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The last time that tongues occurs in Acts is recorded in
Acts 19 when some wandering disciples of John the Baptist believed in
Jesus Christ. The disciples had heard about the coming Messiah from John
the Baptist, but they did not know that Jesus was the Messiah.
We know that speaking in tongues occurred on only three recorded occasions
in the book of Acts: at the beginning of the new ministry of the Holy
Spirit, after some Gentiles believed in Jesus, and after some wandering
disciples of John the Baptist believed. Each time tongues confirmed the
message of the apostle, and the salvation of the believer.
Tongues also occurred in the church in the city of Corinth, as indicated
throughout 1 Corinthians 14. In that passage, Paul reveals that he also
spoke in tongues (1 Cor. 14:18). The apostle tells us that tongues are
a sign to the unbelievers,
So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe. (NASB) 1 Cor. 14:22 Tongues are a sign that the messenger and the message are true and are
from God. Hebrews 2:3-4, Acts 4:33, and 2 Corinthians 12:12 tell us that
the power of the apostles (see Acts 4:30), confirmed the ministry of
the apostles.
After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. (NASB) Heb. 2:3-4 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. (NASB) Acts 4:33 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. (NASB) 2 Cor. 12:12 God has used miracles since the Old Testament to authenticate
His message through His prophets. One Old Testament event occurred
when Elijah raised a widow’s son (1 Kings 17:24). In the New
Testament, a crowd was amazed when Jesus healed a demon-possessed
man (Matt. 12:22-23). The people began to wonder if Jesus was the
Son of David. In Luke 7:22, Jesus’ proof to John the Baptist
and his disciples that He was the promised One were His miracles.
Peter repeated that same message in Acts 2:22. John 20:30-31 is probably
the most familiar statement in the gospels that God uses the miraculous
to authenticate His messenger and message.
Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (NASB) John 20:30-31 Once again God used the Holy Spirit to authenticate
the apostles as messengers and their message as divine.
Summary. Before Pentecost the Holy Spirit did not live within a believer.
He helped men and women believe in God, but empowerment for ministry
appears to have been isolated to individuals and was sometimes temporary.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit at and after Pentecost was unique
and different from His ministry before Pentecost.
God the Father had promised that the Holy Spirit would come in a
new way to give believers new life, to satisfy our thirst for Him
like rivers of living water, and to empower us for spiritual living
and ministry. The visible result of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit
was the spread of the good news about Jesus Christ through the ancient
world and the conversion of many resulting in their believing in
Jesus Christ.
At Pentecost the first display of the power of the Holy Spirit occurred when the apostles were filled
and spoke in tongues. Tongues were recorded two more times in the book of Acts (Acts 10:44; 19:6)
for a total of three times, and possibly a fourth in Acts 8:18. Those are the only occurrences
of tongues in the New Testament, except for 1 Corinthians 14. From a historical point of view the
last recorded event of tongues in the New Testament occurred about one year after 1 Corinthians was
written in about A.D. 56. The Holy Spirit had authenticated the ministry of the apostles and the
acceptance of the Samaritans (they may have spoken in tongues or prophesied), the Gentiles, and anyone
else who believed in Jesus.
Scripture teaches that when a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit starts living within the
believer. The book of Acts has recorded occasions when believers were filled with the Holy Spirit
and did not speak in tongues. Acts 7:55 and Acts 13:52 indicated that Stephen and Barnabas were filled
with the Holy Spirit. This implies that the filling of the Holy Spirit was not limited to apostles.
It was for every believer. Each time the book of Acts refers to the filling of the Spirit, the result
it that the good news about Jesus is shared and spread, except for Acts 13:52. We will discover in
the next section of this study that the Holy Spirit empowers believers in other ways. The Holy Spirit
is a Helper. That is why He came! |
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| The Spirit's Ministry - Tongues and Prophecy | |||||
