gift of tongue

The spiritual gift of ‘Speaking in tongues’

What does ‘speaking in tongues’ mean? Paul provides the answer in his first letter to the Corinthians:

1 Cor 13:1 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

The word translated tongues here is glossa (1100). It's meaning includes ‘language’ not just the vocal organ known as the tongue.

This scripture indicates that there are two types of tongues:

1. The tongues of men. These are earthly languages, unlearned by the person speaking, but understood by those listening who can speak that language.

2. The tongues of angels. These are heavenly languages which no earthly person can naturally understand.

Paul shows that tongues are not learned languages when he says:

“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.” 1 Cor 14:14

So, speaking in tongues is the ability of our spirit to communicate in an unlearned language. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit supernaturally provided for the believer. This was demonstrated on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.
It is also possible to sing with the spirit which, by implication, is singing in tongues. “I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.” 1 Cor 14:15

The following brain scan shows that ‘speaking in tongues’ uses different parts of the brain to normal language.

The principal investigator Dr. Andrew Newsberg, (Newsberg 2006) an associate professor of radiology, psychiatry and religious studies, commented, “Our finding of decreased activity in the frontal lobes during the practice of speaking in tongues is fascinating because these subjects truly believe the Spirit of God is moving through them and controlling them to speak. Our brain imaging research shows us that these subjects are not in control of the usual language centers during this activity, which is consistent with their description of a lack of intentional control, while speaking in tongues.”

Speaking in tongues is also different to other prayer and meditation

In earlier studies, Dr Newsberg (Newsberg 2006) looked at what happens in the brains of Buddhist monks meditating and Franciscan nuns praying. These results were very different to the scans when speaking in tongues. Speaking about this he said “Whatever is coming out of their mouth is not what they are purposefully or wilfully trying to do. And that’s in fairly stark contrast to the people who are …… like the Buddhist and Franciscan nuns ….. in prayer, because they are very intensely focused and in those individuals the frontal lobes actually increase activity.”

Speaking in tongues leads to emotional stability

Contrary to what may be a common perception, studies suggest that people who speak in tongues rarely suffer from mental problems. A study (Francis and Robbins 2003) of nearly 1,000 evangelical Christians in England found that those who engaged in the practice were more emotionally stable than those who did not.

Rom 8:6 “The mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace.”

Speaking in tongues is not an ecstatic experience – you are still in control.

Despite being used by a number of English translations of the Bible, the term ‘ecstasy’ is not used in the New Testament to describe speaking in tongues. This term, ‘ecstasy’ has a mystical

connotation which is defined in the dictionary as ‘an overpowering emotion sometimes involving temporary loss of consciousness often associated with mysticism’. There is no indication in the New Testament that people who speak in tongues lose control of themselves or become unaware of their surroundings (Acts 2; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 19:1-7). When speaking in tongues you can start and stop at will.

“If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church.” 1 Cor 14:27+28

Therefore my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.” 1 Cor 14:39+40

Paul in fact warns that “If the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad?” 1 Cor 14:23

The act of speaking in tongues has been shown that it does not require a state of ecstatic or trance nature in order to be spoken. An experiment was conducted in which 12 experienced tongue speakers performed with eyes open and without accompanying kinetic activity (such as trembling or shaking) or any residual disorientation.

The fear of some people when faced with speaking with tongues is that they will feel out of control, be led astray and appear drunk like in Acts!

“And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, ‘Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? … we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.’ And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others were mocking and saying, ‘they are full of sweet wine’
But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judah and all you who live in Jerusalem,

let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day.”” Acts 2:6-15

1 Cor 14:32+33 says “The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; for God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” When you speak in a tongue, your mouth is in control of the verbalisation and by an act of your will, you can stop at any time you like. You can also go with the flow of the Holy Spirit if you choose to do so. You can get as “drunk in the Spirit” as you choose to be. This appears to be the choice the believers Acts 2 made!

 Speaking in tongues restores us to how mankind was created to be!

In order to understand the full significance of the gift of speaking in tongues it is important to understand how mankind was when they were first created. Adam and Eve were created in God’s image and naturally entered into fellowship with Him, walking, and talking with God in the Garden of Eden.

