WONDERFUL SPIRITUAL EVIDENCE
For a few weeks now, I’ve been mulling over a chapter
about speaking in tongues for my next book. Then one day last week, one of my
Facebook friends posted a list entitled “The Benefits of Speaking in Tongues.”
In Genesis 41:32, God shows us one of His universal
truths when Joseph tells Pharaoh: “and for that the dream was doubled unto
Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will
shortly bring it to pass.”
I believed this principle the first time I heard it, and
I’ve seen God work this “double” principle over and over. So, when Tracy put
the list of benefits up on Facebook, I took heed, knowing God was confirming
His desire for me to take a closer look at some of the “whys” of speaking in
tongues. So, I did.
The one that really stood out to me was number 7: “To
have the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit – Romans 8:16.” The whole verse
reads: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God.”
So, what does that verse really mean? Whenever I want to
understand more about the deeper meaning of a scripture, the first place I go
is to a Concordance, where I can look up the definitions of the individual
words in that particular verse.
In this verse, ‘Spirit’ (pneuma) is capitalized,
and is talking about the highest Spirit, God!
The next word, ‘itself’ is doubling down on the capitalized “Spirit.”
It’s emphatic!! In other words, GOD HIMSELF is the subject, and HE
is doing the action.
And what is the action? He is “bearing witness.” The
phrase “bearing witness,” in the original Greek, is the word “symmartyreō.”
It means “testifying unto, to corroborate by evidence, to bear joint witness
together, in agreement.”
In agreement with what? “God agrees “with our spirit.”
God Himself, as the highest spiritual entity, agrees with each of our
born-again spirits. How do we know that? We know it for sure when we speak in
tongues, because we could not speak in tongues without a direct spiritual connection
with God Himself. When we speak in tongues, it is a joint effort between the
person and God.
The act of speaking in tongues is a spiritual thing that
you and God do together, both giving evidence of spiritual truth. The holy
spirit in you that you received when you got born again receives the exact
right words from God Almighty, and your part is to speak the words out almost
simultaneously as your holy spirit is receiving them.
We see that Jesus met with his disciples before he
ascended and showed them how to begin to speak in tongues: “He breathed on them
and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit!’” (John 20:22AMPC). The Greek word
for “breathed on” means to “blow on, or breathe out” as you do when you speak. And
the word “receive” here means “to take beginning, to prove anything, to make a
trial of, to experience.”
So, Jesus is showing them that they begin by believing, by
breathing out, breathing out the words, beginning to prove the presence of the
holy spirit in them, and making a try at it, experiencing the wonderful
connection with God through their own holy spirit inside them, speaking out in
tongues the wonderful works from God.
And what does this spiritual togetherness prove? Why does
God want us to speak in tongues? Because it proves the last part of Romans
8:16: “that we are the children of God.” So, every time we speak in tongues,
even just a phrase or two, we are experiencing a direct connection with our
God, our Father.
We are the sons and daughters of the Most High God, and
we’ve got the words to prove it. We’ve
got the evidence every single time we choose.
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16).
I’ve included the list of benefits, in case you’d like to
do your own research on one of the other benefits of speaking in tongues.
Love, Carolyn
P.S. Thank you, Tracy, for posting the list of benefits
and being a part of God doubling down on what He wanted me to find out and share!
😊
M O R E of my TRUE STORIES ON CHRISTIAN LIVING: WINGS BOOKS
AND BOOKLETS:
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