A great part of the Church today is not “neither hot nor cold,” experiencing little or nothing the life of Christ and, therefore, lacking in witnessing to it. Many of God’s people without instruction in the Word, and without experience in the true life of the Spirit, long for, however, a fuller knowledge of Christ and a more real experience of His power. It is to these that Satan addresses himself in this false Pentecostalism that pretends to manifest the life that is lacking in the churches, but only presents an emotional falsification of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit.
The Pentecostals maintain that they are baptized by the Holy Spirit and that the evidence that follows this baptism is the reception of the gift of tongues. This has no Scriptural foundation.
The first fruit of the presence of the Holy Spirit is holiness. This is not seen in Pentecostalism; On the contrary, there is often a marked tolerance of sin, accompanied by emotional extravagances. The Word of God warns us “By their fruits you will know them”.
The gift of tongues, that is to say of languages (because this is always the meaning of the word), was a manifestation of the Spirit of God. At Pentecost this manifestation had as its purpose the proclamation of the Good News to the Jews first, as the Lord had commanded. They had gathered in Jerusalem on that day, to celebrate the feast, Jews from many different nations, and spoke different languages. So the Holy Spirit, dwelling in the believers, enabled them to preach the Gospel on that day, in the different languages of these people. They did not speak in the so-called “heavenly tongues.” As pagans did, a jargon that no one can understand, which is simply the product of a forced and abnormal emotional state that, in many, is not difficult to induce.
In the first chapter of Corinthians fourteen, Paul is correcting the abuse of the gift of tongues in the church of Corinth. Some to whom the Holy Spirit had given a language, used it in the meeting of the church, even though there was no one among them who understood it. It was a gift given by the Holy Spirit, but it was used for self-glory and not under the guidance of the Spirit.
Others were indulging in the pagan practice of speaking in tongues as they had when they were pagans.
Paul is writing in the year 56 approximately, only 23 years after the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Church at Pentecost. Many of those who had been present in the Upper Room on that day and who had spoken in different languages were still living and not a few of them undoubtedly in the prime of their lives. There would therefore be no doubt among spiritual believers about what the gift of tongues really was. Peter had described it on the day of Pentecost and had declared it to be the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. It was a simple fulfillment, for Joel had clearly established that languages would be given to those who did not know them, to preach the Gospel to those who knew these languages. It was a real miracle. In Paganism, which surrounded the Jews at that time and of which many of the converts at Corinth had been won, the utterance of unintelligible words which they said were given by the gods in religious ceremonies was a common practice already The one that was given great importance; But there was something altogether different, which the pagan priests and sorcerers had never done, something that the living God could do only: living languages spoke to those who had not known them.
The Corinthians lived in a heathen city, licentious and extremely superstitious were affected by pagan morality and philosophy and it is evident that pagan superstition had influenced not only their morality, but also their judgment with respect to the manifestations, or gifts of the Spirit. This is seen in their lack of understanding and their abuse of the gift of languages. In pagan worship, the word unintelligible, considered as the language of a god, unknown to men, as miraculous and powerful. The fleshly converts of Corinth, who had previously believed this, could not distinguish between the ecstatic experiences and psychic pretensions of the pagans and the true manifestations of the Spirit of God. While on the day of Pentecost live tongues were spoken, some of these Corinthian converts of paganism had corrupted the gift of languages to something which they were already accustomed to in their earlier pagan worship, considering celestial language as meaningless words.
This seems to have been the only church affected in this way, for many in Corinth it was still difficult for them to understand that an idol was nothing and that the sacrificed flesh was simply meat (1 CORINTHIANS 8: 1-7). It was difficult to get rid of the influence of old beliefs. When considering the errors in the church in Corinth it is necessary to take into account the influence of your past lives. I should not have had such an influence on them. The Holy Spirit would have saved them from it, as it does with everyone who gives themselves completely to Him, but they were carnal. In that state the old superstitions still influenced his thoughts and actions.
No gift of the Spirit was given to speak to God; it was not necessary.
Christ did not speak to God by means of a heavenly language manifested by the Spirit. All the gifts of the Spirit were given to speak, or otherwise to minister to men.
“For as a body we have many members, but not all members have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and all members of one another.
Therefore, having different gifts, according to the grace that is not given, if the gift of prophecy, use according to the measure of faith; Or if of service, in serving; Or the one who teaches, in teaching; He who exhorts in the exhortation; The one who distributes, with request; He who does mercy, with joy. ” (ROMANS 12: 4-8.)
“I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant of the spiritual gifts. You know that when you were Gentiles, you were led astray, carrying you, to dumb idols.
Therefore, I tell you that no one who speaks by the Spirit of God calls Jesus an anathema; No one can call Jesus Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the Spirit is the same.
And there is a diversity of operations, but God, who makes all things in all, is the same. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for profit.
For to him is given by the Spirit a word of wisdom; To another, a word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; And to another, gifts of healing by the same Spirit. To another, to perform miracles; To another, prophecy; To another, discernment of spirits; To another, different kinds of tongues; And to another, interpretation of tongues.
But all these things make them one and the same Spirit, distributing to each one in particular as he wants. For as the body is one, and has many members, but all the members of the body, being many are one body, so is Christ.
For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether they be Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free; And we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
Moreover, the body is not one member, but many.
If I say the foot: Because I am not hand, I am not of the body, therefore it will not be of the body?
And if I say the ear: Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body, therefore it will not be of the body?
If the whole body were an eye, where would the ear be? If everything were heard, where would the smell be? More now God has placed the members each as he pleased.
Because if they were all one member, where would the body be?
But now there are many members but the body is one.
Neither can the eye say to the hand, I do not need you, nor the head to the feet: I have no need of you. Rather the members of the body who seemed weaker are the most necessary; And those of the body that seem to us less worthy, we clothe them more worthily; And those who are less decorous in us are treated with more decorum.
For those who are more honorable in us have no need; But God ordained the body, giving more abundant honor to the one that was lacking, lest there be disagreement in the body, but that all members should care for one another. So if one member suffers, all members will grieve with him, and if one member receives honor all the members enjoy.
You, for you are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
And God placed some in the church, first apostles, then prophets, third teachers, then those who perform miracles, then those who heal, those who help, those who administer, those who have the gift of tongues. Are they all apostles? Are they all prophets? All teachers Do they all do miracles?
Do they have all healing gifts?
do all languages speak? do they all interpret?
Seek then the best gifts.
But I show you a much better way.”
(1 CORINTHIANS 12: 1-31.)
“Each according to the gift he has received, minister to others as good stewards as the manifold grace of God.
If any man speak, let him speak according to the words of God; If any minister, minister according to the power that God gives, that all may be God glorified by Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and the empire for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10 – 11).
The pagan belief that one could communicate better with the gods by the language of the gods. The believer in Christ knows that he only has to raise his heart to God and that God understands him better than he understands himself.
But let us take a closer look at the situation that Paul faced in Corinth. This is necessary if we are to understand what he writes in the chapter 14 of Corinthians. It will still give light on the words he uses. The Greek word translated Mystery in verse two is musterion. The term in Spanish has been adapted from the Greek. The definition of musterión is “a secret or a mystery” (for the idea of silence imposed by initiation in religious rites): -misterio. It is a term commonly used in the pagan religions and also in the New Testament referring to the things of God that could not be known by the man except by revelation of God. The revelation given by the Holy Spirit of these things is not dark but clear and is given to be communicated to the people of God.
