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CESSATION OF TONGUES -
PART 1
by Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew
Tongues as used in Acts
The word for “tongues”
in Greek is “glossa.” It occurs in the New Testament 47 times. Out
of these 47 occurrences, 9 are used literally and 38 figuratively.
The gifts of the Holy
Spirit are not to be understood as the “Christianizing” of secular
talents. Talents are given to all, believers and unbelievers alike, by the
general grace of God to function in this world. But the gifts of the Holy
Spirit are spiritual. Just because a person is a good secular teacher does
not mean that he will be a good Bible teacher. The Holy Spirit’s work in
the life of the believer is a most important factor that must be carefully
considered if one is to be a good Bible teacher. It is not the man but the
Spirit of God that enables the Christian to use any spiritual gift
effectively and to bless hearts. Since God is the One who enables, the
glory must therefore be given to God alone and no one should rob God of
His glory.
The understanding of
the gift of tongues in the Acts of the Apostles must be carefully
considered as this has been used by many Charismatics as the basis for
their practice of the gift of tongues today. To speak in tongues,
according to Scriptures, means to speak a language with understanding and
without going to school to learn it. It is given supernaturally to the
Person by God. The gift of tongues in Acts occurs explicitly in three
instances and once implicitly.
(1)
Acts 2:1‑12
is the event of the Pentecost when the apostles were filled with the Holy
Spirit in mighty fashion. They spoke in tongues in the presence of the
Jews who were in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Pentecost (Feast of
Harvest). Fifteen different dialect-speaking Jews heard the apostles speak
in tongues which caused them to be amazed and to say to one another,
“Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every
man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” (Acts 2:7-8). There is
absolutely no doubt that what the disciples spoke were tongues as the
people who heard it testified that they heard “every man in our own
tongue.” “Tongue” is used as languages here in Acts 2.
(2) Acts 8:1‑18
is the account of the Samaritans who, under the preaching of Philip,
believed and were baptized with water but the Holy Spirit had not fallen
upon them until Peter and John came and laid hands on them; then they
received the Holy Ghost. Acts 8:14-17, “Now when the apostles which were
at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent
unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them,
that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon
none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then
laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”
What it means here in
Acts 8 is not what the Charismatics claim. The Charismatics claim that the
Samaritans under the preaching of Philip were already believers but did
not have the Holy Spirit. So when the apostles came and laid hands on
them, they received the Holy Ghost. This they say is proof of a second
baptism of the Holy Spirit which is subsequent to conversion. They teach
that this ought to be the norm and that this is what every Christian must
also experience today, hence the laying on of hands for the gift of tongue
speaking as evidenced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They further
conclude that before this experience the person is saved but does not have
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Can a person be considered a believer if he does not have
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Although Moriarty rejects the
explanation and conclusion of the Charismatics he is inclined to agree
that the Samaritans were already believers before
the apostles came to lay hands on them. The argument he gave is
that
the crucial thing to keep in mind is that these converts were
Samaritans. To the purebred Jew, the half‑breed Samaritans were dogs, a
rotten stench in the nostrils of God. The age‑old religious controversy
between the Jews and Samaritans still existed at that time, for the Jews
had “no dealings with Samaritans” (Jn. 4:9). In the first century it was
remarkable that Philip (a Jew) preached the good news of the kingdom of
God to the Samaritans and they received the message wholeheartedly! But
would the Jewish believers accept the fact that the Samaritans embraced
the Gospel, considering the bitter rivalry that had gone on for centuries
between the two groups? In order to avoid the development of even greater
schism, the Lord deliberately withheld the gift of his Spirit from the
Samaritan believers (or at least the outward evidence of the gift) until
apostles Peter and John had travelled to Samaria and laid their hands on
them to acknowledge and authenticate the genuineness of the Samaritan
conversion.1
Based upon Romans
8:7-9, we cannot accept Moriarty’s explanation. Romans 8:7-9 say, “Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot
please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that
the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of
Christ, he is none of his.” We are told by God here that a person who does
not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is still “in the flesh.” Anyone
who is “in the flesh” cannot please God for he still possesses a carnal
mind and remains at enmity with God i.e. God’s enemy, one who is not born
again. This means that the Charismatic teaching of a “two-stage” salvation
experience is unbiblical. A person cannot be a Christian if he does not
have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
How do we then explain
the incident in Acts 8? The Samaritans believed and were baptized by water
after hearing the message of Philip. One of them who also believed and was
baptized was Simon the sorcerer. But he was not a believer (cf. Acts
8:19‑25). The outward actions were present in the Samaritan “believers” in
that they accepted the teachings of Philip. We must acknowledge that there
was no shortcoming in Philip’s preaching. The issue is whether the
Samaritans believed and were converted. The word “receive” in Acts 8:15
and 17 tells us that it was in the presence of the apostles that the
Samaritans received the Holy Spirit. It appears that they did not receive
the Spirit at the time of their belief and baptism by Philip. As such, we
may say that God “deliberately” held back the giving of the Spirit at that
point in time because of the age-old problem that existed between the Jews
and the Samaritans. This was done in fulfillment of John 7:39, “(But this
spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for
the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet
glorified.)”
