Gospel Tract #81 - Speaking in Tongues
by George C. Clark and John D. Clark, Sr.
Acts 2:3–4
“I want you all to speak in tongues.”
1Corinthians 14:5
If we believe Paul’s words, then we must admit that there is such an experience as being moved by God’s holy Spirit to speak in a language that we have not learned. The Scriptures bear witness to the presence of this experience among both Jewish and Gentile believers. The Jews received the Spirit first, on the day of Pentecost, but a few years later, Jesus surprised the Jews by baptizing Gentiles with the Spirit. When he did this, the Jews who were there “were astonished because the gift of the holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles. They knew this because they heard them speaking in tongues and magnifying God” (Acts 10:45–46). Still later, another group of disciples spoke in tongues when “the holy Spirit came upon them, and they started speaking in tongues and prophesying” (Acts 19:6). So, the baptism of the Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, continued to be experienced throughout the book of Acts.
These outpourings of the Spirit were not isolated events; on the contrary, for in Acts 19, Paul was surprised that these believers had not already received the baptism of the Spirit. Moreover, in all his writings on this subject, Paul refers to this blessing as a normal part of life in Christ.
There is no spiritual life, no new birth, where the language of the Spirit is absent, for receiving the holy Spirit and speaking in tongues are two parts of one experience. Jesus explained this new spiritual birth to Nicodemus like this: “Don’t marvel that I told you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it’s coming from or where it’s going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (Jn. 3:7–8). The moment one receives the Spirit, he is moved by the Spirit to make “groanings beyond words” (Rom. 8:26).
When all the evidence is rightly weighed, it becomes clear that, first, every person who receives the holy Ghost baptism speaks in tongues when he receives it and that, second, every person who has not done so has no basis on which to claim that he has received the Spirit of God.
Jesus said, “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, HE will testify of me” (Jn. 15:26). Paul would later write, “The Spirit ITSELF bears witness, together with our spirit, that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16). The Comforter’s “testimony”, mentioned by Jesus in John 15:26, and the Spirit’s “witness”, mentioned by Paul, both refer to speaking in tongues. So, a prime purpose of speaking in tongues is to distinguish those who have truly believed and repented from those who have not – though many in this latter group think they have.
The “Unknown Tongue”
“Let the one who speaks in a tongue pray that he might interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit is praying, but my understanding is unfruitful. How is it, then? I will pray in the Spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding; I will sing in the Spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding” (1Cor. 14:13–15).
Those who received the holy Ghost when it was first poured out spoke in languages that were unknown to them, but were well known to the Jews who had come to Jerusalem from foreign lands to observe the Feast of Pentecost. The visiting Jews marveled that the disciples spoke fluently in foreign languages. They asked, “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? So, how is it that each of us hears them speaking in our native tongue?” (Acts 2:7–8).
Speaking in Tongues Foretold
Long before Jesus suffered and died to make the holy Spirit available to men, God had chosen tongues as the sign of this New Covenant. He announced His choice through the prophets, such as Isaiah and Zephaniah. Through Isaiah, God said, “He will speak to this people with stammering lips and another tongue, to whom He said, ‘This is the rest with which you will cause the weary one to rest,’ and ‘This is the refreshing’ (Isa. 28:11–12). Through Zephaniah, He promised, “I will change the speech of the people to a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord” (Zeph. 3:9).
God’s Purpose for Speaking in Tongues
Quoting Isaiah, Paul wrote, “In the law, it is written, ‘With strange tongues and other lips will I speak to this people, and even at that, they will not listen to me, says the Lord.’ ‘This means’, Paul concluded, “that tongues are for a sign . . . to those who do not believe” (1Cor. 14:21–22). Notice Paul’s words, “tongues are for a sign”, and then ask yourself, “A sign of what?” Clearly, tongues are God’s designated sign of the way of eternal life. A singular beauty of the New Testament is that God Himself, through the Spirit, speaks when He enters our hearts. In this covenant, we are not dependent upon men to tell us when we are born again; we wait for God to speak.
My father once dreamed he was carrying the crucified Lord to a cemetery to bury him. As he was lowering Jesus into the grave, Jesus opened his eyes and raised his hands, and in both of them was money. Then Jesus spoke. “Take this,” he said to my father. “This will not be buried with me.” Obeying the Lord, my father looked at the money in Jesus’ hands and saw that in one hand was twenty-eight dollars and eleven cents, and in the other hand was eleven dollars and twenty-eight cents. As he was waking from the dream, he watched the twenty-eight dollars and eleven cents change into the word “Isaiah” and the eleven dollars and twenty-eight cents change into the word “Matthew”. When he awoke, he knew the Lord had shown him something of remarkable value from those two books. He took his Bible and turned with great anticipation to Isaiah 28:11 and to Matthew 11:28, wondering what this revelation should mean.