(1 CORINTHIANS 2: 1-16). It is not given in private by unknown words.
In pagan religions, this word referred to the hidden secrets of the gods, which only the initiates could know. Those who were initiated into such mysteries claimed to have contact with the spirit world through emotional excitement, revelations, working miracles and speaking unfamiliar words that were revealed by the spirits. In the New Testament Church every believer is initiated.
THE PAGAN MYSTERIES
The word “mystery” had much more meaning for the believers to whom Paul wrote, than what he has for us today. At that time the mysteries were the central and significant part of the religion of the Greeks. A description of the ceremonies that were related to the mysteries, is given to us by WHRa. He writes:
“The Mysteries were among those of antiquity a place similar to that of the Holy Sacraments in the Christian Church.
The intention was to admit all who were not notoriously evil; The crime he disqualified was an unexpired homicide. It was believed that the solemnity and grandeur of the ceremony had the tendency to produce a marked effect on the character of the initiate …
It is obvious that the essential point on which the effect of the ceremony depended was that the minds of the initiates were over-excited, to a point of vehement, rapturous expectation, and intense attention. The attentive silence of the spectators to the Mysteries was very noticeable. Many were the means that contributed to produce this state. Candidates were given a certain amount of training and prior instruction …
Finally, the physical circumstances of the initiation were such that they produced a state of exhalation and increased nervous sensitivity. The nine days of fasting observed very strictly, the prolonged march from Athens to Eleusis, and the frequent religious ceremonies with which it was marked, the wandering by night on the beaches and plains of Eleusis, with torches in search of the lost Cora all contributed To produce a state of forced enthusiasm … Then came the true Mysteries; Were given entrance to the mystae (candidates) for the initiation to the sacred building; The splendid lighting seemed dazzling by its clarity after the darkness outside, the strange apparitions, the impressive voices, the magnificent dresses of the actors, the magnificence of the sacred drama to which it contributed without doubt in a great way, the air highly suggestive and symbolic Of Greece all this they saw and heard in terrified silence … The scene that takes place in each modern Greek church, on the eve of Easter Sunday gives a vague idea of the character of this ceremony … It is impossible to reconstruct the Mystical ritual but we are given enough indications to understand its general character. It consisted of actions and words that were supplemented to each other and both being necessary to be an intelligible set. The words were obscurely uttered phrases and traditional songs whose sanctity was due to their antiquity, did not have didactic character and were barely intelligible without prior instruction. “[1] .
At the time Paul wrote, ceremonies concerning the Mysteries had been greatly affected by the influence of Asia Minor and the East, which had been introduced several centuries before Christ and were deeply ingrained. What we have described above describes the ceremonies as they had been in the beginning, but by Paul’s time there had been added grosser superstitious practices, prostitution before the altar and mutilation of priests.
We quote again WHRa:
“After wave of religious influence in Asia Minor, they introduced the non-moderate barbarian rituals of Phrygia in Greece.” Rites first spread among the common people and those engaged in foreign trade, and comic poets satirized them and Plato and Demosthenes But they continued to spread, with all their ardent enthusiasm, their superstition and their obscene practices, widely among the people whose religious thirst was not satisfied with the purely external religion of elenism.the orgies or mysteries were open to all, free or slaves , Who had duly fulfilled the preliminary purifications, assuring to the participants the salvation and the remission of sins … The strange enthusiastic character of the old religion of Phrygia was not lost completely when the religion became Christian, because they are found Clear traces in the various heresies that arose in Central Anatolia “Enc.Brit. 9 th. EA. Take 18, 867.
As we have seen, speaking of unknown Celestial languages, the word or phrase without meaning, had an important place in this pagan cult. It was believed that the words had been revealed by a God or Spirit to the priest or amateur while he was extremely excited or in a state of ecstasy; To this day, in the pagan regions, static talk in an unknown language is a common phenomenon. It is believed that the Spirit speaks through the mouth of the sorcerer, or that the sorcerer speaks to his Spirit with powerful words that are unknown to man.
The following quote from the book “Religions of Primitive Peoples” (pp. 91-93) is of interest. “Sir George Gray relates a story about a huge carved wooden head in New Zealand that could speak and which, by the terrible power of his words, killed all who were approaching, but when, by superior magic, His voice was reduced to a whisper, his power disappeared and he was destroyed.
It is noteworthy that the magical influence of the word is independent of its meaning. It is clear that its effectiveness is not attributed to the idea, image or truth it conveys. On the contrary, the most potent of all words are those that have no meaning or of which the meaning has been lost. This is constantly seen in the formulas of the wild tribes. They preserve archaisms of language that are no longer understood by those who utter it, and in other instances it is obvious that they are composed of syllables united without regard for intelligibility.
The same fact is fully found in the cabalistic jargon of classical and medieval diviners and in the sacred charms of contemporary folklore.
In fact the famous Kabbalist, Pico de Mirándola, affirms that a word without meaning is the one that has more power over the demons.
Therefore not only can one or a few words be unintelligible, but long communications may be inarticulate sounds that do not transmit any sound.
This is “gift of tongues,” the power to speak in unknown tongues.
It is common to wildlife.
Many of the most important chants in sacred ceremonies are mere repetitions of meaningless syllables. The idea seems to be that what man can not understand can be understood by the gods; Or, that is the god that is expressed by human organs but in a language unknown to the human ear. Bishop Galloway says that the Zulus spell chants are often almost unintelligible to them; And this is one of many examples. “
Pagan practice in Corinth.
As has been said, there is no difference between the manifestation of languages at Pentecost and what is mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. There is no change in the Greek words that Paul uses. What makes the difference is the mixture in Corinth and the pagan concept and practice of speaking in leagues. The difference is simple and fundamental. It is commonly said that chapter fourteen of Paul’s letter presents great difficulties. Not really; Is one of the most informative, instructive and revealing parts of what he wrote, shedding light on the situation he faced in that church and the way he dealt with it. The confusion is due to two things:
1) The failure to take into account the influence of the pagan formation of the carnal believers in Corinth.
“Ye know that when ye were Gentiles, I led you astray unto dumb idols.”
(1 CORINTHIANS 12: 2).
2) The ignorance in general of the church of today about the true gifts, or manifestations of the Spirit. In the Early Church the Holy Spirit gave living tongues for the preaching of the Gospel. This was a sign of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, given to the unbeliever.
It was something unknown in pagan religions. Speaking in tongues among pagans, even when given a place of great importance, was far inferior, based on superstitions; Was to speak in a language unknown to man, who was supposedly taught by a god or spirit to communicate privately with them. His meaning was not known to the worshiper he spoke “mysteries” (secrets) with his god in words more powerful than any human language. It gave him a privileged, intimate contact with his god.
Some in the church at Corinth were indulging in the pagan form of speaking in tongues, accompanied by emotional extravagances, to which they had been accustomed since before their conversion. Not everyone in Corinth had fallen into this error. Some (a minority, it seems) walked in the Spirit.
Some, no doubt, had received from the Spirit the true gift of living language, but some of these were carnally using this gift for their own glory. Thus there was in Corinth the pagan practice of speaking in tongues as well as the abuse of the true gift of tongues.
