Last Revised: 7 March, 2022

How do we be

(or do something)

'in the Spirit'?

Summary

• In the Revival Fellowship we have come to understand and promote a view that:
  Praying in the [Holy] Spirit = Praying in tongues
  
• This view us then used to support our notion that a speaking in tongues experience of the Holy Spirit is necessary for salvation
• It seems clear to me, after a bit of digging, that praying in the Holy Spirit is not exclusively (or predominately or perhaps not even) speaking in tongues.
• There's also some discussion about the implications of my conclusions for the Revival Fellowship's view that all real, true Christians will speak in tongues.

Praying in the Holy Spirit

I've been a member of the Revival Fellowship (previously the Revival Centres) for over four decades. Of late (the last 10 years or so....)  I've come to believe that some of what we preach as biblical and "the same as the early church" is neither. 

The Revival Fellowship’s salvation story inflexibly includes the idea that if you have never had the experience of speaking in tongues, you have never been filled with, been baptised in, or received the Holy Spirit, and, in that case, you are not a Christian at all. Our view is that all genuine Christians will speak in tongues as the direct, initial and non-negotiable sign of being “filled” with the Holy Spirit.

One of the planks we use to support our view is the concept of “praying in the [Holy] Spirit”.

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

(Jude 20-21, KJV)

We use the KJV Jude references (above) to support our salvation story. Our claim for support of our position is summarised briefly by: “Jude instructs Christians to pray in the Holy Spirit because it’s essential for them. And, since praying in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues, every Christians must speak in tongues”. This is not the Revival Fellowships only argument for “all real, true Christians can speak in tongues”, but it is one line of argument we have put in print. To break it down a little:

1.  In Jude 20-21, we claim that praying in the Holy Spirit refers exclusively to praying in an unknown tongue.
2. Jude is writing to the Church at large, so we conclude that praying in the Holy Spirit is something all Christians can, and must, do. And, as our view is praying in the Holy Spirit refers exclusively to praying in tongues, then
3. all Christians must be able to speak in tongues.

The second point is not controversial. The first claim is not so clear cut, and so that’s where we’ll start our review. If praying in the [Holy] Spirit is shown to be something other than (or includes something other than) speaking in tongues, then the Revival Fellowship salvation doctrine will get no support from that quarter. Why? Because if praying in the [Holy] Spirit is not exclusively speaking in tongues, then Christians have no need to speak in tongues to pray in the Spirit. And in that case, speaking in tongues is not required of all Christians.

I will explore and assess this concept in the following pages, but I’m not seeking the last word. Instead, I will investigate what scriptural warrant exists for the Revival Fellowship’s claim at point 1, above, then I’ll leave it for the reader to assess the plausibility of that claim. What do I mean by plausible? Just this: Does the claim praying in the Holy Spirit refers exclusively to praying in an unknown tongue have enough support in Scripture to be credible? Is that claim a reasonable claim to make? Are there other scripturally sound and coherent ways to view Jude 20-21?

The Biblical Data

Where are the specific examples of praying in the Spirit or in the Holy Spirit in Scripture?^[1] As it turns out, there are only two references in Scripture where in the Spirit or in the Holy Spirit expressions are used concerning prayer: Jude 20-21 and Ephesians 6:18

The reference most commonly used by the Revival Fellowship is Jude 20-21:

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (KJV)

The only other example of a verse referencing prayer or praying in the Spirit is from Paul in Ephesians 6:18-19:

With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak – that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel…

I note that in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15, Paul also writes of praying with my spirit, but that is not the same thing as praying in the [Holy] Spirit. I will give reasons for this conclusion later. 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 from the New English Translation (NET) says:

If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive. What should I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing praises with my spirit, but I will also sing praises with my mind.

In print and Revival Fellowship preaching, teaching and our doctrinal defence, Jude 20-21 is the one reference (of the two) that we commonly use.

Given that we are looking at praying in the Holy Spirit, we need to first ask:

What does it mean to do something in the Spirit?

What is implied if something or someone, perhaps, is said to be in the Spirit?

By way of exploration, think about what to love in the Spirit (Colossians 1:8) might mean.

What does it mean for something like joy, for instance, to be in the Spirit (Romans 8:9)?

We will return to this later, but just in passing, let me mention that to do or be in the Spirit is to do or be in a way not in the flesh. The two methods and means of doing and being are opposed to one another, and as Christians, we are encouraged to increase and abound in the Spirit.

The Revival Fellowship Position

As noted above, the Revival Fellowship have come to understand and promote a view that in Jude 20-21, praying in the Holy Spirit refers exclusively to praying in an unknown tongue. In other words:

 Praying in the [Holy] Spirit = Praying in tongues

The Revival Fellowship subtly distinguished between praying in tongues and speaking in tongues. In the Revival Fellowship, we sometimes use the terms interchangeably when referring to the actual process (the mechanics, if you like) of speaking in tongues^[2]. However, it is clear from our preaching and teaching that we advocate contextual differences and differences in kind between various modes or situations where speaking in tongues occurs.

