Molehills: Speaking in Tongues

 

The gift of speaking in tongues is as divisive as any doctrine one will find in professing Christendom. Some in the church will say it departed centuries ago; others will maintain that it exists and thrives today. But what is the gift of tongues, what was it for, and why did God the Holy Spirit bequeath said gift to certain among the church?

The New Testament gift of speaking in tongues began on the day of Pentecost, when the church was founded. We read, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance,” Acts 2:1-4.

 

The initial use of a term or idea in Scripture generally determines its proper usage whenever it appears again. In this instance, we find Peter and the other disciples gifted with tongues by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Why? To speak fluently with the Jews and foreigners assembled on that holy day, as we read in Acts 2:8. There are in fact at least 16 people groups represented in Jerusalem on that day. When the disciples speak in tongues, the people can accurately hear their native language spoken to them, so as to break down the language barrier erected at Babel, Genesis 11:7. There were 120 disciples pre-Pentecost (see Acts 1:15), so it would be a simple matter for each language to be represented that day before the crown Peter would address.

 

The confusion of languages was divinely ordained, so that mankind would fulfill God’s command to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the face of the earth. We see at Pentecost, through the church, by the gift of tongues, that rift healed by the same Spirit who caused it. Zephaniah, when speaking of the Day of the Lord, reveals details about worldly unity: “For then I will restore to the people a pure language, that they may all call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord,” Zephaniah 3:9. To restore something, it must first be revoked or rescinded. This occurred at Babel, when Nimrod led the people into rebellion and apostasy, and suffered the curse of divided tongues. Now the divided tongues unite again in the church, under the auspices of the Holy Spirit, so the apostles may preach to the people bereft of a language barrier.

 

One purpose, then, for the gift of tongues was to remove the stigma of languages: a unique sign of the apostasy men committed under the banner of a rebel king. Moreover, it was God’s intention to compel mankind to obey and fill the earth. In the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ our Lord, languages will be restored to what the prophet called a pure language, spoken by all peoples on earth as it was prior to Babel. To put the gift into clearer perspective, I know English and only English. If I somehow began fluently speaking Japanese, I have manifested the gift of tongues.

 

Tongues are meant for communication. They are to clearly notify the hearer what the speaker is saying, tearing down the language barrier so that they might hear the gospel without impediment. Paul refers to the improper use of the gift of tongues as a trumpet making uncertain sounds; the hearers lack the ability to discern what they ought to be responding to, 1 Corinthians 14:8. What the gift of tongues is not, however, is indecipherable noise. My wife’s aunt once demonstrated what she believed was the gift of tongues from a charismatic circle, and it sounded unnerving and incomprehensible. Furthermore, she seemed to need to prepare herself for it, as though tongues were taught and activated by force of will or memory. Indeed, some churches give courses on speaking in tongues, and some religions outside the pail of Christianity do likewise.

 

In 1 Corinthians chapter 14 Paul contends with the Corinthian Christians abusing the gift of tongues. Apparently considered flashy, or a sign of status in that church, every man coveted the gift, and then employed it to an audience deaf to its reception. Outside of the epistles, the gift of tongues is mentioned four times: once in Mark, and three times in Acts, including chapter 2, which we have addressed. To add further and much needed clarity, Paul, when defining the sundry spiritual gifts granted the church, describes tongues as, “different kinds of tongues,” and, “varieties of tongues,” 1 Corinthians 12:10, 28. Tongues were known human languages divinely gifted to break down language barriers. Furthermore, Paul heavily asserts that not every Christian in that time possessed that gift. He writes, “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ…for in fact the body is not one member but many,” 1 Corinthians 12:12, 14. Finally, the apostle rhetorically asks, “Do all speak with tongues?” 1 Corinthians 12:30. Of course, read in context with the topic being addressed, the tacit answer is, “no.” Not every Christian would receive the gift, because the body is many members with different functions, at that time including the gift of tongues.

 

Focusing on 1 Corinthians chapter 14 for a moment, the Apostle Paul writes, “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries,” 1 Corinthians 14:2. An advocate defending the necessity of tongues may employ this verse, which taken in isolation does seem to imply that the gift is not about communication with men, but directly with God. Arriving at this chapter one passes through chapter 12, which speaks about the distribution of gifts as the Holy Spirit wills. Then chapter 13 expresses the truth that all gifts are to be undergirded by the principle of love, and that without love any gift, tongues or otherwise, is meaningless and fruitless. Now in chapter 14 the apostle explains the function of tongues.