In dealing with this situation, Paul writes to the church the following instructions:
“Follow the love, and seek the spiritual gifts, but above all that you prophesy.
For he who speaks in tongues does not speak to men, but to God; For no one understands him, although by the Spirit he speaks mysteries.
But he who prophesies speaks to men for edification, exhortation, and consolation.
He who speaks in a foreign tongue is also built up; But he that prophesieth edifieth the church. “(1 Corinthians 14: 1-4.)
Paul is contrasting the cult of Diana with her personal objective and the cult of the believer who seeks the edification of the body of Christ. These believers in their days in paganism had believed that when they spoke a language not understood by men, not even by the worshiper, they were speaking secrets or mysteries (musterion) with their god. They believed that it was their spirit that spoke.
The benefit was received only by the worshiper no other understood.
The worshiper benefited from the ecstasy of excited feelings and the feeling that he was actually engaging with the spirits in the inner circle. He did not think of building the other worshipers. Paul contrasts this selfish goal with the Christian objective. The purpose of the manifestations of the Spirit of God is that the whole congregation be built up.
Paul had explained that:
“But to every one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for profit.” (1 CORINTHIANS 12: 7.)
On Pentecost was given the gift of languages so that the Gospel was made known to all who did not know him, not for the personal benefit of the worshiper. This goal is very evident in Pentecostalism. It is completely contrary to the nature of Christ, to the Word of God and to God’s purpose for His people and His Church.
“Therefore I would that all of you should speak with tongues, but rather than prophesy: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh in tongues, unless he interpret them, that the church may receive edification.
Now then, brethren, if I speak to you in tongues, what shall he profit you, if I speak not with revelation, or with knowledge, or with prophecy, or with doctrine?
Certainly the inanimate things that produce sounds, such as the flute or the zither, if they do not distinguish between voices, how will one know what is played with the flute or the zither?
And if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?
So you also, if you do not speak by the tongue a word well understood, how will you understand what you say? Because you will speak in the air.
There are so many kinds of languages, certainly in the world, and none of them are meaningless.
“But if I do not know the value of words, I will be a stranger to the speaker, and he who speaks will be like a foreigner to me.
So do you; For you long for spiritual gifts, to seek to abound in them for the edification of the church. “
(1 Corinthians 14: 5-12)
Paul is emphasizing that speaking of them should be intelligible to benefit the hearers, in contrast to the unintelligible talk of the pagans.
Even inanimate things, Paul says, such as the flute, for example, if the notes played are not distinguishable, who will recognize the tune? And if the trumpet notes are not clear, how will the soldier understand his message?
Paul is using very simple illustrations, writing like children.
Indeed, he says, there are many languages in the world, but whatever language they speak, if it is not accompanied by those who hear, they will be strangers to one another. Therefore, since they are so eager to manifest spiritual gifts, see that it is for the benefit of the Church.
I would like you all to speak foreign languages, Paul says, but do not be children, be men. Think! What do they do when they speak in the church in an unknown language? No one understands them nor is any one built.
They are alone “talking secrets” privately with their God. He who speaks and prays well but no other is benefited.
What good would it do you if I came to you speaking in a language you do not understand? I would be a stranger to you and you would be to me.
Rather, I would prefer to speak to you five words that you can understand than ten thousand words that you can not understand. “
Paul speaks with a mixture of patient reasoning and devastating irony.
“Wherefore, let him that speaketh in a strange tongue pray that he may interpret it.
For if I pray with an unknown tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is without fruit.
So? I will pray with the spirit but I will also pray with the understanding; I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing also with the understanding “(1 Corinthians 14: 13-15).
If he prayed in an unknown language, Paul says it would simply be my spirit praying as the pagans did not understand what I am praying. What would he do then? I will pray led by the Spirit but I will pray, understanding what I am praying; I will praise guided by the Spirit but in words that I understand.
“For if you bless only the spirit, who occupies the place of a simple hearer, how will the Amen say to your thanksgiving? For he does not know what you have said.
For you, indeed, give thanks; But the other is not edified. “(1 Corinthians 14: 16-17)
Even though you yourself are giving thanks in a foreign language, Paul continues, the one who hears you will not be educated and can not join you with an amen in your heart.
“I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you, but in the church I prefer to speak five words with my understanding, to teach others also, that ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.
Brethren, be not children in the way of thinking, but be children in malice, but mature in the way of thinking.
In the law it is written: In other tongues and with other lips I will speak to this people; And they will not even hear me, says the Lord.
So tongues are a sign, not to believers, but to unbelievers; But prophecy, not to unbelievers, but to believers “(1 Corinthians 14: 18-22).
Paul’s statement about his own experience is explained later in this chapter. The gift of languages was given to the unbeliever, so that he could hear the Gospel in a language he understood and be convinced of sin and salvation. It was not given for the personal edification of the believer. It is not a sign to the believer.
“If the whole church is gathered together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and when there come in unbelievers or unbelievers, shall they not say that you are mad? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or unlearned man enters, He is judged by all, the secret of his heart is made manifest, and thus, falling on his face, he will worship God, declaring that God is truly with you.
What, then, brothers? When you meet, each one of you has a psalm, has a doctrine, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let everything be done for edification.
If any one speaks in a foreign tongue, let this be for two, or at most three, and in turn; And one interpret.
And if there is no interpreter, walk in the church, and speak for himself and for God. Likewise, the prophets speak two or three, and the others judge. And if anything be revealed to another who is seated, let him go first. Because you can prophesy all one by one, so that all may learn and all be exhorted.
And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; For God is not the God of confusion, but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, let your women be silent in the congregations; For it is not permitted to speak to them, but to be subject, as the law also says.
And if you want to learn something, ask your husbands at home; Because it is unseemly for a woman to speak in the congregation.
Has the word of God gone out from you, or has it come to you alone?
If anyone thinks he is a prophet, or spiritual, acknowledge that what I am writing to you are the Lord’s commandments. But the ignorant ignore.
So, brethren, seek to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking tongues; But let all things be done decently and in order. “
(1 Corinthians 14: 23-40)
“Languages” in all these quotations means languages; In this case foreign languages.
Corinth was a great people that received ships of many nations. It had a mixed population of Greeks, Romans and Jews. She was rich, lover of luxury and notoriously immoral. Being a port, people who spoke different languages were visiting the city. The believers among them gathered. Speaking in a foreign language in the congregation, whether or not given by the Spirit, should be restricted to two, or at most three, and allowed only if there was an interpreter so that all could understand and receive benefit.
The gift of interpretation is explained below, as well as other points related to this chapter.
Analyzing this chapter, we can follow the commandments and reasoning that Pablo wrote to this church. The meaning of his words would be clear to all of them.
(1) With regard to speaking in unknown words, in a non-living tongue (as did the pagans), it was forbidden, and the reasons are given.
(2) With regard to speaking in a living tongue given by the Spirit, but unknown to the hearers, this was also forbidden, unless it could be interpreted.
The reasons are also given. But it was made clear that it should not be banned when there was an interpreter.
(3) It is declared that the gift of prophecy (preaching), defined as “speaking to men for edification, exhortation and comfort” 1 Corinthians 14: 3. It is greater than the gift of a living language and that all should seek it avidly.
The purpose of the gift of a living language was only so that the Gospel could be preached to those who otherwise could not hear it, and not for a display of power to speak it.
