Tag Archives: Speaking in Tongues

Speaking in Tongues – Part III

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7 Simple RulesIn the first two lessons of this series we examined the purpose of speaking in tongues and the limited duration of this spiritual gift.  Finally, we want to consider what rules for the use of this particular spiritual gift were put into place by God.  In this lesson, we will answer the question of what rules were to govern the use of the gift of tongue speaking.  Once again we will turn to Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians for an answer to our question about the rules for tongue speaking.

            Rule #1 – If one speaks in tongues and there is no one to interpret, he is only speaking to God (1 Cor. 14:2).  This is not to be desired in the worship assembly as the church is not edified by the tongue speaker (1 Cor. 14:3-5).  It does no benefit to others if I preach the greatest sermon in the world in Latin and no one can understand what has been said.

            Rule #2 – Tongues could be interpreted (1 Cor. 14:5).  This means that the tongue speaker does not speak some unknown gibberish, but a known language that could be interpreted by others.  Like a missionary to Africa who only can speak English, without one to interpret the message into Swahili, his words will be meaningless to the crowd.  This point is illustrated by Paul in the passage that follows (1 Cor. 14:6-12).  Notice here that Paul makes reference to the many languages of the world, which supports the fact that the tongues being discussed are known languages of the world.

            Rule #3 – Without an interpreter, speaking in tongues was useless (1 Cor. 14:13-19, 27).  Paul asks how anyone can say ‘Amen’ to our blessing if they cannot understand the words of our public prayer (1 Cor. 14:16).  Again, if I pray in Latin and no one can understand what is said, it does them no benefit and they have no opportunity to share in the blessing by being able to say ‘amen’ to the prayer.  We are told to sing and pray with understanding, so to do either without being understood by others does them no benefit.  Paul would rather speak 5 words that are understood than 10,000 words in a foreign tongue that are unknown to the listener (1 Cor.14:19).

            Rule #4 – All things in the worship service were to be done for the edification of the whole body (1 Cor. 14:26).  Once again, we have seen that speaking in a foreign tongue does nothing to edify the rest of the congregation who cannot understand what is said without an interpreter.  All things are to be ruled by the edification that is created for the hearers.

            Rule #5 – Tongue speakers were limited to 2 or 3 per service (1 Cor. 14:27).

            Rule #6 – Tongue speakers were to speak one at a time and not all at once (1 Cor. 14:27).  This comes back to the need for there to be an understanding of what has been said.  One cannot understand if everyone is speaking at the same time.

            Rule #7 – If there was no one to interpret the tongue, the speaker was to keep silent (1 Cor. 14:28).  This means that the tongue speaker had control over their gift.  They did not fall into some sort of a trance.   They were not forced to speak.  They fully had the option to keep silent if they were going to speak in Latin (or any other language that the listeners would not understand) and no one would be able to tell what had been spoken.

            In reviewing the purpose, duration, and rules for use with regards to the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues, we can draw a few conclusions.  First, the purpose of tongue speaking was to confirm the word.  Second, the duration of tongue speaking was limited until the completion of the New Testament writings.  Third, the rules for the use of tongues shows us that tongues were not unknown gibberish, but known languages of the world and there were at least 7 rules for the use of the spiritual gift of tongues.  This can be a difficult subject to understand, but by reviewing God’s holy word we can arrive at the truth of the matter.

Speaking in Tongues – Part II

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026_la_times       In lesson one of this series we examined the purpose of speaking in tongues.  It was observed that the apostles spoke in tongues on the day of Pentecost in order to confirm the word of God and to allow each man to hear the word in his native language so he could hear and understand.  Having covered the purpose for tongues let us now move on to the duration of spiritual gifts, most especially the gift of speaking in tongues.  In this lesson, we will answer the question of whether men still speak in tongues today.

      For the answer to this question, we turn back to Paul’s first epistle to the church in Corinth.  In dealing with the importance and longevity of love, Paul states that prophecies will fail, tongues will cease, and knowledge will vanish away (1 Cor. 13:8).  This is all in reference to miraculous gifts of the spirit that were given to the first century Christians to guide them.  These gifts guided them in part, for each prophecy or tongue spoken or gift of miraculous knowledge imparted to them a part of God’s will, but not the full and complete will of God.  These gifts of partial knowledge were to continue until that which is perfect or complete would come, and then they would be done away with (1 Cor. 13:9-10).  Thus, we must consider what is meant by that which is perfect/complete.

       There are some who claim that Jesus is that which is perfect, and that these gifts, which include speaking in tongues, will continue until the second coming of Christ.  How does that idea stand up to the context of the passage?  Paul goes on to give several illustrations to clarify his message of the temporary nature of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 13:11-12).  The first is the comparison of a child and an adult.  A child knows some things, but does not have the more complete knowledge of an adult.  It is difficult to see how this illustration relates to the coming of Christ.  The second illustration refers to a mirror, which in Paul’s day was a polished piece of metal that did not reflect much detail, and being able to see one’s appearance as if seeing face to face.  The third illustration has to do with having partial knowledge now, but when that which is perfect has come that knowledge will be complete.  Again these illustrations do not make sense if this is the second coming of Christ, because why would we need a more complete knowledge of God’s will after the end of time and the second coming of Jesus?  We need that perfect or complete knowledge of God’s will while we are still alive and able to repent.

       However, the illustrations given by Paul make perfect sense if that which is complete refers to the complete revelation of God’s will in the written New Testament.  These first century Christians did not have the complete written revelation of God, but needed prophecy, tongues, and miraculous knowledge in order to know God’s will in the interim period before the completion of the scriptures.  Once the completed word of God was available in its written form, those things that were done in part were no longer needed.  In Paul’s later writing to Timothy, he tells him that all scripture is given by God so that man may complete, thoroughly furnished for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  For man to be complete and thoroughly furnished there can be nothing that he still lacks.  Therefore, that which is perfect or complete, which will bring about the end of the partial miraculous gifts including tongue speaking, was the completed revelation of scripture, which we have in the New Testament.

