I’ve heard about people speaking in tongues, but I’ve never actually witnessed it myself. Some say it’s a spiritual gift, while others believe it was only for the early Church.
I’m trying to understand what the Bible really says about it. Is this something we should expect to see today? Is there a passage that helps explain it a little more clearly?
In MY OPINION, (note: my OPINION,!) it tongues were for the spread of the Good News, mainly for the early believers, to aid them when they could not communicate with another because of a language barrier.
Modernly, it seems to be used for cutting loose, trying to create a party atmosphere, or for getting attention. However, I have heard of people professing that it has occurred in times when an unknown language was desparately needed for teaching the Word and even in the case if emergency
The gift of tongues is explained as a gift of the Spirit. The Spirit chooses as He wills so not everyone is given the gift of tongues. It’s not my gift, but it was a gift given to my grandfather. Other than him, I haven’t witnessed it but I’ve heard of situations where this gift was used.
A church friend had a party and one of her guests brought a man who was visiting them. He was an atheist and didn’t speak English well. During the course of the evening, another guest spoke to him in tongues and it was the tongue of his native language. Everyone was surprised by it, the man who spoke and the man who heard. There was no translation, but the man who heard was convicted. We’ve all been given a spiritual gift and I think the Holy Spirit can give us a gift in a situation. Not necessarily a gift that we operate in, but a gift for that specific time and place. I think that’s what happened at this party.
I appreciate how carefully people are answering this, especially the distinction between what Scripture actually describes and what we may or may not have personally witnessed.
When I read the New Testament, I see tongues clearly presented as a real gift of the Spirit, but also as one that’s never portrayed as universal or required. In Acts, tongues function very publicly as intelligible languages that point outward, serving understanding and witness. In 1 Corinthians, Paul acknowledges tongues but places strong emphasis on order, interpretation, and edification, which suggests the gift itself was never meant to be chaotic or self-centered.
That’s why I tend to hold this topic with some humility. The Bible doesn’t say tongues must cease after the early church, but it also doesn’t say they will be common, constant, or a marker of spiritual maturity. The Spirit distributes gifts as He wills, and Scripture consistently elevates love, clarity, and building others up over any particular manifestation.
So I think it’s fair to say that tongues can exist today without assuming every claim is authentic, and without dismissing sincere experiences outright. Scripture seems less interested in whether a specific gift appears and more concerned with whether Christ is honored and the church is strengthened when it does.
I have had the gift of tongues since my conversion before I even knew what it was. For me it has never been used in a public setting or translated but I use it daily and often to pray when I have nothing else my human mind can think of. Some of my greatest spiritual awakenings happen during this time. Sometimes I break down crying or feel supernatural joy, sometimes nothing happens. It’s the only gift I have that is pain free.
Very curious about this as well. I’ve never seen someone speak in tongues either. I also have wondered if we, in a sense, see what we want to see when it comes to this topic. By this, I mean that, for someone like me who was raised in several different churches but all ones that definitely did not lean at all charismatic or pentecostal, I never saw anyone speaking in tongues because there was no talk of that, no teaching on it, no door open for that. But I have noticed that people who were raised in churches where speaking in tongues happened and that gift was talked about are much more likely to say they have the gift of speaking in tongues themselves.
So, this makes me wonder: is it a matter of exposure? Maybe those of us who weren’t exposed much to this gift don’t even know how to identify it or see it or potentially use it?
I’m not really sure, but it’s something I’ve pondered.
I have a long time friend who would say the same as you. I have nothing in my experience to understand but I believe him because I know him to be a Christian. And isn’t that the way it is. We have the word as our final authority, but to our limited thinking it’s not always clear to us. Jesus spoke in parables presenting heavenly things in an earthly context. He used what the people knew to explain that which they didn’t know. Ours is a supernatural faith and explaining supernatural experiences can only be truly understood by those who have shared in it.
I once had an experience of heaven sent joy and told a friend about that experience. She understood my words but she didn’t really get the full picture. Having never experienced this joy, she could only go on what she knew.
