Gifts Exposed, Give No

Excuse
Tongues, Interpretation of
Tongues and
Discerning of Spirit
 What is Speaking in Tongues?
• 1 Cor 14:2 For he who speaks in a tongue
does not speak to men but to God, for no
one understands him; however, in the
spirit he speaks mysteries. (NKJV)
• 1 Cor 14:4 For if I pray in tongues, my
spirit is praying, but I don’t understand
what I am saying.
• Tongues is basically a prayer language
that God gives to those who are baptised
with the Holy Spirit.
• The Greek word is glossolali
 Do I need to be filled with the
Holy Spirit to speak in tongues?
• Speaking in tongues is the initial physical
evidence of being filled with the Holy
Spirit.
• Rom 8:9 says “if anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”
• So everyone who belongs to Christ has the
Holy Spirit in them. But that doesn’t mean
that they are filled.
• Example: Jesus’ disciples-Jn 20:20 and Acts
1:5
• Acts 2:1-4
• Acts 2:4 “they were filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in other
tongues”
• Acts 10:44-47
• While Peter was still speaking these words, the
Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
The circumcised believers who had come with
Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy
Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
For they heard them speaking in tongues and
praising God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone
keep these people from being baptized with
water? They have received the Holy Spirit just
as we have.”
 Why Speak in Tongues
• It is a sign of the gospel
• Mk 16:17 And these signs will accompany
those who believe: In my name they will
drive out demons; they will speak in new
tongues
• It edifies us
• 1 Cor 14:2 He who speaks in a tongue
edifies himself
• It empowers our prayers
• And the Holy Spirit helps us in our
weakness. For example, we don’t know
what God wants us to pray for. But the
Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that
cannot be expressed in words
What’s the difference between Speaking in Tongues as
a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit and the Gift
of Speaking in Tongues?

• The nature of the tongues are still the same

but they differ in three aspects
• The availability
• Speaking in tongues as a prayer language is
available to everyone who wants it (Acts
2:28) whereas the gift of speaking in tongues
is given as the Holy Spirit pleases (1 Cor 12)
• The purpose—Speaking in tongues as a
prayer language is given to edify oneself
in speaking to God whereas the gift of
speaking in tongue accompanied by the
interpretation of tongues is meant to
address the public and edify the church.
• The mode of operation
• Speaking in tongues as a prayer language
does not need to be interpreted but the gift
of speaking in tongues needs to be
interpreted. When you address the public, it
is better to speak in a language that they
can understand. If you speak in tongues,
you must have those tongues interpreted.
Do I have to Speak in tongues
 Discerning of Spirit
• A Definition
• The word discern means “to perceive, see
or recognize by sight or some other
sense, or by the intellect; a clear
discrimination; judging; judicial
estimation”. Thus the term discerning of
spirits denotes discrimination of spirits.
.
• Notice the word spirit appear in plural
form, “spirits” in 1 Cor 12:10. There are
three categories of spirits: demonic spirits,
spirits of God and human spirit.
 three categories of spirits:

• demonic spirits (Note: Demons are spirit

beings, without body, invisible, intelligent,
opponents of God, and oppressors of man).
(Matthew 8:28; I Peter 5:8; Genesis 3:4-5) ;
• Godly spirits (Holy Spirit /angels / man’s
holy, righteous spirit)
• Human spirit /carnality _ nothing spiritual
about it :
• Big Difference: This is different from
natural discernment, faultfinding, street
smarts or sociological awareness. Natural
discernment is possessed by everyone,
with different level of maturity and
keenness.
The need for discernment today
• Some prophets claimed to be sent of God when
they were not. (Jeremiah 23:21) and Multitudes
of people have been drawn to trust in a lie.
(Jeremiah 28:15)
• Peter warned of false prophets. (II Peter 2:1-3)
and false prophets will never identify themselves
as such. (Matthew 7:15-16)
• Paul promised there would be false prophets in
the "latter days." (I Timothy 4:1)
• 1 John4:1 Do not believe in every spirit
but test the spirits to see whether they
are from God, because many false
prophets have gone out into the world
 What is the purpose of the
discerning of spirits?
• In order for church leaders to protect
the flock adequately, they must know
who labours among them. When one
can accurately discern the spiritual
motivation of a person or group and
the categories of spirits involved, then
the necessary steps can be taken to
deal properly with the situation
• After Philip invited Nathanael to meet
Jesus, the Bible records that “when Jesus
saw Nathanael approaching, he said of
him, ‘this is a true Israelites, in whom
there is nothing false’ (Jn 1:47)
• Paul and the slave girl
• Peter and Ananias and Sapphira :
discerned wrong spirit “ How is it that
satan has so filled your heart that you
have lied to the Holy Spirit and have
kept for yourself some of the money
you received for the land
• To help an Individual / purpose of
Deliverance or breaking of Bondages ;
purifying a situation or environment
(evil place . scary place)
• To encourage /edify – a church meeting
/ or an individual
HOW TO DISCERN BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL
SPIRITS – The Acid Test to Determine Truth
and Error.
• Maintaining the honour of Jesus Christ ( I
John 4:2-3)
• Cast out the evil spirit : Exercise the
authority / power of the Christ in us :
Greater is he that is in you that he who is
in the world.