John Bevere - Why You Need to Speak in Tongues
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Do well! Welcome to this week’s session. The title is «The Baptism of the Holy Spirit.» Oh my goodness, I’m excited about this! Acts chapter 1, verses 4-6: «And being assembled together with them, He commanded"—it does not say He suggested; it does not say He recommended—"He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, 'You have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'» Jesus looked at them and said, «Don’t start your ministry. Don’t start preaching the gospel all over the world. Don’t start churches until you have been endued with power.»
You have to understand something: when we’re born again, the Holy Spirit comes within us, sanctifies us, seals us; we are the guarantee—we are children of God. But when we are baptized, we are filled and endued with power. So there’s a difference between position and power. Now, are you with me? You need to understand Jesus made a very strong statement. He said, «Hey, don’t do this.» What’s amazing is He talked to 500 people, and I believe 500 people were told to go to that upper room. You can see that in 1 Corinthians 15, the 500 people. But I believe 380 of them left after one day, two days, three days, four days, five days, six days—seven days—they were like, «Let’s go back to the synagogue! Let’s start churches! Let’s do this!» But there were 120 that waited because they obeyed the Master to wait.
Now, some of you are thinking, «Well, of course they needed the Holy Spirit because they didn’t have Him yet.» Let me make a statement: in John’s gospel, Jesus breathed on them and said, «Receive the Holy Spirit.» That Greek word «received» means immediately, right now. It is not a forerunner of what’s going to happen. So they received what I believe is the New Birth when Jesus breathed on them and said, «Receive the Holy Spirit.» This is when they were empowered to do what they were called to do.
If you want to think of it like this: the Holy Spirit comes within us for relationship; He comes upon us, baptized us to empower us to do what we’re called to do. Are you with me? And so now, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. It doesn’t say the Holy Spirit was a rushing mighty wind; He entered with the sound of a rushing mighty wind. By the way, He did that on His first entrance into the Earth to fill them and empower them. That was the only time He did it, but however, He can do it again if He wants, however He wants.
Because I remember when I was in Brazil, a rushing mighty wind came in an auditorium of thousands. It was amazing! People actually wrote to us for nine years afterwards about it. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire. Remember, they were baptized in the Holy Ghost and in fire. I don’t believe they were little tongues on top of their heads, like your Sunday manual showed; they were literally baptized; they were immersed—that’s what baptism means: it means to be immersed. They were immersed in fire.
So there appeared unto them divided tongues as a fire, one sat upon each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Notice they were filled; they began to speak in tongues. The Holy Spirit didn’t grab their mouths and rattle them to make them speak; they began to speak in other tongues. What is a tongue? Simply, it is a language not recognizable to your understanding; that is what a tongue is. Are you with me?
It’s like when I’m in Spain, and I meet somebody, and it doesn’t sound like they’re speaking in Spanish. I say, «What is your mother tongue?» They may say it’s Italian; it is still a language I don’t understand. I don’t look at English people and say, «What’s your mother tongue?» I know what their mother tongue is. Okay, are you with me?
Alright, so there was a bunch of Jews visiting Jerusalem at this time. They were from every nation under heaven; they spoke different languages, and they were shocked. So they came running out to see what was going on. When they came out, they discovered these untrained, unlearned men speaking in their different languages and dialects perfectly, the wonderful praises of God. They were completely in awe; they said, «Whatever is this?»
Peter stands up. You know the famous message that he preaches on that day? He says, «They’re not drunk because it’s 9:00 in the morning,» and he goes on to preach Jesus to them, right? Then he makes this statement: «This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit,» remember Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke and John, «Go and wait for the promise of the Father,» He poured out—now listen carefully—"He poured out this which you now see.» Everybody say «see.»
See and hear! Everybody say «hear.» So notice «see» and «hear.» I want you to remember that, okay? The gathering crowd then asked, «What do we do?» Acts 2:38–39: «Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; for the promise, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, is to you and to your children and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call.'» So you can see what happened to them in Acts chapter 2 of being baptized with the Holy Spirit was not only to them, to their children, but to everybody far off down through the generations of the church, as many as the Lord our God has called. Amen!
