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Welcome back. Today will be part seven of the Speaking in Tongues teaching series. In part one, we established what speaking with tongues meant. In the Bible, tongues were always earthly languages, every time. What about when Paul wrote, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels? Isn't that a heavenly language? Well, in part two, we covered that. With an open Bible, we demonstrated that the tongues of men and of angels were also earthly languages. Several times over the years, I recall being asked if I speak in tongues. No, God and I have gotten along just fine in English. I speak to him in English and through his written word, He speaks back to me, also in English. It's been a wonderful
relationship.
In parts three to six, we did a verse-by-verse Bible study. We took our time and covered the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians chapter 14. If you're a Bible believer, if you're ready to place the truth before your tradition, you should be able to go to our website, TruthTimeRadio.com, and with an open Bible and a click of a button, go through each of these studies and begin to digest this truth for yourself. So, today, we have come to the final part of this study. Today, we wrap it up with part seven by demonstrating just when it was that God stopped gifting people with the ability to speak in a foreign world language without first studying it. Romans 16:25, listen closely. Now to him that is of power to stablish you, that means make you stable in your faith, according to my gospel, this is Paul speaking here, and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began.
Listen, these truths that we reveal here on Truth Time Radio, hey, they are the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery. And as the verse said, they were kept secret since the world began. So, even though they've been revealed right here in the Bible, it's right here in front of your face, problem is, for many, they still remain a secret. First Corinthians chapter 2, verse 14, the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. The only way to grow up is to grow up in him, in Christ, because listening to the natural man, these things are not seen. They gloss right over these truths. I've heard from those who say, I've read through the Bible 20 times, had a man recently tell me he had read it through 30-something times. Hey, I don't care if you've read it 100 times, if you're reading it through the lenses of your natural man, you'll never come to the knowledge of truth. You'll never come to an understanding. Paul says, consider what I say and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. You'll never profit from its spiritual value. You'll never understand it if you don't have spiritual eyes. Because God's word is spiritually discerned.
We know from Scripture that the gift of speaking in tongues has ceased. God said it did, no matter what your favorite preacher claims, it's no longer in existence. And regardless of how some teach today, God's Word never marketed the gift of tongues as some sort of thrilling personal experience. No, it was used for the purpose of communication and confirmation. And it was done so at a time when it was needed, at a time when the body of Christ only had partial knowledge. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 1 Corinthians chapter 13, and let's drop in here at verse 9. Watch this. Here is where we see Paul acknowledging the incomplete nature of the scriptures. Listen to what he says. Verse 9. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. Paul wrote this during a time of partial knowledge. The Scriptures were incomplete. At the time Paul was writing to the Corinthians, they did not have a completed Bible. They were not as privileged as you and I are today. At that time, tongues were needed for the purpose of communication and verification, communication and confirmation. Paul is saying in part, we know, in part, we prophesy. It could only be done in part because at that time it had only been given in part. It was yet to be complete, to be perfect. Like an artist who is three-quarters of the way done with their painting, it's incomplete. Let's say the painting, when it's completed, will have a total of ten colors of paint that were used, but the artist only has seven. Well, he or she will have to get the other three before completing their perfect masterpiece. So it was with Paul.
You see, Paul was promised an abundance of revelations from Christ. And each time, the Lord would reveal to Paul piece by piece information, data to write down. In 2 Corinthians 12:1, he wrote, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I will come. In verse 7, he said he had received an abundance of revelations. So, here in verse 10, look at this. Watch what Paul says will happen after he receives the last bit of the piecemeal information he was to be given. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 10, But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. I've heard this verse taught so many ways, and many of the times it's taught every way but right. There are those who make the claim that the word perfect here is referring to Christ, but that simply cannot be the case. The word being used here for perfect is neuter gender. If Christ were in the context, the word used would be masculine gender. Furthermore, it lacks a personal pronoun. Jesus is not a "that." Not once, never in scripture, will you find the word, "that," being used to describe Christ. It's only those in twistianity who twist words and meanings in order to make scripture support their agenda. The word perfect here is referring to the completeness of Paul's revelation of the mystery which allowed him to render unto us the perfect word of God that we possess today.
