First and Last Name: Bradley Bynum
Course and Section Number: THEO201_D08_201030
Short Essay # 3
Short Essay on Pneumatology
Hello John, it has been a while. I pray you are doing well, and that your family is also
well. To get straight to the point, I am overjoyed to talk with you about spiritual gifts, and in
particular speaking in tongues. I will attempt to answer your questions regarding what spiritual
gifts are, how they differ from the Fruits of the Spirit, as well as their correspondence to spiritual
maturity. In addition, I would like to give you some personal insight on the definition of
spiritual gifts and their purpose, as well as what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is. In response to
your specific questions on speaking in tongues, I will give a biblical definition of them, the
necessity of speaking in tongues, as well as the validity of speaking in tongues today. I pray I
can also put to rest the opposition to my point of view on these matters.
First and foremost, let me help you understand spiritual gifts and the fruits of the spirit.
Spiritual gifts are those gifts identified in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. That is
according to 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, wisdom, knowledge, faith, spiritual healing, miracle
working, prophecy, speaking in tongues and the interpretation thereof; in addition to these,
Romans 12:6-8 states that prophesying, teaching, serving, encouraging, generous giving,
leadership, and showing mercy to those in need are all mentioned as gifts of the Spirit. In
addition to those listed above, there are more that can be drawn from Scripture, to include
apostleship as drawn from 1 Corinthians 12:28 (Elwell 2002), and the gift of spiritual
discernment as drawn from 1 Corinthians 14:29 (Elwell 2002). The evangelist is also noted as a
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“gift to the church” by Elwell and Thomson in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
(pp.1137). The Fruits of the Spirit as set forth by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 are “love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” These traits denote
maturity in the spiritual life of the believer. The gifts of the Spirit are largely for the edification
and assistance of the body of Christ and the Church as a whole. The gifts are given throughout
the body, whereas the Fruits are given to each equally as they mature.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a supernatural annointing of the third person of the Holy
Trinity, or the Holy Spirit. After Jesus was baptised in water, the Holy Spirit is reported as
“descending like a dove and lighting on him,” (Matthew 3:16 NIV). In Acts at Pentecost, the
Holy Spirit came down as “tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them,” at
which point those gathered “were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
tongues,” (Acts 2:3-4 NIV). The baptism of the Holy Spirit came to edify to the congregation
and spread the message of the gospel to all those present in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit gave
interpretation to the listeners so that they could understand and receive the message of the good
news of Jesus Christ. Speaking in tongues is evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit as
demonstrated in Acts 2:3-4. Yes, speaking in tongues is both valid today and a necessary
indication of the presence of the Holy Spirit in believers. Not all believers have the gift of
speaking in tongues for the edification of the Church, but all believers can speak in a language
known only to them and God as they pour out their deepest requests to God in prayer. 1
Corinthians 13:8-10 speaks of a time when the “perfection” (v.10) will come and the prophecies,
tongues, and knowledge will “pass away” (v.8). This is speaking of a time when everything will
pass away except love, and the perfection being spoken of is Jesus Christ. When he comes again,
all things which we in our human nature do in part, as we can only do anything in part being
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human, will stop because he who brings completion to all things will complete the work he
began in us.
There have been those who have downplayed speaking in tongues as not being valid
today, or that speaking in tongues only happened in the New Testament times (Elwell 2002). In
each instance in the Bible of baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues is evident. There
have also been those to negate or overemphasize the spiritual experience rather than the Word of
God itself (Elwell 2002). It is essential to the believer to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and to
operate in the gifts of the Spirit which have been bestowed upon them, as well to receive the
fruits of the Spirit in order to operate in maturity in the ministries in which they have been called.
Word count: 798
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Bibliography
Caulley, Thomas S. "Holy Spirit." In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Second Edition, by
Walter A. Elwell, 568-573. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.
International Bible Society, Eugene Peterson. New International Version , The Message Parallel
Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.
J.G.S.S. Thomson, Walter A Elwell. "Spiritual Gifts." In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
Second Edition, by Walter A. Elwell, 1135-1138. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.
Osborne, Grant R. "Tongues, Speaking in." In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Second
Edition, by Walter A Elwell, 1206-1209. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.
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