(4) The gift of a living tongue was not a sign to believers but to unbelievers, for whom it was a condemnatory sign.
This gift was not given for the believer to display it among believers. It was not for the benefit of the believer or for his glory.
(5) The gift of speaking in tongues was not to enable the believer to “speak secrets with God.” That was a pagan concept. Never, in all God’s dealings with men gave, spiritual words to communicate with Him; Is completely contrary to the way in which He communicates with men and men with Him.
Only among the pagans existed such a practice.
The gift was to speak and be understood by all. “So you also, if you do not give a very understandable word by the tongue, how will you understand what you say?
For you shall speak in the air. “1 Corinthians 14: 9 Preaching must be understood for those who hear,” if it is in the Spirit, according to the word. “Concerning prayer, it is also said to be intelligible To the other brothers present, so that it may be possible to say to them Amen.
The promise of Christ was:
“You shall receive power” – to be witnesses (Acts 1: 8). The power was to testify.
(6) in the New Testament churches, each member was a priest with the right and responsibility to take part in the ministry at church meetings. However, Paul limits the number of those who should take part in a meeting. No more than two, or the sumo three should minister in a foreign language by interpretation. The number of speakers in a known language is also limited to two or three.
(7) No more than three at a time should take part. This includes the orgy and emotional disorder of having many preaching, witnessing, and praying at the same time.
(8) No one should monopolize time; Should be given the opportunity to take part to others who feel they have something of the Lord to give.
(9) “The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets”
(1 Corinthians 14:32.) This exposes a fundamental spiritual principle.
Those who indulge in emotional extravagance, held that they were under the control of the Spirit and therefore not personally responsible for what they did, so that they should not be criticized.
They said that the Holy Spirit was responsible.
Many sincere believers have been called into error by a non-Scriptural worship of the Holy Spirit. The presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in the believer is vital, but Christ must always be “all and in all” and the Word of God must be our only foundation and source of knowledge. The activity of the Holy Spirit is always and only to manifest and exalt Christ and He will never act or guide against the Word of God. Likewise, it never annuls the will of the believer; The will of the believer remains independent; He must always be cleverly prepared for the will of God. He is always fully responsible for his actions and for obeying the Word of God. As Paul said, “I will pray with the Spirit, but I will also pray with the mind.” Nor will he lead such confusion that his emotions cloud his mind. Trying to surrender to the Spirit in such a way that one has no mind or self-will is a mistake and is dangerous. It has led many to disaster, opening the way for deceiving spirits to take control, falsifying the work of the Holy Spirit and diverting from the Word of God.
For such believers the Word of God becomes less important than the supposed guidance of the Spirit and they become blind to the error in which they find themselves, believing they have received it by direct revelation of the Spirit.
In contrast to the work of the Holy Spirit, demons remove man’s control of himself. They seek control over their body, mind, emotions, and will. The Corinthians knew this.
(10) “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men for edification, exhortation, and comfort.” (1 Corinthians 14: 3)
Here Paul gives a clear and precise definition of the gift of prophecy in the New Testament. It is not the prediction of new things; It is not prophecy in that sense. It was the preaching in the power of the Spirit, the revealed word of God, which has already been given to us. These Corinthians with their forgeries of spiritual gifts and their pride, needed this warning. In the Old and New Testaments we have a complete revelation for this time and we are solemnly warned not to add anything or remove anything from it. At this age, revelation, as to doctrine and future events is closed. The so-called prophecies given at Pentecostal meetings are the illusions of people who are emotionally excited, whose statements are often very evidently foolish and worthless, or statements that make them pronounce lying spirits.
Agabus, when he spoke to Paul, gave no new revelation. He was sent by God to warn Paul not to go to Jerusalem at that time. The church in Tire had already given this warning to Paul. (Acts 21: 3-4.)
The Holy Spirit is with us to guide our steps and can use others to speak to us if we do not listen to Him is a matter of personal direction.
The heathen were accustomed to hear the spirits speaking for the men.
The New Testament speaks of such spirits. Several spoke to Christ through the mouths of men. The girl who had the spirit of divination that was healed by Paul, brought gain to his master by his revelations. (Acts 16: 16-40) The oracles of the gods were consulted for many things and their answers were often correct. Some carnal believers in Corinth, who had previously been heathen, had once again been influenced by all this, seeking messages and prophecies revealed by spirits. Paul reminds them of the true meaning of the prophecy for the believer. The Corinthians should have understood this.
(11) Everything in the meeting must be done decently and in order. This excluded the emotional disorder to which they had given themselves and to which it was wanted by manifestation of Spirit. The Spirit of the living God would never act or make anyone act in a manner that was not decorous and orderly. This is seen throughout the Creation of God in all his actions and in his manifestation in Christ. The opposite is seen in emotional religion. A significant contrast is seen on Mount Carmel when Elijah, the servant of God, prayed and acted with confidence and with a quiet and moderate dignity, and the priests of Baal sought to awaken their god with an abandonment of emotionalism, shouting and cutting.
(12) Paul asserts that there was no such disorder in the meetings of any other church.
He asks these carnal Corinthians, who made so much boast of a superior spirituality and gifts of the Spirit. “Did the Word of God come from you, or came to you alone?” He makes use of irony. There are times when this is very necessary, as when he wrote to Titus, a fellow-chaplain. “This testimony is true, so rebuke them harshly, that they may be made whole in the faith.”
(Titus 1:13.)
In the eleventh chapter of First Corinthians. Paul stated:
“… for ye are not gathered together for the better, but for the worse … when ye gather together, this is not eating the Lord’s supper.” (Vers.17, 20). The meeting around the Lord’s Table had been corrupted in such a way that they could no longer be considered to be partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
His other meetings were also “for bad”. In chapter fourteen, Paul continues to deal with abuses in his public meetings, referring particularly to the gift of languages.
Has the gift of tongues which manifested itself in the early years of the church as a sign of condemnation to the unbeliever gone on like the other manifestations of the Spirit? The history of the Church is clear on this point. In the beginning of the book of Acts, the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are very prominent, while in the second half of the same, they are given little place. As the Church came to maturity, so that the presence and power of Christ became manifest in her life and testimony, the most spectacular signs were losing prominence. They had served their purpose, now the presence and power of God in His people must be observed, as the life of Christ dwelling within them is revealed. That is the proof of the presence of the Spirit, a far more practical and convincing sign, a miracle greater than any miraculous intervention outside the Spirit of God.
Colossians 1: 25-29; 2: 9-11.
We do not say that no other miraculous sign has been given since then, and we have personally witnessed such manifestations of His power, but it has always been for a special purpose determined only by God. Wishing miraculous signs does not evidence spiritual maturity or health. It is evidence of a lack of spiritual maturity, a lack of experience of the inner life and power of the Spirit of God dwelling within, which satisfies fully.
Paul said to the Corinthians, “Do not be children in the way of thinking.”
False Claims
The fact is that today, with all the claims of having the gift of tongues, there is no definitely verified case of someone given the gift of a foreign language. Pentecostal missionaries have had to learn foreign languages with much difficulty and effort, as other missionaries have had to do. Some learn to speak other languages well, depending on their natural ability to master other languages. Also in the interpretation of one living language to another, on the pulpit or in writing, they have not shown more evidence of the gift of interpretation than other missionaries.
