What about "speaking and praying in Tongues", is that evidence for "receiving the Holy Spirit?

In Acts 2:4 the 120 in the upper room were baptized with the Holy Spirit, received the Holy Spirit upon(G1909) them as Jesus said it would happen in Acts 1:8. They did speak in Tongues, but does that mean that the Tongues came "upon" them? In other words, do Tongues, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12), live inside of us, with the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us, or do we receive Tongues from outside of us? Did the 120 in the upper room receive the Tongues from outside of them, or from inside of them.

The Holy Spirit in us is compare to a river and when the Spirit comes upon us it causes the Spirit inside of us to flow.

John 7:38 - "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

The word heart (G2836) in John 7, from the Greek, is belly or the inner part of man.

1 Corinthians 12:13 - For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

In John 4 we read about a fountain that will spring up inside of us into everlasting life. That refers to the new birth into everlasting life.

John 4:14 - "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

John the Baptist and others were baptized with the Holy Spirit, received the Holy Spirit in(G1722) them before the day of Pentecost, but we do not read in the Bible that they spoke or pray in Tongues.

1. John the Baptist Luke 1:15 - "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
We do not read in the Bible that he spoke or pray in Tongues.

2. Mary was filled years before she was baptized with the Holy Spirit, and received the Holy Spirit upon(G1909) her at Pentecost (Luke 1:45-56) Luke 1:47 - And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savoir. She glorified God and called Him her saviour, when she was pregnant with Jesus inside of her.
We do not read in the Bible that she spoke or pray in Tongues.

3. Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit about 30 years before He was baptized with the Holy Spirit, and received the Holy Spirit upon(G1909) Him. Luke 2:40 - And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Matthew 3:16 - When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon(G1909) Him.
We do not read in the Bible that He spoke or pray in Tongues.

4. The disciples were filled and had the Spirit in them 3 years before they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, and received the Holy Spirit upon(G1909) them, at Pentecost. (Matthew 10:1-8, 20) We read in Matthew 10 that the Holy Spirit was in them and spoke in them. Matthew 10:20 - "for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
We do not read in the Bible that they spoke or pray in Tongues.

So why did they speak in Tongues on Pentecost?

As the Holy Spirit was already inside of them, His gifts were already inside of them. They did not receive the gift of speaking in Tongues the day on Pentecost, it was "stirred up" by the Holy Spirit and power that came upon(G1909) them when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. They could have spoken and prayed in Tongues before Pentecost as they had the gift inside of them. But God used that day with Pentecost to reach all those in Jerusalem who heard the 120 and then came to salvation when they heard about God in their own mother tongues. It must be said, the 120 did not speak in mother tongues of all the people, the people heard them in their mother tongues.

Acts 2:8 - And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?

Acts 2:11 - ". . . we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God."

Question: "Is speaking in tongues evidence for having the Holy Spirit?"

Answer: There are three occasions in the book of Acts where speaking in tongues accompanied the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which was to receive the Holy Spirit upon(G1909) them.

Acts 2:4 - And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 10:44-46 - While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

Acts 19:6 - And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

However, these three occasions are the only places in the Bible where speaking in tongues accompanied the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which was to received the Holy Spirit upon(G1909) them.

Throughout the book of Acts, thousands of people believe in Jesus and nothing is said about them speaking in tongues (Acts 2:41, 8:5-25, 16:31-34, 21:20). Nowhere in the New Testament is it taught that speaking in tongues is the only evidence that a person has received the Holy Spirit. In fact, the New Testament teaches the opposite. We are told that every believer in Christ has the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14).

So, why was speaking in tongues evident when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, and received the Holy Spirit upon(G1909) them in those three passages in Acts?

1. Acts 2 records the apostles being baptized in the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him to proclaim the gospel.

2. Acts 10 records the apostle Peter being sent to share the gospel with non- Israelites. Peter and the other early Christians, being Israelites, would have a hard time accepting Gentiles, who were non-Israelites, into the church. God enabled the Gentiles to speak in tongues to demonstrate that they had received the same Holy Spirit the apostles had received (Acts 10:47, 11:17).

The Holy Spirit in(G1722) us is for ourselves.

We received the Holy Spirit once and it lives inside of us.
1. We strengthen ourselves.
1 Corinthians 14:4 - He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, . . .
2. We are speaking directly to God.
1 Corinthians 14:2 - "For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God,"
3. We are speaking mysteries.
1 Corinthians 14:2 - ". . . in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
4. We are building ourselves up.
Jude 20 - "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
Ephesians 3:16 - "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man . . .
Ephesians 3:19 - ". . . to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
5. We experience personal transformation.
Romans 8:29 - "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."

The Holy Spirit upon(G1909) us, is for other people.

The Holy Spirit comes more than once upon us, this is not a one time experience.

Acts 1:8 - "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon(G1909) you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

1 Corinthians 14:22 - Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers.