Level 1 Lesson 16 THE BENEFITS OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Level: 1, Lesson: 16
THE BENEFITS OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES
OUTLINE

Acts 2:4: "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

God never did anything without the Holy Spirit. He created the heavens and the earth by the Spirit: Genesis 2:2: "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made." Jesus never did any miracles until the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and anointed Him. Matthew 3:16: "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him." And we can’t be effective without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Acts 1:8: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

There are things that you can do to release the power of the Holy Spirit.

Praying in the Holy Ghost is praying in other tongues and it builds up your faith.

Jude 20: "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost"; I Corinthians 14:4: "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church."

When you pray in tongues the power in your spirit, the part of you that has the perfect wisdom, power and faith of God, is released. I Corinthians 14:14: "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful."

You speak the hidden wisdom and mysteries of God when you speak in tongues.

I Corinthians 2:6-7: "Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory." I Corinthians 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."

When you pray in tongues it’s foolishness to your mind. It takes faith for you to pray in tongues. It takes you out of natural reasoning and thinking and puts you into a supernatural realm of faith.

When you pray in tongues for other people you are praying for them with the wisdom of God that goes beyond your mental ability. You are praying the mind of Christ for them that goes beyond your understanding and supernatural things can happen for them.

When you’re praying in tongues, it’s your spirit that knows exactly what to do – it’s your spirit that’s praying. If you could walk in the spirit, the power and revelation that’s in your spirit, it would transform your life. One way of releasing that power is by praying in tongues.

When you speak in tongues, believe that you are building up your faith. Jude 20: "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." Believe that your spirit is praying the hidden wisdom of God and then pray that you interpret it or get the understanding. I Corinthians 14:13: "Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret."

Praying that you interpret doesn’t mean that you have to stop praying in tongues and start praying in English, it just means that your understanding becomes fruitful. Sometimes that interpretation can mean a different attitude or perception about something.

Praying in tongues should be a part of your everyday life. It’s a way to communicate with God and bypass your brain, which has all the doubts and fears in it.

THE BENEFITS OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES
(Lesson Text)

Many people question what is accomplished by speaking in tongues. There are four verses in I Corinthians 14 where Paul gives us insight on this. In I Corinthians 14:2, Paul says we are speaking mysteries.

Paul made it clear that his revelation of the mysteries of God came through the Spirit

(I Corinthians 2:10). When we pray in tongues, our spirits are praying (I Corinthians. 14:14) through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4; Jude 20). Normally our understanding is unfruitful (I Corinthians 14:14) when we pray in tongues, but we can change that by praying for the interpretation. The way this works is that as we speak in tongues and believe for the interpretation, revelation knowledge comes. This might be insight into some truth of God that we are pondering, or godly insight into some situation that we are praying about.
In I Corinthians 14:4, Paul says we edify ourselves through speaking in tongues. The word "edify" means, "the act of building . . . the promotion of spiritual growth" (W. E. Vine). Speaking in tongues builds us up (Jude 20) and promotes spiritual growth.

The Lord promised us that He would comfort us in all our tribulation (II Corinthians 1:4) and that is specifically what the gift of speaking in tongues does for us. Later in I Corinthians 14:21, Paul quotes from Isaiah 28:11-12 and specifically applies those verses to speaking in tongues. Therefore, in Isaiah 28:11-12, the Lord said that speaking in tongues was refreshing and the "rest" where with you may cause the weary to rest.

Speaking in tongues is a powerful force for promoting spiritual growth and giving us refreshment and rest in trying situations.
I Corinthians 14:14, says our spirits are the part of us that prays in tongues. Our born-again spirits have the mind of Christ. They have all the power of Christ (Ephesians 1:18-20). Our spirits are complete (Colossians 2:9-10). Therefore, when we are praying from our spirit, we are praying with the mind of Christ, using our most holy faith (Jude 20). Too often our minds, with all their wrong thinking and unbelief, gets in the way. Praying in tongues bypasses our minds and allows our spirits to have unhindered communion with the Father.
In I Corinthians 14:17, Paul says we are giving thanks unto God when we speak in tongues. This is a very powerful benefit of speaking in tongues. When we speak in tongues we are praising God. And since we are praying from our spirit, we don’t experience the hindrances that are present when we pray from our mind. We are giving perfect praise unto God, without the limitations of human language or thought. If there were no other benefits associated with speaking in tongues, this would be more than enough reason to seek this gift.
1. 1. What happens when we pray in tongues according to I Corinthians 14:14?
  2. What may we ask for according to I Corinthians 14:13?
2. 1. According to I Corinthians 14:4, what do we do when we speak in tongues?
  2. What does the word "edify" mean?
3. 1. How are we to pray according to Ephesians 6:18? In the Spirit
  2. When one prays in tongues, is he praying in the spirit? (I Corinthians 14:14)
4. What happens when we pray in tongues, according to I Corinthians 14:17?

THE BENEFITS OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES
(Additional Information)

One of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. It is one of the most powerful gifts that God ever gave to the church. There are a lot of reasons why speaking in tongues will set you free, but most people don’t know or understand them.

