THE GIFTS OF UTTERANCE
As we begin our discussion of the gifts of utterance, may I remind you of
the words of Paul:
Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto
these dumb idols [gods who cannot talk], even as ye
were led. Wherefore I give you to understand that no
man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus ac-
cursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the
Lord, but by the Holy Ghost (I Cor. 12:2-3).
The Christian serves a God who speaks by His Spirit. Paul says that if we
speak by the Spirit of God, we cannot say that Jesus is accursed. He also con-
tends that if we say that Jesus is Lord, we must speak by the Spirit. Finally, he
declares that if we serve a god who does not speak, it must be a dumb idol.
In his first letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul discusses various ways that
God speaks by His Spirit: devotional tongues (the prayer language), the gift of
tongues, the interpretation of tongues, the gift of prophecy, and the message of
the prophet.
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