OK. I wrote this post back in September. I thought I’d dig it back out, though, in honor of Pentecost. Which is today. Happy birthday, Church!
(I have made some minor edits.)
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This post is about the spiritual gift of tongues.
Yep. I’m going there.
But I’m going there with a disclaimer: the things of the Spirit are largely mysterious. We should never claim to fully understand them, but we should seek clarity and wisdom. We should be humbled by the mysteries of God, but never should we run away from the things we do not understand.
“And He answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.’”
-Luke 7:22-23 (ESV)
I’ll go ahead and clear the air: speaking in tongues isn’t just for Pentecostals. Sorry, Pentecostals. In the New Testament, speaking in tongues was a sign that often accompanied what the apostles called “baptism in the Spirit” (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16, Acts 1:4-5, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 11:16). In “baptism in the Spirit,” the Spirit of God would “fall upon” or be “poured out on” new believers at their moment of salvation and repentance, and the gift of tongues would be given as an outward evidence that they had received a filling of the Holy Spirit.
(It is important to note that there was an important distinction in the early church between baptism by water and baptism by the Holy Spirit. Read Acts 8:14-17 and Acts 19:1-7 for this. Paul actually laid hands on Christ-followers who had been baptized in water into the name of Jesus, but who had not yet received the Holy Spirit. From these instances, we can gather that it is very possible for someone to have been “saved” and baptized in water, while having yet to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Many believers, perhaps, are at this point, unaware that there is an invitation to receive another movement of God’s grace in their lives.)
In Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost. This was exactly 50 days after Jesus ascended into Heaven. The feast of Pentecost celebrated the day that God gave Moses the Law on Mount Sinai. On the day of Pentecost, the apostles and early believers had gathered in an “upper room” to pray and fast, per Jesus’ instruction. He had told them not to leave until they had been “clothed with power from on high.” He knew they couldn’t do ministry like He needed them to unless they had His Spirit.
So they didn’t leave until they were clothed with power from on high.
The Spirit of God fell upon them as Jesus had promised (He had promised a Helper and a Comforter who was just like Him). The third person of the Trinity fell on the believers on the holiday that celebrated the Law. The event that revealed the Spirit to be readily available to every believer in Christ happened on the day that celebrated the giving of the Law of God to Moses at Sinai.
Word and Spirit. Two sides of the same coin, they were never meant to be separated.
“… and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
-Ephesians 6:17
Anyway. Pentecost. The Holy Spirit fell, and people who witnessed it thought the apostles and early believers were drunk. It’s a fun passage to read. It ends with a massive revival, when the onlookers realize that the apostles are sharing the mysteries of God in the crowd’s various native tongues. Miraculously, there was no language barrier, through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Pentecost is thought to have figuratively undone what happened at the Tower of Babel. Fun stuff.)
So. Speaking in tongues.
Purpose number one: speaking in tongues can be an outward manifestation of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. (Think Acts 2.) Do I think you can be baptized in the Holy Spirit and not speak in tongues? Yes. Do I also think that that truth is used as a convenient excuse for avoiding this fascinating mystery of God? Yes. I know a lot of people who operate in the gifts of the Spirit and who bear much spiritual fruit, but who have never spoken in tongues. I also know that some of those same people have avoided the subject altogether, because, let’s face it, it’s extremely weird.
But “weird” ever been an excuse for unbelief, ignorance, or complacency.
Purpose number two: very practically, speaking in tongues can be a supernatural communication of the Word of God to someone whose language you don’t know.
I have heard all sorts of accounts and testimonies from the mission field that talk about this particular form of tongues. Missionaries have completely bypassed language-learning classes through the power of the Spirit, because they have found a miraculous gifting to communicate, in perfect language, the story of Jesus to a group or person who would otherwise be unreachable. It is truly remarkable. Obviously, this does not happen every day.
God is so passionate about reaching people that He will break the laws of learning and language to communicate His message.
Purpose number three: 1 Corinthians 14- Praying in tongues.
“For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit… The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy… Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also… I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”
-1 Corinthians 14:2, 4-5, 13-15, 18-19
This passage highlights a more “controversial” form of tongues: praying in tongues. It’s more controversial, because it is more mysterious.