The advocate of speaking in tongues today may seem simple and correct. He says, “the gift of tongues was given to the Church at Pentecost, manifested in the churches of the New Testament, and should be manifested today.” The error and deception of this statement is that it is based on a completely false assumption, that speaking in tongues today and speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost are one and the same thing. Speaking in tongues that is practiced today and the gift of speaking languages given at Pentecost are completely different one is purely psychic, easily produced and easily explained psychologically; The other is evidently a true Divine miracle manifested for the salvation of souls. One is false, entirely of man, the other is real, a manifestation of the Spirit of the living God. Therefore, the argument is false. One belongs to the natural sphere, produces no spiritual fruit and its emotional manifestations disfigure the nature and character of God; The other is from the spiritual realm, manifesting the supreme power of God to carry out His will for man. It may be that the crude emotionalism that accompanies speaking in psychic tongues, to the activity of a god or spirit because he considers that his gods are subject to many of the same human weaknesses that affect him, but how can the believer associate it With the presence of the infinitely wise Spirit of God.
Throughout the entire chapter fourteen of 1 Corinthians Paul is contrasting pagan practice with Christian practice, the pagan “mystery” with the manifestation of the Spirit of God; The word without meaning that does not transmit knowledge or builds up anyone, with the intelligible word that gives knowledge and builds the Church.
With an unknown tongue, he says, referring clearly to pagan practice speaking in the air. With unknown words. They are speaking “in secret” with their god as do the pagans; No one else understands them. (The word “theos,” used here, is used in the New Testament both for the true God and for the false gods); Have some common sense; The people who come to your meetings will think they are crazy. But if they speak intelligible words they will be convinced.
Signs Given
(ISAIAH 28:11).
This shows that the gift of tongues serves as a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, but prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers (1 Corinthians 14: 21,22 Weymouth).
The miracle wrought by God making those who believed in him preach the Gospel in languages unknown to them, those who knew those languages, was an important sign of His power, manifesting his presence with his own, corroborating and making possible his testimony, Fulfilling the prophecy, condemning those who did not believe. The pagans, with their pretentious talk of words revealed by the gods not understood by men, had never been able to do this.
Christ did not manifest this gift. He never spoke in tongues. It was not necessary, nor was it in God’s purpose to do so. God corroborated the testimony of Christ by signs, on several occasions, but in other ways. For example, when Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration offered Christ false worship in buildings made by men, God spoke of heaven by rejecting him. This was a condemnatory sign given to the people of God a sign that is so necessary Today as it was then, because it is not taken into account. Later, when Christ died on the Cross, there were signs in the sky and the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. “What Christ affirmed of himself was justified by the Spirit.” (1ST TIMOTHY 3:16, and HEBREWS 2: 1-4.) The testimony of Christ was to the Jews, and he spoke to them in the language they understood. He manifested the gift of prophecy or preaching (1 CORINTHIANS 14: 3) the gift of tongues is not the sign of baptism or presence of the Spirit. He was filled with the Spirit and all the other manifestations of the Spirit were given in Him.
The gift of prophecy (preaching) belongs to believers. It is by the preaching of the Word that the Holy Spirit uses the believer. Just as it was the ministry of Christ must be in the ministry of the believer.
A Carnal Church
Paul had already described the spiritual condition of this church in the first part of his letter, a condition he had had to face from the beginning of his ministry to them:
“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as spiritual men, but as fleshly ones, as children in Christ: I fed you with milk, and not with flesh: for ye were not able to suffer it: .
For while ye are divided among you out of jealousy, strife, and the spirit of faction, is it not evident that ye are carnal, and that you walk as men? “
(1 CORINTHIANS 3: 1-3, Conybeare.)
This is not a church that can be taken as an example of understanding and spiritual life; On the contrary, it is the most complete example in the New Testament of a church that had fallen into defeat. It shows all the weaknesses of today’s churches that confuse emotionalism and carnal activity with the work of the Spirit. In the manifestation of the gift of languages at Pentecost there was a vibrant life; In the false manifestation of the gift of languages in Corinth there was carnal death and that death manifested itself in every section of the life of the church. A brother pleaded in court against another brother, immorality was tolerated such that the pagans would not allow, shameful abuses were practiced at the table of the Lord. To take as an example to follow in the spiritual experience to any of the practices of such a church can not be justified nor has an excuse. It shows the same lack of maturity that Paul condemns in the believers of Corinth.
It is strange that what Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the gift of tongues was so often twisted, giving it a very different meaning, that it did not teach any other church. Since the abuses practiced at Corinth have continued to reappear in the church, always with the same pretensions of a deeper spirituality, and miraculous experiences; And because of the low level of spirituality of the church in general, the people of God to remain, vaguely understood the true manifestations of the Spirit, not always pretensions and were given belief therefore, incline to assume that these false manifestations Are real, as you read and think you see allusions to them where none exist. What Paul writes ironically, condemning what is false and foolish, is taken as the affirmation of a fact, and simple statements are attributed to mystical meanings that have no basis in other parts of the Scriptures. Practices to which no other church had been delivered, which had been adopted from paganism around them, which were the result of the ignorance and carnal confusion that reigned in that congregation, are accepted as true manifestations of the Holy Spirit would certainly not manifest In a special way, more than in spiritual churches (or indeed in any way), in and by those who deliberately carnally tolerated gross sin in their midst.
Not all were carried away by the popular error, they were those who manifested themselves faithful, who communicated with Pablo telling him what was happening. It would be they who would cooperate with Titus when he went to minister to the church, carrying Paul’s letter. It was both through them and through Paul and Titus that God worked by bringing back to the congregation, to obedience and to the purity of faith and practice. This must be remembered by anyone in similar circumstances.
It is never necessary to submit to error.
Resonating Metal.
The mention of the languages of angels in 1 Corinthians 13: 1,2 is purely hypothetical. Paul says:
“If I speak with human and angelic tongues, and have no love, I am like a resounding metal, or a cymbal that reins…. And if I had prophecy, and understood all mysteries, and all knowledge, and had all faith , So that I would pass over the mountains, and have no love, I am nothing. “
As we have seen, Paul is emphasizing simply that if true love were not the basis of his preaching, even if he used the languages of angels besides men’s, his words would have no meaning or life. The deduction we draw is that such was the way of speaking of those who spoke unknown languages to the congregation, even though those languages were given by the Holy Spirit. Certainly, in the church of Corinth, with its divisions, quarrels, carnal procedures contrary to the Scriptures, and sin, love was very lacking, and therefore one could not expect true manifestations of the Spirit of God.
The Gift of Interpretation or Translation.
Pablo speaks of the gift of Interpretation of Languages. Some have assumed that this is for interpretation of some unknown Celestial language; That the Holy Spirit will give one such language and another the gift of translating it into a language spoken on Earth. There is no foundation for such an interpretation of these gifts. We are not given Celestial languages so that there can be no gift to interpret them. The gift of language interpretation is precisely what has been declared: the manifestation of the Spirit by enabling one whom He wants to use in this way, to interpret a spoken or written message given in an unknown language, to the listeners, to His Language, so that the message of the Spirit is transmitted to them correctly.
