Foundations of the Christian Life Chapter 28. The Holy Spirit #9 – Benefits of Speaking in Tongues.

Foundations of the Christian Life.
Chapter 28. The Holy Spirit #9 – Benefits of Speaking in Tongues.


Note:
In this chapter “spirit” with a small “s” refers to the human spirit. The Holy Spirit will be referred to as “the Holy Spirit”.

REVIEW:
We have been looking at the subject of the Pentecostal experience of the Holy Spirit. We have seen it consists of three aspects:
1. An experience of being baptised in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit “upon” us.
2. An experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit “in” us.
3. An experience of the release of the human spirit from soulish bondage evidenced by and effected by speaking in tongues.

An Important Aside:
As we mentioned in the last chapter, speaking in tongues was not a new thing at Pentecost. It was, in fact, common in the religions of the ancient world, particularly in the Middle East. Tongues were common in the so-called “mystery” religions, the "mother and son" cults.
The thing we need to realise about these mystery religions is that they were all “prophetic” in nature, i.e. they believed that the “gods” would communicate with men through individuals who were suitably gifted as “Oracles”. In fact what was considered to be the highest spiritual experience was this experience of prophecy which typically meant that the Oracle went into a trance of some form and spoke under the influence of the “gods”. Therefore the “gift of prophecy” was very highly prized in the culture of the ancient world. The highest form of prophecy, in their understanding, was when the “gods” so took control of the Oracle that the oracle began to speak in another language which he had not learned, i.e. spoke in tongues. The rituals and festivals of the mystery religions, besides being orgies, were all designed to bring the worshipper into a trance where they would prophecy – hopefully in tongues – and drugs, music, alcohol and sexual stimulation were all part of the process. The common view was this: you were really spiritual if you spoke in tongues, a little less so if you prophecied in a known language.

With this cultural understanding we can see why Paul devotes so much time in 1 Corinthians 14 to tongues and prophecy and the relative value of prophecying in a known language or in an unknown language, i.e. tongues. He seeks to show that prophecying in a known language is better than in tongues because the hearer can understand it. The aim is not to show off how spiritual you are but to bring the message from God.

So there was a relative commonness of tongues in the culture of the times and an extremely high value was put on it as a religious experience. This cultural background makes sense of Paul’s statements in 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14.

The novel things Paul adds to the discussion are:
1. The distinction between a generalised “speaking in tongues” and the phenomena of “Prophecying in tongues” which Paul demanded had to be interpreted. This was not the case in the surrounding culture. It was enough just to speak in tongues ands so show off your spirituality. Interpretation was unnecessary. Paul argues that there is thus two forms of tongues – a public use requiring interpretation and a private use. Both uses have validity.
2. Paul realigns the value of the two forms of prophecying – in tongues (the gift of tongues) and in a known language (prophecy). He gives prophecying in a known language a higher value when done in public. This is a reversal of the commonly held view of the times.

In this chapter I am interested in the “language of the spirit” not in the “gift of tongues”.

1 Corinthians 14: 5
"I want you all to speak in tongues"

* Paul here is presumably speaking of the so-called prayer language not of the gift of tongues as he goes on to say that not all will bring messages in tongues.
* Is this Paul writing as Paul, or as the apostle under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Elsewhere, where he gives his own opinions he is careful to say that they are his, here there is not such a caution. We must conclude that he felt this was the Holy Spirit speaking through him. Hence this desire is more than just Paul's desire; it is a command of the Holy Spirit to us.
* For Paul to want this (and there are not many things Paul says we should all do) there must be some real benefits to doing so. After all, he spoke in tongues "more than all of them" (1 Corinthians 14:18). Obviously Paul perceived benefits were to be gained by doing this – and so one should do it a lot.

So let’s go on to look at the benefits of speaking in tongues.

The first few benefits I want to list arise out of the nature of what tongues is, a function of the human spirit, and the psychology of the human being.

