Melvin ho the purpose of this article is to examine and analyze teaching on tongues in 1 corinthians 1214, and to compare it with the description in the book of acts. I just started receiving these emails, i normally do not add comments to articles, but this is simply ludicrous. Throughout the book of acts, thousands of people believe in jesus and nothing is said about them speaking in tongues acts 2. Later, in pauls writings, well see a more developed and structured use of the gift. That is not, however, the normal purpose of tongues in the bible or subsequently. When we look at these four instances of the unique reception of the holy spirit in the book of acts, no pattern emerges. At pentecost it was the first time that the spirit filled any of the believers. Speaking in tongueswhat does the bible say about it. I find this interesting because we read this in acts 19. We now are drawn to the critical battleground of 1 corinthians. The apostles spoke the gospel to the crowds in jerusalem, and what they said could. This significance can be explored by understanding the purpose and use of tongues as used by luke in the book of acts. Speaking in tongues from the book of acts 022020, 09.
When the day of pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Lets look at the expression of speaking in tongues in acts, in the first years of the church. May 09, 2016 once they had trusted in jesus, they then spoke in tongues, which confirmed to paul, primarily, but also, of course to the new converts, that they were truly believers in jesus. Mlj monday were tongues in acts and 1 corinthians both. It is the account of the first men who heard the great commission and reveals anyone can do who takes this commission seriously. This verse says, and they were all filled with the holy spirit and began to speak in different tongues, even as the spirit gave to them to speak forth. But we do have three definite experiences of the early church speaking in tongues, and these are the only three accounts of tongues in the book of acts. Once they had trusted in jesus, they then spoke in tongues, which confirmed to paul, primarily, but also, of course to the new converts, that they were truly believers in jesus. The gift of tongues displayed in the book of acts bartleby. But in the church i would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a gibberish tongue. In each of the examples in acts, the gift of tongues came when believers were first filled with the spirit.
All through the book of acts we read of tongues, the gift of prophecy, the gift of healing, etc. Zerhusen makes a strong case that the other tongues in acts 2 were languages other than hebrew, not necessarily languages that the disciples did not already know. Now let us examine tongues and acts, their purpose, and how it ties in with this theme. This paper doesnt refer to any other parts in the bible regarding tongues.
This gift also is understood to be speaking in foreign languages rather than unintelligible, ecstatic speech. The book of acts opens with the dramatic story of tongues of flame descending upon believers at pentecost and the prophecy of an egalitarian dispensation of the spirit being fulfilled. Bible verses about speaking in tongues understanding. Faith bible institute semester 2 acts flashcards quizlet. In acts 8, philip is directed by the holy spirit and told exactly where to go acts 8. Out of these 19 accounts, on only three occasions are tongues mentioned, all finding their place in a corporate setting.
Then there is the lengthy treatment that paul gives, along with reference to other spiritual gifts, in first corinthians, the 12th, th, and 14th chapters of that interesting letter. An examination of salvation in the book of acts introduction. Acts records the apostles being christs witnesses in jerusalem, judea, samaria, and the surrounding world. The gift of tongues in the book of acts plymouth brethren writings. Later paul also writes about the gift of speaking in tongues, in 1. The gift of tongues displayed in the book of acts essay. The mc files wednesday night midweek meeting time the. I am going to look solely at these events in order to study exactly what the book of. Many apostolic oneness have made claims that speaking in tongues is mandatory for salvation. We learn that this miracle of tongues speaking was predicted by the prophet joel, in the second chapter of his book.
When we read the book of acts, we encounter a distinct movement away from the egalitarian vision of jesus and even paul, down the path toward constantine and the religion of an empire. As we have seen, peters sermon on the day of pentecost expanded the church from about 120 people to over 3,000 people. Is jesus founding of his church on the day of pentecost a repeatable event. We conclude then, that in the book of acts, 1 speaking in tongues is not a required sign for salvation. In the book of acts, from these three passages, the gift of speaking in tongues languages seems to be an indication of the spread of the gospel and the reception of gods holy spirit. The book of acts describes it repeatedly, however, and it still plays a big role in some denominations. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva and is richly. In the first case, all the disciples were powerful on the day of pentecost, and they had the release, boldness, and encouragement.