Years later and out of the blue, she experienced this same joy in a parking lot. Now she knew what I meant. Now she knew it wasn’t some human experience but God given. Now she understood my experience. To those of us who have never spoken in tongues, it can be like that. We look to see what the word says, and don’t come away with a clear answer. We have only what we’ve witnessed and sometimes our own prejudices to guide us.
I believe there is a gift of tongues and its given by the Spirit to those the Spirit chooses.
I too have operated in this gift since I was first saved over 30 years ago. Like you, I use it in my prayer life, mostly when I know what I want to say but have difficulty expressing myself or when there is something heavy on my heart that mere human words cannot convey. Most times I use it in praising the Father.
I have also seen it operate in a church setting in the manner I believe it should, according to the scriptures. A person will speak in tongues and after a brief moment another will interpret, usually a person out of the congregation, not necessarily the pastor. The interpretation is for the edification of the church and once it is given that’s it. There is no fanfare, no wild or inappropriate demonstrative wailing, no chaos. And it doesn’t happen often. It’s rare actually.
Maybe you will find this interesting then. I spent my adult years hating God and seeking death. I particularly hated tongues which was both irritating and fake to me. My redemption was anything but normal. Instead of going to jail for DUI two police walked me into a church and made me sit down. (majorly drunk) when I tried to leave I got to the aisle and the pastor pointed at me and loudly rebuked satan. I was knocked down like something had pushed me. As I laid on the floor I began speaking in tongues as the color was restored to my skin. I was delivered from alcoholism instantly without symptons and changed forever. This was all caught on camera which was mailed to me. I watched it over and over again. I would never wish anyone to go through what I have been through but for a 1 second close encounter with the living God it was so worth it.
I do pray you all will find the joy of unleashing your spirit’s mouth to convey to the father the deepest most sincere prayer you can have. According to Paul you should want the gifts 1 cor 12:31
Thank you for sharing part of your story!
All gifts have their place and are beneficial to the church, but Paul seems to elevate the gift of prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14:1-5. Prophecy edifies and encourages the church whereas tongues has a more personal benefit. This passage also makes it clear that the gift of tongues is not a gift for everyone.
@JennyLynne
You asked: “Does anyone today actually speak in tongues for real?”
This is one saint’s perspective based in one saint’s personal experience.
Nothing more.
To me, if you speak at all, you speak in a language; so you all speak in a tongue.
“Tongue” is just an archaic synonym for “language” (tongues means languages).
If someone speaks in “tongues” they are bilingual, they speak in more than one language. Grammatically, that is about all there is to it. Philosophically, psychologically, and/or spiritually, there may be much more substance, I just don’t know.
From where I sit, for some unknown reason, our early translators who translated the Bible into English chose to use what was then a contemporary English word “tongue” but has since become an archaic English word to represent the original Greek word in its various forms. For some other unknown reason, modern translators have felt the need to follow their lead, and have retained the old word in contemporary translations of the text, thus leading modern readers to believe “tongues” is something special, something other than ordinary “language”, and something the original authors never intended. If our translators had simply used the word "language” in their translation, we would not be having this discussion today. If you read the passages where the word “tongues” is employed, and you mentally substitute the word “language” in its place, you do no damage to the original meaning of the text. Generally, the author is speaking of established human languages, languages that some people understand but others may not. But, where the language spoken about is not an earthly language, the text clearly says so. (i.e. 1 Corinthians 13:1). Test this for yourself.
The practice which has recently come to be called “glossolalia” is loosely defined as audible repeated phonemes which are heard only as incoherent, ecstatic, unintelligible babbling. This practice shows up long before Christianity; long before the first century, in places which claim no Holy Spirit, but note, there is not one mention of this practice in the old testament, or in ancient or modern Judaism. It pops-up sporadically across history, cultures and religions, including ancient Greek mystery cults, pagan temple worship, shamanism, some indigenous rituals, and is practiced in other ecstatic religious expressions around the world. The term “glossolalia” is not old, but was originally coined by some German theologians in the 1830s to define an unusual practice of a small group of “Irvingite’s” in England. They built the term from two Greek words, glōssa ‘language, + lalia ‘to speak or talk, and it was used to distinguish this practice from “xenoglossia” (foreign language) which is a supernatural phenomenon where an individual speaks, writes, or understands an existing foreign language they never learned or were ever exposed to.
