The Benefits And Purpose Of True Worship
[The
Manifestation Of Speaking In Tongues]
(A prerequisite to this teaching is to first read "What Is True Worship?")
Now that we know that
speaking in tongues is true worship, we must go to the Word to more fully
understand the benefits and detailed purpose of this powerful manifestation of
the gift of Holy Spirit.
Overall, the Bible
highlights twelve (12) BENEFITS of Speaking In Tongues. We will examine each
one in detail.
1. TO EDIFY YOU. I Corinthians 14: 4
-- He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that
prophesieth edifieth the church.
We must understand where
we are edified. We are edified IN THE SPIRIT-- built up in the spirit. We are
spiritually encouraged and edified by speaking in tongues in our private prayer
life. It's magnificence encourages us to improve our spiritual walk. We are not
made stronger in the renewed mind but it takes a disciplined renewed mind to
speak in tongues. When we pray in the spirit, our understanding is bypassed. It
does not edify the mind, but our spirit. The more you speak in tongues in your
private prayer life, the more built up, spiritually, you will become.
2. TO SPEAK TO GOD
DIVINE SECRETS. I Corinthians 14: 2 -- For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God:
for no man understandeth him;
howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries [divine secrets].
Wouldn't you like to
speak to God divine secrets? That's what the Word says you are doing when you
speak in tongues. Remember, your understanding is bypassed. You are speaking a
perfect language, either of men or of angels. You are doing the speaking but what
you speak is God's business. That you speak is your business.
3. TO SPEAK THE
WONDERFUL WORKS OF GOD. Acts 2: 11 -- Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in
our tongues the wonderful works of God.
This was the miracle of
Pentecost. So many of the people present UNDERSTOOD the language the apostles
spoke even though the apostles did not understand what they were speaking. That
is why speaking in tongues is either the language of men somewhere on earth or
of angels. They were speaking the wonderful works of God and that is what we
speak when we speak in tongues.
Also, you finally have
a good example of how words in italics that are added by the translators can be
erroneous. Look back at I Corinthians 14: 2 and 4. The translators have the
word "unknown" in italics and that is an error. If speaking in
tongues can be possibly understood somewhere on earth, then it is not an unknown tongue, is it? You can scratch out the
word 'unknown' in I Corinthians 14: 2 and 4 and now the Word of God fits
without any discrepancies. All words in italics were added by the translators
in the King James Version. They were not in any Greek or Aramaic text or
manuscript and are not part of the original God-breathed Word.
4. TO MAGNIFY GOD. Acts 10: 46a -- For
they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. . . . . . . .
Many that were present
with Peter were astonished because this was the first time the Gentiles had
spoken in tongues. There are two (2) usages of the word 'receive' in God's Word
with two completely distinct and different meanings. When a believer is born
again, he receives [dechomai - objectively] the gift of holy spirit. But when a
believer speaks in tongues, it is said that he then receives [lambano -
subjectively] holy spirit IN MANIFESTATION. Very many believers dechomai but
never lambano holy spirit simply because they don't believe in speaking in
tongues or have never been taught how to speak in tongues. It is God's Will for
every believer to lambano the gift of holy spirit and to speak in tongues and
therefore MAGNIFY GOD.
5. TO PRAY
PERFECTLY. [There is no selfishness in praying
in tongues.] Romans 8: 26, 27 -- Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for
we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he [God] that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind [phronema - thoughts] of
the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the
will of God.
This is all in regards
to our prayer life. The Word does say that we are to pray with our
understanding AND by the spirit. However, we cannot pray a selfish
prayer when we speak in tongues. IT IS PERFECT PRAYER. When we pray with our
understanding, we cannot pray perfectly. In most cases, if not all, you are
better off to pray for someone by speaking in tongues for them. But, remember
God still expects us to pray with our understanding also. We need to do both
but only speaking in tongues is perfect prayer. [see I Corinthians 14: 15]
6. TO GIVE THANKS
WELL. I
Corinthians 14: 17 -- For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not
edified.