The Bible says faith comes by hearing the Word of God. You must speak in tongues in faith. You have to have faith and believe that it works.

Speaking in tongues is a gift to you. Since it is a gift, this means that you can speak in tongues anytime you want. You don’t have to wait for a special occasion. It’s the Holy Spirit Himself that gives you the utterance to speak in this unknown language. It is so fought against because speaking in tongues is the most powerful manifestation gift of the Spirit. Because it accomplishes so much, Satan fights against it.

You can fake all kinds of things, but speaking in tongues is an action - it is something that you cannot fake. When you speak in tongues you are acting in faith, it releases a lot of power. Here are some scripture verses

Speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift for self edification.

I Corinthians 14:4: "He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. (NKJV)"
Speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift for communication to the church.

I Corinthians 14:5: "I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless he interprets, that the church may receive edification (NKJV)."

You can ask the Holy Spirit to give you an interpretation of what you are speaking so that the church may be edified.
Speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift for communication with God in private worship.

I Corinthians 14:2: "For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed no one understands him he utters mysteries with his spirit (NKJV)."
Speaking in tongues is a means by which the Holy Spirit intercedes through us in prayer.

Romans 8:26: "In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (NIV)."
Speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift for singing in the Spirit.

I Corinthians 14:15: "So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind (NIV)."
Speaking in tongues is one of the gifts of the Spirit.

I Corinthians 12:1: "Now about spiritual gifts, brother, I do not want you to be ignorant (NIV)."
The Apostle Paul was thankful to God for the privilege of speaking in tongues.

I Corinthians 14:18: "I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of You (NIV)."
The Apostle Paul desired that all would speak in tongues.

I Corinthians 14:5: "I would like every one of you to speak in tongues . . . (NIV)."
Isaiah prophetically refers to speaking with tongues as a rest.

Isaiah 28:11-12: "Very well then with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, ‘12This is the resting place, let the weary rest, and, This is the place of repose,’ but they would not listen (NIV)."

Isaiah prophetically refers to speaking in tongues as "refreshing."
Speaking in tongues sometimes follows as a confirmation of the Word of God when it is preached.

Mark 16:17: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues (NIV)."

Mark 16:20: "Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it (NIV)."

I Corinthians 13:8: "Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away (NIV)."

When is the time that tongues shall cease? They will cease at the end of this age, when "perfection comes" which is Jesus Himself. Until then, we need the Holy Spirit and His gifts in our churches. There is no indication in the scriptures that the manifestation of the Spirit through His gifts would cease at the end of the first century era. Three things will have to happen at the same time tongues cease:

Knowledge will have to pass away.
You will see face to face.
You will have to know all things as you are fully known.

The only time this will happen is at the second coming of the Lord when we will receive a glorified body. Then we will be total and complete with a renewed mind, body, soul, and spirit. Until the return of the Lord, speaking in tongues is for us today.

THE PURPOSE OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES

A lot of people don’t speak in tongues because they do not know what it accomplishes. They just think of it as something they do to let people know that they received the Holy Spirit.

I Corinthians 14:2: You speak mysteries unto God. Your Spirit prays (That’s where the power is!). When we pray in our own understanding we are limited. You pray the hidden wisdom of God when you pray in tongues. You become spiritually minded. You speak the revelation knowledge of God. We cannot receive the things of God with the carnal mind. They are received only through the Spirit by speaking in tongues.

I Corinthians 14:4: Speaking in tongues edifies you; it builds you up and promotes spiritual growth.

Jude 20: "But ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit."

Speaking in tongues is a powerful weapon against the devil. That is why he tries so hard to keep God’s children from receiving this gift.

Some people say that speaking in tongues is of the devil. If this was of the devil, why aren’t all those who follow the devil doing all manner of evil by speaking in tongues? Those who frequent bars where the environment is often filled with people who are drunk and have no ability to think clearly, do they speak in tongues? No; so this myth is only a myth.

I Corinthians 14:39: " . . . forbid not to speak with tongues."

Luke 11:13: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" This verse refers to the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Christ promised to His followers, not the impartation of the Spirit at new birth."

According to your faith, so be it done unto you. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a real occurrence. It happened in the book of Acts, in every instance there was a manifestation. It is normal. Receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit is so important that the Holy Spirit will instantly begin to speak through you in tongues.

I Corinthians 12:31: "But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way."

The gifts and callings are without repentance.

Read Acts 2:1-4. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them. It hasn’t ended, and it will not end until Jesus comes at the second coming - at the end of the age.

Here are some questions to think about for this lesson

Level 1 Lesson 16 Questions
THE BENEFITS OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES

According to Jude 20, what great benefit is received by praying in the spirit?
In Acts 2:4, how many people were filled with the Holy Spirit?
What did they do as a result of being filled?
According to I Corinthians 14:14, what part of you is praying when you pray in an unknown tongue?
According to I Corinthians 14:2, who are you praying to?
Who understands these tongues?
According to I Corinthians 14:2, your spirit is speaking what?
According to I Corinthians 14:4, when you pray in tongues you do what?
According to I Corinthians 14:16, when you speak in tongues your spirit is doing what?
You are also doing what?

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