Gen 1:27 “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it…”

Gen 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life; and man became a living being.” (Amplified bible)

When God breathed into man, man’s spirit was formed and he came alive. Like God, man became a spiritual being and had a created spiritual order:

Spirit

Soul/Mind

Body

There was no conflict between the three parts of man's being. It was a harmonious part of a sinless creation and how God designed mankind to be. The man and woman were innocent:

Gen 2:25 “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

Adam and Eve still had to choose to obey God:

Gen 2:16 “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’”

 The fall and its spiritual consequences

Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent and fell:

Gen 3:4 “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil.”

When he disobeyed God, man died spiritually that day. Their sin separated them from God. From then on they were ruled by the knowledge of good and evil having eaten of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil Gen 3:6. In most cases this meant that the soul/mind of a person became the dominant part of their being. For example:-

Soul/mind	Soul/mind	Body
rules	rules	rules
Spirit	Body	Soul/mind
rules	rules	rules
Body	Spirit	Spirit

God chose to work within the consequences of the fall

In the Old Testament, God chose to work within this hierarchy. In order to do so he gave the Law through Moses. The Law was a code of rules showing what was right and wrong/good and evil, which man had to live by now he was fallen.
The reliance on the knowledge of right and wrong/ good and evil eventually led in the Jewish culture to a system of rules and regulations on top of the law. This was called the Mishna. It was

put in place to prevent people from breaking the law, but in practice it simply added another layer of burden to people trying to obey God’s law.
In the west, living by the knowledge of good and evil led to a rise of reason and logic. This in turn led to a glorification of the scientific method which was deemed to be repeatable and measurable. Initially this scientific way of thinking embraced the concept of God. At the third meeting of the ‘British Association for the Advancement of Science’ in 1833 the question arouse as to what they should call themselves? The term scientist was proposed but questioned because it sounded too much like atheist (Homes 2008). The rise of the scientific method however let to the belief that that there was a need to have a leap beyond reason/ logic and what was rational to be able to support a belief in God. (Schaeffer 1985) It has however been recognised that scientific theories are just propositions of a possible explanation which will last as long as a more feasible/provable model is provided. It has also been recognised that a hypothesis like Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection now requires the same type of faith as religion requires in order to adhere to it!

 Jesus came to fulfill the law and pay the penalty for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God.

Romans 5:18,19+21 “ For as through the one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous….so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

That reconciliation means that we can now turn freely to God via Jesus, our tree of life:

John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Using the gift of speaking in tongues restores our natural spiritual order

Paul states that, when praying with the gift of tongues, the mind is minimally involved. Tongues can therefore be used when you are unsure of how/what to pray in any given situation.

1 Cor 14:14 “For if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit [by the Holy Spirit within me] prays, but my mind is unproductive – bears no fruit and helps nobody.” (Amplified)

In practice this means that instead of relying on our mind to direct our thoughts and ways, when we pray in tongues, our spirit is the directing part of us. Thus our created, God given order is restored:-

Spirit Soul/Mind/ Body

“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” 1 Corinthians 2:11-14

In practice, this means if we approach speaking in tongues with a natural man’s intellectual approach it will seem like a foolish proposition. If we understand that speaking in tongues sets our spirit free to express itself to God in the way it was designed to, and that we will have to overcome our mind’s natural prejudice, we will then be free to “Know the things freely given to us by God.”

“The mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace.” Rom 8:6

“Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.” Prov 25:28

Whenever I am tempted in any way and feel my flesh or my soul life taking over, I pray in tongues as a spiritual discipline. This enables my spirit to rise up, take control of the situation, communicate with the Holy Spirit and eat from the tree of life thus restoring God’s given order to my life.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess 5:23

A good prayer to pray is “Set my spirit free to worship thee.

 The promise of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues

The coming of the Messiah was prophesied by John the Baptist who proclaimed:

Luke 3:16 “I baptise you with water, but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Mt 3:11)

During his ministry Jesus spoke about the need for the Holy Spirit to be given to the disciples. In becoming human, Jesus was limited to being in one place at a time. The Holy Spirit is not limited to one place and is available to all believers; hence Jesus said that his presence would be advantageous to us.

