Join Bob George as he takes us through the complexities of spiritual gifts, particularly the often-debated gift of speaking in tongues. Using insights from 1 Corinthians, Bob addresses a caller’s queries about the role of tongues in edification and the importance of prophecy in strengthening the church. This episode sheds light on the core question: how do we use our spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ rather than merely ourselves?
Welcome to Classic Christianity Radio with Bob George. Today we are pleased to present a special radio show featuring call-in listeners from Bob’s original people-to-people daily radio program that was on the air for over 30 years, offering real answers for real-life problems as he addresses common questions as well as the tough issues of today, directing callers to the centrality of Christ in you, your only hope of glory. We want to remind our listeners that Bob George Ministries needs your financial support to continue to have Classic Christianity Radio on the air. Please visit BobGeorge.net to find out how you can help support us financially. Let’s now join Bob as he presents practical biblical insights as he helps people experience a life of faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let’s go to San Antonio, Texas, listening on KCTA. Todd, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hi, Bob. Hi. Hey, I’m glad you’re going to be with the Calvary Network because that’s the church I go to.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, great. Well, we are, too. We’re very privileged to be there, Todd.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s good news. My question was in 1 Corinthians 14, verse 2, what does Paul say when he’s talking about speaking mysteries to God?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, Todd, I think to be able to answer that question and, again, to answer it with you have to take that whole subject of speaking in other languages. And Paul starts out in chapter 13 talking about if he could speak in other languages, the tongues of men and angels. That does not mean there’s angelic language. What do you need angelic language for? But you don’t have love. You don’t have anything. It’s what’s called a hyperbole, as you probably already know, an exaggeration of a point in order to make a point. And it talks about all these deals, prophecy. If you could fathom all mysteries, acknowledge and have faith, it could move mountains. But you don’t have love. You don’t have anything. In the final analysis, what we have to look at is how are we doing in the love department? And so when he’s talking about in 14, follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone who speaks in an unknown language speaks, does not speak to men but to God. In other words, if I don’t know what you’re saying, then you’re not talking to me. If I don’t know what you’re meaning when you’re saying, well, you’re talking to God but you’re not talking to me. Indeed, no one understands him. He utters mysteries with his spirit. Now, you say, what does that mean? It means it’s a mystery to me as to what you’re saying. I have no idea what you’re saying when you are speaking in a language that I don’t understand. As you well know, Todd, that could be speaking Russian to me. My wife speaks Russian and German. I understand a little bit of German, but… a tiny bit of Russian, but overall, if she was speaking Russian to me, she’d be uttering mysteries. I’d have no idea what she’s talking about. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement, and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. And I’d like for each and every one of you to speak in other languages, but I’d prefer to have you prophesy, for he who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in other languages, unless he interprets so that the church may be edified.” And then he goes ahead to say, now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in other languages, and that’s what tongues is, that’s why I’m saying that, what good will I be to you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or a word of instruction? Even in the case of lifeless things that make sound, such as a flute or a harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played? unless there’s a distinction in the notes. And again, if the trumpet does not sound, a clear call, who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you’re saying? You’ll just be speaking into the air. And that, I think, ties into uttering mysteries. No one knows what you’re talking about. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re speaking in the air. Undoubtedly, there are all sorts of languages in this world, so we don’t have to have any wonderment as to what he’s talking about here. Undoubtedly, there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I’m a foreigner to the speaker and he’s a foreigner to me. And so it is with you, since you’re so eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church, which he just got through saying that the gift of tongues does not build up the church, it’s self-edification. And for this reason, anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but in my mind is unfruitful. Well, what will I do? Well, he says, I’ll pray with my spirit and also pray with my mind. I’ll sing with my spirit and I’ll sing with my mind. And if you’re praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say amen to your thanksgiving since he doesn’t know what you’re saying? You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. And I think that kind of explains the attitude that Paul had toward the exercising of different spiritual gifts. And I think if we in the Christian world would follow these instructions, instead of coming out with, unless you speak in tongues, you’re not filled with the Spirit, or if you don’t speak in tongues, you’re not saved, and everybody should speak.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, go to a church like that, yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, yeah. And that type of instruction, they’re literally robbing me of my salvation for what they’re saying or trying to. And so if we would just sit back and say tongues is not the number one gift, and Paul says that very clearly, anyone who speaks in tongues doesn’t edify the church. He just gratifies himself. And so I think if we looked at that, and then in verse 22, tongues then are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers. So the gift of tongues is for an unbeliever. The purpose of tongues was given at Pentecost. Proclamation of the gospel was talked by these apostles that they say, aren’t these guys Galileans? In other words, aren’t they, you know, they’re not educated people. How are they able to communicate the gospel in all of these different languages? And that was a sign to those people. And they were all Jews there. So it was a sign to the unbelieving Jew. And so on the other hand, it says prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. So I think if we would just pay attention to what these instructions say, when the whole church comes together, if everyone speaks in tongues and some we do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say you’re out of your mind? while everyone up talking, it wouldn’t make any difference whether you were talking in tongues or if people from Germany were speaking German and people from Japan speaking Japanese. Someone would come in there and they’re all speaking at the same time. You say, you people are nuts. But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody’s prophesying, in other words, giving out the word of God, he’ll be convinced by all that he’s a sinner and will be judged by all and And the secrets of his heart will be laid bare, and he’ll fall down and worship God, exclaiming, God is really among you. So there’s some great instruction. Evidently, there was disruption in the early church, as there is today in this regard. And I think Paul did a wonderful job of explaining what that is.