We have often interpreted for others and we have also spoken by interpretation, so that we can say from experience that it is so necessary to have the enlightenment and inspiration of the Holy Spirit to interpret as to preach. An interpreter who is not guided by the Spirit can completely fail to convey the spiritual meaning of the message.
Describing the inspiration of the Spirit to preach or teach spiritual things, Paul says:
“These are the things of which we speak, not with words taught by the wisdom of man, but by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual men.”
(1 Corinthians 2:13, Conybeare.)
For the interpretation or translation of such a message into another language the inspiration of the Spirit for the choice of words is equally necessary.
It is evident that this gift is necessary not only for the interpretation of the spoken word but also of the written word. The Word of God, given by inspiration in Hebrew and Greek, had to be translated into many languages.
This is a very difficult task and it is of paramount importance that the spiritual meaning is given correctly in each language. The gift of interpretation or translation is, therefore, of great importance for the propagation of the Gospel as important as preaching or prophecy. Without this gift no translator of the Word of God is truly equipped or trustworthy. Erudition is not enough. It is for this reason that some translations of the Bible are not entirely satisfactory.
Psychic Phenomena.
Those who know the “Pentecostal” movement know that laws and the manipulations used in hypnotism, mesmerism, and spiritualism are used to produce the effects that, they falsely claim, are the work of the Holy Spirit.
Pentecostal preachers seeking to produce revivals, and healers, rely on the rubbing of the head during the “laying on of hands” for “baptism of the Spirit,” emotional efforts to impart some influence through human contact, continuous repetition of A word (glory, alleluia, amen, etc …) And the advice to allow the tongue and jaw to move freely by themselves when they are looking for the “gift of tongues”, the use of methods known to induce hysteria In groups of people, to produce what they call “the signs that follow.”
Will it be necessary to say to those who know the true presence of the Holy Spirit that the “signs” produced in this way have no relation to His presence or His work, but are falsifications, purely psychic, sometimes deliberately feigned and exploited Often by evil spirits? This is the reason why one who is producing such effects may, at the same time, be in sin. The sanctity of life has no meaning in producing psychic phenomena. Nor has any influence on the practice of such phenomena, whether real or feigned.
The reason why the people of God can easily be deceived by such phenomena is the general ignorance with regard to their nature, their manifestations and how they are produced, together with the equally great ignorance that prevails in our day, of the true nature And manifestations of the activity of the Holy Spirit in the believer and through him. As sincere as a Pentecostal person (and is often truly sincere) this is the method he employs. We never find in the Word of God man obtaining the power of the Spirit of God by such means. The Holy Spirit is always sovereign, manifesting Himself “as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12: 11-18). He does this always and only according to the Word and the will of God. Man can never induce or produce his presence or power. The Spirit of God will be manifested “as He wills” according to the Word of God in each one of them and who walk “in the Spirit”, separated from sin, truly seeking the will of God by faith and given to Him because They love Christ with all their heart (John 14: 21,23).
The action that man must take is to separate himself from all that does not please God, to walk in complete obedience to His Word, to humbly seek to know His will in all things and to believe, without a doubt, that He will Will fully qualify for the power of His Spirit, to obey that will. Such a person will never need to induce a manifestation of the Spirit, the Spirit will be faithful in guiding it and will manifest through it, fulfilling all the will of God in his life. That the people of God are not able to discern the difference between psychic phenomena and a manifestation of the Spirit of the living God manifests the great lack of spiritual knowledge and experience in the churches of today.
Modern Pentecostalism is indeed a great deception with which Satan has mocked the people of God, without discernment, appearing as an angel of light. This ignorance, of course, can naturally affect the preacher as well as the listener. The preacher is driven by his emotions and (being aware that he is exercising a power and glorying in it) may believe that he is opening the way for the work of the Holy Spirit. This makes him a more dangerous instrument in the hands of Satan, even though he himself is not aware of it.
Believing that the Holy Spirit is manifested in the person justifies his pride and any other sin he had. The believer who is truly used by the Spirit deeply feels his unworthiness and desires that all glory be given to God alone.
The Pentecostals are very divided, and there are many different doctrines among them.
Some try to maintain a higher moral discipline even when they practice emotional excesses. Others, those of older congregations, have returned to a formal religious state in which there is little that distinguishes them from other formal churches.
False in his Doctrine.
Theology as well as the practices of Pentecostalism are erroneous. It shows a fundamental ignorance of the Scriptures and perverts them. It interprets, carelessly and mistakenly some passages, and deliberately puts aside others who are clearly contrary to what it holds. This puts him in the same category as other false cults. It is this false doctrine that exposes the movement to psychic manifestations and the intrusion of lying spirits.
The Pentecostals quote chapter fourteen of First Corinthians to prove their claims, yet that chapter more than any other, is the one who condemns it.
Taking just a few of the points in which the theology of Pentecostalism is opposed to the Word of God, we find:
The Word of God.
The gift of tongues (languages) is, of the gifts, the least important.
Christ did not manifest it.
The Pentecostal Teaching.
(1) The gift of tongues is given great importance as evidence of the baptism of the Spirit.
The Word of God.
(2) The gift of languages was not given at all. The Holy Spirit manifests the gifts (that is, manifests Himself) as He wills, in whom He wills, according to the purpose of God.
(1 Corinthians 12:11).
The Pentecostal Teaching.
(2) Everyone should look for it as evidence of the baptism of the Spirit. Without this gift the believer has not reached the highest spiritual level.
The Word of God.
(3) It was a sign to the unbeliever not to the believer.
The Pentecostal Teaching.
(3) It is a sign to the believer.
The Word of God.
(4) The believer who exercises the gifts of the Spirit has control over his actions.
This is seen in Christ.
The Pentecostal Teaching.
(4) The believer must abandon the control of will, mind and body to the Spirit. For example, you should try to keep your throat muscles out of control. Christ did not do this.
The Word of God.
(5) The manifestations of the gifts must be controlled. Everything must be done decently and with order.
The Pentecostal Teaching.
(5) Emotional extravagances are not restrained because, they believe, they are the work of the Spirit.
The Word of God.
(6) The prophecy is: “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men for edification, exhortation, and comfort.”
(1 Corinthians 14: 3)
The Pentecostal Teaching.
(6) Prophecy is the declaration of revelations about things to come.
The Word of God.
(7) Christ is Lord of all and by the Word that He gave, we are to be sanctified. (John 17: 14-17) God has all power and authority. His will must be done on earth as it is in heaven and only to Him must be worshiped. God has given Christ, our great High Priest, all authority. He is the Word the Way, the Truth and the Life. Only in his name do we have access to God.
The Holy Spirit was sent to the church by Christ. He manifests the power for the fulfillment of the Word and the will of God. He manifests and glorifies Christ.
It does not work with independent authority, it could not do it, because they are One, although manifested in three people.
The Pentecostal Teaching.
(7) The Holy Spirit is given a place of authority and activity virtually independent of Christ and the Word. It is believed that He is manifested not by the power of the living God but by human emotional disturbances (in general, the non-Pentecostal church of today thinks that the Holy Spirit depends on the wisdom and talents of man) for His manifestation, being of this Way in a mistake as great as that of Pentecostalism. Both confuse what is of man with that which is of the Spirit.
The Word of God.