Look at the next verse
concerning the Apostle Paul: I Corinthians 14: 18 -- I
thank my God, I speak with [in] tongues more than ye all:
It simply melts God's
heart when we speak in tongues. It shows commitment and believing and it is
giving thanks to God for all that He has done for us. You CANNOT be negative in
any way when you are THANKFUL. The Apostle Paul spoke in tongues more than
anyone at that time in his private prayer life and he received the greatest
revelation from God.
7. TO HAVE THE SPIRIT
BEARING WITNESS WITH OUR SPIRIT. Romans 8: 16 -- The Spirit itself beareth witness with our
spirit, that we are the children of God:
Let me quote The New
English Bible translation which helps us in our understanding of the verse:
New English
Translation: Romans 8: 16 -- In that cry the Spirit of
God joins with our spirit in testifying that we are God's children;
When we speak in
tongues, God's Spirit speaks to our spirit, not to our mind. Then we, as a
result of our believing, move our mouth, throat and tongue and speak in a
language either of men or of angels. Our understanding is bypassed but the
language we speak is a perfect language. It is truly a miracle. We can speak in
tongues whenever we will. We can start or stop whenever we want. The true God
and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ NEVER oversteps a believer's
free will. It's the other god that controls and possesses, never our Heavenly
Father.
***Now let me take a
minute to point out an important distinction that should be made concerning the
Giver and His gift. It just so happens that in Romans 8: 16, the correct upper
and lower case letters are used concerning Spirit [the GIVER] and spirit [the
GIFT]. In many other verses, this is not the case. A distinction needs to be
made in regards to the GIVER AND THE GIFT and to make this distinction, you
will see that it can easily be made by using a capital letter (upper case) when
referring to God (i.e. Spirit) and a lower case letter (i.e. spirit)
when referring to the gift of holy spirit we receive when we are born again.
This way we will not confuse the giver and the gift. When we refer to our
spirit, it should be written with a lower case 's'. When referring to God as
Holy Spirit, it is then written with an upper case 'S'. Remember, there were no
capital letters in any ancient Bible text, so the addition of them is
private interpretation. However, we are using upper and lower case letters in a
manner that helps us to more clearly understand the Word by using a simple
method to distinguish the giver [GOD] from His gift of holy spirit. In Romans
8: 18, the use of upper and lower case letters is correct. Let's go to the
verse one more time:
Romans 8: 16
-- The Spirit [God, the giver -- upper case 'S'] itself beareth witness with
our spirit [the gift -- lower case 's'], that we are the children of
God:
Now let's get back to
more benefits of SIT.
8. TO KNOW YOU ARE A
JOINT-HEIR WITH CHRIST. Romans 8: 17 -- And if children, then heirs; heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
The only real PROOF you
have in the senses world that you are born again of God's spirit is that you
speak in tongues. This manifestation is our proof that we are heirs of God and
joint heirs of Jesus Christ. This is truly abundance. We, as Church members in
the Body of Christ, share fully in everything which Christ has inherited and
therefore, we have tremendous wealth. Older Aramaic texts of Colossians state
the following:
Colossians 2: 10a -- [TEXT] -- And ye are completely, completely, absolutely complete in
him, . . . . . . . .
How then can we be
lacking anything?
9. TO STRENGHTEN YOU
WITH MIGHT IN YOUR INNER MAN. Ephesians 3: 16 -- That he would grant you, according to the
riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man;
II
Corinthians 4: 16 -- For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man
perish [is
dying], yet the inward man is
renewed day by day [by speaking in tongues].
