By Pastor Dave Farmer
TOPIC #6 THE MISCONCEPTIONS OF THE TONGUES MOVEMENT – PART 2
Summary
The Charismatic Community in Corinth believed that their way was the best. They thought everyone should pursue the spiritual gift of tongues. Paul disagreed!
Introduction
Paul introduced the subject of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 in order to provide the divine viewpoint on an area in the life of the Corinthian believers that was malfunctioning. Their desire to possess the gift of tongues and their pride in their newfound spiritual ability led them astray. Their superior, self-promoting attitude divided the church just as it did in our day. The Scripture warns us that "Pride comes before a fall." The existence of the Charismatic Church today is a picture of this passage, for they have left the path of orthodoxy. Paul will shortly teach and reveal the heart of the problem. THEY LACKED LOVE! 1
We should thank the Corinthians for providing the circumstances for Paul's magnificent chapter about love. Chapter 13 is known as the love chapter, and if it weren't for the fact that it was given to correct the church's arrogance, we might not have this fantastic passage. Is there anything better than having the gift of speaking in tongues? Are tongues speaking the ultimate in spirituality or the sign that you have reached the pinnacle of spiritual success? Paul says there is another way, a more excellent way.
1 Corinthians 12:31
But earnestly desire the greater [or the best] gifts. And [in fact] I show you a still more excellent way.
As Paul closes Chapter 12, he concludes it with two critical statements: (1) They are to desire the best gifts eagerly and (2) to follow a better path.
First, not every gift of the Spirit has the same value in its ability to edify and bless the Church. So, in chapter 14, prophesy, proclaiming the Word of God, will be compared with speaking in tongues. Paul will point out the many limitations in the use of tongues in worship and will show it to be of lesser value. We will treat this misconception in a future article.
Secondly, could something be better than speaking in tongues? Yes, there is a better path to follow. The Christians who exalted the spectacular gift of tongues were forgetting the most indispensable ingredient to the proper function of a spiritual gift, in fact for their spiritual lives, which is the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God that empowers our spiritual gifts so that they result in glorifying God. The Corinthians had put the cart before the horse. The cart, in this case, is a spiritual gift, and the horse is the filling of the Spirit. The principle is this: If the Spirit controls us, the result will be the proper exercise of the gifts of the Spirit.
Also, having a spiritual gift or exercising a spiritual gift does not necessarily mean we are filled with the Spirit. Hence, what is more vital to our Christian walk? Seeking a spiritual gift or ensuring one is filled with the Holy Spirit? Obviously, the latter. In fact, we are never commanded to use our spiritual gifts, but we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit:
Ephesians 5:18
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
The verb “be filled” is the present passive imperative of PLEROO, which means “to fill, or to make full.” The imperative of prohibition is used, requiring us to translate this phrase as a command: “Start being filled with the Spirit.” The passive voice emphasizes the subject receiving the action of the verb, which refers to the Holy Spirit becoming the controlling influence in our lives rather than allowing wine to control us, “Stop being drunk with wine.”
The present tense is the customary present meaning that which habitually occurs or may be reasonably expected to occur. The verbal idea is “keep on being filled [make it a habit].” The spiritual life of the believer is to be a life lived in the Spirit or under the daily, moment-by-moment influence and control of the Holy Spirit. We are constantly reminded of this fundamental principle of spirituality, such as:
Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Galatians 5:25
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Why is this essential to our subject? The reason is straightforward. The manifestation of the gift of tongues is believed to be a sign of being filled with the Spirit. The Charismatic claims that they are spiritual because they can speak in tongues. We disagree. Every spiritual gift is designed to function in and through the filling of the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit, God the Spirit will lead us as we minister our spiritual gift. If we fulfill the mandate and operate in His power, it will bring glory to God, benefit others, and bless us. When God the Spirit is in control, there will be no abuses or misuse of spiritual gifts.
The More Excellent Way
What precisely is "the more excellent way" of Chapter 13? It is the way of love. Love is the great motivating and captivating force of Christianity. This love is AGAPE love1. It is divine love produced in our hearts by the Holy Spirit as He fills us:
Galatians 5:22,23
22) But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23) gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Romans 5:5
and hope does not disappoint, because the LOVE of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
What is important to the Apostle Paul and what he deems is the better way is the filling of the Spirit, producing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, especially love. Again, if you as a believer are filled with the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit will be reflected in all your relationships with your Heavenly Father and with all others. On the other hand, if you speak in tongues and do not have love, you say nothing of spiritual value. Just as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:1:
Though l speak with the tongues [languages] of men and of angels, and have not LOVE, I am become a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
The problem at Corinth is now exposed. They lacked love. Love in the Bible is a special word, and it is described in fourteen different ways in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8:
4) Love suffers long [patient] and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5) does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8) love never fails.
