Gordon Fee on the Radical Balance of Glossolalia

"Paul does not damn tongues with faint praise (as some have said) nor does he stand in awe of the phenomenon as apparently the Corinthians had done and some later Pentecostals/charismatics as well".

Gordon Fee - "A Theology of Glossolalia" - Regent College, Vancouver.

Gordon Fee on the Vital Presence of the Spirit

"Whatever else the Spirit was experienced in the Pauline churches".

So why isn't He today in cessationist churches (and many so-called charismatic churches)?

Gordon Fee - "The Theology of Glossolalia" - Regents College, Vancouver.

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

"There are many, many evidences of the descent of the Holy Spirit - the baptism of the Holy Spirit upon a man or woman. It is not necessarily speaking in tongues; people can be baptised with the Holy Spirit who never speak with tongues. But it is obvious that they have been baptised with the Holy Spirit, you can see the difference in them".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Exposition of Romans 14:1-17 - Liberty and Conscience" - Banner of Truth, Edinburgh (2007) - (p64).

Tom Schreiner on the Spirit and Prophecy

"If we take stock of the foregoing texts, we observe a close connection between the "filling" of the Spirit and prophecy. John the Baptist was a prophet of the Lord and filled with the Spirit from his mother's womb ... Both Elizabeth and Zechariah were filled with the Spirit and prophesied ... the same pattern continues in Acts. When the 120 believers on the Day of Pentecost were filled with the Spirit, they spoke in tongues ... they proclaimed the "mighty acts of God" ... perhaps it is significant that the verb "fill" is not used on any other occasion when people speak in tongues in Acts. This is the only occasion in Acts in which those who speak in tongues are understood by the hearers so that God's word is proclaimed in a comprehensible manner".

Thomas R Schreiner - "New Testament Theology - Magnifying God in Christ" - Apollos, Nottingham (2008) - (p444).

Rob Rufus on the Gift of Tongues

"I believe tongues is the entrance into the spirit realm. Paul says that when he prays in other tongues he does not speak to men but speaks mysteries unto God. 1 Corinthians 14: 4: “He that prays in other tongues edifies or charges his spirit up.” You know how I feel after one hour of praying in tongues? I feel ready to take on the world. My Spirit can get so run down and do you know that if your Spirit is run down it will affect your soul and your body? Do you know that your immune system is affected by the vitality in your Spirit? The Book of James says that when your Spirit leaves your body, your body dies. As soon as your Spirit leaves your earth suit, your earth suit has no energy to keep it alive.

It is your Spirit that is the mysterious power that is keeping your body alive? If your Spirit runs down; its batteries get low, your energy levels within your Spirit become so depleted that it affects your immune system, your emotions, your soul, your intellect, and your perspective on life.

So, when you pray in unknown tongues, the Bible says you edify your Spirit. I know that most times when I get ‘flu it isn’t because I was out in the cold, it is because my Spirit’s energy is run down by giving out, giving out, giving out until I don’t have inner strength to help my body and my soul maintain life. That is often why sickness and disease comes on people. I believe that if our Spirit was full of the anointing every day and we prayed in tongues regularly, we would avoid most illness. Paul said, “I pray in tongues more than all of you” “I wish you would all pray in tongues” he said to the Corinthians.

There is no formula attached to this. Sometimes I pray two to three hours and nothing happens. Sometimes I have prayed for five minutes and everything has happened. So there is not formula to this but I as a regular lifestyle I think it is wise to pray regularly in tongues. Just build your Spirit up".

Rob Rufus - "A Lion Anointing" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 20th October 2004

John MacArthur on Desiring Spiritual Gifts

"The Corinthians were to stop seeking gifts because to do so is both persumptious and purposeless".

John MacArthur - "The MacArthur New Testament Commentary - 1 Corinthians" - Moody Bible Institute, Chicago (1984) - (p326).

Bill Johnson on More Than Tongues

"The fullness of God ought to do more for me than give me a supernatural language. If that's all there was, I'd have no complaint. It's a glorious gift from God. But His purposes bring us into more, to a divine partnership in which we become co-labourers with Christ. Power came to make us witnesses. When the Spirit of God came upon all the people in the Scriptures, all of nature bowed before them. Power was displayed, and impossibilities gave way to the full expression of God's Presence".

Bill Johnson - "When Heaven Invades Earth" - Destiny Image (2003) - (p129).

Bill Johnson on More to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

"Tarry in the city of Jerusalem until ..." ... It was as if they had been working under the umbrella of His anointing. The time had come for them to get an anointing of their own through an encounter with God. The baptism of fire would give them their own on-going encounter that would help to keep them at the centre of God's will when persecution came.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is an immersion into the dunamis of heaven. The ability to pray in tongues is a wonderful gift given through this baptism. I pray in tongues constantly and am grateful for such a gift from God. But to think that speaking in tongues is the purpose for such a holy invasion is embarrassingly simplistic. It would be the same as saying that when Israel crossed the Jordan River it was the same as pssessing the Promised Land. Yes they were in it, yes they could see it but they did not possess it! Their river crossing gave them a legal access to the possession.

