For over forty years I was a hardcore Cessationist, but now believe that God can do whatever He wants in any dispensation. The Holy Spirit has not run out of gifts nor was stripped of some by God after the first century or when the Bible was completed. That said, there are manifestations of tongues that are not a biblical expression of the spiritual gift.
This is a quick overview of passages where the word tongues is used in both the Old and New Testaments clearly shows that the term means languages and most of the time it is a human language like German, French, Thai, etc. I have left out the passages that clearly mean the physical tongue or general talking. The list would be far too great to cover otherwise, but they would give further weight to the language argument. The Old Testament term and passages follow below. All Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Strong’s concordance.
* 3956 lashown (law-shone'); or lashon (law-shone'); also (in plural) feminine leshonah (lesh-o-naw'); from 3960; the tongue (of man or animals), used literally (as the instrument of licking, eating, or speech), and figuratively (speech, an ingot, a fork of flame, a cove of water):
KJV-- + babbler, bay, + evil speaker, language, talker, tongue, wedge.
Genesis 10:20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
10:31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. (KJV)
Deuteronomy 28:49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; (KJV)
Psalms 55:9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city. (KJV)
Ezra 4:7 And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. (KJV)
Isaiah 28:9-16
9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. (KJV)
I found it interesting that a reference to a tongue or language is mentioned in the same discussion as a prophecy of Christ as the chief corner stone. Indeed, the gift of tongues came with the coming of the Holy Spirit after the cornerstone was laid. I also thought of Paul who may well have had a speech impediment that made him stutter. While this was a prophecy of coming captivity for the children of Israel, a secondary reference to Pentecost and Paul may be included. Indeed, a figurative meaning of lashown is a fork of flame as the Spirit appeared in Acts 2. I would not be dogmatic about that, but it is food for thought.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. (KJV)
66:18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. (KJV)
I do not believe that any would argue that any of the above uses of the word mean anything else but a language. It is only when we get to the New Testament and to the spiritual gift of tongues that we have great division. Yet, the Greek word is clear. Of the following eighteen passages where the term is used only eight raise a question. One uses the term as a description and the other nine passages use the term as meaning a human language. The ones that are self-explanatory I will not comment on.
1100 glossa (gloce-sah');of uncertain affinity; the tongue; by implication, a language (specially, one naturally unacquired): KJV-- tongue.
Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; (KJV)
2980 laleo (lal-eh'-o);
a prolonged form of an otherwise obsolete verb; to talk, i.e. utter words:
KJV-- preach, say, speak (after), talk, tell, utter. Compare 3004.
If the primary definition of the word speak is preach we must consider to whom we are preaching. Matt 28:19 tells us to teach all nations. Those nations would all have a tongue or language with some having many dialects. If I were going to teach or preach to that nation I would need to be able to do it in a tongue other than my native one. In that case, I would be speaking a new tongue. If I spoke that tongue back home it would be unknown and unintelligible and useless to my home church, but perfectly understandable to the folks that I am ministering to on the mission field.
John 5:2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. (KJV)
Acts 1:19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. (KJV)
Acts 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. (KJV)
The Spirit appeared as a dove at Christ's baptism. Here He appears as a flaming tongue. Since Christ is the Prince of Peace and His mission was one of reconciliation a dove is a perfect manifestation. Here the Holy Spirit is not only baptizing them into Christ with the predicted fire, but giving them the gift of tongues in order to preach the Gospel in various languages therefore to appear as a flaming tongue is superb symbolism!
Acts 2:4-21
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (KJV)
Note the Audience here!!! There are sixteen languages named and God may have only named the primary languages and not all the dialects. Americans all speak English, but even in the parts below the Mason-Dixon there are several dialects. There were 120 disciples. Did they each speak a different language or groups of them the same language? We are not told, but we know that no one present had difficulty understanding the Gospel.
Therefore we see that the very first appearance of the gift of tongues was a divine ability to speak a foreign language in order to communicate the Gospel. Legal precedence has been set here and we can interpret the rest of the scripture references to this gift and its purpose by this passage.
