Concerning Speaking in Tongues
Through the years there has been a certain segment of the church that teaches that speaking in tongues is the only indicator that a person is endowed with the Holy Spirit. Many in the church have even taken it a step further and have taught that in order to be saved, one must not only confess Jesus as Lord and believe he rose from the dead but one must also have had spoken in tongues at some point in his or her Christian life, otherwise salvation is not really theirs. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Paul makes it clear in his writings to the Corinthians that tongues is simply a gift of the spirit and whether or not someone speaks in tongues has no direct effect on his or her salvation. Paul goes through great discussion to clear this issue up. It is therefore apparent that the early church put the same undue emphasis on tongues that many in the body of Christ do today. This is unfortunate for those Christians who have never spoken in tongues but are weak in the faith. These Christians walk around believing that they will be eternally doomed if they don’t speak in tongues. Consequently they try to force the issue by “tarrying for the Holy Ghost.” Tarrying for the Holy Ghost is a man-made ritual that some churches embrace in which saints who desire to speak in tongues are coached into speaking what they think is tongues by going through a sort of nonsensical babbling session that is supposed to ultimately result in tongues. There is no Biblical instruction that commands us to “tarry” for tongues. As a matter of fact, Paul clearly indicated that not all of us who are saved will speak in tongues; as attested to in the following passage of scripture:
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God as appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:27-30)
Paul asks “do all speak in tongues and do all interpret?” The obvious answer is “no.” All of us in the body of Christ will not speak in tongues and all of us will not interpret. If this is the case then the teaching that says that one must speak in tongues in order to be saved is erroneous, for if one is in the body of Christ, then one is already saved, and by Paul indicating that not all in the body of Christ will speak in tongues then an obvious deduction is that possessing the gift of speaking in tongues does not determine whether or not one is saved for apparently there are many saints who are saved who do not speak in tongues. Furthermore, when looking at Romans 10:8-10 (NIV) the scripture tells us “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming; That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” The word of God tells us that in order to be saved from going to hell all we need to do is confess Jesus as Lord and truly believe in our hearts in his resurrection. The scripture says nothing about speaking in tongues when it comes to receiving salvation.
Paul continues his explanation of tongues in chapter 13 of 1st Corinthians. He says that if someone in the body of Christ speaks in tongues but doesn’t show love to people then the fact that they speak in tongues means nothing. We see this in the following quote: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I posses to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV)).
Then Paul turns up the heat when he takes things further in chapter 14. He actually tells the Corinthian church that the gift of prophecy is a greater gift than the gift of speaking of tongues and if we, as Christians, are going to desire gifts, then the gift that we should desire the most is to be able to prophesy, not to be able to speak in tongues. If however, tongues is our way to salvation and the proof of our spirituality then wouldn’t it have been more fitting for Paul to have placed the spiritual gift of tongues as the greater? Certainly it would have. But we see that this is not the case. Paul explains that the reason it is better to prophesy (proclaiming the word of God by preaching or by God-ordained prophetic revelation that does not contradict the word of God that is already in place) than it is to speak in tongues is because prophecy helps to edify the church as a whole since people can understand a person when that person prophesies. However, it is different when a person speaks in tongues for unless there is an interpreter, a person who speaks in tongues only edifies him or herself. Paul emphatically makes his case in the following passage of scripture:
“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. Now brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” (1 Corinthians 14:1-12 NIV)
Paul also addresses those who have been endowed with the gift of not only speaking in tongues but with singing and praying in tongues as well. And he emphasizes again that those who speak in tongues should ask the Lord to additionally bestow upon them the gift of interpretation so that not only those who hear them as they speak, sing, or pray in a tongue might be edified by the interpretation that is to follow but also so that the one speaking in the tongue might be edified as well. Paul puts it this way, “For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 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. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.” (1 Corinthians 14:13-19).
Can Paul say it any plainer? There is simply no argument here. One does not have to speak in tongues in order to be saved. But now the question becomes: Is tongues the only evidence of being indwelled with God’s Holy Spirit? This question takes us to the historical account of the day of Pentecost found in Acts 2:1-4 which reads, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (NIV).
