The Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Jesus who now dwells in us—has His own ways of communicating, and He may speak differently through one believer than through another, as He sees fit. This outpouring of the Spirit, with its gifts of communication, was foretold by the prophet Joel centuries before Jesus was born:
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions (Joel 2:28).
Prophecy, dreams, visions—these are among the ways the Spirit makes Himself known. And Peter declared, on the day of Pentecost, that Joel’s prophecy was being fulfilled before their eyes (Acts 2:16–17). We live in the age of the outpoured Spirit, the age Joel saw from afar.
The Gift of Tongues
Among the signs that accompany those who believe, Scripture names the speaking of new tongues. Jesus Himself promised it:
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17).
And so it was at Pentecost: “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). This is the promise of Jesus for those who believe in Him and receive the Holy Spirit. And the way to receive is simply to ask, in faith:
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:13).
If you have not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit, ask—and it shall be given to you. When He comes, He comes with His own language, teaching us all we need to know and guiding us into all truth, always to the glory of Jesus (John 16:13–15).316
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians gives the fullest teaching on tongues, and it is worth hearing his balanced counsel:
- “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification” (1 Corinthians 14:10).
- “I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied… that the church may receive edifying” (1 Corinthians 14:5).
- “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God… howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries” (1 Corinthians 14:2).
- “If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret” (1 Corinthians 14:27).
- “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not” (1 Corinthians 14:22).
Notice Paul’s pastoral wisdom: he values tongues (“I would that ye all spake with tongues”) and forbids anyone to despise them (“forbid not to speak with tongues,” v. 39); yet he insists that everything be done “decently and in order” (v. 40) and for the building up of the church. The gift is a treasure, but it is to be exercised in love and with self-control, never for show.
The Spirit Who Speaks Through Us
But the language of the Spirit is not confined to tongues. The same Spirit—called the Spirit of Jesus and the Spirit of our Father—speaks through us when we witness, when we share the good news of salvation, and when we are called to give an account of our faith. Jesus promised that in the hour of need we would not be left to our own words:
- “For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you” (Matthew 10:20).
- “For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say” (Luke 12:12).
- “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 12:3).
- “And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake” (Acts 6:10).
Allow Him to speak through you, and you will see the wisdom and power of God flowing out to glorify Jesus Christ. This is not the abandonment of our minds but the filling of them; the Spirit takes our willing lips and gives them words we could not have found on our own.
Power to Witness
The Spirit of Jesus came not only with tongues but with power—power to preach the gospel, to make disciples, and to stand firm under persecution. This was Jesus’ last promise before He ascended:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31).
The same disciples who had cowered behind locked doors after the crucifixion now stood before rulers and crowds and preached without fear. What changed them? The Spirit came upon them with power. That same power is promised to all who ask.
Diversity of Gifts, One Spirit
When you ask God for the gift of His Spirit, He will give it—He has promised. And when the Spirit comes, He distributes different gifts to different people, as He wills, for He knows us better than we know ourselves. Paul lists them for the Corinthians:
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will (1 Corinthians 12:7–11).
Note two things Paul emphasizes. First, the gifts are given “to profit withal”—for the common good, to build up the whole body, never for private display. Second, it is the one Spirit who distributes them “as he will”—so no one may boast in his gift as though he had earned it, and no one may despise his gift as though it were too small. The same Spirit gives them all. If you desire to receive the Holy Spirit, ask your Father in faith, and He will give His Spirit to you. Guidance is written for you in Part XIII of this book.
Notes
- 316. The author writes from within the Pentecostal tradition, which holds that the gifts of the Spirit—including speaking in tongues—continue in the church today (the “continuationist” position), and that tongues often accompany the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit (as in Acts 2, 10, 19). Readers should be aware that sincere Christians differ on these matters. Some (“cessationists”) hold that certain miraculous gifts ceased with the apostolic age; and even among continuationists, many understand from 1 Corinthians 12:30 (“do all speak with tongues?”, which expects the answer ‘no’) that not every believer will necessarily speak in tongues, distinguishing the gift of tongues exercised in the assembly from a personal prayer language. This book presents the Pentecostal understanding as its own, while gladly affirming that the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23), not any particular gift, is the surest evidence of the Spirit’s indwelling. For a range of views see Wayne Grudem, ed., Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996). ↩