The Seal of the Holy Spirit IS Speaking in Tongues
06
Tuesday
Sep 2011
Because there are so many
Christians who trust in their churches’ religious traditions, so many
Christians who fear not being in control of what they say or do, and so
many Christians who display various other prejudices against the
supernatural workings of the Holy Spirit, consequently, there also are
countless believers who will disagree with the following statement: God
intends for EVERY believer to be “sealed” with the Holy Spirit, which
means He wants every believer to experience the Baptism of the Holy
Spirit (experience being Holy Spirit filled with the evidence of
speaking in tongues)! Regrettably, the majority of today’s believers who
do not speak in tongues often heatedly disagree with every born from
above and saved (justified) believer who defines “sealed” with the Holy
Spirit as the observable, physical, outward sign of speaking in tongues.
These naysayers disagree with other believers primarily because these
skeptics do not think that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a second
work—a separate event from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who takes
up residence in a believer at the moment he or she is saved.
Furthermore, these naysayers disagree with other believers concerning
whether speaking in tongues is God ordained, and in fact these
disbelievers will scoff at those who do speak in their heavenly
language.
Be that as it may, the biblical
truth is that the English word “sealed” is in several New Testament
verses. Biblically speaking, a “seal” could be used for different
reasons. For instance, in the holy Scriptures, a “seal” is usually a
piece of wax with a distinctive design in it, like that of a signet
ring; a “seal” is a stamp, an engraved device used for stamping; or a
“seal” is a common visible, physical, external mark that preserves and
attests that God’s “seal” authenticates the character and behaviors of
an individual.
Thus, in the Holy Bible, a “seal” would guarantee that the “sealed” important documents’ authenticity has been preserved (cf. Esther 3:12), or would be a mark of ownership, or an impression of love (cf. Song of Solomon
8:6); or would provide protection against being tampered with, and
would prevent the “seal” from being counterfeited or broken (cf. Matthew 27:66; Revelation
5:1), and/or would guarantee that a person’s character is genuine, that
the “seal” is absolute proof, and an unbreakable demonstration (cf. 1 Corinthians
9:2). In the case of documents and letters, a “seal not only keeps a
document or letter securely closed, which means the document or letter’s
content is protected from being read by people who have no business
reading it, but also the “seal” declares to everyone that the document
or letter belongs to the sender.
In contrast, when the Apostle
Paul speaks of a “seal” or being “sealed,” he is using “seal” and
“sealed” as a metaphor for believers’ oral testimonials—those which
confirm the fact that God’s “seal” authenticates a person’s character
(moral and ethical nature) and behaviors (cf. 1 Corinthians
9:2). In the apostle’s case, the Corinthians’ conversations verify the
fact that Paul is God’s apostle. That is why, for the Apostle Paul, the
word “sealed” is equivalent to authenticity, authority or power, and
ownership, and why, for Apostle Paul, God’s “seal” is the Baptism of the
Holy Spirit, which not only fills believers but also gives believers
“new tongues.”
To the apostle, these “new tongues” (new languages) either can be of men (humanity) or of angels (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:1). In either case, it is evident that the Apostle Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 and Ephesians
1:13-14, that the Holy Spirit’s “seal” manifests as “new tongues” via
the supernatural power of the infilling Holy Spirit. For sure, he is
saying that speaking in tongues is the outward evidence (seal or mark)
that attests to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (life full of the power
of God).
It is important to note here that
in none of the verses in which it is implied or directly stated that
believers are speaking in tongues is there one apostle (or any writer)
who is saying that speaking in tongues is a requirement for salvation.
What the apostles and other writers are saying, especially the Apostle
Paul, is that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of
speaking in tongues, brings a person into an intimate conversational
communion with Father God. The Apostle Paul also is saying, especially
in 1 Corinthians 14:21, that God first promises “new tongues” (strange languages) back in the Old Testament. The Apostle Paul writes:
It is written in the Law, By men of
strange languages and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this
people, and not even then will they listen to Me, says the Lord. Thus
[unknown] tongues are meant for a [supernatural] sign, not for believers
but for unbelievers [on the point of believing], while prophecy
(inspired preaching and teaching, interpreting the divine will and
purpose) is not for unbelievers [on the point of believing] but for
believers. ~ 1 Corinthians 14:21-22, AMP (this blogger has italicized and colored “men of,” because these words have been added to the original text, possibly to muddy the original meaning of the text)
The Apostle Paul, in the context of 1 Corinthians
14:21-22, clearly is emphasizing speaking in tongues—speaking in an
“unknown tongue,” which he refers to as a heavenly language or the
tongues of angels (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:2; and 1 Corinthians 13:1).