Acts 10:44-46
44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, (KJV)
Jewish believers heard them speak in tongues and magnify God. The audience understood the tongues without an interpreter. It is quite reasonable to believe from the first use of the gift of tongues that they heard these Gentile believers speak in perfect Hebrew. They had all kinds of things to be astonished about. God was saving Gentiles and giving them the Holy Ghost and they spoke in tongues. If I was in the middle of the Australian outback and watched an Aboriginal believer lead another Aborigine to Christ and the lad started speaking English with a Southern drawl I would be astonished!! That God saved him and filled him with the Holy Ghost would not shock me, but if he started speaking my language I would be startled to say the least.
Whatever the case, there was a legitimate reason to use tongues here and there was nothing mystical nor egotistical about it.
Acts 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. (KJV)
Here again the word for spake is the one we saw in Mark and it's primary message was to preach. They preached in tongues and prophesied. Who did they preach to and in what language we are not told. Indeed, a good testimony is an awesome sermon of praise. We only know that Paul ran into twelve disciples of John. We know that from other scriptures that Paul usually had some folks with him when he traveled and they have may have been present. Were these twelve disciples alone or were there other people around? We are not told. All we know that when they received the Spirit at their salvation they spoke in tongues and prophesied in a way that the audience understood.
Acts 21:40 And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying, (KJV)
Acts 22:2 (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) KJV)
Acts 26:14-15
14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.(KJV)
God understands Hebrew and all other languages so we really do not need a "prayer language" to speak to Him. One place I went I heard a pastor tell a lady that God was going to change her prayer language. Why? Was God bored with it or did He find another one He liked better? What would be the purpose of a prayer language and why would it need to be changed? From what we have seen in scripture this would not be consistent with the foundational or fundamental purpose of the gift of tongues.
I have heard many “tongues” spoken that no one understood. In fact, a couple of people sounded like some kind of insect rather than human or angelic. One classmate said his grandmother would sit in her rocker and repeat, “Sha La Lilly, Sha La Lilly.” Others also the same phrases every time with a new interpretation. I got to where I could almost quote the lady. She did add a few syllables some time later. My pastor, whom I greatly admire, said to pay attention to the interpretation more than the actual tongues. Would the Holy Spirit just give a message in spite of the vain repetition? Would that not then be condoning her error and in a sense be a false witness? I don’t think He would do that. I believe He would call her out and then give a message, if He had one for the Body. In fact, and this will cause some ire, would He lead a woman to do this in the service, if she is to be silent in the church as so says the Law? I would venture that women speaking in tongues outweigh the men by a great percentage.
1 Corinthians 12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: (KJV)
It appears in this verse that some were given the ability converse in many different types of languages fluently whereas others were only given the ability to interpret. This would be understandable if some were called to be missionaries and would encounter people with many different languages. They would need to initiate conversation as well as understand and would exercise the gift daily. Someone who lived in a port city or where tourists or ambassadors were prevalent might need the gift of kinds of tongues. Someone in the church of Podunk or Boondock who never traveled, but might have an occasional wayfarer pass through would only need to be able to interpret when the occasion would arise. Later, I will tell you of such an incidence during the Welsh revival.
Romans 12:4-9
4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. (KJV)
1 Corinthians 12:7-12
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. (KJV)
27-31
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. (KJV)
Note that all the gifts that would edify the church come first in the list and tongues appear last in the Corinthians list and do not appear at all in the Romans list. The book of Romans was written after Corinthians. This has led some scholars to believe that the gift passed or was passing away by this time and therefore was not mentioned. Another reason might be that they did not abuse the gift like the Corinthians and Paul was not led to speak about it here. A possibility would be that God had Paul leave it out to emphasize that it was not as important as the other gifts to provide instruction for those who would seek to abuse it.
I would contend that since Rome was the capitol of the Empire all that would come there would normally speak the language or would bring an interpreter with them. Therefore the need for the gift would be minimal or none. This would be much like our day where English is a second language in many countries and those who come and trade or as ambassadors already speak the language or have interpreters.
Now if I were to walk up and speak perfect Russian to Mr. Putin, I would certainly have his attention. We will later see that it is a sign for unbelievers. I believe if Mr. Putin did not speak English or my testimony or preaching would be more effective in Russian then I would speak or he would hear in Russian.