1. We describe the language given at what we claim is the initial Holy Spirit experience, as speaking in tongues.
2. We say praying in the Spirit = praying in tongues = the “speaking in tongues” in point 1.
3. We maintain that when “operating the spiritual gifts”, those who speak publicly in tongues do so in a way materially (though not observationally) different to 1 and 2 above. The “gift of tongues” is not the same as the speaking in tongues used for prayer or as a sign of being “Spirit-filled”.

Spirit Language

According to Revival Fellowship doctrine, an unknown language is gifted to the believer as proof of their Spirit-filled status when they “receive the Holy Spirit”. (The phrase most frequently used in Revival Fellowship circles to describe that event). Commonly this phrase is shortened to “received” when recounting the event in public or private recollections of that initial episode.

These, and similar, expressions are often used: “I didn’t receive…”, “I had not yet received…”, “I wanted to receive…”, “I was praying to receive…”, “Then I received…”. Almost every time^[3] someone in the Revival Fellowship describes what took place “when I received”, it is always about how they spoke or found themselves speaking in tongues. I have never heard anyone in the Revival Fellowship describe their initial experience as praying in tongues. Although they may occasionally use “praying in tongues”, “speaking in tongues” is the generally used idiom.

According to us, once a person is “over the threshold” and into the kingdom through the speaking in tongues door, they can build themselves up and keep themselves in the love of God by praying in the Holy Spirit^[4] as (according to us), praying in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues.

The Revival Fellowship use Jude’s verses to say that Christians build themselves up on their most holy faith by praying in the Holy Ghost (as the KJV renders Spirit). Further, they say the result of that building-up-by-praying-in-the-Holy-Spirit is keeping themselves in the love of God. As mentioned above, the Revival Fellowship position is that praying in the Holy Spirit is praying in tongues.

Once a person can speak in tongues, we encourage the practice of praying in the Holy Spirit (i.e. in tongues) as a necessary means of self-edification.

We also claim in our teaching that praying in tongues is an effective means of praying for something or someone.

Depending on which Revival Fellowship Pastor or church leader you ask, they may claim that praying in tongues is the best, preferred, or required method for building yourself up. “Let’s have some prayer” or “I’m going to have some prayer” are common expressions amongst us. It’s as if we will cut a slice from the prayer cake and “have some”.

Digging Deeper

The Revival Fellowship’s exegesis of Jude 20-21 relies on two propositions. The first is praying in the Holy Spirit is praying in tongues. The second is a single, implied, “by” in the text so that the verse reads, building up yourselves on your most holy faith by praying in the Holy Ghost. In this way, the Revival Fellowship interpretation makes praying in the Holy Ghost the instrumental clause of this pair of verses. If we stitch all that together, I think a good summary of the Revival Fellowship interpretation of Jude 20-21 is:

But you, beloved, pray in tongues to build up yourselves on your most holy faith and in so doing keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

My Challenge

In my recent and public challenge to the Revival Fellowship’s understanding of Jude 20-21, I proposed that praying in the Holy Spirit was not exclusively speaking in tongues. The response was: Well, what else could it mean…? This was followed by a declaration (from multiple people) that praying in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues, and there’s no other explanation available or required.

After thinking it over, my answer to Well, what else could it mean…? is: it could easily mean something else and still be faithful to Scripture and exegetically sound.

In this article, I assert that the most recent explanation of Revival Fellowship’s position to me – Jude 20-21 can mean nothing but praying in tongues – is a tenuous interpretation at best. The response Well, what else could it mean? stretches the exegetical elastic to the breaking point. It promotes an attitude of dismissiveness, allowing the defender of the Jude-20-is-praying-in-tongues hypothesis to reject the need for any further enquiry. From the Revival Fellowship’s viewpoint, no other explanation is necessary, and no further examination or challenge of the Revival Fellowship’s position is warranted. So, the Revival Fellowship’s position that speaking in tongues is absolutely necessary to know or prove a person is Spirit-filled is bolstered by Jude 20-21. However, our interpretation of Jude 20-21 is not open to debate. This approach leaves us with a self-referential, interlocking support mechanism where an unproven assertion supports a radical position. That’s an untenable position for any exegete.

In Search of Meaning

The “what else?” approach leaves the distinct impression that Revival Fellowship Bible study aims to ensure a close fit to what is already believed rather than providing a method for seeking the best explanation of what the Scripture is teaching^[5]. This Bible study approach reinforces the Revival Fellowship’s Narrative^[6] – it does little to promote actual study. And study is required, especially by the under-shepherds of Jesus’ Revival Fellowship flock.

Church history, both ancient and recent, is filled with strange ideas concerning God that resulted from meditation and prayer, without the foundation of Scripture exegesis. Serious Bible study provides the foundation of truth that is a protection from the errors of subjectivity. James Garrett

How easily have my Revival Fellowship contemporaries (when shown the light of other, reasonable interpretations) simply taken a position to dismiss further discussion. It’s as if by taking their position, the Revival Fellowship could, by this relatively economical approach, provide the answer to a fundamental question that strikes right at the core of the entire Church’s understanding of the Holy Spirit. Somehow, at this time and place in history, a self-isolated, splinter denomination that takes a radical position[7] on speaking in tongues has developed the last word in a 2000-year-old discussion about the role, functions, and manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers and the Church.