So, we have Paul's revelation, what was revealed to him. It's right here in the Bible. Therefore, the, That which is perfect has come. It's already here and has been for close to 2,000 years now. We've already been given the greatest gift imaginable, the gift of the finished crosswork of Christ where he died for all our filthy sins and rose to give us new and eternal life. And the second greatest gift, we have it, his completed word. The mystery has been revealed. No more secrets. If you own a Bible, there it is, in its completed, perfect form. At the time Paul was writing the book of Corinthians, no one had this. No one had a perfect Bible. Corinthians is one of Paul's earliest epistles. At the time he wrote these words in chapter 13, he was still receiving revelations from the Lord Jesus. He received, and I quote, An abundance of revelations. When he received his last revelation, the quote, That which is perfect had came. Therefore, tongues have ceased. Look at verse 8, 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 8. Charity never faileth, but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail, whether there be tongues, they shall cease, whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. Failing prophecies.
Why would prophecies begin to fail? Because prophecies were only needed prior to the Bible being completed. And that was accomplished in the first century by the pen of the apostle Paul. And notice it says knowledge shall vanish away. And this of course is talking about supernatural knowledge. Not just knowledge. We can still receive knowledge today. But it comes from study. Study to show thyself approved unto God. It comes from work. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed. We get knowledge, but we work for it. Back here supernatural knowledge was given without first working for it. Just like speaking in other languages that you did not previously know. You didn't have to study how to speak them. God supernaturally on the spot gifted some of these people with that knowledge. Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 1 verse 25, I'm a minister according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you. And then watch this. To fulfill the word of God. Did you catch that? Who fulfilled the word of God? The apostle Paul did. And remember Paul was the last one to see Jesus.
I told that to a listener the other day and they didn't believe me. Not until they seen it with their own eyes. And that's the problem with religion. These verses you hear on Truth Time, they're not being presented. They're not being discussed. There's a lack of open dialogue. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 7 and 8 verse 7, He was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and don't miss verse 8, And last of all he was seen of me. Paul saw Jesus last. And through several meetings he received piecemeal revelations from the Lord. In Acts chapter 26 Paul appeared before King Agrippa and he rehearsed what had happened to him when the Lord first came to him about making him a minister of the
dispensation of grace. In verse 16 Paul speaks of when Jesus told him to rise and stand upon thy feet for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee. Did you get it or did you miss it? Don't just blow through these verses as religion teaches us to do. Here, Jesus told Paul that he would witness both of these things which thou hast seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee. Jesus is saying, Paul, there's more to come. I'm revealing some things to you now and there's some more things I'll reveal to you in the future when I appear to you again.
And 2 Corinthians 12:7 runs parallel, complements what we read here in Acts 26. There we read, Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations. You can't miss it. The
Lord Jesus met with Paul on more than one occasion giving him an abundance of revelations. Again, when we connect the dots we see that our apostle Paul received piecemeal revelations from the Lord, and unless we spot and recognize the progressive revelation, the progressive nature taking place here in scripture, we'll remain ignorant to certain truths. At the time of the first letter to the Corinthians the church was in its infancy, hence the reason for supernatural sign gifts such as tongues, prophecy, and supernatural giving of knowledge. But by the time of 2 Timothy, the churches, the pastors and teachers, had all the completed scriptures. Paul had been given all the completed scriptures. And it's why 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17 says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
By this time, the second pastoral letter to our brother Timothy here, there were no longer any need for sign gifts. Paul had received the revelation of the mystery. It was completed, perfect. And the man of
God is now thrughly furnished unto all good works. If you own a Bible and can read, you have no excuse. You're throughly furnished unto all good works. Saved members of the body of Christ are not to be lazy. We're called unto good works. If we look at this closely we notice that the Spirit's revelatory gifts have been replaced. After all, they were only partial anyway. 1 Corinthians 13: 8-10 explains that. The partial was done away with and that which was perfect came. And you'll notice in verse 12 it says, For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Darkly refers to obscured knowledge, but the face to face, hey, that's high definition. Knowledge in 3D. Having God's perfect completed word would allow one to see a clear, close-up picture, face to face. Chapter 13 is speaking of both partial and perfect revelation. It is not speaking about the coming of Jesus as some teach. Tongues were for unbelieving Jews because they were the ones who required a sign. 1 Corinthians 1:22 and chapter 14 verse 22.
