The gifts of the Spirit: some principles

[Helen]

Deborah said:-
What masquerades as a desire for miraculous healing may in fact be an unwillingness to accept suffering as a legitimate part of the Christian journey.
Hmm , should we be 'willing to accept'??
Suffering will indeed come..but it will not come via God's hand , but via the Enemy. Whatever and however it comes, we will find The Enemy of our souls at the very root of it!! That is indeed his job!

To have victory we must have something to overcome. Agree... God is for us, He wants us to win..so much so He laid on His Son everything so that we can be free. "Whom the Son makes free is free indeed."
When sickness comes my way, I don't thank God for it... ..Jesus died for our sin and took The Curse to the Tree and nailed it there. Sin was the root of all sickness. I agree that suffering and adversity can and often does 'work' for us, in building faith...and God gives us grace and anoints us to win through.
Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. When we have to take our medicine , we take it 'in faith'.
I don't think God is a schizophrenic ..on the one hand telling us to pray for each other and anoint with oil...while on the other hand giving us sickness to 'bless' us in our walk to maturity!!
Whoops, sorry folks...I got a bit off topic.

 

[Deborah_]

Do you have scripture for this? Or is it just your thoughts Thanks.

There are many scriptures that tell us about the necessity for suffering.

For example: Acts 14:22, Hebrews 12:7-11, I Peter 4:19

 

[Deborah_]

Deborah said:-
What masquerades as a desire for miraculous healing may in fact be an unwillingness to accept suffering as a legitimate part of the Christian journey.
Hmm , should we be 'willing to accept'??
Suffering will indeed come..but it will not come via God's hand , but via the Enemy. Whatever and however it comes, we will find The Enemy of our souls at the very root of it!! That is indeed his job!

To have victory we must have something to overcome. Agree... God is for us, He wants us to win..so much so He laid on His Son everything so that we can be free. "Whom the Son makes free is free indeed."
When sickness comes my way, I don't thank God for it... ..Jesus died for our sin and took The Curse to the Tree and nailed it there. Sin was the root of all sickness. I agree that suffering and adversity can and often does 'work' for us, in building faith...and God gives us grace and anoints us to win through.
Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. When we have to take our medicine , we take it 'in faith'.
I don't think God is a schizophrenic ..on the one hand telling us to pray for each other and anoint with oil...while on the other hand giving us sickness to 'bless' us in our walk to maturity!!
Whoops, sorry folks...I got a bit off topic.

Suffering may well come via the hand of Satan, but that doesn't necessarily make it against God's will (Paul's 'thorn in the flesh', whatever it was, was both "a messenger of Satan" and something used by God to keep him weak - and humble - II Corinthians 12:7)

I think Paul's response to his 'thorn' is quite instructive. His first instinct was to pray for its removal. Only after much unanswered prayer did he start to consider the possibility that it might be part of God's will. Eventually he came to accept it, and the reason that God gave him.

 

[Deborah_]

Discernment

The gift of discernment enables us to distinguish between what is the work of the Spirit and what is a product of the flesh (or maybe of an evil spirit). This is especially important in conjunction with some of the other gifts, such as miracles and prophecy.


For not everything is what it appears to be. Simon the sorcerer is a case in point (Acts 8:9-24). Here was a man already well established as a healer and miracle-worker before the gospel was preached in his town. Where did his powers come from? We can’t be certain whether he was an agent of the devil or simply an accomplished trickster, but his request to Peter and John (verses 18,19) suggests the latter; he assumed that the apostles were in the same ‘business’ as himself, and might be willing to sell their trade secrets!


It was immediately obvious to Peter (verse 23) that Simon was not a true Christian, and that he was corrupting the Samaritan church with his worldly attitude. But neither the Samaritans nor even Philip the evangelist (who had baptised Simon as a believer) seem to have realised this. Was Simon just too big a ‘catch’ to be asked any tough questions?


When many churches are hungry for manifestations of the Spirit, it is tempting to assume that anything and everything that happens in a Christian worship service must be from God. This is a big mistake; gullibility is not a Christian virtue! We must be prepared to question, to probe, and to compare with Scripture - not only prophecies and miracles, but also speaking in tongues, and other phenomena. The gift of discernment is needed more than ever…

 

[Sword]

Suffering may well come via the hand of Satan, but that doesn't necessarily make it against God's will (Paul's 'thorn in the flesh', whatever it was, was both "a messenger of Satan" and something used by God to keep him weak - and humble - II Corinthians 12:7)

I think Paul's response to his 'thorn' is quite instructive. His first instinct was to pray for its removal. Only after much unanswered prayer did he start to consider the possibility that it might be part of God's will. Eventually he came to accept it, and the reason that God gave him.