1. DIVISION OF SOUL FROM SPIRIT.

In the last chapter I talked about how the spirit of man has been placed into bondage as a result of the fall. Speaking in tongues is a means and a result of the human spirit being released.

How does the spirit get released?

In pagan religion they do it through dance, music, drugs, alcohol, sex and so on.
Naturally creative people already have a spirit that is relatively free compared with the bulk of the population so they find speaking in tongues to be relatively easy.

But what is happening at a psychological level with the Pentecostal experience to enable the human spirit to be released?
Normally the spirit cannot break out of its bondage to the flesh unaided. This is where the Holy Spirit comes to our aid. In the Pentecostal Experience two things happen:
1. The Holy Spirit FILLS our human spirit, giving us spiritual strength and also inspiration to praise God in tongues (Acts 2:4 - "gave them utterance" does not mean He took their mouths and made them speak, rather it means "gave them inspiration").
2. The Holy Spirit also CLOTHES our body and energizes it with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:10).

However because the Spirit is one person he can make a direct connection between our spirit and our body, thus bypassing the soul (mind) which normally makes that connection. Spiritual release is given through the power and person of the Holy Spirit.

If we have faith for spiritual release, then we should complete that faith by the appropriate works, otherwise that faith is dead (James 2:26).

When we speak in tongues the first benefit is that we release the spirit from its bondage to the soul. This is because the spirit is now able to do something through the body (speak in tongues) without being controlled by the mind (the soul).

Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

* There is a dividing of soul and spirit that needs to happens in the process of sanctification.
* This is an automatic consequence of speaking in tongues. The power of the soul over the spirit is broken.

Such a division of soul and spirit is actually desired by God for us because he knows that the merger is part of our problem as fallen human beings. This division is not a bad thing because it allows the human spirit to operate in a spiritual way instead of being dominated by soulish and bodily drives. This division clearly happens because what we experience happening is the spirit speaking directly through the body while the mind is shunted off to one side.

2. DIVISION OF THE SOUL FROM THE BODY – BREAKS THE POWER OF THE FLESH.

Speaking in tongues breaks the power of the flesh in our lives.
This flows out of what we have just been talking about – the psychology of what is happening when we speak in tongues.

When we speak in tongues we, by an act of will, allow our spirit to take control of our body directly at the point of our mouth. This bypasses the mind, i.e. the soul, which normally makes this connection for us. Once the Holy Spirit has established this connection once for us we can thereafter make the connection at will.

The second thing that happens, then, is that there is a division created in us between our soul and our body. As we saw before the soul came under the domination of the body because of sin. This union of the soul and the body is what the Bible calls “the flesh”. The “flesh” means the whole man under the control of the bodily desires and passions.

This domination of the body over the soul finds its highest power point in the tongue – where the soul and the body come together over words.
God takes the seat of the flesh’s power and demonstrates the power of the spirit over it.

James 3:2-8.
“We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

See what power James attributes to the tongue:
* If one can keep his tongue in check he can control his whole body.
* The tongue corrupts the whole person
* The tongue sets the whole course of a man’s life.
* The tongue is set on fire by Hell.
* No man can tame the tongue.
* It is a restless evil, full of poison.

James is clearly talking here of the tongue in the unregenerate man. But the point is clear. The tongue controls the whole body. It is the seat of the power of the flesh.

For us to become holy in our inner being there needs to be a division between the body and soul so that the soul becomes free of the power of the body. In this way the flesh is destroyed.
When we speak in tongues that division of body and soul is immediately effected as the spirit takes control over the body, bypassing the soul.

To demonstrate its authority the spirit must take control over the tongue and use it to speak in a language which the mind does not know. The soul and the body are thereby immediately divided and the flesh is destroyed.

So the second benefit of speaking in tongues is that it is a powerful tool for us in our path of sanctification in overcoming the flesh.

