What is the "Sound of the Spirit"?
Jesus compared the new birth to the unpredictable wind. He said, "The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the SOUND thereof, but canst not tell whence
it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit"
(Jn.3:8). These words are of the greatest importance, for in them Jesus has
given us a description of the new birth - a description which applies to EVERYONE
who is born of the Spirit. In other words, Jesus has given us a sign which lets us know
who is born again and who is not: You hear the SOUND.
This sign, the one consistent element in every experience of new birth, is "the
sound thereof". This mysterious "sound" of the Spirit caused quite a stir in
Jerusalem when the disciples were born again. "And they were all filled with
the holy Ghost, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance"
(Acts 2:4). Yes, the sound of the wind of God, which our Lord said was the
one consistent feature of every new birth experience, is the sign of speaking in tongues.
When the holy Ghost is received, some may weep, and some may laugh. Some may
jump for joy, while others may fall prostrate on the floor. Some may be overcome with
the power of God, and some are dealt with very gently by the Spirit. But the one
invariable evidence of receiving the Spirit is the sign of tongues. Every one who receives
the holy Ghost speaks in tongues when he receives it. If you have not spoken in
tongues, you have not yet received the Spirit of God. However, even if that is the case
with you, my friend, you should not be discouraged! Rather, you should be thankful that
the baptism of the holy Ghost is still available!
One of the evil things about men's religions (especially Christianity), is their attempt to
lure seekers of God into believing their sins can be washed away before, or without, the
holy Ghost baptism. Hear this plainly, you who have an inclination towards Jesus: there
is no such thing as being made right with God WITHOUT speaking in tongues.
Tongues are a "sign to unbelievers". A sign that Jesus has accepted
your repentance.
If "tongues are for a sign for unbelievers", as Paul said (1Cor.14:21),
then one should ask, "A sign of what?" The obvious answer is that speaking in tongues is
a sign ordained by God to point unbelievers to the way of Christ. The Spirit which
speaks in tongues through men when it enters is the real Spirit of God (1Jn.4:1-3). As
one man said, "When Jesus was here, he cast out dumb spirits. He doesn't now give men
one." The Spirit of God isn't dumb. It speaks when he enters in; therefore, tongues are
for a sign to those who are seeking the way into eternal life.
"Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound", wrote the
Psalmist. This joyful sound is the sound of the Spirit confessing Christ through the one
who has received Him (1Jn.4:1-3) in a language which the speaker has never learned. It
is what Peter called the "answer of a good conscience toward God"
(1Pet.3:21), and it is "more sure" than hearing God's own voice coming out of
heaven (2Pet. 1:17-19). Speaking in tongues is the "testimony" Jesus said the Spirit
would give when it came (Jn.15:26-27). It is the "witness" which empowers us to
proclaim God to be our Father (Rom.8:15). It is "the record" which God has given
concerning His Son, and every soul who refuses it calls God a liar (1Jn.5: 10). It is the
"deep" which "calls unto deep" in times of trouble (Ps.42:7). It is the means by which
men "call on the name of the Lord" (Zeph.3:9). One can easily understand why Paul was
motivtaed to say that no one could say Jesus is Lord without the holy Ghost
(1Cor.12:1-3), for it is the holy Ghost which empowers men to be partakers of and, so,
living witnesses to his glory (Acts 1:8).
The disciples were born again on the day of Pentecost, when a sound of wind blew down
from heaven into an upper room, and the "sound thereof" was heard by the crowds in
Jerusalem, coming from the disciples' tongues! In amazement, the multitude beheld the
disciples stagger as drunk men under the mighty power of God. Some mockingly said
the disciples were drunk (Acts 2:13). However, Peter soon let these misguided onlookers
know that the men and women they were watching were not drunkards. He explained,
"This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16). Of
course, what Joel had prophesied was the outpouring of God's holy Spirit upon men -
the new birth!
One is born of the Spirit when he receives the Spirit. This is why Paul wrote,
"If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his"
(Rom.8:9). When one receives the Spirit, it is called in the Scriptures the
"baptism of the Spirit". The disciples received the Spirit (the promise of the Father) on
Pentecost morning when they were baptized with it (Acts 1:4-5). The believers in
Samaria received the Spirit when they were baptized with it (Acts 8:14-17). Cornelius
and his household received the Spirit when he was baptized with it (Acts 10:44-47).
Therefore, since receiving the Spirit is to be born again, and since receiving the Spirit is
to be baptized with it, we can say that we are baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ
(1Cor. 12:13). Or we can say, "baptism saves us" (1Pet.3:21). Or we can say that we are
"baptized into Christ" (Rom.6:3; Gal.3:27). However we choose to express it, the new
birth and the baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues are the same
experience, which happens today just as Jesus long ago said it would happen when he
first described the new birth to a wondering Jewish elder named Nicodemus.
Today however, God's people are not even looking for that "sound". And may God help
the called out ones to see its importance, for without it, there is really no true assembly at all.
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