       Because that which is perfect or complete has come in the writing of the New Testament scriptures, that which was done in part was done away with.  Therefore we can know for sure that miraculous prophecy, speaking in tongues, and miraculous knowledge have been done away with since the early part of the second century when the scriptures were completed.  In the third and final part of this series, we will consider God’s rules for the use of speaking in tongues.

Speaking in Tongues – Part 1

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thUHU0FK12     There is much confusion in the religious world over the issue of tongue speaking, and there are many questions one could ask about this subject.  Just what is tongue speaking?  How is it a miracle?  What was the purpose for speaking in tongues?  Do people still speak in tongues today?  Did God specify any rules for the use of tongue speaking?  Since this topic is broad and large, let us examine the issue of speaking in tongues in three lessons.  The first lesson will deal with the purpose of tongue speaking.

     We are introduced to tongue speaking in Acts 2.  On the day of Pentecost, when Peter opened the door to the kingdom of the church, we see that the apostles spoke in tongues.  Here the purpose of tongue speaking is two fold.  First, the purpose of this miracle was to confirm that the words spoken by Peter and the other apostles were the words of God.  The purpose of all miracles was to confirm the word (Mark 16:20).  The miracle performed by the apostles was that they spoke in foreign languages, which they had never studied.  The apostles were not learned men; they were simple folk from Galilee.  Indeed their speaking in tongues amazed and astonished the crowd (Acts 2:7, 12).  We might also note here that there were approximately 17 different nationalities present in Jerusalem (Acts 2:9-11), who would have had 11 different native languages.  Therefore, there were just enough apostles to speak these 11 languages.  In this example we can see the wisdom and foresight of God.

     Secondly, the purpose of speaking in tongues was that each was able to hear the word in their own native tongue.  In this way each person present was able to understand what the apostles were saying.  They were all speaking languages that were known to man, and not just speaking gibberish that no one could understand.  We will dive into this issue a bit more in lesson three of this series regarding God’s rules for tongue speaking.  It was important for men to hear and understand the word of God during this time period, because the New Testament had yet to be written.  Paul describes 9 various spiritual gifts in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12:8-10).  These gifts were given so that the early disciples would know the will of the Lord.  One of the problems in Corinth was that they had elevated the gift of tongue speaking above the other more important spiritual gifts, such as prophecy, and they were using their gift to show off in front of others.  This caused a lack of edification of the group, which is also part of the purpose of spiritual gifts so that all can hear and understand.

     We can see that the purpose of tongues was to confirm the words of the apostles and to aid men in their hearing and understanding of God’s will for man.  In the next lesson, we will examine the duration of tongue speaking and spiritual gifts to answer the question of whether men still speak in tongues today.

Baptized in the Spirit. . . A Closer Look

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     In Acts 2 we see the account of the birth of the church when the Holy Spirit fell on the apostles and they were filled with power (Acts 2:1-4).  Many have looked at this passage and are not sure, however, of whether the Spirit fell only on the apostles, or if He fell on the 120 mentioned previously (Acts 1:15).  So then, who did receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2?  Was it the 120 who were in the upper room when the replacement for Judas was chosen, or was it just the apostles?

     First let’s examine who was given the promise of the Holy Spirit by Jesus.  When Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5, 8) and to baptize them in it, to whom was He speaking?  In order to find the antecedent of them, we need to look back at Acts 1:2.  Here Luke tells us that the them in this context are the apostles that Jesus had chosen.  Therefore the promise of Jesus to send the baptism of the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles.  They were the ones to receive the promise and watch Jesus ascend into heaven (Acts 1:11).

     Second let’s examine the time frame with regards to the promise and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them.  After witnessing the ascension of Jesus into heaven, the apostles traveled a ‘Sabbath day’s journey’ (fixed at 2,000 cubits or roughly 1,000 yards) back to Jerusalem.  Thus they would have arrived back in Jerusalem on the same day in which Jesus ascended and met with the others mentioned in the upper room there (Acts 1:12-17).  Since we see that Jesus was with His apostles for 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3), and since we know that Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days, we can accurately calculate that it had been 43 days since the death of our Lord on the cross when this event with the 120 in the upper room takes place.  Since we also know that there are 50 days between the Passover (time of the crucifixion) and the day of Pentecost, we can see that this meeting took place one full week prior to the day of Pentecost.  The importance of the calculation of the days is that it shows that the narrative of the 120 in the upper room was not on the same day as Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles.

     Third let’s examine the event of the Holy Spirit falling upon them on the day of Pentecost.  In looking at Acts 2:1-4 the Bible tells us that they were all together in one place (it does not specify where that place is – upper room, temple, marketplace, etc.).  The Holy Spirit fell upon them and they began to speak in tongues.  Again we need to find the antecedent of them and they in this passage.  This is found by looking at the last verse of Acts 1.  Here we read that the lot fell upon Matthias and he was numbered with the other eleven apostles.  This is to whom the they at the beginning of Acts 2 is in reference.   They were the 12 apostles and it was upon them that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was given, fulfilling the promise made by Jesus in Acts 1:5, 8.

     Through the rest of the book of Acts we can see that the apostles had the ability to heal sickness, cast out demons, and transfer spiritual gifts by the laying on of their hands.  Once the apostles passed from this life, however, those spiritual gifts and that miraculous ability also passed away.  The working of miracles to confirm the word of God had accomplished the task given to them, mainly to confirm that the words spoken by the apostles and prophets were true and were from God (Mark 16:20).  We today have the written word, which we can read and examine to see that these things are so.