The fairly modern Christian teaching about and practice of “glossolalia”, as contrasted to xenoglossia, came into being in the early 1900s. Spontaneous speaking incoherently was suggested to be an outpouring work of The Holy Spirit, and gained widespread popularity after the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles CA. (1906), and has continued as a doctrinal distinctive in certain expressions of Christianity.
I personally do not consider its practice, or its abstinence, to be any kind of a litmus test, validating the genuineness of one’s faith. Neither do I recognize those who do practice it, or those who don’t, as being either more or less mature due to their theological beliefs on this phenomenon. I have strong spiritual bonds with brothers and sisters who see this differently than me, and it affects us both very little. To me, if glossolalia is a gift, it cannot be taught, and should be received in humility. If it is a gift, it is surely not a gift for all, and it is not a reward given to elevate some above the others. It is simply an expression among many. As to the source of that expression in other saints, I am unqualified to speak.
KP
When talking about this subject, I sometimes find it best to share some personal history.
While I wasn’t born into a Pentecostal family, my family became members of the local Foursquare church when I was 8 years old, and that was my church home throughout the rest of my childhood and my teen years. So I was, largely, raised in a Pentecostal church.
However my early experience with Pentecostalism isn’t, necessarily, what most would assume. Our first pastor never really spent much time talking about speaking in tongues, and to the best of my recollection I cannot recall it ever happening during the service. However, after our congregations merged with a neighboring one one town over and we stopped meeting at the local YMCA and had our own church building, our old pastor retired and we got a new pastor fresh from seminary. Very nice guy, but he was also more enthusiastic about speaking in tongues (again, going by my own personal memory here).
At the age of 12 an evangelist visited our church for an evening service and the topic of focus was “baptism with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues”. Many of the older kids went forward to receive this, and so did I. The evangelist laid hands on me, and like others I was “slain in the Spirit” and sounds started bubbling up from my mouth. I believed I had been “baptized with the Holy Spirit” and that I had “spoken in tongues”.
I didn’t “speak in tongues” for a few years after that, but as I became more involved with my high school youth group at the age of 16 I became more eager about my faith. Our youth group went on a mission to inner city San Francisco that summer, focused largely on ministering to the poor and homeless in the Tenderloin District of the city. This was the summer of 1997 just for the sake of putting a time stamp on things. However we spent a week in Oregon doing missions training with an organization called Youth With a Mission or YWaM for short. I had an experience during that week of training that I might share at another time; but the focus here is that for me it was a pivotal moment in my spiritual and religious life. After this trip, I began incorporating “speaking in tongues” into my private devotional life.
The first cracks, and rift, between me and my church started very tiny. During Highschool Sunday School the youth pastor was occupied with something else, so we had a guest teacher–I didn’t know him very well as he was a new member (several months). And our text we were reading from was 1 Corinthians 12-14. When we got to 1 Corinthians 14:20-22 our guest teacher offered the commentary and teaching that one of the purposes of tongues was a sign that we were baptized with the Holy Spirit. I raised my hand, and said, “But it says that tongues are not a sign for believers, but a sign for unbelievers”, and I was more-or-less ignored. This alarmed me, so I went to my youth pastor, who simply confirmed what our guest teacher said, and handed me an official pamphlet of “What We Believe” which spelled out the teaching of “Baptism with the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues”.
As I was young, even though I was uncomfortable with this, I concluded that the adults must have known what they were talking about and so I tried to put my concern out of my mind.
As I went from adolescence into my early adult years, my growing study of Scripture, exposure to other denominations and theological traditions, study of Church history, and being challenged in what I believe led to a slow breakdown of my fidelity to the Foursquare church, and overtime I became less and less convinced of Pentecostal and Charismatic interpretations, teaching, and practices. It was a slow, slow road that eventually resulted in my becoming a Lutheran in my mid-late-20’s.