According to the scholars of the NIV Study Bible the day of Pentecost was the “50th day after the Sabbath of Passover week (Lev 23:15-16), thus the first day of the week. Pentecost is also called the Feast of Weeks (Dt 16:10), the Feast of Harvest (Ex 23: 16) and the day of firstfruits (Nu 28:26).”[1] The account says that they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. Those who were filled with the Holy Ghost were those who were earlier referred to in Acts 1:13-15 which lists Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. Many Christians believe that since these men were filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues that speaking in tongues is the only way to be filled with the Holy Ghost. To draw this conclusion is just as erroneous, in say, drawing the conclusion that since only men had this experience at Pentecost then the gift of tongues is only reserved for men and not women. Most theologians would find such a conclusion totally unfounded. The same lack of foundation can be found when using these passages in Acts to draw the conclusion that speaking in tongues is the sole evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. There is nothing to substantiate such a conclusion. As a matter of fact, there are plenty of scriptures that teach otherwise. We will look at a few below.
Romans 8:9-11 (NIV) teaches us the following; “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” Paul is teaching us here that all Christians have God’s Holy Spirit living within them.
Acts 1:1-8 (NIV) reads as such; “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them: It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus told his apostles that the power of the Holy Ghost would come upon them and that when this happened they would be witnesses of him all over the earth. He did not say anything about them speaking in tongues.
Ephesians 5:15-20 (NIV) admonishes us in the following way; “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here, the scriptures teach that speaking the word of God in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs can also be evidence that one is filled with the Spirit of God.
Acts 19:4-6 gives this account: “Paul said, ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.” They not only spoke in tongues when the Holy Spirit came upon them but they prophesied as well.
The last four passages of scripture strongly support the position that speaking in tongues is not the only evidence that one is indwelled with the Holy Spirit. Witnessing the good news of the gospel as well as singing songs of praises can also be evidence that one is filled. Prophesying is yet another evidence of being filled with God’s Holy Spirit. And finally, those of us who are Christians have the Spirit of God dwelling within us just by virtue of the fact that we are indeed Christians. So, when the final verdict is in; one does not have to speak in tongues to be saved and speaking in tongues is not the sole evidence that a person is filled with the Holy Ghost. Therefore, think on these things the next time this issue arises and make sure to read all of 1 Corinthians Chapters 12, 13, and 14 to get the best understanding of how tongues should operate in the church. God bless.
[1] Barker, Kenneth L. Zondervan NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan 1973, 1978, 1984, p. 1685
Paul makes it clear in his writings to the Corinthians that tongues is simply a gift of the spirit and whether or not someone speaks in tongues has no direct effect on his or her salvation. Paul goes through great discussion to clear this issue up. It is therefore apparent that the early church put the same undue emphasis on tongues that many in the body of Christ do today. This is unfortunate for those Christians who have never spoken in tongues but are weak in the faith. These Christians walk around believing that they will be eternally doomed if they don’t speak in tongues. Consequently they try to force the issue by “tarrying for the Holy Ghost.” Tarrying for the Holy Ghost is a man-made ritual that some churches embrace in which saints who desire to speak in tongues are coached into speaking what they think is tongues by going through a sort of nonsensical babbling session that is supposed to ultimately result in tongues. There is no Biblical instruction that commands us to “tarry” for tongues. As a matter of fact, Paul clearly indicated that not all of us who are saved will speak in tongues; as attested to in the following passage of scripture:
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God as appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:27-30)
Paul asks “do all speak in tongues and do all interpret?” The obvious answer is “no.” All of us in the body of Christ will not speak in tongues and all of us will not interpret. If this is the case then the teaching that says that one must speak in tongues in order to be saved is erroneous, for if one is in the body of Christ, then one is already saved, and by Paul indicating that not all in the body of Christ will speak in tongues then an obvious deduction is that possessing the gift of speaking in tongues does not determine whether or not one is saved for apparently there are many saints who are saved who do not speak in tongues. Furthermore, when looking at Romans 10:8-10 (NIV) the scripture tells us “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming; That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” The word of God tells us that in order to be saved from going to hell all we need to do is confess Jesus as Lord and truly believe in our hearts in his resurrection. The scripture says nothing about speaking in tongues when it comes to receiving salvation.
Paul continues his explanation of tongues in chapter 13 of 1st Corinthians. He says that if someone in the body of Christ speaks in tongues but doesn’t show love to people then the fact that they speak in tongues means nothing. We see this in the following quote: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I posses to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV)).
