Expert: Scott Talbot - 7/1/2011

Question
Scott, hi, it’s Gabrielle. Ever since I became born-again, the Word of God has transformed me immensely. And this journey has been interesting, this relationship with God through his Son Jesus Christ, because it also allows me to see the problems and struggles that early Christians went through and the power of God in people’s lives way back then.
I am a very strong thinker and like to analyze things prospectively.  I slept on a lot of what you wrote to me yesterday, in response to my concerns about the speaking of tongues in churches today, compared notes, and some more information that another panel expert presented to me. I have some questions at the bottom which would help me rectify this topic and go and reread some portions of the New Testament. I want you to know first of all that I have been questioning the issue of tongues for a very long time, especially after I became a born-again Christian. I also want you to know that my initial reasons for questioning tongues is that the fellowship that I used to attend did exactly the opposite of everything that I understood about tongues,that it requires/must be interpreted, etc.(and as you mentioned a medium through which God would speak in ushering in of the New Testament, after Christ left this earth, and being followed by interpretation for the edification of the church and to declare the works of God, as with the apostles in Acts 2). I read the Word of God with understanding because each time that I pray, I ask God to illuminate his Word to me. I eventually stopped going to that fellowship because the Holy Spirit started convicting me of the behavior within that group, and revealed to me that those were not God’s people (just another religious,pseudo,'Christian' group or movement, among the many that we see today). Again, the point of sharing all of this with you is not to debate the issue of tongues --- it is once again to prove that the concept of tongues being spoken today in the 21st century church seemed outspoken to me because of the rising questions why the tongues that were spoken were not being interpreted, in accordance to the Word of God, and no special message being delivered to uplift or benefit the church through the speaking of those tongues. So it is not that I was disagreeing --- my probing questions were only to become answers of everything that I had learned was opposite to what the Word of God taught us as believers about speaking in other tongues by looking at the example with the Corinthians! Well, it seems that you are right --- about this whole issue.  I need more clarification though as aforementioned above, with the questions below.
This is my understanding (also incorporating the links that you provided to me to read) of the subject of tongues as it precipitated in the early church. On the Feast of Shavuot (the day of Pentecost) there were only Jewish believers and based on what I have been reading for the past couple of days, this new plan of God as spoken through Christ (‘but tarry ye in Jerusalem until ye receive power from on high”) was to be reserved for the 12 apostles, and through this magnificent power of God as witnessed through the supernatural signs of speaking in other tongues, God’s messages (the message of the Gospel) was then to be delivered to others (not of the Jewish background). The apostles at that time knew no idea what was going on, neither would they have suspected that this new plan of God was to include the Gentiles because they were social outcasts! So to speak tongues was going to be used, or rather, outlined in God’s plan as a way to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles, as well as what you had mentioned to me, the ushering in of a new dispensation ---- simply because God’s works and ways of thinking are marvelous and beyond comprehension. I believe that that is why when the apostle Paul finally wrote his letter to the Ephesians and the Colossians while he was in prison, that he does not mention speaking in tongues at all (maybe at this time it had ceased or was at the point of ceasing) but writes that he now had received the full revelation (Ephesians 3: 1-6), confirming 1 Corinthians 13: 8-10, and instead of using speaking in tongues like the Corinthians to deliver special messages and knowledge to the people, proclaims to them to embrace all knowledge because now everything was available to them through spiritual understanding (Ephesians 1:17-18, Colossians 1:9). He prays for them that they may be given the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. He does not mention tongues at all.
Am I right in my assumptions here?
I have a series of questions, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, I can figure those out through the Word of God. Now, here are my questions for you.
1. Paul mentions clearly in 2 of his Epistles --- I don’t have my Bible right here with me about a mystery – this mystery, was this the mystery that God’s plan of salvation would also include the Gentiles and that they would be included into God’s kingdom?? When was the full revelation of the mystery given (from what point in time comparing when he wrote 1 Corinthians 13: 8-10)??
2. When exactly in the early church history did Paul write his epistle to the Corinthians?
3. Did he write the epistle to the Corinthians during his second missionary journey and before the completion of the Book of Acts (by the end of the book of Acts we see that he is already imprisoned and started serving time in his own hired house, continuing to preach the Gospel)?? He mentions at the end of the book of Acts that salvation would be given to the Gentiles (is this when that final revelation was given to him)?
4. What epistle did he write after the Spiritual gifts emerged in the book of Acts?
5. Also, when did he write the book of Romans? He goes extensively into the importance of having a spiritual life in Romans 8, but does not mention tongues at all. I noticed that He does not even mention tongues at all in the list of spiritual gifts in Romans 12! In Romans 8:26 Paul says that Spirit speaks on our behalf through groanings which cannot be uttered.  WHAT WAS HE REFERRING TO????
6. Jude tells us to pray in the Spirit (Jude verse 20). Okay, what does he mean by this?
Finally it seems that the church at Corinth was the only church recorded in the New Testament that was speaking in tongues…he mentions spiritual gifts in the book of Romans, but does not even mention tongues following interpretation.
Please help answer these questions because I, like other desperate Christians, are increasingly becoming convinced that Biblical tongues has indeed ceased. Thank you so much.
Your sister in Christ, Gabrielle