3. RESTORATION OF THE DIVINE ORDER OF THE HUMAN PERSONALITY.

The human personality is thus automatically brought back into the order of divine design as seen in creation when we speak in tongues.

* The false union between spirit and soul is broken and
* The spirit takes lordship over the body at the point of its greatest rebellion – the tongue.
* By default the soul is subjected to the spirit – but in a voluntary subjection because the soul, i.e. the will, has chosen to allow the spirit to speak through the body without using the channel of the mind (“The mind is unfruitful” 1 Corinthians 14:14). Thus the will has placed the soul, including the mind, under the “lordship” of the spirit, and hence of the Holy Spirit who dwells in our spirit.

As a result the whole personality is forced into Divine order, Spirit - soul – body, every time one speaks in tongues.

4. STRENGTHENING OUR HUMAN SPIRIT.

The fourth benefit is related to our psychology as human beings also.
As we speak in tongues not only is the power of the flesh broken, but also the human spirit is exercised and built up.

1 Corinthians 14:4.
“He who speaks in tongues edifies himself", or builds himself up.

How does this occur?

This cannot mean:
* Physically built up (jaw exercise?).
* Soulishly - as tongues is not a function of the soul. “The mind (soul) is unfruitful" (1 Corinthians 14:14).

It can only mean "edifies himself spiritually".
The human spirit is strengthened, built up. Speaking in tongues is THE one thing the Bible says God has given us to do that can build up ("edify") our spirit, and thus our walk with God in the spirit.

Tongues is a God-given way of building up our spirits. Thus as we speak in tongues there are several flow on benefits in our spirit:
* As a result the functions of our spirit, conscience, intuition and communion, are also strengthened. We become more spiritually sensitive.
* Other spiritual functions – such as creativity – are also greatly increased by speaking in tongues and are released in our lives in greater measure.
* Other dormant functions of our spirit start to become “alive” again as the Holy Spirit in us is released through our spirit. Things we don’t even know about as carnal people.
* As our spirit is strengthened its capacity is increased. The result of this is that we are able to receive in our experience a greater relationship with the Holy Spirit. He is able to presence himself with us more. Now I know that the Holy Spirit is a person and we can’t have “more or less” of a person. Either he is there or he is not. But our capacity to relate to him is increased by speaking in tongues and hence we experience more of him.
* With increased relationship and increased sensitivity we find that there is a greater ability to move in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit all depend to some degree on the ability to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues deepens our relationship and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit so we can hear his voice more clearly and as such we are more able to move in the gifts more accurately. The whole experience of revelation, hearing God's voice, is greatly enhanced.

Question: How long should we speak in tongues?
Answer: Until we are built up.
Only you know when your spirit is built up.

5. THE GENERATION AND RELEASE OF SPIRITUAL POWER THROUGH OUR WHOLE BEING.

Speaking in the language of the spirit generates spiritual power in that it makes the “connection” between the Holy Spirit in us and the Holy Spirit on us.

In one sense we are a bit like a battery cell. As we live we "use up" spiritual life and vitality. Speaking in tongues "recharges" us. Speaking in tongues is an important way of tapping into the re-filling of the Holy Spirit.

As a result the power of God is able to flow in and through us unimpeded. This power then flows out of our spirit into our soul and then to our body.

Romans 8:11.
“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”

This works as a purging flood in our lives. It forces out of our spirit, then out of our soul, then out of our body, all the garbage that is there.
Tongues thus aligns our whole being with the Spirit of God in a unique way. As a result "wholeness" is able to flow from God through our spirit to the rest of our being.

Some consequences of this:
* The human spirit is the healing centre of the human being. It sustains the body (See John & Paula Sandford, The Healing of the Wounded Spirit). Speaking in tongues thus releases healing power out from our spirit, through our soul and body and eventually to others. Many of us a sick simply because we have not availed ourselves of speaking in tongues and the power of healing it releases in us. Speaking in tongues is thus a healing force given to us by God. Many do not receive healing because the key to their healing is in their mouth - speaking in tongues.
* Another consequence – power for ministry.