To prove his point, the Apostle Paul uses the Old Testament Scriptures
in which God promises that there are going to be “new tongues”—the kind
of “new tongues” that even the Prophet Isaiah, via God, says will be
both a “rest” and a “refreshing” that many people “…would not hear” (Isaiah 28:12; cf. Isaiah 44:3).
The apostle’s words in 1 Corinthians
14:21-22 are really a paraphrasing of an Old Testament Law. Once again,
the Apostle Paul is indirectly quoting the Prophet Isaiah. In an Isaiah
28 passage, the prophet is saying that because some of the Old
Testament’s prophets did not treat the teaching of God’s Law
appropriately, God promises to speak to His soon to be backslidden
“religious” leaders, indeed, the whole backslidden nation of Israel, in a
“new tongue,” in a “strange language”—this language, tongue is the one
God intends to be His chosen people’s true “rest” and “refreshing.” The
prophet writes:
For with stammering lips and another tongue
will He speak to this people, to whom He said, ‘This is the rest
wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest,’ and, ‘This is the refreshing’
– yet they would not hear. ~ Isaiah 28:11-12, KJV21 (underlining is this blogger’s emphasis)
In context, in the above passage,
God is speaking about those Jewish prophets who prefer to
intellectualize their faith, and about those Jewish prophets who prefer
to control their spiritual experience with Him by childishly yet
systematically approaching the Law “…precept upon precept, precept upon
precept, rule upon rule, rule upon rule; here a little, there a little” (Isaiah
28:10b, AMP). For sure, God is mocking these rebellious Jewish
prophets. He tauntingly is saying that they too must be taught by using
the same kind of concise and conceited method they use when they are
teaching children about a language’s basics. Because these “religious”
leaders refuse to listen to and accept God’s messages spoken to them in
their native tongue, which He sent to them through authentic prophets,
like Isaiah, God promises to punish their rebellion with the same kind
of tedious lessons, and this teaching will make the Law to become their
stumbling block—the Law will make them “fall backward,” backslide, and
to go back into captivity. Isaiah prophesies to them, saying God wants
them to know that:
…the word of
the Lord will be to them [merely monotonous repeatings of]: precept upon
precept, precept upon precept, rule upon rule, rule upon rule; here a
little, there a little—that they may go and fall backward, and be broken
and snared and taken. ~ Isaiah 28:13, AMP
Once again, in the above verse,
God is saying that His Law would be to the rebellious Jewish prophets
just what they say it is, which is a tedious never-ending lesson. They
will receive this punishment instead of receiving the kind of “rest” and
“refreshing” that is powerful, costs them nothing (is a comfort that
comes from the gift of God, from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit), and
has no harmful effects. This “rest” and “refreshing” are the results of
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in
tongues. Indeed, the “…stammering lips and another tongue…” (Isaiah
28:11a) are the very “rest” and “refreshing” that God’s chosen people
have rejected—are that which the Old Testament Hebrews refused—and that
which many contemporary New Testament believers also are rejecting.
Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul states that this Isaiah 28:11 promise of a “new tongue” is fulfilled through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians,
one of the last epistles yet the most developed epistle by the Apostle
Paul, the apostle declares that the Holy Spirit of promise is that down
payment, voucher or “earnest,” on believers’ future inheritance. Their
entire future inheritance is life full of the power of God, and an
eternal life in a glorious body. In other words, proof of God’s
faithfulness to His promise to give believers their whole inheritance is
the pouring out of the Holy Spirit—the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with
the evidence of speaking in tongues. This baptism gives believers
supernatural power, the kind of supernatural power that comes
unequivocally and directly from God.
For this last reason, the
indwelling Holy Spirit is ONLY a deposit, a partial payment on the sign
or promise of what is to come. The sign or promise of what is to come IS
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the “seal” that manifests itself AFTER
believers are saved. Indeed, Jesus the Christ, Himself, defines the
supernatural power and the miraculous signs and wonders that would
accompany His disciples, like speaking with “new tongues” (cf. Mark
16:17), as that which His disciples would receive in Jerusalem, AFTER
they are filled with the Holy Spirit—AFTER they receive the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit. True to His Word, according to the writer of Acts, on the Day of Pentecost, the Lord’s disciples (His closest 11, plus an additional 109) are speaking in tongues!
