The Work of the Spirit
As mentioned before, after the Spirit indwells the believer he begins the process of sanctification. We see the sanctification of the Spirit referenced in 2 Thessalonians 2:13. Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 3:18 when he writes, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” The Spirit of God in us is helping us transform into the image of Christ. As we pursue Christ the Spirit also leads us (Romans 8:14). That leading can come through the influence of the scriptures as the Spirit illumines the text. In John 16:13 Jesus said, “when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” The Spirit shows us the truth in scripture. The Spirit sometimes leads us by prompting us at times to move to action (Acts 8:29). The Spirit also provides us with assurance of our salvation (Rom 8:16). And lastly the Spirit equips the church for the work of God through various giftings. (See Below)
The Gifts of the Spirit
Once the Holy Spirit indwells the believer and they are part of the church, the Spirit gives that person a gift to use in the church. One definition of gifts is, “Divinely ordained means and powers with which Christ endows His church in order to enable it to perform its task on earth.”
1 Corinthians 12:7 says, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Scripture says there are a variety of gifts but it does not specify the number of gifts that a person may have. But it is clear that each person has a gift from the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” The gifts outlined in 1 Corinthians 12 include: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation. Then later in the passage Paul describes roles that go along with the giftings. In verse 28 he writes, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.” Nothing in this passage indicates that this is a comprehensive list. But he then goes on to make the point that those gifts are worthless if they are not accompanied by love. Paul also includes a list in Romans 12. The gifts there are: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leadership, and mercy. At first glance some of these gifts appear to be supernatural, while others seem to mere natural abilities. But all of these gifts, if they come from the Spirit, are of a supernatural nature and they necessitate the empowering of the Spirit. There might be people who are knowledgeable in our world but their knowledge is different when compared to the spiritual gift of knowledge through the Spirit. The prime difference between natural talents and spiritual gifts is the intended use. Spiritual gifts are meant to be used within the church to build up the Body of Christ.
The key question today is whether or not the apostolic sign gifts still remain in effect. The Greek word for gift is the word charisma (χάρισμα). Therefore charismatic churches are those that practice the full range of spiritual gifts. Obviously not all churches are charismatic, so where does the distinction come from? The primary discussion revolves around the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:8 which says, “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.” The charismatic perspective is that this verse does not take effect until Christ returns. The dispensational view is that there was a moment in time when these gifts did in fact cease at the end of the apostolic age. Personally I lean on the side that these gifts have in fact ceased, but I cannot say so definitively since the Bible does not give a definitive answer. One piece of evidence for the ceasing of these gifts is the fact that there are no more apostles alive today. Paul calls himself the last apostle in 1 Corinthians 15:8. I also do not want to put any limitations on the way that God might choose to act through his people. We see the negative example of the Pharisees attributing the work of Christ in exorcism to the work of Beelzebul (Matthew 12:22-32). With that said we should always have a discerning heart toward those who practice such gifts to make sure that what they say and do line up with scripture.
Speaking in Tongues
There are three forms of speaking in tongues described in the scriptures. The word tongue (γλῶσσα) glossa simply means language. The first form we see is at Pentecost (Acts 2) where the disciples are speaking and people are miraculously hearing them speaking their own known languages. In this instance, the use of tongues aided the spreading of the Gospel to people of every language. The purpose was evangelistic in nature and also served as a sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit. It was also a sign that the gospel was now for everyone and not exclusively for Israel. The people were being heard in their own languages which implies that they were speaking known languages rather than in ecstatic utterances.
And the second form of speaking in tongues is where we have people within the church who share a message in another language followed by the interpretation of that message to the people. Paul makes the point that tongues without an interpreter are not helpful in the church (1 Cor 14:6). The interpretation can come from the person speaking (1 Cor 14:13) or someone else 1(1 Cor 14:5). This form could be understood to be a known language wherein a foreigner is sharing a message and someone else is interpreting. Some have also understood this form to be in reference to ecstatic utterances. As tongue means simple language, there is no way to be sure.
The third form of tongues is alluded to by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 but not seen as beneficial. This form is often called prayer speech. The features of this form are that it is your spirit praying within you (1 Cor 14:15) and giving thanks (1 Cor 14:16). Of this form in 1 Corinthians 14:19 Paul says, “Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.” Paul therefore gives explicit instructions regarding the use of the second and third forms in church. He says in 1 Corinthians 14:27-28, “If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.” And then he adds that, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (33).
This form is more commonly understood to be along the lines of ecstatic utterances drawing from the idea of speaking the tongues of angels (1 Corinthians 13:1).
The primary critique I have toward many Pentecostal churches is that they do not practice the gift of tongues in an orderly way as Paul describes. First, they attribute all three forms exclusively to ecstatic utterances. There seems to be good evidence both for and against the cessation of this gift in some of its forms. For example, there are stories of missionaries going to countries following the Azusa Street Revival, and speaking languages to people that they had never spoken before. This historic event was a, “revival at 312 Azusa Street, a dilapidated warehouse in Los Angeles, that became the founding event of modern Pentecostalism in 1906.” That's a great piece of evidence that the first form (having the ability to miraculously speak a known language) still exists. A good piece of evidence which opposes the second and third forms (in the view of ecstatic utterances) would be that there are many Mormons who in fact claim to speak in tongues. We can be certain that they do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them because they have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, whatever the Mormons are practicing is either purely psychological or demonic in nature.