Pneumatology -- Spiritual Gifts \"Speaking in Tongues\"

Pneumatology -- Spiritual Gifts

"Speaking in Tongues" is an established spiritual gift given by God for God's people. It has biblical bases as a gift and sign of the Holy Spirit that was understood by foreign-speaking people and/or was interpreted for the church community. In addition, it was and sometimes is regarded as a sign of Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The modern validity of "Speaking in Tongues" depends on how a church interprets "the perfect" in 1 Corinthians 13:8-10.

What are spiritual gifts, and what is their purpose?

"Speaking in Tongues" is one of the spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are God's way of giving power to his people through the Holy Spirit for the community's service and life. These gifts allow God's people to glorify God through their attitude, actions, lives and ministry (Cole, 2007, p. 249). Some gifts, such as teaching or generosity, seem to come out of a person's natural talent or character. Other gifts, such as "Speaking in Tongues," are out of the ordinary. Still other gifts, such as prophecy, seem to be combinations of the ordinary (speaking ability) and extraordinary (inspiration from the Holy Spirit) (Cole, 2007, p. 249).

How do spiritual gifts differ from the Fruit of the Spirit, and which of these two concepts show's one's spiritual maturity?

Spiritual gifts are not to be confused with the Fruit of the Spirit. A spiritual gift is given by God simply because God is empowering you and at least theoretically, every single person in the community has one or more spiritual gifts through God's generosity. In contrast, the Fruit of the Spirit is a spiritually mature person's Christ like or "holy" character (Cole, 2007, p. 225).

What is a biblical definition and purpose of the gift of "Speaking in Tongues?"

Biblically, "Speaking in Tongues" means speaking in a manner or in a language that is not usually understood by listeners or by the person "Speaking in Tongues." The Bible speaks of two types of "Speaking in Tongues." One, on Pentecost, says that the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues, which allowed people from other countries with different languages to understand what the apostles were saying (Acts 2:1-13). The other was ecstatic speaking by one member of the community that often had to be interpreted by another member of the community (1 Corinthians 14:2). Though the circumstances of "Speaking in Tongues" were different, in one case reaching out to foreign-speaking people and in the other giving inspirational and interpreted information to the community, they were both gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are both important in that they show the work of the Holy Spirit (Mark 16:17, Acts 10:44-46, Acts 19:4-6).

What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and what biblical evidence supports your view?