These selected texts are then presented by revivalists in a very specific manner in an endeavour to seek support for their all must. Jan 20, 20 liberty university the gift of tongues displayed in the book of acts a research paper submitted to professor douglas peterson in partial fulfillment of the requirements for bibl364 liberty university online by sean higgins lynchburg, virginia december 5, 2012 table of contents introduction 2 pentecost 2 the conversion of cornelius 5 tongues at ephesian baptism 7 conclusion 9 bibliography 10. Therefore, when a church begins to dwindle, lose its power, and turn dull and drab in its witness, it needs desperately to get back into the spirit, expectation, knowledge and teaching of the book of acts. Mar 04, 2020 wednesday night midweek meeting time the holy spirit series tongues in the book of acts. Does zerhusens reading remove the miraculous from acts 2. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. In this way, it could benefit those who attend a gathering but have not yet committed their life to christ.
For example, the new testament of the bible, in the book of acts of the apostles, jesus disciples on the day of pentecost received a type of spiritual gift. Jan 02, 2020 the emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission. Its narrative supplies a bridge connecting the life and ministry of jesus to the life of the church and the witness of the earliest believers. Aug 10, 2017 when paul placed his hands on them, the holy spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Now this gift of tongues often leads to trouble and to confusion. Speaking in tongues in the bible biblical archaeology society. I am going to look solely at these events in order to study exactly what the book of acts says about tongues. Surprisingly, there are around fifteen other salvation accounts recorded in the book of acts. Much of what is written in the bible about this gift is written by paul to the corinthian church. The book of acts is the story for the explosive world wide growth of the early church.
This verse says, and they were all filled with the holy. The holy spirit in the book of acts essay 1715 words. A comparison of glossolalia in acts and corinthians. The book of acts sheds light on the gift of the holy spirit, who empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our counselor. The gift of tongues in the book of acts following christ. Peter goes on to explain that this tonguesspeaking means that the. Wednesday night midweek meeting time the holy spirit. The other is to combat racial and cultural prejudices among different people groups and thus promote christian unity amongst diverse peoples. This gift, they say, is to express the spirits groanings which cannot be uttered romans 8.
Speaking in tongues came at the first indwelling of the spirit. Tongues speaking is described happening three times, over approximately thirty years. Acts 2 niv bible when the day of pentecost came, they. The aim of such a comparison is to demonstrate that the views the holy spirit. I understand this to be what happened in acts 2 when they spoke with other tongues, hearing them speak in their own languages the mighty deeds of god. And in the acts epistles we read of the gifts operating in the churches that paul founded.
In the many bibles that i have read and worn out, i have marked with a red pen countless references to the holy spirit in both the old and new testaments. The book of acts then provides further examples of god continuing to. The evidence found in the book of acts makes it clear that tongues played a practical functional role in the apostolic church by facilitating the movement of the. When discussing salvation experiences from the scriptures, revivalist groups almost universally focus on a select few accounts from the book of acts generally acts 2, acts 8, acts 10 and acts 19. The tongues upper surface dorsum is covered by taste buds housed in numerous lingual papillae. May 18, 2015 since the book of acts clearly displays that tongues are not purposed as a general demonstration of being spiritfilled, the content of that which is spoken in tongues becomes central to the assessment. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on. I believe this too was known tongues because in acts 10. Filled with the spirit she spoke in tongues and prophesied. The gift of tongues displayed in the book of acts, sample.
Join us as we look a little closer at the book of acts and see what speaking in tongues is all about. Acts is the book that reveals the power of the church. For paul there was no such thing as being a christian and not having the holy spirit romans 8. Speaking in tongues at pentecost peters experience. Jul 01, 2012 is the speaking in tongues we see in churches today the same that occurred in the book of acts. The book of acts recounts four occasions on which the holy spirit came to people in a spectacular manner. See a chart for the only three occurrences of speaking in tongues in the book of acts. The evidence found in the book of acts makes it clear that tongues played a practical functional role in the apostolic church by facilitating the movement of the gospel across difficult manmade barriers. In summary, the evidence found in the book of acts argues that the gift of tongues at pentecost and elsewhere was a known human language, not unintelligible ecstatic speech.
Taming the tongues of fire phoenix guides to the new testament shelly matthews on. I believe this purpose is clearly depicted in the book of acts. The holy spirit then came upon them when paul laid his hands upon them and they spoke in tongues. One is to edify the individual believer who exercises the gift of tongues in private devotional time with god. Since my earliest days in christ i have been fascinated by the holy spirit. Does the book of acts provide any pattern for believers to. Furthermore, they spoke in tongues, and each person in jerusalem heard the word of god in their own language 2. Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is a phenomenon in which people speak words that are. Since paul was in ephesus, the gift of tongues was particularly. In acts 2 tongues speaking was used as a missionary or evangelistic tool in fulfillment of isaiah 28.
