Tongues for the Post-Modern Saint Part 4
Glossolalia has been grossly misunderstood by people who have not heard the truth about tongues. It’s not a psychotic mind-control gambit, or mystical version of “Who’s Line Is It, Anyway?”. The gift of tongues is far more intricate and beneficial than we modern-day Pente-Matics have considered. Friend, there is infinitely more! It is true of all Heavenly gifts, that God places no ceiling or cap on the development of that particular gift. There are practical boundaries of operation as prescribed in scripture. These boundaries only give us walls for safety, upon which we can build story after story… or layer upon layer of experience and Kingdom manifestation. There are no limits, in Christ. If a spiritual gift seems to top out in our lives, the flesh is at work. The flesh enjoys setting limitations and explanations for why it does not inherit the Kingdom of God. Heaven does not honor the works of the flesh. Once a heavenly gift is given over into the stewardship of the flesh nature of man, it ceases to grow in power and revelation. Friend, let’s revisit the scriptures to discover the hidden supernatural power of praying in tongues.
Paul teaches in 1 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 (mysterion) with his spirit.“ The Greek word, mysterion possesses a rich definition with three specific applications. The following is taken directly from the Greek lexicon.1
1. Hidden Things
- a) generally mysteries, religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals
- b) a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding
- c) a hidden purpose or counsel
When we pray in tongues, we are accessing privileged information. Paul also teaches that those who pray in tongues should also seek to interpret for greater benefit. Many times while I pray, interpretation will immediately come, or eventually as I meditate on the Lord. Tongues, used in this way, become the key that unlocks the secrets of Heaven. Covered issues come to the surface – not only in my life but in situations I encounter, and in the lives of others. The prophetic is mused by tongues. The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation is released to rise up and saturate my being as I babble away (very purposefully) in the language of Heaven.
2. The Secret Will
- a) of men
- b) of God: the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous,
- c.) that which is hidden from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the godly
Through tongues we can unlock the hidden plans of men and of God. The Spirit of God can and does reveal inside information to use on a need to know basis. When we are faithful to guard our Kingdom assignment in tongues, as watchmen, we can know what the enemy is planning behind closed doors. Likewise, we can discern what Father’s good will is for us, giving us the confidence to act boldly in all matters. Tongues can help us best our enemy by keeping us one step ahead. How all this works, still remains a mystery to satan, his imps and the unbeliever.
3. Mysteries In Rabbinic Writings
- a) of an OT saying (prophecies)
- b) of an image or form seen in a vision
- c) of a dream
The Spirit of God is still revealing hidden truths in the Old Testament and in the New. I believe the Lord has hidden things in His Word for each generation – throughout eternity! Although it is written, it will continue to be revealed. This is where it gets good! You may intentionally pray in tongues to unlock revelation in the way of trances, dreams and visions. Tongues opens up to us the infinite and eternal realm. Our finite mind is incapable of grasping the supernatural realm without divine enablement. Visions, dreams and trances are God’s way of circumventing the limitations of our fallen minds – to allow us to see into things that exceed our experiences. Without these encounters, we become spiritually blind and barren.
Maybe you’ve never experienced an open vision, where all of your earthly senses were suspended to engage in a heavenly encounter. But have you ever seen a story unfold in the recesses of your imagination? Perhaps an image or snapshot of a person, place or situation flashed in your mind as you prayed in tongues? If so, your spiritual sight has been activated. Now it’s time to develop and exercise your vision. Are you hungry to grow in this gift? Whether you desire to interpret, to access divine wisdom, or to increase in spiritual sight and revelation – it’s OK to ask God for more. Daily I cry out for more. Share with me what you are desiring to grow into and we’ll partner together in prayer. May we grow beyond the limitations of the flesh into new realms of divine partnership through tongues.
My next post will address how tongues opens up the world of angelic participation. Come back for more!
Read Part 1 Tongues for the Post-Modern Saint
Read Part 2 Accessing the Inner Man
Read Part 3 Reducing Tongues to Hypnosis
Read Part 5 Participating with Angels
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1. Definition of Mysterion: Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for mystērion (Strong’s 3466)“. Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2010. 25 Aug 2010. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3466&t=KJV >
brandon hutzell
August 25, 2010 at 19:05
The “practical boundaries of operation prescribed in scripture” are indeed the safe boundaries God has set in place as we operate in this gift. Most likely, the heights we may attain from this foundation are equivalent to the depth of our love and commitment to our personal relationship with Father through Christ. Our best mode of operation in this gift is that we honor the boundaries and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit for the daily, functional purposes of God’s sovereign plan for our lives and this gift. Reading your posts are opening new levels of revelation… so thankful… keep it coming.
