Isaiah 28:11 “For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people.”
Isaiah 33:19 “You will not see a fierce people, a people of obscure speech, beyond perception, of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.”
In this section we want to discuss the spiritual gift of other tongues, i.e. to whom is it given and what is its purpose. In the above quoted passages of scripture God spoke through Isaiah the prophet, telling us that there was coming a time when there would be a people in the earth who would speak with a stammering tongue that would be beyond perception.
1 Corinthians 14:21-22 “In the law it is written: "With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; and yet, for all that, they will not hear Me," says the Lord. (22) Therefore, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.”
As New Testament believers we know that when Isaiah spoke about a people speaking with stammering lips and another tongue that would be beyond perception, he was prophesying about the New Testament saints who would operate in the spiritual gift of other tongues. We know that, because in the above quoted passage of scripture Paul quotes Isaiah’s prophecy in teaching us about the spiritual gift of other tongues. So what exactly is the spiritual gift of other tongues? In discussing this particular gift we need to understand that there are in fact two separate gifts of the Spirit in this area. The first is referred to as other tongues which is given to every saint, while the second is referred to as different kinds of tongues which is only given to selected saints. I need to qualify this statement however, because both the gift of other tongues and the gift of different kinds of tongues are only made available to saints who receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And although the baptism of the Holy Spirit is available to all saints, sadly many saints for various reasons do not partake of this baptism and are therefore excluded from experiencing either of these spiritual gifts.
1 Corinthians 12:28-30 “And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. (29) Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? (30) Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?”
Many in the church use the above quoted passage of scripture to prove that the gift of tongues is not for every member in the body. They quote this passage saying that even the apostle Paul asked the question “Do all speak with tongues?”, and obviously in the context of this passage the answer is “no” not everyone does speak with tongues. The problem is that Paul wasn’t referring to the gift of other tongues in this passage, but rather he was referring to the gift of different kinds of tongues. And so the reason people misinterpret this passage of scripture is because they do not understand that there are two separate gifts of tongues given to the church.
Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance”.
As I have already mentioned, all saints that are baptised with the Holy Spirit receive the spiritual gift of other tongues. Scripture teaches us that out the mouth of two or three witnesses we are to let every word be established. And so in this section we will look at three separate accounts in the New Testament of the saints receiving the gift of other tongues when they were baptised with the Holy Spirit. The first account we will look at occurred on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was first poured out on the church. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that all the saints were baptised with the Holy Spirit on that day and all of them spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Notice that as a result of the believers being filled with the Holy Spirit they all spoke with other tongues, not just a select few.
Michael E.B. Maher
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