Concerning Tongues

Concerning Tongues

Through the passage above, we are told that among the gifts of the Holy Spirit there is “the gift of speaking in divers kinds of tongues.” And this gift, like the other gifts, is given to each person through one Spirit. That it is given to each person means that not everyone receives it, but that it is given to each person as needed. Therefore, the Bible says that the body is one, but has many members (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). The various members of the body, that is, the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, cannot be said to be greater or more important than one another, but exist only for Jesus Christ. In other words, because the gifts of the Holy Spirit are distributed to each person as needed solely for the glory of Jesus, no person should ever be exalted or boast because of those gifts.

Some people say that one must speak in tongues as evidence of having received the Holy Spirit.  However, that is different from what is written in the Bible. This is because, as 1 Corinthians 12 says above, “the gift of speaking in divers kinds of tongues” is one among many gifts of the Holy Spirit given for the purpose of glorifying Jesus. Just as each part of the body is different, the Holy Spirit distributes gifts to each person as needed. Therefore, not everyone speaks in tongues simply because he or she has received the Holy Spirit.

Through 1 Corinthians 14, the Bible clearly explains the things that those who have received “the gift of tongues” must be careful about.

First, the one who speaks in a tongue does not speak unto men, but unto God (verse 2). Therefore, when speaking in tongues before people, the Bible says that it must be interpreted so that people can understand. If there is no one to interpret, it says not to speak in tongues, “for the purpose of edification.” As an illustration of this, it says, “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” (verse 8). It also says, “So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me” (verses 9-11). Therefore, it also says that speaking five words with understanding is better than speaking ten thousand words in a tongue (verse 19).

Speaking in tongues before others can easily sound foreign or unintelligible to them, and if people cannot understand, it brings no benefit. Therefore, the Bible teaches us to be careful about speaking in tongues “for the purpose of edification,” and when speaking in tongues, it must be interpreted so that glory may be given to Jesus.

Also, speaking in tongues can never become something for us to boast about! This is because 1 Corinthians 12 says that it is grace distributed by the Holy Spirit to each person according to the need, so that the gospel of Jesus may be testified.

If the Holy Spirit has enabled someone to speak in tongues, what should the content of those tongues be?

Acts 2 gives us the answer. On the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of truth, who came in the name of Jesus (John 14:26), came down like tongues of fire, the disciples of Jesus began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

“And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?...”

In this way, we are told that the disciples of Jesus, who had received the Holy Spirit, spoke the wonderful works of God in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Through the disciples of Jesus, the Holy Spirit caused the gospel of Jesus to be preached to people of many different languages who had come from every nation under heaven and were staying in Jerusalem at that time. Through this, we can know that the content of tongues must be the words of Jesus.

This is because what the Holy Spirit causes a person to speak never departs from the words of Jesus. When Jesus had already told the eleven disciples at the Last Supper about the Spirit of truth, who would come in the name of Jesus (John 14:26), He said,

John 16:13-15 “13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak...”

In other words, He taught us that the Spirit of truth is not One who speaks of Himself, but One who speaks only what He hears, that is, only the words of Jesus. Therefore, tongues spoken as the Holy Spirit gives utterance must be the words of Jesus, which lead us into truth.

John 3:31-34 “... 34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.”

*Conclusion:

Through the words written in the Bible above, we can see that tongues are one of the many gifts of the Holy Spirit. Since they are distributed to each person as needed for the preaching of the gospel of Jesus, we must not now think that someone has not received the Holy Spirit simply because he or she cannot speak in tongues.

And those who have received “the gift of tongues” are taught that when they speak in tongues before others, they must interpret what is being said. They are also taught not to speak all at once in confusion, but to do everything in an orderly manner, each in turn (1 Corinthians 14:27-28, 33).

Also, because tongues are words spoken as the Holy Spirit gives utterance, there can never be tongues that depart from the word of truth. In other words, the words of Jesus, which lead us into all truth, must be proclaimed through tongues.

We must know that not only can the Holy Spirit work within us, but false spirits can also work. We must cast away the thought, “Surely a false spirit would not work in me” (1 Kings 22:24). Each of us must discern the spirits (1 John 4:1) so that no false spirit may work in us, and so that only the Spirit of truth, who came in the name of Jesus (John 14:26), may work fully within us.