However, you and I, hey, we are to 2 Corinthians 5:7, walk by faith, not by sight. We have his word and we do not need signs. We are not to be the ye of little faith. In correlation with the wonders and signs God showed Israel for 40 years when He brought them out of Egypt. Well, it took about 40 years from 30 to 70 A.D. to end it with Israel's fall. History confirms that no one has spoken in the genuine gift of tongues since A.D. 70. The sign gifts were rendered inoperative. Some claim to be Bible believers, yet in reality, they question. They actually doubt God's word. They doubt his authority. And this is not new, it actually began in the garden. The serpent said to Eve, Hath God said? Just like the first woman was taught, there are those today still questioning God. The same serpent strategy is still being used today. I ask you today to just believe God's word. Though the gift of speaking in tongues is not needed today, make no mistake, it will be in the future.
Get, if you will, Zechariah, the prophet Zechariah, get Zechariah chapter 8 and look with me here at verse 23. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold of all the languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. You see that? A time will come when tongues will be activated again. This Jew that Zechariah prophesies of, the one that these men will follow, he will have the gift of tongues and be skilled in all world languages. Not by studying a
Rosetta Stone DVD, no, but by God supernaturally gifting him with speaking in all known earthly
languages, just as He did back in the first century. Answer this. What need would we have today for the gift of tongues? The Bible has been written in hundreds of languages. For people all around the globe, they can read it in their own language. And if you want to learn their language so that you can
preach to them, have at it. There are programs that you can, in the privacy of your own home, slide into your CD-ROM, download onto your desktop, and you can learn as many foreign languages as your heart desires. Not so for these back here in the Bible days, when the Bible was still being written. Hence the reason God did what He did. 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, charity never faileth, but whether there be prophesies, they shall fail, whether there be tongues, they shall cease, whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
Hey, if you're attending a church where they'll have you to form a prayer line and the pastor will tell individuals, God told me to tell you that he's going to fill your mouth with the words to say, and you're going to have a powerful ministry. Or the preacher will say, God told me to tell you that he's getting ready to give you victory over that situation you've been praying about. Or, he's getting ready to revive your dying bank account. Or whatever. You need to flee that church. Get your Nikes on and run. Hey, the days of God giving out supernatural knowledge is over, and it has been since the completion of the revelation of the mystery that took place in the first century. Today, you want knowledge? Read your Bible. Don't wait on God to give you something that he's already given.
And listen, today you've got these folks talking about, I can feel Jesus all in this place. The Holy Spirit sure showed up and showed out. I've heard all this. That's a lie. One of the biggest lies ever told. God, through the apostle Paul, in Acts chapter 17 verse 24, said, God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Did you hear that? God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. There's no two ways about it. He either dwells in your building or he don't, and right here it plainly says he don't. Who built the building? The building that you meet in each week. It was built by man's hands, and God don't dwell
there. No matter how many times you say it, no matter how many times you sing it, you are not feeling Jesus in that place. If you're saved, the Holy Spirit dwells within you, and you are the building. The building is not brick and mortar.
Did God once dwell in temples made with hands? Absolutely. But now he dwells within the believer. You are the temple. This is why we must rightly divide the word of truth. There are things in the Bible that looks as if they contradict each other, and without rightly dividing the word of truth, they do. Hence the reason for all the confusion, all the denominations, all the divisions. You've got those who will get up and say, I feel Jesus in this place, and they're the same ones that, well, when they decide that they've stopped feeling him there, they'll start talking about how dead the church has become. Then they leave and take a couple of families with them. And they claim supernatural knowledge because they say God told them to. I think God's telling me to leave. I feel Jesus in this place. You ain't feeling nothing but goosebumps. Turn the air down. Put a coat on and get your nose into God's word. I feel the Spirit. You know, it's funny how the Spirit leaves when the music stops. You ever notice that? Crank up the guitars and let the drums get to thumping, throw in a little Hammond B-3, and who is it? Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you the Holy Spirit. Get out the Orville Redenbacher and enjoy the show. But when the music stops, whoa! Show's over. And the Spirit? No, he gone. The Spirit did his best Elvis impersonation and left the building. This is all a big joke, and there's no need for laughter. This is serious business. We must get this right.