So where do I stand now on the subject of speaking in tongues? I’m not a Cessationist, that is, I don’t believe in the total cessation of certain charisms–spiritual gifts. But I do not subscribe to a Pentecostal/Charismaticist view of the gifts either. What this means, in practice, is that I don’t deny that one could, today, have the gift of glossolalia, speaking in tongues. But I do not believe that the practice of glossalalia that I experienced, or which is often taught today, matches the biblical and historic reality. Fundamentally the tongues which we see spoken of in Scripture are true, real languages. It is not a special “prayer language” or an angelic “language” (St. Paul’s mention of “languages of … angels” in 1 Corinthians 13 is to be taken as a hypothetical which serves the point he is making about the supremacy of love; not as a teaching that angels have their own languages the same way human beings do); it is real language. This is why we see, explicitly, that the cosmopolitan group of Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem on Pentecost heard their languages being spoken. A supernatural work of God in which someone never exposed to French suddenly speaks fluent French would, indeed, be glossolalia.
So how do I understand my own personal experience, and he experience of modern ecstatic speech? I believe that it is best understood as a psychological phenomenon. We actually can see examples of the same sort of phenomenon in non-Christian contexts; in diverse cultures which practice shamanistic and animistic practices, there are examples of ecstatic speech; in Kundalini Yoga from the Hindu tradition we also see ecstatic speech. What is happening is not supernatural, but psychological.
I realize this might offend a lot of people. But that is also why I wanted to share my own personal experiences and history. I’m not speaking as an outsider, but as someone who was an insider–who “spoke in tongues” for literally years. So I don’t say this lightly nor dismissively.
Good Day to you all.
@Raina Nowhere in scripture does it say that the disciples spoke in tongues to spread the gospel. Nowhere. What the scriptures do say is that once a person believed in the Lord Jesus that they spoke in tongues, magnifying God; prophesying; speaking of the wonderful works of God. The scripture tells us that the gift of tongues is given by the Spirit of God just as it is of the other gifts of the Spirit.
One one hand we have those that the gift of tongues is having the ability given by the Spirit of God to speak a language that is known to that man but is known to mankind.
On the other hand there are those that believe that the gift of the Spirit is the ability given by the Spirit of God to speak a heavenly language known by no man without the gift of interpretation.
Lol. Now when I view having the ability given by the Holy Spirit to speak a language known by man without learning that language I have to ask why.
Why would God give you the ability to speak of his goodness and of his wonderful works, glorifying him in another man known language when you do not know that language, or as Paul puts it without having understanding, of that language. Would it be greater glorification with us being able to articulate his goodness without understanding in an unknown language or in a known language where we understand what is being said. Mind you, it is the one speaking only, that is being edified.
I would say that when we make no attempt to articulate what we mean, we fall short quite often and since the Spirit of God can say what we truly mean, that it is far better to rely on him. Meaning from the heart let your spirit speak without your tongue getting in the way with limited words of what your understanding. Why do we think that God listens to our words in order to understand what we would like to say. Hahaha! He doesn’t need your man made words to give him understanding about anything. It is our spirit that he listens to. Spiritual minded people will pray to interpret so that we can in the spirit and with understanding.
1 Corinthians 12:10 Paul mentions different “kinds of tongues”.
If tongues mean languages, then kinds of tongues mean kinds of languages.
1 Corinthians 13:1 Paul speaks of 2 kinds of tongues. Tongues of men and tongues of angels. At different times throughout the chapter he speaks of both kinds. I believe that the gift of tongues isbhaving the given ability to speak with tongues of men and with tongues of angels.
Paul says:
1.That the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal (1 Cor 12:7). This speaks of every believer.
2. .When speaking in tongues we are speaking to God and not to man.