Audience a related to salvation, water baptism, laying on of hands, prophesying. The gift of tongues displayed in the book of acts, sample of. Mar 19, 2018 that is not, however, the normal purpose of tongues in the bible or subsequently. This purpose of the gift of tongues, namely to communicate gods message to israel, is verified in the three passages in acts where speaking in tongues is mentioned. I would like to look at these instances from the book of acts and also from pauls letter to corinthians that we might have fixed in our minds, from the scriptures, the teaching of the word of god, and the spirit of god, concerning the true gift of tongues. Apparently many of them had received this gift but did not understand the proper use of it in their gatherings. We are told about this gift of tongues in the second, the tenth, and the nineteenth chapters of acts, and then it is dealt with in. Holy spirit is the cornerstone of the acts of the apostles, attributed to the apostle luke. Many of my charismatic friends would agree that the tongues spoken in the book of acts were normal languages of the world. There are also occurrences in the book of acts in which people who were baptized with the holy spirit spoke in tongues at the same time. The salvationhistorical structure of the book of acts is too often overlooked. Taming tongues of fire in the book of acts westar institute.
The entire book of acts revolves around this dual theme. Speaking in tongues in acts 1424 words research paper example. Is speaking in tongues evidence for having the holy spirit. In acts 19, the disciples of john the baptist believed and were baptized. If we include the four supposedly pentecostal accounts that are listed above, there are 19 accounts in total. Bible verses about speaking in tongues understanding scripture. Yet luke has a special reason to highlight this special occurrence of recognized tongues in acts 2. Essay about speaking in tongues in acts 1648 words. Jesus had commanded them that they should not depart from jerusalem, but. Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers.
The biblical account of pentecost in the second chapter of the book of acts describes the sound of a mighty rushing wind and divided tongues like. The biblical account speaking in tongues by christians first occurred during pentecost. I know this topic has been widely discussed in this forum over the years, but i dont think very many apostolic oneness have articulated their view very well when considering the context of this subject in the book of acts. This problem is clearly seen in the many interpretations and applications of baptism in or filling with the holy spirit. According to lee, the book of acts refers to the formative history of the early church, while establishing luke as a charismatic theologian who demonstrates that baptism in the holy spirit is an experience of empowering to facilitate the mission of the church. Fifty days after christs crucifixion, a group of believers were gathered in jerusalem at a room near the temple. Jan 29, 20 this paper doesnt refer to any other parts in the bible regarding tongues. The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of most vertebrates that manipulates food for mastication and is used in the act of swallowing. Acts describes that which is miraculously spoken in a different language as testimony of the might deeds of god vv. And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the holy spirit and began to speak the word of god with boldness. Nowhere in the new testament is it taught that speaking in tongues is the only evidence a person has received the holy spirit.
To understand the purpose of tongues in the local church. The abuse of tonguesspeaking in corinth did not arise from the belief in speaking in tongues, but rather in the neglect of the scriptures which teach its proper use. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that luke, a companion of the apostle paul, wrote the books of luke and acts colossians 4. And this kind of blessing continued throughout the book of acts. We may now come back to the five cases of receiving the spirit outwardly in the book of acts. Some say that this verse means that they all began to speak in tongues. But they quickly add that there is a second gifta heavenly prayer language. The holy bible book 44 acts kjv dramatized audio duration.
Understanding tongues free book library amazing facts. Wednesday night midweek meeting time the holy spirit series tongues in the book of acts. The purpose of the gift was not to glorify any man or to give to the church a superfluous experience, but to provide impetus for growth and. This shift comes into focus when we compare acts to the pagan felix minutious, who criticized christianity in the third century on a number of counts. Since the book of acts clearly displays that tongues are not purposed as a general demonstration of being spiritfilled, the content of that which is spoken in tongues becomes central to the assessment. The scriptures in acts 9 only tell us that the holy spirit came upon saul. Tonguespeaking occurred in only three passages in the book of acts. I list them below, giving some thoughts on each one. And they were all filled with the holy ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance.
Speaking in tongues in the book of acts wordexplain. Speaking in tongues what is it according to the bible. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. A comparison of glossolalia in acts and corinthians by. The book of acts, also called acts of the apostles, does not specifically identify its author. Later, the apostle paul said that he spoke in tongues more than others 1 cor. There are three different incidences in the book of acts that refers to speaking in tongues. The point of speaking in tongues in acts 2 bible background. Nov 20, 2018 in acts 19, when paul baptized the ephesians, the holy spirit came on them. It has importance in the digestive system and is the primary organ of taste in the gustatory system. Joel used the word prophesy, but peter applies it to the tongues miracle acts.