The third principle of Scripture that establishes the relationship between tongues and the baptism in the Spirit is derived from the very nature of the Holy Spirit Himself.
In various passages Jesus emphasises that the Spirit is a real Person – just as real as God the Father and God the Son.
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak.” (John 16:13)
Here Jesus emphasises the personality of the Holy Spirit in two ways:
1) by using the pronoun “He” rather than “it,” 2) by attributing to the Holy Spirit the ability to speak. Reflection will show that the ability to communicate with words is one of the decisive, distinguishing features of personality. To anything capable of communicating with words for itself we naturally attribute the concept of a person; but if anything lacks this ability, we would not consider it a mature person. The fact that the Holy Spirit speaks directly for Himself is one of the great marks of His true personality. Side by side with this we may set the words of Paul.
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you?” (1 Cor. 6:19)
Here Paul teaches that the physical body of the redeemed believer is the appointed temple in which the Holy Spirit desires to dwell. Appropriately, therefore, the evidence that the Holy Spirit as a Person has taken up His dwelling in this physical temple is that He speaks from within the temple, using the tongue and the lips of the believer to make this speech audible.
So it was also in the tabernacle of Moses. When Moses went into the tabernacle to commune with God:
“He heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat.” (Num. 7:89).
Because Moses heard this voice – the mark of personality – he knew that the Person of the Lord was present in the tabernacle. In like manner today, when we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking audibly from within the temple of a believer’s body, we know by this evidence of personality that the Holy Spirit Himself – the third Person of the Godhead – has taken up residence within the believer.
We find, then, that speaking with other tongues as the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit accords with three great principles of Scripture.
- The heart of the believer, supernaturally filled with the Holy Spirit, overflows supernaturally in speech through his mouth.
- The evidence that the believer has yielded his physical members to God is that God’s Spirit controls that member – the tongue – which the believer cannot control for himself.
- By speaking from within the temple of the believer’s body, the Holy Spirit demonstrates that He now dwells there as a Person.
O heavenly Father, use me as a vessel in which You make a home and from which You speak and are present in people's lives! Father, help me to use my mouth abundantly for praise and worship, but also for wise advice and encouragement for others on a human level! Amen.