So what I want to do now, very quickly and briefly, is I want to go through the other four accounts in the book of Acts of people being filled and baptized with the Holy Spirit. There are two things I want you to make a note of: first, in every single one of these situations, except one, it is a separate experience from them being born again; okay? Even with the 120 on the day of Pentecost. The second thing I want you to see is that bystanders would see and hear when the Spirit of God baptized people. Are you with me?
Let’s go to Acts chapter 8. Philip goes down to Samaria; he preached Christ to them. He is a classic evangelist. The Bible says the city had great joy. Why? Because demons were coming out of people that were possessed, people that were lame and crippled were walking. There was great joy in the city! Now listen to what Acts 8:12–13 says: when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized in water, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized.
Now I want to make some notes here. The people believed the good news of Jesus Christ. Are they born again? Yes or no? Absolutely! When a person believes the gospel, they receive Jesus Christ, are baptized in water, they are a child of God, correct? Alright, so they were baptized in water, and according to the Scripture, they are now reborn into the kingdom of God. But listen to what verses 15-16 say: when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God, another incident that we know, they are born again; they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, Peter and John prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Now this really gets my attention: Peter and John are in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, I have found out from two different sources, is 35 to 42 miles away from Samaria. Now they do not have automobiles; they’re not jumping in the car and getting there in 45 minutes. Alright? They have to walk down there, baby! You know that’s a three-day walk. Or if they got a camel, a dog, or a horse, or a donkey, it may be a little shorter. That’s a good trip! But they send Peter and John just to get them filled with the Holy Spirit. That’s how important it was for those disciples to get filled with the Holy Spirit!
Okay, so we have further confirmation in Acts 8:14–16 that I just read you because it said they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Alright, we know they are saved because nobody can say Jesus is Lord except by the Spirit of God, right? So they have the Spirit of God. But it is one thing to have Him in us and influence us and to be saved, sealed, and sanctified by Him; it is another thing to be filled to overflowing with Him, right? That’s what Peter and John came down for.
How do we ask for the Holy Spirit? Jesus simply tells us in Luke 11:12–13: «If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father"—now notice Jesus says «your heavenly Father.» You’re already a child of God. «Give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.» Jesus made the statement: «The world cannot receive the Spirit of truth.»
So then we read in Acts 8:17–19: «Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.» So these people were already saved, already born again. But they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw—everybody say «saw"—that through the laying on of the Apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, «Give me this power that anyone on whom I lay my hands can receive the Holy Spirit.»
This is one of the incidents, and one of the few, I might add, that you do not have it actually saying they spoke in tongues and prophesied. However, we do know this occurred because Simon saw it happen. So you got to understand, when the Holy Spirit comes, there’s usually an outward manifestation. It’s usually, biblically speaking, in tongues and prophesying. So much was it noticeable that a sorcerer who had gotten saved as well said, «I’m going to give you money because I want that.» Are you seeing this?
And so you know what happens? Peter said, «Your money perish with you; you need to ask God to forgive you.» Right? So we want to review here: number one, these people were born again; they had already received Jesus. Then they prayed to receive the Holy Spirit. Number two, when He manifested, they saw the outward manifestation when He baptized or filled their life.
The next incident would be Saul of Tarsus, Acts chapter 9. We know that Saul’s on the road to destroy Christians, and Jesus speaks from heaven and says, «Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?» Saul immediately asked who it was. The Lord responded, «I am Jesus.» Saul then said, «Lord, what do you want me to do?» He was told to go to Damascus, and there he would be given instructions. Do you notice he said, «Lord, what do you want me to do?» When we confess Jesus Christ as Lord, we are born again. I believe Saul was converted on that road to Damascus.