By and By

Having a deeper look at the Jude reference, I won’t quibble with the extra “by” mentioned above. However, there is another “by” demanded by the original Greek. When this second “by” is inserted (as implied by the Greek grammar and construction of the sentence), a more appropriate rendering of Jude 20-21 (from the New English Translation – NET – in this case) reads:

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, maintain yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life.

Here is the same verse in the ESV, which takes a slightly different approach:

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” (Jude 20–21, ESV)

The translation notes from the NET explain that the command or instruction (the imperative) of these verses is “maintain”. Further, the terms build yourselves up and pray should be read as the means (or the instruments) by which Jude’s readers are to carry out the instruction to maintain themselves in the love of God. According to the NET’s translation notes, this makes eminently good sense and fits the structural patterns of “instrumental participles” elsewhere in the Bible.

Reordering the verse’s phrases to make plain the NET’s translation notes’ meaning, we have:

But you, dear friends, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life, maintain yourselves in the love of God by these two things: building yourselves up in your most holy faith and by praying in the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, by building and by praying, the saints are employing two activities instrumental to maintaining themselves in the love of God. The ESV translation also reflects this view.

Examples of “In”

Having established the two means that Jude encourages the saints to use to maintain themselves in the love of God, the question remains. For Jude, does praying in the Holy Spirit = praying in tongues? Let’s dig a bit further.

Concerning praying in the Holy Spirit, it will be helpful to expand a little on what it means “to do” or “to be” in something. Fortunately, there are examples in the New Testament of in something or other that have a similar nuance as Jude 20-21.

In English, “in” can be a noun, a preposition, an adverb, and an adjective. We are interested here in “in” as a preposition. Among other things, “in” as a preposition can indicate means, medium or instrumentality. “In” can also indicate a state, condition or source. These are the ways “in” is used in most of the following references.

• Paul encourages the Colossians^[8] to live their lives in Him, that is, in the Christ – Jesus the Lord – and to be rooted and built up in Him. One may well ask what it means to live one’s life in Christ Jesus or be rooted and built up in Him.
• As you read 2 Timothy, you will find grace, faith, and love described as being in Christ.
• Paul’s introduction to 1 Thessalonians says the Church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.
• John’s bold declaration from 1John 5:20 is similar: we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.

Below are examples where some act or characteristic is said to be in the [Holy] Spirit.

• According to Romans 8:9, we – are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. Our very mode of existence, our spiritual place, is said to be in the Spirit instead of in the flesh.
• In Romans 9:1, Paul says, my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit.
• Also, in Romans 14:17, there is, in the Holy Spirit, righteousness, peace and joy.
• In Colossians 1:8, there is love in the Spirit for which the Apostle praised the Church.

A pivotal example is Ephesians 6:18, where the grammatical construction is similar to Jude 20-21. The Ephesians’ wording is – pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert with all perseverance and requests for all the saints…

In this brief survey, we have a few examples of items “in Christ”, “in God”, or “in the [Holy] Spirit”. To summarise: Jesus’ rejoicing is said to be in the Holy Spirit; Paul and John both describe the Church as being in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ; Paul encourages the Colossians to:

• live in Christ
• be rooted in Christ
• be built up in Christ

Paul also describes:

• faith and love that are in Christ Jesus
• the grace that is in Christ Jesus
• assurance in the Holy Spirit.
• Roman saints, who are living in the Spirit.
• righteousness, peace, and joy, said to be “in the Holy Spirit.”
• love in the Spirit which garnered the admiration of the Apostle for the Colossians

In summary, to be “in something or other” can have a broad meaning but generally indicates the source, power, means, or “intimate association with”. “In something” expressions designate the “something” as the controlling influence. Which is best understood as “under the control of”, “under the influence of”, “in close association with”.

It may help grasp the concept to read “in Christ” as “because of Christ”, or perhaps “exemplified by Christ” or “that belongs to and is made available by Christ”. The same could be done for “in the Holy Spirit”. For example, “love, joy and peace that belong to and come from the Holy Spirit”.

In the case below (pertinent to our discussion of praying in the Holy Spirit), “in the Holy Spirit” means to speak under divine inspiration. In this example, “in the Holy Spirit” is not “in tongues” (as no one would understand in any case). Instead, it is saying a true confession of “Jesus is Lord” comes only by the inspiration/influence of the Holy Spirit.

“Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3, ESV)



The Spirit and Prayer

Concerning prayer:

• In Ephesians, there is a request/instruction from Paul to – pray at all times in the Spirit. This is a twofold encouragement: pray often and, when you pray, pray in the Spirit.
• From Jude comes a similar encouragement for the saints to be praying in the Holy Spirit.

