Participants: Hal Steenson (Host)
Series Code: HPOV
Program Code: HPOV000005
00:01 Hello and welcome to Heaven's Point of View.
00:03 We're teaching a new series on the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit 00:05 and today we start with the gift of the interpretation 00:08 of tongues. We will see in today's study the truth 00:11 of the gift of interpretation and we'll examine several of the 00:15 other errors associated with tongues and interpretations. 00:19 So get your Bibles, settle down, and we'll be right back. 00:45 Today I'll be teaching on the gift of interpretation 00:47 of tongues. Using only scripture as our foundation we will see 00:52 that this gift is not only misused but it is also 00:54 grossly misunderstood. Now keep this thought in mind, 00:58 whenever you hear what is considered to be an "angelic" 01:02 tongue in a church service or setting, what always follows 01:07 is a false, FALSE interpretation of that tongue. 01:12 We must be conscious of a vital foundational truth 01:15 about the gift of interpretation of tongues. 01:18 Without this crucial truth, people in bondage to this error 01:21 may never be set free. This gift is found in: 01:31 This is not the same gift as the gift of tongues. 01:33 Some people think it is. It's clearly given to what 01:36 scripture says is another. This is a gift given by God 01:40 through His Holy Spirit and is not a learned ability such as 01:45 someone who is bilingual by lifestyle or education. 01:48 The word for gift first used other than in italics is in 01:52 I Corinthians 12:4 is CHARISMA, 01:56 and the meaning of it is a spiritual endowment 02:00 or a divinely-conferred gift or power. 02:04 There is not a person on the face of this earth 02:06 that can either learn or earn this gift or any other 02:10 God-given gift. For anyone to believe or even say 02:14 that the gift of interpretation is anything other than a 02:17 divinely-given gift from God would be speaking heresy. 02:22 It would be the equivalent of someone saying: 02:25 "If I practice long and hard enough, I'd be able to learn 02:28 the gift of miracles or the gift of healing. 02:30 If this were true, then by learned patterns of behavior 02:33 people would be able to open blinded eyes or raise the dead 02:37 by their self-taught ability. As Christians professing to know 02:41 the truth of God's Word, we must recognize this 02:45 interpretation gift as a gift acquired only as a gift given by 02:51 the Holy Spirit. If the gift of interpretation can be learned, 02:55 then it follows with this line of reasoning that any of the 02:59 spiritual gifts could be learned. 03:02 This is also unscriptural. Once we understand the truth 03:06 about the gift of interpretation and natural interpretations, 03:09 it should be obvious to us how they function. 03:14 You see, first there's the gift of interpretation bestowed 03:18 on the recipient by no means other than the Holy Spirit. 03:22 It's similar to the gift of tongues in that the individual 03:25 does not previously know the speaker's language. 03:28 Stay with me now! The receiver of this gift 03:31 is able to interpret a known language he or she may have 03:36 never spoken before. Now let me illustrate this. 03:39 This may be someone who speaks English is sharing the Gospel 03:43 with a group of people in India who speak Hindi. 03:47 They can't understand the speaker because he doesn't speak 03:50 their language-but God wants them to hear the message of 03:53 the Gospel. The Holy Spirit endows one of those Indians 03:57 present with the gift of interpretation. 03:59 This gift would allow the recipient to understand 04:03 what is being spoken in English even though he or she has never 04:07 spoken it. Then he or she would be able to translate 04:11 this message for the others in Hindi. 04:14 Now get a picture of this, OK? Can you imagine... 04:16 the person speaking in English here is Jim standing there 04:21 that does not speak English and everybody in the entire 04:24 village knows he doesn't speak English-and all of a sudden 04:27 he starts interpreting what the speaker is saying. 04:32 Do you not think that they would have ears to hear 04:36 and realize that this is a gift from God? 04:38 Now some people have asked, "Do the gift of tongues and the 04:41 gift of interpretation ever work together? 04:44 There is no scriptural evidence that the gift of tongues 04:46 or the gift of interpretation ever working in concert. 