“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” John 16:7+8

One of the reasons that the Holy Spirit needed to come upon the disciples was to provide the power to convict people of sin in order to bring repentance. (Acts 2:37)

Speaking in tongues a very precious gift

What gift would you give to your loved ones if you knew that you were leaving this world? You would probably give something that was special and intimate to each one, the most precious thing that

you could!
After the resurrection, Jesus spoke about the promise of the Holy Spirit and the gift of speaking in tongues when he addressed his disciples a number of times, saying:

“And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

Mark 16:17 “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues.”

“He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Even though they had been sent out previously and been given authority over evil spirits (Mark 6:7), told to heal the sick (Luke 10:9) and had performed many miracles, they were told to wait for the Holy Spirit and the baptism of power which Jesus had promised.
Tongues of fire - the day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-13 “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, ‘Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? … we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.’ And they all continued in amazement and

great perplexity, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others were mocking and saying, ‘they are full of sweet wine.’”

The day of Pentecost, Cologne cathedral

When the Holy Spirit came down and rested upon them as tongues of fire and filled them, this was what they had been promised and were waiting for. The manifestation of speaking in tongues, in the languages “of every nation under heaven. When this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.”
Here it is the 120 disciples, not the hearers, who are the ones in which the miracle occurred “They began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” Acts 2:4

This manifestation of the Holy Spirit was a prophetic sign that in bringing in His Kingdom Jesus has started the reversal of the confusion of the universal language that happened at Babel Genesis 11:1-9.

 Speaking in tongues is not the only sign of being baptised in the Spirit!

Paul makes it clear that not everyone has all of the gifts of the Spirit:

1 Corinthians 12:30 “All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak in tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?”

What we can deduce from this is that some with the gifts of healing, and who do not speak in tongues, are just as much baptised in the Holy Spirit as those who speak in tongues, and do not have the gifts of healing.

Speaking in tongues builds you up

How does speaking in tongues build you up?

In my work in the medical field I often prescribe physical exercise. I wish I could also prescribe spiritual exercise, like speaking in tongues, for my sick patients! Scripture states that spiritual exercise is of even greater value than physical exercise, with speaking in tongues building you up inside.

1 Timothy 4:7b+8 (Amplified bible) “Train yourself towards godliness – keeping yourself spiritually fit. For physical training is of some value; but godliness (spiritual training) is useful and of value in everything and in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come.”

When you speak in tongues you are building up your "spiritual muscles" these "muscles" are useful in this life when we get into situations where godliness is needed. They are also the "muscles" that we will be using in “the life which is to come.”

Speaking in tongues builds you up in three ways:-

When you speak in tongues you are building up the temple of God within

Paul refers to this in 1 Cor 14:4 “One who speaks in a tongue edifies (3618) himself.” The Greek word for ‘edifies’ is oikodomeo (3618) and literally means to build a house.

Examples of its use elsewhere in the New Testament are:

Mt 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build (3618) My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

Mark 14:58 “We have heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build (3618) another made without hands.’”

Acts 7:49 “Heaven is My throne, and earth is the footstool of My feet; ‘What kind of house will you build (3618) for Me?’ says the Lord.”

1Cor 3: 16 “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

When you speak in tongues you are building up a heavenly deposit within

The Greek word for tongue is glossa (1100), meaning either tongue or language. Glossakomon (1101) is a word that is derived from ‘

glossa’ (1100). It means 'money box' and is used in John 12:6 and 13:29 as such:

John 13:29 “For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast”; or else, that he should give something to the poor.” A money box is something that we use to save up for a future need. The hidden meaning here seems to suggest that speaking in tongues is equivalent to building a spiritual deposit in your heavenly bank account which you can later draw upon.  We are also building up spiritual faith/strength when we speak in tongues

When the people in Acts 2:11 were speaking in tongues, those around who heard and understood the language said “We hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” The disciples themselves may have not realised that they were speaking out what God had done so powerfully recently. But what could be more strengthening and faith building than “speaking of the mighty deeds of God” as a spiritual exercise?

