The main object of the Holy Spirit then is to glorify and exalt the Lord Jesus, so that

in all things He might have the preeminence (Col. 1: 18), and whenever He is put in His

rightful place of ALL (Col. 3: 11) and "First and Last", the Holy Spirit is certainly there.

Where the Spirit is unduly stressed and the Lordship of Christ unknown we have not

truth, but error which comes from the father of lies.

If modern tongue speaking is really of God, where are those who undeniably have the

gift of interpretation (without which tongues are useless) and also the discerning of

spirits, that is the divine ability to sift the true from the false? (I Cor. 12: 10). This was

God's check against the work of Satan during the Acts when tongues were valid.

Without this, the whole thing can be highly dangerous, for as we know so well, Satan can

travesty and copy the work of God. Not even miracles, by themselves, are a proof of

divine origin:

The Apostles Paul and John warn us of the deceptive miracles of Satan at the end time

of this age so that, even in the Acts period, tongue speaking was not without its dangers

(II Thess. 2: 8-10; Rev. 13: 11-14) and the Lord Jesus Himself likewise forewarned of

the terrible deception of this most dangerous time (Matt. 24: 4, 5, 11, 24), and many

believers feel, as they look around on world conditions, that we are fast approaching such

a period.

But some will say, many Pentecostalists testify to the blessing they have received

from speaking in tongues. The answer to this is simple and clear. If we want nothing but

Truth and to avoid such deception, we must base our beliefs solely on the Word of God

which is Truth, and not on human experience. We may not begin with a certain type of

religious experience and then proceed to build a doctrine on it. We dare not build on any

experience primarily, but on the teaching of Holy Scripture which is true and changeless.

If the importance of a doctrine in the N.T. is shown by the Divine emphasis upon it

(and this is surely true) then we must face the fact that tongue speaking is only mentioned

in one of the 21 epistles and even then it is not held up as a mark of spiritual growth, or

something to be sought after.

Those believers who go on to know and enjoy the exceeding riches of grace and glory

revealed in the prison epistles of Paul will certainly not be attracted by speaking in

tongues. When one has tasted the best, one does not want the second-best! In the high

and holy calling revealed therein Christ is ALL and each believer FILLED TO THE

FULL in Him (Col. 2: 10; 3: 10, 11) to which nothing can be added, for there is

nothing higher or possible beyond this revealed in the whole length and breadth of God's

Word. In our long Christian experience we have never known anyone grounded in this