This brings us now to the genuine. There are numerous manifestations that can occur when the saints are filled with the Holy Spirit, but the first and main evidence is always that they will begin to speak with other tongues. And so, because speaking with other tongues is the main evidence that we have been filled with the Holy Spirit, we will now examine this gift in more detail. The gift of tongues is a proper language which when spoken, is recognisable as such. It may start out in small syllables, but as the saint speaks more and more in tongues, it eventually develops into a proper language that can be clearly identified as such. On the day of Pentecost the saints spoke in languages that others could clearly understand (Acts 2:6). The gift of tongues is unique to this dispensation. All the gifts of the Spirit as listed in the book of Corinthians, operated under the old covenant, except the gifts of tongues and the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). And so, the Lord in His infinite wisdom has given to His church, a divine language which enables them to supernaturally communicate with Him, as no other saints before the church age could. As we study this gift, we will see that it is of immense value to the saint, in enabling them to walk in the fullness of the Christian life that God intended for us, and no saint can reach their full potential in Christ, unless they regularly give themselves to praying in the spirit.
Michael E.B. Maher
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