(8) The Holy Spirit is in every true believer from the moment he accepts Christ as his Savior, He makes the believer a child of God. He, in the believer cries. “Abba Father”. He will manifest His gifts through every believer, as He will, as that believer walks in obedience to the Word of God (1 CORINTHIANS 12: 7-11). He does this in every believer who is in the place where God Has placed (1 CORINTHIANS 12:18). Each believer is immediately placed in the body, by God for service, according to the will of God; Then the Holy Spirit immediately begins to manifest by that believer the spiritual gifts necessary for the fulfillment of the will of God. The believer is certain of this. It will be your normal experience and you will be able to enter it only by faith and obedience. He must desire it and being his will to do the will of God, then the Holy Spirit will fulfill in him what the Word of God has promised. Sin in the believer, the unwillingness to do God’s will, will grieve the Holy Spirit, quench His voice, and make it impossible for Him to manifest Himself. The manifestations of the Spirit can not be attributed to the believer.
The Pentecostal Teaching.
(8) The Holy Spirit is to be sought by prayer and fasting, until He manifests His gift of tongues and other gifts. Manifestations that are contrary to the Word of God, or believers whose lives are not in accordance with the Word of God, are attributed to the Holy Spirit. The believer can be proud of having been able to get the power of the Spirit, to have a power that the Holy Spirit has given. (That the believer or the Church pray for the Holy Spirit or another Pentecost is pure unbelief.
He is already in every true believer, to do in him all the will of God. He came on the day of Pentecost to stay. He has not left. The believer must believe, and come to possess by faith and complete obedience what has already been provided. The search for another Pentecost is also because we do not understand that faith is not based on physical sensations or evidences, but is an inner confidence and confidence given by the Spirit, “that what God has promised is also powerful to fulfill” .
See: ROMANS 4: 18-22; 12: 6; 1 Corinthians 12: 9.
Faith is not a human and emotional effort to believe; Is a gift or manifestation of the Spirit that dwells in the believer.
False Doctrine and deceiving Spirits.
It would be good to consider some of the things held by those who advocate speaking in tongues.
(1) “Churches today are lifeless or spiritual power.” – That’s true.
(2) “The Holy Spirit is a reality and we should experience His presence and power. A revival is necessary.” – That’s true.
(3) “The presence and power of the Holy Spirit were manifested on the day of Pentecost and in the early church.” – That’s true.
(4) “We must return to Pentecost and seek Pentecostal power.- Here we begin to deviate seriously from the Scriptures.We do not have to go back to Pentecost.The Holy Spirit of Pentecost came to abide, as the Lord had promised, and is here Now – in the Church and in every born-again believer, to manifest fully and according to the will of Christ who is “present in the midst” (John 14:16, Acts 1: 4-9), John 3: 3-5 .)
The need today is for every believer to be filled with the Spirit that already dwells in him. (EPHESIANS 1: 13,14; 5:18; 4:30; THESSALONIANS 5:19).
(5) “After conversion we must seek the baptism of the Spirit, whose sign is speaking in tongues.” – This is not true. Every born-again believer has already been baptized by the Spirit (1 CORINTHIANS 12:13). In addition, the gift of tongues is not a sign of that baptism. Not all believers manifested it (1 Corinthians 12: 19,20). Christ did not manifest it.
(6) “The gift of tongues which was manifested at Pentecost and that which was manifested at Corinth were different.” – This is true and at the same time false. The character of the true gift of tongues had not changed. The Greek words used by Luke in Acts and by Paul in First Corinthians are exactly the same, their meaning being, languages spoken. But there was another kind of speaking in tongues that was being practiced by the church in Corinth. Some converts of paganism had introduced the false form of speaking in tongues which Paul is denouncing and correcting.
(7) “The gift of tongues is manifested in Pentecostal meetings in the same manner as it was at Pentecost.” -This is not true. Speaking in tongues of Pentecostal meetings is not the gift of tongues that was manifested at Pentecost, nor does it have any resemblance to it. It is the class we see in Corinth and that is denounced by Paul. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit gave the gift of spoken languages so that unbelieving Jews could hear the gospel in their own languages. It was a sign to the unbelieving Jews, not to the believers or to the Church. (Acts 2: 4-11, 1st Corinthians 13:22). Speaking in tongues of today’s Pentecostal meetings is exactly the same as that practiced in pagan religions, New Testament days, and even today. It is the product of emotionalism, superstition and spiritualism.
(8) “The modern gift of tongues is a manifestation of God, which is given to the Church today.” – This is not true. Speaking in modern languages is not the gift of tongues. God would not manifest Himself in such a way as to be contrary to His Word, which causes disorder, causes spiritual and mental harm, and opens the way for Satan to work. It is a forgery to deceive the people of God.
The true gift of tongues was first a sign given to unbelieving Jews, not to the Church. God gave the promise of the Holy Spirit, the other Paraclete, to the Church and the Holy Spirit came to the Church. The gift of tongues (tongues) was manifested as a sign to the Jews of many nations who were in Jerusalem on that day. This sign was given to Cornelius and his family. They were gentle, pious proselytes to the Jewish faith. In giving this sign to them that they were Gentiles of race, but Jews by faith, God proved to the Jews, including the apostles, that the gospel was to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. It is significant that when the time of the Gentiles began, after Jerusalem was taken by the Romans in the year 70, the manifestation of the gift of tongues seems to have ceased.
The story is clear on this point.
In the early chapters of the book of Acts the gifts given as a sign, which include the gift of tongues, are prominent but in the second half of that book there is little place. The gift of tongues is not mentioned in the Didache or in the writings of Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr of the first “Fathers” of the Church.
Men and women who have been greatly used by God through the centuries of the Church’s existence, who have manifested the power and gifts of the Spirit as teachers, reformers, martyrs, men and women of the faith who have truly manifested to Christ , They have not spoken in tongues.
According to this are the facts that:
(1) Paul to the church in Rome, a Gentile church, did not include the gift of tongues in the list of gifts of the Spirit, which he gives in chapter twelve.
(2) In the church of Corinth, a predominantly gentile church, it was not the true gift of tongues that was being practiced and that caused confusion, but the pagan falsification brought from the worship of Diana.
(3) It is evident that this falsification had not been introduced into any of the other churches since none of the letters to the other churches mentioned the gift of tongues. In those churches it was not a problem.
(4) It should also be noted that the gift of tongues was not one of the marks of an apostle. Before Pentecost the Lord gave them the other gifts of signs. “Power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases and sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick,” but it did not give them power to speak in tongues. He did not himself.
The Fraud Of Pentecostalism
Those who seek signs in this way are trying to get something that is contrary to Scripture by human effort and manipulation, which is also contrary to Scripture. The born-again believer already has the Holy Spirit, received only by faith and given freely at the moment he believes for salvation. It is not necessary the delivery of body, muscles and mind or an emotional and agonizing search, things that would only prevent because they are the works of man. The new birth working in man by the Spirit, is purely a work of the Spirit. It is impossible for man. When he thinks he can help, he glories in himself. (EPHESIANS 2: 8,9). The manifestation of the fruits and gifts of the Spirit through the believer is of the same nature; It is the work of the Spirit, impossible to man.
The only help that man can give is to surrender as “a living sacrifice” so that he may know in his life the will of God “good, pleasant and perfect.” Paul affirms this in his introduction to the teaching on the gifts of the Spirit in Romans 12: 1-8. The gifts are manifested according to the will of God, not to the will of the believer (1 Corinthians 12: 7-11). Every believer has already been placed by God in the place where He wants them to be in the body of the Church.