What’s more, on the Day of
Pentecost, the Apostle Peter reaffirms that this gift, the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, is that
genuine “rest” and “refreshing” God promises. On this historic day,
Apostle Peter not only makes a reference to the Prophet Joel’s
outpouring of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:16-18; and Joel 2:28),
but also he makes a reference to the Prophet Isaiah’s message to God’s
“religious” and condescendingly intellectual prophets. For sure, the
Jewish people the Apostle Peter preached to not only witnessed the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit’s fiery tongues, as they sat upon the 120
disciples, but also they HEARD these 120 disciples speak in the promised
“new tongues” (cf. Acts 2:4; Acts 2:33; and Isaiah 28:11).
In the earlier cited Isaiah
verses, God is addressing the “religious” leaders in Prophet Isaiah’s
day who would be taught God’s Law in the same manner that they were
treating it, which was like His Law is an endless series of trivial
commands. As a result, this teaching would make the Law to become their
stumbling block. Today, it is apparent that the Scriptures on speaking
in tongues also have become a stumbling block for many believers—both
“religious” leaders and their congregations. Indeed, too many of these
Christians think that speaking in tongues is not only NOT for them, but
also NOT for the institutional church as a whole, NOT for this world’s
countless ministries, and NOT even for the genuine Body of Christ. In
essence, according to the believers who scoff at the idea of speaking in
tongues (those believers who also mock their brothers and sisters in
Christ who speak in tongues), this Holy Spirit experience should be
off-limits for ALL believers, whether carnal or spiritual.
Be that as it may, indisputably,
what the Apostle Paul is saying, in the several Scriptures that he uses
“sealed,” is that ONLY Holy Spirit filled believers will have unlimited
access to their entire inheritance, which cannot be exhausted, even
though this inheritance can be used in this temporal realm, as well as
in the eternal realm. Furthermore, the apostle is saying that their
entire inheritance is shut up, “sealed,” inside them as the promised
rivers of Living Waters. Clearly, this sealing means their inheritance
only can be accessed through the Faith that God gives to Baptized with
the Holy Spirit believers.
The above definitions and understanding are apparent in the following quotation. The Apostle Paul writes:
In Him, you
also, AFTER listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy
Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a
view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. ~ Ephesians 1:13-14, NASB (caps are this blogger’s emphasis)
In verse 13, the Apostle Paul’s Greek New Testament word for the English word “sealed” is sphragizo.
This Greek word actually means that a person has a COMMON, visible,
physical, external mark, which proves or testifies to other people that
he or she is who and what he or she professes. Put differently, a person
who has been “sealed” by the “Holy Spirit of promise” has a visible,
physical mark, like the “seal” on a letter or on important documents is
observable, physical, and external. In believers’ case, God’s mark
(seal) on believers proves, confirms, and/or attests to their
authenticity, authority or power, and ownership (to whom these believers
belong).
God’s mark also confirms,
guarantees, promises, preserves, keeps, and/or attests to the fact that
not only are believers’ redemption and salvation certain—a once and for
all, a forever event, a done deal—but also that Jesus the Christ will
release the promised heavenly inheritance (supernatural riches,
treasures; the rivers of Living Water), through the Holy Spirit, who is
every believer’s “earnest,” down payment, or guarantee. In other words,
the Holy Spirit is a partial payment on believers’ inheritance, the
whole of which is believers’ eternal life with God, and believers’
immortal glory. This “earnest” of the Holy Spirit—the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit—is why God pledges (vows) that He will give believers
everything He has promised would be their inheritance.
It is important to note here that
the Apostle Paul uses “earnest” and “seal” interchangeably. As such,
both terms indicate that the only way God could give the Holy Spirit as
an “earnest” is if the Holy Spirit is able to provide definitive
evidence of God’s good intentions to give believers their whole
inheritance. Put differently, in order for believers to be “sealed” with
the Holy Spirit, they would have to have received miraculous
powers—powers of revelation and signs. Therefore, as definitive evidence
of God’s good intentions and a sign of believers’ authenticity, the
Holy Spirit “seals” believers with God’s trademark, which guarantees
that believers are indeed the authentic eternal sons and daughters of
God, and that the COMMON, visible, physical, outward sign of their
authenticity, that which lets the world know their true identity, is
believers’ supernatural ability to speak in tongues. Furthermore, by
marking, branding, labeling believers with God’s “seal,” this sealing
act protects believers from the demonic forces that otherwise would
enter into them and possess them. In essence, the Holy Spirit “seals” IN
Faith and “seals” OUT unbelief and apostasy.