Ephesians 1:19
“the power in us – resurrection power”
But it is “in us” – tongues releases it through us, out of our mouths to others.
By the connection of body and spirit made through tongues we are able to manifest this flow of the spirit through the body – both to our own needs and to others.

6. SPEAKING IN TONGUES BRINGS US INTO A NEW REALM OF WORSHIP.

As it is also worship, in a pure sense, it allies our spirit with God in a unique way, the channels between us and God are opened.

Acts 2:11
"declaring the wonders of God".

"Declaring the mighty acts of God" is a typically Hebrew way of saying they were having a worship session. This was not preaching; it was the overflow of their spirits in praise. The fact that some in the crowd heard it and understood was incidental, they were doing this before the crowd gathered.

Acts 2:4
"they spoke - as the Spirit gave them utterance"

Utterance here means two things:
(1) Spiritual release to do it.
(2) Some form of inspiration in the content of what is said.

It does not mean "the Holy Spirit originated it and did it through them". In fact to take this sort of meaning would be to suggest the Holy Spirit "took them over", i.e. controlled them, in some way, and this is a very unscriptural position. The work of the Holy Spirit is NEVER to TAKE control of us, but is to RETURN the control to us that has been robbed by sin and Satan. The Holy Spirit NEVER dominates, but he advises, leads and empowers us to do the will of God. But the responsibility and decision is still ours at every step.

As a result of this inspiration tongues becomes praise to God.

An Important Aside:
Note the wording here, “They spoke in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

They did the speaking! The Spirit only gave inspiration and release.
The point is this – if anyone is going to speak in tongues they have to start speaking. The Holy Spirit does not take control of your body and manipulate your mouth and vocal organs to make you speak. You speak – the Spirit just gives ability to do so.
No one ever spoke in tongues who didn’t start speaking.

1 Corinthians 14:15.
“So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.”

This verse is not fully clear. Paul could be interpreted to mean, “I’m not going to do anything unless someone else can understand it” – but this is not the likely meaning as he immediately goes on to say he speaks in tongues more than anyone else. The likely meaning is thus as follows:
“I will pray in tongues and I will pray in a known language. I will sing in tongues and I will sing in a known language.” I.e. he will do both. But then he goes on to say that in church it is generally better to use a known language.

The implication then is that one can sing in tongues – a form of worship.

In this light we see that there are other references to tongues in the scriptures:

Ephesians 5:19
“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,”

Colossians 3:16.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

* “Spiritual songs” – or “songs of the spirit”. While not exclusively a reference to singing in tongues we have to allow a reference to that here.
* Presumably messages in tongues, with interpretation, were sung in the Early Church.
* The practice of corporate singing in tongues, or "singing in the spirit", which is often seen in Charismatic/Pentecostal churches today falls into this category. It is not the gift of tongues, but rather is the combined use of the individual spiritual language in a corporate and public setting. Hence it does not need interpretation, it is simply a sung prayer, or worship.

7. SPEAKING IN TONGUES CAN BRING US INTO A NEW REALM OF PRAYER.

1 Corinthians 14:14.
“My spirit prays”.

Jude 20.
"Pray in the Holy Spirit".

How does this work?

With new birth a change takes place. We are born again. We become "one Spirit with the Holy Spirit".

Romans 8:9-11.
"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."

Hence the Christian who speaks in tongues speaks praise to God, and cannot speak otherwise.

Romans 8:26-27.
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.”

This must be allowed to have a reference to tongues.
Speaking in tongues, then, is a function of the human spirit, but because of the unity we have with the Holy Spirit he gives inspiration to what our spirit utters

Tongues is prayer. As such it can fulfil all of the functions of prayer: Worship, intercession, petition, praise, command, etc.