In Romans, Paul ends his discussion of the gifts with the exhortation to love. In the last verses of Corinthians 12 he categorically states that not everyone has the same gift and shows that tongues are not a sign of salvation or receiving the Holy Ghost or second blessing or whatever because not every one had the gift in that day. It is not required as much now. There are too many mighty men of God who did not possess that gift to make it mandatory for an ordination as some Pentecostals require. The Holy Spirit decides who gets what gift, not man. No man can make the Holy Spirit give a specific gift to any other man.
Corinth is a baby, carnal church craving showy gifts and gifts that exalt the person and not Christ. I am afraid that we have much of Corinth’s childishness today. Paul exhorts them to seek the best gifts and then leads them in chapter 13, the Love Chapter.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (KJV)
I believe that Paul is not saying that he speaks with the tongues of angels or anybody else will. I think he is using emphatic hyperbole to get his point across to these carnal Christians. He is saying that even if he could speak every language of man and the language of angels without love it is just pure cacophony!! Absolutely nothing but noise and of no use to man or God unless love is the primary motive and he is not talking self-love.
No use of any of the gifts or even outward deeds profits a person unless it is birthed and bathed in love. Go back to Chapter 3 to see what your rewards will be for gifts or deeds not done in the Spirit or love.
1 Corinthians 13:8-13
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. (KJV)
Prophecy and knowledge will come to a halt when that which is perfect is come. Some feel that is the canon of Scripture and others the Second Coming. Tongues shall cease gradually or wither away as the Greek indicates. Tongues do not cease due to a climatic event. I believe they will not flourish where they are not needed.
He makes reference to growing in maturity and putting away childish things. There were many things that the baby church needed to mark its birth and announce its birth to the world, but there would come a time when those things might not be necessary or used in the same way. The church would become mature. Its presence and authority would be known and the way it did business for God would change. Indeed, in most of the references in Acts when people were filled with the Holy Ghost, they spoke the Word of God with boldness even in front of a hostile audience.
1 Corinthians 14:1-40
1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
5 I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
6 Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
9 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.
10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.
11 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.
12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
17 For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
18 I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:
19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.
20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.
21 In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.
22 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?
37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
39 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
40 Let all things be done decently and in order. (KJV)
In chapter 14, Paul again leads off when the exhortation to literally persecute charity as the Greek indicates. It is to be a prolonged pursuit of love. The way a persecutor pursues his victim is how we are to pursue love. Wow!!!! Just think of the things that we would not have time to do if we really pursued love like a persecutor!!! We would have so many less sins to confess and fewer regrets for things we did not do!
Paul says it is good to desire gifts but the main one is to prophesy, not tongues.
4395 propheteuo (prof-ate-yoo'-o); from 4396; to foretell events, divine, speak under
inspiration, exercise the prophetic office: KJV-- prophesy.
p??f?´t?? prophe¯te¯s prof-ay'-tace From a compound of G4253 and G5346; a foreteller (“prophet”); by analogy an inspired speaker; by extension a poet: - prophet.
This is one way in which I think this gift of the church has changed. I believe that with the canon of Scripture we no longer have a large need for foretelling. God has given us the course of human events from the beginning to the end in Scripture. I can lay out for you the end of this world, as we know it. We have the outline and many sub-points and illustrations. We try too hard to know things He has chosen not to tell us and choose not to know or do the things He has told us. We have recently seen a bevy of prophets get many things wrong. We also see that a poet is also considered a prophet so the word does not always mean someone was like Daniel or Ezekiel. Mary and Deborah both sang songs, which would make them prophetesses in the poetic sense, but not as Hosea or Zechariah. Indeed, Philip’s daughters were likely poetesses or singers. In our recent history some of the best Christian poets/lyricists have been women.
However, we need to definitely speak or forth tell the Scriptures in the fullness of the Spirit to awaken the Church and bring the lost to Christ!
1 Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (KJV)
3051 logion (log'-ee-on); neuter of 3052; an utterance (of God): KJV-- oracle.
