Tongues
I was recently asked by a friend to
provide her my opinion regarding tongues. Though I am not a
theologian, I wanted my response to be based on what Scripture says
about the matter. So, I immediately began looking up the
Scriptures relating to the subject, as well as getting a little help
from Strong’s
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible to formulate a
response.
It was tempting at first to give a
verse-by-verse commentary on the scriptures, but I challenged myself to
just try summarizing my findings so that my response didn’t err on the
analytical side. If you wish to conduct your own study, I’ve
listed the key biblical references at the end of this commentary.
The most important concept to grasp
at the beginning of this study is that the word “tongue” literally
means “a language” or “dialect.” I particularly liked this
definition from Strong’s: “(3b) the supernatural gift of speaking in
another language without its having been learnt.”
Just before Jesus was taken from
this earth, He charged the apostles to be witnesses of Him “in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Scripture was still in the
process of being penned, so there weren’t any tracts or translations to
pass out on the streets. The cool thing is, Christ’s
expectations of them being witnesses to the uttermost parts of the
earth wasn’t dependent on themselves. He told them they would
receive power from the Holy Spirit (Acts: 2:8) to accomplish this task.
Though we generally first think of
speaking in tongues as a spiritual gift, the ability to speak in
tongues was originally given to those who were gathered together on
Pentecost (Acts 2:1-11). They were “filled with the Holy
Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance” (Acts 2:4).
The timing of this is very
significant, once again reminding us that God does nothing haphazardly
or without meaning. The Feast of Weeks, a harvest feast known
as Pentecost, occurred fifty days after the Feast of First Fruits,
which took place at about the time of Jesus’ resurrection.
Therefore, it’s very likely Jerusalem was crowded with Jews and
proselytes (Acts 2:5-11) who not only lived locally, but who had
traveled from other countries to observe this feast.
With Jesus’s death, burial and
resurrection occurring just 50 days prior, the world outside of
Jerusalem and its nearby towns was clueless as to the existence of
Jesus Christ, let alone the redemptive work He accomplished on the
cross. What perfect timing for thousands of Jews and
proselytes from throughout the world to hear about the “wonderful works
of God” (Acts. 2:11) in their own language and dialect. As
the they began returning to their homelands, they became the conduit
through which the gospel would travel beyond Jerusalem.
What we can conclude from the above
is that the initial and primary purpose of tongues was to spread the
gospel. Paul summarizes this in 1 Corinthians 14:22,
“…tongues are for a
sign, not to them that believe, but to them that
believe not.”
That being said, we do know that the
gift of tongues is listed along with other spiritual gifts given by the
Holy Spirit. When you study the Scriptures, it’s very clear
that the purpose of gifts was, and is, to edify, or build up, the body
of the church (Ephesians 4:11-12).
It’s easy to understand how most of
the gifts would work for the edification of those within the church,
but not as easy for oth. ers, such as the gift of tongues. My
best guess is that there would be those who would visit or come into
the folds of the church from other geographical areas. They
may have come out of curiosity, or to learn more about this new Jesus
movement. Their understanding of what was being taught would
be very limited due to the language barriers. This would be a
scenario in which tongues within the church would be beneficial for the
purpose of the gospel being understood. But, again, this
would not be edifying for the body of believers, only for the unsaved.
However, Paul gives a warning in 1
Corinthians 14 that if everyone within the church is speaking with
tongues (remember, this means an actual language), an unbeliever coming
in would see only confusion and think the entire group was mad (vs.
23). Yet, the usage of the gift of prophesy (preach/teach)
would reach the unbeliever (vs. 24).
There is another spiritual gift of
the Holy Spirit that comes into play here. That is the gift
of interpretation. In that same chapter, Paul instructs the
church that someone with the gift of interpretation must be present if
anyone speaks in an unknown tongue. Otherwise, the speaking
in tongues is like speaking into the air (vs. 9) and edifies only the
speaker (vs.4). That definitely defeats the entire purpose of
speaking in tongues unless there is an interpreter.
Paul addressed this in verse 19 by
saying he would rather speak five words to the church that could be
understood and teach others, than to speak 10,000 words that were
unintelligible. He even admitted in verse 6 that if he came
to their church speaking in tongues, his visit wouldn’t profit them at
all unless he utilized another edifying gift.
It’s interesting to note that we
primarily read about tongues during the early Church age since it was a
key tool in getting the gospel outside the boundaries of
Jerusalem. Yet, as the gospel spread throughout the world, we
read less and less about the usage of tongues. Why?
Because it became less and less necessary.
This brings us to a statement in the
Strong’s concordance pertaining to tongues. It reads:
“(4) There is no evidence of the
continuance of this gift after apostolic times nor indeed in the later
times of 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 (cf.
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.”
Based on the above, there is really
no biblical basis for the usage of tongues today. However, we
know that there are denominations and those with personal views who
continue the practice. I think the first question to ask is
“why?” As the quote above states, we have everything we need
today, in written form and in multitudes of languages, that provides a
clear presentation of the gospel and the doctrines we need to “grow in
the grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter
3:18). Also, while Paul clearly taught that we should desire
the best gifts, it is clear he considered tongues as one of the lesser
ones. So why would we want a gift that has little or no
value?
Secondly, is there an interpreter
present? Without an interpreter, the utterances are just
being spoken into the air without benefit or edification for anyone
other than the speaker.
One of the main controversies about
today’s usage of tongues within certain denominations is the importance
placed on the gift of tongues. It has become an unscriptural
indication that someone has been filled by the Holy Spirit.
Those in the church who don’t participate in the practice are often
perceived to be not as spiritual as those speaking in tongues.
This would result in another issue
Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul teaches that God
disperses gifts throughout the church body as it pleases Him.
And, there are many members that make up the body. If
everyone within a church focuses on speaking in tongues, it is as if
the entire church becomes an “eye” (vs. 17). Where’s the rest
of the body? Who’s being edified, and is there an
interpreter? If God purposely distributes the
gifts, it must mean that a church body needs a diversity of gifts to be
a balanced congregation.
Paul’s prayer for the Philippians
(1:9-11) includes a request that they approve things that are excellent.
I can think of no greater goal than to aspire to excellence in the
words, thoughts, actions, worship, attitudes and deeds we do in serving
the Lord. Our lives and service should always be focused on
glorifying Him, and never ourselves; and, holding onto the ritual of
tongues falls short of this goal.
References:
Acts 2:1-11; 1
Corinthians 12-14.
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