In another part of this Ephesian epistle, the apostle also writes:
And do not
grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by
Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day
of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the
consequences of sin). ~ Ephesians 4:30, AMP
The fact that believers can
grieve the Holy Spirit with their bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, or
slander indicates that the Holy Spirit is not always in control, and He
is not always in control because many believers do not make the Holy
Spirit feel welcome, which is the sense of the word “receive” in Acts
1:8. More important, believers who grieve the Holy Spirit are not full
of the Holy Spirit, because the Scriptures describe Spirit-driven
believers as those individuals who allow the Holy Spirit to direct
(control) and guide every one of their decisions, plans, and activities.
Therefore, since believers can grieve the Holy Spirit, then this
behavior is a clear indication that the Holy Spirit who indwells them
did not spontaneously baptize (fill) them, as only the Baptism of the
Holy Spirit results in believers being Spirit-driven believers—being
full of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:4).
In other words, if Apostle Paul has to tell believers to be “…filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians
5:18), then not every born from above saved (justified) believer
automatically receives the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, or His subsequent
initial infilling, at the same time salvation is received. Moreover,
the apostle’s use of the Greek present tense of the verb “be filled”
also denotes that the filling of the Holy Spirit is not a one-time
event, but rather it is a continual experience.
Having said that, it is obvious that, in Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30, and Ephesians
5:18, the Apostle Paul is speaking of two Holy Spirit events taking
place, once a person is born from above and saved (justified). At the
time of salvation, everyone has received the gift of the Holy
Spirit—that is, the Holy Spirit now lives inside of every believer.
However, being indwelt with (or baptized in) and filled with (or
baptized with) the Holy Spirit are not the same things. In other words,
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit equals believers receiving the
“earnest” on their inheritance, and receiving the Baptism of the Holy
Spirit (being filled with the Holy Spirit) equals believers being
“sealed” (marked, branded, secured) by the Holy Spirit. The latter
clearly is a SECOND work—a work that is in addition to the Holy Spirit
living in believers.
The New Testament actually does
distinguish between receiving the Holy Spirit and baptizing with the
Holy Spirit. The former occurs at the moment believers are saved
(justified), the latter can occur at the moment of salvation, but more
often than not the Baptism of the Holy Spirit happens some time after
salvation. Since this baptism is for the purpose of empowering believers
for ministry, this is the reason why Jesus the Christ tells His
disciples that they will “…receive power after the Holy Ghost…” (Acts 1:8, KJV21) comes upon them, and that this power would make them His witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8, KJV21).
The Divine Truth is the disciples
already believed in Jesus the Christ, and they already had received the
Holy Spirit, when Jesus the Christ, after His resurrection, “…breathed
on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22, AMP)! At that very second, they were born again of the Holy Spirit “…through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead” (1 Peter
1:3), and this event happened some days before the Lord’s Ascension.
For sure, this event is why the disciples already had the Holy Spirit
dwelling inside them and present in their lives; moreover, no one can
authentically confess Jesus as Lord without the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3).
Furthermore, even though the
disciples had achieved supernatural results without the actual Baptism
of the Holy Spirit, which they were able to do only because the Lord,
while still with them, had given them His power and authority, they
would need the Baptism of the Holy Spirit before they could achieve any
more miracles, signs and wonders, because the Lord was going back to the
Father. In other words, between the time of the Lord’s Ascension and
Pentecost, the disciples had not yet been empowered for Jesus the
Christ’s Commission. This truth is why, some days before Pentecost, the
Lord commands them to wait in Jerusalem until God “sealed” them with
(baptized them with) the Holy Spirit.