Thisd is what you think and not what scripture says. And it was three times not many times. and it wasnot sickness either. But most think it was. It was not sickness. God does not use satan to do anything or he would be an assessory

 

[Deborah_]

Thisd is what you think and not what scripture says. And it was three times not many times. and it wasnot sickness either. But most think it was. It was not sickness. God does not use satan to do anything or he would be an assessory

Please explain in what way I am departing from Scripture. I said "much prayer" - not "many prayers"... you are reading into my words something that isn't there. Somehow I get the impression that Paul's "three times" was more than just three brief requests.

How can you be so certain that it wasn't sickness? I didn't say that it was, because Paul does't specify. It may have been sickness, it may have been something else. The fact that he doesn't specify is important: it means the principle can be applied to any form of suffering.

"God does not use satan to do anything or he would be an assessory"
Then you need to explain why Satan should want to stop Paul from becoming conceited. Also, there are several places in the Old Testament where the activity of evil spirits (including Satan) is also attributed to God (e.g. I Samuel 16:14, II Samuel 24:1/I Chronicles 21:1) How do you explain these? The book of Job teaches us that Satan can do nothing without God's permission, so you can't get God 'off the hook' so easily.

 

[Sword]

Please explain in what way I am departing from Scripture. I said "much prayer" - not "many prayers"... you are reading into my words something that isn't there. Somehow I get the impression that Paul's "three times" was more than just three brief requests.

Much prayer, many prayers both are wrong it says three but you think different. That should be a clue to where you are "departing from scripture"
It says three so three it is. Your impressions matter not one jot.

How can you be so certain that it wasn't sickness? I didn't say that it was, because Paul does't specify. It may have been sickness, it may have been something else. The fact that he doesn't specify is important: it means the principle can be applied to any form of suffering.

Hoew can you be certian it is sickness? Why dont you start another thread on pauls thorn. I really cant believe that you cant see why it is NOT sickness. Its actully unbelieveble the amount of people who cant see it even after reading it and it tell you clearly what it was.

"God does not use satan to do anything or he would be an assessory"
Then you need to explain why Satan should want to stop Paul from becoming conceited. Also, there are several places in the Old Testament where the activity of evil spirits (including Satan) is also attributed to God (e.g. I Samuel 16:14, II Samuel 24:1/I Chronicles 21:1) How do you explain these? The book of Job teaches us that Satan can do nothing without God's permission, so you can't get God 'off the hook' so easily.

Not it doee not say that in Job You said that. Give the verse I dont even need to look it up. It does not say that any where.

 

[Helen]

Hi Deborah.
I also agree that Paul's "thorn" was not sickness. He tells us what it was, and why!!
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure." How and what was that? He has listed them for us..:-
" Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; *in labours more abundant, *in stripes above measure, *in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
*Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes less one.
* Thrice was I beaten with rods, *once was I stoned, *thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, *in perils of waters,* in perils of robbers, *in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;...."
Not once does he mention sickness. If Paul were sick, he sounds like the most healthy sick person I have heard of!! He could have won the triatn three times over!!
As for me and my house...I don't think God laid all sickness and disease upon Jesus..and then 'gives' it to us to keep us humble. ...but then again..that is just 'our house'. ;)

 

[Sword]

There are many scriptures that tell us about the necessity for suffering.

For example: Acts 14:22, Hebrews 12:7-11, I Peter 4:19

I never asked for scripture for suffering. I asked for a verse in Job that you cliam is there. where is it?

 

[Deborah_]

Much prayer, many prayers both are wrong it says three but you think different. That should be a clue to where you are "departing from scripture"

It says three so three it is. Your impressions matter not one jot.

Sorry - I now realise that what I wrote was a bit ambiguous. What I meant to say was: "Somehow I get the impression that Paul's three prayers were more than just brief requests."

Hoew can you be certian it is sickness? Why dont you start another thread on pauls thorn. I really cant believe that you cant see why it is NOT sickness. Its actully unbelieveble the amount of people who cant see it even after reading it and it tell you clearly what it was.

