaus of the Zagros Mountains in what is now western Iran, a
nomadic people called the Medes had united with the Persians to master the
world in the time of Cyrus the Great. (Around. 539 B.C.) After the collapse of
the Persian Empire, they returned to their native highlands, taking their obscure
language with them. Jews began to settle in these isolated regions during the
Babylonian Captivity. By the first century AD. Ancient Median was a dead
language, replaced by the language of the Persians and adopted by the Jews
who were utterly surprised to hear Persian clearly voiced in the streets of
Jerusalem.
The Elamites were already a warlike people in Abraham’s time. (2100 B.C.)
They posed a constant threat to the Sumerians and Babylonians and struggled
for dominance of the Fertile Crescent. They aggressively swept down from the
southern Zagros Mountains east of the Tigris River to briefly subjugate the
Babylonians in the twelfth century B.C. They moved on to dominate the Arabian
Desert, but were driven back into their secluded, mountainous retreats,
isolated from other cultural influences. Though subsequently controlled by
Chaldea,
Media-Persia, and Parthia, this small district maintained its own ethnic
characteristics and language. Here, too, Alexander the Great appointed Jewish
administrators in the wake of his rapid conquest. Now the descendants of
those Jews returned to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts in the Holy City. By
God’s design they heard the Gospel declared in the ancient language of the
Elamites.
Mesopotamia is the land of the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers. Over the centuries many languages were spoken in this small
region: Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkaddian, Old Persian, Elamite, Greek, Syrian.
When Mesopotamia came under the dominion of the Parthian Empire, Middle
Persian and Aramaic were spoken. The Jews who had journeyed to Jerusalem
from their adopted home in Mesopotamia heard the Gospel presented in
Middle Persian. Judeans spoke excellent Aramaic, the lingua franca of the
Middle East, a language quite different from Cappadocian. Located in the
eastern half of modern Turkey, Cappadocia was comprised of a rugged,
mountainous region. Jewish merchants began to settle there by 139 B.C.
drawn by the commercial opportunities of key trade routes that linked Greece
with Persia. The harsh terrain left most of Cappadocia inaccessible; hence, the
mysterious Cappadocian dialect was among the lesser-known tongues spoken
by the apostles on the day of Pentecost.
The Roman province of Pontus, a narrow strip along the south coast of the
Black Sea in what is now Turkey, had been colonized by the Greeks since the
seventh century B.C. In the mountains and valleys, away from the coast, the
ancient Greek dialects were still spoken. By the first century the commercial
prosperity of these Greek seaports had attracted Jewish merchants. To the
southwest of Pontus lay the Roman province of Asia. Since the Trojan War,
this area had been dominated by Greek-speaking people. To the southeast
along the Mediterranean coast, lay another Roman province, Pamphylia,
comprised of five major Greek cities. Their language was a mixture of Greek
and ancient Pamphylian which combined into one Greek vernacular.
Mountainous Phrygia bordered Pamphylia on the north. The ancient Thracians
had conquered the Phrygians and established an empire under the legendary
King Midas. Antiochus III of Syria resettled Jews here in the second century B.
C. These Jews heard the Gospel proclaimed on Pentecost in various Greek
dialects.
Jews fled to Egypt in the sixth century B.C. to escape the Chaldean
occupation of Jerusalem. Later, Alexander granted their descendants special
privileges and status in Alexandria. Under the Ptolemies, much of the
administrative and military leadership was provided by Jews. These privileges
continued under Roman rule. By the first century A.D. their language, in
transition from Middle Egyptian to Coptic, was heard proclaiming the Gospel in
Jerusalem.
Cyrene, on the North African coast of Libya, was colonized by Dorian
Greeks in the seventh century B.C. and by the fifth century was famous for its
medical school and Platonic Academy. In the second century B.C. Ptolemy I
resettled thousands of Jews in Cyrene and other cities in Libya. Inhabitants of
rural Libya conversed in an antiquated dialect of North Africa, while the city
dwellers spoke fluent Greek and Latin, as did the “visitors from Rome.” Some
of the apostles proclaimed the Gospel in Latin to these travelers.
Besides foreign-born Jews, those native to Palestine returned to Jerusalem
from other parts of Judea and Galilee. In their midst were proselytes, Gentiles
who had converted to Judaism. They had come from throughout the Roman
Empire for the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Jewish settlement on Crete
began more than two hundred years before Christ. Cretans were known to
have spoken a rare and difficult form of Greek. Jews who had emigrated south
to Arabia conversed in Arabic and both languages were represented on the
day of Pentecost.
In all of this diversity of languages there was only one goal — to make the
Gospel of Salvation through faith alone in Christ alone understood by all.
Everyone present on that momentous day heard in his own native tongue how
the Messiah had been crucified as a substitute for the sins of the world and
raised from the dead — “the mighty deeds of God.” (Acts 2:11) If this
phenomenal message had been correctly understood and believed by those
who observed and heard it, they would have recognized the present danger of
Isaiah’s ancient warning. But did they recognize it as such?
“WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?”
The dramatic manifestation of the gift of tongues caused considerable
excitement and speculation among the observers.
And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one
another, “What does this mean?” But others were mocking and saying, “They
are full of sweet wine.” (Acts 2:12-13)
Although the Jews had been forewarned, they were bewildered by this
spectacular phenomenon. Just as Isaiah’s generation had rejected his
Message, so too this generation was negative and skeptical, even when the
unmistakable sign was right before their eyes. Those foreign Jews, who
understood the words of the apostles, were baffled by the sudden
transformation of the unlearned Galileans; the native Judeans present, who did
not understand the gentile foreign languages being spoken, assumed the
apostles were drunk. All exhibited their ignorance and clamored, “What does
this mean?” In his Pentecostal sermon, (Acts 1:1-40) the Apostle Peter refuted
the intoxication charge (Acts 2:15) and interpreted the meaning of tongues.
1. He explained this was a pouring “forth of My [Holy] Spirit,” (Acts 2:17)
a reference to the baptism of God the Holy Spirit.
2. He presented the Gospel whereby individual Jews might escape the
disaster that awaited Israel in time, as well as judgment in eternity.
(Acts 2:11; Acts 2:38-40)
Thus, Isaiah’s Promise of “rest” (Isa 28:12) materialized in the words of the
disciples who proclaimed the power of God’s saving grace.
THE WAY OF SALVATION
Now when they heard this, [Concerning the crucifixion and resurrection of
Christ] they were pierced to the heart, [Soul] and said to Peter and the rest of
the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent,
[Metanoeo — change your mind about Christ] and let each of you be baptized
[In water as a teaching aid] in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins; and you shall receive [Lambano] the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
(Acts 2:37-38)
When these Jews understood that it was the Messiah they had rejected
and crucified, they reacted as if they had been stabbed in the heart. In horror
they asked, “What do we do now?” Peter answered metanoeo, “Repent!”
Metanoeo is not an emotional contrition, but a change of mind. Repent means
“to change one’s attitude” — specifically toward Jesus Christ. Repentance
immediately precedes and or is coterminous with faith in Christ. Peter was
presenting the way of Salvation to these devastated Jews.
When a person changes his mind about Christ and believes in Christ, his
pre-Salvation sins are forgiven (Acts 10:43) and he receives the “gift of God
the Holy Spirit.” The future tense of the verb lambano indicates the gift will be
received immediately upon repentance and forgiveness.
Today, anyone who believes in Christ instantly receives the baptism of God
the Holy Spirit. This New Covenant ministry of God the Holy Spirit never
occurred in history until the Church Age was inaugurated on the day of
Pentecost.
(Acts 2:38) does not state that water baptism is part of the way of
Salvation. The plural verb “repent” goes with the plural pronoun “your” in the
clause “for the forgiveness of your sins” and should be translated, “repent for
the forgiveness of your [Pre-Salvation] sins.” The singular verb “baptized”
cannot be connected to the plural clause “forgiveness of your sins.” Therefore,
“baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” is parenthetical, separated from the rest
of the sentence. Based on the syntax of the verse, water baptism is not a
prerequisite or a requirement for forgiveness of sins, repentance, Salvation, or
God the Holy Spirit baptism. Water baptism is a visual illustration depicting the
baptism of God the Holy Spirit; that occurs at Salvation.
THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
“For John baptized [Baptizo] with water, but you shall be baptized with
[By the agency of God the Holy Spirit [En pneumati] not many days from now.”
[Ten days after the ascension of Christ on the day of Pentecost]
(Acts 1:5)
The baptism of God the Holy Spirit is a phenomenon unique to the New
Covenant Age. To avoid confusion and distortion of this essential Doctrine, we
must begin with the etymology of the word baptizo. The English “baptize” is a
transliteration of the Greek verb baptizo meaning “to dip, to immerse.” This
word was used by ancient Greek poets, dramatists, and historians to signify
identification of one object with another; so that the nature or characteristic of
the first object is changed. For example, in the fourth century B.C. Xenophon
describes new recruits in the Spartan army dipping their spears into pig’s blood
before going into battle. By identifying the spears with blood, the nature of the
spear was changed from the spear of a hunter to the spear of a warrior. In the
fifth century B.C. Euripides used the word to describe a sinking ship. As it
sinks, the character or nature of the ship is changed. It becomes “identified” or
“baptized” with the water.
