“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” 2 Tm. 2:15.
Do you approve of God?
Or are you filled with misgivings lest His judgment concerning the speaking with tongues was unsound and showed poor ecclesiastical taste?
Is the will and wisdom of God perfect, without tinge of criticism as far as you are concerned?
Or are you found in the ranks of those who heartily resent and are highly incensed because of the fact that the Lord God Jehovah caused the incoming of His own precious Holy Spirit to be evidenced by the miraculous sign of speaking with tongues?
Are you willing to base your final opinion concerning the manner and mode of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit solely upon the Word of God — willing to forget the arguments of all critics and ask yourself the simple question, “What saith the Scriptures?”
Are you big enough and brave enough, great enough, and audacious enough to close your eyes to the truths set forth in the Word of God upon this important subject, and simply take as final the word of those who today declare that God set forth a standard which He later changed, and gave forth an edict on the Day of Pentecost which He soon regretted and caused to be repealed? ,
In the preceding chapters we have journeyed together through several scenes wherein the Holy Spirit was promised, tarried for, and outpoured.
Wistfully we watched as His abiding power continued to manifest itself throughout the years and upon many saints and in widely separated lands.
We will now, however, give audience to our critics, or rather the critics of the teaching that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is still for today and that He may be expected to come upon the recipient with old time power and supernatural manifestation.
Let us first list the objections consecutively.
Following are some of the leading arguments which have proven stumbling blocks in the pathway of the hungry heart:
1. The outpouring on the Day of Pentecost was of a special nature, warrantable but for that one day which marked the inauguration of a new era. The “wind,” the “fire” and “other tongues” were but the trappings which attended the initial outpouring and were not intended for repetition.
2. The speaking in “other tongues” was a sort of hysteria or intense emotion which swept the hundred and twenty, whose hearts had been wrung with the death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord. Their emotion was regrettable and not to be emulated or desired, but should rather be glazed over as lightly as possible in preaching the Word of God.
3. The speaking “in tongues” on the day of Pentecost was given for a missionary purpose only. At this particular time the city of Jerusalem was filled with foreigners. It was of the most vital importance to facilitate the preaching of the Word and reach the greatest number of people in the shortest possible time. To have waited for the disciples to learn all of the different languages would have necessitated great delay. To avoid this the Lord wrought a special miracle and preached unto each foreigner in his own language. If foreign missionaries might receive similar aid, there might be some sense in the bestowal of the gift today. Otherwise such an experience is valueless. panied and certified by the sign of speaking with other tongues, once for the Jews and once for the Gentiles, and was thereafter unnecessary and therefore discontinued. 12:8-10); speaking in tongues is but one of the nine. Any one of the other eight gifts would as acceptably and adequately evidence the incoming of the Spirit. those of the Bible days. man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost; therefore He is received at regeneration.
8. The Holy Ghost, while still for today, should nevertheless be received without manifestation. Taken by faith, the incoming of the Holy Spirit is today enacted so quietly that the recipient himself may not at the time be aware of that incoming.
9. Many who claim to have received the Bible Baptism of the Holy Ghost are fanatical and have brought discredit upon the experience. It is, therefore, to be shunned by all.
10. The language received by the hundred and twenty on the Day of Pentecost was a universal language, which miraculously could be understood by all nations. In other words, when we read “how hear we every man in his own tongue,” it seems that the hundred and twenty really spoke their own Galilean language but the Lord by a miracle caused each of the hearers to understand it in the language of his own particular land. ‘received by measure. One may receive a portion at conversion, and be further filled at sanctification. He may have frequent fillings and refillings of the Spirit. Therefore there is no definite or specific ‘“Baptism of the Spirit.”” “Baptism” denotes a specific act at a specific time; ‘‘filling’’ denotes a progressive experience. One should therefore discourage the use of the term ‘baptism,’ and substitute ‘“‘infilling of the Spirit.’’,
There may be still other arguments, pro and con, in the light of Scripture.
1. The outpouring on the Day of Pentecost was of a special nature warrantable but for this one day which marked the inauguration of a new era. The “wind,” the “fire” and the ‘‘other tongues’ were but the trappings which attended the initial outpouring and were not intended for repetition.
It is true that the Day of Pentecost saw the inauguration of a new era: namely the beginning of the Dispensation of the Holy Spirit.
His incoming that day created the pattern for the years which were to come.
It is true also that the ‘‘wind”’ and the “‘fire’” which attended the descent of the Spirit from the Throne of the Father unto the church on earth were not again evident so far as the Scriptures indicate.
