Holy Spirit

[Tantum_ergo]

Also, put Acts 2 in context. After the apostles started speaking in tongues, they went out and spoke to “the people”. . .who, in Jerusalem in about 30 A.D., were a mixture of Romans, Greeks, Parthians, Medes, Phyrgians, etc., speaking a multitude of languages. And, yet, every single person heard what the apostles were saying in their own language. A Roman heard them speaking Latin, a Greek heard them speaking Greek, etc. etc.

The apostles in the early church were spreading the gospel to a polyglot people. Most of them were not multi-lingual. The gift of tongues would have been very useful in the early days, prior to total immersion courses. . .

 

[MariaG]

posted by JimG

Paul does not say when tongues will cease. He points out that love never fails, but prophecies will cease, tongues will cease, and that knowledge and prophesying are imperfect. The passage concerns the primacy of love over the other gifts. I wouldn’t consider Fatima to be covered under this passage, since it is a private revelation, not a prophecy.

Good point. I was blurring the lines there But like you said, we do not have a time table on when those things will cease.

Your sister in Christ,
Maria

 

[Al_Eluia]

Tantum ergo:

Also, put Acts 2 in context. After the apostles started speaking in tongues, they went out and spoke to “the people”. . .who, in Jerusalem in about 30 A.D., were a mixture of Romans, Greeks, Parthians, Medes, Phyrgians, etc., speaking a multitude of languages. And, yet, every single person heard what the apostles were saying in their own language. A Roman heard them speaking Latin, a Greek heard them speaking Greek, etc. etc.

The apostles in the early church were spreading the gospel to a polyglot people. Most of them were not multi-lingual. The gift of tongues would have been very useful in the early days, prior to total immersion courses. . .

I’ve heard it suggested that the miracle in Acts 2 was more a miracle of hearing than of speaking. This would be in accord with one or two anecdotes I’ve heard in modern times of a preacher speaking to a large crowd through an interpreter and suddenly realizing the interpreter’s stopped because everybody was hearing the preacher in their own language even though the preacher was unaware he wasn’t speaking (or at least being heard in) English! Interesting thought…

As for whether tongues are the “only” sign the Spirit is in you, I think the Bible has more to say about LOVE as a sign of the Spirit.

 

[MarkAnthonyCozy]

My friend is a Baptist pastor and he believes that the gift of tongues is no longer needed in the church since we now have bibles. He also believes that people who speak in tongues are possessed by demons. He would claim that a Baptist who speaks in tongues is not a true Baptist. He can recite scripture to back up his position.

This is the thin veil that most Fundamentalists hide under. They are so dysfunctional that one can never pin them down on any one doctrine.

Of course, I don’t believe him. Read 1st Corinthians chapter 14 to get Paul’s full teaching on utilization of the gift of tongues.

If you are praying by yourself and speaking in tongues that is one thing. If you are with the congregation and there is no one there to interpret tongues then you are not to do it. 1Cor 14:27-33.

When people gather there is to be structure and order. (1Cor 14:40) People rolling on the floor or slamming into walls as I have heard happening at some of these Pentecostal/Charismatic venues are not following scripture.

I have attended Catholic Charismatic prayer meetings that were structured, scriptural, and powerful. I can not deny what I have seen and experienced.

We should seek all the gifts that God has to offer and expect to be gifted as necessary to edify the body of Christ and spread the gospel.

 

[puzzleannie]

faithbound:

Hey guys-
I have a baptist friend and we were talking about the Holy Spirit. She says that the bible says that unless you speak in tongues, which is the evidence, the Holy Spirit is not in you.

curious as to what Baptist denomination she belongs to, as many of the mainline Baptist “federations” (they are pretty loose in their organization" are hostile to pentecostalism and such manifestations as tongues etc.

 

[Michael_Heinzen]

I have an evangelical friend (former Baptist; now independent) who mentioned pretty much the same thing to me–that I was not “saved” unless I was baptized in the Spirit, evidenced by speaking in tongues. I told her that I was given the Holy Spirit when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and baptized in His name. She told me that this was only “water baptism” and that I was NOT saved.

This sounded like she was telling me that I needed to know the “secret handshake” or “password” in order to get into Heaven. I told her I’d go with Billy Graham, who in his book, The Holy Spirit, calls the Baptism of the Spirit a “refilling of the Spirit” for a special calling. Mr Graham also was told by a preacher that he had not received the Holy Spirit at initial baptism. Mr Graham respectfully begged to differ.