Troublesome Topic: Precepts about Tongues from Acts 19:6-7

TWO TYPES OF TRANSFER

Through baptism, they transferred themselves to the authority and will of Jesus, and through the laying on of Paul’s hands, God used Paul to transfer to them something additional, that being the full control of Holy Spirit over their minds and bodies.

PROPHESYING

This account ends with them speaking in tongues and prophesying – the latter being the completion of the circle – what to do about it.

WHAT DID IT SOUND LIKE?

That is what everyone wants to know. But it appears that God left the answer to that question very open, probably because there would be a variety of expressions of this gift; they would not sound the same. Acts 2 tells us what it sounded like in that instance, but the others seem to be a bit different, and no clarification is given.

WERE PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF UNKNOWN TONGUES RARE OR COMMON IN ACTS?

Whether or not speaking in tongues was common or rare in Acts is open for debate. 

Speaking in tongues in a public setting was only recorded to have happened three or four times in the book of Acts – on the day of Pentecost (ch 2), at the house of Cornelius (ch 10), in Ephesus (ch 19), and it may be implied in the story of Simon the sorcerer (ch 8). At first glance this makes it sound like speaking in tongues was rare in the time that is covered by the book of Acts.

However, it also appears that speaking in tongues was a confirming sign from God indicating that God accepts Gentiles, and that someone was under the control of the Holy Spirit. This makes it seem like speaking in tongues happened significantly more times than the few times it was recorded. The same could be said of things like healings – not nearly all of the healings done by the apostles were recorded.

 So we cannot draw a definitive conclusion either way on this matter.

HOW WAS THE INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT MANIFESTED IN ACTS?

The book of Acts records diverse activity of the Holy Spirit at least 10 times apart from the day of Pentecost and apart from the three or four times that His presence was demonstrated through speaking in tongues. Thus, speaking in tongues was not the only proof of the Holy Spirit’s control; it was one of several proofs.

Here are the ones that I have found, but there may be more:

A changed life

Burning the paraphernalia of witchcraft,   19:19

Wonders and miracles including healings, 2:43, 4:3 & 33, 5:12 & 15, 8:13,  

Casting out demons, 5:16,

1 man raised from the dead, 20:9-12 

Generosity and self-less giving  2:44, 4:32,34-35,

Acting boldly and with courage 2:29, 5:29-32,

Discerning what was humanly indiscernible 5:3

Rejoicing in suffering for The Name 5:41

Martyrdom accompanied by miracles 6:15 & 7:56

Forgiving one’s persecutors and killers  7:59

Being translated to another place 8:39-40,

Speaking in tongues 2:4&6, (8:18?), 10:46, 19:6

Surviving danger in a miraculous way, 14:19, 28:3-6

Preaching with God-glorifying results

Lots of people getting saved

The proper use of tongues is indeed a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power. However, there were a number of ways the infilling of the Holy Spirit manifested itself. Tongues was not the only way and neither did everyone speak in tongues.

TONGUES IN ACTS FOLLOWED THE PATTERN SET BY PENTECOST

It appears that the form of tongues spoken at Pentecost, speaking in a human language unknown to the speaker, set the pattern that was followed in the other cases recorded in the book of Acts. In my estimation, what we read about in Acts cannot be the type of tongues we typically hear today.

Even though we are not told, we are forced to assume that the situations described in Acts 10 (the house of Cornelius) and Acts 19 (Ephesus), had people present who needed the Gospel shared with them in their own language. Acts 19 specifically says that there were about 12 men present. We don’t know if it was only men, or if there were women, children and servants present also. I know from having grown up on the mission field and having been a missionary myself for six years, that a crowd gathers very quickly. In my estimation, even if those participating in the meeting, those conversing directly with Paul, were only men, it is highly probable that there were women, children and servants within earshot. It is likely that God turned the attention of the men who were newly filled with His Spirit to their servants and caused them to want to share the gospel message with them. In this way God accomplished two things at the same time; He confirmed to them that they had been filled with His spirit, and He reached people with the message of salvation that otherwise would have been struggling to understand it on a deep level. The servants were often from other lands; they could understand the commands they were normally given, but the language of spiritual matters was not something they heard very often in their third or fourth language.

APPLICATION FOR LIFE: EACH OF US SHOULD ASK OURSELVES

Have I given the Holy Spirit the reins of my life?

If so, do I take them back sometimes?

If I were accused of being a follower of Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict me?

Does my life produce any evidence that I am filled with God’s Spirit? (Some of the more common examples should be: a changed life, selfless giving, courage, special discernment, rejoicing in suffering for The Name, forgiving those who mistreat me.)

If you want the Full Series on Tongues, the next lesson is Precepts about Tongues from I Corinthians 12:1-7

If you want the Mid Length Series on Tongues, the next lesson is Precepts about Tongues from I Corinthians 12:7,22,25

If you want the Short Series on Tongues, the next lesson is Precepts about Tongues from I Corinthians 12:7,22,25,30