Saul, the first king of Israel, was “head and shoulders above every other man” but humbly saw himself as “the least”. When sought out after being anointed by the prophet Samuel, he was found “hiding among the baggage”! (1 Samuel 10:17-24) Saul was tall physically but was low in self-esteem.
It was a poor start for Saul, whom Samuel had anointed privately; however, after three prophesied signs took place as he walked along a road, the Spirit of the LORD came upon him and turned him into another man (1 Samuel 10:6). God had given him “another heart” — one of a warrior king!
Confrontations can surface the anointing of God in our lives but after “prophesying among the prophets” the newly anointed Saul had hidden himself! His unexpected rise to royalty had been too much! But then, it’s not every day that a man walks out in search of wandering donkeys and ends up as an anointed king!
Saul had some “on the road” prophetic encounters after Samuel’s “another man” prophecy. He prophesied among the prophets. “Is Saul among the prophets?” This became a proverb for a thing seen as very unusual. Give some thought to what it would be like to become “another man” or woman after being suddenly anointed. Not just now and then but all the time, sometimes consciously so, at other times unconsciously.
Saul became “another” man when the Spirit of God came upon him and you and you too can become “another kind” of person through the frequent exercise of God-given spiritual gifts. Two examples are the twin gifts of “tongues and interpretation” which bring a fluency that enable you to develop into a different “kind” of person and so readied for the five gifts in the ‘middle’ five of the nine gift listed by Paul the apostle in 1 Corinthians 12:8-9.
The “another” (NT Greek: “heteros”) in these verses refers to another of a different kind, whereas “another” of the same kind in NT Greek is “allos”. If you desire more spiritual gifts than you have, you will need to grow in your faith. We prophesy according to “the proportion of our faith”. The greater the faith, the stronger and more specific the prophecies; and the weaker the faith the more general the prophecies.
The Apostle Paul uses “allos” to identify those who have the “word of wisdom” and the “word of knowledge”. He then uses “heteros” to mark those who have gifts of faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, and discerning of spirits. The five gifts in the ‘middle’ group are each separated from the others by the word “allos”, meaning that although different, they are in the same category.
Paul then changes to “heteros” to mark those who have the twin gifts of tongues and interpretation of tongues. (Paul also uses these two different NT Greek words in 1 Corinthians 15, when making the difference between earthly bodies and heavenly bodies.
The anointed Saul became “another” man when the Spirit of God came upon him, and we too can become another kind of person through the frequent exercise of the spiritual gifts God has given us. Exercising the gifts of “tongues and interpretation” can bring a fluency that enables us to develop into a different “kind” of person spiritually and so prepares us for the five gifts in the ‘middle’ group listed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:8-9.
The thought is that one kind of person has the first two gifts, and that another kind has the last two gifts (I refer to wisdom and knowledge, and tongues and interpretation as ‘twin’ gifts.) The ‘middle’ five are gifts given to those of a different kind. Thus the 2/5/2 gifts distinction.
Remember that the “kinds” are not the gifts themselves but those who have them. The fact that the gifts of tongues and interpretation are listed last suggests that to move into the ‘middle’ group requires those who speak in tongues and interpret them to become “another kind” of person — one with more exercised faith and greater maturity.
Remember, too, that Saul was turned into “another man” when the Spirit of God came upon him. But David was already “a man after God’s heart”. Have you a heart for God? You will become “another person” under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, but whether moving in the power of God or not, your heart for God should remain the same, which is what matters most.
The spiritual gift of tongues (unlearned languages) is mocked by ‘intellectuals’ because it offends their natural mind. God doesn’t need you to ‘speak your mind’ all the time; there are times when He wishes to speak His own mind! In so doing He will use your vocal cords to speak through you.
The Apostle Paul encourages us to “earnestly desire spiritual gifts”! He writes: “Do not forbid [people in the church meeting] to speak in tongues.” (14:39) Do you forbid them? Well, you are not only wrong but unscriptural. Do you disagree? Well, why not read through the posts above and mark those which you believe are wrong and convince me which ones and why. “Another” in these verses refers to either another kind of person (“heteros”), or another of the same kind (“allos”).
The spiritual gift of tongues (unlearned languages) is mocked by many since it offends their intellects: their non-spiritual minds. God doesn’t need you to ‘speak your mind’ always; there are times when He wishes to speak His own mind! In so doing He will inspire you to speak from your spirit — even with overriding authority through your vocal cords. Jesus has done so through me on occasion, and it startled me!
The Apostle Paul encourages us to “earnestly desire spiritual gifts”! He writes: “Do not forbid [people in the church meeting] to speak in tongues.” (14:39) Do you forbid them? Well, you are not only wrong but unscriptural. Do you disagree? If so, read through the posts above and mark those you believe to be wrong and convince me which of them and why so.
During the Charismatic Renewal of the late 1960s through to the early 80s, many referred to the spiritual gift of tongues (unlearned languages) as “the tongues of angels”, the idea being that believers were speaking angelic languages. This came from 1 Corinthians 13:1. It was a view that was not shared by historical Pentecostal churches, which correctly saw the verse as hypothetical. “Though” is the key word and precedes the apostle’s other “out there” questions.
The gift of prophecy is associated with “ALL mysteries and ALL knowledge”. ALL faith” with moving mountains. Bestowing ALL that he has on the poor and even surrendering his body to be burned (presumably in martyrdom). These are hyperboles: exaggerations for effect.
As you can see, this is not a ‘gift list’, and tongues are mentioned along with other gifts in extremis. These verses are all about LOVE, without which all of the above are valueless. Romans, chapter 12, is yet another gift-mix. It includes many kinds of gifts (but not ministry gifts or spiritual gifts). And Ephesians 4:11 list only ministry gifts (people who are gifts to the Church).
So, do not diminish the spiritual gift of tongues because it is last on the list — it is the subject and the context that matters. If you are prejudiced against the gift of tongues and have closed your mind to the teaching of God’s word, there’s nothing that I or anyone else can say that will convince you otherwise. As Jesus said, “If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if one rose from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)
As the old saying puts it: “Those persuaded against their will are of the same opinion still.” Our common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ unites us; we should not allow matters less vital to the Christian Faith to divide us.
In closing, the “another man” under the anointing was good but the New Man — the “new creation in Christ” — is beyond better!