We have too many scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and lawyers today. We need more Holy Ghost filled men who say what the Word says and deliver thus saith the Lord messages instead of Reader's Digest editorials or crystal ball type prophecies. Leonard Ravenhill is the kind of prophet we need, not wild eyed fanatics or Aquafresh smiling Armani dressed magician hucksters, but balanced men unafraid of the world's insanity and unaffected by it's Zirconium allures. Well, enough prophesying and back to teaching.;-)
In verse two "unknown tongue" is still the word glossa we have seen means language throughout the NT. Unknown does not mean that no one knows it or that it is a heavenly language, but by the context it is unknown within a given assembly of people. The word understandeth comes from the root to hear. They heard the tongue speaker with their ears, but it made no sense to them. Our children often hear us without hearing us. We knocked on his or her eardrums but no one was home to answer the knock. I have walked by people speaking Spanish and a couple speaking Japanese not knowing what they were talking about.
We always edify ourselves when we use our gifts and so many are not being edified because they think they have no gift hence they do not use what the have been given to edify them. Concerning tongues, the speaker may be speaking good theology or a blessing, but no one benefits from it and it is a wasted activity except to call attention to the speaker and let others see how "holy" they are. Some may have been doing it with good motives, but without knowledge. They were edifying themselves in that the more they exercised their gift the stronger they would become in their faith or boldness. However, the gifts are for the church or the unbeliever’s benefit and not for the sole use of the individual.
Therefore Paul moves to the better gift of prophesying which edifies the person with the gift in the same way by exercise, but also edifies the whole congregation. In fact, Paul says that he wished all would speak in tongues because it would take away the showiness and glamour of it, end the abuse of the gift and the exaltation of it above prophesying/preaching, which is the greater benefit to the church than tongues.
Obviously, these folks either did not interpret or could not interpret and Paul says that is unprofitable. If I sound a trumpet call to charge or retreat and the sound is not recognizable the battle is lost because the troops will not know what to do. The sound must be distinct and understandable for it to achieve its purpose. If I have a clear trumpet sound, but I have not taught the soldiers what each call means it is also just a useless noise that distracts instead of directs. Paul says that speaking in a language without an interpretation is the same type of distraction without purpose.
One of Paul's favorite sayings is "Brethren, I would not have you ignorant." He tells us in verses 10-17 that praying only in the spirit without understanding is not the goal. We are spiritual beings with a brain. They are to work in tandem and not independently of each other. These folks were coming dangerously close to becoming Gnostics, who believed that spirit was greater than the flesh to the point of denying that the present material world had any value at all and they developed all kinds of heresies. We will be given new bodies. Angels are spirits only. We cannot deny who we are. I believe that we are made body, soul, and spirit. Our spirit is dead until quickened at salvation. We are to sanctify our bodies. Our bodies are not intrinsically evil. It is what we do with them. Therefore our brain can be spiritual and we need to use it.
If we are to be one body, we cannot have barbarian cells. Each cell communicates with the head and other parts of the body to meet all the needs of the body. A barbarian cell that is not communicating properly does not help the body and may even hurt the body like a cancer cell. If we want spiritual gifts we should seek the ones that make the body stronger and more useful to Christ not only the ones that are showy or just beneficial to us.
Paul is not advocating a "prayer language" here. He is responding to what is happening in the church. There were obviously folks praying in the service in a different language that no one knew and it appears that while they could speak it they could not interpret it and there were no interpreters present. Paul is saying that such a thing is unfruitful since no one but God knows what was said. He says be spiritual, but for your own good and the congregation let your understanding be involved. How can people or you say Amen (so be it) when you don't know what you said? You may have said it well, but who knows it?
Seeing that Paul was the primary missionary to the Gentiles it was fitting that he spoke more languages than anyone did and he could be truly thankful for that, but in the body of believers he had no need for it. Five words everyone understood were far better than ten thousand no one knew.
In verses 20-25, he blows away tongue speaking just for the sake of tongue speaking. It is a sign for unbelievers and not for believers. The prophecy he quoted, Isa 28:11, was a prophecy of judgment. God would use folks that spoke another language as instruments of His judgment because His people would not listen to Him. Christ came to His people and they rejected Him. Tongues first happened on Pentecost and what were they used for? It was a prelude to pronounce judgment that led to repentance, which lead to salvation.
