GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
TONGUES AND TEACHING
DR. JIM DIXON
OCTOBER 15, 2000
1 CORINTHIANS 12:28-31
There’s a strange children’s story about a mother mouse who lived in the wall of a great house with her five little mice. From that wall, the five little mice had never ventured forth. In the course of time, it became time for the mother mouse to lead her five little mice out into the greater world of the house itself. She would teach them many lessons. As they set forth from the wall of the house, the five little mice were excited because they knew that they would see things they had never seen before, things they’d only heard about.
As they ventured into the house, they came into a great room. There they saw a cat sound asleep. The five little mice were afraid, but the mother led her mice across the great room. When they were midway across, suddenly the cat woke up. The cat began to hiss, and the cat readied to pounce. The five little mice were paralyzed with fear, but the mother mouse knew what she had to do. She began to growl. She began to bark. She began to bark repeatedly like a dog. The cat began to be confused, and the cat grew afraid. The cat finally just ran out of the great room. The mother mouse turned to the five little mice, and she said, “Lesson number one: it pays to know a second language.”
It is true that it can pay to know a second language, particularly in this melting pot of people called America where we have an increased emphasis upon multiculturalism. Linguists and philologists tell us that there are 6,000 different languages and dialects on the earth. There are many people who are bilingual and trilingual. Many people are multilingual, able to speak many languages.
In the Bible, there are two Greek words which render our English word “language.” First, there is the word “dialektos.” This is the word from which we get our English word “dialect.” Then there is the Greek word “glossa,” from which we get the English word “glossary.” Both of these words are often translated “language.” The word “glossa,” which literally means “tongue,” is sometimes used in the Bible in reference to a very special gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of tongues—”glossolalia,” the “ability to speak in languages or to speak in tongues.”
A Christian who has this gift, this endowment of the Holy Spirit, is able to speak in unknown languages, languages that this Christian has not studied, languages that have simply been given to the Christian by the power of the Holy Spirit. The languages may be earthly languages, as was the case at Pentecost. Or the languages may be heavenly languages, as was apparently the case at Corinth. But these are languages unknown to the speaker. The speaker speaks by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The gift of tongues can be used corporately; but when it is used, there needs to be someone with the gift of interpretation who can translate the tongue so that it becomes edifying to the Christians who are assembled. This gift can also be used (and I would say is more frequently used) privately as a prayer language.
The Christian who speaks in tongues experiences a wonderful sense of the presence of God. God is not far in distance. God is very personal, very close. The Christian who speaks in tongues senses the presence of God and His Spirit speaking through him or her. The Christian who speaks in tongues oftentimes experiences the joy and the peace and the presence of God. There is a sense, sometimes, of cleansing and wholeness and integration. This is a wonderful, wonderful gift; but it is a gift that is oftentimes misunderstood and sometimes abused.
With regard to “glossolalia,” this gift of tongues, I have three simple teachings. The first is this: this gift is not available to everyone. I want to say that the gift of tongues is available today. There is a segment of the Christian world that denies the availability of the gift of tongues, and I think that grieves the Holy Spirit. This is true of certain segments of the Christian world, particularly those who adhere to Dispensationalism. It’s argued that the gift of tongues has ceased. Oftentimes, Dispensationalists quote 1 Corinthians 13, where the Apostle Paul writes, “As for tongues, they shall cease.” When you look at that statement contextually, Paul is saying, “When the Perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.” When you look further into the passage, you see that Paul is talking about when we see the Lord Jesus face-to-face, when we know fully as we have been fully known. So, Paul is saying that the gift of tongues—and he links it in that passage with prophecy and knowledge—will not cease in this age of the world. These gifts will not cease until the Perfect comes, until we see Christ face-to-face, until we enter the gates of heaven itself. So, the gift of tongues is available today, but it is not available to everyone.
This is really true of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit distributes the gifts in accordance with His own will. He distributes to each one individually as He wills. Paul writes, “Are all apostles?” No. “Are all prophets?” No. “Are all teachers?” No. “Are all workers of miracles?” No. “Do all possess gifts of healing?” No. “Are all able to speak in tongues?” No. “Do all interpret?” No. So, the Bible is clear: “glossolalia,” this gift of tongues, is not given to every Christian.
Yet, there is a segment of the Christian world which believes that all Christians can and should speak in tongues. How can they hold that view in light of the teachings of the Bible? In some segments of the Christian world, they say everyone can speak in tongues, but not everyone can have the gift of tongues. They distinguish, really, between two different types of tongues. They sometimes distinguish between the corporate use of tongues and the private use of tongues. They say not everyone can receive the gift of tongues corporately, but everyone can receive the gift of tongues privately as a prayer language.