Alright, let me tell you—if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have gone and fasted three days. Secondly, when Ananias comes, God speaks to a disciple in Damascus, and He says to Ananias, «Go and pray for Brother Saul so that he can receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.» Ananias comes into the house of Simon the Tanner, and Ananias looks at Saul. You’ve got to remember Saul can’t see and says, «Brother Saul.» He does not say Saul; he says «Brother Saul.» Saul is born again. He got born again when he encountered Jesus on that road. The Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, came and has sent me that you might receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
If you get the Holy Spirit infilling when you get born again, why does Ananias have to go pray for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Now, Saul does not speak in tongues in Acts chapter 9; however, later on, he said, «I thank my God I speak in tongues more than you all.» When did that happen? I believe when he got filled with the Holy Spirit.
We go to Cornelius, Acts chapter 10. He is the first Gentile to become saved. He is actually a centurion; he is an officer of the Roman army. An angel appears to him because this guy loves God so much. He doesn’t know God, but he’s given alms to the poor; he’s praying to God. An angel stands before him and says, «You better send for a guy named Peter.» Isn’t that amazing? The angel didn’t tell him how to get saved; he said, «You got to go find Peter.»
So he goes, and he sends his company to get Peter. Peter’s on the roof; he gets that vision. God says, «I’ve sent three men; go with them, asking no questions.» Why does the Holy Spirit have to say, «Ask no questions»? Because Jews didn’t socialize with Gentiles, because what was about to happen was completely out of the custom. Peter would not have dared enter into a Gentile’s house, but he was about to because these three men were bringing him into the house of Cornelius.
Peter is in shock: «Whoa! I know the Holy Spirit’s voice, but I just walked into a Gentile’s house!» So Peter says, «Okay, you saw an angel; I’m preaching.» So he starts preaching about Jesus. You know what’s amazing? He gets five paragraphs into his message, and the Holy Spirit falls on Cornelius’s entire household.
And listen to what it says: «While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon those who heard the word, and those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also; for they had heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.» This is the only incident in the Bible that you find God baptizing somebody in the Spirit and getting them saved at the exact same time.
I have a reason that I believe this. I know you can challenge it, but I got a reason. Peter, if you remember, when you pray with somebody to receive Jesus, you’re not going to see any outward manifestation. Peter still thinks there’s no way these guys can get saved; they’re Gentiles. So God says, «I got to override these guys' mentality, and I just got to give them the whole package at once.» And that’s the only time you’re going to see it.
And the way Peter knew that God had given them Jesus was that he saw them what? Speak in tongues because He had given them the Holy Spirit. Are you with me? Alright, the last one is in Ephesus. This is Acts 19. The Apostle Paul and his team came to Ephesus and found some disciples. The first question they asked him—now this really gets my attention—is: «Did you receive the Holy Spirit since you believed?» That should be the first question we ask a brand new believer: «Did you receive the Holy Spirit?» You know I was just over in Bulgaria with Lisa, preaching the gospel. I remember the pastor over there; he got saved when the Communists were reigning with an iron fist, and people were getting saved in underground churches, and the moves of the Spirit were going on.
And that pastor told me he said, «I opened up. Here I am, this worldly man; I’m full of drugs, I’m an alcoholic, I’m in the USSSR Army, whatever you call it, the communist army, and I go into this secret meeting, and this woman throws open the door and says, 'Have you gotten the Spirit yet? '» He thought, «What spirit is she talking about?» But you know, it was so real to those persecuted Christians in those communist nations back then—remember, they were really persecuted for this—that that was the first question she asked him: «Did you get the Holy Spirit?» Of course, he said, «I didn’t; I had a different spirit.» He got the Holy Spirit before he left. He got saved and filled with the Spirit. Are you with me?