DefiningWords
August 25, 2010 at 19:57
Brandon… thanks for adding love to the equation. Just as 1 Corinthians 13 tells us, if we don’t have love, tongues are meaningless. “Heights” are really depths in the Kingdom – like the ocean… of His love… now you got me going! Thanks, Hutz.
Patrick
August 25, 2010 at 19:20
Great posts and comments from you and your readers again. I have felt an unction to reply and have withheld to grasp the flow. I believe that what I am about to write will not be a statement of the obvious, but rather bring to light a subtle area that may not only reinforce what has been brought out but bring out a possible area of “failure to yield”.
You had posed the question “How is it that many tongue-talking believers do not demonstrate a superfluous and abounding lifestyle?” Your response is on point and well taken, but there may be something else to examine. As we begin to grow and yield to the purposes of Spiritual growth through the avenue of tongues as a vehicle for spiritual communication, we cannot dispense the value of receiving the resulting direction and correction in our soul. We, being composed of soul, body and spirit find ourselves in a disconnect due to the fallen state of man. It was in the original divine purpose to have those in communion with God.
in the seat of our soul, we find our mind, emotions and will, as well as our unconscious. I feel to bring out some scriptural reference here and then develop the concepts. 3John2 2Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. Phil 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: and Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. And from Strong’s G3565 definition of mind :1) the mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining
a) the intellectual faculty, the understanding
b) reason in the narrower sense, as the capacity for spiritual truth, the higher powers of the soul, the faculty of perceiving divine things, of recognising goodness and of hating evil
c) the power of considering and judging soberly, calmly and impartially
2) a particular mode of thinking and judging, i.e thoughts, feelings, purposes, desires
So to develop…You had used the example of flipping switches, an exercise that we have all availed ourselves to, but one that I believe brings out a component of our will. We, in our mind, are sometimes caught in the practice of renewing our mind by memorizing scripture, gaining understanding and trying to apply them to our walk and life, and yet coming to the realization that we just aren’t arriving at the place we should be based on what we know. We can grow and abound in the Spirit and our spirit communes and interacts with the Spirit of God, Sometimes to the point that we can be so Spiritual that our spiritual man overshadows the areas of our soul that still need to be regenerated. We sometimes replace miss the lack of prosperity we have because of an unconscious replacement of spirit for soul in the aforementioned passage that Paul speaks of. In the Spirit realm, God’s Spirit and our spirit do indeed commune and through the vehicles of tongues, visions, dreams and trances, He gives us guidance and direction for course correction.
Dreams are an interesting vehicle that The spirit of God, and our spirit use for directional purposes as the interaction with our unconscious uses metaphorical vividly symbolic imagery that is meaning ful to us as we wrestle with the interpretations. It does not (necessarily) follow that as we abound in the spiritual realm, we receive that which is provided to us through tongues, dreams, visions, etc.
We renew our mind by allowing this instuction, through the yielding of our mind, to replace the mind in our soul with the mind of Christ. We renew our will by allowing the will of God to replace that which we have by allowing the application of these devices. I find it interesting in Jesus’ discourse with his disciples in John 14…to paraphrase…I speak not of my self but that which I see the Father do.
Though subtle, the possible lack of total yielding of the components of our soul to the renewing and regenerative purposes of God may be a barrier to our growth. It is not enough to invoke our will to allow it, but rather yield our will to allow it so that we may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
I await further posts as they have been much needed for the body. I have written in an attempt to bring to light an unstated aspect that may be a barrier to receiving the fullness and will not develop further (unless there would be a desire by you or other readers) for the sake of brevity.
So another component of the initial question of a lack of abounding lifestyle may be seated in a well developed spirit man with a soulful failure to yield.
I am (im)patiently awaiting your next post as they continue to kindle my spiritual fire.
Thanks Melissa
Patrick
August 25, 2010 at 19:42
Something else quickly came to mind after submitting my comments…Jesus said Be ye perfect as I am perfect, meaning be ye whole and perfected as I am whole and perfected. If we operate in “not my will but thy will be done” we can allow for the spiritual regeneration of our soul through all of God’s devices to bring use to an elevated state in Him. Through this regeneration we can walk in the Spirit (an act of our spiritually regenerated will consistent with that of the Father’s) and not walk Spiritually as an act of our will.
DefiningWords
August 25, 2010 at 20:02
This comment is pregnant… “and not walk Spiritually as an act of our will.” This is also a pitfall of self-will that will stunt growth. I got where you were coming from immediately. Even our spiritual development (if rooted in soulful will) can strengthen the soul in ways undesirable. This is a subtle nuance that most probably would never perceive. aha!