These in the [Holy] Spirit expressions describe the Holy Spirit’s influence, control, guidance or instigation, not just of the praying but also of the rejoicing, the assurance, the righteousness, the peace and the joy. Remember “in” the preposition? It indicates means, medium, or instrumentality. Can we not confidently assert that the Holy Spirit is as much the means, the medium, the instrumentality or the power behind the praying as He is the power and the influence behind the loving, the living and the other activities and characteristics we’ve already discussed?

These in the [Holy] Spirit expressions identify the Person who is in and unifies those who rejoice, are assured, love, live and pray in the Spirit. It is reasonable to conclude that we ought to be Spirit-led in all these things because that’s what it means for actions or characteristics to be in the Holy Spirit.

Similarly, as shown above, we can have actions, characteristics, or things that are said to be in Christ. The expressions to live, be rooted, and be built up in Christ and have faith, love, and grace in Christ are descriptive and meaningful. They describe the source, power, and vital union and communion between Christ and His people who are united to the Father and their Redeemer and who maintain and are sustained by their intimate relationship with them.

There is something profound and deep when the Bible speaks of being, doing or having something in the Holy Spirit or in Christ. It is not just a throwaway remark or a prepositional turn of phrase.

I want to leave aside any discussion of the in Christ expressions in Scripture and turn specifically to examining prayer said to be in the [Holy] Spirit. As evidenced by the in the [Holy] Spirit formulations above, we can reasonably claim that when praying – as much as anywhere else in our lives as Christ’s disciples – we are to be in the Spirit. Individually or as the Church, if we are in the Spirit, then our prayers, no less than any other aspect of our lives, will be under the influence, the control, the guidance, the instigation of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit becomes the power behind our loving, living, or praying.

My conclusion is that praying in the Spirit has the same nuances, implications, and meaning as all things done, possessed, or existing in the [Holy] Spirit, whether living, loving, rejoicing or being assured (as examples). As a general principle, whatever we are doing, if we are under the influence of, controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit, we are doing, possessing, or existing (as the case may be) in the Spirit.

Praying in the Holy Spirit is an attitude and an activity of our mind and the Holy Spirit. As we approach the throne of grace, humility and dependence should be our mindsets. We should come devoutly with our intercession and supplication entirely on God’s terms. Prayer with divine help is praying in the Spirit.

Prayer not “in the Spirit” sees us coming before our Father in one of at least two unsatisfactory ways. First, we may come feeling, perhaps, empty, a bit hopeless, unable to come up with things that we think are worthy of prayer or the inability to make known our needs. (As a side note, everyone feels like that at times. There is no shame in it, and no need for that to be a permanent state!) Secondly, there’s an attitude exemplified by claiming this or demanding that. To pray this way, with claims and demands, only shows that we have a twisted understanding of who we are and who God is.

God is, in the ultimate sense, and we are His creatures – creatures whose very breath and lives are received at God’s gracious hand. God is a sovereign Lord and our Father, and everything is in His hand. To go before Him claiming or demanding is to misconstrue, seriously, our relationship to Him.

The “name it, claim it” mentality and hyper-faith doctrine have no place in the throne room. We, creatures, are not transformed into little gods who can prevent or compel the real God’s actions by our words. As they seek to wrest from God His sovereignty, the “name it, claim it” hyper-faith adherents have more in common with unregenerate hearts or minds not renewed than they do with children petitioning and casting their cares upon a loving Father who is also the Sovereign Lord of all. Instead, they wish to make Him, the source of all, a genie required to deliver whatever the human master desires when they rub the prayer lamp.

Praying in the Spirit is very different to that. If we come to prayer surrendered to the influence, the control, the guidance, the instigation of the Holy Spirit, He becomes the power and the inspiration of our praying. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote:

The living reality the Spirit creates is the awareness of God’s presence. Experiencing his presence will seem much more important than any petition you are going to make. But the Spirit will not lead you merely to rest in God’s presence in a passive way. There will be a holy boldness to plead the promises of God.

The characteristics of prayer in the Spirit include closeness to our Father, an intimacy that breathes life to the supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings we utter (see 1 Timothy 2:1-3). The power of the Spirit brings us into fellowship and communion with our Father in His throne room. He does this by illuminating our minds, reminding us of the promises and moving our heart’s inclination to the things of God.

However, the supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving we utter will be utterly unknown to us (regardless of how we feel) if all we do is pray in tongues. As we pray in tongues, our minds will be unfruitful, and we cannot make any conscious petition at all. (See the next section, Paul’s Take on Jude).

To enter the throne-room seeking a sense of communion and fellowship and to then start to “Raise a hallelujah” or “Beat our shields against the darkness” in some hyper-faith show of bravado is not something we ought to do. We can pray urgently, we can plead, we can remind our Father of His promises, we can lay out our need or the need of others for Him to see, and if we are in the Spirit, He will hear our humble boldness as our prayers start to align with His will. At the same time, we will increasingly recognise our utter dependence on Him.

As we pray, a hallelujah may very well be raised in heaven (and on earth), and we do not need to doubt our only shields (those of faith) can defend us from uncertainty and keep that darkness at bay. But these are the outcomes of prayer in the Spirit, not its method.