What John 7:39 teaches
is a chronological emphasis rather than a theological one. It must not be
construed here that the Holy Spirit was not given or working in the Old
Testament period until after the glorification of Christ. The Spirit of
God is omnipresent. He does not come and go like man does. He was working
from the beginning when God first created the heaven and the earth (cf.
Genesis 1:1-2). All the Old Testament saints have the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit when they became believers. Men like Jeremiah, Daniel, Moses,
and King David were all saved and had the indwelling of the Holy Spirit or
else they would not be able to understand spiritual things. The Bible says
that spiritual things are spiritually discerned (Cf. 1Cor. 2:14). The
“delay” here was for the purpose of uniting the church as one, and the
acceptance by the Samaritans of the apostles who were all Jews as the God
appointed men through whom the visible local church was to be founded and
taught.
If the Samaritans had
received the Holy Spirit in the absence of the apostles, then the age old
animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans would have persisted and
perpetuated into the first early Christian church. That would have been
disastrous. Furthermore, when the Samaritan Christians encountered church
problems, to whom would they go for divine and inspired instruction? They
must go only to the Jewish apostles whom God had anointed as the writers
of the New Testament. The Samaritans would not have gone to them for they
despised the Jews. They would probably continue to worship in their Mount
Gerizim and have nothing to do with the Jews, and vice versa. To eradicate
this unthinkable segregation and possible schism at the founding of the
early church, the first Samaritan to be saved AFTER the glorification of
Christ must be through and in the presence of Christ’s appointed apostles.
That was why the Holy Spirit was not given to the Samaritans who believed
and were baptized by water. They were not believers yet until Peter and
John affirmed their salvation and laid hands on them and the Holy Spirit
came upon them to indwell them. Then they were finally and actually saved.
Subsequently, other Samaritans who believe in the LORD Jesus Christ do not
need the presence of the apostles for a genuine salvation experience. This
first Samaritan who is saved will set the tone and the doctrine for all
other future believing Samaritans. The Samaritans must submit to the
counsel and authority of the Jewish apostles.
When the Samaritans
received the Holy Spirit, the Bible did not say explicitly that they spoke
in tongues but the Bible does say that Simon the sorcerer “saw that
through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he
offered them money” (Acts 8:18). In order for Simon to have seen
something, it had to be external and also spectacular enough for him to
want to buy this ability from the apostles. In light of Acts 2 (the
incident on the day of Pentecost), Acts 10:44‑48 (Cornelius’ salvation)
and Acts 19:6‑7 (John the Baptizer’s disciples) where speaking in tongues
was the external manifestation of the baptism and filling of the Holy
Spirit, it is probable that what Simon saw in Acts 8 was also a baptism
and filling of the Holy Spirit, evidenced by the speaking in tongues.
(3) Acts 10:1‑18
is the account of the supernatural conversion of the first Gentile
convert, Cornelius and his family. He was a Gentile but a devout man and
one who feared God (Acts 10:2). God not only prepared his heart to receive
the gospel but also prepared the heart of Peter the chief apostle (a Jew)
to go to Cornelius’ home to give the word and to see for himself the
baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit. This detailed and careful
preparation was similar to the Samaritan experience of Acts 8.
A God fearing Jew is
not allowed to enter into the home of Gentiles for that would contaminate
him spiritually and ceremonially. In order to persuade Peter to enter a
Gentile’s home, God performed a miracle. God spoke to Peter through a
trance. Acts 10:11-16, “And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel
descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four
corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted
beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of
the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But
Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common
or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God
hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the
vessel was received up again into heaven.” Three times Peter was told to
eat the “unclean” animals which he had never eaten his entire life. To
have been given permission to eat “unclean” food by God three times in
succession meant that Peter was given permission to enter a Gentile’s
home.
At the same time, God
also prepared Cornelius to go to the house where Peter dwelt to invite him
to his home. At precisely the same time after the trance experience the
servants of Cornelius arrived. God in a vision told Peter to go with them
to Cornelius’ house. After his arrival, Peter said in Acts 10:34-35, “Then
Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no
respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh
righteousness, is accepted with him.” Peter realized that the gospel must
now go to the Gentiles the same manner it went to the Samaritans according
to God’s programme in Acts 1:8.