Now, it follows that, in the case
of the apostles, receiving the indwelling of the Holy Spirit AND the
Baptism of the Spirit were (and for the most part still are) two
separate events, because the born again and Holy Spirit indwelt
disciples of Christ (see John 20:22) didn’t receive the Baptism
of the Holy Spirit until the Day of Pentecost, which was after the
Lord’s Ascension! Therefore, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (being
baptized with the Holy
Spirit, or being filled with the Holy Spirit) more often than not will
be a subsequent occurrence, which happens after salvation.
For the above reasons, believers
must realize that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not the same thing
as salvation (justification). Yes, the Holy Bible does give
examples of people who are baptized with the Holy Spirit at the same
time as their salvation (justification), but these instances are not the
norm—they are not ALWAYS what happens. Moreover, only the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit is the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and this fullness
brings great blessing and comfort to believers. Certainly, there are
many believers who can testify that being filled with the Holy Spirit
usually results in a renewed dedication to and an appreciation for God, a
strong desire to share the Gospel of Jesus the Christ, an insatiable
desire to read the Holy Bible, an insatiable desire to
fellowship with other Christians, an insatiable desire to listen to
praise and worship music, and a deeper sense of what it means to worship
God in Spirit and in Truth.
For additional spiritual wisdom, knowledge, and understanding purposes, it is important to note that in Acts, where the Baptism of the Holy Spirit does happen at the time of believers’ salvation, the Holy Bible
is quick to emphasize this point: The apostles KNEW that these
believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit, because the apostles “…heard
them talking in [unknown] tongues (languages) and extolling and
magnifying God” (Acts 10:46, AMP; cf. Acts 11:15-16).
Without doubt, a believer who has been born from above and has received
salvation (justification) doesn’t need to speak in tongues to verify
that the Holy Spirit now lives inside him or her. However, in the Holy Bible,
God does use believers’ speaking in tongues, as the ONLY COMMON,
visible, physical, outward SIGN (His trademark, seal, brand, mark) that
accompanies the Baptism of the Holy Spirit!
Furthermore, while believers are given the authority (exousia) to be children of God, which happens after they have received their new birth and salvation (cf. John 1:12-13), they only can receive power (dunamis) AFTER the Holy Spirit comes upon them and fills them with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:8; Acts
2:4). Therefore, the purpose of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is so
that men and women will become not only children of God, but children of
God who are very much like Jesus the Christ in nature, holiness, and
power. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, thus, gives believers the same
Father-child relationship possibilities like God and His only beloved
Son have, and gives believers the same power ministry like Jesus the
Christ had in His earthly ministry.
Put differently, being “sealed”
with the Holy Spirit guarantees that the FULL amount of believers’
inheritance will be paid—that believers not only will receive the
fullness of the Holy Spirit (life full of the power of God) but also
subsequently will receive the TOTAL sanctifying work by which Jesus the
Christ saves them from sin. In particular, they will complete the three
stages of Salvation: Justification (saved from the penalty of sin),
Sanctification (being saved from the power of sin), and Glorification
(to be saved in the future from the presence of sin, which is the
promised glorious resurrection).
That’s why it is the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit that makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to “seal”
believers with a sealing that confirms to the world that God’s child has
other-world protection and other-world riches: supernatural power,
spiritual gifts, spiritual fruit, new languages, and so forth, which God
has poured into them. Indeed, these rivers of Living Water are
preserved inside every baptized in the Holy Spirit believer. As earlier
mentioned, only Jesus the Christ can open this “seal,” because He is
Lord and Savior, and believers’ joint-heir to the promised heavenly
inheritance. Through Faith in Him, believers can have access to their
inheritance in this temporal world, as well as in the spiritual realm.
Once again, God wants EVERY
believer to be “sealed,” baptized in the Holy Spirit, with the evidence
of speaking in tongues. This speaking in tongues truth is understood
best in the following verse. The Lord says:
And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; ~ Mark 16:17, AMP; (the underlining is this blogger’s emphasis)
Here, the Lord is saying that EVERYONE who is born from above and saved (justified) has received the authority (exousia)
to speak in “new tongues” (a heavenly language or prayer language; a
praise language; and/or a prophetic language). However, not everyone who
receives the Baptism of the Holy Spirit will prophesy or give messages
in various human tongues, and those who can, must have their tongues
interpreted!
The three “new languages” (new tongues) that are evidence of
believers having been “sealed” by the Holy Spirit (baptized with the
Holy Spirit), once again, are: 1. Prayer Tongues; 2. Praise Tongues; and
3. Prophetic Tongues.
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