I'm not certain that it was sickness. All I have said is that it could have been. Where does it say "clearly" what it was? If it's so clear, why do people debate it so much?
If you want to discuss Paul's thorn, you start a thread. Why should I do it? In my experience, the subject just generates endless arguments, because it's impossible to know exactly what he was referring to.

Not it doee not say that in Job You said that. Give the verse I dont even need to look it up.

There isn't a single verse that can be quoted as a proof-text. You need to read the whole of Job chapters 1 & 2. Better still, read the whole book.

 

[Deborah_]

Hi Deborah.
I also agree that Paul's "thorn" was not sickness. He tells us what it was, and why!!
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure." How and what was that? He has listed them for us..:-
" Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; *in labours more abundant, *in stripes above measure, *in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
*Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes less one.
* Thrice was I beaten with rods, *once was I stoned, *thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, *in perils of waters,* in perils of robbers, *in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;...."
Not once does he mention sickness. If Paul were sick, he sounds like the most healthy sick person I have heard of!! He could have won the triatn three times over!!
As for me and my house...I don't think God laid all sickness and disease upon Jesus..and then 'gives' it to us to keep us humble. ...but then again..that is just 'our house'. ;)

I'm sorry, but how does this passage shed any light on Paul's thorn? If anything, it's telling us what the thorn is not, rather than what it is. Having listed all his sufferings for the gospel in such great detail, surely the thorn that he introduces a few sentences further on (and is so reticent about) is something entirely different. Jesus told him very early on that he would have to suffer greatly for the gospel, so it makes no sense for him to call these things "a messenger of Satan" and pray earnestly not to have to undergo them!

 

[Deborah_]

I never asked for scripture for suffering. I asked for a verse in Job that you cliam is there. where is it?

Oh yes you did - see reply 20. This was before I brought Job into the discussion.

 

[eldios]

I Corinthians 12:1-11

“Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed…” (I Corinthians 12:1)

The church at Corinth was richly endowed with spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 1:7) - but were woefully ignorant of their true purpose. They were like children playing with new toys, without bothering to read the instructions; and the results were embarrassing to behold. Paul had to devote a large section of his letter to setting them straight on this matter….

The gifts are not to be accepted uncritically

Christians don’t have a monopoly of supernatural power; other religions have their prophets and healers, and pagans can have fantastic spiritual experiences. So we need to be careful, for even in a Christian meeting things may not always be what they are claimed to be (I John 4:1-3). Most (probably all) of the gifts can be counterfeited by evil spirits, or even by human beings. This may not be for any malicious reason; some people may feel ‘under pressure’ to speak in tongues, or may mis-interpret their own thoughts and desires as promptings of the Spirit.

For this reason, it is very unwise to make any of the spiritual gifts into a test of Christian faith. As Jesus Himself pointed out, it is possible for people to perform miracles in His name yet show no evidence of obedience to Him in their daily lives (Matthew 7:21-23). The proof of genuine Christianity is not the ability to speak in tongues, but allegiance to Jesus as Lord (I Corinthians 12:3).

They are to glorify Jesus

… not to draw attention to ourselves, or to our church. And they are definitely not ends in themselves - although many Christians pursue them with far more energy than they devote to getting to know Jesus.

They are for everyone

They are given to the whole church - not just to the leaders, to the mature, or to the super-spiritual, but even to the very young and to those new in the faith. They should therefore not be regarded as ‘badges’ of spiritual maturity or divine favour.

They are for ‘the common good’

They are not given to us for our own personal fulfilment or enjoyment, but for the benefit and enrichment of the whole community of believers. Possession of a gift is not a licence to ‘show off’ or to interrupt a meeting at an inappropriate moment (I Corinthians 14:26-33).

They are not natural abilities

Musical talents and other acquired skills are often spoken of as ‘spiritual gifts’, even though there is nothing supernatural about them. This is potentially misleading. However, these ‘natural’ abilities are also originally from God, and He wants to make use of them too!

They are not entitlements

“The Spirit distributes them to each one, just as He determines.” (I Corinthians 12:11) There is no reason why we should not ask for a particular gift - Paul encourages the Corinthians to seek especially the gift of prophecy (I Corinthians 14:1) - but we won’t necessarily get it! For the distribution of the gifts is entirely at the Giver’s discretion.

