I believe John Wimber was more aligned with slw’s contention that any gift could be used situationally by any believer as the Holy Spirit distributes it (with the exception of the office gifts, of course). The interpretive key he focused on was how Paul repeatedly mentions throughout the letter “when you come together,” meaning any specific gathering of the church. (See 1 Cor 11:18,20,33 and 14:26). So the “no” answer sought after above meant “any given time you come together, will all people exhibit all gifts?” The answer for this is obviously no. This seems to read particularly well when you consider the public use of tongues vs. the private prayer language that Paul wishes “everyone would use” and that he claimed he used more than all of them (1Cor 14:5, 18). Paul also seems to encourage them that they can “all” prophesy in other texts. To me this interpetation harmonizes what can seem like contradictory positions from Paul about tongues and prophecy.

This is a view I personally hold, and helps me to answer j a n’s thoughts about “if tongues are so great, why would God withold them from anyone?” Just as with the ability to prophesy, I believe he won’t.

But…it can be quite a journey getting there, can’t it? I think the variety of experiences shared in these two posts attest to that.