This has already been done according to the will of God (1 Corinthians 12:18). The believer is not allowed to choose that place or to fight to get it. God chooses for the believer, then the Holy Spirit manifests Himself “according to His will” through that believer in that place. This is not the result of an emotional effort on the part of the believer, but, as Christ said, to deny himself by taking up his cross daily and following Him. The believer who truly walks with the Lord, Always sure to remain in the will of Christ in all things, will be guided by the Spirit, taught, and used by Him fully. The Spirit will fulfill the Word of God and will manifest in him, according to his will, the gifts that he knows are necessary for the fulfillment of the will and purpose of God. This will be the fruit of faith and obedience and will be entirely the work of the Spirit of God manifesting Christ in the member of the body who walks in humility and obedience by faith.
It is not difficult to discern the fraud of modern Pentecostalism.
The believer is first persuaded to accept the error that speaking in tongues is the given sign of the Spirit’s baptism, then the believer with all his mind, will, and emotions directs all his effort toward the experience of that sign. Having begun with a position that is contrary to Scripture, it now continues on a path in which each step that gives it increasingly distances it from Scripture. It is now directed, not towards the spiritual light but towards a disappointment and Satanic darkness. However, all this time he is persuaded that he is walking towards the light, he is not willing to see the opposite that is all this to the Scriptures. And the demon that is deceiving him gives him “tongues” and “revelations” and emotional sensations that confirm the deception. These “experiences” are immediately given greater authority to the authority of the Word of God.
Just as the demons who had possessed the Gadarene offered Christ false worship, they also speak pious phrases today and give revelations that seem to glorify Christ.
Thus they convince those to whom they are deceiving and lead them to emotional excesses, false doctrines and in a few cases, to an asylum of mentally alienated everything is in the physical sphere emotions, fainting, shouting, singing abrupt movements, and jumps. Would the Holy Spirit use the body of the believer in this way? Christ was filled with the Spirit like no other; Did the Holy Spirit manifest in Him in this way? No, but it is the way evil spirits are manifested in men. When Christ commanded the spirits to leave those whom they had possessed, some of these spirits first displayed their power over the body of their victims.
A Spurious Passage.
It should be noted that the passage in Mark 16: 9-20. Quoted frequently by the Pentecostals and other fanatical sects is an interpolation and that has been mistakenly included in this text of the Bible, by which they translated. A note in Schofield’s Annotated Bible states that “the two oldest manuscripts, the Sinaitic and the Vatican, do not have verses 9-20. Other manuscripts include this passage, but with omissions and partial variants.”
It is easy to see that some of the statements in this passage are spurious and do not agree with the rest of the Bible. It is not surprising that this is a favorite passage of false cults.
For many centuries all copies of the books of the Bible were written by hand, by men who dedicated themselves to this work. Some of them were in the habit of adding their own comments when writing, others copied without adding anything.
It is usually easy to distinguish these comments from the true text of the Bible, but in some cases it is not so easy. The fact that this passage is not included in the best and oldest manuscripts, proves without doubt that it was not part of what Mark wrote, but a comment added by a copier. Like any adulteration of the Word of God, this has been used by Satan to deceive those who are not truly led by the Spirit. We are warned at the end of the Bible, “I testify unto every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: if any add to these things, God shall bring upon him the plagues that are written in this book, and if any I will remove from the words of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the book of life and the holy city and the things that are written in this book! “
You do not know the Scriptures.
The present falsification of the work of the Spirit, which has managed to deceive so many, could not have been accepted were it not for the ignorance of the Church on the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote:
“And concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.” (1 Corinthians 12: 1).
However, if there is something that the Church today ignores, it is that. Practically nothing is taught and known about the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the believer. The people of God rely on the talents of man. They feel the need for the power of the Spirit, so that when a counterfeit appears, they are exposed to deception. The believer’s ignorance of the Scriptures makes it possible for Satan to falsely quote him, maneuvering in this way to put him on a false Scriptural basis. Henceforth the work of Satan is comparatively easy.
It is significant that the writings of those who support Pentecostalism, whether in the defense of their position or in the teaching of biblical subjects, show a profound ignorance of the Scriptures, relying on emotional reasoning, ill-founded interpretations, and conclusions drawn by their Own desires. It is not surprising that they are still divided over the doctrines of the Holy Spirit and of grace. The fact is that they are divided into a large number of groups and each one pretends to be the only one who has the full truth. The presence of the Holy Spirit gives unity and truth gives unity.
Above all, the presence of Christ in the midst of the Church gives unity. These also give a power that has nothing of the man, a peace that nothing can take away to us; A sanctity that manifests itself in life. The product is the manifestation of the living, holy, Spirit-filled, gentle, courteous Christ; Your emotions, your mind, your heart, always in complete control. His disciples followed his example while He was with them and after He left them.
We do not find any of this in Pentecostalism.
What should we do?
We must remember where we are today in the development of God’s purposes, as the Scriptures reveal. It is evident that there are many unmistakable signs that show that the way is being prepared for the coming of Christ, to receive his own and for the manifestation of the Great Whore and the man of sin. We can not set dates but we must be vigilant understanding the signals.
The condition of the Church today has opened the way for the fulfillment of some of Satan’s goals, as has been prophesied.
The widespread acceptance of the error of Pentecostalism, because of the spiritual death of the Church, is significant, our Lord declared in the parable of the tares when the Church was asleep. So, it should not be surprising to those who know the Word of God to see what is happening today. It is what was predicted by our Lord and the prophets and what is inevitable in the present condition of the Church. One of the signs is an increase in the activity of deceiving spirits working lying wonders.
Pentecostalism is a false spiritual revival.
By deceiving the people of God who are spiritually asleep and without discernment, making them enter more and more into error and defeat.
It is not the only instrument that Satan is using, there are others and the Lord gives us a complete list of them in Matthew chapter thirteen. He gave us this list in the form of seven parables; Three of these are:
(1) Vers. 24-30; 33-43. The tares sown by Satan while the people of God slept, and the difficulty of separating the wheat from those who have falsely professed to be believers, for what they are.
(2) Vers. 31,32.- The Church as a tree in whose branches deceiving spirits build their nests of false doctrines, staying and working within the Church.
(3) Vers. 33-35.-The corrupting yeast that had been mixed in the three measures of flour, which tells us about the Church corrupted by the yeast against which Christ warned us. (1 Corinthians 5: 7-13)
We see all this in the churches today, and it is spreading fast.
Many of God’s people are deceived by tolerating and fellowshipping with those who are not in complete obedience to the Lord’s Word.
What should the people of God do? The word of God is clear and emphatic with respect to our duty: there must be a true and complete obedience to the Word regarding the life and personal testimony of the believer, and a complete return to the order for the church, that the same Not a given, a total separation from all that is of the world and of sin. Then the triumphant Lord who overcomes Satan and under whose feet all things will manifest himself in his church in all his authority, wisdom, power and glory his final triumph is sure and will reign forever. Let us therefore unite ourselves to Him, even though it means, and will always mean the same price “Let us go forth to him, out of the camp bearing his reproach.”
Will there be anything else worth more than this?
PREPARED BY PASTOR ROBERTO ROSALES
