Another Look at Speaking in Tongues

During a committee meeting for one of our conventions some time ago, I heard a national figure say something that surprised—no, shocked—me. We were discussing speaking in tongues, and this man said, “It hasn’t happened to me yet, but I’m waiting and ready.”

The drift of the discussion was that the references to tongues in Acts 2 and those in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were not about the same gift: tongues in Acts were genuine languages, but tongues in the Corinthians passage were praise expressions of no particular language. Rather, they were mystical sounds. Which of the two gifts my friend was waiting for, he did not explain.

Recently, while studying through Corinthians in my home congregation Bible School class, we came to this same 1 Corinthians 12-14 text. As I prepared to teach, I investigated the matter again. You may be interested in the results.

One gift or two?

In context, it seems that apparently the church at Corinth had written to Paul with several questions, and the apostle was responding.[1]

Thayer’s Lexicon says that the apostles on Pentecost in Acts 2, inspired by the Holy Spirit, “began to speak with other than their native—i.e., in foreign—tongues” and to “speak with new tongues which the speaker has not learned previously.” Some have suggested the gift is of hearing, rather than of telling, but here and elsewhere, the focus is upon tongue rather than ear. The Greek word for “tongue” is glossae, usually translated tongue or language, and in 1 Corinthians 12 is described as a “spiritual gift.”

Just as a baby needs extra help during the first days and years of life, so the church needed extra help during its beginnings. In Corinthians, Paul lists several gifts of the Spirit given for the common good, among them speaking in different kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues.[2]

Thayer’s Lexicon, commenting on glossae as used in 1 Corinthians 14, refers to “the gift of men who, rapt in an ecstasy and no longer quite masters of their own reason and consciousness, pour forth their glowing spiritual emotions in strange utterances, rugged, dark, disconnected, quite unfitted to instruct or to influence the minds of others.”

The scholar William Barclay writes that this occurs when “a man became worked up to an ecstasy and a frenzy and in that state he poured out a quite uncontrollable torrent of sounds in no known language.”[3]

Others describe this as being a third work of grace and in known languages, one person suggesting he had spoken in Hindi, Hebrew, and Sanskrit.[4] Some today teach that tongues are evidence of baptism with the Holy Spirit. To this end, believers are encouraged to speak in tongues and supposedly even taught how to do so.

Speaking in tongues in ecstatic language is practiced within numerous Protestant groups today, among some Catholics, and is part of the history of Mormonism though seldom practiced by Latter Day Saints now.

In 1 Corinthians 14, the gift Paul emphasizes is not tongues, but prophecy. We tend to define that word as predicting the future, but Paul paints on a larger canvas. He means speaking or preaching, which strengthens, encourages, and comforts.[5] References to the future may be included, but the future is not the main theme.

In chapter 14, Paul writes that he wishes everyone could speak in tongues, but would rather they could prophesy. Today, as we are surrounded by cultural degradation and inundated with bad news, we in the church need those who can strengthen, encourage, and comfort. So, too, does the world.

Ecstasy or Meaning?

Paul goes on to say that unless the speaker connects with the listener, it’s only hot air. We could paraphrase Paul as saying, “If I don’t get the meaning of what the person is saying, it’s useless. I exhort you to try to excel in gifts that build up the church.”[6]

Consider Thayer’s explanation of tongues as “strange utterances, rugged, dark, disconnected, quite unfitted to instruct or to influence the minds of others,” or Barclay’s “uncontrollable torrent of sounds in no known language.” How do these statements fit with Paul’s teaching here and the rest of 1 Corinthians?

Paul also emphasizes the need for someone who can interpret. “If there is no interpreter,” he says, “the speaker should keep quiet.”[7]

Many today accept tongues as a sign of God’s special blessing to a believer, but Paul indicates that tongues are not a sign for believers. Tongues are for unbelievers.[8] He says this even though acknowledging that tongues may be spoken during congregational worship.[9]

Paul claims that in the church, he would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. Even so, Paul says, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.”[10]

Notice that Paul does not say, “I have spoken in tongues.” Or that “I’m ready and waiting to speak in tongues.” Rather, “I speak in tongues.” Paul uses the present tense. In other words, “I do it now! Often! And I thank God I can do so!” It seems reasonable to conclude that God permitted Paul to do what the apostles did in Acts 2, to speak so that hearers heard the gospel in their own language, enabling the audience to focus upon the message rather than the messenger.

A Useful Gift for Those Opening Days

Paul’s ministry took him across the Mediterranean, throughout the ancient world, and interacting with multiple cultures. Imagine every listener—no matter where he was— hearing Paul in his own language, removing a formidable barrier to his accepting Paul’s message.

Apply this explanation to every reference to “tongues” in this chapter. Will it fit? Keep in mind that the Greek word can also be translated as " language.[11] Would translating it into a language make a difference?

In 1 Corinthians 12, notice where Paul puts the gift—not first, but down at the end of his list, and even then, he would not permit its expression without an interpreter. Furthermore, Paul indicates that the time will come when tongues and other extraordinary gifts will no longer be needed, and only the permanent will remain.[12]

Centuries before, the all-wise God interfered with the language of those involved in a forbidden project and brought it to a halt.[13] For the early church, could God have reversed Babel for a time, creating miracles between the speaker’s mind and the speaker’s mouth?

Anyone who has struggled through the see-saw of preaching and teaching with interpretation—no matter how competent the interpreter—would say it is a miracle anyone gets anything out of this back and forth. How wonderful it would be if listeners could exclaim this is preaching that sounds like one of us? Personally, I can testify that my listeners overseas would have appreciated such an ability had I possessed it. Unfortunately, I didn’t, and don’t have it now.

In the end, it seems clear that the tongues Paul is discussing throughout 1 Corinthians 12-14 is the ability to speak in a language which the speaker has not learned previously as opposed to some emotionally charged rhetoric. May we all use our gifts and talents to strengthen and encourage the body of Christ.