The problem is, the Bible doesn’t make this distinction. The Bible just doesn’t distinguish between two different gifts of tongues. The Bible clearly states that there is one gift of tongues, “charismata glossolalia;” and that gift, whether it’s used corporately in the context of the body or privately in the home, is the same gift. It’s one gift, and it is not available to everyone. However, everyone needs to be open to this gift. I believe that with all my heart. Everyone needs to be open to this gift because all of God’s gifts are wonderful. We need to be open, so the Holy Spirit can distribute gifts in accordance with His will.
It’s important to notice that St. Augustine did not speak in tongues. Martin Luther did not speak in tongues. John Calvin did not speak in tongues. R.A. Tory did not speak in tongues. Charles Finney did not speak in tongues. D.L. Moody did not speak in tongues. Charles Wesley did not speak in tongues. John Wesley did not speak in tongues. Billy Sunday did not speak in tongues. Billy Graham does not speak in tongues. Many of the greatest leaders of Christian history have not been given this gift, and it was not manifested in their life. So, you can know, on the basis of history and the Bible, that if someone comes to you and says, “Everyone can speak in tongues and everyone should,” they’re off base. The Bible makes it clear: this gift is wonderful, but like all the gifts, it’s not offered to everyone.
The second teaching concerning this gift is this: the gift of tongues can be counterfeited. Not every manifestation of this gift is real. I’ve been in situations and circumstances where I’ve heard manifestations that I knew were not real. We need to understand “glossolalia.” I think a lot of people think “glossolalia” began at Pentecost, but the truth is that the manifestation of speaking in other tongues or unknown tongues is much older than that.
In the more ecstatic cults of the ancient Greek world, many people practiced “glossolalia.” Plato describes “glossolalia,” speaking in unknown tongues. In the Hebrew world, even during the Intertestamental Period, many Jews—particularly in the more ecstatic fringes of Judaism—experienced “glossolalia” and spoke in tongues. Throughout history, tribal animists have often practiced “glossolalia,” speaking in unknown languages. Today, many of the Bantu people and the Zulus have practiced “glossolalia.” In Hinduism today, there is the practice of “glossolalia.” This is now true in segments of Islam as well.
I do not believe that the Spirit of God gives this gift of tongues to anyone but a genuine Christian; but I do believe that there are counterfeits—some inspired by Satan, some simply in the flesh, some created and contrived by man.
I know that many of you have been into our bookstore, which is called “the Inklings Bookstore.” Some of you have asked, “Why do we call it the Inklings Bookstore?” We named it after a group of Christian authors who met in Oxford, England. They were called the Inklings. They met at a pub near Oxford University called the Eagle and the Child (sometimes called the Bird and the Baby). That pub is still there. You can go in there and you can see pictures on the walls of these famous Christians who lived in the mid-20th Century. They met together regularly, and they called their group the Inklings. The group included C.S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christian writers of the 20th Century. It included Dorothy Sayers. It included Charles Williams and Warnie Lewis. Of course, it included the famous J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien was, like Lewis, a professor at Oxford University.
Tolkien was a professor of philology and linguistics. He was a linguistical genius. Tolkien was a Greek scholar. He was a Latin scholar. He was a Finnish scholar. He was an Anglo-Saxon scholar. His skill in languages were at the level of genius. In Tolkien’s famous epic trilogy, “The Lord of the Rings,” Tolkien created new languages for an imaginary world he called Middle Earth. Philologists and linguists who have studied those languages that Tolkien created in “The Lord of the Rings” are amazed—because those languages involve orderly syntax and a consistent use of vocabulary. And the verbs in those languages may be parsed in accordance with consistent paradigms. Absolutely amazing. In institutions of higher learning today, some linguists and philologists have their students actually study these created languages by J.R.R. Tolkien.
It’s a little-known fact that Tolkien, who was a Catholic Christian, also created a nonsense language which he called “Newbasch.” Newbasch literally means “new nonsense.” This language did not have orderly syntax. It did not have consistent vocabulary. It did not have verbs that could be parsed according to consistent paradigms. In fact, it didn’t even have verbs. It was just gibberish. He would sometimes get together with his friends, and they would just speak gibberish together, making it up as they went along. They became very good at it, and they called it “Newbasch.” Tolkien often said, “It doesn’t take a genius to speak ‘Newbasch.’”