How do you do that? Study to show thyself approved and rightly divide the word of truth and stop teaching the nonsense. Souls are dying and going to hell as a result. Listen, Bible tongues were a sign to confirm the speaker. Today, the so-called tongues you hear do not confirm anything other than you're operating in the flesh. Funny how the TBN'ers, Benny Hinn and Company, claim that God has given them the tongue-talking gift, yet have you noticed when they go on a missionary trip, they take along a translator? Where does the nonsense stop? Tongues have ceased, and I'm here today to encourage you to do your own research rather than just believing everything you hear. Don't believe me. Don't believe him. Don't believe her. Don't believe your tradition. Believe God. Believe his word of truth rightly divided. Tongues were a part of the miraculous sign gifts, signs and wonders. These gifts began to disappear around the fall of Israel.
Listen, at one time in the Bible, people were being healed by the shadow of Peter. Remember that?
If that's not happening today, why do you say tongues are? Because you're cherry-picking. Same reason you don't handle snakes and you don't drink poison. You're cherry-picking the verses. Same reason that those who claim to be healers won't take my challenge and go with me down to St. Jude's Children's Hospital and empty the place out. You got the gift? Prove it. The gifts don't work today, and it's why Benny Hinn prefers colosseums, not hospitals. And he sure won't go with me to the morgue and put his healing touch to the test, because the healings are staged and the tongues are faked. Early in Paul's
ministry, he could heal folks with his handkerchief. Yet later he told Timothy to drink wine when he got sick. And Paul, while at Ephesus, had to leave one of his fellow workers, his laborer named Trophimus, 2 Timothy 4:20, he left him there sick. The gift of healing had already begun to fade. If healing were still in operation, why didn't Paul do what James said, James 5:14, or what Mark said in Mark 6 verse 13? Why didn't he call up the church elders and tell them to bring their anointing oil and pray over him? He could have told Timothy the same thing, put down the wine glass and get hold of the church elders.
Had a man find us on the internet, said he went to truthtimeradio.com and he could not believe what I said in the section titled, Statement of Belief. He was all tore up over what I wrote about miracles,
signs, and wonders. This was months ago, actually probably a year to a year and a half ago. Well, I recently heard from him again, and now, after listening to the audios and reading through our material and actually believing his Bible over tradition, he contacted me again and admitted that he was wrong. Now, that's a big man. He said for most of his life he had been deceived concerning gifts, and just wanted to call and thank us for Truth Time Radio. Today, the emphasis is on a fluffy feel-good religious experience when it should be on faith and doctrine. Paul places the emphasis on faith in the Savior, his finished crosswork and resurrection.
Have you ever wondered why Paul's apostleship is the focus of at least half of the book of Acts? It's amazing. A vital part of the New Testament and over half of it centers around one man's ministry. The head apostle of the early Acts Jewish church was Peter, but he disappears after Acts 15. The apostle Paul, half of the 27 books in the New Testament, are either about him or written by him. The Savior of
humanity chose Paul to be the conduit, the vessel, if you will, that he would use to convey the greatest mystery of all time, the why of the cross, the fullness of the cross, and it was during his ministry that the gift of tongues ceased. Today, most of mainstream Christianity and its teaching lacks context. I hear them overuse the word anointed. They do it all the time. They wear it out with their misuse of it. The Bible declares Paul to be our pattern, 1 Timothy 1:16, yet he only used the word anointed once, and furthermore used it in a different context, 2 Corinthians 1:21.
Listen, you've got to test these characters, I'm telling you. They'll have you all twisted up in their web of twistianity. Modern false tongues are not the heavenly language of angels. Every place in your Bible where an angel spoke, look it up, everywhere they spoke, they spoke the earthly, native language of the person they were speaking to. Paul said, When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Before the mystery and after the mystery is the difference between being a child and growing up. It's the difference between seeing someone's face in a wavy mirror and seeing that person face to face.
Consider these things, do your own research, and come to your own conclusion. Christ died for all your sins. He was buried and he has risen. By faith in his finished cross work and that alone, faith alone, no works. You can be saved and kept saved, sealed unto the day of redemption with God's Holy Spirit. Don't add to or take away from the finished cross work. That's salvation. Keep your works and your salvation separate. Should a saved person do works? Absolutely. Should a saved person do works to be saved or stay saved? Absolutely not. Remember, you only get two educations, the one you're given and the one you give yourself.
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