04:50 It's not scriptural. However, the question is: 04:53 "Why would there ever be a need for this to take place?" 04:56 When the gift of tongues is given, the speaker is able to 04:59 speak in the hearer's own language, and there is no need 05:02 for the gift of interpretation or of natural interpretation. 05:06 If I heard somebody speaking to me in English, 05:09 why would I need an interpretation 05:12 or an interpreter? Likewise, the gift of interpretation 05:15 is always used to translate a present-day known language 05:20 of a speaker to the hearer in his common language. 05:25 On every occasion in the Word of God when people received 05:29 the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they spoke in the language 05:32 of those present. There is no scriptural evidence 05:36 that anyone ever spoke in unknown, incoherent 05:41 words or sounds. Now: 05:56 Act 2:8 reads: "Behold, are not all these who speak Galileans? 06:00 And how then do we hear each of them speaking in our own tongue 06:04 wherein we were born?" 06:16 Acts 10:43-46 says: "While Peter yet spake these words 06:21 the Holy Ghost fell on them which heard the word. 06:23 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished 06:27 as many as came with Peter because that on the Gentiles 06:30 also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 06:33 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. " 06:37 Peter heard them in his own language and did not need 06:41 an interpreter. 06:53 Acts 19:1-6 says: "And it came to pass that while 06:56 Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the 06:58 upper coast came to Ephesus and finding certain disciples 07:02 he said unto them have you received the Holy Ghost 07:04 since you believed? And they said unto him, 07:06 we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 07:09 And he said unto them, unto what then were you baptized? 07:12 And they said: unto John's baptism. 07:15 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of 07:19 repentance saying unto the people that the should believe 07:22 on Him which should come after him - that is on Christ Jesus. 07:26 When they heard this, they were all baptized in the name of the 07:29 Lord Jesus, and when Paul had laid his hands on them, 07:32 the Holy Ghost came on them and they spake with tongues 07:36 and prophesied. " There is no Biblical evidence 07:40 to believe that those disciples manifested the gift of tongues 07:44 in any manner different from the others in scripture. 07:48 The majority of Christianity is not against the gifts of the 07:52 Holy Spirit, but we do insist that the only way the gifts 07:55 are to be used is in line, in concert, with God's Word. 07:58 The enemy of our soul has promoted and encouraged 08:02 the incorrect use of tongues to cause confusion among 08:05 the believers. Now by doing this, he has managed to put 08:10 all the other gifts of the Spirit in question. 08:14 Many sincere Christians have rejected all of the gifts of the 08:18 Spirit because of the misuse of this one gift... 08:21 the gift of tongues. 08:23 The next type of interpretation is the natural interpretation 08:28 of tongues. The second type of interpretation Paul speaks of 08:32 to the church at Corinth is pertaining to a common language 08:36 someone has learned and is able to translate into the language 08:39 of the hearer. This IS NOT a gift of interpretation. 08:43 I will say it again. It IS NOT the gift of interpretation. 08:47 It is a learned ability. We are all familiar with this 08:51 type of interpretation because we see it almost daily 08:54 in Christiandom and on secular programming, bilingual people 08:57 are examples of what Paul is addressing here. 09:00 On television we see Americans who can't speak the language of 09:05 a country, preaching the Gospel to the people in that country 09:09 and they are accompanied by what we call a translator 09:13 who understands their English language and then translates it 09:17 into the native language of that country. 09:19 This is not the gift of interpretation. 09:22 It doesn't matter how skilled you are, it doesn't matter how 09:24 good you are at it, a gift can't be earned or learned. 09:28 What this is, is a learned ability by the person 09:31 doing the translating-although a translator is someone who 09:34 actually converts written words, it may help you to refer to this 09:38 person as a translator rather than an interpreter. 