Today when anyone believes in the Lord Jesus Christ for Salvation, he is
baptized by God the Holy Spirit and identified with Christ, retroactively as He
died on the cross and currently as He is seated at the right hand of God the
Father. This identification with Christ in His Spiritual death, physical death, and
burial is called ‘retroactive positional Truth.’ Identification with His resurrection,
ascension, and session is called ‘current positional Truth.’
Or do you not know that all of us [Every believer] who have been baptized
into [Identified with] Jesus Christ have been baptized into [Identified with] His
death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in
order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
so we too might walk in newness of life. [The New Covenant Spiritual life] For if
we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall
be also in the likeness of His resurrection. [Spiritual life NOW and in eternity]
Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might
be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. (Rom 6:3-6)
As unbelievers, we were enslaved to the tyranny of the sin nature from the
moment of our physical birth when Adam’s original sin was imputed to our
genetically formed sin nature. When we believe in Christ, “our old self,” the sin
nature, “was crucified with Him” and identifies us retroactively with His work on
the cross which provided our Salvation. We are currently identified as “no
longer . . . slaves to sin” — the power of the sin nature that once ruled our life
is broken and we are now in a position to live the unique Spiritual life. The
baptism of God the Holy Spirit occurs at the moment of Salvation.
For you are all [Every believer without exception] sons of God through faith
in Christ Jesus. For all of you [Every believer without exception] who were
baptized [Baptizo] into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
(Gal 3:26-27)
For by [The agency of] one Spirit [En pneumati] we were all [Every
believer] baptized [Baptizo] into one body, [The Body of Christ, the Church]
whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to
drink of one Spirit. (1Co 12:13)
The constative aorist tense of the verb baptizo in, (Gal 3:27) and (1Co 12:13)
indicates that every Church Age believer is “baptized into Christ” at a moment
in time — the moment of regeneration. The passive voice of baptizo shows that
“all” Church Age believers receive the action of baptism and are united into the
“one body” of Christ by this one baptism of God the Holy Spirit
(Eph 4:5) at the moment of Salvation.
The baptism of God the Holy Spirit described in, (1Co 12:13) is identical
with the baptism prophesied by both John the Baptist
(Matt 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luk 3:16; John 1:26-34) and Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:5)
The Greek in each of these passages uses the identical prepositional phrase
“en pneumati” to describe the personal agency of God the Holy Spirit in
performing this baptism. The King James Version, the New American Standard
Version, and the New International Version inconsistently translate these
Gospel passages “with” the Spirit and the First Corinthians passage “by” the
Spirit causing some to erroneously conclude that the verses describe two
different baptisms: one at Salvation and the other subsequent to Salvation. But
since the Greek terminology is exactly the same in each of these verses, the
baptism prophesied by John is the same one described by Paul and it occurs
only at the instant of faith in Christ.
This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit
by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having
begun [Enarxomai] by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
(Gal 3:2-3)
The aorist participle of enarxomai, “having begun” by the Spirit, connects
the starting point of the Christian life, faith alone in Christ alone, with receiving
the Holy Spirit. In the same instant that we respond to the Gospel by “faith,”
the Holy Spirit gives eternal life. We are baptized by the Spirit, united with
Christ, and given a permanent, eternal relationship with God. Regardless of
whether the new believer was once a Jew or a Gentile, he is born again
(John 3:7) and receives a renewed human spirit. (Tit 3:5-6) At that instant he is
Spiritually alive to God, (Eph 2:1-5) a child of God, (John 1:12) a member of
the royal family of God, and a new Spiritual species.
Therefore, if any man is in Christ he is a new creature; [New Spiritual
species] the old things passed away; behold, new things [Divine Thoughts and
Nature; 2Pe 1:4] have come. (2Co 5:17)
In the royal family of God the old racial, social, class, and gender
distinctions characteristic of the Mosaic Law have “passed away.” No person
or group can claim Spiritual superiority. Gentiles are Spiritually equal to Jews in
the New Covenant Age and receive every Spiritual blessing and asset Jewish
believers receive. (Gal 3:28) “In Christ” every believer has equal privilege and
equal opportunity to learn Truth, pursue their Spiritual life all the way to
Spiritual maturity, and glorify God through the power of God the Holy Spirit.
(Eph 3:16-19)
There is neither Jew nor Greek, [Gentile] there is neither slave nor free
man, there is neither male nor female for you are all one in [Union with] Christ
Jesus. (Gal 3:28)
When the individual Jew believes in Jesus Christ, he is born again.
Regeneration removes the curse of sin and Spiritual death. (Rom 5:12) In union
with Christ through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, his race is no longer an
issue. (1Co 12:13) The same Principle applies to the Gentile who is born
again. Both believing Jews and Gentiles are “one in Christ.” Thus, the unity and
equality of the Body of Christ is assured through the baptism of God the Holy
Spirit.
Today, the baptism of the Spirit is not a post-Salvation occurrence. All
believers after Pentecost receive God the Holy Spirit at the moment of
Salvation. Only in the transition period from the Age of Israel through the
Dispensation of the Hypostatic Union to the pre-canon, apostolic era of the
Church Age, revealed by the Book of Acts, did four different groups of
believers receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit after Salvation.
1. The apostles and other believers in Jerusalem. (Acts 2:1-47)
2. The Samaritan believers who received the Spirit when the
Apostles Peter and John laid their hands on them. (Acts 8:14-17)
3. Cornelius, a gentile believer living in Caesarea, and those with him
received the Spirit as Peter preached the Gospel of Christ. (Acts 10:1)
thru (Acts 11:18)
4. Several disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus when Paul laid his hands
on them. (Acts 19:1-8) The four groups who received the baptism of the Holy
Spirit subsequent to Salvation were representative of four types of believers in
the transition phase. The first group (Acts 2:1) was all Jewish, the apostles
and those believers directly associated with them. The second group, the
Samaritans, a mixed race of both Jews and Gentiles, was looked down upon
by orthodox Jews. Yet they too received the Holy Spirit in the same manner as
those who had been present in Jerusalem on Pentecost. (Acts 8:1) In this
instance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit no known Samaritans spoke in
tongues. It is significant that even in the pre-canon era; the Spiritual gift did not
always manifest the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
The third group represented Gentile believers only, (Acts 10:1) again
showing that Gentiles, held in disdain by the Jews, also received God the Holy
Spirit. These gentile believers, indwelt and filled by God the Holy Spirit were at
the same time baptized — also spoke in tongues as a warning sign to the Jews
who were present. Word of these events spread rapidly throughout Judea
heralding the New Covenant Church age.
The fourth group, the disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus, represent
Old Testament believers of the Jewish dispersion. (Acts 19:2-8) They too were
identified with the events at Pentecost, receiving the baptism of God the Holy
Spirit through apostolic authority. Though they had been saved as Old
Testament saints, they now received the Holy Spirit. They also spoke in
tongues as a sign to other Jews in their periphery and to announce the New
Covenant Church Age.
In all of these instances dispersed, apostate Jews were present to hear the
Gospel and to observe glossolalia as the sign of judgment. This was the far
fulfillment of the Prophecy of Isaiah — the warning sign against Spiritual
apostasy and the offer of God’s redemption solution.
The startling manifestations of the initial occurrence of the baptism of God
the Holy Spirit and glossolalia on the day of Pentecost clearly marked the
beginning of the new dispensation and introduced a gracious warning period for
client nation Israel. This warning period extended over the first four decades of
the early Church, so an entire generation of Jews could be alerted by hearing
the Gospel in gentile languages. Still, the nation would not listen. Because they
rejected the Gospel, Divine judgment was inevitable. Jerusalem would be
destroyed in A.D. 70 and New Covenant Israel would be temporarily set aside
until the Tribulation.
Remember, the Book of Acts records the transition to the New Covenant
Church Age.
(Acts 1:1-8) takes place shortly before Christ ascended to heaven, before
any believer was given with the New Covenant Spiritual life. There was no
Church, no New Testament, there were no Christians, and the New Covenant
Church Age was a “mystery.” (Col 1:25-27) By the time of the completion of
Acts over thirty-five years had passed, Christ had ascended and was seated at
the right hand of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit baptized, indwelt, and
filled every believer. Miracles were rare compared to the early chapters of
Acts, tens of thousands of Christians were scattered throughout the Roman
Empire, and about half of the New Testament Canon was written. With the
apostolic era in full swing, there was no longer a need to proclaim the already
well-established Church Age. As the Roman legions closed in on Jerusalem,
there would no longer be a need for glossolalia to continue announcing the fifth
cycle of discipline. And was NEVER to be used as a part of the New Covenant
Spiritual life! For ALL NEW COVENANT DOCTRINE [MYSTERY DOCTRINE]
WAS NEVR REVEALED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES!
(Eph 3:4-5) The Spiritual gift of tongues would soon cease. (1Co 13:8)
THE GIFT OF TONGUES, which Isaiah had prophesied (Isa 28:11) as a sign
to the Jews, initially fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, must always be viewed
from the Biblical perspective. When the gift of tongues is taken out of Biblical
context, misconceptions and abuses abound. Such was the case in Corinth
where tongues became an underlying cause of friction and turmoil. The fabric
of unity of the city’s fledgling church was being ripped to shreds. So divisive
had the controversy become that the Apostle Paul devoted three chapters in
his first epistle to the Corinthians (1Co 12:1-31) thru (1Co 14:1-40 ) to clarify
the purpose for the gift of tongues.