I have some friends who are pastors in charismatic and Pentecostal churches. They are good friends, and I respect them a great deal. I have some who have told me stories that do concern me. I’ve talked with people who have gone to “glossolalia” schools where they’re actually taught in classes how to speak in tongues. In some of these classes, Christian men and women are actually told to begin by doing tongue exercises. (I mean, if there’s any muscle in the body that is not in need of exercise, it’s the human tongue.) They’re, taught to speak monosyllabically at the beginning—just making up monosyllabic phraseology such as “ly, ly, ly, ly, ly.” Then, they move to polysyllabic speech, “ly lo, ly lo, ly lo, ly lo.” Then it becomes increasingly complex, “ly lo le, ly lo le, ly lo le, ly lo le.” Sometimes, there’s background music. It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. It’s an abuse of the gift of the Holy Spirit of God.
This gift is real, and it is wonderful; but it is being counterfeited in many sections of the Christian world. I have some actual friends in the ministry who have told me that when they lay hands on somebody and pray over them to receive tongues, they give them a few “starter” words and tell them to go home and work on it. That’s Newbasch!
Sometimes, there’s a lot of pressure to speak in tongues. Sometimes, people who have hands laid on them to receive this gift or people who have prayed for this gift come up with a couple of syllables, but they know they’ve made it up in their minds. But they’re told, “Oh, you’ve got it! You’ve just got to work on it.” They work on it, but oftentimes it’s just Newbasch. You see, this gift can be counterfeited. There are false apostles, false prophets, false teachers, and there are false tongues. The Greek word for “false” that’s used in the Bible is the word “pseudo.” This word can mean “phony,” “phony tongues.” So, this gift can be counterfeited. Yet, the gift itself is beautiful and real. When it’s given by the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it can just flow.
A third teaching about tongues is this. It’s not always used correctly. The gift of tongues is not always used correctly in the life of the Church of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, the gift is abused corporately. Paul is very clear that when believers are gathered, a person with the gift of tongues may speak in tongues if someone who is present has the gift of interpretation. This is so that the tongue may become prophecy and edifying to all who are assembled. But even then, Paul says, “Only two or three should speak in tongues.” I’ve been in situations where people just speak in tongues with no interpreter, and the amount of tongue speaking is limitless. That’s an abuse of a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes, this gift is also abused doctrinally. I think, to some extent, this involves a distinction between Pentecostal and Evangelical theology. I have respect for Pentecostals. I have relatives who worship in the Four-Square Church, and I have attended meetings in the Four-Square Church many times through the years. In the Pentecostal Churches, there is a tendency to use the gift of tongues to divide the body of Christ into two groups. Those who speak in tongues are kind of viewed as though they’ve moved into a higher status or a higher class of Christianity. Sometimes this higher status, this higher class, is called the “baptism of the Holy Spirit.” Those Christians who speak in tongues move into this higher category where they are baptized by the Holy Spirit.
Of course, the problem, biblically, is that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is what’s supposed to unite us. The Apostle Paul writes, “By one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body—Jew or Greek, slave or free—all were made to drink of one Spirit.” When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and your Savior . . . in that moment, you regenerated, and you were born anew. In that moment, He sent His Spirit within you; you were baptized in the Holy Spirit and washed in your soul. This is something all Christians, whether they speak in tongues or not, participate in.
Sometimes in Pentecostal churches where tongues are used to divide the body of Christ into the “haves and the have-nots,” this higher class of Christianity is called the “group filled with the Holy Spirit.” They speak in tongues, so they’ve received the “filling of the Holy Spirit.” But when you go to the Bible, this phraseology is used in a variety of ways. Sometimes, it’s used for moments of anointing and proclamation. In the book of Acts, it says, “The Apostle Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stood up and said . . .” Here you see a filling of the Spirit for a moment of proclamation, not a permanent endowment or condition. Other times, this phraseology in the Greek is in the present continuous tense so that it means, “Be ye continually filled with the Spirit.” It’s a process that we are to be involved in, and we are constantly to seek the filling of the Spirit.
The phrase, “the filling of the Holy Spirit,” is never used to describe a higher class of Christians; and the gift of tongues should never be used that way. It’s a wonderful gift like all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but Christ wants His people to be united. If I speak in tongues and you don’t, we are equals. If you prophesy and I don’t, we are equals. If you have the gift of teaching and I don’t, we are equals. We are all equals before Christ. There is one body of Christ. The Holy Spirit has come into all of us. He simply wants us to be open to the gifts. He doesn’t want us to use any one gift to develop an exclusive group of Christians or a higher level of Christianity or to divide the body of Christ. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we do that. The gift of tongues was not meant to be a spiritual thermometer by which we judge the health of a brother or sister in Christ. It was not meant to be the litmus test of a higher level of Christianity.