09:42 Were the true gifts of the Spirit ever used in the 09:46 Corinthian church? Well, there's no reason to disbelieve 09:49 that all the gifts of the Spirit were manifested at some time 09:53 in the church at Corinth. That early church was zealous 09:57 for the manifestations of the Holy Spirit and really 10:00 welcomed His presence. There is no reason to believe 10:02 that the true gifts of the Spirit 10:03 such as the gift of tongues, the gift of healing, 10:06 and the gift of interpretation and others were not present 10:10 in their services. However, the main emphasis 10:13 is that the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation 10:17 could not have been used to compliment one another. 10:21 They are NEVER in concert. There is a likelihood 10:24 that the gift of interpretation was often present because Paul 10:28 instructed them not to speak in a language others didn't 10:31 understand unless there was an interpreter. 10:33 This may have included both the gift of interpretation 10:37 and the natural interpretation. They could have also had the 10:41 gift of tongues in their meeting along with natural tongues. 10:45 Now see, this should be where we should put THE END 10:51 to this series. By all that's right, and fair, and true 10:55 this should be where we put THE END to this study on tongues 11:00 and the interpretation of tongues. 11:02 See bringing the correct use of the gift of tongues to light 11:05 should immediately expose all the errors about tongues. 11:08 We should be able to say God's Word is true 11:11 and anything that's contrary to it is a lie. 11:14 Jesus gave us the formula for freedom in John 8:32 11:19 when He said: "And you shall know the truth, 11:21 and the truth shall set you free. " 11:25 The United States Treasury Department does not train its 11:28 counterfeit force by having them to study counterfeit money. 11:31 They study genuine money and become so acquainted with the 11:35 genuine that they immediately recognize any counterfeit bills. 11:38 You know, I am concerned about many articles, books, 11:41 and programs available on tongues that focus on the 11:46 counterfeit and never really explain the authentic. 11:48 The time has come for the body of Christ to stop singing 11:53 to the choir and start ministering to God's people. 11:56 We must somehow get past the mindset of producing 12:00 material of a particular denomination 12:03 for that denomination to use to tell other denominations 12:08 they are wrong. If we would just present the truth, 12:12 the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 12:15 in the humility of Jesus Christ, it would allow people 12:20 out there space enough to admit that they could be wrong 12:25 about what they believe. My mother always said: 12:28 "A pinch of sugar will get you more than a pound of salt. " 12:33 Some of you know what I mean. 12:34 Well, next we will examine the error surrounding tongues. 12:38 First, the majority of tongues heard in this present age 12:41 are truly unknown languages unknown to everyone, 12:46 even God, and therefore do not line up with scripture. 12:53 Please recall the fact that the word unknown is not scripturally 12:57 based, Biblically sound. The unknown tongue speakers 13:01 believe that they are speaking in an "out-of-this-world" or 13:04 "angelic" language. The scriptures used for these errors 13:08 are a paradox because they are in the heart of Paul's first 13:12 letter to the church at Corinth and in this letter Paul is 13:15 CORRECTING the tongues error in the Corinthian church. 13:19 He is NOT promoting it, encouraging or endorsing 13:23 their use of tongues. We read in: 13:39 Here Paul is using a hyperbole an exaggeration 13:43 for EMPHASIS. The unknown tongues speakers 13:46 believe this scripture confirms that Paul spoke in an "angelic" 13:49 language. Questions must then be asked: Why are there never 13:54 any of these tongues that sound alike? 13:58 You see from eighteen years of experience I have never heard 14:01 any two that ever sounded the same. 14:03 Are there thousands upon thousands upon hundreds of 14:07 thousands of angelic languages? 14:09 Do all the angels have an individual language 14:12 and if they do how do they communicate with one another? 14:16 If the tongues of angels is true, then why don't we have 14:20 one-just one-just one single example of this language 14:26 in the Word of God? Why aren't there any God-given 14:29 Biblical examples to confirm these beliefs? 14:32 On every occasion where angels appeared to people in the Bible 14:36 the angels spoke in earthly languages and the hearers 14:39 present clearly understood what they were saying. 