Praying in the Spirit is an indispensable part of the Christian life. Jude says so, and Paul reinforces the idea. There has been ongoing century-spanning debate about the exact meaning of “praying in the Spirit”. However, we don’t somehow acquire or achieve “prayer in the Spirit”. Instead, we cultivate an attitude of humility and dependence and allow the Spirit to lead our prayers. It’s a gift to be received for sure, but the gift can start small and grow as the Spirit gains ascendency in our lives.

Do all Speak in Tongues?

I want to highlight another challenge for those who maintain that praying in the Spirit = praying in tongues.

It seems that Paul and Jude both desired their readers to pray in the Spirit. My thesis, as explained above, is that praying in the Spirit is just like living, loving, having assurance, or walking in the Spirit. All of these are Spirit led, Spirit influenced, and Spirit instigated. So, for Jude and Paul praying in the Spirit is simply part of our life as Christians. Our prayer life will reflect the degree to which we allow the Spirit to influence, teach, prompt, or guide us.

Our prayers should be Spirit-influenced no less than living, loving, being assured and the rest. As individuals and as a church, we will want to live more in the Spirit or love more in the Spirit, so we should also seek to cultivate and encourage praying in the Spirit.

Like anything else in the Spirit, we need to set aside being in the flesh and encourage the Spirit’s ascendancy and surrender to Him. As we submit, everything done in the Spirit improves as we walk in The Way. Theologians (and much of Christendom) call this the process of sanctification – moving on toward maturity in our Christian life.

All Christians can pray in the Spirit (just as they can live in the Spirit or love in the Spirit). How much we are in the Spirit will vary from life circumstance to life circumstance and across the times of our lives.

Given the reasoning above, which leads us to conclude that praying in the Spirit is one of several things the Scripture tells us to do in the Spirit, what are the implications when we say that praying in the Spirit = praying in tongues?

In that case, we must conclude that each Christian would need to be able to pray in tongues to fulfil the instruction of Jude and of Paul to pray in the [Holy] Spirit. According to Paul, however, not all Christians have that ability. That would present a gnarly problem for Revival Fellowship Bible scholars except for their doctrine that every genuine Christian can pray in tongues.

Revival Fellowship doctrine is that all authentic Christians possess the Spirit of Christ (the Holy Spirit) and, I confess, that’s not contentious. However, their claim is developed further by asserting that true Christians know they have the indwelling Spirit precisely because they speak in tongues.

The Revival Fellowship’s radical creed is that if you have never had the experience of speaking in tongues, you have never been filled with, been baptised in, or received the Holy Spirit, and in that case, you are not a Christian at all.

I submit that it is impossible to draw this revolutionary Revival Fellowship perspective from Scripture with clarity and precision. With the force of logical inevitability, this perspective leads to an indefensible conclusion: Concerning a person’s salvation, all other spiritual qualities or experiences, no matter how genuine, are inconsequential if the person does not speak in tongues.

In the Revival Fellowship’s view, a Christian’s salvation is validated only by speaking in tongues. Concerning salvation, your Godly and Christ-like life counts for little without tongues, according to the Revival Fellowship. Similarly, your Christian characteristics: your deep faith and trust in your Redeemer; the fruit of the Spirit abundantly manifest in your life; the life-changing encounters with God you’ve experienced; and your daily surrender to your Saviour all mean little to the Revival Fellowship. They remain implacable on this point: without tongues, all of this confirmative evidence of your Christianity is not even relevant.

That is not to say that the Revival Fellowship do not expect Christians to live godly, Christ-like lives. They do. They also hope that Christians build a deep faith and trust in their Redeemer. The Revival Fellowship support the notion that Christians, day by day, are to more deeply surrender to The Lord (a slightly nebulous euphemism in Revival Fellowship circles) and that Christians will manifest the Fruit of the Spirit.



The Revival Fellowship do not deny miracles and other life-changing encounters with God that a person may have. However, ultimately, for the Revival Fellowship, these Christian markers validate nothing if you lack what is for them the foundational experience of speaking in tongues. That’s what I mean about the Revival Fellowship taking a radical position.

I contend that our radical position is set on its head by Paul’s plain assertion that though praying/speaking in tongues has a benefit for those who actually can pray/speak in tongues, not every Christian has that ability.

Two Tongues?

Volumes have been written about what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 and although it is not my intention to interact with all of that, let’s take a look at what Paul says and see if it supports the Revival Fellowship’s position – at least regarding Paul’s thoughts in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.

For this doctrine survey, we are interested in what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:27-30.

Now you are Christ’s body, and each of you is a member of it. And God has placed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, helps, gifts of leadership, different kinds of tongues. Not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all perform miracles, do they? Not all have gifts of healing, do they? Not all speak in tongues, do they? Not all interpret, do they?

When Paul asks, in 1 Corinthians 12:30, Do all speak in tongues? The question in Greek is rhetorical (as are all the others). The question’s grammatical construction means the only available answer is “No”. I don’t think that is a controversial position and is certainly the generally accepted view.

