Bible Question: i want to know about speaking in tongues, and the Holy Spirit. do they go together? is speaking in tongues an evidence of the Holy Spirit? please help me. |
Bible Answer: The word tongues means languages. Acts chapter 2 shows the first time people spoke in 'tongues'. There were 17 different nations represented so there were at least that many different languages being spoken. In the book of Acts (the historical account of the preaching of the Apostles to the unsaved) When someone received the Holy Ghost there was an outward sign (see chapters 2,8,10,19). These people all spoke with tongues. I Cor 14:2,4,14 partially explains that this is an operation of the Spirit of God to benefit a person in their prayer life. Not to be confused with the gift of tongues which is accompanied by the gift of interpretation for the benefit of the church. Remember this in your study of this subject all scripture must harmonize and we must rightly divide the word in order for that to happen. The epistles are written to saved people addressing christian living issues. The book of Acts is the historical account of the people obeying the gospel and what happened. A proper understanding of the 'tongues' issue will not come from reading I Corinthians only - that must be balanced by what we find in the book of Acts. Hope this helps. |