SPEAKER 03 :
So a prophecy for today would be just giving out the word of God, right?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, it is. Yes, prophecy. Yeah, because there isn’t anything new that God has to say to us. And so prophecy would be the proclamation of what has now been put down into what we know today as our Bible or the books of the Bible and has been put down, and there’s no really additional revelation to be given.
SPEAKER 03 :
How do you know your spiritual gift then? It’s just like what you’re good at, what comes natural?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, Todd, again, I think we make too much of that type of thing. I think that this, if you will. If you will delight yourself in the Lord, he’ll give you the desires of your heart. As an example, Todd, I had no gift of teaching necessarily as a lost person. None at all. I was not a teacher. I didn’t want to be a teacher. That was not a part of my thinking. But the moment I came to Christ, I had an insatiable desire to teach the word of God. probably taught it far too early yeah but the people i was teaching to they didn’t know any more than i did i used to try the bible class that i taught immediately i used to say i was a week ahead of the wolves so uh i knew about a week more than they did but the issue is i know today that that is that is a spiritual gift that god gave me was a gift of teaching You can have, somebody once said that you sit around a breakfast table and see a kid spill a glass of milk and you’ll see what your spiritual gift is. Yeah, I’ve heard that one. The one that grabs it and cleans it up and all that type of thing, well, it’s a gift of helps. uh the the one who’s going to sit there and uh and and admonish you and tell you now son here’s the reason you did this because this is this way he’s probably one of those in the admonishment department so you can kind of identify as to how you respond to things basically what your gift is and uh again i’ve seen people with gifts of giving And I wish more people had that. But I know people who I know full well have a gift of giving. They love to give. They cannot give enough. That teaches me. That taught me how to give because I didn’t have the gift of giving. But these men and women who have this gift of teaching, they were great teachers to me. And I think that’s what it’s talking about, edifying the body of Christ, is you learn from them. If I have a gift of teaching, somebody else may not have the gift of teaching, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t teach. They can learn from people, be taught by people who have the gift of teaching as to how to go and communicate the gospel. People who are encouragers have the gift of encouragement. Those are wonderful gifts because they serve the body, not divide the body. They serve the body. And again, Todd, I say to people, what if I went around telling people, unless you have the gift of teaching, you’re not filled with the Spirit or you’re not saved? That would be ludicrous, wouldn’t it? And so, again, if people would just read through the Scripture without a bias and ask God to just reveal truth to them, we would put all these things in proper perspective. And then when gifts are being exercised, they wouldn’t be offensive to anyone. they would be for the edification of the body.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I appreciate your teaching quite a bit. I’m reading Faith that Pleases God right now and really enjoying it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, thank you. Yeah, Todd, I think as far as discovering your spiritual gifts, I don’t think that’s something you can search for. It says your gifts are given to God as He determines. So He’s already determined what your spiritual gift is. And every Christian has a spiritual gift. But, again, it’s for the purpose of edifying the body. So it’s kind of what do you really enjoy doing? You know, I talk to people who say, Bob, I just love to encourage people. You know, I love to be an encouragement to people. There’s your gift. Some people, I love to give. There’s your gift. And so I think instead of trying to seek out what your gift is, it’s kind of what do you really, in Christ, what do you really like to do?
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay, well, thanks for the insight. I’ll let you get to some of the other people. Well, I’ll be listening.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, my friend.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks again. We’ll be talking to you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Todd, thanks for your call, brother. God bless you, pal.
SPEAKER 01 :
Bye now. Okay, bye-bye now. Classic Christianity Radio is a listener-funded program, and because of your generous donations, we are able to be on the air. Go to BobGeorge.net to order the best-selling book, Classic Christianity by Bob George. Classic Christianity has been translated into 26 languages and is now available from our website in Spanish and English. As Bob tells it, God is calling people back to the simplicity of the gospel, back to his grace, mercy, and truth, back to the person of Jesus Christ. This book continues to change the lives of people around the world, and it will change your life too. Please visit bobgeorge.net for additional information on how you can join us financially and help support the radio ministry. With your prayers and support, we can continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Let’s continue now with our classic Christianity radio program.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let’s go to Art listening in Valencia, California. Let’s go on K-Bright. Art, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hi, Bob. Thanks for taking my call.