3. That no man knows what is being said without the gift of interpretation.
4. Only the one speaking in tongues is edified unless the gift of interpretation of tongues demonstrated.
5. My understanding is unfruitful ( 1 Corthinans 14:14).
The disciples asked Jesus why he spoke to the crowd in parables and he said it was not given to them to know the mysteries of the heaven but that it was given to the disciples and us alike to know (Matthew 13:10).
Likewise, Mark 4:11-12
11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
@KPuff I must point out that Paul states their to be two KINDS of tongues, or languages. Not two languages. We are all aware of there being multiple languages of man. Yet, he mentions another kind of tongues, of angels. One must wonder why he bothered to mention tongues of angels at all if the statement was exclusive to angels or spiritual being. But oops! We are born of the Spirit. Yet, we can agree that we will have a glorified body that is not hindered by space and time, as was Jesus’s body, that is to say, indestructible and eternal but when the scripture says that the gifts of the Spirit will be done away with because there will be no need for them, we cant see that there is a knowing in the spirit realm, an understanding, one KIND of language. A heavenly language.
The thing is, if tongues merely meant speaking in an earthly language you are saying that when looking at 1Corinthians 14, the Holy Spirit gave the ability to do what some could already do. Even today we have those who interpret one language to another. It was done in the biblical times as well. A mother from one nation and a father from another has children who speaks both languages. The Holy Spirit brings super to our natural.
Another thing is that no where in the scriptures does it show the disciples speaking in tongues when spreading the gospel to other nations. Though it does show those new converts speaking in tongues and what was said was understood. For example at Cornelius house, Peter gave them the gospel in his language and they understood and believed. Why would God have them magnify him in another language. Is magnifying God in Spanish gonna edified me more in Spanish than in English? No. But in a heavenly language we are edified.
What about in 1 Corinthians 14:26-30 Paul says something this, when they all come together, let two at the most three speak in tongues…and if there be no interpreter let them be quiet before the church and speak quietly to God and to himself. Lol
Question. Why would they in that church, sing together, share doctrine, with the ability to understand each other but then start to speak Portuguese where they can no longer understand each other in order tonmagnify God, though each have a language and together could continue to flow together. Interpretation is revealed by the Holy Spirit. Anyone can learn a man made language and interpret it.
Another thing. Acts 2 there were those there of every nation. Some said they heard the disciples speak in their native language. Yet, there were others that thought they were drunk because they did not understand them. It must have been that what they heard was not a known language otherwise they too wouldve understood being that they were from one of those nations. Here, the gift of interpretation was evident in that what was said was revealed to those men.
I think it’s pretty clear.
“If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.” 1 Corinthians 14:27-28
If it were required, then would not all be commanded to speak in tongues?
“If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 1 Corinthians 14:23
How would this benefit the Kingdom? How would this win souls? Then you have @Bestill
“Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound, the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?” Act 2:5-8
Peter
I also want to thank all those who shared their personal stories here. This is how we grow closer as a family, yes, even those crazy uncles, and learn from one another. God bless all for participating.
Peter
I appreciate your position, and I understand it. You offer some very common responses to the position I put forth. I have heard them from my friends before. Like I said, some of my closest friends hold to doctrines similar to yours, and it affects our fellowship very little.
Most of the objections you raise I have already addressed in my previous post. Especially those in Paragraphs 1 & 2. You may want to revisit it, or I could restate them for you if you wish.
The other objections I could address individually if you wish, but they may be better, and more fully answered under one single idea – Unity.
We remember the incident recorded in Genesis 11:1-9 where the earth was divided by the confusing of their languages; a divine act that intentionally caused disunity, “supernatural disunity”. The story culminates:
Therefore its name is called Babel (literally, “confusion”), because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:9)
After the resurrection of Jesus, when the spiritual church was being brought into the light, the Holy Spirit of God did the very opposite, He issued a divine act that intentionally caused unity, (eliminated confusion) among believers. It reads like this:
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 languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)
This divine expression of unity became the hallmark manifestation of the Holy Spirit to the new and expanding ecclesia of God; God’s royal signet seal of “supernatural unity”. Unity was accomplished because the language barrier was eliminated,confusion was stemmed.
