Following from your request to make a thread, it will be an ongoing series so this is the 1st part. 1st question: what is your interpretation of the Bible on speaking in tongues, is every Christian supposed to have that gift?

Cc: hupernikao

PS: My questions and responses do not indicate that I believe the contents of the bible as absolute truth, this for me is an academic exercise.

Furthermore, does speaking in tongues mean speaking other worldly languages that people can translate and understand, or is it about making speech-like sounds?

A person speaking Tagalog fluently without any familiarity with the Philippines is different to a person making sounds that can be dismissed as gibberish.

I really can’t remember the exact part in the Bible. But the part where Jesus was writing something on the floor and the Israelis brought a prostitute to him and he said he without sin should cast the first stone.

So how does he expect an imperfect society like ours to punish offenders

LordReed:
Following from your request to make a thread, it will be an ongoing series so this is the 1st part. 1st question: what is your interpretation of the Bible on speaking in tongues, is every Christian supposed to have that gift?

Cc: hupernikao

Thanks for opening yourself to this discussion. I truly hope you will take time to read my submission and also present your feedback based on what is being discussed.

To help us, i will set a limit to our discussion based on the reasons for creating it. Your comment that originated this is copied below.

LordReed:
So based on this (1 Cor 14: 5) what is your position on speaking in tongues, are all Christians supposed to be gifted with it?

www.nairaland.com/6829808/lunacy-religious-people-christians-conservatives/2#107344715

That means, i will put my explanation within the limit of what Paul explained in 1 Cor 14 only since we are speaking about textual examination.

Also bear in mind here, whether the tongue is human language or NOT is not the focus of our discussion. The focus is if every believer should speak in tongues.

This is important to guide our discussion.

---

MY FIRST RESPONSE WILL BE IN TWO POSTS

POST 1: Background
PROPER BIBLE TEXT INTEPRETATION is not imagination or what you claim to be your own spirit revelations. They are evidences of what was taught in the writer's days as inspired by the Holy Ghost. Hence, He helps us to access the authors mind which is centuries behind us to see exactly what he inspired the author to write not what we want to see. This is what is a true bible study.

Hence, we must allow the text to speak for its self. It means, we will literally observe the text to speak by themselves not on how we feel. When this is done, the interpretation will align with the same usage of words in their days, the culture of their days and what is accepted within the same culture of their days not ours.

WHY?

In textual interpretation, there are 3 elements

- the text
- the author
- the reader

Out of these 3, the author/writer owns the interpretation. But you asked me earlier an intelligent question, What if the writer is long gone?
In this case, the text itself must assume the position of the author, that is we will seek to get a clear way of how such text has been used by the author and also his/her contemporaries. This is what we deliver us.

That means, in Christian theology, no interpretation should negate the meaning of a word as used by its original people, contemporary of the writers and also the authors usage in other places.

---

In a simple illustration below, this is what a correct textual interpretation mean.

What Paul will say if he is called to teach again exactly what he taught in 1 Cor 14[/b]in his days is the correct interpretation. That means,[b] there cant be two correct interpretation. There can only be one, and that ONE is what is in the mind of the author.


That means we must use his text to access his mind and teach exactly what he saw not what we are seeing today. This is the endpoint of every study on interpretation.

@LordReed
CONTINUE POST BELOW

LordReed:
Following from your request to make a thread, it will be an ongoing series so this is the 1st part. 1st question: what is your interpretation of the Bible on speaking in tongues, is every Christian supposed to have that gift?

Cc: hupernikao

My First Response Are In Two Posts Read First Part Above

POST 2: TEXTUAL EXAMINATIONS OF PAUL'S TEACHING IN 1 COR 14

---

ARE ALL CHRISTIANS SUPPOSED TO SPEAK IN TONGUES (According to 1 Cor 14)?

1 Cor 14
14 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.

We will observe that Paul's teaching in 1 Cor wasnt to an individual but to a church. That means, his explanations and instructions are for the church not an individual. Observe some of his words below.

