PART 1
THE YEAR OF REDEEMING TIME.
- If you meet an intelligent challenge, use the divine intelligence.
If you encounter a circumstance you don’t understand pray in the language you don’t understand.
@Levis Wekesa
1Cor.14.2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. (KJV).
See amplified :
1Cor.14.2 For one who speaks in an [unknown] tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the [Holy] Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things [not obvious to the understanding].(AMP)
- Let us take a look at this verse 1Cor.14.2 For one who speaks in an [unknown] tongue speaks not to men but to God,
- There is a difference between speaking to God and speaking to men. When speaking to God, men have no need of understanding what you are telling God. Why? Because the Bible has already made it clear that , no man will understand. Check that;
“for no one understands or catches his meaning,”
Now, by virtue that no man understands does not mean that it has no meaning!
- Tongues is a coded language in the spirit that carries mysteries.It only makes sense in the Spiritual realm. Let’s have a look in the next part,
“because in the [Holy] Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things [not obvious to the understanding]. (AMP)
- Glory to God! Now remember my introductory statement. There is a difference between speaking to God and speaking to man.
- Thus, when speaking to God, there is no need for interpretation! How can you interpret to God? The master of all languages, earthly and heavenly?
- Now, when a man speaks to God in tongues, he is edified/build up!
- Praying in tongues is a spiritual exercise that stretches our spiritual muscles and expands our capacity to host the dimensions of God. Notice what the scripture says in Jude 20.
Wait on before we read Jude 20,
Somebody is about to misinterpret me on the above statement. Notice that I did not say, there is no need to interpret the tongues, are you with me? I said this, let me repeat for your sake, “There is no need to interpret if you are speaking to God.” That’s if you have to channel it to God, you don’t need to worry over interpretation. God is a omniscient and He grasps that prayer language. Keep on edifying yourself as you trust God for the gift of interpretation for the sake of edifying the church also.
However, if you are speaking to men, that’s giving a word that concerns them in other tongues,you need an interpretation so that they may understand and also be edified. This is what we now call Prophecy.
Tongues + Interpretation of tongues = Prophecy.
Prophecy edifies the church.
Are you following?
- Summary:
- When a man speaks to God in tongues, he is edified/build up!
- When man speaks in other tongues concerning men and he interprets,men are edified. The church is edified.
- Both personal edification and church edification are important.
Now let’s read Jude 1.20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,(KJV)
Yes, when Jude tells us to build up ourselves by praying in the Holy Ghost, he simply means praying in other tongues.
@Levis Wekesa
- Apostle Paul makes it clear that when we pray in unknown tongue, our spirit prays but our understanding is unfruitful. In other words, our mind cannot grasp what our spirit is saying unless you receive the gift of interpretation.
- Paul says that he would pray in the spirit and he would also pray in understanding. Which was and is still more relevant and necessary even today.I wish to exhaustively discuss on this but time fail me.
- When you pray in other tongues, you do
pray in the spirit.
1Cor.14.14 For if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit [by the Holy Spirit within me] prays, but my mind is unproductive [it bears no fruit and helps nobody]. (AMP)
- This is proof enough that tongues cannot be reasoned out or thought out! It is purely the spirit. That’s why when you were a non believer, you could not pray in other tongues.
- It is amazing that most people who criticize tongue speaking do not speak in tongues.
Those who at the first place insist on the need for interpretation of tongues and yet they can’t speak in tongues are hypocrites.This works very contrary to the dynamics of faith! How can you exercise faith over interpretation of tongues when in the first place you haven’t exercised faith in speaking in tongues?
@Levis Wekesa
- In the Acts of the Apostles, we notice that people spoke in tongues only after the Holy Spirit had come upon them.
- Let’s read Acts the second chapter and the the fourth verses.
Acts 2 (KJV)
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⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
- There is no evidence of people praying in other tongues in the Scriptures without the presence of the Holy Spirit.
- This verse reveals to us another aspect,,, follow keenly, let’s re-read the last part of verses 4. “…as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
- Did you get it? The people did the speaking while the Holy Spirit gave them utterance.(words).
- One of the dictionary definition of the word utterance is The ability to speak. That though they did the speaking, they received that very ability from the Holy Spirit.
- The New Living Translation renders it this way,
Acts.2.4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. (NLT)
- If the Holy Spirit gave those who spoke the ability to speak, we can definately understand that the very words spoken proceeded from the Spirit for without the Spirit, no one can have the words to speak in other tongues. The Amplified Version helps us to understand exactly what happens.
Acts.2.4 And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues), as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud expression [in each tongue in appropriate words]. (AMP)
- Glory to God, as the Holy Spirit did what? – kept giving them clear loud expression, in appropriate words.
- Is God helping you? I now hope you understand what Apostle Paul was saying in his later to Romans. He says in the 8th chapter of Romans and verses number 26 that we do not know how to pray as we ought to, but luckily enough, we have the helper, He is the Holy Spirit.
Rom.8.26 So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, _but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. (AMP)
- Hallelujah, he prays for us. Yes, He does this through us when we allow Him. We allow Him by praying in the spirit. (In other tongues).
- The Holy Spirit cannot make intercession for us if we don’t allow him to. Therefore the ability to decide whether we want to pray in the spirit or in understanding is totally under our control.
- You need to be very keen here, when I speak of spirit and Spirit.(Note the use of lower case and upper case respectively). I am referring to ;
- (spirit) as Our own spirit/human spirit.
- (Spirit) as The Holy Spirit of God.