I mentioned this phenomena called “xenoglossia” (a supernatural ability to speak in a foreign language with no training or previous exposure) in my previous post. That particular area of the world had lived in tribal, national, and empire unrest for thousands of years. Also, human mobility was increasing throughout the Mediterranean arena, and it was common to have multiple nations represented in any local society, each speaking their native language. The inability to communicate was a persistent problem and one that generated distrust and, social segregation. This is the arena where God’s new Body of Christ was being unfolded. Unlike God demonstrating his displeasure as in Genesis 11, God was signifying His divine approval on the work He Himself had accomplished; a unified corporate body, made up of individuals who in trust and unity represent Messiah Jesus, who are individually bound together being indwelt (sealed) with the only, solitary, unifying, Holy Spirit, and who live testimonial lives in corporate unified obedience to God the Father. The miraculous elimination of any language barrier, which strenghtened trust, and eliminated confusion was an visible manifestation of this invisible internal reality. The phenomenon was awesome, supernatural, and bewildering (mind-blowing) to those who were “outside” observers.
I understand your position and practice regarding “glossolalia”, but it is difficult for me to understand how what you are describing has any positive effect on the unifying work of God in the body of Christ. Unfortunately, even the spiritual gift of “xenoglossia” quickly disintegrated into something esoteric, elitist, and disunifying when employed for vain-glory, and not for the intended spiritual purpose. This practice was corrected by Paul, who penned his correction to Holy writ for all time (1 Corinthians 14). I have witnessed how the glossolalia you espouse has actually had the opposite effect of unifying the body, but I am not condemning the whole because of the errors of some of the parts. I’m simply trying to explain what The Bible says and offer an explanation as to why it says it. You may disagree, I understand; it’s understandable. We all expect God to continue correcting us, through the leaders he provides for our “equipping”, for His work of His ministry, and for the building-up of the body of Christ…
…till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head–Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16)
Peace and unity
KP
Wow! Thank you for sharing your story and experience. I can imagine that being able to see on video how God changed your life is a huge encouragement to your faith.
@here
As I have mentioned elsewhere on the forums and some of you may have read, my step-father was an ordained Reverend. The ‘grab you by the face, screaming, jumping, talking in tongues, violently annoint you with oil and holy water against your will, satan-get-out’ kind of Reverend.
He was a kind man with a heart of gold on one side of his coin… and a raving luniaic on the other side. I never knew which side it would be at any given time. Would it be ‘So, how was school?’ or ‘Sha-kahnn-nah-nahh-hah! SAAy-Tin c0meee-OUtta thys Boiiie’? Needless to say, growing up with that, I’m skeptical about anyone speaking in tongues.
Couple all of that with being exposed to over 30 different religions, sects and even cults from my ten years of growing up in states custody (foster homes, group homes, etc.), plus my own stubborn pride, that is why it took me most of my life to get back to God.
Sorry, I just felt compelled to share that. I have been fighting the impulse to reply to this thread and God finally won. Perhaps the Lord wishes you all to know the anxiety this (speaking in tongues) caused me at such a young age for some reason. I know not why.
I feel your pain brother.
First 30 of 50 occurrences of G1100 γλῶσσα
Mark 7:33 tongue;
Mark 7:35 tongue
Mark 16:17 tongues;
Luke 1:64 tongue
Luke 16:24 tongue;