They are not a permanent possession

Gifts are not to be confused with ministries (although there is obviously some overlap). Gifts are usually given for use on a specific occasion, when they are needed. Some people are given the same gift repeatedly (a Biblical example is Agabus, who was recognised as having a prophetic ministry), but this can never be assumed. A spiritual gift is never our own property; it remains under the ownership of the Spirit, and He is free to give it or to take it away.

They must be used with love


Love is not ‘superior’ to the gifts, nor should it displace them. But without love, they are valueless – and, ultimately, pointless (I Corinthians 13:1,2). This is especially true of tongues and prophecy, which some Christians try to impose on other members of the congregation with a complete lack of sensitivity - thus causing offence rather then edification.


They are not the most important thing

The spiritual gifts, like the sacraments, are for this age only - they will be superfluous in the next one. They are valuable tools for our Christian service, aids for our spiritual growth, and a foretaste of the coming Kingdom; but for that very reason, they are a reminder that it has not yet arrived. When we reach our destination, we will no longer need a means of transport. When the sun rises, the lights get turned off. And when Christ returns, the gifts (wonderful though they are) will become irrelevant.

Most of those "gifts" come from information called Satan and the beast to get people enslaved into religious traditions and pagan doctrines. This is why God said to listen to His voice and obey all His commandments. All those who hear His voice and obey His commandments will be taught the deeper knowledge of God called Christ that reveals what the beast is and how we're created. We also learn what happens on the day of the Lord and how we'll experience life in the next generation. Having spiritual gifts will not teach you anything.

Matthew 7
21: "Not every one who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22: On that day many will say to me, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
23: And then will I declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'

If you believe you have spiritual gifts but no knowledge about the beast, how we're created, what happens on the day of the Lord or how we'll experience life after that day, then you have been deceived by Satan and the beast that have given you all sorts of spiritual gifts to play with thinking that they came from Christ.

 

[Sword]

Oh yes you did - see reply 20. This was before I brought Job into the discussion.

No I never I asked for scripture on suffering

What masquerades as a desire for miraculous healing .

I asked for scripture for this? Is this is this just your thoughts? Nothing to do with suffering.

 

[Sword]

Someone asked me recently how I knew which spiritual gifts I had, and indeed how anyone finds out which gifts they have.

That's not an easy question to answer briefly, because to some extent it depends on the gift. With the more 'supernatural' gifts (such as miracles and healings, I would have thought it would be fairly obvious. If you pray for people who need healing, and an unusually high proportion of them are healed when you pray, then you probably have the gift of healing.

So if you get some people healed like lets say 10% of them that is a fantastic rate. ( In comparsison to what you see in nearly in 100% of Christaisn) So what would you call that with scripture? Its obviously not the gift of healing so what is it? Keeping in mind nearly 100% of christains never saw healing at there own hand.

With gifts like tongues and prophecy, it may be a little harder to be sure - some people worry that their 'tongue' might be generated by their own brain, rather than by the Holy Spirit. Now I can only speak for myself (I've never asked anyone else), but I know that doesn't happen when I speak in tongues because the words don't go through my brain at all - I don't know what's going to come out of my mouth until I've spoken it.
Similarly with prophecy: if a thought comes into your mind, how do you know that it's from God and not from your own subconscious? I don't think anyone can be absolutely sure - this is why we are told that all prophecies should be tested by other people in the church. So whether you have the gift of prophecy is something that can only be determined by other believers, not by you yourself.

Then there are the more 'ordinary' gifts such as helping, hospitality, evangelism, administration and teaching. These are things that all Christians are meant to do, at least to a small extent, so what distinguishes somebody who has a gift from the rest of us? I suggest that it's seen in the fruit it bears. For example: we all show hospitality as we are able, but there are a few people whose homes seem to be a magnet for visitors - not only that, but guests frequently become Christians or have problems sorted out through staying there. They are the ones with the gift of hospitality.

As a general rule, if the Holy Spirit wants to give you a particular gift, He will also send you opportunities to use it. So if you spot the opportunities, don't be afraid to take the appropriate action - and watch to see what the Spirit does through you!

