So many believers today are devastated because they don’t speak in tongues. They feel that there is something wrong with them. Some even begin to question their salvation. God wants to give you the Holy Spirit, but it is not so you can speak in tongues, but rather it is so you can have power and boldness to present the Gospel. The gift of tongues was a instrument by which the Gospel was to be supernaturally presented to the world.
In I Cor. 14 we see the vertical tongues. Paul says that if he prayed in an unknown tongue, it was his spirit that was praying. (v. 14) He also stated the person who speaks in an unknown tongue speaks unto God. (v. 2) When one prays in an unknown tongue, he will edify himself. (v. 4) The tongues used at Pentecost were horizontal, reaching out to those with the Gospel message. The tongues used in prayer were vertical, reaching out to God. There are people today who are afraid to pray in the Spirit for they fear that they will embarrass themselves or they will not be able to control what comes out of their month. The Bible teaches that the believer is in control and can speak or not speak at will. (v. 32) beside personal edification, why would one want to pray in tongues, or in the spirit? There are times when we don’t know how to pray about a certain situation, but the Holy Spirit knows what those needs are and will intercede for the believer. (Rom. 8:26, 27) Paul goes into a lot of details about tongues and their use in the church. Whatever is done must be done in an orderly fashion, for God is not the author of confusion. (v. 33)
Does every believer have to pray in the spirit or in tongues? The answer is no! but they can if they want to. Not praying in tongues does not make you any less a Christian, but it can help to build up your spirit. Does every believer have to speak in tongues to show that he has been baptized in the Holy Spirit? The answer is no!
This three part article is not meant to convey a complete understanding or examination of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit; rather it is to bring attention to the Holy Spirit’s purpose and the consequent effect on the individual. The initial evidence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit is not that you can speak in tongues, but that you are supernaturally endowed with power to carry out God’s purposes. It just so happened that the vehicle the Holy Spirit used to convey the “wonderful works of God” in that upper room, was tongues (languages). That was the beginning of the fulfilling of Jesus commission.
As a Believer, we should want everything God has provided for us. Instead of picking and choosing what we are comfortable with, let the Saints arise and put on the full armor of God and enter the battle confident of the victory! (Eph. 6: 10-18)
http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/simplyrhetorical.wordpress.com/292/
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In I Cor. 14 we see the vertical tongues. Paul says that if he prayed in an unknown tongue, it was his spirit that was praying. (v. 14) He also stated the person who speaks in an unknown tongue speaks unto God. (v. 2) When one prays in an unknown tongue, he will edify himself. (v. 4) The tongues used at Pentecost were horizontal, reaching out to those with the Gospel message. The tongues used in prayer were vertical, reaching out to God. There are people today who are afraid to pray in the Spirit for they fear that they will embarrass themselves or they will not be able to control what comes out of their month. The Bible teaches that the believer is in control and can speak or not speak at will. (v. 32) beside personal edification, why would one want to pray in tongues, or in the spirit? There are times when we don’t know how to pray about a certain situation, but the Holy Spirit knows what those needs are and will intercede for the believer. (Rom. 8:26, 27) Paul goes into a lot of details about tongues and their use in the church. Whatever is done must be done in an orderly fashion, for God is not the author of confusion. (v. 33)
Does every believer have to pray in the spirit or in tongues? The answer is no! but they can if they want to. Not praying in tongues does not make you any less a Christian, but it can help to build up your spirit. Does every believer have to speak in tongues to show that he has been baptized in the Holy Spirit? The answer is no!
This three part article is not meant to convey a complete understanding or examination of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit; rather it is to bring attention to the Holy Spirit’s purpose and the consequent effect on the individual. The initial evidence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit is not that you can speak in tongues, but that you are supernaturally endowed with power to carry out God’s purposes. It just so happened that the vehicle the Holy Spirit used to convey the “wonderful works of God” in that upper room, was tongues (languages). That was the beginning of the fulfilling of Jesus commission.
As a Believer, we should want everything God has provided for us. Instead of picking and choosing what we are comfortable with, let the Saints arise and put on the full armor of God and enter the battle confident of the victory! (Eph. 6: 10-18)
http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/simplyrhetorical.wordpress.com/292/
Source
