TONGUES HAVE NOT CEASED

Monday 13 January

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. (1 Corinthians 13:8).

I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:18, 39).

If the Apostle Paul was informed of how many believers did not speak in tongues, I think he would be shocked. The fact that some Christians grow up never being taught correctly about the subject is a sad inditement on the theology of our time.

Not only are some not taught about it, they are taught to think that it is devilish or gibberish. There are a few reasons for this mindset so let’s go a little deeper.

There are those who believe that speaking in tongues along with healing and most of the gifts of the Spirit ceased when the Apostles died. There is absolutely no scriptural premise for this.

They use 1 Corinthians 13:8 ‘whether there are tongues, they shall cease’. Notice it says will cease, not have ceased. So what was Paul referring to here would be the cessation period for tongues?

Verse 10 says ‘But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.’ The ‘cessationists’ argue that the word is that perfect thing that has come but this does not hold true to the context as we are about to see.

The answer lies in verse 12 ‘For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.’

So the requirement for tongues to cease is seeing Jesus face to face which implies when we are caught up into the Pneuma (Spirit) and receive our perfect spiritual bodies.

What about the statement ‘I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all’?

Some teach that Apostle Paul was referring to human languages and not the language of tongues. This means that Paul was professing to speak in more languages than anyone who was in the early church.

There is no shred of evidence to prove this flimsy assumption. The probability of at least one person being able to speak more languages than Paul is extremely high.

The greatest proof however is what is called in theology ‘the law of emphatic mention’. It states that when something is used multiple times to convey the same meaning, that emphatic mention provided in context determines the doctrine of that particular subject or practice.

1 Corinthians 14 meets all the qualifications of the law of emphatic mention on the subject of speaking in ‘unknown tongues’. If there was no other text in any other book of the New Testament to corroborate what Paul said in this chapter it would still be ample proof of the validity of speaking in tongues. I encourage you to read the whole chapter with this thought in mind.

So why aren’t believers in Christ being taught these basic doctrinal truths? There are two options; ignorance or intentional bias. This is why we should not twist scriptures try to make them say what they never said. Let the Bible interpret the Bible.

Jesus said in Mark 16:17 ‘In my name, they will speak with new tongues’. He didn’t say you, he said they. This meant that there would be other people coming after the apostles who would speak with new tongues and heal etc. The new creations in Christ would carry on the Apostle’s works in every generation. This cuts down the cessationist view by itself.

Another point of argument is that those in the upper room spoke in tongues and it was heard as all the languages that were represented. One of two things could have happened. Either the tongues at some point came out as human languages, or their countrymen understood what they were saying by the Spirit because they received the interpretation of what was said in tongues (Acts 2:5-12).

Either is plausible. Because this was the only time in the New Testament this was recorded as occurring, you cannot build a doctrinal position on it.

The ‘law of single mention’ is the theological term we would use here. Therefore you can’t make an argument for or against tongues, based on this verse.

God is a Spirit. Tongues is the language of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 14 says when we speak ‘in an unknown tongue’ we speak to God and not to men, we speak mysteries, we build ourselves up. Every Christian has the ability to speak in tongues because the Holy Spirit is within them.

It is not a gift for some and not others. It is for every believer. If you haven’t spoken in tongues yet, ask the Holy Spirit who indwells you to fill you with the Spirit and you will begin to speak in tongues like the Apostle Paul and many others. Your mind may be unfruitful but your spirit will be edified, refreshed and renewed.

While we wait for the Master’s appearing, tongues will not cease.

APPLICATION

Spend time everyday speaking in your heavenly language and be conscious that tongues is the gateway to the realms of the Spirit.