And if the other gifts might be harder how do you teach people to go about finding there gift? If you said go ask God most people hardly ever hear a word from God in there life time. I have never heard any one explain it like this. I cant mind if it was me who asked you this question on your blog.
This seems very difficult and I think most people would say if God cant tell me I aint going through all this to try and find out. Would you tell well lets see try prophesy first and see if that works? Then after they went through much embaressment , well may be try healing next. Go pray for peggy and lets see if God moves. God is not the God of confusion. But everyone in here has an opinion and they are all prepared to face the teachers judgment which is far more strict that that of a believer. Man there are going to be some very sorry people on that day. why did I say what I thought as if it mattered.

So in your christian walk how many people have you seen walking in there gift. 1.10. 1.100. 1/1000. I dont think the average Christian has seen 10 people walking in a gift ever. In my area there are 10 different Christian churches.

 

[Sword]

Do you think a Christian must work at learning how to speak in tongues, or maybe it is a gift like grace?
Another way to say this: if I desire to pray or speak in tongues, will I simply have to ability to do that, or must I "learn" how to do that (such as by a you-tube video)? If it is by grace, then I think I need to do no work to learn it.

So what do you have to do , In your opinion?

 

[Deborah_]

No I never I asked for scripture on suffering


I asked for scripture for this? Is this is this just your thoughts? Nothing to do with suffering.

Ah... thankyou for clarifying that.

It isn't my thoughts - it's observation and experience. I still remember, for example, that many Christians struggled to accept that David Watson could die from cancer (this was back in 1984)

 

[Deborah_]

So if you get some people healed like lets say 10% of them that is a fantastic rate. ( In comparsison to what you see in nearly in 100% of Christaisn) So what would you call that with scripture? Its obviously not the gift of healing so what is it? Keeping in mind nearly 100% of christains never saw healing at there own hand.

Why is it "obviously not the gift of healing", then? What percentage would you require to call it a gift of healing?

And if the other gifts might be harder how do you teach people to go about finding there gift? If you said go ask God most people hardly ever hear a word from God in there life time. I have never heard any one explain it like this. I cant mind if it was me who asked you this question on your blog.
This seems very difficult and I think most people would say if God cant tell me I aint going through all this to try and find out. Would you tell well lets see try prophesy first and see if that works? Then after they went through much embaressment , well may be try healing next. Go pray for peggy and lets see if God moves. God is not the God of confusion. But everyone in here has an opinion and they are all prepared to face the teachers judgment which is far more strict that that of a believer. Man there are going to be some very sorry people on that day. why did I say what I thought as if it mattered.

Most people don't need a special 'word' from God to know what their gift is. I've never had one. Usually it's other Christians who will tell you what your gift is, because they can see it.

So in your christian walk how many people have you seen walking in there gift. 1.10. 1.100. 1/1000. I dont think the average Christian has seen 10 people walking in a gift ever. In my area there are 10 different Christian churches.

What do you mean by "walking in a gift" Where in Scripture do you find that expression? I've seen countless numbers of people using their gifts, but I've never heard the expression "walking in a gift" before.

 

[Sword]

Ah... thankyou for clarifying that.

It isn't my thoughts - it's observation and experience. I still remember, for example, that many Christians struggled to accept that David Watson could die from cancer (this was back in 1984)

I dont know David Watson. But if He died of cancer it was not Gods will. And it is because there was not one Christian there who believed and could stand in faith for him. and that is the great pity in the Christain world Christ paid for what He is not getting.

 

[JesusIsFaithful]

I Corinthians 12:1-11

“Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed…” (I Corinthians 12:1)

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Paul has just informed everyone that these spiritual gifts do not come by another baptism with the Holy Ghost or by receiving the Holy Spirit separate from salvation. Every believer has been baptized into one body by the one drink of the One Spirit at their salvation.

The gifts are not to be accepted uncritically

Do not believe every spirit but test them. 1 John 4:1-6 has verse 2 reminding everyone where Jesus Christ is.. inside of us while verse 3 testifies that if any confess to the Spirit of Christ coming and going in the worship place, then that is the spirit of the antichrist. Verses 5 & 6 testifies that this phenomenon will supernaturally have believers speak as the world speaks vain & profane babbling like the wizards & mediums do in Isaiah 8:19. Believers are to turn to Jesus Christ for help to shun this tongue and pray normally, because the Son of God is the only One inbetween us and the Father. The Son speaks to us through the Holy Spirit in us ( John 16:13-15 ) and thus will not be using His own words, but speak what He hears. Our Messenger from the Bridegroom requires us to respond to the Bridegroom. The Son is the Good Shepherd. He is the face we seek in living this reconciled relationship with God thru Jesus Christ.