In more “spiritual” circles, this kind of tongues is known as “praying in the Spirit.” In verse 2, Paul explains that one who prays in the spirit “utters mysteries in the Spirit.” In this kind of tongue, unless God has gifted the believer with a gift of interpretation, the things uttered aren’t understood. It is a form spirit-Spirit communication that the human mind cannot comprehend, in words that human ears do not understand.
Mysterious, right? But it’s the real deal, according to the Bible and according to the experiences of many.
“Praying in tongues” is edifying for the individual doing it. “The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself.” It is a thing for our spirits. Throughout this passage, Paul emphasizes how important it is to edify others, as well as yourself. He preferred prophesy to tongues, as it edifies the whole Church. He also stressed the exercising of the mind in prayer. For Paul, it was important that the mind, as well as the spirit, bore fruit. He also stresses that, in a corporate setting, five intelligible words are far more useful than 10,000 spiritual ones.
He stresses these other gifts over tongues, while, at the same time, confessing quite humbly that he speaks in tongues more than all of the Corinthians. Thanks, Paul. Bottom line: this kind of tongues, while secondary to prophecy in the instance of this letter, is very important.
Some common misconceptions of “tongues”:
1. The speaker babbles out of control.
False, as far as I know. The only “out of control” tongues incident I have ever witnessed was the product of emotionalism and fleshy expectation (I think). Unhealthy emotionalism is a manifestation of immaturity.
2. Tongues is required as a sign for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
False, as far as I know. I’ve already hit on this some. We have no business in limiting God by saying His Spirit can’t move absent of the gift of tongues. That’s foolishness. We should, however, be wise stewards of the Word of God and seek clarity on the issue. Paul says to “earnestly desire” the spiritual gifts. Tongues is something to be desired. It was never meant to be exclusive, divisive, or controversial.
3. Not having the gift of tongues, or not being baptized in the Holy Spirit, is a sign of spiritual immaturity.
False. Paul is clear that not everyone will operate in all the spiritual gifts, tongues being included as a spiritual gift. Just as it is foolish to limit God by saying that someone must have the gift of tongues for them to have been baptized in the Spirit, it is foolish for us to limit God by saying that He will give everyone the gift of tongues. He doesn’t work the same way with everyone. He’s God, and we are not.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit is anything but a sign of spiritual maturity. The fruit of the Spirit, and the fruits of our lives, are surer signs of spiritual maturity. I know some very immature believers who have abused their freedom in the Spirit (I’m referencing emotionalism and fleshy “manifestations”), only to turn away some curious, more mature believers from the things of the Spirit. This is very bad.
Baptism in the Spirit is simply an invitation into more grace, favor, and blessing from God. It is a thing of intimacy, and it is a matter of being “clothed with power from on high.” It is not a mark of maturity. Looking for a mark of maturity? Look for the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5).
One thing I do know: a sure sign of immaturity is complacency. If we approach the things of the Spirit as if they are not for us, or as if we are capable without them of doing what God needs us to do, we had better check our hearts. We can sugar-coat our complacency or ignorance all we want, but, when it comes down to it, we really just tend to avoid things that we do not understand.
Another thing I know: just because you don’t currently operate in a specific gift of the spirit, doesn’t mean that God doesn’t want to give that gift to you. Ask Him for it. The Father is a giver of very good gifts, and He loves giving gifts to His children.
“You have not, because you ask not.”
-James 4:2
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
-Matthew 7:7
Be willing to trust in God. Know that His timing is perfect, and believe that He is totally sovereign.
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I grew up Methodist, so I’ve seen the entire spectrum of beliefs within the Church on this issue. I know people who think speaking in tongues is Satanic, I know people who believe the practice is for crazies, and I know people who believe “tongues” to be Biblically legitimate. Obviously, I believe the practice to be Biblical (and terrifically weird). I hope this has provided an even-handed overview of the various manifestations of the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues.
It is my desire, anyway, to marry one end of the Church spectrum’s love for the Word of God with the other end of the Church spectrum’s love for the Spirit of God. After all, neither was ever meant to be independent from the other. Word and Spirit. Each can only be properly understood in light of the other.
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