In using tongues as a vehicle for intercessory prayer we allow the Holy Spirit in our spirit to create a burden, often for things we do not know about, nor do we understand. Then our spirit carries this burden to God in prayer, even though we are unaware at times even of whom we are praying for. In this way the Holy Spirit can effectively use us in prayer for things we have no knowledge of.

As it is the deepest language of our human person, it is the deepest cries of our heart to God. It is thus prayer of the deepest and most effective kind - even if our minds do not understand it.

(8) TONGUES CAN BRING TO US A REVELATION .

1 Corinthians 14:6.
“Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?”

How this happens is not defined, but the truth is stated here. The allying of our whole being to the Spirit of God means he is able to speak to us in our minds, as we purify our minds through tongues.

(9) TONGUES ARE A SIGN TO UNBELIEVERS - (V 22) - WHY?

1 Corinthians 14:22
“Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.”

Again how it is a sign to unbelievers is unsaid. But the following suggestion is one way.

The world should be able to see that we are different. But the difference should be one of WHOLENESS". They should be able to look at us and say, "Why is it that you Christians have it together, that your personalities and whole being, lifestyle, etc are WHOLE?" Our answer thus would be "The power of God released in our lives through speaking in tongues."

In this way tongues is a sign to them. There may be other ways.

We need to remember that the FACT of tongues could not have been considered a sign, or proof, of the presence of God to the Corinthians - nor to most of the Ancient near East - for the simple reason that tongues AS A PHENOMENON was a feature of every ancient religion. Tongues is thus not a sign of the presence of God per se! Tongues can only be a sign to unbelievers IF AND WHEN Christians use it enough for it to make a difference in their lives in a positive sense.

(10) SPEAKING IN TONGUES IS UTTERING MYSTERIES IN THE SPIRIT.

The Bible tells us there are several mysteries:
(i) Sin and iniquity.

Revelation 17:5
“This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

(ii) Christ and his work; the eternal plan of God.

Ephesians 1:9,10
“And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”

There are other mysteries.
Hence the content of the prayer of tongues is to do with the working of these mysteries in us and in the world. Speaking in tongues brings these two mysteries out into the open. You don't know what you are saying, but God does.
By speaking in tongues we pray concerning the mysteries of the spiritual realm, and help to bring the mysteries of God into being, and to unravel the mysteries of Satan. We engage in spiritual warfare.

Ephesians 3:9-11.
“… and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

* Through speaking in tongues somehow we help in the administration of the mystery of God, the rulership of the principlalities and powers.

Speaking in Tongues is Under Your Control.

Acts 2:4. "They spoke" - it was still their responsibility.

Once initially released, the ability to use the prayer language depends on the WILL of the Person concerned.

This follows on from the fact that it is a natural function of his spirit. Once his spirit has been released, and the ability to speak in tongues has been discovered / learned, then it is simply a matter of exercising that ability.


HOMEWORK.

1. Go through a concordance looking up the word “mystery”. See some of the ways we can engage in the plan of God as we “utter mysteries in the Spirit.”

2. Write down 2 or 3 things that you would like God to give you revelation on. Begin to spend a few minutes every day holding these up to the Lord while speaking in tongues. Allow God to bring revelation to you on them.

TRANSFORMER VERSE:

Speaking in Tongues.
1 Corinthians 14:2
“For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.”

1 Corinthians 14:4
“He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.”

1 Corinthians 14:14
“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.”

PRAYER:
Spend time speaking in tongues. Just do it.
Try to begin with, say, 5 minutes each morning and evening.
Build up that time so that you are spending 15 minutes morning and evening speaking in tongues. Remember, in faith you are speaking mysteries in the Holy Spirit.
Speak in tongues while you are driving, walking, cleaning the house, cooking - any time you are doing something else and you are not going to interfere with whatever else you are doing.
Spend some time singing in tongues every day – an act of worship.