In the church God has put all in place: in the first place apostles, in the second place prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues.

They are not all apostles or prophets or teachers. Not everyone has the power to work miracles

Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues;

The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.]

And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you."

I am telling you the truth: those who believe in me will do what I do---yes, they will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father.

But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

by the power of miracles and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. And so, in traveling all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have proclaimed fully the Good News about Christ.

Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do what the Law requires or because you hear the gospel and believe it?

At the same time God added his witness to theirs by performing all kinds of miracles and wonders and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will.

I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains---but if I have no love, I am nothing.

It is love, then, that you should strive for. Set your hearts on spiritual gifts, especially the gift of proclaiming God's message.

But those who proclaim God's message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort.

I would like for all of you to speak in strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God's message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues---unless there is someone present who can explain what is said, so that the whole church may be helped.

But if everyone is proclaiming God's message when some unbelievers or ordinary people come in, they will be convinced of their sin by what they hear. They will be judged by all they hear,

All of you may proclaim God's message, one by one, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged.

The gift of proclaiming God's message should be under the speaker's control,

So then, my friends, set your heart on proclaiming God's message, but do not forbid the speaking in strange tongues.

Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the spirit he had given to Moses and gave it to the seventy leaders. When the spirit came on them, they began to shout like prophets, but not for long.

A young man ran out to tell Moses what Eldad and Medad were doing.

Moses answered, "Are you concerned about my interests? I wish that the LORD would give his spirit to all his people and make all of them shout like prophets!"

When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Suddenly the spirit of God took control of him, and he joined in their ecstatic dancing and shouting.

A man who lived there asked, "How about these other prophets---who do you think their fathers are?" This is how the saying originated, "Has even Saul become a prophet?"

so he sent some men to arrest him. They saw the group of prophets dancing and shouting, with Samuel as their leader. Then the spirit of God took control of Saul's men, and they also began to dance and shout.

Then he himself started out to Ramah. When he came to the large well in Secu, he asked where Samuel and David were and was told that they were at Naioth.

He took off his clothes and danced and shouted in Samuel's presence, and lay naked all that day and all that night. (This is how the saying originated, "Has even Saul become a prophet?")

David son of Jesse was the man whom God made great, whom the God of Jacob chose to be king, and who was the composer of beautiful songs for Israel. These are David's last words:

The spirit of the LORD speaks through me; his message is on my lips.

"Afterward I will pour out my Spirit on everyone: your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your old people will have dreams, and your young people will see visions.

When, however, the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but he will speak of what he hears and will tell you of things to come.

'This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams.

Yes, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will proclaim my message.

"My friends, I must speak to you plainly about our famous ancestor King David. He died and was buried, and his grave is here with us to this very day.

He was a prophet, and he knew what God had promised him: God had made a vow that he would make one of David's descendants a king, just as David was.

One of them, named Agabus, stood up and by the power of the Spirit predicted that a severe famine was about to come over all the earth. (It came when Claudius was emperor.)

He had four unmarried daughters who proclaimed God's message.

We had been there for several days when a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea.

So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have;

do not despise inspired messages.

Above all else, however, remember that none of us can explain by ourselves a prophecy in the Scriptures.

For no prophetic message ever came just from the human will, but people were under the control of the Holy Spirit as they spoke the message that came from God.

Two or three who are given God's message should speak, while the others are to judge what they say.

Peter said to him, "Ananias, why did you let Satan take control of you and make you lie to the Holy Spirit by keeping part of the money you received for the property?

My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere.

I know what you have done; I know how hard you have worked and how patient you have been. I know that you cannot tolerate evil people and that you have tested those who say they are apostles but are not, and have found out that they are liars.

In the church God has put all in place: in the first place apostles, in the second place prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues.

or to heal diseases or to speak in strange tongues or to explain what is said.

I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell.

Those who speak in strange tongues do not speak to others but to God, because no one understands them. They are speaking secret truths by the power of the Spirit.

Those who speak in strange tongues help only themselves, but those who proclaim God's message help the whole church.

Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues;

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages.

How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages?

from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome,

Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, "What does this mean?"

For they heard them speaking in strange tongues and praising God's greatness. Peter spoke up:

"These people have received the Holy Spirit, just as we also did. Can anyone, then, stop them from being baptized with water?"

Paul placed his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them; they spoke in strange tongues and also proclaimed God's message.

or to heal diseases or to speak in strange tongues or to explain what is said.

This is what I mean, my friends. When you meet for worship, one person has a hymn, another a teaching, another a revelation from God, another a message in strange tongues, and still another the explanation of what is said. Everything must be of help to the church.

But if no one is there who can explain, then the one who speaks in strange tongues must be quiet and speak only to himself and to God.