Speaking in Tongues for Unity
We here at EFG believe the Bible. Spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues are presented and promoted in the Bible, so we believe in them and desire them. Speaking and praying in tongues regularly can produce much. Romans 8 says we don't know how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit helps us with this by groanings that cannot be uttered (tongues). Jude says praying in the Holy Spirit will build you up on your most holy faith and help you keep yourself in the love of God. Those are awesome reasons to regularly pray in tongues. The Bible shows us another use for speaking in tongues, Christian unity. God loves unity, and Christian unity produces powerful results.
Remember the Tower of Babel. That story begins with the following, "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." The people begin building a city and a tower they wanted to reach Heaven. God sees their works and says, "Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." So we see God changing their languages to stop their purpose.
But look how God wants to undo this for His people. "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the Name of The Lord, to serve Him with one consent." God wants unity. God wants to command the blessing on those in unity. God also realizes that people need unified speech to truly have unity. If we speak differently we will ultimately do differently. So God promises to give us a pure language, that we can all serve God with one consent ("consent" meaning "shoulder"). This passage prophesies the gift of speaking in tongues, which Christians were to first receive by the Holy Spirit many years later.
God wants all Christians serving Him in unity. We are even to undertake the same works together, whatever God wants done in the earth. To accomplish this God gives us a new, unified language, speaking in tongues. But where the first unified language worked between men, this new, pure language only works through God. We can all pray to God in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues the perfect language. Through this we all call upon God. This opens us to Spiritual unity, and through this language God enables us to jointly serve Him.
The spiritual nature of this process defies human comprehension, but the Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it. Do you want global Christian unity? Do you want to serve God alongside all His followers? God gives us this pure language as the way to "serve Him with one consent." Begin praying in tongues regularly. Aside from the other benefits, God will see you desiring unity. God will see you desiring connection and fellowship and joint efforts with your Christian brethren. God will then see to it that you experience these. In these last days Christians must unite, and tongues is a gift and tool for unity.
Scripture references for this EFGE: Romans 8:26, Jude v. 20, Psalm 133, Genesis 11:1, Genesis 11:6,7, Zephaniah 3:9
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