Although in the pre-canon Church speaking in tongues was a legitimate
Spiritual gift, Paul corrected fallacies and prescribed regulations to prevent
phony ecstatic utterance and un-interpretable gibberish. Those Corinthians who
genuinely spoke in tongues verbalized a real, extant language, capable of being
interpreted, that conveyed a rational meaning to the hearers.
CORINTH, CAPITAL OF COMMERCE
AND CARNALITY
In the ancient world the city of Corinth epitomized worldly pleasure and
religious excess. Strategically situated on an isthmus between two harbors,
this Roman colony was the hub of trade between Asia and Europe. The
commercial supremacy of Corinth attracted merchants and tradesmen from
throughout the Roman Empire, including a thriving Jewish community.
For centuries itinerant sailors and retired soldiers brought their worship of
pagan gods and goddesses along with the degenerate rites of the phallic cult
to Corinth, creating a religious melting pot. As interest in the traditional gods of
Greek mythology waned, the masses turned to other emotional and mystical
religions to satisfy religious yearnings and gratify sensual desires. The rigorous
morality of the Jews was in vivid contrast to the licentious paganism so popular
in the temples of Corinth. Decadent morals made “Corinthian” synonymous to
this day with brazen, unrestrained immorality.
The Apostle Paul arrived at Corinth in the autumn of A.D. 49 to proclaim the
Gospel of Christianity and teach the converts the Divine Thinking necessary for
Spiritual growth. Initially, he went to the Jewish synagogue bringing the good
news that Jesus, the Promised Messiah, had died on the cross as a substitute
for the sins of the world. When the majority of the Jews rejected his message
and expelled him from the synagogue, Paul then proclaimed the Gospel to the
Gentiles; “many of the Corinthians” believed. (Acts 18:8) The emerging
congregation was composed mainly of Greeks reared in the midst of heathen
mythology, humanistic philosophy, and wanton sexuality.
MYSTERY CULTS
Among the pagan religions that influenced the Spiritually immature, gentile
believers in Corinth (1Co 12:2) was the worship of Apollo. Several temples to
Apollo were in Corinth, as well as the in famous shrine at Delphi, northwest of
the city, across the bay. There the priestess — the oracle of Delphi — spoke
in frenzied utterances when possessed by the, pneuma puthonos “a spirit of
divination.” The pneuma puthonos is equivalent to the engastrimuthos or
ventriloquist demon. Initially, the word puthon,“python,” referred to the
mythological snake that guarded the oracle at Delphi. When the god Apollo
killed Python, the oracle became the preeminent shrine of Apollo. Here the
prophetess Pythia, named after the indwelling engastrimuthos demon who
controlled her vocal cords, would utter her oracles in a ‘mysterious demonic’
language while in an ecstatic trance, and her priestess attendants would then
translate.
The Dionysian cult was one of several mystery religions which appealed to
the Greek’s desire for salvation and a personal religious experience. Mystery
religions offered an initiation into a secret experience intended to save the soul
after death. According to Aristotle the initiates “did not learn anything so much
as they felt certain emotions and were put into a certain frame of mind.” In
secret rites the emotions of the devotee were aroused in torchlight ceremonies
by the throbbing beat of drums, erotic dancing, and the intoxicating flow of
wine. At the height of the ritual, the idolater was mystically united with the
pagan god, (Demon) who spoke through him in a ‘secret language.’ The
Dionysian cult, one of the most degenerate of the mystery religions, flourished
in a blend of pseudo-ecstatic utterances, drunken debaucheries, demonic
healings and miracles — all evidence of supposedly being filled with the spirit
of the god.
Another popular mystery religion, the Cybele-Attis cult, had been linked with
the perversions of the Dionysian cult for several centuries before Christ. In this
cult the priests would excite the emotions of the adherents with clashing
cymbals, banging drums, and loud gongs cf., (1Co 13:1) until the worshipers
finally collapsed in a state of irrational ecstasy, babbling in mysterious
gibberish.
In Greek religion there is a series of comparable phenomena from the
enthusiastic cult of the Thracian Dionysus with its [Glottes bakxeia, “languages
produced by Bacchic frenzy”] to the divinatory manticism [Divination] of the
Delphic Phrygia, of the Bacides, the Sybils, etc. . . . The unintelligible lists of
magical names and letters in the magic papyri, (Voces mysticae) which are
used in the invoking and conjuring of gods and spirits, may also be analogous
to this obscure and meaningless speaking with tongues. With these mystical
demonic names etc., in which there are echoes of all the various oriental
languages, we may certainly couple the view that they derive from
suprasegmentally tongues used by the gods and spirits in heaven, each class
having its peculiar [Phone “sound, speech”] or [Dialektos, “dialect, language”].
Though some of the languages used in the mystery religions were produced
by an engastrimuthos demon, the rest were simply the out pouring of emotional
frenzy. Devotees of the mystery cults believed that speaking in ecstatic
utterances and emotional excitement were proof of a special relationship with
the gods. When they spoke in ‘secret languages,’ the so-called benefit was
solely personal, since no one else could understand these “obscure and
meaningless” orations. They believed these utterances enabled them to receive
communication directly from their god in order to experience what they believed
was a more meaningful Spirituality. All their experience was evaluated by their
emotions.
These mystery religions promoted a satanic counterfeit of the miracles of
the early Church. When a new believer, who had converted from these mystery
religions, brought the corrupt thinking of his pagan past into his new Christian
life, he would continue to associate emotional stimulation and impressive
miracles with the Spiritual life. Therefore, it is easy to understand how the
carnal Corinthian believers, by superimposing the same pagan, mystical
concepts on the legitimate, first-century Spiritual gift of tongues, disrupted and
confused the local congregation.
CONFUSION IN THE CHURCH
The fact that the Corinthians were saved in no way means they were
advancing in the Spiritual life. When Paul penned this epistle, the church in
Corinth was the most confused and carnal congregation of the pre-canon,
apostolic era, operating on subjective, human viewpoint rather than objective,
Divine Viewpoint from the Word of Truth. (1Co 2:11-14; (1Co 3:1-3) There was
little if anything of Spiritual value to commend them. Their list of sins was long
and appalling: pride, envy, jealousy, childishness, pettiness, gossip, maligning,
adultery, incest, and drunkenness. As a result, the congregation fragmented
according to the individual trends of their sin natures. Those who followed the
trend toward legalism and asceticism were self-righteous concerning marriage,
divorce, sexuality and remaining single. (1Co 7:1-40) They created discord
over eating meat sacrificed to idols (1Co 8:1-13) and accused Paul of
carnality; when he as the leader apostle did not take money for the Gospel or
get married and kept working to pay his way and helped pay for the people
who were with him. (1Co 9:1-19) cf. (Acts 20:32-35) Those who followed their
trend toward antinomianism returned to the licentious lifestyle of Greek religion.
They practiced incest, (1Co 5:1) fornication, (1Co 6:13-18) and participated in
the phallic cult; (1Co 6:15) they even exploited the Lord’s table as an excuse
for gluttony and drunkenness. (1Co 11:20-21)
Paul harshly rebuked the Corinthians for their competition over water
baptism; (1Co 1:11-17) their rejection of both Divine Thoughts and those who
communicated them; (1Co 3:18-22) their arrogance in many areas, (1Co 4:6;
(1Co 4:18-19; (1Co 5:2; (1Co 8:1) including dragging fellow believers before
unbeliever magistrates to resolve disputes; (1Co 6:1-8) and for lack of proper
respect for authority by contentious men and women. (1Co 11:2-16)
Positionally the Corinthians were new creatures in Christ, (2Co 5:17) but
experientially they were still the same old sinners clinging to vestiges of
heathen mysteries, refusing to rebound and “be filled with God the Holy Spirit.”
Until they rebounded and their false human and satanic thinking was renovated
by Divine Thinking, (Rom 12:2) they would remain in carnality and confusion.
The Apostle Paul corrected their misconception of Spirituality in, First
Corinthians 3. He explained that Spirituality is the absolute status of the believer’
s soul when under the control of the Holy Spirit. (Eph 5:18) When the believer
sins, he grieves and or quenches the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30;
(1Th 5:19) and temporarily loses the filling of the Spirit. Through rebound,
acknowledging of known sins and or being out of fellowship to God the Father
(1Jn 1:9) the believer is purified from all wrongdoing, recovers the filling of God
the Holy Spirit, is restored to fellowship with God, and can resume his Spiritual
life The Corinthians failed to use rebound, so Paul described them as “men of
flesh” and “babes in Christ” — carnal and immature believers. (1Co 3:1)
Yet by the grace of God, this church abounded in Spiritual gifts. (1Co 1:7)
But because of abuse, these gifts became a curse instead of a blessing. The
immature and carnal Corinthians overrated the sensational gifts and underrated
the less sensational gifts. They used Spiritual gifts to abuse authority over one
another. They spoke in tongues for personal gratification. They elevated
glossolalia over edifying sermons. They arrogantly promoted glossolalia as a
sign of a superior false Spiritual life, so that worship services had deteriorated
into a rowdy confusing search for happiness, and resulted in immoral
degeneracy. Their attitudes and actions had more in common with the heathen
mystery religions than the mystery Spiritual Thinking of the New Covenant
Church Age.