Let's think about this extraordinary biblical word AGAPE: "love." Jesus was the first to shine His light on it and mark it as essential. The night our Lord Jesus Christ was being betrayed, He taught the disciples about a powerful new kind of love which they would possess and which they could manifest:
John 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
What is so new about this commandment? It had been around a long time, in fact for over fourteen hundred years. In the Jewish Shema 2 a love for God was mandated:
Deuteronomy 6:5
“You shall LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
And then in Leviticus, we have this command:
Leviticus 19:18
‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall LOVE your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
So, what is so new about loving God and loving others? Indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ clearly understood the Law of Moses. He was asked by a lawyer what the greatest commandment was. I am confident the lawyer was wondering which of the Ten Commandments He would pick, but surprisingly He didn't pick any. He said in reply, "Love God and Love your neighbor." He quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 in His response, Matthew 22:36-39.
So, we are back to the question. What is new? It is a new standard or manner of love that He gave to them that night, "as I have loved you." Under the Law of Moses, the standard of love was to love "as you love yourself." Human love was required under the Law. The same kind of love that you have for yourself. Love God as you love yourself. Love others as you love yourself. This required no great power or ability on your part. It is natural for all members of the human race to love themselves.
However, never before was anyone required to love God and others with a Christ-like love, as Jesus said, "as I have loved you." This is the new standard. This is the new commandment. It could not have been given before, for Christ had not come and demonstrated this love. He became the model for this new kind of love. The critical moment in completing the picture of this love would not occur until the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross and bore our judgment for our sins. On Calvary, He would write the final chapter on what love is all about. Giving to others sacrificially, beneficially, and without strings attached is His kind of love.
The disciples lacked this kind of love - AGAPE. They loved Jesus. How could you not love Him? However, it was human love only. They were saved. They were believers. They loved Jesus, but their love was insufficient for the task ahead, which Jesus revealed:
John 13:35
“By this [loving each other as I have loved you] all men [people] will know [predictive future tense] that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Our Lord refers to the First Advent of the Holy Spirit who came on the Day of Pentecost. Under the influence and control of the Holy Spirit, they received the spiritual ability to love others with a Christ-like kind of love. This is when, as the Apostle John describes it, a foreign kind of love, or an unearthly kind of love, began. It is a love that only the Holy Spirit can produce in and through us as we yield to Him.
All around us, people are experiencing a love that fails. Broken wedding vows, broken homes, and so many broken hearts. IS THERE A LOVE THAT LASTS? Yes! But it is different? It is different because the Holy Spirit generates it and comes not from the human heart. It is different in results, for only this kind of love has spiritual value, and it is the only kind that glorifies our Heavenly Father. We should understand that human love and Christ-like love are different.
I want to illustrate this one more time!
It is imperative to realize that human beings can make loving sacrifices for the sake of others. I think of the young person who, for the love of country and family, goes to war and, on the battlefield, gives up their life. That is praiseworthy. Because they are not Christians should not diminish their sacrifice.
The New York City firefighters, police, and emergency personnel who went into the Twin Towers to help save lives and who gave up their lives are laudable, and they should be esteemed. I am sure we don't believe they were all born-again believers. It is not wrong for us as Christians to applaud their sacrifice.
We need to be careful and not suggest that because they do not have Christ-like love, they can't be loving fathers and mothers or husbands and wives. Moral people will express heartfelt love for their family. Unsaved husbands are required under the moral law of God to love their wives. They are capable of loving. They are capable of giving sacrificially and beneficially to others. They will enjoy success and happiness when they do. But what they cannot do is love others with Christ-like love. For this, they must have Christ living in them. His kind of love generated by the Holy Spirit is powerful, and Jesus says it reveals Him to the world.
Finally, Paul does not define love in a dictionary format but instead gives us a description of it. It has fourteen ingredients. This is a prism by which we can evaluate whether we are acting in a Christ-like manner toward someone or not. The Corinthians failed to show this Christ-like love. They lacked several of love's qualities; for instance, "love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own."
SUMMARY
Gifts differ in their value to edify the Church, 1 Corinthians 12:31.
The "more excellent way" is the filling of the Spirit. Love is seen as a motivating force, Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22.
The filling of the Spirit must precede the use of a spiritual gift to glorify God and benefit the Church, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.
The filling of the Spirit or the fruit of the Spirit never fails to glorify God, bring blessing to others, and benefit to yourself, 1 Corinthians 13:8. It is permanent. It will never be withdrawn during the Church Age.
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ENDNOTES
1 Three ways love is used in the Scripture:
One: God is the subject - the one doing the loving.
a. The Father loves the Son: John 17:26; 3:35; 10:17; 15:9; 17:23, 24.
b. The Son loves the Father: John 14:31.
c. The Father loves man: John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4; 1 John 3:1; 4:9,10.
d. The Son loves man: Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; Revelation 1:5; John 15:9.
Two: God is the object of man’s love - the one being loved: Matthew 22:37 cp Mark 12:3; Luke 10:27; Romans 8:28; 1 Corinthians 2:9; 2 Timothy 4:8; 1 John 4:19; Ephesians 6:24; 1 Peter 1:8; John 21:15,16.
Three: Love as a motivating factor - love produced by the Holy Spirit. He produces this love in and through us: Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Ephesians 5:2.
2 A standardized prayer that opened public worship in the synagogue, Deuteronomy 6:4-6.