Good question!
First, let me state the doctrinal position of the Foursquare Church on the Baptism of the Spirit, and the gifts and fruit of the Spirit The following is an excerpt from the official Foursquare Doctrinal statement. . The full doctrinal statement can be found on the ICFG website.
“Baptism in the Holy Spirit:
We believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers believers to exalt Jesus, to live lives of holiness, and to be witnesses of God’s saving grace; we expect the Spirit’s incoming to be after the same manner as that in which He came upon believers in the days of the Early Church (Acts 1: 5, 8; 2:4).
Our denomination’s founder wrote, “. . . the believer may have every reason to expect His incoming to be after the same manner as that in which He came upon Jew and Gentile alike in Bible days, and as recorded in the Word, that it may be truly said of us as of the house of Cornelius: the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning.
Scripture References
1. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever–the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (Jn.14:16,17)
2. “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:5,8)
3. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4)
4. “Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 8:17)
5. “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all 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 heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.” (Acts 10:44-46)
6. “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.” (Acts 19:6) “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16)
The Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit:
We believe that the Holy Spirit bestows enabling ministry gifts upon believers, and that these gifts will build up the Body of Christ through edification and evangelism(1 Corinthians 12:1-11); as evidence of a Spirit-filled life, believers should show spiritual “fruit”: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Galatians 5:22-25).”
Scripture References
1. “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:...But earnestly desire the best gifts...” (1 Cor. 12:1,31) “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Cor. 12:11)
2. “Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.” (1 Cor. 14:12) “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Rom. 11:29)
3. “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Rom. 12:6-8)
I think it would be good for us to understand that today many believe that there is a difference between the “gift of tongues” and a Christian’s “praying in the Spirit” or “spiritual prayer language.” On one hand, the gift of tongues/spiritual language seems to be given situationally, for public use, with the gift of interpretation, and not necessarily to all believers. On the other hand, the blessing of praying in tongues/spiritual language seems to be available to all believers and has the function of powerful intercession and personal edification. There are many Christians who regularly pray in “tongues”, but have never manifested the public gift of tongues with interpretation.
It also seems normative in the New Testament that when the Holy Spirit came upon men and women in power, they would personally speak/pray/praise in a spiritual language/tongues(Mark 16:17; Acts 2:11ff; 10:46; 19:6). However, there are few today who would use tongues/spiritual language as a litmus test for Christianity.
The Apostle Paul discussed spiritual gifts (including tongues/spiritual language) being divinely given to individuals as the Holy Spirit wills (1 Corinthians 12). He teaches that these gifts are given as needed for the edification of the church corporately (1 Corinthians 14). He also makes a special point in to discuss the benefits of personal prayer and praise in a spiritual language, going as far as saying, "I want you all to speak in tongues . . .(14:5) I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you "(14:18). And of special note is 1 Corinthians 13, right in the heart of the discussion!
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5 comments:
In regard to speaking in tongues for prayer and praise, does the Lord not understand English, French, German, Chinese... as well? What could possibly be edifying by speaking in gibberish? What I have seen of those who claim to be speaking in tongues is a bit scary and repulsive. They seem to be speaking under the influence of a spirit, but not the Holy Spirit. They look to be possessed of an unclean spirit. I've tried to have understanding of tongues speaking, but just cannot find comfort and peace in accepting it. To me it does not make since. I know that in Acts 2, speaking in tongues refers to other languages, but other passages can be a bit confusing. How can one be sure that those who "are speaking in tongues" are actually doing so, and not just fake or possessed of the wrong spirit? From where I stand, it is more edifying for unbelievers to be witnessed to in their own language, whether it be English or Samoan, not in a "spiritual language" as some claim to have the gift for. To unbelievers, Charismatics look like crazed fools, and thus are turned off by what they think represents all of Christianity. How sad. If you could shed more light on the current speaking in tongues, I would appreciate it.
Anonymous - you seem not to have read Greg's post, because your comment suggests you still do not understand speaking in tongues, (though I think Greg has done a good job). Use of pejoratives (gibberish, repulsive, crazed fools) seems out of step with the final, sincere request of your comment, "If you could shed more light on the current speaking in tongues, I would appreciate it."
Please re-read Greg's post. And be aware that believers also have the witness of the Spirit - so rather than reject it out of hand, I encourage you to explore it more deeply (come and speak with one of our pastors).
We are simply affirming the book of Acts - a history of the early church that does not have an end-point in our view, but continues until this day. Paul says that tongues edify - so it is not God who is having trouble understanding our native language, but an act from our spirits, in faith, responding to things spiritual.
Are some charismatic expressions phony or even demonic? Yes, we believe so. But that doesn't invalidate the genuine gift as expressed and exercised by believers all over the world. You have appealed to Scripture, so you will be pleased to know that it is biblical.
Nicklas,
Of course it seems that I do not understand your version of speaking in tongues, otherwise, I would not have asked for more light to be shed on it. I did read the pastor's post, but it is not clear on what it looks or sounds like for someone to be speaking in true "tongues". If you will go back to my post and then use a dictionary on the pejoratives, as you put it, (gibberish, repulsive, crazed fools), you'll see that I used them in the right way to convey what I was trying to say. Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagan are just two examples of individuals either pretending to be speaking in tongues or acting under the influence of the devil, and so they do look crazy and foolish, not only to unbelievers, but to true believers as well. It seems to me that you are just skirting my final question.
How does one know whether someone else has the true gift of speaking in tongues or is under the wrong influence? What is the purpose of speaking in the spirit, if one has no understanding of what you are saying, even the individual with the "gift"?
I can respond to things spiritual, just by obeying the very word of God and reflecting Him in every aspect of my life, through my thoughts, words, actions, and reactions. How does speaking in tongues edify? What does someone, who wants to know more, look for?
I love the exposition given by Gordon Fee in his commentary, The First Epsitle to the Corinthians, (in the NICNT series) in treating chapter 14 and would recommend those seeking further study look there. We have several copies for use in our church library.
Anonymous. I think I agreed with you regarding the false representations by saying, "Are some charismatic expressions phony or even demonic? Yes, we believe so. But that doesn't invalidate the genuine gift as expressed and exercised by believers all over the world." Discernment regarding the use of tongues in public will follow two forms, your own hearing from the Holy Spirit and its alignment with Scripture. And as you know, Paul himself takes issue with the Corinthian Church for how they exercised this gift as a congregation, so if you see such expressions you already have an answer.
The questions you are now asking are best answered, as I suggested earlier, by coming in and speaking with a pastor. The biblical model for receiving these gifts was primarily through the laying on of hands - in other words, there is a place for a personal touch. Please take me up on this invitation and if you are sincerely seeking (1Cor 12:31), I believe you will find the answers to these questions.
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