SPEAKER 06 :
You’re welcome, Art.
SPEAKER 04 :
My question is about the Old Testament saints. if they were sealed by the Holy Spirit like we are today, I know that David, I believe it was David that said that I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. And also when his child died, he said that he will not come to me, but I will go to him. So he had a security about his salvation.
SPEAKER 06 :
And my question is… Well, he also prayed, don’t take the Holy Spirit from me. So there was no way to have… assurance of salvation in regard to the dwelling Holy Spirit, except by faith in the coming Messiah and what was revealed by God. So they were not saved at all, Art, the way you and I are saved today. No one was saved the way we are today until the day of Pentecost, actually. The disciples and the apostles were not saved until the day of Pentecost. Because what you’re saved from is the consequence or the wages of sin, which is death. And the only solution to death is life. And life never came to permanently indwell us until the day of Pentecost. Outside of that, in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come upon people for divine service and then leave. So the only people that were able to have eternal life is us, and the reason that we’re able to have eternal life is because of the eternal consequence of the cross, where he eternally took away the cause of death, which is sin. And so his cross was what enabled us now to give us eternal life that cannot be destroyed, cannot be taken away, because the only thing that could cause life to depart from us would be sin, And the reason that is an impossibility is because of the cross of Christ where he took away the sins of the entire world. Christ didn’t come to atone for sin, to cover sin. He came to take it away from the eyes of God. So that’s why we know that we have eternal life today, which the Old Testament saints had to hope, in essence, that they had eternal life because of faith.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, I’m just a little confused because I know that it says that But obviously they weren’t saved by works because it says that by works they can’t be justified. So then how exactly were they saved by the works?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, they were saved by faith on a credit card, Art. That’s the best way I know to explain it is they got to enjoy the furniture, but it hadn’t been paid for yet. And so that’s what the cross was. And that’s why it says Jesus went back and preached to those Old Testament saints and is in essence announcing it has now been paid for, and now I’m able to lead you into the presence of God. That’s why they were in a holding pattern, waiting for that event to take place. Today, on this side of the cross, when we die, we’re absent from the body and present with the Lord. But until that price was paid, they were in a holding pattern.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, and could you explain, when Moses, when the New Testament says that Moses chose rather to suffer the reproaches of Christ, Did he have the full knowledge of Christ or just a shadow of it?
SPEAKER 06 :
Only a foreshadowing. Everything in the Old Testament was a foreshadowing, Art. There was nobody that knew Christ as we know him today as he appeared. Otherwise, he could have saved you a lot of trouble by even coming to see us. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, brother.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, thank you very much.
SPEAKER 06 :
You’re sure welcome, Art. God bless you, and thanks for your call. Okay, thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s a good call.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you, brother. Bye-bye. Let’s go to Cecilia in Lancaster, California. Let’s go on KERI. Cecilia, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hi, Bob. Oh, I just had to call you and just tell you that I’m reading Faith That Pleases God Again. And the initiator or responder, that has come up several times with people that I’m talking with. You know, prayer time, let’s pray. And then they’ve even asked me questions like, you know, if we pray… Will that change a person? Will it keep them from sinning? You know, that type of stuff. But let me make this quick comment, because I was a little amused to hear you talk about the Catholics and the Virgin Mary, because that was kind of an issue that my mom and I dealt with. My mom kept getting a bigger and bigger statue of the Virgin Mary in her living room, and because that was her way of dealing with, you know, I’d be talking to her about God and about the truth, and my mother would come back with a bigger statue of the Virgin Mary, and, you know, her and the neighbors across the street would have prayer time and take the Virgin Mary over there. It was just a big, yeah, it just broke my heart.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I understand that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, but now I see a big difference in my mom. and I still keep talking to her about the truth of God. And your books help me tremendously. When I talk with people, your programs, I listen to Carrie and Kay Bright, and I’m usually doing something. Today I was cleaning out a shed and doing an antique chair. But they’re just so helpful because people are always asking questions, or they’ll make statements like this lady said. You know, if we pray hard enough that, this guy will stop sinning. And I did have to comment. Would you comment about the initiator and the responder? Because I’m saying that a whole lot to people now.