Alright, so these people had only heard about John’s baptism. So they then began to preach to them Jesus Christ, and they believed and were baptized in water. Once they were baptized in water, they are now saved. And when Paul then laid hands on them, we read in Acts 19:6, «The Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.» So they spoke in tongues; they prophesied. These men of Ephesus, who didn’t even know the Word of God very well, were now speaking the wonderful praises of God because they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
You know what? Let me tell you something: I’m so glad I could never have to preach without the Holy Spirit. I would be so boring; you’d be falling asleep, right? Nobody can preach apart from the Holy Spirit. Now, a common question that comes up is this: «I thought tongues are supposed to cease when that which is perfect has come.» Well, let’s read it. You hear this constantly asked by people, so let’s read First Corinthians, where that occurs: «Love never fails; but whether there are prophecies they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away; for we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away with.»
What these people say is the Bible was that which is perfect. They say when the perfect came, that’s the Bible; that’s when we don’t need tongues anymore. Well, let me go on to the next verse to make sure I’m not taking anything out of context. Paul said, «For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then, when that which is perfect has come, face to face. Now I know in part, but then, when that which is perfect has come, I will know just as I am known.» Now, are you seeing Jesus face to face right now? No. Are you knowing Jesus right now exactly as He knows you? No. Then that which is perfect has not come.
That which is perfect is talking about the two new heavens and new earth. When we have our glorified, resurrected bodies, that is what He’s talking about. That’s when we are going to know as we are known, and that’s when we’re going to see Him face to face as He sees us. Are you with me? So the answer is tongues will cease, but that which is perfect has not yet come; therefore, tongues have not yet ceased!
Alright. The second question I hear constantly is: «The Bible says this. The Bible says, 'Hey, John, do all speak with tongues? ' Remember that question in 1 Corinthians chapter 12?» Well, do all speak in tongues? What’s the answer? No, they do not all speak in tongues. Okay, so not everybody needs to speak in tongues.
Well, you got to read this whole thing in context, and the way you read it in context is to realize that the New Testament speaks of four different tongues. Everybody say «four.» Two of those tongues are for public ministry. What do I mean by public ministry? They are ministry where you are ministering to one or a group of people. Two of them are for private. Everybody say «private.»
Alright, let me talk about each of the four. First of all, tongues, which are a sign. Alright, listen to 1 Corinthians 14:22: «Therefore, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers.» What does it mean, tongues are a sign to unbelievers? Let me give you an example that illustrates it. One time, I was preaching here in Colorado Springs. One of my staff members was in the back of the church while I was preaching. She thought she was praying in tongues the whole time I was preaching. She just felt this urge to pray in tongues. When the service was over, a gentleman stood up, who was a couple of rows ahead of her, and he turned around and said to her, «Your French is perfect! Not only do you speak French perfectly, but with a perfect accent of the ancient dialect of French.» He said, «I’m a French teacher, and I’ve never encountered somebody speaking so well as you.» She said, «I don’t speak French!» He said, «You’re kidding me!» She said, «No, I don’t speak French; I couldn’t say 'Puis-je avoir…? ' but that’s it.» He said, «You were speaking perfectly!»
It was a sign to him. Wow! He then looked at her and said, «Not only that, you were quoting in French scriptures.» And he would then say, «Turn to your Bibles to that scripture!» You quoted it before he said it. It was assigned to him! Are you following this? This is the kind of tongues that manifested on the day of Pentecost: these guys were untrained, unlearned, but they were speaking perfectly in the languages and dialects of those Jews that came from all over the world. It was a sign to them: my goodness! These uneducated men who have never learned my language are speaking my language perfectly, the wonderful works of God. It was a sign, and they got saved!
That’s tongues for a sign! Got it? Alright, the next one is tongues given for interpretation. The second one is public as well. These tongues are heavenly languages in which there are no dialects on Earth like them. You say, «Heavenly languages?» Yes! Do you know that Jesus has a name that nobody knows other than Himself? Do you know that He’s going to give you a stone, and something’s going to be written on that only you and He are going to know? There are heavenly languages. Are you with me? Yeah! So don’t be surprised by that!