EDIFICATION NOT TONGUES
Obviously, the glossolalia practiced by the immature and carnal Corinthians
was not advancing their devotion to the Lord. However, the gift of Prophecy —
the declaration of Divine will and Thoughts before the canon of the New
Testament was completed, benefitted edification — the building of Truth in the
soul for the Spiritual growth of all believers. (1Co 14:12) Paul corrected the
Corinthians’ misuse of the gift of tongues for personal edification by pointing out
that all Spiritual gifts are bestowed for the purpose of edifying the Body of
Christ, not for individual benefit or recognition.
(1Co 14:4)
But to each one is given the manifestation [Gift] of the Spirit for the
common good. (1Co 12:7)
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
The Greek noun, charisma which signifies Spiritual gifts, is based on the
word, charis “grace.” All Spiritual gifts are a matter of grace. They are a
God-given talent, ability, or aptitude sovereignly bestowed on every believer in
the New Covenant Age by God the Holy Spirit, at the moment of Salvation to
enable the believer to perform a particular service in the Body of Christ.
(1Co 12:4-7; Heb 2:4) The gifts become operational as a result of Spiritual
growth, determined by being filled with God the Holy Spirit and by rebound,
reception, retention, recall, resisting of sin and repeating! Spiritual gifts are
never the cause for Spiritual growth, they are the result. They are associated
with Spiritual momentum and have their greatest impact in Spiritual maturity.
Every gift guarantees a position on the Spiritual team for service in the Body of
Christ.
But One and the Same Spirit works all these things, [Spiritual gifts]
distributing to each one [Believer] individually just as He wills. [Boulomai]
(1Co 12:11)
The choice of the verb boulomai, “to will,” indicates careful and intelligent
planning and means that God the Holy Spirit knows precisely what He is doing
when selecting the recipients of His grace gifts. Each gift is distributed where it
will serve the greatest benefit to the entire Body of Christ. All are equally
necessary for the effective operation of the Body of Christ — a principle that is
so well depicted in the harmonious relationship of the many intricate parts of
the human body. The body is a unity but it has many components.
For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the
members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is
[The Body of] Christ. (1Co 12:12)
How and where God decides to use each Christian is a matter of Divine
prerogative. Therefore, the sovereign distribution of Spiritual gifts is never an
indicator of either Spiritual inferiority or superiority. Yet the Corinthian church
did exactly that!
SPIRITUAL INFERIORITY VERSUS SPIRITUAL SUPERIORITY
With stinging words Paul instructed and admonished the Corinthians for
their one-sided emphasis on certain Spiritual gifts. To demonstrate the
absurdity of exaggerating the importance of glossolalia, Paul continued his
analogy from human anatomy.
If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the
body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear
should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for
this reason any the less a part of the body. (1Co 1:1-16)
The hand is much more visible than the foot. The eye is more noticeable
than the ear. While some Spiritual gifts are highly visible and others invisible,
every Spiritual gift is critical to the function of the Body of Christ. The sum of
the parts equals the whole. The foot represents a believer who had developed
an inferiority complex because he was not given the conspicuous gift of
tongues as was Brother Hand. Brother Ear also felt inferior to Brother Eye who
had the gift of miracles. Brothers Ear and Foot each possessed a behind-the-
scenes gift, perhaps the gift of helps or administration.
Flaunting their miraculous gifts, Brothers Hand and Eye were arrogantly
proud of their God-given abilities. Apparently, Brothers Hand and Eye
confronted Brothers Foot and Ear and smugly asserted, “Unless you two can
speak in tongues or perform miracles like we can, you are not Spiritual; you will
never make it in the Christian life!” Believing that possession of miraculous gifts
indicated a closer relationship with God, Brothers Ear and Foot felt Spiritually
inadequate and Brothers Hand and Eye felt Spiritually superior.
All were wrong!
Brothers Foot and Hand, Ear and Eye all suffered from the same malady —
arrogance and ignorance of Divine Thinking — the Word of Truth. Neither
Brother Hand nor Brother Eye was superior because they felt superior. They
had distorted their gifts out of context with the Word of God. Only knowledge
of Truth could correct their false assumptions. The possession of a Spiritual gift
does not determine the Spirituality of a believer nor does it make him better
than others.
Even if Brother Foot attempted to become a hand or Brother Ear tried to
become an eye through imitating a sensational gift, the foot would remain a
foot, the other, an ear. Why is that true? Because believers receive
permanently whatever gift the Holy Spirit sovereignly bestows upon them.
No human effort can effect a change; the gifts of God the Holy Spirit are
irreversible. (Rom 11:29)
To capture the attention of these stubborn Corinthians, Paul used another
anatomical analogy to underscore the necessity of all Spiritual gifts.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole
were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? (1Co 12:17)
While the eye is a valuable member of the human body, it is only one part of
the whole. The analogy is obvious: Tongues was a valuable gift in the pre-
canon era of the Church Age, but the Body of Christ could not exist with only
one gift. Each believer and his Spiritual gift is part of the team that represents
Christ on earth. (1Co 12:25-27) As on any team, there is authority and priority.
To follow Paul’s anatomical illustration, the brain has a functional importance
over the hand, but both are integral to the working of the body. The most
visible gifts are not necessarily the most important. In fact, when the
foundational Spiritual gifts are listed according to their importance for
edification to the entire Church, the last one named is tongues.
And God [The Holy Spirit] has appointed in the church, first apostles,
second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
administrations, various kinds of tongues. [Languages] (1Co 12:28)
The foremost Spiritual gift in the pre-canon Church was the gift of
apostleship. The Greek apostolos described someone sent on a particular
mission with the full delegated authority required to fulfill that responsibility.
The New Testament reveals two categories of apostles. The technical use
of apostolos referred to the Spiritual gift of apostleship, bestowed only on the
original eleven disciples and later, Paul, who replaced Judas Iscariot.
Apostleship was a temporary gift that carried the highest authority in the pre-
canon Church. The twelve apostles provided leadership for the Church,
declared Divine will by Communicating the mystery Doctrine of the New
Covenant Church Age, recorded the New Testament in Writing, founded the
Church in the first century, established local churches and local church policy,
and trained pastor-teachers.
The apostles’ credentials were established through the sensational Spiritual
gifts they possessed, including tongues, miracles, and healing. These gifts
validated and confirmed their Divinely appointed authority and were necessary
to gain a hearing for their message. (Acts 2:43; Acts 4:33; Acts 5:12; cf.,
2Co 12:12) Qualifications for the Spiritual gift of apostleship included being
directly commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ and being an eyewitness to His
resurrection. (John 15:27; Acts 1:8; Acts 1:22; Acts 10:41) These standards
obviously exclude this gift in any subsequent generation.
A more general use of apostolos described men with the office of apostle,
who were commissioned by a local church or sent out under the authority of a
man with the Spiritual gift of apostleship to establish local churches. Barnabas,
(Acts 14:14) James, (Gal 1:19) Andronicus, Junius, (Rom 16:7) and Titus
(2Co 8:23) were among this group called “apostles” because they were sent
out as pioneer missionaries by local churches. These men were not
commissioned by our Lord and did not possess the same authority or the
Spiritual gift of apostleship.
The second most valuable gift in the early Church and closely related to
apostleship was the temporary gift of Prophecy. Unlike his Old Testament
predecessor, the New Testament prophet was not a national Spiritual leader.
He functioned only within the realm of the pre-canon Church age as a
communicator of God’s direct Instructions, including aspects of the mystery
New Covenant Truth, (Eph 3:5) Divine Guidance regarding current events,
Warnings of Divine judgment, and Predictions about the immediate future.
(Acts 11:27-28; Acts 13:32; Acts 21:10-11) In, Acts 11, the prophet Agabus
predicted the famine and depression to come. In, Acts 21 he warned Paul not
to go back to Jerusalem.
In the exercise of this gift, the prophet received his Message directly from
God, then either Verbally or in Writing communicated the Infallible Word of
God. However, their Prophecies did not always become part of the canon of
Scripture. Prophets were subordinate to the apostles (1Co 14:37) and their
function was restricted to that of spokesperson for God, similar in this respect
to Old Testament prophets.
As recipients of communication gifts, the apostles and prophets are
declared to be foundational for the Church.
Having been built upon the foundation of the [Spiritual Thinking of] apostles
and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone. (Eph 2:20-22) cf.
(1Co 3:10-20)
In this analogy the royal family of God, the New Covenant believer, is
compared to a building. The “corner stone” is Jesus Christ; the Temple in the
soul” is made up of the first-century Spiritual Thinking of apostles and prophets.
(Eph 3:5-10) The laying of the cornerstone, representing the saving work of
Christ on the cross. (Rom 6:10; Heb 7:27; (1Pe 3:18) In the same way, the
laying of the foundation was a once and for all event. When the current
dispensation began, no Revelation had been recorded in writing to instruct
believers in the unique Spiritual life of the New Covenant Age. These mystery
Divine Thoughts were revealed through the apostles and prophets. Under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, [“Inspiration” is the translation of the Greek word,
Theopneustos which literally means “God-breathed.” (2Ti 3:16; (2Pe 1:20-21)
God the Holy Spirit so supernaturally directed the human writers of Scripture
that without waiving their intelligence, vocabulary, individuality, literary style,
personality, personal feelings, or any other human factor, recorded God’s
complete and coherent Message to mankind with perfect accuracy in the
original languages of Scripture] and all the information necessary to understand
the Spiritual life of the New Covenant Age was recorded in the New Testament
for all time. Once the mystery Doctrines, (The New Covenant Spiritual
Thoughts for the New Covenant Spiritual life) were revealed, written, and
disseminated, they were no longer a mystery and did not need to be revealed
again! Hence, the need for the gifts of apostleship and prophecy ceased. When
the New Testament canon of Scripture was closed with the Book of Revelation,
the Church’s foundation was complete. (1Co 13:10) Because this foundation is
laid only once, the Spiritual gift of apostleship will never function again.