Paul says, “No, not everyone speaks in tongues”.

Paul’s assertion conflicts with the Revival Fellowship’s position (every Christian does speak in tongues). To defuse the contradiction between Paul’s plain statement and Revival fellowship dogma, the Revival Fellowship assumes that Paul teaches a “two tongues” doctrine. That is, speaking in tongues in the corporate gathering (a church meeting) is one thing, and speaking/praying in tongues when a person is filled with (or is baptised in/with, or receives) the Holy Spirit is something else entirely.

The Revival Fellowship contends that tongues, exhibited when “receiving the Holy Spirit” or when “Baptised in/with the Holy Spirit”, are not the same as the Holy Spirit’s “gift of tongues” even though they appear to be the same with the same Holy Spirit source.

But the Revival Fellowship’s reasoning is circular.

First, the Revival Fellowship maintains that all genuine Christians can speak in tongues (otherwise, they wouldn’t be real Christians). Then, when Paul says that not all speak in tongues, the Revival Fellowship allege that he obviously can’t be talking about the tongues that accompany salvation because all genuine Christians can speak in tongues. The unproven assertion, All genuine Christians can speak in tongues, is assumed to be correct and is used, unchallenged, to reinterpret what Paul makes plain – that the truth is precisely the opposite of the Revival Fellowship position.

How do we straighten the reasoning circle? By considering the context. Paul says And God has placed in the church various gifts (apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healing, helps, leadership, different kinds of tongues). When Paul asks his series of questions about who has particular Spirit-given abilities (apostleship, the role of a prophet, teachers, miracles, gifts of healings, speaking in tongues, interpretation), he talks about gifts in the corporate, universal body of Christ. His arena in this discussion is the entire Church, the Church at large, not just the formal assembly of the Saints of Corinth on any given Sunday. These gifts are available to the “body” for use inside and outside the formal Sunday “assembly” and beyond the Corinthian Christians’ geographical and ecclesiastical boundary.

The context Paul has in mind when he says God has placed these gifts in the Church is the body of Christ at large, the universal Church. That is where God has placed the gifts. That is Paul’s framework when discussing the gifts in these verses (28-30).

What’s true for apostleship, the role of a prophet, teachers, miracles workers and gifts of healing is also valid for speaking in tongues. The tongues he is talking about is tongues as a gift made available and distributed, like the other gifts, among those who make up the corporate, universal body of Christ and not just those present at the time of the formal assembly of the Saints of Corinth whenever they gathered.

So, Paul’s rhetorical Not all speak in tongues, do they? can’t be restricted and confined to Not all have a special gift to speak tongues in the assembly, do they? He is not talking about the gifts as if they are confined to the arena of the local church gathering. Instead, he has the entire body of Christ in mind, including wherever the gifts might be used and certainly beyond the formal assembly when the local church gathers. In the section where Paul denies that all have been given the gift of tongues, he is referring to the entire body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), of which we are individual members. The same is true for all the other gifts included in Paul’s rhetorical questions.

Paul reminds the Corinthians that not everyone in the Church – the entirety of the body of Christ – prophesies, gets healed, works miracles, or interprets. Similarly, a reasonable, logical, and scripturally defensible position is not everyone speaks in tongues either – whether privately or in the formal assembly of the local Church.

Paul isn’t discussing two different speaking in tongues, one used in public and another for private prayer. There may be differing situations for when and where speaking in tongues occurs, but the gift is the same in each setting. The differences lie in the environment where tongues are used, not in the gift itself.

There is no need for a two tongues hypothesis. The setting for Paul’s rhetorical question and negative answer – Do all speak in tongues? No, they don’t. – can’t be confined to just the corporate assembly of the saints when they come together.

Paul does not differentiate between private-prayer tongues and tongues used in a church gathering – he is just referencing the gift, the practice, the ability to speak in tongues in general. His position is clear – not everyone (not every sincere, genuine Christian) speaks in tongues. Paul may very well wish it to be the case that all speak in tongues as he does say -

I wish you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy…[15]

But this verse says nothing more than that there is a possibility of all speaking in tongues, and Paul wishes it were true. Note, however, Paul is saying the same for prophecy. Having described the Church as a body with many members, each adding something necessary and different to add for the body’s benefit, Paul recognises that not all will speak in tongues. Another thing to consider is this: why would he even make such a statement (I wish you all spoke in tongues) if all sincere, genuine Christians already spoke in tongues?



Now all of this discussion brings us full circle: If praying in the Spirit = praying in tongues, then many Christians are immediately disenfranchised – they cannot fulfil the instructions from Paul and Jude. That does seem a radical position to take.

It is better and more aligned with the biblical data to say that all true Christians can pray in the Spirit, but not all true Christians can speak in tongues.

What Can We Conclude?

