It may come as somewhat of a surprise to most Christians to learn that the scriptures never call tongues a gift. In every English and Greek version of the scriptures that I know of, tongues is unambiguously called a
manifestation. A
manifestation is not the same thing as a gift.
Regardless of how one feels about whether tongues is valid today or not, at least we ought to know what it is before making that decision.
Acts 2:38,
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The gift is holy spirit which is not the same thing as tongues. Now spirit can not be seen, heard, smelled, tasted or touched. It is not registered by any of the five senses in the material world.
John 3:6,
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:8,
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
The word "wind" is the same Greek word used for spirit, pneuma. It is the word used in both John 3:6 and Acts 2:36. While spirit itself can not be seen, the effects of it's operations can be seen, i.e., it is manifested into the material world. We can't see wind, but when it is energized we can see the effects it has on trees. That is exactly what John said in verse 3:8.
1 Cor 12:7-10,
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another [divers] kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
As the scriptures clearly say, tongues is but one of nine
manifestations of the spirit.
As Peter said on the day of Pentecost, anyone who repents and accepts Jesus as their Lord and believes God raise him from the dead (Rom 9-10), will receive the gift of holy spirit. That gift is the very essence of being born again. It is Christ in you (Col 1:27), the hope of future glory. It is the incorruptible seed of 1 Pet 1:23. All born again Christians have the gift.
Now that gift, that power from on high (Luk 24:29), is completely under the control of the believer. It can lay dormant in which case it's power will lay dormant. Or, by the believer's free will, it can be energized in nine different ways as listed in 1 Cor 12:7-10. When that is done, its full potential power is realized and
manifested into the physical world. For example, tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy are
manifestations that can be heard by anyone with ears. The invisible gift of spirit is manifested in the physical world when any one of the nine manifestations are operated by the believer.
As I said, regardless of how one feels about tongues, I think we at least owe God the practice of calling tongues what He calls them, i.e., a
manifestation, not a gift.
I might also point out that Jesus said we would do the works he did and even greater works (John 14:12). It is quite easy to see Jesus operating 7 of the 9
manifestations throughout his ministry. The only ones he did not practice are tongues and interpretation of tongues, and and that is simply because the were not available until the day of Pentecost which was of course some time after he walked the earth. Could tongues and interpretation of tongues be the greater works? Not sure, but maybe they are.
Look, we wrestle, not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers from on high (Eph 6:12). Would it not stand to reason that we need spiritual power to wrestle against spiritual power? Of course it does, and those powers are none other than the nine
manifestations of the gift of holy spirit. Ephesians 6:17 tells us to take the sword of the spirit. A sword simply hanging on one's belt, will do nothing when facing an attack by someone who is actually swinging their sword towards your head. To defeat such an enemy it is necessary to take the sword out of its sheath and actually start swinging, to start using its potential, to makes its power
manifested to the enemy's, the devil's, head!