The third temporary gift named is teacher. This was a gift of knowledge.
The teacher communicated what had been revealed to him of the mystery
Truth. He preached expository sermons about Doctrine to the Church before
the completed canon was available in writing.
With the cessation of the temporary, foundational gifts of apostle, prophet,
and teacher, the permanent gift of pastor-teacher continues for the faithful
Instruction and training of the Body of Christ. (Eph 4:11-13) Although the Word
of God holds absolute dominion over the believer, the pastor-teacher is
responsible for communicating from a completed canon, the specifics of The
Word of Truth for Spiritual growth. To be effective, teaching must always
include authority — the authority vested by God in the Spiritual gift.
Of lower priority were the temporary gifts: miracles, healings, tongues, and
the gift of interpretation. (1Co 12:10) All of these gifts became extinct as the
apostles disappeared from the scene. For example, the Apostle Paul
possessed the gift of healing to such an extent that he could heal the lame and
ill when they simply touched handkerchiefs or aprons he had previously worn.
(Acts 19:12) Yet just a few years later, he could no longer heal even his close
friend Epaphroditus who nearly died from an illness and Trophimus he also left
sick at Miletus. (Php 2:27; (2Ti 4:20) With the establishment and spread of
Christianity throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, the groundbreaking
necessity for these miraculous gifts no longer existed. Once the Book of
Revelation was finished in A.D. 96, all of these gifts became obsolete. Only the
communication gifts of pastor-teacher and evangelist, and other service gifts
such as administration, mercy, helps, hospitality remain as essential to the
function of the post canon New Covenant Church Age and indispensable to the
Body of Christ.
But earnestly desire [Zeloo] the greater gifts. (1Co 12:31)
The verb zeloo, from which we derive the English word “zealous,” means “to be
ardently devoted to” or “to earnestly desire.” It is stated in the second person
plural and, therefore, addressed to the entire assembly of Corinthian
believers. The congregation should “earnestly desire” men with
communication gifts so they can learn Truth and grow Spiritually. The
imperative mood conveys a command which, if obeyed, will rectify the failure to
advance Spiritually and resolve the
schism within the Corinthian church.
In effect Paul was saying, “Whenever you Corinthian Christians assemble,
you should always desire that the “greater” Spiritual gifts be used among you.
The highest gifts which benefitted all in assembly worship were the
communication gifts of apostle, prophet, and teacher; the least beneficial gift
was tongues.” Since tongues were last on the list of gifts, the Corinthians were
not to covet or glorify the possession of it. Instead of longing for spectacular
exhibitions and or emotional stimulation, they must desire to learn sound Divine
Thinking and Think with Divine Viewpoint which is critical to the Spiritual life.
A SYSTEM OF THINKING
The Spiritual life was designed by God as a system of Spiritual Thinking
recalled from the mentality of the soul and applied to the circumstances of life.
(2Pe 1:10)Edification and advancing in the Spiritual life demands Spiritual
Thought, not emotion. Emotion cannot learn, analyze, solve problems, or
produce Spiritual growth. Yet many believers would rather rely on emotion than
invest the time and energy in the concentration and self-discipline required to
Think Divine Viewpoint.
When emotion dominates thought, subjectivity, irrationality, self-absorption,
and sin control your life. When your mentality is governed by knowledge from
Bible Truth, you can Spiritual Think objectively, no longer preoccupied with
yourself. The greater the reservoir of Truth in your soul,
the greater the opportunity for application of Truth in your life. Scripture
repeatedly underscores this Principle:
For as he thinks within himself; [In his soul] so he is... (Prov 23:7)
Set your mind [Phroneo — keep Spiritually Thinking ] on the things above,
[God’s Thoughts and ONE REALITY] not on the things [Human false realities]
that are on earth. (Col 3:2)
And that you be renewed in the spirit [Spiritual Thinking] of your mind.
(Eph 4:23)
Have this attitude [Phroneo, Spiritual Thinking] in yourselves which was also
in Christ Jesus. (Php 2:5) cf. (John 3:11-12; John 12:49)
What enables you to have Divine Thinking like Jesus Christ? The knowledge
of the Word of Truth called the “Mind” of Christ! (1Co 2:16) Though you may
respond with intense emotion to Truth, those feelings must never be construed
as Spirituality or Spiritual growth. When you attempt to live the Spiritual life
controlled by feelings, you ride a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows that
negate stability from Truth. What God says, not how you feel, is the only
criterion for the Spiritual life. The Word of God must be more Real to you than
any emotion, circumstance, thing, person, problem, or experience. Only by
learning Truth and replacing your human thinking with God’s Thinking can you
know God, utilize His power, advance in the Spiritual life, reach Spiritual
maturity, and glorify Him. How is this accomplished? BY MAKEING GOD’S
WORD OUR THINKING!
And do not be conformed to this World [’s,] [Way of thinking] but be
transformed by the renewing [New Spiritual Thinking] of your mind, that you
may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and
perfect. (Rom 12:2)
Understanding the will of God necessitates renovating the CONTENT and
process of your mind. You exchange human viewpoint for Divine Viewpoint.
OPERATION Z
At the moment of regeneration, God the Holy Spirit creates and imparts a
human spirit (1Co 2:11-12) to the Spiritually dead person and imputes eternal
life to that human spirit, making him Spiritually alive. Simultaneously this new
believer is filled with the Holy Spirit. (Eph 5:18; Gal 5:16) The human spirit
provides the capability to understand, assimilate, and categorize pneumatikos
in the Greek of, (1Co 2:13) “Spiritual Thinking” or Doctrinal Information; the
filling of God the Holy Spirit, maintained through the rebound recovery
procedure, empowers Operation Z.
When the pastor-teacher communicates Truth, God the Holy Spirit, as your
Mentor and Teacher, makes this Truth understandable to your human spirit.
(John 16:13)
“But the Helper, [Mentor] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My
name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all [The
Divine Thoughts] that I said to you.” (John 14:26)
The [Holy] Spirit Himself bears witness with [Communicates to] our [Human]
spirit that we are children of God. (Rom 8:16)
Pneumatikos is automatically transferred from your human spirit by God the
Holy Spirit as objective comprehension of Truth to the left (Perceptive) lobe of
your soul, called nous. The left lobe, the staging area of the soul, stores the
academic knowledge called gnosis in the Greek of, (Eph 3:19). As long as
gnosis remains in the staging area, it does not contribute to your Spiritual
growth and cannot be applied to your experience.
When you exercise faith-perception —when you believe the Truth you have
learned — the Holy Spirit transfers academic knowledge from the left lobe of
your soul into the right lobe, designated by the Greek word, kardia translated
“heart.” (Rom 10:9-10) This converts academic knowledge in the left lobe into
Spiritual knowledge epignosis in the right lobe. This process is called Spiritual
metabolism. Only epignosis, (Spiritual Thinking) has value for Spiritual growth,
for recall and application to the circumstances of your life. (Col 1:9-10;
(2Pe 1:8)
As epignosis accumulates in the right lobe of the mentality of the soul you
grow “in [By means of] the grace [Virtue] and knowledge [Truth] of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2Pe 3:18) This is the process of edification which
strengthens your soul and glorifies God. (Eph 3:19) You cannot have “Spiritual
Thinking” without the mechanics of Operation Z and you cannot have Operation
Z and Spiritual growth without God the Holy Spirit empowering the rational use
of the mind in reception, retention, recall, resisting of sin repetition and
application of Truth. From this we see the crucial role Spiritual Thinking plays in
the advance to Spiritual maturity.
A SUPERIOR WAY
...And I show you a still more excellent [Superior] way. [Of life]
(1Co 12:31)
The superior way of life is Spiritual maturity exemplified by love.
(1Co 13:1-8) Paul states: “But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the
greatest of these is love” [Virtue-love-Spiritual maturity] (1Co 13:13) However,
before we can understand why Paul in First Corinthians 13 concludes that love
is superior to the Spiritual gift of tongues, we must first understand the kind of
love to which he refers.
WHAT IS LOVE?
God IS love (1Jn 4:16) Love is intrinsic to His nature and is the
demonstration to man of the absolute Virtue and benevolence of His Thinking.
God’s love extends to mankind in two ways. He loves an imperfect, sinful
object, unregenerate mankind, with Impersonal love. This love is based on the
perfect and Absolute Attributes of God, rather than the failings of man.
But God demonstrates His [Impersonal] love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died [as a substitute] for us. (Rom 5:8)
The moment a person believes in Christ for Salvation, God imputes to that
person His very own perfect righteousness. (Rom 4:3) Based on the imputation
of Divine righteousness, God’s Personal love now flows abundantly to the
believer.
