Bible Question: I would like to hear opinions in reference to those who believe the sole evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is through the gift of speaking in tongues. |
Bible Answer: A miracle of hearing? ____________________ 'But then when you come to I Corinthians 14, it is definitely speaking and not hearing. So, why would you have tongues...why would you even use the expression “languages” if you’re not talking about languages and you’re talking about the hearing miracle?...it is very clear that he’s talking about a language spoken, not a language heard.' ____________________ ['The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr.'] 'Question 'In the account in Acts 2 of Pentecost, as I read my New American Standard Bible, over and over I come to the feeling that this miracle was in the hearing. I’ve never heard anybody comment on that and I just would like to hear your opinion of that. 'Answer 'There are those who believe that it was a miracle of hearing; there are those who affirm that. There are quite a few who would because they say, “everyone heard in his own language.” I don’t hold that view, and I don’t think that view holds up very well, particularly when you recognize that they were all “filled with the Holy Spirit,” verse four, “and began to speak with other languages.” That seems to me to be a fairly open-and-shut case for a miracle of speaking rather than a miracle of hearing. (...) 'I believe it was a miracle of speaking rather than a miracle of hearing, particularly when you see the cloven tongues of fire and when you compare the rest of Acts and the other phenomena that occurred, which seems clearly to be a speaking phenomena rather than a hearing. 'But then when you come to I Corinthians 14, it is definitely speaking and not hearing. So, why would you have tongues...why would you even use the expression “languages” if you’re not talking about languages and you’re talking about the hearing miracle? So, I don’t think that that really holds up very well, particularly if you want a consistent interpretation of the miracle of tongues in Corinthians; it is very clear that he’s talking about a language spoken, not a language heard.' 'Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by: 'Tony Capoccia Bible Bulletin Board Box 119 Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022 Websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com Email: tony@biblebb.com Online since 1986' ____________________ http://www.biblebb.com/files/macqa/70-8-10.htm |