Christians don’t have a monopoly of supernatural power; other religions have their prophets and healers, and pagans can have fantastic spiritual experiences. So we need to be careful, for even in a Christian meeting things may not always be what they are claimed to be (I John 4:1-3). Most (probably all) of the gifts can be counterfeited by evil spirits, or even by human beings. This may not be for any malicious reason; some people may feel ‘under pressure’ to speak in tongues, or may mis-interpret their own thoughts and desires as promptings of the Spirit.

Some tongue speakers voice a monopoly when they lay claim to having the Holy Spirit because they have received Him later on in their christian life after salvation by the sign of tongues ( which does not come with interpretation but is babbling nonsense ) Whether they mean to or not, they are really saying that if you do not speak in tongues, you do not have the Holy Spirit.

Some will preach that it is another baptism with the Holy Ghost wth evidence of tongues, but again, 1 Corinthians 12:13 limits that to one drink; one baptism with the Holy Ghost.

Some will take the extra phenomenon to mean God is calling them into the ministry as Joyce Meyers had done, but again, tongues were never to serve as a sign to believers for anything.

The Catholic Church lay claim to a testimony from the early church fathers that because tongues were still being manifested, it was proof that the church was keeping the doctrines within; which again is false because again, tongues were never meant to serve as a sign or proof to believers for anything.

So tongue speakers can voice a monopoly when they claim to having another drink of the One Spirit or having that drink that no other believer was baptized into that one body by because this was separate from salvation; thus alienating those that do not speak in tongues in falsehood as proven below.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Believe it or not, many tongue speakers today have been misled by this phenomenon that happens separate from their salvation, bringing this tongue BUT this is not of Him at all. So please be aware.

For this reason, it is very unwise to make any of the spiritual gifts into a test of Christian faith. As Jesus Himself pointed out, it is possible for people to perform miracles in His name yet show no evidence of obedience to Him in their daily lives (Matthew 7:21-23). The proof of genuine Christianity is not the ability to speak in tongues, but allegiance to Jesus as Lord (I Corinthians 12:3).

Jesus did not ask for allegiance or a pledge or any boast of the man's flesh or will power. He had asked that if any wish to follow after Him, to deny yourself, pick up the cross daily, and follow "Me". That means denying yourself as able to follow Him, crucify yourself in that it is not you who live, but Christ in you, and you can follow Him by trusting Him as a child does by taking Him at His word that He will help you to follow Him as your personal Good Shepherd.

They are to glorify Jesus

… not to draw attention to ourselves, or to our church. And they are definitely not ends in themselves - although many Christians pursue them with far more energy than they devote to getting to know Jesus.

Those that promote tongues glorify the movement of seeking to receive the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues. That is not preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Being born again of the Spirit is salvation.

They are for everyone

They are given to the whole church - not just to the leaders, to the mature, or to the super-spiritual, but even to the very young and to those new in the faith. They should therefore not be regarded as ‘badges’ of spiritual maturity or divine favour.
They are for ‘the common good’

They are not given to us for our own personal fulfilment or enjoyment, but for the benefit and enrichment of the whole community of believers. Possession of a gift is not a licence to ‘show off’ or to interrupt a meeting at an inappropriate moment (I Corinthians 14:26-33).

They are not to serve individual members so that means any tongue speaker that thinks they do not need any one because tongues can come without interpretation so they can use it for self edification, praise, giving of thanks, or prayer mode of the Holy Spirit are misinformed and that tongue is circumspect as not being of the Lord because God's gift of tongues are for speaking unto the people as 1 Corinthians 14:20-21 cites the bottomline on tongues.

They are not natural abilities

Musical talents and other acquired skills are often spoken of as ‘spiritual gifts’, even though there is nothing supernatural about them. This is potentially misleading. However, these ‘natural’ abilities are also originally from God, and He wants to make use of them too!

Some tongue speakers believe they can interpret their own tongues and that is not true when the Holy Spirit divides them severally as He wills as one will be given the gift of tongue and to ANOTHER, the interpretation of that tongue.

Accepting this truth is the only way to prevent those that speak other languages for misleading believers into thinking he is speaking in tongues, and coincidentally able to interpret because nobody else understood his second language.

to be continued.. God be willing....