In Matthew 11:28–29, he found Jesus pleading with his people, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest! Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find REST for your souls.” Then he turned to Isaiah 28:11–12 and read, “He will speak to this people with stammering lips and another tongue, to whom He said, ‘THIS IS THE REST with which you will cause the weary one to REST’, and ‘This is the refreshing.’ ”
Speaking in tongues is an essential part of the reason Jesus suffered and died, for it is the sign that we have entered into the rest which Jesus purchased for our souls. How can it not be of God? Is it not clear that only those who have repented and have received the holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues have found this rest which God promised to His people?
The Gift of Diverse Tongues
In his list of a few gifts of the Spirit (1Cor. 12), Paul mentions the gift of “diverse tongues.” This is not the same thing as speaking in tongues when one receives, or is baptized with, the Spirit. That gift is an added measure, a deeper walk in the Spirit, for those who already speak in tongues, just as the “gift of faith” is for those who already have faith. It should be noted that Paul never says that “speaking in tongues is a gift.” He knew better. The gift is “diverse tongues”. Multitudes have received the baptism of the Spirit and speak in tongues, but only a few have received the gift of diverse tongues.
Many a person has excused his lack of the Spirit by claiming that speaking in tongues is a thing of the past or that it is merely a gift for only a few believers. Don’t swallow that poison, my friend. It is the gift of “diverse tongues” that is given only to some. As for speaking in tongues, every person who is truly in the body of Christ has that blessing; it came with the Spirit. Speaking in tongues also enables God’s children to pray more effectively. Paul wrote, “The Spirit helps with our weaknesses, for we do not know what to pray for as one should, but the Spirit itself intercedes for us with groanings beyond words” (Rom. 8:26).
In sum, speaking in tongues (or “stammering lips”, to quote Isaiah) is God’s sign of the new birth. Every born-again person speaks in tongues, beginning the moment the Spirit enters. If you have not received this experience, please do not take this message as a belittling of your faith in Jesus. It is not. There were sincere followers of Christ in the days of the apostles who did not receive the holy Ghost until someone came along and explained the way of God more perfectly to them (Acts 18:26). The baptism of the Spirit is for you, and so are we. Let us know when you receive this wonderful blessing, please, so that we can rejoice with you!
Gospel Tract #94 - The Spirit of Christ
by George C. Clark and John D. Clark, Sr.
From Genesis to Revelation, the holy Spirit is given various descriptive titles, such as the “Spirit of God” (Gen. 1:2), “Spirit of the Lord” (Isa. 11:2), “Spirit of grace” (Zech. 12:10), “holy Spirit” (Lk. 11:13), “Spirit of truth” (Jn. 14:17), “Comforter” (Jn. 15:26), “eternal Spirit” (Heb. 9:14), “Spirit of adoption” (Rom. 8:15), “Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2), and others too numerous to mention here.
There are many similar instances of using various titles for the Spirit. In 1Samuel 10:6, Samuel told Saul that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon him, but when it happened (v.10), we read that “the Spirit of God came upon him.” For another example, we find in Acts 5:3 that Ananias and his wife “lied to the holy Ghost,” but in verse 9 it was “the Spirit of the Lord” against which they had sinned. Again, this time using Joel’s voice, God promised that He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh (2:28). When this wonderful prophecy began to be fulfilled in Acts 2:4, the promised Spirit was called the holy Ghost. And to confirm this, Peter says in verse 16, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.”
Some have mistakenly concluded that the holy Spirit and the holy Ghost are different spirits. A brief survey can correct that wrong impression. Here are a few blessings that come through the holy Ghost, which in other verses are said to come by the holy Spirit: Sanctification (Rom. 15:16; 2Thess. 2:13); spiritual gifts (Heb. 2:4; 1Cor. 12:4); instruction for believers (1Cor. 2:13; Jn. 16:13); and help in prayer (Jude 20; 1Cor. 14:16).
If we read carefully, we will learn from the Scriptures that there is only one holy Spirit described in many different ways.
Consider carefully, please, the words of these gospel writers, as each describes the Spirit as it came upon Jesus, when he was “about 30 years of age”:
Matthew Testifies:
(3:16) “And after he was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God, in the form of a dove, descending and coming upon him.”
Mark Testifies:
(1:9–10) “Now, it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens being ripped open and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, descending upon him.”
Luke Testifies:
(3:21–22) “And it came to pass that when all the people were being baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and as he was praying, heaven was opened, and the holy Spirit descended in the bodily form of a dove upon him, and a voice from heaven came, saying, “You are my beloved Son; in you, I am well pleased.”
John Testifies:
(1:32) “And John testified, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven in the form of a dove, and it remained on him.”