14:43 We have many examples in the Old and the New Testament 14:46 where angels spoke to people such as Hagar, Abraham, 14:50 Jacob, Moses, Joseph, the virgin Mary, 14:53 the apostle John, and many, many others. 14:57 Every one of those angels spoke without the use 15:00 of an interpreter or any other gift of the Spirit. 15:04 How do you know? Because the gift was given to the church 15:08 not to the angels. The only examples we have of 15:12 angels speaking confirm that they never spoke in an 15:15 incoherent, out-of-this-world language. 15:17 How or where does anyone come up with an example 15:20 of an unknown angelic language? Now let me share this with you. 15:26 I pray, I do, I pray that after the resurrection 15:30 and we are there in the presence of God, I pray that I will not 15:35 have to use this English language. 15:36 I pray that there won't be any Russian, 15:38 that there won't be any Spanish, 15:40 that there won't be any Portuguese, 15:41 that there won't be any French. 15:43 And the reason why is the enemy of our soul has so corrupted 15:45 our earthly language that I pray that God will give us 15:48 a new language. But it will be a language that all of us 15:52 will understand, and I believe it will be one language, 15:55 and it will be a language that God has put His hand on 15:59 and His anointing on. You know, I wonder what scriptures 16:03 people use to prove these so-call "angelic" languages. 16:07 Moreover, how could anyone possibly know if their angelic 16:11 tongue was from God if they can't even understand 16:15 what they are saying themselves? 16:20 I pray that when we get to heaven's shore 16:23 that we will be able to lay aside every corrupt language 16:27 that has fallen upon this world and have a new language 16:31 that is undefiled. However, I am assured 16:35 should it be so, that it will be one that God has put 16:39 His anointing on, a language which we all will speak and 16:41 understand and not millions of different dialects. 16:49 You know, there are many historical instances of 16:51 the use of incoherent tongues by non-Christians? 16:54 According to history, the Oracle of Delphi began around 16:59 the 400 B.C. era when Greece was the most impressive force 17:03 in the world. At the time Paul wrote his first letter 17:07 to Corinth, the Oracle's teachings were practiced openly 17:11 and were well known by many in the Corinthian church. 17:14 They had to have been. The members of Paul's church 17:16 at Corinth would have been very familiar with how the Oracle 17:19 worked her deception. The Oracle of Delphi 17:23 was a mystical shrine dedicated to the Greek god Apollo. 17:27 This shrine had been built over an old cave. Local shepherds 17:31 who got too close to the cave opening, would go into a frenzy 17:34 and start speaking incoherently after breathing the fumes 17:38 that were seeping from the cavern. People would come 17:41 from all over the region to seek the Oracle's advice. 17:44 Someone would ask the Oracle a question, and she would inhale 17:47 the vapors emitted from the cave causing her go to into a fit 17:51 and start babbling incoherently in irrational tongues. 17:56 Afterward a temple priest would write down the Oracle's 18:00 so-called interpretation of what she has supposedly said 18:03 while babbling and then deliver the so-called interpretation 18:07 to the person that had asked her the question. 18:09 This usually involved the payment of money to the Oracle. 18:14 This type of ritual, well-known to the pagan populous of 18:17 Corinth, could have easily infiltrated the Corinthian 18:21 church and caused some of the confusion Paul is addressing. 18:24 Well, what about this? Did Paul say he spoke any 18:28 angelic languages? Some have asked this question. 18:32 Didn't Paul say that he spoke in the tongues of men 18:34 and the tongues of angels? The answer is NO. 18:38 He did not say he spoke in angelic tongues. 18:41 What Paul said in I Corinthians 13:1 was THOUGH 18:45 I speak with the tongues of men and the tongues of angels. 18:48 If you read this verse in context, in the context, 18:51 or in modern-day translations, you will see that the word 18:54 THOUGH means EVEN IF. THOUGH means EVEN IF. 18:58 Paul was saying "Even if I speak with the tongues of men 19:01 and the tongues of angels. " Then Paul states in verse 2, 19:05 Are you ready for this? "Though I have all faith. " 19:08 According to the Bible, the apostle Paul had great faith 19:11 but he did not have ALL faith. 