And we have come to know and have believed the [Personal] love which
God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love [Stays in
fellowship] abides in God, and God abides in him. (1Jn 4:16)
Divine Personal love emphasizes the object, the person loved; Divine
Impersonal love emphasizes the subject, the person who loves. Divine Personal
love emphasizes God’s righteousness in the believer; Divine Impersonal love
emphasizes the absolute and perfect Virtue of God. The believer, through the
unique Spiritual life, follows the pattern of Divine love by developing Personal
love for God and Impersonal love for all mankind
(Matt 22:37-40; Eph 5:1)
To love God, you must first know God. Love IS Spiritual Thinking, not
emoting. Knowledge of God comes only from metabolized Truth. Your
Personal love for God develops as you increase in epignosis knowledge from
metabolized Truth in the right lobe of your soul. Only then can you respond with
the motivational Virtue of Personal love for God: respect, admiration, and
reverence for who He IS and what He has done for you. (Deut 6:5;
Matt 22:37-38; (1Pe 1:8) Motivated by Personal love for God, you acquire the
capacity to imitate Christ (1Co 11:1) with the functional Virtue of Impersonal
love toward all mankind. (Col 3:12-14)
Jesus Christ confirmed this sequence when He answered a scribe’s
question, “What Commandment is the foremost of all?” (Mark 12:28) His
answer, “You shall love [Personal love] the Lord your God with all your heart.”
(Mark 12:30) Then Jesus named the second most important Commandment,
“You shall love [Impersonal love] your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) The
combination of Personal love for God and Impersonal love for all mankind is
called Virtue-love, the highest motivation of the Spiritual life.
And this I pray, that your love [Virtue-love] may abound still more and more
in [By means of] real knowledge [Epignosis] and all discernment.
[Divine Viewpoint] (Php 1:9)
Every believer is Mandated to emulate God’s Impersonal love toward all
mankind. (1Jn 4:7) This functional Virtue of Impersonal love is a non-emotional
unconditional regard for the entire human race. It is rational, dependent on
epignosis knowledge and Thinking Divine Viewpoint for its operation.
Impersonal love is not based on personal knowledge, appeal, or merit in the
object, but on the Virtue and Spiritual maturity of the subject.
In the Church Age the utilization of Impersonal love is called “fulfilling the
royal law” because the Mandate is directed to the royal family of God. The
unique Spiritual life of the New Covenant Age endows every believer with the
capability to fulfill the royal law.
If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, “YOU
SHALL [Have Impersonal] LOVE [For] YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,”
you are doing well. (Jas 2:8; cf., Lev 19:18; Rom 13:8;
Gal 5:14)
Unfortunately many believers do not understand how to fulfill the royal law.
They wrongly assume fulfillment demands human personal love for all mankind.
But human personal love is conditional, based upon the appeal or merit of the
person loved and is not capable of loving the unlovely, repulsive, unattractive
and or obnoxious people in the believer’s periphery. Attempts to comply with
the Command to love our neighbor as ourselves; with human personal love, will
result in frustration, hypocrisy, and superficial emotionalism.
Since it is impossible to personally love more than a few, all the Scriptural
Mandates to “love your neighbor” refer to Divine Impersonal love. The
characteristics of Impersonal love (Luk 6:27-38; Rom 12:14-21) summarized
by the Apostle in First Corinthians 13, reveal its Virtue and stability, the
antithesis of the attitude exhibited by the Corinthian church.
Love [Virtue-love] is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not
brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own,
[It is not selfish] is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the Truth; bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never
fails... (1Co 13:4-7)
Virtue-love, defined in this passage, is motivated by Personal love for God
and executed by Impersonal love for all mankind. When Personal love for God
and Impersonal love for others unite as Virtue-love, the believer will not be
encumbered by cruel intolerance, smoldering anger, judging, hatred, or other
mental attitude sin, and will not be distracted by the stress and pressure of
adversity or prosperity. He will obey and imitate the Lord by enduring insults
and antagonism with humility, compassion, kindness, and patience.
(Col 3:12-14; (1Pe 3:8-9) Only with Virtue-love can Spiritual gifts be used to
their utmost capacity in Christian service to provide edification for the Body of
Christ — “Knowledge [Gnosis] makes arrogant, but love. [Virtue-love] edifies”
(1Co 8:1)
Without the power of the filling of God the Holy Spirit, without fellowship
with God, and without Spiritual growth the carnal Corinthians had no capability
or capacity for Personal love toward Him. (1Co 13:1-2) Consequently, they did
not have Impersonal love toward each other. Christian service and “morality
etc.,” without Spiritual Thinking — Virtue-love is called “wood, hay, straw” and
will count for nothing and will be burned up at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
(1Co 3:12-15) Only Spiritual growth, not Spiritual gifts, develops Virtue-love.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS WITHOUT VIRTUE-LOVE
The thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians is parenthetical — interrupting the
discourse on Spiritual gifts and their edifying of the Church in chapters 12 and
14 — to demonstrate that Virtue-love is far superior to an emotional infatuation
with the Spiritual gifts of glossolalia, Prophecy, and knowledge. In the first
three verses of the passage the Apostle Paul uses hyperbolic hypotheses to
establish his first Principle concerning the Spiritual gift of tongues.
If I speak with the tongues [Languages] of men and of angels, but do not
have [Virtue] love, [Agape] I have become a noisy gong [Chalkos] or a clanging
cymbal. [kumbalon] (1Co 13:1)
The third class condition “if” at the beginning of this verse announces a
hypothetical situation. In effect Paul is saying, “Even if I spoke in the language
of men and angels, but I do not have Virtue-love, I would be making noise
without meaning.” By using this hyperbolic hypothesis, Paul stresses the
importance of correct motivation in the Spiritual life from Virtue-love. Even if a
believer in the pre-canon period possessed and utilized the Spiritual gift of
tongues; without Virtue-love, the exercise of the gift is nothing more than an
ostentatious clamor.
Paul then cites two examples of irritating noisemakers in the ancient world.
The chalkos consisted of two pieces of metal — and alloy of copper and tin —
used by peddlers to attract attention to their wares. This “noisy gong”
exemplified the tactics of the carnal Corinthians seeking to gain the approbation
of others by speaking in tongues. Their emphasis was on self rather than on
Truth.
The kumbalon was a hollow brass instrument that magnified a shrill sound,
generally used at festivals or ritual observances. The “clanging cymbal”
exemplified the ecstatic’s of the mystery cults and emphasized emotion rather
than the content of Truth. These noise makers are a fitting description of the
believer who exalts himself and misuses his gifts. Like the sound of a clashing
cymbal that fades away, the abuse of tongues may attract attention for a
moment but then quickly vanishes with no Spiritual advantage to anyone.
And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all
knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have
love, [Virtue-love] I am nothing. [Outhen] (1Co 13:2)
Again, the third class condition “if’ at the beginning of this verse sets up
another hypothetical situation. Paul’s new supposition further de-emphasizes
the significance of temporary Spiritual gifts in the pre-canon era. In effect he is
saying “Even if I possess the sensational gifts of Prophecy, knowledge, and
faith, I have nothing without virtue-love.”
The presence of the revelatory gifts of Prophecy and knowledge, which
communicated new Truths from God, must have been quite impressive to the
pre-canon church. How easy it would have been for those who “know all
mysteries” and who had the “faith... to remove mountains” to succumb to an
attitude of exalted self-importance. However, Virtue-love protects the believer
from being impressed with the spectacular. The Spiritual life does not depend
on sensational gifts, but on the power of Virtue-love. (John 4:22-24) So
essential is this power that the believer who fails to use it becomes outhen,
“utterly insignificant” in the Spiritual life. Only a person occupied with Virtue-love
and filled with God the Holy Spirit could minister with these gifts, including
tongues, without destroying himself with pride.
THE ABOLISHMENT OF
TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL GIFTS
Paul then contrasts the permanent value of Virtue-love with the temporary
value of sensational Spiritual gifts.
Love [Virtue-love] never [Oudepote] fails; [Pipto] but if there are gifts of
Prophecy, they will be done away; [Katargeo, passive voice] if there are
tongues, they will cease; [Pauo, middle voice] if there is knowledge, it will be
done away. [Katargeo, passive voice] (1Co 13:8)
He begins verse 8 by connecting the temporal adverb oudepote, “never, not at
any time,” with the present active indicative of the verb pipto, “to fade out,
become invalid, to cease.” In this context pipto is equivalent in meaning to the
two subsequent verbs in the verse — katargeo and pauo. Therefore, oudepote
pipto means that Virtue-love never ceases, while katargeo and pauo affirm that
Prophecy, tongues, and knowledge do cease. Virtue-love is permanent;
miraculous Spiritual gifts were temporary.
“Tongues” with its verb pauo is not used again after verse 8, while
Prophecy and knowledge with their verb katargeo appear again in First
Corinthians 13:9ff. Why? Paul was differentiating between the gift of tongues,
and the gifts of Prophecy and knowledge. Prophecy and knowledge had a
different purpose than tongues and would cease at a different time.
The termination of tongues is denoted by pauo, which is in a different voice
than katargeo, the abolishment of prophecy and knowledge. In the indirect or
dynamic middle the verb pauo means “to cease on its own,” or to “terminate”
on its own without an intervening agent. Tongues would be phased out when it
was no longer necessary to warn the Jews of impending judgment and to
herald the dawn of the Church Age. The Spiritual gift of tongues began in A.D.
30, but its era had passed by the time the Roman legions under Titus
destroyed Jerusalem in August, A.D. 70.