So, this is a beautiful gift, but often abused. I know the Lord would say to you this morning, “Be open to the gift of tongues. Be open and desire it as you should desire all of the gifts.” Then, the Holy Spirit will distribute the gifts in accordance with His will. So, this gift is not available to everyone. This gift can be counterfeited. This gift can be abused, corporately and doctrinally; but it is a genuine, wonderful gift available today.
A second teaching this morning concerns the gift of teaching. The gift of teaching is listed also in 1 Corinthians 12.
In the greater Los Angeles area of Southern California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, there was an elementary school called Montrose Elementary School. The school flourished for 30 years, and then it died out. The community grew older, and there weren’t enough young families to support this elementary school. The death of Montrose Elementary School meant nothing to the world, but it meant something to me because Montrose Elementary School had been my school. I have many memories of Montrose Elementary School, and I had many teachers there. I don’t think that I impressed any of them, but some of them made an impression on me.
My first-grade teacher was named Mrs. Williams. I wasn’t sure whether or not I liked her, but I think she liked me a lot because she didn’t want to let me go. In fact, she invited me to spend an extra year in her class. My report card shows that I had 68 absences in first grade. She thought that was kind of excessive since there were only 165 school days in the year. My second-grade teacher was Mrs. Olsen, and I can remember her face like I just saw her yesterday. She was, I think, a very good teacher. Mrs. Olsen taught me the basics of reading, and to Mrs. Olsen I will always be grateful.
My third-grade teacher was Miss Fouts. She was young, and she was single. She was attractive. It seems kind of ridiculous, but all the boys in the class kind of had a crush on her. I remember third grade was when we first were allowed to use our inkwells. In first and second grade, we had holes in the wooden desks where the ink wells should have been, but the administration had decided that first and second graders were too young to use inkwells. After my third-grade class completed the year, the administration decided that third graders were also too young to use inkwells. We got ink everywhere.
My fourth-grade teacher was Mrs. Jerohe. I can honestly say I don’t ever remember her smiling. She was stern. She was a strict disciplinarian. I think she gave me some measure of self-discipline. She certainly increased my self-control. My fifth-grade teacher was Mr. Monanger. He was the only male teacher in Montrose Elementary School. I don’t know whether he was a good teacher, but I liked him because after school he was the coach. He coached me in baseball, basketball, and football.
Back then, elementary schools always went through sixth grade. My sixth-grade teacher was Mrs. Taylor. She was very old, and she was considered very wise. I don’t know whether she was wise. I do remember one thing that she taught us. She told us, “If you have to go to the bathroom” (and from time to time we did), “Don’t hold it. Just go ahead and go to the bathroom because if you hold it too long, you’ll die.” None of us understood that, but we were kind of afraid. We began to go to the bathroom a lot! Mrs. Taylor also taught for a long time, so she taught my brothers Gary and Greg before me. I was the last to come along. I remember on my report card she wrote, “To the last of the Dixons, farewell.” That turned out to be kind of prophetic because she died the next year. We were in sixth grade, and we did not know why she died. We just assumed that maybe she “held it too long.”
I think when you’re in elementary school, it’s a whole different world. When you’re a child, you have a whole different perspective. Each of you went to elementary school, and you have some memories. You went to middle school or junior high school. You went to high school. Many of you went to college. Some of you have gone to graduate school and received advanced degrees. In this world, we’ve all had many teachers. We’re grateful for the teachers we’ve had. And if we need teachers in this world, how much more do we need teachers in the Church of Jesus Christ?
Christ has given the gift of teaching so that the Church of Jesus Christ would have teachers. In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul writes, “He who descended is He who also ascended high above the heavens, that He might fill all things. And His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers for the equipping of the saints for ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; until we attain to the unity of the Spirit, to the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” The gift of teaching is given that we might be built up into Christlikeness. God gives this endowment of the Holy Spirit, the gift of teaching, to build the women and men of Christ into the likeness of Christ and to equip us for the work of the ministry.
In the years past at Cherry Hills Community Church, God has given us the blessing of having people with the gift of teaching. For many years, we had Bob Beltz on our staff. Bob has a great gift of teaching. Of course, Bob now works with Telos Project. He teaches at a variety of churches around town, including this church. He’s currently teaching Wednesday nights over at Mission Hills Baptist Church.
We have others on our staff who have the gift of teaching, from Dave Meserve to Ramona Spilman. We have pastors equipped to teach, endowed with this gift of the Holy Spirit. We have members of our church with the gift of teaching, people like Dix Winston and Kyle Dodd. God has raised them up to teach in this congregation and in this flock. We have lay people in our church. Some of you have a very special gift of teaching. We have 400 hundred Sunday School teachers in this church. It takes a very special endowment of the Holy Spirit to be able to teach children effectively.
