Tag Archives: Tongues

Gifts of the Spirit Their Use and Abuse

Reply to comment on FB, October 12, 2015.

I agree with you, totally except that the gifts of the Spirit did not stop with the first generation of Christians. They are alive and well on planet earth now, today, although much maligned, misunderstood and abused. Since the Great Commission is not yet tottaly fulfilled, the Gospel of the Kingdom has not yet gone throughout the whole world to every tongue, tribe and nation, then we are still obligated to go, even as Christ commanded.

Anyone who professes the healing powers as if from himself  is operating just like the old witch doctors in the unenlightened areas of the world. Oral Roberts always declared and emphasized that it was God that did the healing. He often spoke of how God had warned him never to touch the gold or the glory. All those who operate in the gift of healing should and must emphasize that it is God Who does the healing: We are only instruments and vessels through which He works.

Yes, we can and must go to God directly through Jesus Christ. What a privilege! Yet, we also learn from the Scriptures that we are to pray for one another, James chapter 5:13-20 is good and also look in your Concordance under “pray” and you will see many more references to praying for one another.

Yet, there is the necessity that the gifts of the Spirit be operative, not only in our private, personal worship, but also in the Church. My Mother worshiped privately and rejoiced and spoke in tongues when she didn’t know anyone else was listening. I, myself, enjoy praying in the Spirit in tongues that I do not understand mentally, yet know that the Holy Spirit knows how to pray through me for needs that I am not even aware of.

I fully understand how people can object to speaking in tongues because it has been abused. Yet, the abuse does not nullify the promise: It is for us today. Jesus’ great commission to His Church was to “Go ye into all the world, and preach to gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover,” Mark 16:15-18.

Yes, there is also the gift of the ability to learn new languages, as I found out from working with the Wycliffe Bible Translators. Theirs is an amazing gift of tongues! They have and yet are translating the Scriptures for every tongue, tribe, nation and people! It is wonderful, marvelous, and miraculous!!

Yes. There has been much abuse of these miraculous gifts, as Paul deals with in his writings. Yet, there is definitely a spiritual gift of speaking in tongues, I Corinthians chapters 14-15. These are not always intelligible to everyone that hears them, even to the speakers themselves, yet they have their function in the Church. There are also testimonies of ministers who have found themselves in a situation where they do not have an interpreter and the LORD miraculously gives them the ability to speak a language unknown to them and see the powerful results in the people.

All glory be to God in the Highest and on earth, Peace, good will to men! May His Kingdom come and His will be done on this earth as it is in heaven, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.