This wonderful Spirit baptism has given as such an access. But to stand on the banks proclaiming "It's all mine" is foolishness at best. Such ignorance has caused great numbers of people to halt their pursuit once they've received their spiritual language. They have been taught they are now full of the Holy Spirit. A glass is only full when it overflows. Fullness can only be measured by overflow".

Bill Johnson - "When Heaven Invades Earth" - Destiny Image Publishers (2003) - (p129).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on "Spiritual Songs"

"Take the passage from Ephesians 5:19. What are those "spiritual songs"? I have no doubt whatsoever but it means singing under the direct inspiration of the Spirit exactly as you have it in 1 Corinthians 14:15".

Dr Lloyd-Jones - "Ephesians: Christian Conduct (Romans 12)" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh - (p88).

Jack Hayford on Tongues

"It began to dawn on me that, given an environment where the Word of God was foundational and the Person of Christ the focus, the Holy Spirit could be trusted to do both-enlighten the intelligence and ignite the emotions. I soon discovered that to allow him that much space necessitates more a surrender of my senseless fears than a surrender of sensible control. God is not asking any of us to abandon reason or succumb to some euphoric feeling. He is, however, calling us to trust him-enough to give him control."

Jack Hayford quoted in Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts, Sam Storms, p. 157.

Donald Gee on the Gift of Tongues

"The gift of tongues consisted of the power of more or less ecstatic speech in languages with which the speaker was not naturally familiar".

Donald Gee - "Concerning Spiritual Gifts" - Gospel Mission (1947) - (p57).

David Mansell on the Gifts of the Spirit as Kingdom Rule!

"The gifts of the Spirit demonstrate on earth Jesus' enthronement in heaven. Jesus rules by sending forth the word of prophecy to declare and accomplish His will here on earth. He rules in situations of confusion by giving words of knowledge and wisdom and discerning of spirits. He rules over sickness by gifts of healing. He rules over apathy by faith and miracles. He rules over our present mortal limitations by enabling us to pray and worship supernaturally in tongues and interpretations. Our God reigns!"

David Mansell - "The Gifts of the Spirit" - Restoration Magazine - January/February 1977 - Harvestime, Bradford - (p4).

Don Basham on Defining the Interpretation of Tongues

"The gift of the interpretation of tongues is the supernatural ability to speak by the inspiration of the the Holy Spirit in the known languages of the assembled worshippers, the meaning of what was previously spoken through the gift of tongues".

Don Basham - "Stepping Out in Prophecy" - New Wine Magazine - January 1977 - CGM Ministries - (p21).

Don Basham on Spiritual Gifts and the Gift of Tongues

"To stop with tongues is to barely step inside the door of the virtually unlimited supernatural realm of the Spirit".

Don Basham - "Stepping Out in Prophecy" - New Wine Magazine - January 1977 - CGM Ministries - (p21).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Speaking in Tongues

"So Paul is saying, 'I thank my God that I speak in tongues more frequently than ye all'. Now if speaking in tongues is something that people can do whenever they like then I see no point whatsoever in that statement of the apostle because all he is saying is that he decides to speak more frequently than anybody else.

But if he means that he finds himself taken up by the Spirit and speaking in tongues, if it is a kind of spiritual ecstasy into which he has been lifted - not something he has decided to do but something which he has been given - then there is point in him claiming he knows more about it and does it more frequently than any one of them - ... they are always given, they are always initated by the Spirit".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Exposition of Chapter 12 - Christian Conduct - Romans" - Banner of Truth, Edinburgh (2000) - (pp250-251).

Dr Lloyd-Jones on Edward Irving

"He (Irving) and his followers claimed that the gifts of the early church - speaking in tongues and particularly prophetic utterance - had been restored to them - and this undoubtedly happened".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Exposition of Chapter 12 - Christian Conduct - Romans" - Banner of Truth, Edinburgh (2000) - (p6).

David Holden on Tongues and Interpretation

"I believe that the gift of tongues and interpretation as described in 1 Corinthians 12, are meant to play a significant part in our gatherings. My personal understanding of an interpretation is that it it is Godward. It is not praying, it is when a person "gushes forth" with Holy Spirit inspired words that come from deep within".

David Holden - "Some Lessons Learnt!" - Newfrontiers Magazine - December/February 2004 - (p35).

Derek Prince on Tongues and Interpretation

"It is God's will for all to speak in tongues; it is therefore also God's will for all to interpret".

Derek Prince - "Foundational Truths for Christian Living" - (2006) Charisma Press - p311.

Derek Prince on the Gift of Tongues

"When we come to the end of our own natural strength and understanding, the Holy Spirit can take over our faculties and conduct His own worship and prayer through us".

Derek Prince - "Foundational Truths for Christian Living" - (2006) Charisma Press - p274.

Derek Prince on Receiving the Holy Spirit

"In yielding our physical members we no longer seek even to understand intellectually what God asks of us. We merely hand over unreserved control of our physical members and allow God to use them according to His own will and purpose.

The particular member He takes full control of is that unruly member that no man can tame - the tongue. Thus the yielding of our tongue to the Spirit marks the climax of yieldedness, of surrender, of complete obedience. It is by this we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit".

Derek Prince - "Foundational Truths for Christian Living" - (2006) Charisma Press - p233.