We receive the Holy Ghost by obedience to the blood. Some groups teach that by obedience to the ministry, we receive the Spirit and other attributes of God, but this is error. This is the same error which the Catholic Church and all the other denominations preach, when they say they are the only true church, and unless you belong to their ranks you cannot make heaven.

God’s order of things is that one obeys the Word of God to receive the blood of Christ, which is the life of God. The next step is to obey that which you have received, to receive that which you desire. We obey the blood, and we receive the Holy Ghost.

When we obey the Holy Ghost, we receive the fulness. This is clearly defined by Jesus Himself in John 14:23,

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

The Holy Ghost causes people to speak in tongues, but not everyone who speaks in tongues is filled with the Holy Ghost. In some places, devil worshippers speak in tongues. There are unclean churches who believe in abominable living, preaching and teaching abomination for doctrines, yet speak in tongues. People can speak in tongues psychologically. There are three types of tongues. (a) Tongues from God (b) Tongues from the devil (c) Tongues from the mind of the individual.

FIVE SIGNS OF THE BELIEVER

Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs shall follow them that believe: (1) In my name shall they cast out devils; (2) they shall speak with new tongues; (3) they shall take up serpents; (4) and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; (5) they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

Of these five signs mentioned, there is only one which could be reasonably shown in a congregation – speaking in tongues. This is surely a sign of the Spirit being within, when involuntarily one speaks another language, whether it be the language of angels, some extinct or living language; it does not make any difference. In parts of Africa, Christians receiving the baptism of the Spirit, in many instances, speak clearly in English, which they could not speak before, with their understanding as unfruitful as those who speak Greek here in tongues.

An incident occurred with us in India in 1981, which will adequately explain this situation. We were in a meeting with brethren in Velpur, Andra Pradesh State, where they speak only Telegu. We had an interpreter, and the Lord said we should speak on the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. The interpreter was somewhat displeased with us, and when we were about to commence the meeting, we saw him go off in a rickshaw. We began to preach the word with as much sign language as we could, and with the help of a brother who knew a little English. Suddenly, my wife saw an angel standing beside one of the sisters. Now the chief problem there was that they did not want the women to speak in the congregations. When this angel appeared beside this sister, she lifted her hands in the air and began to speak in perfect English. Then, another woman, and another woman, and soon the whole congregation began to raise their hands and praise the Lord in English.

We felt so stupid. Here we were trying to make signs to them and talk to them when it now seemed that all of them could speak English. What had actually happened is that none of them could speak English. They were all speaking in tongues. We did not find this out until they were out of the Spirit and we tried to talk to them. We have a large congregation there now, and they still have not yet learned to speak English.

NOT A DOCTRINE

Tongues should not be preached as a doctrine. This is just a fact which takes place whether you will speak or not. People should not speak in tongues because they want to or because they expect to, but because they are baptized in the Spirit. The fact is that the speaking in tongues should not precede the filling with the Spirit, but SHOULD BE AS A RESULT OF BEING FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. There are so many theories on this subject and so many different teachings, that I have no desire to enter into the controversy. There should be no controversy on the matter because if a person has to go about asking someone else if he is filled with the Spirit, it might well be a good indication that he is not filled. The Spirit of God is His own witness, and this witness must be in the soul of the believer. Nevertheless, because there are so many wrong and outright devilish teachings on the subject, many persons are being deceived to think they have the Holy Ghost when they do not. The teaching that you receive the Holy Ghost when you accept Jesus as your Savior is erroneous and dangerous. In Acts 19:1-6, Paul went to some Baptist brethren, who at that time were disciples of John the Baptist and asked them a simple question. “Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?” They answered, “We have not so much as heard whether there be a Holy Ghost.” He asked them the next pertinent question. “Unto what then were ye baptized?” They answered, “Unto John’s baptism.” These were disciples of John, and since John had not brought salvation, Paul discovered that these persons were not saved. He preached Jesus to them, and then when they believed, baptized them in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul then laid his hands on them, and the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied.

There is a most important lesson here. Paul said nothing ABOUT TONGUES. They, however, spoke in tongues, although it was not necessary for any supernatural form of communication among thirteen people who had no problem of communication. Tongues is one of the expressions of the divine nature coming into man. There, however, is no time limit set on how long after the Holy Spirit takes the spirit of a believer that he should talk in tongues. With some it is spontaneous, and with others it is delayed.

SOUL BLOCK

When man is filled with the Spirit, he is filled in his spirit and not in his soul. It, therefore, takes time for that which is in the spirit to come forth within the soul realm. Within our spirits, there lies all the fulness of God, yet we fail to appropriate it in the soul realm, because we have blocks which stop the manifestations. For instance, we who are filled with the Spirit of God do not manifest the perfect nature of God, not because we do not contain God in our spirits, but because we restrain Him by our soulishness. We have got to be overcomers, and break through the blocks. There are environmental blocks, heredity blocks, blocks of wrong teachings, and wrong upbringing, and wrong doctrines. When we are able to recognize truth, then the “halo of lies” will be swept away, thus allowing the Holy Ghost to break through with all the goodness of God.

SCRIPTURAL RECORD OF TONGUES

In order to make this manuscript complete in carrying out the thoughts mentioned, I find it necessary to give the Biblical history of tongues.

1. GOD WROTE IN TONGUES. In Daniel 5:25, God wrote on Belshazzar’s wall four words of judgment – MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. Men of every nation conquered by Babylon were present, and they failed to interpret the writing. I would venture to say that every language in the known world was spoken in Babylon, as it was at that time the center of the world.

“But they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.” Daniel 5:8.

Only Daniel under the power of the Spirit of God could interpret the writing.

2. ISAIAH PROPHESIED THAT THIS GENERATION WOULD SPEAK IN TONGUES.

Isaiah 28:11-12, “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing; yet they would not hear.”

There are THREE SABBATHS. (a) The seventh day Sabbath, (b) the Holy Ghost Sabbath, and (c) The millennial Sabbath. The first Sabbath, or the seventh day Sabbath, could not bring man into righteousness; therefore, when God brought the Holy Ghost rest to man, He brought man’s Sabbath within himself. The promise is found in Ezekiel 36:27,

“And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

Paul also clearly stated this fact in Hebrews 4:3,

“For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.”

The whole passage here, with its context, points to the fact that God ordained the Holy Spirit to be the believer’s rest, and that when we receive the Holy Spirit; we should rest from our own works, and do God’s works through the direction of the Holy Ghost.

The millennium is the seventh day of God, or the seventh thousand year of man, in which God is bringing man into His likeness, and in which man will rest from his works completely, and allow God to work through him absolutely. In this period, the whole earth will be at rest, the devil will be chained, and the sons of God will form the government under God. This millennium, or 1,000 year period, is also referred to in scripture as the THIRD DAY. This third day of Christ is actually the seventh thousand year. (The evening and the morning is the day.) So, Jesus came at the end of the age of the Law, which was the end of the fourth day, and the beginning of the fifth. Jesus’ first day, then, was God’s fifth day. This means that Jesus’ second day would be God’s sixth day. We are now 2000 years from the birth of Jesus, so we are near the end of the sixth day, which is the second day of Christ. The age will end on the second thousand year, and dawns the third thousand year or the year of JUBILEE, (the seventh day).

3. JESUS SPOKE IN TONGUES

(a) Mark 5:41, “And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, TALITHA CUMI; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.”

There is no question here that Jesus spoke in a language that was not known to the people around Him. This is the reason in the first place an interpretation was necessary in the scripture.

The theologians say it was the ancient Chaldean language, but the Bible says Jesus was not learned. John 7:15 bears this point out.

“And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?”

(b) Matthew 27:46b-47, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.”

Some of the persons standing there said He was calling for Elias. It is therefore plain that He did not speak in a known language. He spoke in tongues. Here again, we see Jesus speaking in a language which He is not supposed to have known. “Chaldaic,” say the theologians. This only authenticates the fact that He spoke in tongues.

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” The lampstand is the only light in the Holy Place. This light is a combination of the golden container, the golden olive oil and the wick. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus said,

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.”

In this instance, we see Jesus using the part as the whole, calling the wick the light. The lamp could not work without the wick, BUT THE WICK CANNOT WORK WITHOUT THE OIL AND THE LAMP. We are only the wick, yet we are the light of God in the earth. The true light of God in the believers’ lives must come through being filled with the Spirit, and lit by the fire of the Outer Court from the brazen altar of sacrifice.

UNION TO UNITY

Because of God’s desire to make us one with Himself, He enters into union with us through the Holy Spirit, whose chief work is to inseminate the bride with the seed of CHRIST, to change her nature from the human corruptible nature to the LIFE NATURE OF CHRIST, which is INCORRUPTIBLE.

THE WOMB OF THE CHURCH

Christ, the seed, grows within the womb of the church, as the seed, the Holy Ghost, planted within Mary grew and took nine months to bring forth. The Holy Spirit at this time is inseminating the church with the same seed of Christ, which He used to bring forth Jesus into the world. There is only one difference: God works in progressive stages of three. The first is always carnal; the second spiritual and carnal; and the third and final stage, the triumph of the spiritual over the carnal, bringing forth its perfect manifestation of the thing desired. The first stage of man brought forth Adam, the father of the fallen race. The second stage brought forth Jesus the God-man, the Savior of the world. The third stage is bringing forth the Christ-man in the whole earth, the salvation of humanity and all creation. THE ABSOLUTE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT is seen here. Like Eleazar, the servant of Abraham in Genesis 24, His duty is to bring back the bride to Isaac. In God’s divine order, man’s nature is to be changed to the nature of the Christ by this operation of the Holy Ghost. The womb of the church, therefore, is the SOUL OF MAN.

Jesus Christ was born from the womb of Mary as a natural birth. The final Christ shall be born from the womb of the church, which is the change to take place within the soul of man, which in turn will change the physical consistency of this body, AND THEN THE RELATIONSHIP OF ALL CREATED THINGS TO THEIR MAKER (Romans 8:23 and Revelation 12:1).