Consider:
1Co 14:4—“One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church.”
1Co 14:12—“So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.”
This generation of believers is thoroughly divided over the issue of ‘the gifts.’ Primarily: tongues. On the one side, many people see the gift of tongues resulting of a second blessing—which I’m quite sure is rooted in the theology of John Wesley; on the other side there are those who [tend to take 1Co 13:8 out of context and] claim that the gifts have ‘ceased.’ The tragedy ensues that Paul’s beautiful epistle on the Unity of the Body has evolved into an axe: dividing the Body, enraging believers, and causing all of us at times to shift our eyes away from the Lord.
By no means do I consider myself an ‘expert’ on the issue of ‘the gifts,’ nor have I invested a great amount of study in this topic. However, I am a student of the Bible and am also familiar with Church History. In God’s Word, I see a great deal of passages on my necessity for humility; in Church History, I see a great deal of controversy surrounding the fogginess of tongues. We must proceed in humbleness, pursuing the unity of the Body.
[Excursus on Pascal’s Wager] In Church History, I also know of a character named Pascal. Pascal had a wager. A wager which is placed before all humanity. Either we will believe in God, or we will turn our back on Him and live as we please. Our decision is not based on the reality of whether or not God indeed does exists; rather our decision is based on our own will. Each person must make a choice. Pascal claims that based on our uncertainty either way—if God really does exist, or not—it is much wiser to live in such a way that God does exist. Thus, if you choose to believe and in reality it turns out that God does not exist, then in the end your wager matters not. However, if you choose not to believe and in the end He really does exist, well, then your wager turns out to be the greatest mistake imaginable, resulting in eternal Hell apart from a perfectly loving Creator. Nothing can fully convince a human heart that God doesn’t exist. And you must wager.
Concerning tongues, I think we all must make a similar wager. Although it may be quite minute compared to Pascal’s, it is nonetheless important. The wager is this: either we stand that tongues (the gifts) are still present today in the Church, or contrarily that they have ceased. I find evidence to support both sides. Consider the following wager: If I stand on the truth that tongues indeed have ceased, yet they have not, I do not feel that I am under a great judgment—rather I am simply missing out on a gift from God. When I stand before God, in Heaven I will still fall at His feet in worship, and will plead forgiveness for not accepting His love through the gift of tongues. But I do not feel like my suppressing of His gift has any sway on my salvation—again, I am merely missing out on a gift from God. Conversely, if I stand on the truth that tongues are present in the Church today, and yet they have ceased, this puts me in a completely different scenario. When I stand before God’s Throne it is not a matter of me rejecting a gift that He offered but instead it is me making a mockery of God’s miracles in the early Church. If tongues have ceased, to stand before God after a life of ‘practicing the gifts’ will be a wretched state to be in… if indeed I would find myself before His throne in Heaven whatsoever…
It is completely possible that the gifts are present and alive in the Church today. But I also see it to be completely possible that they have ceased. And if this is true, to what degree of intimacy do those who practice the ‘gifts’ really have with our Lord?
“…I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.” | Rom 16:19
“So that we will no longer be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” | Eph 4:14–16
And never forget…
“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” | Mat 7:14
1 comment:
These are very good points you make my friend. I have heard lots of arguments on both sides of tongues and gifts. I believe that when we as believers in Jesus Christ bog ourselves down in such arguments we loose a great deal. I don't believe the core of the issue is do we have this thing or have we experienced that thing. God is infinitly more knowledgibe than we. Isn't that the point. He is God. God's word tells us that eternal life is to know Him. What really matters is experiencing Him. He is our all in all. Nothing else really matters. Paul said that if he had lots of cool gifts but he didn't have love it is worth NOTHING. If we don't have an intimate relationship with God through Jesus we have nothing. Again God is our all in all. He is our life and our teacher. At least He ought to be. Instead of trying to convince each other how knowledgeable we are or that we are right or what a great debater we are we ought to send some of that time we waste with God growing in our relationship with Him. He is our teacher. Personally, I don't worry about what ANY person tells me I should believe about a particualar topic, especially a Biblical one. The fact of the matter is that God is our Teacher. When the Lord saved me He buried me with Him baptism and raise me up with Him and seated me at the right hand of the Father with Christ. God has already given me an inheritance in Christ and that is Christ IN me. God lives in me. I am the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. He resides in me. If we can really get a hold of this truth it has life transforming power. With all do respect to all the great theologians out there with all there wonderful opinions, convictions, beliefs etc. I don't need their opinions. Niether do I need a denomination or a local church or a committe to tell me what the Bible really says. GOD IS MY TEACHER. The Creator of the Universe. The Beginning and the End. King of kings and Lords. My Father. He gives wisdom and knowledge liberally to those that ask of Him and not of man. He teaches us by His Holy Spirit through His Word. (John 14:26; John 16:13-15; Ephesians 1:17-23; 1 John 2:27) Let me shut up and leave it at this. We need to abide in God and God adide in us. Fast, pray, beg, plead with God. Get every ounce of God we can get...continually. And STOP CARING SO MUCH WHAT MAN SAYS AND CARE ULTIMAATELY ABOUT GOD.
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