The Gift

I'm about to walk on thin ice with some people who read this blog. Nevertheless, today's blog is about the gift of tongues.

Frankly, I've never been 100% satisfied with any theological treatment of the gift of tongues that I've heard. I understand that there may well be excellent theologies about the gift out there, but I haven't heard one yet. The reason I'm so dissatisfied is because the theologies I've heard about the manifestation of the gift of tongues tend to seek rational explanation and often end in rules. For example, there are those Christians who believe that a person is only filled with the Spirit if she or he has spoken/speaks in tongues. There are also those who say it is a manifestation of the devil and ardently forbid it. Then, of course, there's the theology with which I'm most familiar, which explains away the mystery and discourages its practice at large.

I may never have had questions about the gift if it weren't for Cornelius. After all, the gift manifested in Acts 2 can easily be explained as a gift in which many people who spoke divers languages heard the same message simultaneously in their home tongue. Like 1 Cor 14 says, that manifestation of the gift of tongues would have been for the unbeliever. Thus, any public manifestation of an unknown language would require immediate interpretation, as Paul explains to the Corinthians. I get that, and I even agree.

What does a person do with Cornelius, then? When he and his family were filled with the Spirit, they spoke in tongues. This must have been a language unknown to Peter, the believers, and the people in Cornelius's house. Cornelius and Peter obviously spoke a common language (likely Greek), or they never would have been able to communicate in Acts 10, so he wasn't speaking Greek. They also weren't speaking Aramaic or Hebrew, as it's arguable that Peter and his Jewish comrades knew those languages. They also would have recognized Latin as the Roman language, even if they didn't understand it. Thus, the Gentile family was filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke in some unknown language, and were not shut down by the Christians who brought the message. Instead of quieting Cornelius and his family, they stood in awe that the Lord had moved so powerfully among the Gentiles.

Are we missing something in some of our North American evangelical churches? I do NOT puport that we go out seeking the gift of tongues as proof of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit is in you, then He will manifest His fruit and some gifts as He sees fit (Gal 5, 1 Cor 12). However, I'm familiar with many Wesleyans, Baptists, Methodists, and so on who are afraid of an unknown tongue because it supposedly takes us out of our right minds and into ecstatic expressions of worship.

1) Though we may think about ourselves according to Greek philisophical terms, we are all made up of our spirit, mind, will, emotions, and body. These elements are not really separated at all. All of those things are affected when one thing is affected. All of those things are involved in Christian worship. If our minds are engaged in worship, then so should our spirits, wills, emotions, and bodies be engaged in worship. If we're compartmentalizing ourselves in worship, then our worship is not an offering of ALL that we are. Compartmentalized worship leaves room for part of us not to be submitted to the Lord.

2) Again, the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts as He sees fit. Apparently, He saw fit to give an unknown worship language to Cornelius and his family in Acts 10. Does that mean we should all rush around speaking unknown languages? Not necessarily. Neither, however, should we allow our own minds, wills, emotions, and bodies to decide how the Holy Spirit chooses to manifest Himself.

I may never understand Cornelius, and I may never speak in tongues publicly. I'm fine with both of those things. After time in the Word today, though, I'm left praying for an openness to the Lord for His real and effective work in me. If I'm shutting out the gift of tongues, what else am I shutting out? How open am I really, if I'm dictating how the Lord can or cannot move in me?

Okay, now that I've opened that can of worms.....