Now, unless a flock of doves descended from heaven, the Spirit of God that Matthew saw is the Spirit that Mark and John saw, and they both are the holy Spirit which Luke saw. My friend, can you not see that only one dove descended upon Jesus, and that same dove was given different titles by the writers?
Much can be learned about the Spirit from the application of various titles to it. For example, when Jesus’ disciples were saddened by the news that he would soon leave them, Jesus referred to the Spirit that he would send them as “the Comforter”. And when Paul spoke of our admission into the family of God, he referred to the Spirit as “the Spirit of adoption”. Jesus gives us an impression of the holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth”, for, he said, “he will guide you into all truth.” And since Christ Jesus declared himself to be the truth (Jn. 14:6), the Spirit of truth is obviously the Spirit of Christ.
The Spirit of Christ
For those who think that the Spirit of Christ and the holy Ghost are different spirits, let us study this issue together.
Only twice in the Bible is the phrase “the Spirit of Christ” used (Rom. 8:9 and 1Pet. 1:11). In 1Peter 1:11, Peter states that the “Spirit of Christ” was in the prophets of old, and “testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow.” But notice that in his second epistle (1:21), Peter writes, “no prophecy in the past came about by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the holy Spirit.” Surely, the ancient prophets were not inspired by two different spirits.
King David’s stunning prophecy from Psalm 22 foretold the gruesome crucifixion of Jesus. Part of David’s prophecy reads, “They pierced my hands and my feet . . . . They divided my clothes among them, and they cast lots on my garment.”
The word “my” in this prophecy refers not to David but to Christ. David’s hands and feet were never pierced, nor were his clothes ever parted among his enemies. The Spirit of Christ, through David, was testifying beforehand of the sufferings of Jesus. Near the end of his life, David said, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue” (2Sam. 23:2). Are we to understand by this that the Spirit of the Lord spoke by him on one occasion, and the Spirit of Christ on another? Of course not. The Spirit of the Lord is the Spirit of Christ, for “God has made him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).
Further, we hear these words from Peter, as he stood in the midst of the disciples in the upper room awaiting the descent of the Comforter, “Men and brothers, this scripture must be fulfilled, which the holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide for those who arrested Jesus” (Acts 1:16).
David’s prophecy to which Peter referred on this occasion is found in Psalm 41:9, and reads, “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” The me and the my of this prophecy from Psalm 41 is the same me and my of Psalm 22, which spoke of the crucifixion. In both cases, the Spirit of Christ was the speaker, for in both verses, events that happened to Christ were foretold, and in both verses the speaker says the events happened to “me”. Yet, Peter said the holy Ghost inspired David’s words. Clearly, then, when Peter said the holy Ghost spoke through David, he was referring to the Spirit of Christ, or we could say, the Spirit of the Lord.
The other verse in which “Spirit of Christ” appears is in Paul’s letter to the saints at Rome. It is an arresting, sobering statement: “Now, if anyone have not the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him” (Rom. 8:9). Paul is declaring in no uncertain terms that until one receives the holy Ghost he is not a member of the family of God, for the Spirit of Christ, as we have seen, is the holy Ghost.
Life
Paul said that the Spirit of God is life itself, and it is. It is God’s life that is within Him. Jesus suffered and died for one purpose; namely, to save us by making that eternal life, the holy Ghost, available to us who believe. Eternal life for us is what he purchased with his blood. “I am come that they might have life,” he said, “and have it abundantly.” He was speaking of the Spirit.
The sum of this truth is clear: If we do not have the holy Ghost dwelling within us, we do not have life. But because of Jesus, there is hope. You can repent of your sins in the name of Jesus and receive that eternal life from the Father. Jesus wanted you to have it so much that he was willing to give up his life and purchase it for you. Why not kneel down right now and ask him for it?
When is a person really born again?
“When were the disciples born again?” Over the years, I have posed that simple question to a number of people, including Christian ministers, and I have yet to find anyone who had pondered it before I asked. Some seemed surprised that such a question would even be asked. A fairly typical response has been this one, from a man who had been in the ministry for some time: “I have never thought about it.” My sincere reply is, Why not? Why have so many, especially those in lofty religious positions, not considered the most important issue that exists?
Considering the contradictory answers given by various groups to this simple question, one might be led to think that the Bible is unclear in its answer, but it is not. I suspect that the issue is avoided by many clergymen precisely because the Bible’s answer is so clear. There is something in the hearts of some ministers that tells them that if the children of God ever discover the truth concerning the new birth, then their influence and control over the flock of God will be threatened. At the heart of the widespread neglect of this most important issue of life is rebellion against the truth that the Bible proclaims. And that truth is this: No one is born of the Spirit until he is baptized with the holy Ghost, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Are you willing to look at the evidence?