Acts 2:36-37
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (KJV)
1 Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: (KJV)
Tongues used properly led unbelievers to salvation, but most people today think tongue speakers are crazy. Why? The whole emphasis and purpose of the use today is wrong and Paul predicted that misuse of the gift would lead to unbelievers thinking the Christians were mad (vs. 23). That is not the only practice that makes them think that as we have great deal of New Age nonsense in the Body as well.
Paul then said that it was still better for the unbelievers if all prophesied even though prophecy was not primarily for the lost. They would still be convicted and recognize that God was in the Church.
In verse 27 we see the reverse of today's church. Today, few want to get involved and minister. In Corinth, everyone wanted to get on the stage every service with his new song, doctrine, revelation, tongue, etc. Both are extremes and unbalanced.
No more than two or three prophets or tongue speakers could be heard at one service. Hmm, we would not like to have three sermons per service. If there were a fourth, the prophet judged/discerned and the tongue gifted interpreted. However, if no one could interpret no one spoke in tongues.
Verse 32,33 speaks again of the tandem working of spirit and body. The Holy Spirit does not override the will of men and is not the author of confusion. Some folks today go into trances or have something come over them and they say things they say they have no knowledge or control over. These verses show that what they are doing is not of God. Holy dog barking, chicken clucking, etc are not of God. "The spirit of the prophets are subject to the prophets" and God is not doing sideshow acts or causing people to do things that unbelievers would think is insane.
4151 pneuma (pnyoo'-mah);from 4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit: KJV-- ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare 5590.
5293 hupotasso (hoop-ot-as'-so); from 5259 and 5021; to subordinate; reflexively, to obey: KJV-- be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto.
In other words, God will inspire and lead, but he does not do mind assassinations or anesthetics. He works with us and through us, but we know what we are doing. A pastor friend tells a story about the professor who told his class that for the past seventeen years he prayed about how long to let his students preach and each year God said seventeen minutes. Therefore if any student said he knew that he only had seventeen minutes but the Holy Spirit was leading him to go longer he was wrong. I totally agree. If any one says that God just takes over and they do things they have no control over and no knowledge of verse 32 says they are wrong. Even in a setting of the scriptural use of tongues, when the fourth one stood up or the fourth prophet stood up, he was in the flesh and not in the Spirit.
Verses 34 and 35 are for another study. ;-)
Verses 36-37 lay it pretty well on the line. Paul clearly states that whatever he writes are commandments of the Lord. When Paul made his own comments, he said so (I Cor 7:12) but other than that it is the Word of God and binding for all Christians not just those who agree or feel like it. Want to argue? "But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant." Not exactly written like the Christians we have today who want to sugar coat everything. Paul said to speak the truth in love and sometimes it is a tough love thing. The best way to love them is to make the truth as plain as possible without pulling punches. He was speaking to some pretty carnal and self-aggrandized Christians that really did need to be knocked down a peg. They even had the nerve to question Paul's apostleship when he was the one who led them to Christ. These folks needed a verbal spanking.
Paul again emphasizes the gift of prophecy/preaching. He does not forbid tongues. There was still a valid use and need for them, but he wants to pull the rug out from the glory hounds and limit its use to maintain decency and order.
Revelation 5:9-11
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (KJV)
11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. (KJV)
Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, (KJV)
Revelation 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (KJV)
The origin of languages
Genesis 11:1-9
1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (KJV)
Bottom line
As we see from Genesis, Man tried to build a stairway to Heaven. At the time there was only one language. Communication was easy. Men got together and were going to ascend to Heaven and the throne of God, so they thought. Isaiah 14 tells you from whom they got that idea. They wanted a one-world religion to unify them. God said no to that concept and divided them by the curse of tongues/languages.
When the fullness of the time was come for God to build His church, He sent His Son. (Gal 4) That Son ascended into Heaven and made a path for us to get to Heaven via the Cross. When the Holy Spirit came, He came with the gift of tongues, which I believe was at least a partial reversal of the curse of Babel and a means to unify all people into His body.