Paul's Language in 1 Cor 14

verse 5 ye all spake with tongues
verse 18 I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:
verse 23 all speak with tongues
verse 24 But if all prophesy
verse 26 when ye come together, every one of you hath
verse 31 For ye may all prophesy

As a starter, observe that his language informed us that he was addressing the church and also admit the fact that majority if not the whole church speaks or can speak in tongues.


Observe is final words, he used BRETHREN, that is speaking to all.

39 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.

That is, everyone should covet to prophesy and also speak in tongues. How do we know?


1. The word Wherefore
His usage of the word, WHEREFORE BRETHREN is very instructive.

"Wherefore" is a statement that showed a conclusion of what is being said and also carries an implication of instructions.


He used it earlier in verse 13
1 Corinthians 14:13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.


Also in other of his chapters

1 Corinthians 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
1 Corinthians 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
1 Corinthians 11:33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
1 Corinthians 14:13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.

---

2. He used the word Brethren for prophesying and tongues.
That is, he was giving this instructions to the church not individual. The word Brethren is translated from speaking to your brothers, relations.

---

3. He was instructing the whole church to COVET and also not FORBID

This means that even if we assume that everyone in Paul's church isnt speaking in tongues as at the time he wrote, his writings showed that such gift is available to all. That means they all have the ability to do it. All the believers there.

You dont tell someone to covet or forbid something that is outside his ability.

For example,
You cant tell me to covet to grow wings and fly, because its not just that i dont have it, i dont also have the capability to function in such.

Hence If he cant have it or if its decided by the spirit who has it, then there isnt a need to covet or forbid. Forbid means to stop it. That means they have the ability to stop tongues and prophesying, they can decide.

32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

Though it is a spirit gift,Paul's explanation showed that it is within the ability of a man to stop it, also in his ability to covet to have it. If it is subject only to spirit decision, there wont be need for coveting or desiring it.

To covet, desire, is a central theme to Paul's explanation in 1 Cor 14

v1 ....and desire spiritual gifts,
vs13 let him that speaketh ... pray that he may interpret.
39 Wherefore, covet to prophesy

This simply, explains the access of a believer to this gifts. All believers can covet, all can desire, all can pray for...
Hence if all can do this, then that means they have the capacity to receive such gift and function in it.


In conclusion, observing Paul's writing, it is clear that he knew/wanted/experienced the fact that all believers in 1 Cor 14 can/should/do speak in tongues. That means, this ability is available to all and all can function in it. Hence, not a varying gift from one individual to another but the believers gift.

@LordReed

hakeem4:
I really can’t remember the exact part in the Bible. But the part where Jesus was writing something on the floor and the Israelis brought a prostitute to him and he said he without sin should cast the first stone.

So how does he expect an imperfect society like ours to punish offenders

You do not get justice from a Fraud or Criminal, it must be a Right Full man.

And case before Him was already bias in that The Judges, who themselves commit the same crime (criminals) were now trying to set Him up to look evil in implementing their injustice or entrap Him into Publicly Annulling God's Law.

They did not remember that He was also A Lawyer and He knew the whole Law which also bath provided that A Judge Must be A Righteous and Right Filled man to be Qualified to Judge Any Matter. Exodus 18:21-22.

And we do always have righteous men in the land but evil men will not allow them to be Judges. Evilmen will be in trouble if allowed.

Hence the present injustice and unlawfulness which fills the whole earth.

hakeem4:
I really can’t remember the exact part in the Bible. But the part where Jesus was writing something on the floor and the Israelis brought a prostitute to him and he said he without sin should cast the first stone.

So how does he expect an imperfect society like ours to punish offenders

Obviously, that teaching was not meant for society at large but for His followers, those under His Law.

Kobojunkiee:
Obviously, that teaching was not meant for society at large but for His followers, those under His Law.

So where is the group practicing what Jesus taught today?