First, a summary:

1. Praying/speaking in tongues is done with my [human] spirit.
2. We understand that ability comes from the Holy Spirit – it is gift or empowerment of the Spirit: For the one speaking in a tongue…he is speaking mysteries by the Spirit.
3. While we do not speak to people (we are not trying to communicate to them), we trust that we are speaking to God: For the one speaking in a tongue does not speak to people but to God
4. We have no way of knowing what we are saying: for no one understands; my mind is unfruitful
5. We are uttering mysteries – as that’s what Scripture states: For the one speaking in a tongue…he is speaking mysteries by the Spirit.
6. Our praise in tongues is praise well-spoken – but again, we have to take that on trust.
7. When we speak in tongues, we build ourselves up (but not anyone else).
8. We are told to make specific requests when praying in the Spirit – but we can’t do that in tongues.
9. Apart from the issues of purpose and appropriateness in various settings (including timing and location), there is no difference between speaking in tongues in a corporate gathering (the “Gift of Tongues”) and speaking/praying in tongues used in private prayer.
10. Not every sincere, genuine Christian will speak in tongues any more than every sincere, genuine Christian will possess or exercise or be the beneficiary of any of the other gifts. The gifts are placed in the Church by God as He deems appropriate and for His reasons.

Concerning the 5th point above, note that the mysteries spoken in tongues are by the Spirit (not in the Spirit). Given what we have observed so far, I think the Scripture teaches that the Spirit is the enabler and the source of mysteries, the one by whose power we speak. In other words, the Spirit is the agent by which the speaker utters mysteries as they speak in tongues. Therefore, prayer in tongues is with my spirit, and the Spirit is the source of the mysteries spoken.

We can reasonably conclude that all of this happens at the behest of the Spirit working with our spirit. That is, we trust that our prayer in tongues (with our spirit) is a gift or ability distributed by the Holy Spirit. What that does for/to the person praying is only described once in the New Testament. Here it is in Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 14:4-5

The one who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but the one who prophesies builds up the Church. I wish you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the Church may be strengthened.

Paul says that you build up or strengthen yourself if you speak in tongues. What you do as you speak in tongues (and we can assume, praying in tongues as well) does not seem to have immediate value for anybody else. Tongues are not valuable for directly, positively strengthening or building up the Church. That is not to say that tongues are of no importance at all to the Church – far from it. However, what builds or strengthens the Church is prophecy, interpretation of tongues, revelation, knowledge, and teaching, as mentioned in verse 6. That, however, is another topic altogether.

In summarising what we have surveyed in this article, it seems that:

• Prayer at all times is to be in the Holy Spirit. That is, at the impulse and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit[16].
• Speaking/praying in tongues is prayer with our [human] spirit and is not what Paul and Jude have in view when they write of praying in the [Holy] Spirit.
• The references to the inexpressible groanings/groanings too deep for words that characterise the Holy Spirit’s intercession for us are not references to speaking in tongues. The groanings describe direct, unmediated intercession by the Spirit on our behalf. This intercession is more wonderful and profound than any language we can speak – in tongues or otherwise.

Given the points 1 – 10 in the section above and the ensuing discussion, it is clear that we cannot make specific, targeted requests or petitions while praying in tongues. Applying a little logic and formulating a deductive argument, we have:

1. Praying in the Spirit involves making specific requests (Ephesians 6)
2. When praying in tongues, specific requests cannot be made (1 Corinthians 14). Therefore,
3. Praying in tongues is not praying in the Spirit.

The Revival Fellowship’s position that praying in the Holy Spirit is exclusively praying in tongues is not a defensible conclusion, and such a doctrine is too narrow by far.

While we in the Revival Fellowship fuss over and endlessly defend speaking in tongues and make of it something that it is not, we are, I think, distracted from what is crucial. Tongues and other manifestations of the Spirit will come without our help as people surrender to God and believe in Jesus as Lord and give themselves to Him. Our calling is to preach the gospel, shepherd and teach our people, and make them disciples. Oswald Chambers, when commenting on Galatians 6:14 (But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ), says the following:

We are to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). The proclaiming of Jesus will do its own work. Concentrate on God’s focal point in your preaching, and even if your listeners seem to pay it no attention, they will never be the same again. If I share my own words, they are of no more importance than your words are to me. But if we share the truth of God with one another, we will encounter it again and again. We have to focus on the great point of spiritual power – the Cross. If we stay in contact with that centre of power, its energy is released in our lives. In holiness movements and spiritual experience meetings [that’s us folks…], the focus tends to be put not on the Cross of Christ but on the effects of the Cross.

…

The feebleness of the Church is being criticised today, and the criticism is justified. One reason for the feebleness is that there has not been this focus on the true centre of spiritual power. We have not dwelt enough on the tragedy of Calvary or on the meaning of redemption.

The Spirit brings life.

Without the Spirit, there will be no:

• Resurrection
• New birth
• Confession of the lordship of Jesus
• Victory over sin
• Progress in sanctification
• Spiritual wisdom
• Spiritual gifts

May I suggest we seek first the God who gives grace to the humble, Jesus our Saviour by whose sacrifice we have been saved and as we seek, allow the Word of God to dwell in us richly? This will change lives, the Holy Spirit will move, and people will “experience” His presence. Remember, though, experience is not the goal. The goal is eternal life – the result of know[ing] you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (John 17:3).

