Languages

 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.
1 Corinthians 14:9 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.14.9.ESV

What many people understand as tongues, Paul would dismiss as gobbledegook. The whole point of speaking in tongues is to speak in intelligible, translatable human languages. When Paul says 'if I speak in the tongue of angels' he's not saying that he can, he's speaking rhetorically.

From the outset, on the day of Pentecost, the gift of tongues has been used to translate the gospel from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into other people's mother tongues. The whole point of speaking in other languages is not to edify ourselves, but to communicate the gospel to different people groups. Usually now, learning languages is hard graft rather than miraculous, but being able to speak in different languages is still a spiritual gift.

People overspiritualise spiritual gifts. We often forget for example that serving others practically and being organised are spiritual gifts. Likewise with speaking in tongues, if we're not understood, it's a bit pointless.

If we're speaking un-understandable things, we're wasting our breath. So speaking in tongues requires the complementary spiritual gift of interpreting different languages. Being a translator is a spiritual gift too- think of all the languages that still need God's word in them!

'Heavenly Father, thank You that You desire to speak to us in our mother tongues. Please do so, and help people to communicate Your word effectively in different tongues. For Your eternal glory we pray, amen'

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Power

 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.Exodus 9:16 ESVhttps://bible.com/bible/59/exo.9.16.ESV  Secular historians point to the lack of extra-biblical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and ensuing exodus. But here in this verse, God describes how this anonymous Pharoah has been immortalised in the annals of the Hebrews, so that God is proclaimed in all the earth. The mighty men of the world might think they can stand against God and win, but resistance is futile!  The more stubborn Pharoah was, the more the Lord was able to display His power. The more insistent Pharoah was of keeping his slaves, the more unreasonable he appeared. It was a battle of wills, and the will of Yahweh prevailed.  In the end, Pharoah will have been broken by the plagues. In the final plague, his own firstborn son was killed, the next in line to the throne of the world superpower. He might have tried to put a brave face on it, but he
Read more

Delight

 I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word. Psalm 119:16 Delight isn't a word we tend to associate with decrees. Maybe a vulnerable person might have delighted in some of the covid decrees; or a pedestrian in the highway code. Without decrees, we'd be living in anarchy. In the busyness of life, it would be all too easy to neglect God's law. Even though David was tremendously busy as the king of Israel, he always guarded his time in God's word. If he managed, we have no excuse. In His earthly ministry, Jesus was often so popular that He scarcely got any time to Himself. Yet He still often got up early, while it was still dark, and communed with His heavenly Father. He clearly memorised Scriptures in His armoury against satanic temptations. We devote time to what we delight in. Even if we don't enjoy work for example, we do it so we can earn money to spend on things we delight in. If we delight in God's word, we will make time to meditate on it. '
Read more

Praise

  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. Psalm 51:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.51.15.ESV King David had been guilty of adultery and murder. Understandably, he felt muted. He didn't feel he could praise God publicly without coming across as a massive fraud. Yet David is described as a man after God's own heart. Yes, he fell deeply into sin. Yet this Psalm is a heartfelt prayer to God to restore Him. David knew that if God forgave him, he'd have a great testimony. There's hope for the worst of sinners! So he longed to open up his mouth in praises to God. Thankfully, God positively did answer his prayer. He did go on to praise God and write many more Psalms of worship to Him. Whatever we've done, there's hope for us yet, in the blood of Christ. 'Sovereign Lord, please help us to praise and worship You wholeheartedly, whatever our pasts may be. In Jesus' name we pray, amen'
Read more