So you speak in tongues?
‘There are many different languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. ‘ 1 Corinthians 14:10
Over the years, one thing I struggled with is why the tongues we speak are not known human languages and mostly never get interpreted. After careful study, that which I feared to admit stung me deeply. This post is an outline of my findings, and I hope this helps clear some of the conflicts a lot of us have about this subject.
When many of us began to speak supposed tongues, it was a result of emotional and psychological pressure. We were in the presence of a lot of people, the ambiance was saturated with sweet melodies, they urged us to say whatever comes to mind, “it might sound like gibberish” they say, “doesn’t matter just pour it out”.
Some popular passages of scripture that are cited as evidence for praying in tongues are Romans 8:26, 1 Corinthians 14:4–17, Acts 2:1–6.
Please stay with me as we look through each of them.
‘In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express. ‘ Romans 8:26 GNB
Two simple reasons why this verse does not refer to praying in tongues:
- It is the spirit who does the groaning, not the believer
- Those groans cannot be expressed in words. The very nature of praying in tongues involves uttering words
1 Corinthians 14:1–17
To keep things neat, click here to through the passage
In this passage, the Apostle makes a comparison between the gift of tongues and the gift of prophecy, highlighting the superiority of one over the other.
In verse 18 he says something very interesting in verse 18;
‘I thank God that I speak in strange tongues much more than any of you. ‘ 1 Corinthians 14:18 GNB
Quick questions please;
- on what metric did Paul measure his declaration?
- was it by the longevity of his speaking in tongues?
- with the tongues we see today, how can we correctly say that one speaks more tongues than another?
Is interpretation necessary?
The Greek word translated as tongues in both Acts 2 (which was the first record of this gift) and 1 Corinthians 14 is Glossa which means language. It is where we get the English word glossary.
The dictionary meaning glossary is an alphabetical list of technical terms in some specialized field of knowledge; usually published as an appendix to a text on that field.
Technical terms that would not be ordinarily understood by people who are not fluent in that field.
See the connection?
One thing that is admonished in 1 Corinthians 14, verses 13 and 27 is the necessity of the interpretation of tongues. Note the Bible’s use of the word “must”. Those are very instructive verses about the use of tongues.
While struggling with the necessity of tongue interpretation, one explanation I gave myself was that there was a distinction between speaking in tongues and praying in tongues.
This was how I explained it to myself;
- Speaking in tongues is a downlink, God communicating a message to someone through us. In this case, there needed to be some interpretation, so that God’s message would be passed.
- On the other hand, praying in tongues is an uplink, were we communicate personal messages to God. These messages were encrypted, they are mysteries, that can not be understood by me or anyone else, and they were a means of personal edification. It also served as a defensive mechanism against demons, who might eavesdrop on my prayers.
Please allow me to systematically rebut this explanation I gave myself
First off, be it speaking in tongues or praying in tongues, it is supposed to be interpreted.
‘When you give thanks to God in spirit only, how can ordinary people taking part in the meeting say “Amen” to your prayer of thanksgiving? They have no way of knowing what you are saying. Even if your prayer of thanks to God is quite good, other people are not helped at all. ‘ 1 Corinthians 14:16–17 GNB
The point is that, in corporate worship, our prayers minister to people, of what good is it if we give a powerful prayer, and no one is helped?
Likewise, verse 13
‘The person who speaks in strange tongues, then, must pray for the gift to explain what is said. ‘ 1 Corinthians 14:13
In verse 21, Paul quotes Isaiah.
‘ If you won’t listen to me, then God will use foreigners speaking some strange-sounding language to teach you a lesson. ‘ Isaiah 28:11 GNB
Reading through Isaiah 28, you’ll realize that God was warning the Northern Kingdom of his impending judgement, but they didn’t listen, so He said he would speak to them through the lips of foreigners.
Point is, speaking in tongues is no help if the intended recipient does not understand.
Secondly, bothering about demons eavesdropping on my prayers is an insult to the sovereignty of God.
So what if the devil understands what I’m praying about? God will do what He wills to do, how we wills to do it, without permission or disruption.
When brethren gathered to pray for the release of Peter, who cared if the Devil heard their prayers?
Thirdly, about praying in tongues being a mysterious language for personal edification. This stems from;
‘Those who speak in strange tongues help only themselves, but those who proclaim God’s message help the whole church. ‘ 1 Corinthians 14:4 GNB
How can praying in tongues be for personal edification, when scripture says that the gifts are meant of the edification of the church?
‘The Spirit’s presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all. ‘ 1 Corinthians 12:7 GNB
How can praying in tongues be a mysterious language when scripture says that it is a sign to unbelievers?
‘So then, the gift of speaking in strange tongues is proof for unbelievers, not for believers, while the gift of proclaiming God’s message is proof for believers, not for unbelievers. ‘ 1 Corinthians 14:22 GNB
Would unbelievers be amazed by an esoteric language that sounds like jargon to them? In fact, what I see today is unbelievers being disgusted by our uttering of words that have no meaning to them.
‘When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because each one of them heard the believers speaking in his or her own language. In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, “These people who are talking like this are Galileans! ‘ Acts 2:6–7 GNB
From this verse, the reason unbelievers were amazed was because they heard a message in their local dialect, from people who were clearly not natives.
Will every believer speak in tongues?
There are different spiritual gifts, different ways of serving, different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service.
‘The Spirit gives one person the power to work miracles; to another, the gift of speaking God’s message; and to yet another, the ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not. To one person he gives the ability to speak in strange tongues, and to another he gives the ability to explain what is said. ‘ 1 Corinthians 12:10 GNB
If that doesn’t answer the question, here’s another passage
‘In the church God has put all in place: in the first place apostles, in the second place prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues. They are not all apostles or prophets or teachers. Not everyone has the power to work miracles or to heal diseases or to speak in strange tongues or to explain what is said. ‘ 1 Corinthians 12:28–30 GNB
- So, how can the gift of tongues be for personal edification if not everyone will possess it?
- Does not every believer need edification?
One might point to;
‘I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. ‘ 1 Corinthians 13:1 GNB
as a proof that there exists some esoteric language that no one understands.
Paul simply applies a basic figure of speech in his writing, a hyperbole.
He says, no matter how gifted you are, speaking the tongues of men or even going ahead to speak some language known only by angels, it is all empty without love
Finally, the issue of speaking in tongues is a subject believers can gracefully disagree upon. It not the basis for our justification. We can live in peace with one another while having varying views on this subject.
Thank you.