It is untrue however that the ‘‘speaking in tongues’’ was confined to the Day of Pentecost; for as we have seen in the second, tenth, and nineteenth chapters of the Acts of the Apostles and also in 1 Corinthians the twelfth and fourteenth chapters, this sign attended the incoming of the Spirit in each succeeding instance. Twenty-six years later we find Paul saying unto the church which ‘‘is at Corinth,” “I would that ye spake with tongues.”
2. The speaking in “other tongues’? was a sort of hysteria or intense emotion which swept the hundred and twenty, whose hearts had been wrung with the death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord. Their emotion was regrettable and not to be emulated or desired, but should rather be glazed over as lightly as possible in preaching the Word of God.
Luke, who was present and beheld the outpouring and recorded it in the Book of Acts, had a very good opportunity to judge the results thereof.
If that which the hundred and twenty received in the Upper Room was simply hysteria, Luke was much deceived; and the Word of God itself must be far from infallible.
If that which they received was hysteria, it was of a different brand than that which we term hysteria today. It certainly made them wonderful soul winners, and was the means of bringing three thousand men to Christ recorded in the second chapter and five thousand recorded in the fourth chapter of Acts. If the sick who were healed, and the demons which were east out, and the dead that were raised up, and the poor that had the gospel preached unto them received these blessings because the disciples in the Upper Room became hysterical, ’twould seem that it would be a good remedy for the poor, cold, frigid-air churches of the day.
Peter’s sermon was not that of a hysterical man; but of a sane, balanced, God-controlled, finely attuned instrument. Therefore, the truths of Pentecost, instead of being apologized for and belittled, should be shouted from the housetops until all have become hungry and sought this glorious Baptism of Power.
3. The speaking “in tongues” on the day of Pentecost was given for a missionary purpose only. At this particular time the city of Jerusalem was filled with foreigners. It was of the most vital importance to facilitate the preaching of the Word and reach the greatest number of people in the shortest possible time. To have waited for the disciples to learn all of the different languages would have necessitated great delay. To avoid this the Lord wrought a special miracle and preached unto each foreigner in his own language. If foreign missionaries might receive similar aid, there might be some sense in the bestowal of the gift today. Otherwise such an experience is valueless.
In replying to the above objection, attention might first be drawn to the fact that Jerusalem was not filled with “foreigners” as is popularly taught. But it was filled at this time of sacred feast with “Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven.” Acts 2:5.
True, they were from every nation; but they were Jews.
True, they knew the languages of the countries from which they came, and wherein they were born; but the fact remained that they were Jews. :
Peter apparently experienced no difficulty in preaching to them later in a language which they had no difficulty in understanding, namely the Galilean tongue which he had used from boyhood and with which they were familiar. It was not necessary for him to address them through an interpreter.
The feast services at the Temple, conducted on and about the Day of Pentecost, were understood by them all without difficulty. Surely, they were familiar with the language of the lands from which they came, but they also knew their mother tongue, for they were Jews.
Attention, secondly, might be drawn to the fact that there is no record of the speaking in tongues being ever again used in circumstances which might even by the widest stretch of imagination be considered for a ‘missionary purpose.” In all the Bible recorded travels of the Apostle Paul, there is no hint that he spoke the language of the nations which he visited without first studying the language or using the medium of an interpreter.
First Corinthians 14:2 answers this question:
“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.”’
Plainly then, this was not designed by God as a missionary tongue but as a means of prayer and praise (1 Cor. 14:2).
Again he states: “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful” (1 Cor. 14:14). And again, in referring to it as a medium of fitting praise to Jehovah: “For thou verily givest thanks well.” 1 Cor. 14:17, Acts 2:11. panied and certified by the sign of speaking with other tongues, once for the Jews and once for the Gentiles, and and was thereafter unnecessary and therefore discontinued.
This contention is disproven in Acts 19:6 wherein the Holy Spirit came upon the church at Ephesus following the laying on of hands by the Apostle Paul, twenty-three years after the Day of Pentecost and sixteen years after the outpouring upon the first Gentile assembly in the house of Cornelius. It is further disproven by the fact that Paul himself received the Holy Spirit accompanied by this initial sign of speaking in other tongues and by his testimony in 1 Corinthians 14:18 states: “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than ye all.” It is still further disproven in the 39th verse of the same chapter where, writing to the Corinthian church, he makes preparation for the coming generations by leaving the following instructions:
“Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.” 12:8-10). Speaking in tongues is but one of the nine. Any one of the other eight gifts would as acceptably and adequately evidence the incoming of the Spirit.
The nine gifts of the Spirit referred to in the foregoing objection are enumerated and contained in the following verses:
“For to one is given by the Spirit the Word of
Wisdom;
To another the Word of Knowledge, by the same
Spirit;
To another Faith, by the same Spirit;
To another the Gifts of Healing, by the same
Spirit;
To another the Working of Miracles;
To another Prophecy;
To another Discerning of spirits;
To another Divers kinds of Tongues;
To another the Interpretation of Tongues.”