Peter was not the only
one who witnessed Cornelius’ conversion. The Bible says that some Jewish
believers saw it too. Acts 10:44‑48 reads, “While Peter yet spake these
words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of
the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with
Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the
Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then
answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be
baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he
commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they
him to tarry certain days.” The tongues the Jews heard were languages
because they understood them as magnifying God. What Peter saw and heard
was compared with what he saw in Acts 2 as seen from the phrase “which
have received the Holy Ghost as well as we.” The Jews who came with Peter
were the additional witnesses other than the apostle Peter who would
testify that what the Gentiles experienced was complete salvation
evidenced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as seen in Cornelius’
baptism with the Holy Spirit. Like the Samaritans, Gentiles who
subsequently believe in the LORD Jesus Christ need not have to go through
the apostles. Any Gentile who believed would be saved. They would have to
submit to the authority and the writings of the apostles.
If there was animosity
between the Jews and the Samaritans who were half-Jews, there was greater
resentment between the Jews and the Gentiles. These are the words of our
Lord Jesus Christ to a woman of Canaan (cf. Matt 21‑22; and called a Greek
and a Syrophenician by nation by Mark in Mark 7:26) who came to Him for
help because her daughter was grievously vexed with a devil.
Mark 7:27‑28 says, “But Jesus said unto her, Let the
children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread,
and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes,
Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.” (cf.
Matt 15:26‑27).
Jesus called her a dog because that was the perception of the Jews toward
the Gentiles. Notice that the Gentile woman did not deny the “name tag”
given by Jesus. She accepted it in humility and asked that even the dogs
eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.
Therefore by the
demonstration of the sign of tongues-speaking as an evidence that the
salvation given to the Jews was the same as that given to the Samaritans
and the Gentiles, the racial animosity between Jews and Gentiles and
Samaritans was removed immediately in the early church. Both Jews and
Gentiles had received the same salvation from God through the hand of the
God appointed Jewish apostles. Ephesians 4:4‑6 affirms, “There is one
body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above
all, and through all, and in you all.”
(4) Acts 19:6‑7
describe the apostle Paul’s encounter with the disciples of John the
baptizer. They were not believers yet for they had knowledge only of John
the baptizer’s teachings. Their knowledge came from Apollos who was
corrected by Aquila and Priscilla. Acts 18:24‑26 say, “And a
certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty
in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25This man was instructed
in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and
taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of
John. 26And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom
when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and
expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.”
So when Paul asked
John’s disciples about their knowledge of Jesus, they said they had only
the baptism of John. After they were taught that “John verily baptized
with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should
believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus (Acts
19:4)”, John’s disciples were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
When Paul laid hands on them they spoke in tongues and prophesied (Acts
19:5‑6). In this incident, the disciples of John the baptizer were
baptized and then filled with the Holy Spirit as evidenced in the speaking
in tongues. They needed to be disciples of Jesus Christ and not the
disciples of John the baptizer. Again the tongues spoken by the disciples
were languages and what they uttered concerned prophecies.
In conclusion we
see that tongues are languages. They are neither ecstatic utterances nor
angelic languages nor gibberish. They are languages with syntactical and
grammatical considerations. The Holy Spirit is not the giver of
nonsensical speech. The gift of tongues was used by God to unify the early
local church. The local church would replace the nation of Israel as the
new visible witness of the grace and mercy of God on earth. By the example
of the local churches throughout the world, where a biblical local church
is found, the witness of God would be present. This witness must be united
and truthful in accordance to Holy Scripture. The Old Testament witness of
salvation has now become a reality in Christ Jesus and has been passed
over to the local churches. The salvation preached by John the Baptist has
also been fulfilled by the coming of the LORD Jesus Christ as seen in Acts
19. The gift of tongues was used to bring about this united purpose and
the doctrine of only one gospel and one way of salvation.
The speaking of tongues
was the external evidence of one who had been endowed with the Holy Spirit
for the purpose of uniting the early church under One God, one Lord, one
Faith and baptism so that God would be the Father of them all without
distinction or animosity. This was the special function given by God to
the gift of tongues speaking. It was used as an outward sign to show that
Samaritans and Gentiles could be saved thoroughly like the Jews but
without going through circumcision and other Old Testament rituals.
Subsequently all believers of the Lord Jesus Christ regardless of race,
language, or nationality, would be indwelt by the Holy Spirit immediately
when they believe. This is the invisible act of God which the Bible
describes as the baptism with the Holy Spirit and not of the Holy Spirit,
as the Charismatics erroneously assert. AMEN
Note
1 Michael G.
Moriarty, The New Charismatics, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992),
145.
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