The ministry of the Holy Spirit brings us out of a walk in the flesh into a walk in the Spirit (see Romans 8).
Our “religion” is different than any other. Not only has our God recreated us and taken us out of the realm of darkness, the third person of the Trinity–no less God than the Father and Son, co-equal and equal in power–has come to live on the inside of us to be our helper (“parakletos”). Our God has taken up residence on the inside of us to be our personal helper and teacher! The Holy Spirit has a ministry to fulfill on our behalf.
This ministry does not happen automatically. It is not an arbitrary working. He does not do the things He has been sent to do without our initiating it anymore than He saves us without our initiation–as far as our reaction to Him drawing to Him in the first place. We have to pray, meditate the Word, seek Him, etc… Then as we do our part, He does His part. If we do not do our part, then He does not interfere with us and do it anyway. The Holy Spirit will let us go our own way and be ignorant and live in defeat the rest of our Christian walk if that is what we choose to do.
We have to yield to the Holy Spirit in these areas of praying in tongues and groanings in the Spirit. Sometimes He will initiate this, but even in these cases, we still have to yield. If we don’t, it doesn’t get prayed out.
Three Observations
- If I could know all my weaknesses without the help of the Holy Spirit, then why send Him?
- If I could overcome these weaknesses on my own and in my own power, why send Him?
- If he has been sent to help my weaknesses, then these weaknesses must be what is hindering me.
The Holy Spirit has a ministry to fulfill in our lives that can only be performed by Him and in the manner in which the Word says He does so. In essence, a person who has the Holy Spirit but does not yield to Him by praying in the Spirit, obeying his promptings and His voice, is not much better off, if anybetter off than the person who has never been filled with the Spirit.
Why talk about tongues? Because as human beings, we generally aren’t motivated to do anything until we know the payoffs for it. That’s why it’s good to know things, for example, like the consequences of sinful actions and the rewards for obedience. That’s why it’s a good idea to study and learn what tongues are for, and what consistent praying in tongues will do for someone’s spirit.
There are things hidden in darkness in our lives (thorn seeds, character flaws, deep hurts, etc…) that only the Holy Spirit knows are there. There are personality traits and outward actions that only the Holy Spirit knows the root of. They may never be exposed by any other means. And only He can change us in the part us that permanent change comes from.
But, if during our Christian walk, we will yield to the Holy Spirit on a regular, consistent ongoing basis and be doers of the Word, if it will become part of our lifestyle, then He will reach areas that we never even dreamed existed. And this purging process will be a normal part of our lives and normal part of our growth. And the Holy Spirit will bring them to light by revelation and we will take the Word of God and deal with them (“…you are clean through the Word I have spoken to you”). Then, the change is more permanent, because it has been done through the process the Word of God outlines, not a “work around” approach we’ve come up with in order to make up for the lack of spiritual discipline in our lives.
Four Basic Diversities of Tongues in the New Testament
- Tongues for personal edification (1 Corinthians 14:2-4).
- Tongues to be interpreted in a public assembly (1 Corinthians 14:26-27).
- Tongues of deep intercessional groanings (Romans 8:26-28).
- Tongues as a sign to the unbeliever (Acts 2:4-11, 1 Corinthians 14:22).
Tongues for personal edification is the only diversity that we can exercise on purpose. It is also the only gift of the Spirit that we can exercise at will. This being the case, tongues becomes the doorway for us into the realm of the Spirit. Exercise of this gift also helps to qualify us for what God has called us to do.
1 Corinthians 12:28 — And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. The diversities of tongues is foundational.
1 Corinthians 14:4– he that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself.
- Edify, edified, edifying, verb – to build upward, especially a skyline; to top out
- Edifier, noun – one who plans, designs or constructs edifices.
- Edification, noun – process of building up a skyline, especially on an existing cityscape.
- Edifice, noun –a very tall sometimes massive structure; a beautiful, extraordinary, or monumental building, often used in reference to a skyscraper or tower.
Edifies – Oikodomeo – to build a house, erect a building.
- to build (up from the foundation)
- to restore by building, to rebuild, to repair.
As we yield to the Holy Spirit, He will build into us the revelation of everything Christ is in us, our hope and glory, and build into us the character of Christ.
Tongues are edification, not presence
Edification comes through understanding; tongues is a revelation gift (v.6).
1 Corinthians 13
As we pray in tongues, it produces knowledge and understanding. Pillars of knowledge and understanding are erected in my spirit. The understanding of these mysteries is revealed to me –the mystery of healing, the mystery of righteousness, and the mystery of love, and so on. The Holy Spirit begins to erect these pillars of revelation, understanding, wisdom and knowledge in my spirit. As I pray these mysteries up before the Father, He answers those prayers by a supernatural imparting of divine insight. Every time the Holy Spirit causes me to understand a mystery, one more pillar of the edifice or superstructure is erected. And it results in change.
It is a combination of all these mysteries revealed to our spirit that will eventually construct an entire library of knowledge, an edifice full of the revelation knowledge of Jesus on the inside of our spirit. The building is constructed in knowledge. It is the understanding of all these mysteries filling our inner library of knowledge that produces the capacity for mountain moving faith in our heart that we are transformed by the Word of God.
Taken from Brian Parkman’s Diving Healing class notebook at FIRE School of Ministry. I’ve made several changes and added some things, but it resembles the notes I got from him so much so that I deemed it necessary to credit him appropriately