Okay, I don’t know how all that works, but I know that’s what the Bible says. Alright? But it’s when a person begins to speak a language of heaven; it is not a language of the Earth that we don’t know and haven’t been trained in, but other people know. This is a completely different language that nobody on the face of the Earth knows. And to be honest with you, that’s the rest of the three tongues. I remember when I was in Singapore. I’m telling you, I will never forget this as long as I live. I’m getting ready to preach to a large church over there; there’s a balcony. All of a sudden, this man begins to speak in a foreign tongue. It is not any language of the Earth. It was a heavenly language!
It was so amazing; I’m sitting there, and the hairs on my arms are standing up. And then that man began to interpret the tongue. You have to understand this tongue is not translated; it’s interpreted because it’s a heavenly language, right? Okay? He began to interpret it, and his interpretation was the message I was going to preach that night! I’m like, «Oh my goodness!» Literally, hair on my arms stood up. That is tongues for interpretation; that is actually one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit that First Corinthians talks about.
Now, these are the tongues in the category that Paul was asking the question: «Do all speak in tongues?» Okay? So let me read it all in context. Has God appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, thirdly teachers? After that, miracles; then, gifts of healings; helps; administrations; varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? No. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Are all workers of miracles? No. Do all have the gifts of healings? No. Do all speak in tongues? What tongues is he talking about? Public tongues of a heavenly language that nobody understands? The answer is no! Do all interpret? The answer is no.
Paul is speaking about the ministry giftings that God has set in the church for public ministry. Certainly not all are apostles, or prophets, or teachers, or pastors, or have the gifts of miracles and healings. And all do not have the ministry gift of speaking in tongues or interpretation of the heavenly languages. Why is that? The answer is found in the following verse, 1 Corinthians 14:22–23. Listen carefully. Paul said, «Therefore, tongues"—now the tongues he’s talking about right now are tongues for a sign— «Therefore, tongues are for a sign not to those who believe, but to unbelievers.»
But then he goes on to say, «If the whole church comes together in one place and all speak in tongues,"—now he’s talking about tongues for interpretation, the heavenly tongues— «and there come in those who are uninformed and unbelievers, will they not say, 'You’re all mad and out of your mind? '» So he says tongues are for a sign. Then he says, «If you speak in tongues, they’re all going to think you’re mad and out of your mind.»
Now, if you didn’t understand there are four different types of tongues in the New Testament, you’re going to go, «He just contradicts himself! Tongues are for a sign to an unbeliever.» Then he says, «Unbelievers are going to say you’re all mad!» He contradicts himself. He doesn’t contradict himself. The first one he says is tongues for what? A sign! That’s when you’re speaking another language of this Earth that you’ve never been trained in, that French teacher—it was a sign! But if we all would have been speaking in tongues, the heavenly language when that French teacher walked in, he would have said, «You’re all out of your mind! You’re crazy!»
Right? That’s the two different public tongues, alright? Now let’s go to the third one. Are you getting something out of this? Tongues for personal prayer! Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:14–15: «For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.» Did you hear that? What’s my understanding? That’s my head, right? «What is the conclusion then?» Listen to what Paul says: «I will pray,» listen to the word «pray,» not «speak.» «I will pray with the spirit; I will also pray with the understanding.» That’s English. «I will sing with the spirit; I will also sing with understanding.» That’s English!
So what Paul is doing here is he’s identifying tongues as a prayer language. Are you with me? Because he talks about this in 1 Corinthians 14 when he says, «He who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God.» Now wait a minute! The other two public tongues, we’re talking to men, right? When that guy spoke in that tongue in Singapore—even though it was a heavenly language—he was speaking God’s message to us as a congregation and interpreting that message.
He was speaking to us. When the apostles on the day of Pentecost spoke in tongues for a sign, they were speaking to those people the wonderful works of God. Paul said, «When you speak in tongues, when you pray in tongues"—is he doing talking about either one here? When you pray in tongues, you don’t speak to men; you’re speaking to God! Right? That’s tongues for a prayer language. Are you getting this?