It is an easy matter to make the broad statement that any one of the gifts of the Spirit might similarly be acceptable as a sure sign that one had received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
But upon closer observation does this hold true? Let us take them in order, with this question in mind.
“Wisdom.”
Would the gift of wisdom be a sign that one had received the Baptism of the Spirit?
No. Solomon possessed the gift of Wisdom in the Old Testament long before the Day of Pentecost (1 Kings 4:29).
“Knowledge.”
This gift could not constitute a sign of the Baptism of the Spirit because it had been previously bestowed. Deeply hidden secrets of profound knowledge, common to those of Old Testament days, are only now being slowly and tediously unearthed by this present generation.
“Faith.”
No. Abraham possessed the gift of Faith nineteen hundred years before the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost (Heb. 11:8, 9).
“Healing.”
Would the gifts of healing be a sure sign that one had received the Holy Spirit?
No, Abraham prayed for the afflicted family of Abimelech (Gen. 20:17); Moses prayed for the sick and they were healed (Numbers 12:18); Elijah and Elisha prayed for the sick and they were healed (1 Kings 17:21), (2 Kings 4:35); Peter and other disciples prayed for the sick and reported that the demons were subject to them, long before the death and ascension of the Lord (Luke 10:17).
“Miracles.”
No, these could not be regarded as evidence of the Baptism, for they were wrought throughout the Old Testament. Consider for instance, the continuance of the meal in the barrel and the oil in the cruse (1 Kings 17:14), or the raising of the widow’s son (2 Kings 4:34).
“Prophecy.”
No, the Old Testament was written by men blessed with the gift of Prophecy long before the dispensation of the Holy Spirit was launched. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:21.
“Discernment.”
Neither would discernment be a conclusive proof that one had received this Pentecostal Baptism, for they of the ancient day had this gift. Take for instance Elisha, after the cleansing of Naaman the leper, when his unworthy servant followed the grateful Naaman and asked payment of him for the blessing. Upon return of the servant, Elisha cried:
“Went not my heart with thee . . . the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed forever.” 2 Kings 5:26, 27.
“Tongues.”
Would these constitute a new sign of the new gift?
Yes, for all other gifts but this and its complementary gift, Interpretation, had been granted and in operation before the opening of the Dispensation of the Holy Spirit.
But from the time that language was first confused as punishment for the sin of presumption and pride at the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:3), there is nowhere in the entire Word of God any reference to mortal man having received the gift of Tongues, or having miraculously received the ability to speak in languages which he had never learned.
Such a happening had been prophesied, however, in both the Old and in the New Testament.
“For with stammering lips, and another tongue, will He speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.” Isaiah 28:11.
This prophecy refers directly to the speaking with other tongues in its connection with Pentecost and after effects, for Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14:21, quotes this verse from Isaiah whilst dealing with the subject of the place which the speaking with tongues should occupy in the New Testament church.
The Master Himself prophesied that the believer would speak with new tongues, in Mark 16:17, and declared it to be one of the signs which should follow the believer. These are His words:
“These signs shall follow them that believe, in my Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.” Mark 16:17.
But though this gift had been prophesied by Isaiah and by the blessed Lord Himself, in no instance had it been fulfilled until the Holy Spirit was bestowed on the Day of Pentecost.
Significantly the fact stands forth, that the moment the hundred and twenty were filled with the Spirit, they “began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:4.
The same is true of the Gentile believers in Acts 10:46 and Acts 19:6. The very instant the recipient was filled with the Spirit, that moment each is declared by the Bible to have spoken with other tongues.
We may seek to explain this manifestation away in any manner we may see fit, but the fact remains that until the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit was be' stowed, there is no record of any mortal receiving the gift of tongues. Yet in each of these recorded instances where the incoming of the Spirit is specifically described, the Word distinctly declares that all (not a portion of them, but all) began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
We may be tempted to doubt the wisdom and the purpose of God in bestowing this gift and manifestation, but the purpose thereof we will study shortly.
“Tnterpretation.”
This gift was of course not given until after the Day of Pentecost, and cannot be considered independently from that which preceded it, namely, tongues; as it is but the gift of interpretation thereof.
Paul gives an insight into this gift, saying concerning the usage of the gift in public church services:
“Tet him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.” 1 Cor. 14:18.
Therefore, the fact is self evident that all of the other gifts except tongues and interpretation of tongues had been bestowed before the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. These alone remained as a new evidence of the new gift.
In concluding this thought, remember we do not read that on the Day of Pentecost some of the hundred and twenty received the gifts of healing, some the gift of working miracles, some the gift of prophecy, etc. We read that they were “‘all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
This is true also of other recorded instances of the outpouring of the Spirit.