Mark 16:17; …in my Name, they will speak with new tongues.
Now we get to what has been, is, and probably always will be a source of controversy in mainstream churches for decades. Is this verse talking about the act of speaking in tongues as experienced by those in the Upper Room in Acts 2? Is it talking about the way we speak to and about others we encounter in our daily lives? Could it be referring to both?
Let’s see what else the Bible has to say about it. Lets look at how the tongue plays a role in our day-to-day lives. There is plenty to be said about the subject of the tongue and tongues. Is God interested in how we talk? Psalm 34:13; Psalm 39:1; Proverbs 10:31 & 32 seem to indicate that He is.
Have you spoken evil of anyone lately? Have you sinned with your tongue? How?
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me”. Ever remember hearing that as a kid? I humbly submit that is lie. A fallacy. A falsehood. Words can break the heart and pierce the soul. Words can set or alter the course of our lives and the lives of those around us. They can get us hired, fired, promoted, etc. Those of us who have way with words can even have our words published for others to read. What we say reflects who we are. Words reveal character. (James 1:26; Matthew 12:34; James 3:5-8)
The key to this I think is found in Matthew 12:34, “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” Some translations say it like this “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” When someone becomes a believer, a Christ-follower their speech should begin to reflect their newly found belief. Where once they engaged in gossip, they will no longer. Where once they used their words as tools of manipulation of others, they will no longer. Where once they used their words as weapons of mass destruction, they will no longer. Why? Because now something other than evil and darkness fills their heart.
Do you use your words as weapons of mass destruction?
Have you ever participated in gossip, lying, cussing?
Have you ever used words to manipulate someone? Have someone ever used their words to manipulate you?
The Acts 2: 2-4 account of the Upper Room experience on the day of Pentecost tell us that “..they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” Imagine the scene if you will. 120 people in a room, many of them from different places with different languages and dialects, all voicing their worship and praise to God, and yet each one able to understand the other even though they were each speaking their own language.
The word “began” in Acts 2:4 in the original language is the same word used in Acts 1:1 when it talks about the church’s continuation of what Jesus “began to both to do and to teach”. In other words, there appears according to Scripture to be no expiration date for the practice of speaking in tongues just as there is no expiration date for the things Jesus “began to do and to teach.” It was a practice that began in the Upper Room and continued in their lives from then on.
My study Bible has wealth of notes on this topic, and in the next few paragraphs I will share some of those notes:
Many contemporary Christians from all denominational backgrounds, believe that the phenomenon of “speaking with tongues” (languages not formerly learned or known by the speaker) may accompany the occasion of a person’s initial surrender to the fullness of the Holy Spirit. In classical Pentecostal tradition, this experience is expected, and is doctrinally expressed in these words “The initial physical evidence of the baptism with the Holy Spirit is speaking with other tongues.” Other Christians and many Charismatics who do not accept this doctrinal terminology still apply its fundamental implications in their practice.
Now, I will interrupt Dr Hayford's notes right here and insert my own belief that the Pentecostal tradition as described above is not in line or in keeping with scripture. I have spent a good deal of time in Pentecostal/Charismatic type churches over the years, and the sad truth is many if not most of them require a person to speak in tongues before they will believe he or she is Spirit-filled or even saved in some cases. The truth is, not being Spirit-filled and not speaking in tongues will not keep a person out of Heaven, despite what your average Pentecostal friend may tell you.
The phrase “..with the evidence of speaking in tongues” is unscriptural. The word evidence only appears twice in the Bible. One reference in the Old Testament talks about “evidence of a purchase”, basically a receipt or invoice in today’s terms. The other is in Hebrews 11:1 where it says “Faith is….the evidence of things not seen”.
Continuing on with the notes; This modified view, which is also accepted by some Pentecostals, places less emphasis on the importance of tongues as the evidence of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, either in terms of one’s initial experience or one’s ongoing life of Spirit fullness. These focus more on all the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12: 4-11), with speaking in tongues seen as but one of them, neither more or less important than the others, since all the gifts are deemed contemporarily operational and any one of them may serve as a sign of one’s Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Further, one’s deepened participation in worship (raising hands, dancing, etc.) is also seen as a fundamental indication of being baptized in the Spirit, with the continual exercise of tongue-speaking as a part of the believer’s private devotional expression (see 1 Cor. 14: 1,2,4,15,39, and 40)
The entire 14th chapter of 1 Corinthians goes into great detail about speaking in tongues. The 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians starting with verse 4 talks about the gifts of the Spirit. I strongly encourage you to read both passages with an open mind and an open Spirit for what God has for you.
In light of what you have read, do you believe the Holy Spirit Baptism as referred to in Acts 2, and the accompanying gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12, are intended by God to be valid experiences in the lives of believers today?
Have you yourself ever or has anyone you know personally ever experienced Holy Spirit Baptism and spoken in tongues?
Does the idea of speaking in tongues appeal to you? If so, why? If not, why not?
Do any of the other gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians appeal to you? If so, which one(s) and why? If not, why not?
Do you desire to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit and any and everything that comes with it?
It is my conclusion after exhaustive and intensive study combined with personal experience that the baptism with the Holy Spirit and all of the gifts of the Spirit are real, valid, and applicable to our lives today. That the Holy Spirit can and will impart the gift(s) He desires an individual to have according to His schedule and agenda. That this impartation does not make the one to whom the gift(s) is imparted to any more or any less holy, righteous, or spiritual than anyone else. He won’t force the Baptism with the Holy Spirit on anyone who doesn’t want it and it is not a requirement to get into Heaven.
Based on the study and discussion so far, what conclusion(s) have you reached concerning the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit?
In part four we will discuss the third sign. Mark 16:18 “In my name they will take up serpents”.
Be thinking about this for next time:
Do you believe this verse is to be taken literally and we as believers are to handle snakes on a regular basis?
Have you even known anyone who took this literally and actually handled snakes as part of their religious experience?
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