Expert: Cooper P. Abrams III - 8/22/2010

Question
I recently attended a non denominational service and the message was on
spiritual gifts, including speaking in tongues. A friend of mine heard about
the message and having grown up baptist her whole life, she has
struggled over believing how much is biblical. Her parents told her she was
wrong and the church we went to that night is wrong. They used your
article from your bible truth website as evidence. So I went and read it.
How come you avoid talking bout the other verses in 1 Corinthians 14? I
think you also took some of the verses you used out of context. I think
what you are doing is a scary thing.

Answer
Hi Taylor,
  Hi   
  1 Corinthians 14:1 says, “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.”  (1 Corinthians 14:1)     In other words press forward (dioko) after love, and desire spiritual gifts (pneumatikos), “but” rather that ye may prophesy” (potheteou) meaning to preach God’s word.  I do not know where you got the wording of your quote of 1 Cor. 14:1, but is inaccurate.   Paul is saying as your first and chief aim you are to love seeing that it is the greatest.  (1 Cor. 13:13)   Yet, also desire to have spiritual gifts, but chiefly you should desire to preach or speak God’s word.   It is not talking about tongues, but the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:1f)

  Paul is addressing the misuse of the sign gift of speaking an unlearned language.  It like now was being abused.   In the next two verses (2-4) he explains:

  V2 no one but God understand what is person is saying,  so what ever the person is saying is a mystery even to himself.
      V3 the person who preaches and teachings God’s word (prophesies) to men edifies, (builds them up), exhorts them bring consolation, and comfort.  Paul says he would rather they would prophesy than speak in tongues so that the ekklesia (congregation) would be edified or lifted up spiritually.  They are spiritually helped...but not so with tongues, even biblical tongues.

     The rest of Chapter 14 Paul lays out the reasons that tongues was not a spiritual gift.  Actually tongues was a “sign gift” as my article clearly shows.  Paul says spoke more languages they did not know that all of them, but he would rather speak five words that the people understood than ten thousand they did could understand.  I think that the matter clear.  Tongues is not a gift that builds anyone up or helps them.   Why, it was a sign gift to UNBELIEVERS....”Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.”  (1 Corinthians 14:22)   It was a sign gift given to the Apostles and a few early believers, as a sign to unbelieving Jews of the authenticity of the word of God they were preaching.   Further Paul commanded the women in church to keep silent.  That would preclude women tongue speakers wouldn’t it?   Modern tongues speakers say that tongues is a sign of the baptism of the Holy
Spirit to believers...and it is gift directed to believers...God says that is not true.

    There is no way for me in this short medium like this to cover the whole subject and that is why I wrote these articles.   If you want to understand this,  read all the articles on the link I sent you.  The last one plainly explains what the different gifts were and how they were used by God in the early church.  Few people even know what the gifts of the Spirit are and why God gave them.

    Also, I do not dispute that people are speaking ecstatic speech that they say is the gift of tongues.  I know the phenomena is real.   I think the article at http://bible-truth.org/TonguesWhatisGoingOn.html  may help you understand what is really going with those who speaking modern tongues.     Nothing, about modern tongues resembles what happened as recorded in the New Testament.   That ought to raise a red flag to anyone who reads the Bible.   However, few people who write me,  taking me to task for my articles,  will admit this.   So I leave the matter for you to research from God’s word yourself and do what “thus saith the Lord.”      
  
  Thank you for writing.  May God direct you in this matter.  You might also read the questions and answers at http://bible-truth.org/FAQ-Pentecostal.html .

      Living by faith and seeing the power of God has nothing to do with speaking in tongues.  I too in thirty years of ministry have seen God’s power manifested over and over.   Never was speaking ecstatic speech involved.  I have intensely studies this for two decades and I am not a novice or have some presupposition I want to prove or any agenda of my own. I know without any question the sign gifts cease as God said.  I also know the true spiritual gifts are a valid now as they were in the early churches.  However, I also know that people are being misled and deceived by fake miracles and false teaching.  That deeply saddens me, because it turns one away from truth to a lie.  God says by their fruit you will know the false teachers.  Look at the confusion, heartache, lies, the con artist on TV making themselves millionaires, and even sexual misconduct in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements.  I deal with these folks who were caught up in this movement after they left and were devastated by it.  I could tell you story after story of how this wrecked lives.  God is not the author of all this.  We have no such confusion in our biblical church and the people know God’s word and live by it of which I thank God. And yes it looks so good to people who love the Lord and want to see Him working in people’s lives, but believe me God is not in the modern tongues movement.    We are living in the last days and Jesus Himself said, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matthew 24:24)         

  Jesus also said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. “ (Matthew 7:21-23) Note what these workers of iniquity were doing in Jesus’ name.

    I do not say this lightly.  I hope you will continue to research God’s word.  There are a lot of godly people who know God’s word who can help you.  

    If I can help please write.  It would be better if you do to e-mail me directly at cpabrams3@gmail.com.     
  
Cooper Abrams
http://bible-truth.org
“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” (1 Corinthians 14:33)