 

The fact that tongues is not a private correspondence with God is clear, since men in the church were also gifted with the ability of interpretation, 1 Corinthians 14:13, 27, 28. Tongues are indeed mysteries, but those mysteries were meant to be divulged to the church body as a coherent and intelligible language; if the man gifted with tongues could not interpret (or another could not) they were to remain silent. Apparently praying in a tongue was not uncommon in the Corinthian church, but Paul once more counseled that this was unwise, because if no one understood your public prayer, you had defeated the purpose of praying in the church to begin with, 1 Corinthians 14:16, 17. Again, the idea is present that the one praying is indeed speaking a known human language, but there are none present in the church to interpret, so it is unnecessary to do so. The tenor of the chapter testifies that not all Christians in the first century church possessed the gift of tongues, or writing about the parameters of its intended and fruitful usage would be moot. And again, like the gift of prophecy, it was functional and useful to edify the church until the canon of revelatory Scripture was complete. The point of either gift was to edify, or build up, the body of Christ: “Let all things be done for edification,” 1 Corinthians 14:26. The bizarre and manufactured way it is employed in today’s church (and outside of it) demonstrates a flagrant misuse of the gift, or an inordinate fixation upon it, much like the issue the Corinthians suffered in the first century.

 

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus tells His apostles that one of the signs that accompany those who believe is that they “will speak with new tongues,” Mark 16:17. Jesus told His audience that they would speak with new tongues, meaning a language additional to their current one. To what end? The purpose would be for the sake of evangelizing the lost in countries far from Israel. Twice in Acts (10:46, 19:6) new believers that receive the Holy Spirit speak in tongues as a sign that they are sealed. Upon two verses, some charismatic and Pentecostal churches use this evidence as proof that if one doesn’t speak in tongues they are not saved. But if one goes by this line of thinking, then the list Jesus manifests about believers ought to be comprehensive. That list includes: casting out demons, speaking in tongues, taking up serpents, drinking deadly things without harm, laying on hands to heal the sick. Since speaking in tongues is on this list (and not even listed first, at that) should a Christian not manifest ALL of these signs if they are truly saved? Or is it that in Jesus’ name, when the time and place called for it and God was glorified because of it, the Holy Spirit would fill a believer for the service of ministry on an occasion? The latter seems far more the case when one studies the whole of the New Testament.

 

Tongues we are told, would cease, 1 Corinthians 13:8. Why? As opposed to the complete revelation of the Bible, tongues, prophecies and knowledge will no longer be required in the church. Again, why? That which is complete has come, and that which is childish (immature or incomplete) will be done away, 1 Corinthians 13:11. Tongues were a sign, as in Cornelius’ case (see Acts chapter 10), that the message was imparted and received by faith. With the progressive revelation of holy writ complete, Christians now possessed all that was needed for, “life and godliness,” 2 Peter 1:3. One might argue that Paul refers merely to language in general and not the gift of tongues in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. But this chapter—famously known as the love chapter—is sandwiched between two chapters contending with spiritual gifts and their proper usage. In fact, 1 Corinthians 13:1 begins by describing the gift of tongues: that if we speak with the tongues of men or angels but have not love, it means nothing. It is useless noise.

 

Bearing 1 Corinthians chapter 13 in mind, I firmly hold to the dispensational notion that tongues has been withdrawn as a gift of the Holy Spirit, having no need of it in the light of Scripture’s completion. Of the danger of insisting on reviving tongues for the modern era, the commentary the Greek philosopher Celsus made concerning them is still apropos today. “Having brandished these threats [Christians] then go on to add incomprehensible, incoherent, and utterly obscure utterances, the meaning of which no intelligent person could discover: for they are meaningless and nonsensical, and give a chance for any fool or sorcerer to take the words in whatever sense he likes.” If Celsus, a bitter opponent of Christianity in the 2^nd century, can see the abuse of this gift, then so can others outside the pail of Christendom.

 

As mentioned before, tongues was not exclusive to the Christian church, and we know that Satan can also manifest signs and wonders meant to deceive, if possible, even the elect, Matthew 24:24, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, 9, 2 Corinthians 11:13, 14. The written word was completed so that we may have the assurance of God’s word that we are saved, not an experience, which can be emotional and subjective. God puts much confidence in His word, which, He says, abides forever, Matthew 24:35.

 

Psalm 119 extols God’s word in the highest language prose can summon. “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word,” Psalm 119:9. “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You,” Psalm 119:11. “My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word,” Psalm 119:25. “This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life,” Psalm 119:50. “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple,” Psalm 119:130.

 

The word of God is objective; experience can mislead. What was fruitful for the Christian church for a season, was no longer necessary. In part we see its abuse in the Corinthian church as men sought to employ tongues for prestige. The Pentecostal church has followed suit, exalting the gift so that it is requisite for eternal life. But the word of God contests and contradicts this sect, stating, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him,” John 3:36. Faith is the sole criterion for life, given as a free gift of God’s grace through the vicarious death of Jesus Christ our Lord. Tongues was a gift used to help build the infant church through revelation as the New Testament was being written, 1 Corinthians 14:5, 26-31. When the canon of Scripture was complete, the need for this gift (along with prophecy and knowledge) became unnecessary. Let us focus on God’s word, and not the pursuance of gifts that elevate not the hearer’s understanding, but our own ego. Let all that is done in the church be for the edification of others, and done in love, so that the world may know that we belong to Christ.