Jude 20-21 “But you beloved, building (2026 from 1909 +3618) yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”

Acts 20:32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build (3618) you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

1 Thess 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build (3618) up one another just as you also are doing.

The apostle Paul is the writer in the New Testament who was given more scripture to write than any other. How did this happen? I believe part of it can be attributed to the private practice of speaking in tongues which built him up in God.

1 Cor 14:18 “I thank God; I speak in tongues more than you all.”

He also moved mightily in the power of God.

1 Cor 2:4+5 “My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”

1 Cor 2:12-14 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

It was when I started speaking in tongues for long periods that I started to receive an increase in revelation both in the word and in supernaturally knowing things about situations.

Question: Is there a way that you can fit a period of speaking in tongues into your life – maybe travelling to and from work?

Speaking in tongues is your spirit expressing itself to God in a refreshing way

Another way in which the Greek word for tongue glossa (1100) is used commonly at the time of the New Testament is in the word for the bag that the mouthpiece of a wind instrument would be carried in (Vine 1996). This bears the connotations of speaking in tongues being like a flute played by the wind of the spirit.

“Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp?” 1 Cor 14:7

In the Arabian Desert many years ago, before the arrival of devices like satellite navigation (GPS) there was a guide called ‘The dove man’. He was renowned for having the ability to always get people safely out of the desert quickly. To do this, he carried with him a dove which had a long, light, but strong piece of cord attached to it. When in doubt about the direction out of the desert, he would release the dove which would fly towards its home, showing the way out.
The Holy Spirit who descended as a dove out of heaven and rested and remained on Jesus (John 1:32) does the same. He will safely lead us out of tricky situations and lead us to the truth of what Jesus has said.

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

Speaking in tongues will enable your spirit to express itself to God, unaffected by your mind’s doubts and negative opinions about a situation. It also opens your spirit up to receive in the same way from the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor 14:14 “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.”

1 Cor 2:10 “But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no-one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

This will lead to you being refreshed in God’s presence. Peter was probably talking about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 when he says:

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19

“Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.” Hosea 6:1-3

Examples of speaking in the tongues of men

Examples of the gift of tongues being another human language which is unlearned are contained in the following stories:

When speaking in tongues broke out in 1901 in Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas, people were unsure of what was happening and sought to explain each tongue as a human language according to the Acts 2 experience. They seemed to overlook the existence of ‘the tongues of angels’ (1 Cor 13:1). Agnes Ozman first received the gift on 1 January 1901, and Charles Parham, founder of the Bible College, quickly identified her speaking in tongues as “Chinese.” (Blumhofer 1989)
Parham became convinced that Speaking in tongues were always identifiable human languages and were given for the final evangelization of the world before Christ’s return:

“We have for long believed that the power of the Lord would be manifested in our midst, and that power would be give us to speak other languages, and that the time will come when we will be sent to go into all the nations and preach the gospel, and that the Lord will give us the power of speech to talk to the people of the various nations without having to study them in schools.” (Parham 1901)

They made the mistake of sending out missionaries on this basis and soon learned that there was need of language study (Thompson 2003). However, the following excerpts show that some of the tongues were indeed natural languages.

“Sister Anna Hall spoke to the Russians in their church in Los Angeles in their own language as the Spirit gave utterance. They were so glad to hear the truth that they wept and even kissed her hands . . . The other night, as a company of Russians were present in the meeting, Bro. Lee, a converted Catholic, was permitted to speak their language. As he spoke and sang, one of the Russians came up and embraced him. It was a holy sign, and the Spirit fell upon the Russians, as well as on others, and they glorified God.” (”Russians Hear in Their Own Tongue” 1906).

“A preacher’s wife, who at first opposed Pentecostal truth, went home and read the second chapter of Acts, and while she read, the Spirit fell upon her and she began to speak in tongues . . . As she was on the way to the church she met a brother whom she had been instrumental in leading to the Lord. He is a foreigner and as soon as she saw him, she began to pour out her soul in French. He was amazed and said, “When did you learn French?” “What did I say?” she asked. “You said: “Get ready! Get ready! Jesus is coming soon!”” (”The Second Chapter of Acts” 1906).