Katargeo in the passive voice signifies that something, an intervening agent,
would act upon the gifts of Prophecy and knowledge to render them
inoperative in the future. That agent, found in, (1Co 13:10) is “the perfect.”
Therefore, the gift of Prophecy and knowledge, in contrast to tongues, would
cease “when the perfect comes.”
The future tense of katargeo and pauo indicates that the cessation of
tongues, Prophecy, and knowledge had not yet occurred when Paul wrote in
ca. A.D. 56. Remember, these miraculous gifts of tongues, Prophecy, and
knowledge was foundational for the Church. After the resurrection and
ascension of Christ, the death of the Apostle John, and the entire canon of
Scripture was reduced to writing, the foundation was complete. Any further
attempts to add to or take away from Scripture were prohibited.
(Rev 22:18-19) In the post-canon era of the Church miraculous gifts were no
longer necessary to reveal Truth.
For we know [Ginosko] in part, [Ek merous] and we prophesy in part.
[Ek merous] (1Co 13:9)
The Spiritual gifts of knowledge and Prophecy only provided revelation
ek merous, “in part.” The retroactive progressive present tense of ginosko
denotes a developing knowledge that started in the past with the beginning of
the Church Age, and continued up to the time of Paul’s writing. (A.D. 56) When
First Corinthians was penned, just four New Testament books existed.
Therefore, only partial revelation of mystery Truth pertaining to the unique
Spiritual life of the New Covenant Church Age was available in writing to the
believer. Revelatory gifts were still required to provide never-before-revealed
Truth to the sprouting young Church.
But when the perfect [Teleion] comes, the partial [Ek merous] will be done
away. [Katargeo] (1Co 13:10)
Verse 10 specifies that these “partial” gifts (Ek merous) of Prophecy and
knowledge “will be done away” (Passive voice of katargeo, repeated from;
1Co 13:8) “when the perfect (Teleion) comes.” Therefore, the critical question
is, “What then is the nature of the perfect that terminates these gifts?” If, the
perfect is either the Second Coming of Christ, the Millennium,
or the perfection of heaven, then Prophecy and knowledge would still be
operative for the entire Church Age. But does teleion refer to any of these
future events?
This substantive, an adjective used as a noun equivalent, has several
meanings: “perfect, completed, mature.” “Perfect” has a qualitative connotation
describing something that lacks any flaw, an idyllic or utopian state; “mature” or
“completed” carries a quantitative meaning, describing the conclusion of a
process, a whole instead of a part.
If the qualitative meaning, “perfect,” is assigned to teleion, then it would
refer to the ideal condition that will exist following the Second Advent of Christ.
This would mean that partial knowledge communicated by Prophecy and
Scripture would continue throughout the Church Age and be replaced by
‘perfect’ knowledge when the believer is face-to-face with Christ in the
Millennium or in heaven. Though it was common for Greek philosophers to use
teleios in a qualitative way to refer to a perfect man or ideal state, this meaning
is foreign to Scripture.
In contrast, the use of teleion and its cognates in the New Testament refer
to the quantitative meaning, completed or mature. (1Co 2:6;
(1Co 14:20; Eph 4:13; Heb 5:14; Jas 1:4) Since the immediate context of,
(1Co 13:9) focuses on the partial or incomplete nature of revelation through
Prophecy and knowledge, teleion in, (1Co 13:10) must also be understood in
the quantitative sense of God’s completed” Revelation of Truth. Since teleion is
in the neuter gender, it cannot refer to the coming of the person of Christ, a
masculine noun. Therefore, both context and grammar eliminate the qualitative
meaning of “perfect” — the return of Christ, the Millennium, or heaven — as a
possible interpretation for teleion. This word refers to the complete Revelation
of the Canon of Scripture. Once the whole Canon was in writing, the gifts of
Prophecy and knowledge that had gradually revealed portions of mystery Truth
would be terminated.
(1Co 13:11-12) are illustrations of the partial and the complete related to
“when the perfect comes” in verse 10.
When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a
child; [The partial] when I became a man, [The complete] I did away with
childish things. (1Co 13:11)
In this analogy the “child” represents the pre-canon era because of the partial
knowledge then available to the infant church. Just as a child cannot speak,
think, or reason as a mature adult, so the pre-canon church did not yet have
the entire realm of Truth in writing. The sensational gifts were an interim state
of affairs, in order that the generations of the pre-canon church could
understand some of the Doctrines not then reduced to writing and execute the
unique Spiritual life. Now, in the post-canon church, with access to all the
mystery Doctrines in the completed canon, the “childish things,” prophecy and
knowledge, are discontinued.
The second illustration also describes the partial nature of pre-canon
Prophecy.
For now [Arti, in the pre-canon period] we see in a mirror dimly [The partial]
but then face to face; [The complete] now [Arti] I know in part, [Partial] but
then I shall know fully [Epignosis, the complete] just as I also have been fully
known. (1Co 13:12)
“Now” is arti in the Greek, an adverb of time that refers to the immediate
present of the Apostle Paul at the time of writing — the pre-canon Church Age.
Therefore, in this verse the “now” corresponds to the pre-canon, “know in
part,” (1Co 13:9) in contrast to the post-canon “when the perfect comes.”
(1Co 13:10) When Paul wrote, Christians were totally dependent on the
apostles’ and prophets’ Revelatory gifts for learning Truth to live the unique
Spiritual life of the Church Age. But he saw a time in the future when believers
would have the entire realm of New Covenant Doctrine to objectively know
themselves as never before and become Spiritually self-sustaining.
Paul uses a mirror analogy to illustrate this Principle. In a mirror a person
looks at the reflection of himself. The believer who looks into “a mirror dimly,”
the incomplete Canon, (And the incomplete Spiritual life) cannot see himself
clearly. But the believer who gazes “face to face” into an unclouded mirror,
from the complete Revelation of Church Age Truth, is able to see and evaluate
himself “fully” in relation to the Absolute Standard of God’s Word. The
unclouded mirror is reflected in the believer’s soul when Truth is metabolized
into Spiritual Thinking; and he has a clear image of himself as he truly is in the
light God’s Word. (Prov 27:19; (2Co 3:18) With this objectivity he establishes
new priorities, renovates his scale of values, and gives top priority to the daily
perception of the Word of Truth. He subsequently reaches Spiritual maturity.
Therefore, when Paul says, “Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully,” he
is referring to partial Revelation, incomplete Truth, in contrast to complete
Revelation, the entire Canon. Just as God has known us perfectly from
eternity past, now we can know Him fully as He has revealed Himself through
His complete Word.
But now [Nuni] abide faith, hope, [Virtue] love, these three; but the greatest
of these is love. (1Co 13:13)
In conclusion Paul reiterates the permanence of Virtue-love. Nuni, “now,” is
a different adverb than the “now” Arti of, (1Co 13:12). In nuni the idea of time
is weakened, indicating not the specific time of Paul, but the broader scope of
the Church Age in general. The central focus of this dispensation would be
Virtue-love defined by the unabridged mystery Truth revealed in the completed
Canon. “Now” faith, hope, and Virtue-love, not temporary Spiritual gifts,
continue for the entire span of the post-canon New Covenant Church Age.
THE REGULATION OF TONGUES
Before we analyze the complex fourteenth chapter of First Corinthians,
remember the Corinthian church was engulfed in carnality and confusion
reigned. Under these conditions it was impossible for the Corinthians to
understand the proper role of glossolalia. To correct them, the Apostle Paul
contrasted the gift of tongues with the gift of Prophecy to punctuate the priority
of “replacing human thinking with Divine Thinking.” (Rom 12:2) He stressed that
the issue in the Spiritual life was not speaking in tongues, but Spiritual Thinking
for Spiritual growth. This was the thrust of his scathing rebuke in the fourteenth
chapter. Three of Paul’s main points must be kept foremost in mind.
1. The gift of tongues was not primarily given to benefit believers but was
intended by God as a sign for unbelievers. (1Co 14:22) This indicates that
tongues were a gift, like evangelism, that would normally operate outside the
local church where unbelievers congregate, not in a worship service or Bible
class designed to edify believers.
2. The Corinthians had already been told that tongues would cease, so its
days were numbered. (1Co 13:8) Therefore, the Commands of,
(1Co 14:27-28) act as a warning of the danger of ignoring edification.
3. Paul never commended speaking in tongues. Instead, he repeatedly
contrasted the ineffectiveness of tongues for edification with the effectiveness
of Prophecy, a gift that brought Spiritual growth to believers by communicating
New Covenant Truth, Tongues was detracting from rather than enhancing to
the Spiritual life of the Corinthians.
For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God;
(Because “ONLY GOD KNOWS WHAT IS BEING SAID”) for no one
understands, but in his spirit [Pneumati] he speaks mysteries. [UNKNOWN
WORDS] But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and
exhortation and consolation. One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; [Self-
exaltation] but one who Prophesies edifies the church. (1Co 14:2-4)
Confusion begins when the English versions of the Bible translate pneumati
as “his spirit.” The pronoun “his” is not present in the original Greek. Neither is
there a definite article before the noun pneumati. Absence of the definite article
in Greek denotes a noun of the highest quality. Therefore, “Spirit” in this
context refers to God the Holy Spirit who empowered glossolalia.