I believe there’s a special gift of teaching given to those who have the ability to teach children the things of Christ. Many of our Sunday School teachers have this gift. Others need to pray for it, need to pray that God would give them this gift of teaching. Parents need this gift. In the book of Deuteronomy, the Bible says, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind. The words which I tell you this day shall be upon your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children as you wake in the morning, as you walk along the way, as you go to bed at night.” Parents are called to teach, to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So, as parents, we need to seek, at least in some measure, this endowment of the Holy Spirit so that we might be able to teach the Bible to our children in an effective way.
The Bible tells us that in the last days, the gift of teaching will be abused. It will be abused by teachers. The Apostle Paul writes that “In the last days, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared.” The word for “doctrine” in that passage is the word “didaskalia.” That word literally means “teaching.” Paul is talking about false teachers who will infiltrate the churches in the last days. False teachers will infiltrate the churches, and they’ll give teachings, Paul says, that are demonic.
These false teachers will have consciences that are seared. The Greek word for “seared” is “kauteriazo,” from which we get the English word “cauterize.” The idea is that their consciences no longer work. But there’s another possibility. Some of the early manuscripts have “kauteriaozo,” some have “kausteriazo,” from which we get the word “caustic.” Etymologically, both of these words mean “to brand with an iron.” Of course, the branding of an iron was used to identify ownership. Many Bible scholars believe the concept here in this passage is that these false teachers will actually be branded by Satan and belong to Satan—a scary concept.
Yet, there are false teachers rising up in the churches today, both Catholic and Protestant. Some are denying the deity of Jesus Christ, some are denying the full authority and inspiration of the Holy Scripture, some are denying the necessity of regeneration and the new birth, some are denying Judeo-Christian values, some are participating in postmodern syncretism—these are false teachers in the churches of Jesus Christ.
The Bible also says that the gift of teaching will be abused by the hearers in the last days. Not just teachers will abuse this gift, but hearers will abuse this gift. The Bible says, “The Spirit expressly says that in the last days, some will no longer endure sound teaching; but having itching ears, will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own liking, and will turn away from listening to the truth, and they will wander into myths.” We’re seeing that happen today across the Christian world. Men and women who want to have their ears tickled are choosing teachers to suit their own liking. They’re turning away from sound teaching. This gift can be abused.
As we close, I want to tell you a little story about a professor I had in college. His name was Dr. Robinson. We called him Robbie. Dr. Robinson was a history professor. One year, he was voted “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” by the students. The students loved Robbie. Robbie wasn’t a particularly good-looking guy. I don’t think even his wife would have said that. He didn’t dress well. I mean, he dressed okay; but as the day wore on, he just seemed to kind of fall apart. The knot in his tie would be down around his chest by mid-day. One collar would sometimes be up and the other down. By the end of the day, we laughed. His hair looked like he’d spent a couple of hours in front of an airplane propeller. His shirt would come undone as the day wore on. You would always see the tail out even below the coat. Sometimes, one of his pantlegs would be up. Even when he would stand on the stage to teach, his one pantleg somehow would always be up. He never had elastic on his socks, so they would just fall to the ankles. You would see about 8 inches of white leg. But everybody loved Robbie. Everybody loved him. When he taught, history just came to life. I grew to love history through Dr. Robinson.
Now, in the church of Christ, people who have the gift of teaching are able to make the Bible come to life. There’s a difference between a good teacher and a person with the gift of teaching. The world has lots of good teachers, but a person with this endowment of the Holy Spirit is gifted to make the Bible come to life and to help us apply it in a meaningful and exciting way in our personal lives.
This is a great gift, and parents need it. They need to make the Bible come to life with their kids. Sunday School teachers desperately need this gift to make the Bible come to life. Of course, the staffs of churches need this gift. This is a gift that all of us need to welcome and use. We need to receive the gift of teaching. We need to hear someone who has the gift of teaching share the Word of God with us because, you see, we’re called to grow closer to Christ. Christ wants to make us more and more like Himself. He wants to prepare us for the work of the ministry. The gift of teaching is needed to grow us.
If we would be everything Christ wants us to be, we need devotional time in the Word and in prayer. We need fellowship time with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to take time to participate in acts of ministry and service; but we also need to take time to receive teaching for the equipping of the saints. The gift of tongues and the gift of teaching . . . Our time is up. Let’s close with a word of prayer.