Elizabeth Sherrill the ghost writer for Corrie Ten-Boom, David Wilkinson and Brother Andrew in her own story called ‘All the way to heaven.’ writes of her experience of communicating across a language barrier supernaturally in the chapter entitled “The Visit.” (Sherrill 2002)

““And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?” Acts 2:8 In heaven, how many millions and millions of such meetings are in store for us! Surely one of the graces of eternity will be the ability to communicate across barriers of culture, language, and millennia.
A foretaste was provided on the Day of Pentecost, when worshippers in Jerusalem ‘from every nation under heaven’ were astonished to understand the speech of men from Galilee. To Egyptians they seemed to be speaking Egyptian, to Romans, Latin. Medes, Libyans, Cretans, Arabs – ‘We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’ ……..
We had a fleeting glimpse of this ourselves one January day in Czechoslovakia, when that county was still a Communist stronghold. In a Citroen with Dutch plates, John and I had been visiting Christians in various countries behind the Iron Curtain. In Vienna, before we set out, we’d been given a trove of small personal treasures – photos, letters, a few bars of chocolate – to take to an address in Prague.
The sender was a Czech evangelist who’d had to flee his apartment in the middle of the night, leaving behind a wife and three daughters. Tears stood in his eyes as he explained through an interpreter what this second hand contact with his family would mean to them all…….To our immense relief, the door opened to our knock. If the family had been out, we could scarcely have left a note on the door for all to read, even if we’d had a language in common.
But the wife and the youngest daughter, age nine, were home. Their excitement at receiving the few small things we’d brought was wrenching to see. As the woman served us a coffee-coloured drink, she pressed us for every detail we could remember about her husband’s health and spirits. She gave us a hundred oral messages, as well as a hastily written letter, to take back to him. The girls’ school reports, photos of a nephew’s baby, small all-important family news.
Outside again, John insisted I wear his coat back to the car. ‘What happened in there?’ he asked through chattering teeth. ‘What did she say? What did you say?’
I looked at him in surprise. ‘But . . . you were there.’ I said. ‘You heard everything.’
I heard a lot of excited conversation. It sounded like German.’
We stopped oblivious for a moment to the cold, and stared at each other. I don’t understand German, let alone speak it. Yet for almost an hour, the woman and I had somehow been conversing.
It was a little gift of God, John and I decided, to this family whose faith had cost them so much. But to us, too, it was a gift – a hint of what may be a normal encounter when spirit meets spirit, and the curse of Babel is undone.”

The public use of speaking in tongues

The public use of speaking in tongues is something which carries controversy. It has done so since the gift was given to believers on the day of Pentecost.

Acts 2:4-6 “ And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, ‘Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? … we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.’ And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others were mocking and saying, ‘they are full of sweet wine.’”

Paul addressed this subject with the believers in Corinth. The church at Corinth was probably the most undisciplined church that Paul was responsible for. There was infighting in the church 1 Cor 1:11. Immorality and moral laxness seems to have been commonplace 1 Cor 5+6. They took each other to court instead of being able to solve disputes amongst themselves 1 Cor 6:1-8. There was abuse of the communion meal including drunkenness 1 Cor 11:17-34. There was false teaching regarding the resurrection 1 Cor 15. They were so undisciplined in their use of spiritual gifts that their meetings were chaotic 1 Cor 14. During meetings there was people prophesying one after another without any judging process. There was public speaking in tongues without the accompanying gift of interpretation, which led to the unbeliever in their midst thinking they were mad! 1 Cor 14. Yet despite all of this immaturity he urges them to earnestly desire spiritual gifts!

1 Cor 12:31 “But earnestly desire the greater gifts.

1 Cor 14:1 “Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts.”

The Greek for “earnestly desire” is zeloo (2206) and could be translated as zealously / jealously lust after!

Why did Paul encourage this desire in an immature church where person after person was speaking in tongues without interpretation, and prophesying one after another without judgement of the prophecy? They were mismanaging the spiritual gifts so badly that there was chaos in the church; should the use of the gifts not have been banned untill they had grown in maturity to the point where they were able to use them safely?

The gifts of the Spirit including speaking in tongues should be allowed but they must have order to be properly understood

Paul knew the importance of the gifts of God to the church. His message did not just consist of superiority of speech or wisdom.