Answer
Hi Gabrielle,

Yes, I think your understanding of the situation is correct as you have laid out your thoughts on the Bible's teaching regarding tongues, and the practice of speaking in tongues today.

Let me see if I can help you with your specific questions:


Q:  1. Paul mentions clearly in 2 of his Epistles --- I don’t have my Bible right here with me about a mystery – this mystery, was this the mystery that God’s plan of salvation would also include the Gentiles and that they would be included into God’s kingdom?? When was the full revelation of the mystery given (from what point in time comparing when he wrote 1 Corinthians 13: 8-10)??

A:  Yes, the mystery of which Paul spoke was the new dispensation--specifically, the "church," which was God's working directly with both Jews and Gentiles alike in the context of "grace." Paul addresses this issue at length in Ephesians, which was written around 57-62 A.D., towards the end of his ministry, and just a few years before his death.


Q:  2. When exactly in the early church history did Paul write his epistle to the Corinthians?

A:  I Corinthians was probably written in 54 or 55 A.D., and II Corinthians within about a year afterwards. This was towards the end of his third missionary journey and just a few years before his imprisonment at Ceasarea.


Q:  3. Did he write the epistle to the Corinthians during his second missionary journey and before the completion of the Book of Acts (by the end of the book of Acts we see that he is already imprisoned and started serving time in his own hired house, continuing to preach the Gospel)?? He mentions at the end of the book of Acts that salvation would be given to the Gentiles (is this when that final revelation was given to him)?

A:  See above (#2).


Q:  4. What epistle did he write after the Spiritual gifts emerged in the book of Acts?

A:  Paul's first epistle (Galatians) was written around 48 or 49 A.D., and his final Epistle (II Timothy) was written around 64 A.D., just before his death. Tongues and other spiritual gifts first became apparent shortly after Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension (around 30 A.D.). They were still evident as much as 25 years later (55 A.D.) when Paul wrote his epistles to the Corinthians.


Q:  5. Also, when did he write the book of Romans? He goes extensively into the importance of having a spiritual life in Romans 8, but does not mention tongues at all. I noticed that He does not even mention tongues at all in the list of spiritual gifts in Romans 12! In Romans 8:26 Paul says that Spirit speaks on our behalf through groanings which cannot be uttered.  WHAT WAS HE REFERRING TO????

A:  Paul wrote Romans around 55 or 56 A.D. Perhaps these supernatural signs were already beginning to fade away, as the apostles had spent over 25 years taking the gospel to the far corners of the world. By this time, there was plenty of vindication for the message, which had been authenticated by God through so many miraculous signs, the greatest of which was the resurrection of Christ. The passage in Romans 8 that speaks about the Holy Spirit praying for us through "groanings," ... Paul is telling us here that the Holy Spirit Himself prays on our behalf, fervently and emotionally, in ways that we cannot begin to understand. (I don't believe that this has anything whatsoever to do with tongues.)


Q:  6. Jude tells us to pray in the Spirit (Jude verse 20). Okay, what does he mean by this?
Finally it seems that the church at Corinth was the only church recorded in the New Testament that was speaking in tongues…he mentions spiritual gifts in the book of Romans, but does not even mention tongues following interpretation.

A:  Jude's reference to praying in the Spirit (cf. Ephesians 6:18) means "praying out of hearts and souls that are indwelt, illuminated, and filled with the Holy Spirit" (George Lawrence Lawlor, Translation and Exposition of the Epistle of Jude, p. 127). It is "praying in the power of the Holy Spirit" (Walvoord & Zuck, Bible Knowledge Commentary, p. 923). Regarding your comment that the church at Corinth seemed to be the only church recorded as speaking in tongues ... you are correct. And it's interesting to note that, of all the churches to whom Paul wrote, the church at Corinth seemed to be the most spiritually immature.


Scott