What Is Speaking in Tongues?

“For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God.” – 1 Corinthians 14:2

There’s a lot of confusion and disagreement about the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. So, just what is this gift?

 

As always, the best place to get answers about pressing spiritual questions is the Bible. In Acts 2, the Bible presents the gift of tongues as it happened on the Day of Pentacost, just 10 days after Jesus ascended into heaven. In this instance, the Christians were “filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (v. 4). And when a crowd gathered to hear them, each person heard the Christians speaking in their own language (v.6).

 

The gift of tongues is mentioned two times later in the book of Acts, and again in 1 Corinthians 12-14, but the only clear description we’re given is in Acts 2. That’s why many conservative Christians today are skeptical of Christians who claim to have the gift of tongues but are not speaking a language that anyone understands.

 

Based on what we find in the Bible, I believe that the gift of tongues that Paul teaches about in 1 Corinthians is NOT the same gift of tongues that’s described in Acts 2. In 1 Corinthians 14:2, Paul writes: “For the one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people, but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.” Unlike the tongues of Acts 2, which were heard as understandable human languages, the tongues mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14 seem to be languages that NO human can understand.

 

So, is the spiritual gift of tongues still active in the church today? In light of the biblical record and the writings of church leaders in the first few centuries of Christianity, it appears that the gift of tongues wasn’t active in the church once the apostles died. And it remained inactive for the most part until the early part of the 20th Century, when the practice of tongues played a key role in the birth of the Pentacostal movement.

 

What do we do about an issue where many Christians disagree so sharply? Pastor Chuck Swindoll gives us 2 beautiful insights about the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues:

 

Insight #1: “Any authentic gift of the Spirit must conform to the Bible’s prescription for its use. Without dispute, every gift of the Spirit … was given for building up the church, not puffing up the one with the gift (14:12). The edification of the church is to result in unity and love, not disunity and conflict (Eph. 4:11-16).” If a Christian’s exercise of his/her spiritual gift leads to disunity and conflict, that’s a red flag. Either it’s a counterfeit gift, or it’s a real spiritual gift being used in an unloving way. So, when we exercise our spiritual gifts, let’s make sure to do it in love to unify and build up Christ’s Church.

 

Insight #2: “We don’t all need to AGREE on the issue of spiritual gifts…. Some believe speaking in tongues today is a valuable prayer language. Others think it passed away in the first century. Nevertheless, Christians can still enjoy unity and fellowship over the essentials of the faith without agreeing on all the details of disputed issues.” The Restoration Movement of the early 1800s had this motto: “In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, and in all things love.” In other words, Christians can disagree on nonessentials like speaking in tongues – and still remain completely unified in our faith and our mission to lead people to Christ.

 

Always remember that as Christians, we are united in our most important beliefs: the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. And when we disagree on less vital doctrines, we must show each other grace. Above all, we must continue to love one another with God’s agape love.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services at 9am: at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville, or at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.