“My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” 1 Cor 2:4+5

He was therefore trying to bring order into the chaos of their meetings where the abuse of the gifts was bringing the believers into disrepute. Paul clearly states:

“Therefore my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.” 1 Cor 14:39+40

What this means in practice is that when a prophecy is brought in a public meeting there should be two of at the most three in one session and then these should be judged by an appropriate group. ” When a tongue is brought to the meeting there should be two or three in one session and then the interpretation of those tongues. (See the next section for interpreting tongues).

“If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be two or at the most three, each in turn, and one must interpret; but if there if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God.” 1 Cor 14:27+28

Interpreting tongues

The gift of interpretation of tongues is a separate gift of the spirit from speaking in tongues

Scripture makes it quiet clear that the gift of interpreting tongues is a separate gift from speaking in tongues.

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good……to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 1 Corinthians 12:7+10b

In order to give guidelines to interpreting tongues let us first look at how speaking in tongues is defined in scripture:

Speaking in tongues is a pure expression of your spirit towards God.

When you are speaking in a tongue your spirit is talking to God in prayer and you are: Expressing the mysteries of your innermost desires to God:

1 Cor 14:2 “For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.”

1 Cor 14:14 “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.

Romans 8:26-27 “And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings to deep for words; And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

The interpretation of a tongue expressing our innermost desires will be like the passages in the psalms where David and others bare their hearts to God.

“God, listen! Listen to my prayer; listen to the pain in my cries. Don’t turn your back on me just when I need you so desperately. Pay attention! This is a cry for help! And hurry – this can’t wait!” Psalm 102:1-2 (the Message)

Expressing what God has done for you:

Acts 2:11 “We hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”

Acts 10:46 “For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God.”

1 Cor 14:16 “If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving since he does not know what you are saying? You may be giving thanks well enough but the other man is not edified.” (NIV)

Again the psalms are a good example of expressing what God has done for you:

“I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn’t slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song a praise song to our God.” Psalm 40:1-4 (the Message)

The most likely interpretation of a tongue therefore will be a God-ward expression of a person’s spirit either as a psalm-like expression of prayer /petition towards God, or an expression of praise of what God has done. It will not normally be a prophecy, as the gift of prophecy is a separate gift from God!

Why does a prophecy often follow a tongue in a service?

Why then are prophecies sometimes expressed as an interpretation of a tongue? Quite often speaking in tongues in a meeting will spark off something in people’s spirits, freeing prophecy in those who would otherwise be reluctant to bring it. Acts 19:6 makes it clear that there is a difference between speaking in tongues and prophesying, and that prophecy will often follow tongues as a separate gift. Acts 19:6 “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.”

Sometimes an interpretation will sound like a prophecy because of the way it is presented. There is no difference in truth between saying “God says He loves you” and “You, God, love me,” but the object of the statement is different. The first one sounds like a prophecy rather than a God-ward expression of what He has done for the person. When a person speaking in tongues sounds above other voices in a meeting, this is when an interpretation is required.

1 Cor 12:10 “To another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.”

1 Cor 14:13 “Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.”

1 Cor 14:27-28 “ If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God.”

Speaking in Tongues is a sign for unbelievers

The mystery of tongues being a sign for unbelievers and prophecy a sign for believers.

1 Cor 14:22-25 States “So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe. Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? But if all prophesy, and am unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God declaring that God is certainly among you.”

How can tongues be a sign to unbelievers?

The secret is in the use of the term sign. A sign points to something. When an unbeliever encounters a Christian who is manifesting the gift of tongues he is not acting normally or speaking in a learned language. This will be a sign to any unbeliever present. It can be

either a positive or negative sign. If the tongue is interpreted in the correct way then the unbeliever will understand what has been said as a testimony to the greatness of God in that person’s life.

If the whole church are speaking in tongues one after another and they are not interpreted this will be a negative sign. Unbelievers will not understand what is happening and will react in a negative way and declare that the people speaking in tongues are mad or at the best drunk! This is hardly surprising as the natural mind cannot understand the things and ways of the Spirit. This is why it is important that the gift of interpretation of tongues accompanies the gift of speaking in tongues.

“One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church. Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies that one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.”