One of the sad things about experience-seekers is that their obsession brings confusion. God really does impart experiences to believers. The experience seekers, however, are not seeking God but experience. Their conversation is filled with accounts of phenomena and experience. Reverential awe and sober discussion of the truths of God find little place in their conversation.

- James Garrett

The presence of the Spirit in power and gifts makes it easy for God's people to think of the power and gifts as the real evidence of the Spirit's presence. Not so for Paul. The ultimate criterion of the Spirit's activity is the exaltation of Jesus as Lord. Whatever takes away from that, even if they be legitimate expressions of the Spirit, begins to move away from Christ to a more pagan fascination with spiritual activity as an end in itself - Gordon Fee

Following the John 17:3 path, we will have experiences as we reach for the goal. However, the experiences are not themselves the goal.

Endnotes

1. I’m going to treat praying in the Holy Spirit and praying in the Spirit as synonymous terms. That should not be controversial as depending on the context and situation the Scripture itself uses both Holy Spirit and Spirit to refer to the Holy Spirit.
2. I say use the terms interchangeably but there is some fluidity in the way various pastors, leaders and members of the Revival Fellowship think about this.
3. Almost…some forget to mention tongues altogether, simply using the jargon to convey the message – even though a visitor is likely to be somewhat bemused (or confused) by the jargon-filled testimony. As an aside, a listener can rightly be left wondering where Jesus fits in the picture as these testimonies are full of the testifiers’ experiences, but the author and finisher of their faith hardly ever gets a mention – sometimes never gets a mention. I have regularly sat in Revival Fellowship meetings where no reference is made to Jesus at all until communion time.
4. I do not think the Revival Fellowship would claim praying in the Holy Spirit is the only means of a person building themselves up and would acknowledge that it is one of many ways to do so. Nevertheless, the Revival Fellowship claim that praying in the Holy Spirit is the means of self-edification intended here in Jude, and this must be praying in tongues.
5. John Piper at Desiring God has some good advice in relation to finding scriptural truth (or truth in general) “Sorry, but the best things have to be dug for. If you rake, you get leaves; if you dig, you get diamonds. And if you’ve got a raking mind, you’ll settle for leaves. If you’ve got a digging mind, you’ll get diamonds.” We ought not be satisfied with raking up leaves.”
6. The Revival Fellowship Narrative (or, more appropriately, metanarrative) functions similarly to any organisation’s narrative. Within the fellowship, explanations and rationalisations for our stance and doctrines are provided by or through the narrative. This narrative is the fellowship’s formational, foundational ideas, beliefs, and concepts. It’s the stories we tell each other. A metanarrative is the overarching account or interpretation of events and circumstances that provides a pattern or structure for people’s beliefs and gives meaning to their experiences.
7. A radical position is the way one pastor, in a private conversation with me, described the Revival Fellowship’s doctrine with regard to tongues.
8. Colossians 2:6-7 Therefore, just as you received [the] Christ, Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and firm in your faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. In the Bible's original Greek, rooted is an agricultural term, built up is an architectural term and firm is a legal term.
9. Or: more than intercedes
10. The biblical concept of “the heart” includes the notions of: wisdom (Proverbs 2:10); emotion (Exodus 4:14; John 14:1); desire and will (1Chronicles 29:18); spirituality (Acts 8:21), and intellect (Romans 1:21). In short, and in biblical terms, the heart is “the central defining element of the human person.” It is from this heart that all thoughts and actions proceed.
11. Matthew 6:8…for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
12. Romans 8:34, Hebrews 9:24, 1Timothy 2:5, 1John 2:1
13. Mysteries. This term, in the Bible's original Greek language, generally refers to something that God has revealed that could only be known by revelation. However, the way Paul uses the term is more nuanced than that. For Paul it also means knowledge previously hidden and, when that secret is expounded it appears quite innovative, fresh, new (perhaps even controversial) – not something that has been previously announced in Scripture (the OT for Paul). Thus, for Paul, the partial hardening of Israel is a mystery (Romans 11:25), the Apostles were stewards of the mysteries of God (1Corinthians 4:1), the Gospel is a mystery (Romans 16:25-26, Ephesians 6:19) and the Union of Christ and the Church is a mystery (Ephesians 5:32). That the saints will be transformed at the Parousia is a mystery (1Corinthians 15:51). Paul calls Christ (in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge) the mystery of God (Colossians 2:2; 4:3). All these and the words spoken in tongues might be mysteries but they are not mystical in the sense of being some weird manifestation of an ineffable “spirit”. The Holy Spirit is the source and the content is wonderful. So: a mystery – yes, mystical – no.
14. Manifestations of the Spirit in the Corporate Meeting by James W. Garrett
15. 1 Corinthians 14:5
16. Note also: Philippians 3:3 …for we are the circumcision, who worship by God’s Spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus… The Spirit is the instrumental force behind our worship, our service, our prayer. (“by” is found in Panin’s Numeric NT and many other versions. The venerable KJV and its close relatives will let you down at this point.)