I once taught that when the canon of Scripture was completed and the Gospel was taken to the various tongues of man, the need for the supernatural gift was finished. We know that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Rom 11:29). I believe that the Church still has access to all gifts of God in one form or another. I believe that the gift of tongues may seem dormant because it is not needed as often as it once was, but it is still needed. The authority of the Church and Scripture are established. The ability to preach the Gospel in the native tongue of all nations is more than prevalent. The Jews have received their sign. Prophecy/Preaching is effective for converting the unbeliever though that is not its primary purpose.
Could there ever be a need for this gift today? There could be instances when it would be needed. If I came upon a man that did not speak English and God wanted me to witness to him I would either been given the ability to speak his language or he would understand me either in his tongue or mine.
There is a story told about the Welsh Revival in the early years of the last century. A traveling Frenchman walked into a church because of the beautiful music. He was just passing through the area and spoke nothing but French. He sat down in the pew just as a young woman got up to sing a song that clearly conveyed the Gospel. At the end of the song the man began to weep and speak. They found a person that could speak French and he related that he had cried out to God to be saved because the woman had sung that song in his native dialect and he responded to the Gospel.
The church was astounded because the woman had grown up in that town and spoke nothing but her native Welsh. This would be a correct use of the gift of tongues. The fact that the person that knew French was not used and a person which no natural ability to speak the language was used to reach this man shows God's power. I have heard of a woman who was not taught English, but held a conversation in English with a visitor. He was amazed at how well she spoke, but more amazed to hear she did not know the language at all.
Paul's exhortation to not forbid the use of tongues would be because the chances of a lost person being in every service at that time would be normal since the Church was still growing and establishing itself. If there are no lost people who speak the language of the speaker is in the Church, there is no need for the gift. However, he said that they would cease or fade away of themselves. The word cease means
3973 pauo (pow'-o); a primary verb ("pause"); to stop (transitively or intransitively), i.e. restrain, quit, desist, come to an end: KJV-- cease, leave, refrain.
It is a different word than is used for prophecy and knowledge. The word for those gifts means to be rendered useless. Indeed, when Christ returns preaching will be useless and the need for knowledge will be over for we will know everything. We will speak the language of Heaven as well. Our languages will vanish.
Then what about the phenomena we see today?
1. Some of it is real.
2. Some of it is merely emotional.
3. Some of it is a taught response and the gifts are given, not taught.
4. Some of it is a vain repetition.
5. Some of it is demonic.
6. Some of it is disorderly or indecent.
7. Some of it lacks interpretation and thus used in an unbiblical manner.
8. Many churches that claim to have the gift hold to some very heretical doctrines.
9. If it is taught as a sign of salvation or special holiness it is unbiblical as Paul said the gift is not given to everyone. Indeed, many mighty men of God did not speak in tongues when saved or during their ministry.
10. If it is anything, but a human language unknown to the speaker, it is unbiblical.
11. If the person loses control of himself it is unbiblical.
The devil likes to counterfeit. He is establishing his one-world church for the end of the age. To do this, he must have something to unify the various religions and especially the various sects of Christianity. He needs a way to restore his tower of Babel. Duplicating the gift of tongues would be within his modus operandi. Indeed, he knows every human language. An ancient language professor went to a tongue speaking church out of curiosity. A person spoke in tongues and another translated with some sort of God's blessing. The professor jumped up and said that the person who spoke in tongues had spoken Sumerian cuss words. Thus, not being ignorant of the enemy's devices more of that may be going on than we can imagine.
Some sects of the tongues movement of the last and current century appear to be a way of him doing that. In churches that deny the inspiration of Scripture, the virgin birth of Christ, etc, etc, you will find people who speak in tongues. Would the Spirit give any gift to those kinds of churches? Hardly is an understatement. If the person is in one of those churches is saved, they need to come out from among them, not stay among them. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
I once read a narrative by an unbelieving psychiatrist who visited an eastern mystic. As he watched him, he claimed to see an aurora about him and the unbelieving man said, "I spoke in tongues." He may have, but that was not the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 7:21-23
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (KJV)
The best closing would be to repeat Paul's exhortation to "follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy."
*All Greek or Hebrew definitions are from Strong’s Concordance as contained in the program e-Sword. Latest Version is 13.0.0 copyright 2000-2021 as of this writing.