Then Paul turns up the heat when he takes things further in chapter 14. He actually tells the Corinthian church that the gift of prophecy is a greater gift than the gift of speaking of tongues and if we, as Christians, are going to desire gifts, then the gift that we should desire the most is to be able to prophesy, not to be able to speak in tongues. If however, tongues is our way to salvation and the proof of our spirituality then wouldn’t it have been more fitting for Paul to have placed the spiritual gift of tongues as the greater? Certainly it would have. But we see that this is not the case. Paul explains that the reason it is better to prophesy (proclaiming the word of God by preaching or by God-ordained prophetic revelation that does not contradict the word of God that is already in place) than it is to speak in tongues is because prophecy helps to edify the church as a whole since people can understand a person when that person prophesies. However, it is different when a person speaks in tongues for unless there is an interpreter, a person who speaks in tongues only edifies him or herself. Paul emphatically makes his case in the following passage of scripture:
“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. Now brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” (1 Corinthians 14:1-12 NIV)
Paul also addresses those who have been endowed with the gift of not only speaking in tongues but with singing and praying in tongues as well. And he emphasizes again that those who speak in tongues should ask the Lord to additionally bestow upon them the gift of interpretation so that not only those who hear them as they speak, sing, or pray in a tongue might be edified by the interpretation that is to follow but also so that the one speaking in the tongue might be edified as well. Paul puts it this way, “For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 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. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.” (1 Corinthians 14:13-19).
Can Paul say it any plainer? There is simply no argument here. One does not have to speak in tongues in order to be saved. But now the question becomes: Is tongues the only evidence of being indwelled with God’s Holy Spirit? This question takes us to the historical account of the day of Pentecost found in Acts 2:1-4 which reads, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (NIV).
According to the scholars of the NIV Study Bible the day of Pentecost was the “50th day after the Sabbath of Passover week (Lev 23:15-16), thus the first day of the week. Pentecost is also called the Feast of Weeks (Dt 16:10), the Feast of Harvest (Ex 23: 16) and the day of firstfruits (Nu 28:26).”[1] The account says that they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. Those who were filled with the Holy Ghost were those who were earlier referred to in Acts 1:13-15 which lists Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. Many Christians believe that since these men were filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues that speaking in tongues is the only way to be filled with the Holy Ghost. To draw this conclusion is just as erroneous, in say, drawing the conclusion that since only men had this experience at Pentecost then the gift of tongues is only reserved for men and not women. Most theologians would find such a conclusion totally unfounded. The same lack of foundation can be found when using these passages in Acts to draw the conclusion that speaking in tongues is the sole evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. There is nothing to substantiate such a conclusion. As a matter of fact, there are plenty of scriptures that teach otherwise. We will look at a few below.
Romans 8:9-11 (NIV) teaches us the following; “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” Paul is teaching us here that all Christians have God’s Holy Spirit living within them.
Acts 1:1-8 (NIV) reads as such; “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them: It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus told his apostles that the power of the Holy Ghost would come upon them and that when this happened they would be witnesses of him all over the earth. He did not say anything about them speaking in tongues.
Ephesians 5:15-20 (NIV) admonishes us in the following way; “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here, the scriptures teach that speaking the word of God in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs can also be evidence that one is filled with the Spirit of God.
Acts 19:4-6 gives this account: “Paul said, ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.” They not only spoke in tongues when the Holy Spirit came upon them but they prophesied as well.
The last four passages of scripture strongly support the position that speaking in tongues is not the only evidence that one is indwelled with the Holy Spirit. Witnessing the good news of the gospel as well as singing songs of praises can also be evidence that one is filled. Prophesying is yet another evidence of being filled with God’s Holy Spirit. And finally, those of us who are Christians have the Spirit of God dwelling within us just by virtue of the fact that we are indeed Christians. So, when the final verdict is in; one does not have to speak in tongues to be saved and speaking in tongues is not the sole evidence that a person is filled with the Holy Ghost. Therefore, think on these things the next time this issue arises and make sure to read all of 1 Corinthians Chapters 12, 13, and 14 to get the best understanding of how tongues should operate in the church. God bless.
[1] Barker, Kenneth L. Zondervan NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan 1973, 1978, 1984, p. 1685
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