When we speak with one of the two public tongues, we are speaking to unbelievers, tongues for a sign, or to the church, tongues for interpretation. But when we pray in tongues, we speak to God, not men. Now listen to what Jude says: «But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.» That’s why every believer should pray in tongues!
Now let me make a statement: people will say, «Well, John, is the evidence that I have been filled with the Holy Spirit is the fact that I can speak in tongues?» Let me say this: a person can be filled with the Spirit and not speak in tongues. Why? Because they’re not yielding to the river. Just like I can wade into a river, and I cannot float on that river downstream because why? I’m not yielded to it. I will say this: every person that has been filled with the Spirit has the ability to pray in tongues. It’s just that maybe they haven’t stepped out in it yet because everything comes by faith, are you with me?
So make this clear. Make this known: you can be filled with the Spirit and not speak with tongues. Why? Because you simply haven’t yielded to it yet. I’ll talk more about that in the next session. Alright. Tongues for intercession, this is the fourth one. It’s private as well. Likewise, the Spirit also—this is Romans 8:26–28—"Likewise, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses.» What is our weakness? «For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercessions for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.»
Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercessions for the saints according to the will of God. Now he’s talking about tongues for intercession. I’ll never forget the time I was in a fraternity in college and I had a Bible study going on for all the fraternity. And the night before, I preached on the Holy Spirit, and there was a girl in our Bible study; we had about 60 kids coming, you know, fraternity people, coming to the Bible study and this girl had been raised in a denomination that taught her that tongues had passed away when the Bible came.
So she came in, and she started listening to me teach the Bible, and she went, «Oh my goodness! There it is, right there!» So she got filled with the Holy Spirit that night. Well, the next morning her sorority house was right across the street from ours. They wake me up on the intercom at like 6:30. I’m a college student; I sleep in until late! Okay? So I come, you know, put some clothes on; I’m rubbing my eyes. I walk out, and there she is! She’s so excited! She’s beaming! And I said, «What’s going on?» She said, «Oh my gosh!» She said, «God woke me up at 5:00, and I just felt this urge to pray in tongues!»
So she said, «I just started praying, and I felt like I was interceding. I asked God to show me what I was doing, and the Lord said, 'You’re praying and interceding for an older man’s life. His life is at stake.'» So she said, «I just kept praying in tongues.» She said, «At 6:00, my roommate got an emergency call. Her grandfather had an emergency heart attack. They rushed him to the hospital; they were able to save him. His life has been spared.» She said, «The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, 'You were praying for him! '»
That’s tongues for intercession! Are you with me? You see, let me tell you something: I don’t know what’s going on with my mom right now; she’s in Florida. I don’t know what’s going on with my sister in California or my sister in Michigan; I don’t know what’s going on with my friend in North Carolina. But you know what? The Holy Spirit does! And so I can make intercession by yielding myself to Him. Are you with me?
Alright, so how many are missing out today because they believe man’s ignorant teaching why tongues have passed away yet hear God’s heartfelt cry: «1 Corinthians 14:5, I wish you all spoke with tongues!» Somebody say that’s Paul writing that! No, no, Scripture is not of private interpretation, and all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. That is God crying out, «I wish you all spoke with tongues!»
Paul makes a statement in 1 Corinthians 12:1, and this is actually the Spirit of God saying it: «I don’t want you to be ignorant when it comes to spiritual gifts, speaking in tongues and the other gifts.» But then at the end of 1 Corinthians 14, he makes a statement that’s amazing: «But if anyone is ignorant, let him remain ignorant.» In other words, if you don’t want to understand this, then stay ignorant! You’re going to miss out on a really wonderful ability to communicate with Me! That’s why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:38–40, «Do not forbid speaking in tongues.»
Why does God wish that we all spoke in tongues? Everybody, I’m going to share that with you in the next session. See you then!