DefiningWords
August 25, 2010 at 20:07
I am in full agreement with this. When I taught this in our services at the Lighthouse, I stated something that now I wish had wound up in this post. It is the divine activity within the spirit of man, that during prayer in tongues is allowed to bubble up into the conscious realm. The purpose of the bubbling up, is to deal with hidden and unrenewed issues. I hinted to this somewhat deficiently in the previous post with:
“It is in these states that the matters of the heart / subconscious / spirit man come to the surface – to be discussed with God. For some who have not disciplined themselves to “be still and know,” these are the only times they hear the voice of God.”
If we are praying in tongues without giving heed to what Spirit is correcting, influencing, or establishing, then we are missing the point. This further confirms a part 5… that I’ve been mulling… over… for days… Keep writing, sir. I enjoy every post.
Patrick
August 25, 2010 at 20:26
Amen. I perceive that you were, in fact, mindful of this and ascertained the hints. My thoughts go to those who are young in the Lord and His ways or those who may be in a regenerative season that we can gain fullness, edify the body and help each other to grow. WIll pray that He opens the fullness of expression through your “mulling”( an exercise I frequently find myself in…some times for too long). The great thing about pregnancy is the glorious birth that comes from the incubation!!!
Anxiously awaiting the outcome of the “mulling”…lol
DefiningWords
August 25, 2010 at 21:49
Patrick,
A very wise mentor told me this some time ago. She said, “Feed the sheep and Father will make sure the lambs get what they need.” This was quite freeing. Not that we don’t mind the lambs, but Father is faithful. They somehow divine what they need as the Spirit of God works through us.
Patrick
August 25, 2010 at 21:59
Interesting perspective…might be relative to one’s calling…….might prod me to an exercise in mulling……..
Patrick
August 25, 2010 at 22:18
Initially quicken to a discourse another great mentor had with a pupil in John 21:15-18. In this exchange the teacher addressed the pupil as Simon (not as Peter)………still mulling
Patrick
August 25, 2010 at 22:28
No implied parallel just an expressed comment….still mulling
DefiningWords
August 26, 2010 at 11:05
Should be turning into mulled cider by now
Patrick
August 26, 2010 at 13:13
Mulled cider……..interesting…………Speaks to process. For in the processing, whether it be apples, olives or grapes we can’t forget the benefits of process. For in the process, it is the pressing that yields the essence, the juicy goodness of the fruit (EVOO, cider, grape juice). If we continue to process, we may derive more goodness (wine, in the figurative sense) or, if not careful, a lower quality product (olive oil) or it may turn hard (cider). If we still carry on, the wine or cider may turn to vinegar. But yet, if we take the vinegar or wine and subject it to aging under the proper conditions, we may bring out subtleties in flavor, fullness of body and a sweetness not appreciated previously. Wisdom directs process to bring out the desired product for His purpose.
Forgive my divergence……
Tim Livengood
August 26, 2010 at 02:50
Confident in this one thing, that God , who has begun a good work in you , will complete it! So let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven!1!! Dispell darkness, tear it apart with the hidden power of His light in your hands. whoa do you see that?!!
DefiningWords
August 26, 2010 at 11:06
Tim, you made me chuckle this morning. Prayer edifies, don’t it? Whew!
Tonia Woolever
September 11, 2010 at 21:45
Hello Melissa, Patrick and others,
I have just discovered these posts, Melissa, and am so glad you are addressing these issues. I agree with the things you have said, and feel that the enemy of our souls has stolen the beauty and value of speaking in tongues from too many, by marginalizing it as something strange and unnecessary. Because I came to God with a blank religious slate, I read the Bible and decided to believe and test everything. The Lord taught me much about the power and purpose of our prayer language, which for me went beyond the obvious personal growth aspects you both speak of (vital though they are) into the matter of being enabled to intercede for others beyond my own faith level, interceding for people I didn’t even know, and interceding for people in matters which were none of my business — preserving their and bypassing any human judgments I might be tempted to form. Indeed, these are prayers informed perfectly by the Holy Spirit himself, which bypass my flaws.
I also agree that praying in tongues is not by itself a path to spiritual perfection; it is part of the whole package, to be sure, but as can be clearly seen in Charismatic circles, by itself does not transform character; only knowing, hearing and walking with the living God can accomplish this.
Because I am a Bible teacher who wants to help people escape lifeless religion and find authentic life with God, I wrote of all these things in a course book for Christian women (The Woman God Designed), hoping to break down barriers of fear and misunderstanding of this gift. We all need it, and it is a precious part of the gift package that is the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Melissa, for writing these posts; we are on the same team!
God bless you as you know and reveal Him to others,
Tonia