Acts 2:3 tongues
Acts 2:4 tongues,
Acts 2:11 tongues
Acts 2:26 tongue
Acts 10:46 tongues,
Acts 19:6 with tongues,
Romans 3:13 tongues
Romans 14:11 tongue
1 Corinthians 12:10 of tongues;
1 Corinthians 12:10 of tongues:
1 Corinthians 12:28 of tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:30 with tongues?
1 Corinthians 13:1 with the tongues
1 Corinthians 13:8 there are tongues,
1 Corinthians 14:2 in an unknown tongue
1 Corinthians 14:4 in an unknown tongue
1 Corinthians 14:5 with tongues,
1 Corinthians 14:5 with tongues,
1 Corinthians 14:6 with tongues,
1 Corinthians 14:9 the tongue
1 Corinthians 14:13 in an unknown tongue
1 Corinthians 14:14 in an unknown tongue,
1 Corinthians 14:18 with tongues
1 Corinthians 14:19 an unknown tongue.
1 Corinthians 14:22 tongues
(3)
(a) “a language,” coupled with phule, “a tribe,” laos, “a people,” ethnos, “a nation,” seven times in the Apocalypse, Revelation 5:9; Revelation 7:9; Revelation 10:11; Revelation 11:9; Revelation 13:7; Revelation 14:6; Revelation 17:15;
(b) “the supernatural gift of speaking in another language without its having been learnt;” in Acts 2:4-Acts 2:13 the circumstances are recorded from the viewpoint of the hearers; to those in whose language the utterances were made it appeared as a supernatural phenomenon; to others, the stammering of drunkards; what was uttered was not addressed primarily to the audience but consisted in recounting “the mighty works of God;” cp. Acts 2:46; in 1 Cor., chapters 12 and 14, the use of the gift of “tongues” is mentioned as exercised in the gatherings of local churches; 1 Corinthians 12:10 speaks of the gift in general terms, and couples with it that of “the interpretation of tongues;” chapt. 14 gives instruction concerning the use of the gift, the paramount object being the edification of the church; unless the “tongue” was interpreted the speaker would speak “not unto men, but unto God,” 1 Corinthians 14:2; he would edify himself alone, 1 Corinthians 14:4, unless he interpreted, 1 Corinthians 14:5, in which case his interpretation would be of the same value as the superior gift of prophesying, as he would edify the church, 1 Corinthians 14:4-6; he must pray that he may interpret, 1 Corinthians 14:13; if there were no interpreter, he must keep silence, 1 Corinthians 14:28, for all things were to be done “unto edifying,” 1 Corinthians 14:26. “If I come … speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you,” says the Apostle (expressing the great object in all oral ministry), “unless I speak to you either by way of revelation, or of knowledge, or of prophesying, or of teaching?” (1 Corinthians 14:6). “Tongues” were for a sign, not to believers, but to unbelievers, 1 Corinthians 14:22, and especially to unbelieving Jews (See 1 Corinthians 14:21): cp. the passages in the Acts.
There is no evidence of the continuance of this gift after apostolic times nor indeed in the later times of the Apostles themselves; this provides confirmation of the fulfillment in this way of 1 Corinthians 13:8, that this gift would cease in the churches, just as would “prophecies” and “knowledge” in the sense of knowledge received by immediate supernatural power (cp. 1 Corinthians 14:6). The completion of the Holy Scriptures has provided the churches with all that is necessary for individual and collective guidance, instruction, and edification.
[ A-2,Noun,G1258, dialektos ]
“language” (Eng., “dialect”), is rendered “tongue” in the AV of Acts 1:19; Acts 2:6, Acts 2:8; Acts 21:40; Acts 22:2; Acts 26:14. See LANGUAGE.
[ B-1,Adjective,G2804, heteroglossos ]
is rendered “strange tongues” in 1 Corinthians 14:21, RV (heteros, “another of a different sort,” See ANOTHER, and A, No. 1), AV, “other tongues.”
[ C-1,Adverb,G1447, hebraisti ]
(or ebraisti, Westcott and Hort) denotes
(a) “in Hebrew,” Revelation 9:11, RV (AV, “in the Hebrew tongue”); so Revelation 16:16;
(b) in the Aramaic vernacular of Palestine, John 5:2, AV, “in the Hebrew tongue” (RV, “in Hebrew”); in John 19:13, John 19:17, AV, “in the Hebrew” (RV, “in Hebrew”); in John 19:20, AV and RV, “in Hebrew;” in John 20:16, RV only, “in Hebrew (Rabboni).”
Note: Cp. Hellenisti, “in Greek,” John 19:20, RV; Acts 21:37, “Greek.” See also Rhomaisti, under LATIN.
Vines.
J.