January 2001

[Part 80]

“BELIEVING THE UNBELIEVABLE” [T]

Why do some happily embrace, while others soundly denounce, the phenomenon known as “speaking in tongues”? Because “He that speaks in an unknown language is not speaking to men, but to God! And no man can understand him because he speaks MYSTERIES within his spirit!” (1 Co 14:2) Most people are uncomfortable when foreigners carry on private conversations in their own language when they might be making disparaging remarks about them, or worse, they may be hatching unpleasant intrigues. Likewise when Christians begin to speak to God in words that are foreign to their listeners, it makes them equally uncomfortable. The Gift of speaking in tongues is not intended by God to be a public spectacle that vexes non-gifted ones! In fact, prayer in tongues should only be conducted in private audience with the Lord, or with others who speak in tongues; or are at the very least are familiar with- but not offended by- or even desirous of this miracle.
                Some shun surrendering control of their tongue to the Holy Spirit for fear He will use it to ask God to make disagreeable or even objectionable things happen to us that we would otherwise be loathe to pray for consciously! Others deny this Gift because they are still in such bondage to their pride-of-life, they cannot yet relinquish mastery of their tongues to the Holy Spirit! But understand, “God’s Gift is not a question of human will or human effort, but of God’s Mercy! It depends not on one’s own willingness, nor on his strenuous exertion as in running a race, but on God’s having Mercy on him!” (Ro 9:16 AV)
                 God sees our beggarly natural man through eyes of compassion for He knows neither his chains of vanity [Heb. 1892 “Futility, frustration, to be led astray”; and Gk 3153-3154 “Inutility (Dict. “Uselessness; unusability, ineffectuality, worthlessness”), transientness, moral depravity, foolishness, wickedness, idolatry, emptiness, and profitlessness”] nor his prison of unbelief are of his own making! Rather the natural man was made subject to these sore bondages unwillingly so that through them, God’s infinite Mercy could be displayed through His Christ! (Ro 8:20) Until we come to know and begin to understand some of the Purposes of our heavenly Creator, these things sound ludicrous (another curse of natural man’s condition) “He cannot receive things of the Spirit, for they are spiritually discerned!” ( 1 Co 2:14) God says, “ALL of man’s thoughts are vanity!” (Pr 94:11) and adds, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he!” (Pr 23:7) God condemns this state of “Carnal-mindedness-called-Death”, along with all who are “Friends of this world” (Jas 4:4) as His avowed enemies! But then, in typical paradoxical splendor, His Word says to all men who are convicted by their own “evil heart of unbelief” and thus sentenced to a “death-life of vanity”, “God displays and proves His Love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!” (Ro 5:8; 8:6) Now if our sin-nature is regarded as the enemy of God, then surely it must also be the enemy of the Christ-Nature within every believer! But then we see a Mystery in the Divine Decree to the people of God which says:

“L-O-V-E .....YOUR ENEMIES;
B-L-E-S-S.....THEM THAT CURSE YOU;
D-O G-O-O-D......TO THEM THAT HATE YOU;
P-R-A-Y F-O-R......THEM THAT DESPITEFULLY USE YOU
AND PERSECUTE YOU; for only in this way can you demonstrate
that you are truly the *children of your Heavenly Father...!” (Mt 5:44-45)

*When interpreting the parable of the Sower Jesus said,
”The GOOD SEED are the children of the Kingdom...”
and “The SEED is the Word of God!” (Mt 13:38; Lk 8:11)

                Let us be clear here that God is not instructing His people to “love evil”, or “bless curses”, but to love, bless, do good to, and pray for that helpless natural man who is in bondage to his own sin nature! Remember that we were all subjected to this vanity “not willingly”! And how do we do this seemingly impossible task? By asking and encouraging, our Christ Nature to do it for us! It is His “Good Pleasure” to do His Father’s Will-- even to the point of “laying down His life” for us! Since only Christ can love so selflessly; when we do these things, HIS LIFE is clearly manifested!!

[TO BE CONTINUED]