19:13 In verse 3 he states: "Though I give my body to be 19:17 burned. " Paul didn't give his body to be burned. 19:20 He was beheaded while imprisoned in Rome. 19:25 You see, Paul uses these statements as similes. 19:28 The word THOUGH simply means EVEN IF I COULD. 19:32 The New Living Translation says it well. 19:34 It says it like this: 19:47 If the apostle Paul spoke in tongues after receiving the 19:49 baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is no mention of it 19:52 in scripture. Remember the scripture where Paul states 19:55 he speaks in tongues in chapter 14? 19:57 And where he is dealing with the natural tongues not the gift 20:00 of tongues? I Corinthians 14:18 reads: "I thank my God that 20:05 I speak in tongues more than ye all. " 20:07 Take note that the word unknown was not added to this verse 20:12 because it was obvious to the King James translators 20:15 that Paul was referring to known languages. 20:19 Paul was not saying he spoke in the gift of tongues 20:21 more than anybody else did. He was saying he spoke in more 20:24 languages than anyone else did in the church. 20:28 Now, aren't tongues the only real evidence? 20:31 This is a big question. I hear this all the time. 20:33 If you don't speak in tongues then you're not even going 20:36 to heaven. Aren't tongues the only real evidence of 20:38 the baptism with the Holy Spirit? 20:40 You see many Christians are taught that if they do not speak 20:44 in tongues they are not baptized in the Holy Spirit. 20:46 Some even teach that if you don't speak in tongues 20:49 you won't go to heaven. In fact, so much emphasis is 20:52 placed on speaking in tongues as being the only evidence of 20:55 one's spiritual condition, that many that do not receive 20:59 this babbling, speaking in tongues, feel inferior like 21:03 second-rate Christians. Please note. Please note 21:07 that the Holy Spirit is not tongues, and tongues is NOT 21:09 the Holy Spirit. Tongues are a sign. 21:12 Well the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead. 21:15 Anyone who says if you don't speak in tongues you can't be 21:18 spirit filled will have trouble confirming that statement 21:22 scripturally. Paul clearly answers this question 21:25 in I Corinthians 12:28-30. 21:30 He says "And God has set some 21:32 in the church: first apostles, secondarily prophets, 21:35 thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then the gifts of 21:38 healing, government, diversity of tongues. " 21:41 Here it is right here. Are all apostles? NO! 21:44 Are all prophets? NO! Are all teachers? NO! 21:47 Are all the workers of miracles? Have all the gift of healing? 21:50 Do all speak with tongues? NO! 21:52 Do all interpret? The answer to all of Paul's above questions 21:57 are an obvious NO, not everybody. 22:02 You see in the beginning of this chapter Paul encouraged the 22:05 church at Corinth to not be ignorant concerning the gifts 22:09 that were given by God's Holy Spirit. 22:11 I Corinthians 12:1 reads: "Now concerning spiritual gifts 22:15 brethren I would not have you ignorant. " Paul writes 22:17 on a 12th grade level and can be a little wordy at times, 22:21 so you have to stay with him. He continues this thought 22:25 from verse 1 again in verse 8 of the same chapter. 22:28 I Corinthians 12:8-10 says: "For to one is given, 22:34 I will not have you ignorant brother concerning 22:36 spiritual gifts. For to one is given the spirit of the word 22:39 of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, 22:42 to another faith by the same Spirit, 22:44 to another the gift of healing by the same Spirit, 22:47 and to another the working of miracles. 22:49 To another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, 22:52 to another diverse kinds of tongues, 22:53 to another interpretation of tongues. 22:55 But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit 23:00 dividing to every man severally as He will. " 23:03 Paul is endeavoring to educate the church on spiritual matters 23:05 and informing them that some may not receive all these gifts 23:08 and no one can pick or choose which gifts they would like 23:11 to receive. The Holy Spirit is the one that gives the gifts, 23:17 and He alone decides who receives them. 23:21 Although it is a common teaching that tongues are the one true 23:24 sign of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, Jesus confirms 23:27 the true sign of the believer in Matthew 7:20. 