BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT - THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INITIAL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF TONGUES

Acts 1:8 says that “But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] …”. I have always thought of that power as having to do with speech, and that is true. His anointing enables us to declare the good news of salvation in the same way that caused the people listening to Peter in Acts 2 to react the way they did in verse 37: “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”

Not only do we receive power to speak but we receive power to live holy lives. Our power in witnessing can be greatly enhanced or diminished by how we live. As I have said in one of my previous blogs, the greatest enemies of, and the greatest weaknesses of, the believer’s witness are those who claim to be followers of Christ, but bear little, if any resemblance to Him. For far too many believers they can only say, “Do as I say, not as I do.” What appeal do the lives of believers have to non-believers when they can’t see any difference in the way they live from their own lives?

It's the power of the fullness of the Holy Spirit that enables us to live in holiness. It’s His presence within us that provides us with the grace and comportment of living that is desirable to those who are being crushed under the weight of sin and the fear of death. If we are living lives of holiness then it gives them hope that God will enable them to live in the same way.

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INITIAL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES WHEN BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Speaking in tongues throughout the book of Acts was a sign that people were filled/baptized in the Holy Spirit. Black’s Law Dictionary gives us the legal definition of a sign. “To affix one’s name to a writing or instrument, for the purpose of authenti-cating it, or to give it effect as one’s act.” Speaking in unknown tongues is the “signature” of the Holy Spirit’s coming in fullness into a believer’s life. It is a sign that we have received what we have requested from God. Since we cannot “see” the Holy Spirit it makes sense that there would be a physical manifestation of his presence.

Some would say that we shouldn’t ask for signs and remind us of what Jesus said in Matthew 12:39: “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign!” But Jesus went on to say, “But none will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Jesus didn’t say that he wouldn’t give them a sign, it’s that he wouldn’t give them the signs they were looking for. Instead, he gave them the ultimate sign that he was the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead.

The Old and the New Testaments are filled with instances of God giving signs to his children. God gave Noah the sign of the rainbow. Abraham’s servant declared that God had given him a sign when Rebekah came to the well. God gave Moses two signs (snake & leprosy) to show the Israelites and Pharaoh that he was sent from God. Gideon asked God for two signs that he was called to lead the Israelites and God confirmed his calling and gave him a third sign as a confidence booster. God told Ahaz, through Isaiah, to ask him for a sign and Ahaz refused too. So God gave him a sign that a virgin would give birth to a son who would be called Immanuel.

God continued to give signs in the New Testament. Jesus said this about John the Baptist: “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John…”. And yet this great man of God had such serious doubts about the divinity of Jesus that he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” “And he answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.’” These were signs.

In Mark 16:17ff we have the following, “These signs shall follow them that believe…”.

In Matthew 24:3, Jesus’ disciples asked him what would be the sign of his coming? Beginning in verse 4-31 Jesus tells them what will happen before his return. In verse 33 he says, “Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”

The best proof of the importance of signs is given in John 20:30-31: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples…these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ…and that believing you may have life in his name.”

Jesus did many other signs because he knew the disciples would have days in the future just like John the Baptist did, when things wouldn’t go as expected, and they would rely on those signs from the past to remind them that he was truly God.

I believe that is one reason for the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues. It is a sign that God has given us for those days when every one of us will be plagued with doubt as to whether we were filled with the Spirit.

I believe there is another aspect of the “initial physical evidence” of being filled with the Spirit. The definition of initial: “Of, relating to, or occurring at the beginning; first.” The word first indicates there is something to follow. It can happen that too much stress is placed by some on speaking in tongues. Just as Jesus gave many other signs that he was truly the Son of God, there are more signs of the Holy Spirit than just the initial physical evidence.

1 Corinthians 14:4 says, “Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves…”. The Greek word used here for edify according to Strong’s Concordance is “to build a house - to edify – literally, "build someone up," helping them to stand (be strong, "sturdy").” We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), so as we pray in tongues the Holy Spirit is building more room within us for more of His presence and power.

When I retired I became a realtor, which inspires me to visualize the Spirit’s work in us like a re-model of an older home. He’s making the old man new. He rips out self-reliance and builds within us dependance on God. He removes the room in us filled with pride and fills it with humility. The presence of the Spirit removes doubt and replaces it with faith. He drives out the darkness within us and fills us with light. He takes out of us trashy, vulgar talk and replaces it with wholesome speech which Paul speaks about in Ephesians 4:29 (AMP), “Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak].” When we pray in the Spirit he gives us power to “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

As Christians, our enemy is constantly bombarding us with the world’s values and ways of thinking through electronic media (social media platforms, news media, movies & television), educational institutions, politics, and false religions. By praying in tongues we receive the power we need to “…not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

The more we pray in the Spirit the more power we receive to live our lives in a way that brings glory and honor to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. That’s why we read again and again in the book of Acts these common words and phrases: “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit” (4:8); “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (4:31); “full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (6:3); “Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (6:5); “But being full of the Holy Spirit” [Stephen] (7:55); “be filled with the Holy Spirit” [Paul] (9:17); “full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” [Barnabas] (11:24); “Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit” (13:9); “And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (13:52). The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not just a one-time experience. It’s an ongoing process. We are to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit.

In our physical body, the more energy we expend the more energy intake (protein) we need to maintain our strength. If you’re into body building then you won’t be satisfied with maintaining your current strength. You will want to grow your strength which will require even greater amounts of protein intake.

It’s the same way spiritually. The Holy Spirit is our “spiritual protein” which enables us to accomplish two things. He helps us to eradicate the “self-life” so ingrained within us so that we become more consistently like Jesus. As a result, the more we become like Jesus the greater our battles will be with our enemy, Satan. His attacks against us will become more frequent, as well as more intense, because he will view us as more of a threat to his kingdom. Hence, the continual need to be re-filled with the Holy Spirit.

Many recognize Paul as the greatest apostle that ever lived. Could his statement recorded in 1 Corinthians 14:18 be the reason God was able to use him so greatly? “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.”

There is yet another reason for speaking in tongues. “Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers” (1 Corinthians 14:22). In Acts 2:5-8, (NIV) it says, “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?” We then read in verses 9-11a a list of all of the different nations and languages being spoken, and in conclusion, in verse 11b-12 – “…we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

I have heard many testimonies of people from foreign countries hearing people who did not know their language, speaking in tongues in their language in a church setting, and experiencing the same wonder and amazement as recorded in the verses above. I myself have had the blessing of being used once in this way.

The Bible has much to say about the tongue. “And the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our body’s parts as that which defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell… from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing… Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose, “He jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”? (James 3:6,10; 4:5, NASB)

Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity. (Proverbs 21:23)

For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.” (1 Peter 3:10)

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)

These and many other scriptures stress the effect and impact that the tongue has on us as well as others. Would it not be to our extreme benefit, and the extreme detriment of our enemy, to surrender our tongue to the Holy Spirit, and by so doing “declare the wonders of God?”