Lesson 2: Comparing The Principle To The Experience – (Acts 2)

The Bible contains both historical and technical information. Some books are more history than others (Acts) and some include more technical information (Romans), but all the books of the Bible represent some history and some technical information.

In order to understand any particular teaching in the Bible you must understand both: history and technicalities.

The history includes culture, language, circumstance, etc. and, let’s face it, they did things in Jesus day we would never do in ours – such as knocking a hole in the roof of a friends house to gain access to Jesus. Without the technical data, we might conclude that the best way to approach Jesus is through a hole in the roof.

Historical events without explanations are open to any meaning a person would like to impose on them.

Can you imagine how Abraham-sacrificing-Isaac would be interpreted if we didn’t have technical data to explain it? Fortunately, we weren’t left in the dark. No space to discuss it here but for a full read on that event go to this post.

For now, suffice it to say that bare history is not enough. We can’t understand the history without the passages that explain the history.

Paul used this history-plus-technical-information approach to explain tongues and a lot of his information came from the Old Testament not the New.

That makes since. “Tongues” was a Old Testament mechanism (sign) used to rebuke Israel in both the Old and in the New Testaments. The circumstances were different but the principle was the same. “Tongues” (foreign languages) were used in both instances to convince obstinate, unbelieving Israel that they were working against rather than with God.

In the Old Testament the sign was manifested when Israel was taken captive by Assyria. In the New Testament the sign was manifested when the followers of Jesus, the Man they threatened and eventually killed, spoke in foreign languages on the Day of Pentecost. They were shocked on both occasions. In each case God had their full attention.

Hebrews understood the purpose of signs but Gentiles did not. They had no background or knowledge that could help them know how to respond to this type of phenomena.

It is, therefore, no surprise that Paul’s explanations were directed at Gentile not Jewish believers. He was speaking to people who had little, if any, knowledge of the Old Testament.

And to help bridge the knowledge gap and simplify the issue, Paul condensed his explanation to one short statement which we must use to interpret the “tongues” experience. That principle is found in I Cor. 14:22 and briefly stated is:

Tongues are a sign to unbelievers not to believers.

We discussed the principle thoroughly in part one. Now we must apply the principle to the first historical occasion when tongues were spoken in the New Testament, Acts 2:1-13. [Read more…] about “Tongues” Are A Sign, Part 2

Lesson 1: The Principle and Purpose of Tongues

There is nothing wrong with being a child but there are certain characteristics and tendencies of children that should not be permanent. People who don’t grow beyond childhood are considered dwarfed or stunted. They are pitied not respected.

The Bible encourages us to be childlike in expressing faith or in the knowledge of evil or in malice but we are to grow and mature in every other spiritual way.

Paul actually associated immaturity with carnality. To the Corinthians he said, “I could not speak to you as spiritual, but as carnal, even as babes in Christ.” (I Cor. 3:1). Youth is a place to start not to stay.

One childhood tendency which should never characterize Christians is the tendency to mimic the people we admire. In the case of children that would be parents. All children have the natural desire to be “like” their parents and imitating them is not only cute it helps encourage their growth.

But it’s just the opposite for adults. When adults imitate one another it stunts their growth, suppresses their individuality. Sad.

Young Christians are referred to as “babes in Christ” and have the same tendencies as human children. And, like human children, they want to identify with those they look up to. In the early stages they do this by imitating those they admire.

This, of course, is not acceptable in the long run. We are to understand what we are doing and why we are doing it. “Understanding” is one area in which we are definitely told to be adult-like.

We can’t know everything but we should know everything we can.

This is exactly the argument Paul used In 1 Corinthians 14 in reference to tongues. Instead of experiencing or trying to imitate tongues, Paul suggested we should understand this phenomenon and he made this point very clearly:

“brethren, be not children in understanding…in understanding be men – adults” (v. 20).

He was attempting to clarify the confusion and correct an error not endorse a practice. [Read more…] about “Tongues” Are A Sign, Part 1

The Devil Has Possessed No One

Not yet anyway. If he had he would have been dispossessed a long time ago and out of the picture now.

You see, all dispossessed spirits are confined to the prison of hell until the day of judgment and while confined they no longer have access to humans or their environment (Jude 1:6).

So the devil has possessed no one yet. He’s still “going to and fro in the earth, and…walking up and down in it.” He leaves the “possession” of humans to his demonic minions.

But more importantly – and this is a huge observation – because dispossession puts demons out of commission permanently, I seriously doubt possession is a key part of Satan’s strategy these days.

Since all “confined” demons pose no threat, each dispossession represents a loss in man power. Since he lost a large number of demons during the ministries of Christ and the Apostles he has probably rethought that approach. “Possession” is probably not his method of choice these days.

And demons can be dispossessed or neutralized in more than one way: [Read more…] about Where Do Dispossessed Demons Go