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, Cecilia, what I covered in the book there is the fact that, you know, God did not respond to us at creation and he doesn’t respond to us at salvation. He initiates to us. He didn’t ask any of us if it was okay to create the world. He didn’t ask any of us if it was okay for if he came to save the world. And we’re responders. If we are the initiator, then we’re greater than God. In other words… We live in this world by a law called the law of causality, which means that the result of something is never greater than the initiator of something. As an example, the warmth of the sun is not greater than the sun. A house is not greater than the builder. My salvation is not greater than my Savior. We live by that law of causality, and we think nothing of that. But when it comes to God, we come down to the point where we have spiritual dyslexia and we begin to think that I’m the initiator and he’s the responder to me, which makes me greater than God. If the warmth of the sun is greater than the sun, then the warmth is greater than the sun. That’s all you can look at. And so what we have done is to put ourselves in a position just back in the Garden of Eden where we want to be God. And one of the ways that you can be God is to control God. And people literally think that their prayer is going to cause God to have to answer that. And therefore, I’m greater than him. I can boss the God of this universe around. Well, nothing more could be farther from the truth, as you know, Cecilia. So we’re into a situation where we’re responders. And I do not believe that biblical prayer is anything more or less than God telling me in my heart to pray for something because he’s got the answer on the way. And I am going to therefore recite back to him basically what he’s told to me. I have not initiated anything. I’ve responded. and that God is going to do the initiation from that point on. And so, yeah, we have some strange ideas. To think that you could pray and a person stops sinning is, in essence, saying I can pray and change the truth of the Bible, which is what a lot of people do. I mean, I hate to keep camping on that thing, Cecilia, but… That’s idol worship. When you’re sitting there worshiping a statue and they call her the Virgin Mary, she was a virgin from the virgin birth. But Jesus had brothers and sisters name by name in the scriptures. And so she did not remain a virgin after the birth of Christ Jesus. And to put her in that kind of a situation and then sit down and worship the statues… who knows what mary looked like you know what jesus looked like we didn’t know what any of those people looked like so it’s idol worship it becomes that you’re worshiping an idol thinking that that’s getting you closer to god and i know that some most of these people are sincere as can be not testing their sincerity it’s just i’m saying to them they’re being taught wrong by the leadership because that is just total error right and um that’s
SPEAKER 02 :
What I did was kind of avoid that issue. What I try to do when I talk with people is focus, just I call it a first on the truth of God, first about life and death. Because if we don’t have the spirit of God in us, how are we going to understand anyway? Yeah, exactly. You know, just talking to somebody and it bounces off like a wall. But what I did was, because I wasn’t looking for confrontations, What I did was actually talk with the people that she was in those little prayer groups with, and they were more receptive to what I had to say about God. And so I just sort of, you know, just little by little talked with them sort of one-on-one. That’s what I like to do, one-on-one. And we would just have little, like, sound bites. And I noticed that a lot of the things that you say, as I’ve heard you over the years, I just automatically, they just pop up out of my mouth, you know, and I’m thankful for that because sometimes that’s what will grab a person’s, it’s like a light bulb goes on. And I, you know, so I do appreciate your books and your tapes, and I’m finding more and more people are asking me certain questions, and they’re telling me that they understand me when I speak to them, and so… I know that has to be God because, you know, I don’t have a clue. But I noticed that the way you say things again, because that’s what I called about last time, was that you’re easy to understand. And many times the things that I say to people are the little sound bites that you say. So they’ve been real helpful to me. And when I hear people talk about depression, I mean, I read your book and had your tapes, Living Above Your Circumstances, crazy. So many, you know, your material is so good. And sometimes I give it to people, but they don’t read it. And so I find that I just have to give them bits and pieces so that they could sort of digest it. But anyway, just to ask you and get your input on things, and that initiator and responder to me is something I’ve been, you know, mentioning to people because we’ll pray in groups. And last night I was just reminding some of the people I was praying with that God is the initiator and we are the responders. And just those simple little words I think makes a big difference. It’s sort of like, oh, yeah, that’s right. But I remember when you used to say this, you’d say, people know what the word says, but do they know what it means? Do they know how to live it? And I think that that’s kind of a big issue still. Many times I’ll know what your word says, but it’s like, okay, God, how can I live that today?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, what does it mean? Well, Cecile, you keep on going. Sounds like God is working in your life in a remarkable way, and we’re grateful to God for that, grateful that we’ve had a little piece of that action. And so you keep listening and growing in grace, and God will continue multiplying your ministry there, and we’re very proud of what you’re doing.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I’m just thankful for you guys again, just really thankful because I really needed to just, I actually stopped working for a while, and so I’ve been able to listen to you more and read your books. So it’s been really great to go again and read your material again because I sort of needed to get grounded again.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, it never stops on that. Sue, we’re out of time, but I appreciate your call, and you call anytime, okay? Okay. God bless you. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER 01 :
Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another, and praise the Lord. Amen.
SPEAKER 05 :
Put Jesus first in your life and turn your life around.