Speaking In Tongues makes us stronger
spiritually. It
does not build up the mind -- that's why we study the Word. Speaking in tongues
strengthens our spirit while studying the Word of God strengthens our mind. Even though our physical body is perishing, our
inward man, our spirit, is being renewed if we are speaking in tongues. If you
want to be spiritually strong and aware, you need to speak in tongues much in
your private prayer life. The more you speak in tongues in your private prayer
life, the more dynamic your life will be. When God sees that you are building
up yourself spiritually, He will trust you with greater and greater revelation
just as He did with the Apostle Paul who spoke with tongues "more than ye
all."
10. IT IS A SIGN TO
UNBELIEVERS. I
Corinthians 14: 22 -- Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that
believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them
which believe.
Mark 16: 17
-- And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast
out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
There are two types of
unbelief mentioned in the Word. One is Apistia and the other is Apeitheia. A believer who has APISTIA unbelief is one who has had some
instruction and teaching but not sufficiently to fully believe. He can be
referred to as an UNBELIEVING BELIEVER.
The second type of
unbelief, APEITHEIA, is referring to an UNbeliever who has been fully
instructed and taught but REFUSES TO BELIEVE.
In I Corinthians 14: 22
above, the word "unbeliever" is Apistia but remember he is an
"unbelieving believer". He still has some doubt and needs more
instruction for him to fully believe. [Review the definitions] This person needs to hear
someone speak in tongues and interpret to know and assure himself that there is
power in believers and in the rightly divided and applied Word of God. When
someone sees and hears the manifestations of Holy Spirit operated decently and
in order, IT IS A SIGN of the true power of God. I remember the first
fellowship I attended where someone spoke in tongues and that same person
interpreted. I approached that person later and asked him if that was
French that he spoke. When I learned what really took place later after the
meeting, it was truly a sign for me. I never forgot it and I too wanted
to speak in tongues and manifest the power of Holy Spirit in my life.
11. IT IS REST TO THE
SOUL. Isaiah
28: 11, 12 -- For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this
people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
12. TO BRING A MESSAGE FROM
GOD OR FOR GOD TO THE PEOPLE. IT MUST BE INTERPRETED BECAUSE IT WOULD BE IN
PUBLIC. I
Corinthians 14: 4, 5 -- He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that
prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but
rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he
interpret [make plain], that the church may receive edifying.
I Corinthians
14: 13 -- Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray [believe] that he may
interpret.
I Corinthians 14: 27, 28 --
If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course [in order]; and let
one [heis - that same one]
interpret. But if there be no interpreter
[if he lacks the will to interpret],
let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
These verses offer a
course in the proper operation of the manifestations of speaking in tongues and
prophesy. Many churches wrongly divide these verses. The person in a public
prayer meeting who speaks in tongues out loud MUST INTERPRET what he or she
speaks. If another person attempts to interpret, they are giving forth a word
of prophesy. This is not decent and in order according to the Word of God.
I Corinthians
14: 40 – Let all things be done decently and in order.
"THAT SAME
ONE" MUST GIVE THE INTERPRETATION as is clearly stated in verse 27. If he
lacks the believing to interpret, he must keep silent. I have seen this take
place when a person was 'new' at operating the manifestations or it was their
first time. No more than three (3) people should speak in tongues and interpret
at a fellowship. Interpretation of tongues is NEVER premeditated. It is NOT
revelation. It is inspired utterance.
The message brought
forth is always from God or for God. It is never guidance or instruction but
words of encouragement and edification and is ONLY for the believers present at
that prayer meeting. For example, a believer may speak in tongues and then give
the interpretation which may be: "I am your God and Father and I love you
dearly and hold you always in the palms of my hands". The coordinator of
the meeting will call on certain fully instructed believers to operate the
manifestations of Holy Spirit. It's truly a magnificent experience to be
present at a meeting conducted according to God's Word. And what a privilege to
be called on to operate speaking in tongues and interpretation in a public
believer's meeting.
This is the twelfth
great benefit and purpose of operating the manifestation of speaking in
tongues. It is my prayer to God for you that you speak in tongues much in your
private prayer life with the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation
until the glorious return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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