23:33 Jesus didn't say that you will know them by their gifts. 23:36 He said you will know them by their fruits. 23:37 The real evidence that you are filled with the Holy Spirit 23:40 is the same evidence that you are born again. 23:42 You become a doer of the word and not a hearer only. 23:47 Don't go away. We'll be back in just a moment 23:50 and we'll conclude the rest of this teaching today. 23:55 If you've been confused about what the Bible says 23:58 about the Holy Spirit's amazing gifts for the church, 24:00 You'll want to order your very own copy of this 13-part series. 24:04 It's available on DVD or video cassette from 3ABN 24:08 at a very special price. This 13-part series 24:11 with Pastor Hal Steenson makes a wonderful gift 24:14 for a friend or a family member. 24:15 Just call us at: 24:21 you may also order it online at: 24:40 The gift of interpretation, to summarize this, 24:44 the spiritual endowments or divinely-conferred gifts 24:47 or power that cannot be earned or learned. 24:50 This gift is not someone who is bilingual. 24:54 This gift is always used to interpret a modern-day known 24:58 language. It's given by the Holy Spirit. 25:00 The next thing is that the gift of tongues 25:04 and the gift of interpretation are never used to 25:07 compliment one another. They are never used in concert. 25:10 There is no need for this to happen, 25:11 and there is no scripture to prove that it ever happened. 25:16 Now for 18 years while Mollie and I were pastors 25:23 in the charismatic movement, we were used to seeing 25:28 and hearing some things that weren't right. 25:30 They never did really bear witness, 25:34 and we tried to control a lot of it, and I think we did. 25:40 But what always happened is, and for those of you that are 25:43 not aware of it, this is what happens. 25:46 There is a supposed tongue that is brought forth 25:50 that is incoherent, babbling, that is not a known language 25:56 which is unscriptural, and then there is an interpretation. 26:00 Now we saw that the gift of tongues, 26:03 the real gift of tongues, never needs an interpretation. 26:08 So my question is this, now that I know: 26:13 and those of you that are watching that might be 26:15 charismatic or Pentecostal, search your heart, 26:18 if the gift of tongues nowhere in scripture ever needed an 26:20 interpretation or interpreter, why is there always an 26:23 interpretation for what is called "tongues" 26:27 in these services? They bring forth the "tongue" 26:33 and then here is the interpretation. 26:36 And the sad part about it: it's directed toward the people 26:38 not toward God. And on the Day of Pentecost 26:42 they declared the wondrous works of God. They didn't say 26:44 my little children come up higher, come up higher. 26:46 Praise me, praise me, praise me. I love you. 26:48 You are doing real good, and I'm real proud of you. 26:50 That's not what happened. At Cornelius's house, 26:54 Cornelius didn't say I would say unto you, Peter, 26:58 that so and so and such and such, and God really loves you. 27:02 That's not what happened. They heard them magnify God. 27:06 Well how do you magnify God? By talking about the goodness 27:09 and the greatness and the grace and the mercy of God 27:13 that God has shed abroad; His love in your heart. 27:16 At Ephesus they spoke in tongues 27:21 and prophesied. The word prophesied means they preached. 27:24 And what did they preach? They preached the goodness 27:28 of God, the Gospel of Christ. 27:29 They preached Jesus Christ crucified, in the tomb, 27:34 resurrected, at the right hand interceding for us 27:37 that we might come into the truth of God. 27:39 See, here's what we need to know. 27:41 The gifts are real. THE GIFTS ARE REAL. 27:47 And if we know the real and understand the real, 27:50 we won't have to concern ourselves with the error 27:53 and the fallacy. We can just allow the gift 27:56 to come into our lives and begin to work, and ask God 27:58 to use us and see people brought into the kingdom of God, 28:02 and see lives changed, people set free, miracles, 28:04 people delivered by the true gifts of the Holy Spirit. 28:30 On our next Heaven's Point of View, 28:32 we are going to explore some of the major issues surrounding 28:35 tongues such as: Didn't Paul say he prayed in the Spirit 28:38 and in the understanding? And what about prayer languages? 28:40 So check your 3ABN World for the dates and times, 28:43 and I'll see you there. |
Revised 2018-11-05