When a believer in the apostolic era legitimately spoke in tongues by means
of the filling of God the Holy Spirit, the speech could be either understood by a
foreigner who spoke the language or interpreted by another believer with the
Spiritual gift of interpretation. If the speech could not be interpreted, then
whatever was said would be incomprehensible “mysteries.” So, Paul
sarcastically states that God was the only one who could possibly understand
what was being said. Later, in (1Co 14:9) Paul calls this un-interpreted speech
“speaking into the air,” an idiom for words without meaning for any human.
In, (1Co 14:2-4) Paul again rebukes the carnal Corinthians for their
infatuation with tongues rather than appreciation for
Prophecy. The gift of Prophecy disseminated vital New Covenant mystery
Truth to the entire assembly of believers. The gift of tongues declared only the
Gospel in gentile languages. The gift of Prophecy edified and therefore
matured, exhorted, and comforted the believer. The gift of tongues edified the
entire assembly only if the meaning was translated to “the church” by another
believer who could interpret. (1Co 12:10)
The statement that the “one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself’ does
not recommend the private use of tongues because that would be in direct
contradiction of the purpose of all Spiritual gifts. God the Holy Spirit sovereignly
bestows Spiritual gifts, not for self-exaltation, but “for the edification of the
church. [The Body of Christ]” (1Co 14:12) However, the tongues speaker was
personally edified along with the rest of the congregation by the interpretation
of his speech and by the visible proof of God’s power and grace in bestowing
upon him a miraculous, even though a temporary, Spiritual gift.
Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would
prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues,
unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.
(1Co 14:5)
This verse confirms a legitimate function for tongues in the local church of
the pre-canon era. Tongues primary purpose was to present the Gospel to
visiting unbelievers who spoke a foreign language. All effective witnessing
communicates the Doctrines of hamartiology, soteriology, and Christology.
Certainly these Truths were edifying to the church when they were understood
by the congregation through an interpreter.
How stimulating it must have been to conduct evangelistic campaigns under
such circumstances as the early churches experienced. The operation of
tongues and other miraculous gifts was a spectacular manifestation of the
power of God the Holy Spirit. The speaker was often highly animated in his
presentation. Enthusiastic and immature audiences could easily fall prey to
emotionalism and distort the pre-canon gift of tongues.
Because Paul himself had been the recipient of the gift of tongues, he could
understand their ambitions for the gift. (1Co 14:5; cf., 1Co 14:18) He wished
as much as they did that all of them might have been given the ability to
witness in other languages, for Paul yearned to see every Jew evangelized and
rescued from the terrible consequences of the fifth cycle of discipline in time
and from condemnation in the Lake of Fire for all eternity. (Rom 10:1)
However, because of the Corinthian distortion of tongues, Paul continued
stressing edification and advance in the Spiritual life through Prophecy and
crystal clear Truth. He contrasted tongues with edification by drawing
illustrations from everyday life. The first came from music.
Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do
not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on
the flute or on the harp? (1Co 14:7)
Musical instruments produce either beautiful music or disharmonious sounds.
The analogy is obvious: Just as a musical instrument that produces only a
cacophonous sound has no melody, so glossolalia that produces
un-interpretable words has no edification. The military furnishes Paul’s second
illustration.
For if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for
battle? (1Co 14:8)
From ancient until more recent times, the horn or bugle was the primary means
of communication in the chaotic conditions of the battlefield. Each short blast of
the bugle relayed a specific command. If the bugler garbled the command,
confusion erupted across the battlefield. The “indistinct sound” is, therefore,
analogous to the confusion of un-interpretable tongues.
So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear,
[Interpretable language] how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be
speaking into the air. (1Co 14:9)
For his final illustration, Paul turned to philology.
There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages [Glossa] in the world,
and no kind is without meaning. If then I do not know the meaning of the
language, [Glossa] I shall be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one
who speaks will be a barbarian to me. (1Co 14:10-11)
Paul used glossa to mean a true language, not unintelligible babble.
Language communicates thought. When people do not speak one another’s
language, words become meaningless sounds and thoughts cannot be
communicated. According to ancient Greek and Latin usage, the word
“barbarian” was ascribed to an outlander, a foreigner, and was always used in
a derogatory meaning. Barbarian is an onomatopoetic word imitating how all
other languages sounded to the Greek ear: “bar-bar-bar-bar.” There were no
intelligible words; therefore no information communicated. The barbarian
analogy illustrates that Doctrinal edification cannot be gained from meaningless
sounds!
So also you, since you are zealous of Spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the
edification of the church. (1Co 14:12)
This Mandate summarizes the absolute priority for the believer in the
assembly: “Seek to abound for the edification of the church.” Paul stressed
gifts beneficial for Spiritual growth for the entire church. He was not advocating
tongues but focusing on the necessity of edification.
For if I pray in a tongue, [Language] my spirit [God the Holy Spirit within
me] prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What
is the outcome [Conclusion] then? I shall pray with the spirit and I shall pray
with the mind also; I shall sing with the spirit and I shall sing with the mind also.
(1Co 14:14-15)
“Spirit” in these two verses refers not to the human spirit, as some English
translations suggest, but God the Holy Spirit. The New Testament teaching
about man never juxtaposes the human “spirit” and “mind.” Any biblical contrast
and comparison is always made between the outer person, the body, and the
inner person, the “spirit” or “mind.” (Rom 7:22-23;
(2Co 4:16; Eph 3:16)
Even though Paul says, “If I pray in a tongue,” this does not mean that he
expected the Corinthians to pray in tongues. He is not advocating praying in
tongues. This phrase is a third class condition — it is hypothetical. If the
believer prayed in tongues, he would not be praying at all, but the “Holy Spirit”
would be praying while the believer’s “mind” was bypassed. The believer would
never know what he prayed for, or if God answered the prayer. Therefore,
Paul is contrasting between praying in tongues with the mentality bypassed and
praying “by means of the Spirit” with the mind engaged. Without the believer’s
mental participation there is no comprehension or Spiritual benefit.
Understanding and cognition are functions of the mind. The believer’s volition
and mentality must always be engaged to advance in the spiritual life.
Throughout Scripture rational content is underscored as foundational and
crucial to edification and Spiritual growth. (Rom 12:2; Eph 4:23) According to
Paul, any instruction without rational content and meaning eliminates the ability
to present Divine Viewpoint and destroys the capacity to worship God.
However, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind, that I
may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue. [Glossa]
(1Co 14:19)
Verse 19 uses such strong hyperbole, (Exaggeration) that it is difficult to
understand how anyone could miss the point: “Five words” of Doctrinal
instruction are far better than “ten thousand words” in tongues. Glossolalia is
not the means for communicating Truth necessary for Spiritual growth.
Never once did Paul succumb to Spiritual superiority because he possessed
the gift of tongues. He saw the gift in its proper perspective and thanked God
not only for the gift, but also that he had occasion to use the gift in its proper
context to a greater extent than all the Christians in Corinth.
(1Co 14:18) Frequent contact with Jews throughout the Roman world and the
linguistic barriers he encountered, made the gift of tongues a necessity for him.
Yet Paul himself refused to use the gift “in the church.” He did not prohibit
speaking in tongues, but his statement was so restrictive that, in effect, Paul
discouraged the use of tongues in the assembly except in the rarest of
circumstances.
In the Law it is written, “BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE
LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO
THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME” says the Lord. [Isa 28:11] So then tongues
are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers; but Prophecy [is for
a sign, is not in the Greek] not to unbelievers, but to those who believe.
(1Co 14:21-22)
After quoting the prophecy of tongues from Isaiah 28:11 in verse 21, Paul
concludes that tongues was a sign to Jews (The Nation of Israel) who would
not listen and believe GOD AND HIS WORD! (“Unbelievers”) And by the fifth
cycle of discipline New Covenant Israel would be temporarily set aside until the
Tribulation period. (Rev 14:4) cf. (John 10:27; John 12:26) While Prophecy is
FOR believers. Why? Prophecy BELIEVED edifies the believer. (Heb 4:1-2)
Tongues did not edify the believer when practiced in the local church as the
Corinthians practiced it.
If therefore the whole church should assemble together and all speak in
tongues, and ungifted men [Idiotes] or unbelievers enter, will they not say that
you are mad? (1Co 14:23)
The Greek word idiotes, “ungifted men,” was originally used of those who
did not participate in the affairs of state in the Athenian democracy. In this
context idiotes referred to anyone visiting the Corinthian assembly who was
ignorant of Christianity but was nevertheless seeking Truth. “Unbelievers” are
unsaved persons who had been exposed to Christianity before and had
returned for further information. If in the presence of these unbelievers the
Corinthians assembled as a congregation and all ‘spoke in tongues,’ complete
chaos would reign. (1Co 14:40) Unbelievers would regard such a service as an
asylum of lunatics.
God never intended Spiritual gifts to drive unbelievers from the Gospel or to
create pandemonium in the local church.
“For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of
the saints.” (1Co 14:33)
No church service should resemble the disorderly clamor of the pagan
mystery religions and no member of the congregation should be seeking his
own ‘religious experience.’ The local church was established as a classroom
for a pastor-teacher to edify the church by teaching Bible Truth to his
congregation.
Worship services in the early church usually included two or three sermons.
These were the forerunners for our modern expository sermons in which the
Truths of the Bible are defined. Once the Canon was completed, the nature of
the church service changed. Since the temporary gifts no longer existed,
interpretation and application of Scripture by the pastor-teacher became the
method for communicating Truth. The same Principle still governs the normal
routine of the church.
End
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