Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. I Corinthians 12:1 (KJV)

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. I Corinthians 12:4 (KJV)

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. I Corinthians 12:7-11 (KJV)

Today we conclude our series on the gifts of the Spirit by looking at the category known as the Vocal Gifts, which is made up of the gift of tongues, the gift of interpretation of tongues, and the gift of prophecy.

The Gift of Tongues

Tongues is a supernatural language that is God-given. It is a language from heaven that is brought to us by the Holy Spirit. It is not a learned language. It is given supernaturally to the believer so they can speak to God. It is a spiritual language. God is a spirit and we are spirit beings, so we use a spiritual language. We communicate to God with tongues- in praise, prayer, and divine utterance. It comes from God through our own spirits. It bypasses the mind. It is not a mental activity when we speak in tongues, but a spiritual one.

In Mark 16:15-18, Jesus gave supernatural signs. One of those was tongues. This means tongues is a sign for those who believe.

We have to differentiate the devotional gift of tongues from the gift of tongues for public ministry. The devotional gift of tongues is our supernatural prayer language designed to build us up personally and give us a means to speak directly and perfectly to God. The other is the gift of tongues which is for the purpose of public ministry and the building up of the body of Christ. That public minstry gift is what is meant by the gift of tongues as a gift of the Spirit. I Corinthians 14:18 is referring to that public gift of tongues when Paul says, “Do all speak with tongues?” He was reinforcing order in the church, but it is God’s will that every believer be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues (Acts 2:38-29). According to paul’s instruction, ongues may be spoekn in the church as a means of edification, but only if there is an interpretation of the tongues spoken. Thsi means the person speaking in tongues must be led by the Holy Spirit to do so, or there may not be an interpretation that follows. We see the gift of tongues in I Corinthians 14: 27-28, Ephesians 5:18.

Interpretation of Tongues

This is when someone interprets what was spoken in tongues as a message from God. This can be done in both private and public. Note, this is not a word-for-word translation of every syllable spoken in tongues. It is interpreting the message that came through tongues.

When we speak in tongues, we are told we should pray to interpret. When we pray in tongues, we talk to God. When we interpret, we understand what God says back to us. We benefit from the interpretation because we find out what is the heart and mind of God. God wants us all to pray in tongues, so it makes sense that it is His desire that we all interpret. According to Scripture, when we speak in tongues and then an interpretation is given, it is equal to prophecy (which we will cover next). Tongues and interpretation is the divine utterance for communication to and from God for our benefit. I Corinthians 14:5, I Corinthians 14:26-28.

The Gift of Prophecy

The gift of prophecy is oftern confused with the office of the prophet. When someone operates in the office of the prophet, he or she is called as a member of the 5-fold ministry as a prophet of God. That calling is for their lifetime, and is not for every person. On the other hand, the gift of prophecy may be given to various people by the Holy Spirit at various times as He sees fit. It is not a permanent thing- it is given for a specific instance to glorify God. We are talking today about the gift of prophecy, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. According to Bible scholar and teacher, Dr.Ronald E. Cottle, the gift of prophecy is “a spontaneous, supernatural vocal expression of inspiration in a known language that strengthens, encourages, and comforts believers. It is a direct message from God to a person or group of people.” The gift of prophecy is for edification (I Corinrhians 14:3), whereas the office of a prophet is for revelation (Ephsians 4:11). The word prophecy in the Hebrew means to flow forth and often involved foretelling the future. In the New Testament, the Greek word for prophecy means to speak for another and involves forth-telling, or speaking something forth to build up others. The office of a prophet may tell of the future, but the gift of prophecy is usually just for building people up, not for revealing future events. We read about the gift of prophecy in I Corinthians 12:10, I Corinthians 14:24.

Well, that finishes our brief look at the gifts of the Spirit. I’m hopeful that it cleared up a few misunderstandings about these amazing and still-operational gifts. Whether you are a new believer or someone who has heard this information before, the gifts of the Holy Spirit is a topic worth studying. In conclusion, let us earnestly and sincerely desire spiritual gifts because it is God’s will that we all operate in them.