Speaking in Tongues

Speaking in tongues is one of the most debated phenomena in Christianity. Pentecostals have brought speaking in tongues to the forefront. Pentecostals are undoubtedly the fastest-growing movement among "Christian" churches. The Pentecostal movement is impacting the world more than any other group. Yet, with all the talk about speaking in tongues, only some understand it.

Most people will be surprised that the Bible mentions speaking in tongues thirty-five times. That is a lot, so this subject should not be brushed lightly aside as insignificant to the Church. God did not fill His Word with things that don't matter.

One of the things about the debate over tongues that disturbs me is how many people who have never spoken in tongues speak as though they're experts on the subject. When in reality, they teach only from the standpoint of ignorance of Tongues

Who should know more about tongues: those who speak in tongues or those who don't? Well, shouldn't we learn from those who do speak in tongues!? Since I speak in tongues, I can bring some scriptural wisdom, with experience, to the subject.

In this article, I will clarify common misunderstandings concerning tongues and show the importance and benefits of speaking in tongues.

First, What is the Benefit of Speaking in Tongues?

The Apostle Paul writes, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues..." (1 Corinthians 14:4,5). With these positive statements about tongues, why do so few Christians speak in tongues? The answer is that there is minimal sound, logical, and scriptural teaching as to the scope and value of speaking in tongues.

Once, at a gathering of a group of students at a famous university, a young man shared his testimony on how God saved and filled him with the Holy Spirit with the "sign" of speaking in tongues. After the talk, the students asked the number one question about speaking in tongues. They asked, "What does speaking in tongues do for you?"

He replied, "It does exactly what the Bible says it does: He who speaks in tongues edifies himself." The word "edify" means to "build up" or "charge up" - much like charging up a battery. We all need a spiritual charge. All of us, at times, feel spiritually drained. One of God's ways to charge your spirit is through speaking in tongues.

Second, Tongues are a heavenly language.

Many people inaccurately define speaking in tongues as "gibberish" or "talking nonsense." The truth is that speaking in tongues is the most intelligent, perfect language in the universe. It is God's language. You say that there is no such thing as a heavenly language? Then what language do you suppose people speak in Heaven? What language do you think that God speaks? English? How arrogant! 

Languages are given their name based on the countries they come from. For example, English comes from England. Spanish comes from Spain. Italian comes from Italy. Well, where do tongues come from? It comes from Heaven! Tongues are the heavenly language. It is what they speak in Heaven. Just like on the day of Pentecost, "the multitude came together and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language" (Acts 2:6). When God speaks, He is understood by all men.

Here on earth, Paul says, "For anyone who speaks in tongues does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understandeth him; he utters mysteries with his spirit" ( I Corinthians 14:2 ).

Jesus says that those who believe in Him will "speak in new tongues" (Mark 16:17). The word "new" means appearing for the first time. No one had spoken these languages before. Contrary to lousy theology, tongues are not an ability given to preach the gospel in the language of foreigners. That would make tongues "old" languages. It is only appropriate that "new tongues" should be spoken by those of the "new birth." It is natural and normal to talk in the language of your birth. We are born again from above. Therefore, we should speak the language from above. And that language is called "tongues."

Third, Shouldn't Togues be Understood?

The first to speak in tongues were the disciples. That occurred on the day of Pentecost. People often think that on this day, the disciples were speaking human languages because the people could understand what they were saying. I don't believe this is true because a two-fold miracle occurred on this day: the miracle of speaking and hearing. The first miracle was speaking in tongues. The second miracle was the enabling of some to understand the tongues. Not everyone understood the tongues because some onlookers made fun of the disciples and accused them of being drunk (Acts 2:13); this clearly shows that they did not understand the tongues.

The ones who did understand the tongues were perplexed because each one heard only their native language, not the languages of the other people (Acts 2:6). The Bible tells us that there were foreigners representing many nations, speaking different languages. Yet, each person heard the disciples praising God in their language. They exclaimed, "How is it that each of us hears them in his native language?" (v. 8) They could not figure out how this was possible.

It is clear that the disciples were not "preaching" the gospel in tongues; they were instead "declaring the wonders of God" (v. 11). They were not speaking "to men but to God" (1 Cor 14:2). The people were listening in on their praises to God. It wasn't until Peter stood up to speak to the crowd in one common language that the gospel was preached. So tongues are not supernatural human languages given to the apostles so they could preach in languages they did not naturally learn.

The disciples were not speaking human languages but in unknown tongues. But God enabled those whose hearts were opened to understand what the disciples were saying. Sometimes this happens today. You see, the miracle was in the hearing of the people.

Fourth, Tongues and the Baptism in the Holy Ghost.

Let us look carefully at the first scriptural account of speaking in tongues: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be cloven tongues of fire that came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4).

This experience is what John the Baptist and Jesus called the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Fulfilling Jesus' promise, "In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5). Every Christian believes in baptizing in water. But few accept the better Baptism - the Baptism in the Holy Ghost. Since you were willing to be baptized in water, shouldn't you also be ready to be baptized in the Holy Ghost?

Theologians often confuse the Baptism of the Holy Ghost with salvation. They often regard these two experiences as being the same. That confuses believers. They incorrectly assume that salvation is the same as Baptism in the Holy Ghost. The Bible does not teach this. The Bible teaches that Baptism in the Holy Ghost is a separate experience from salvation and comes after a person is saved. However, it can occur during redemption; it doesn't always.

The story of the Samaritan converts is proof of this (see Acts 8:5-25). Philip preached to them about Christ. The people joyfully accepted the gospel and were born again. They confirmed their faith by being baptized as well. Yet, even though they were saved, Philip called for the apostles to come and pray for them that they would receive the Holy Ghost. It is clear from this story that salvation is separate from receiving the Holy Spirit. (Although the Holy Spirit is involved in salvation.)

Another biblical story illustrates this fact (see Acts 19:1-7). Paul met some disciples of John the Baptist. He knew they believed in the Lord Jesus because they talked so much about repentance. Paul, unaware that they were only disciples of John, yet knowing something was missing in these men, asked them an obvious question, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?"

That question alone proves that Paul and the early Church believed it was POSSIBLE TO BE A BELIEVER IN JESUS WITHOUT HAVING RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT. If receiving the Holy Spirit was automatic at conversion, why did Paul ask, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?"

Fifth, Speaking in tongues is the physical sign of the Baptism of The Holy Ghost.

I was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Assembly of God church in Portland, Oregon, in 1984. I was not saved; in fact, I was living in deep, deep sin. When the altar call was given that Sunday Morning in August, and even though I was not thinking about giving my life to Jesus, my youth pastor's wife, who was next to me, turned to me and said, "Clayton, you can't fight God forever, would you like to go forward and give your life to Jesus? I immediately went to the altar and prayed for the forgiveness of my sins. I received Christ into my life, and while I prayed, my lips began to speak a strange language that I did not know or had learned. I knew, sort of, what was happening because I had grown up in that Church. As I continued praying in my new language, the Spirit of the Lord seemed to envelop me. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. That was 39-plus years ago. Not everyone receives the Baptism in the Holy Spirit at salvation, but some did and did just as I did.

You see, the physical proof of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the same sign that the disciples had: speaking in tongues. You may also have other signs, but the initial sign is that you will speak in tongues.

There are five examples in the Bible of people receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:4; 8:17; 9:17; 10:44; 19:6). In three of the five examples, we are told that specific signs took place. In the other two examples, the manifestation of physical signs is implied but not mentioned. Based on these two cases, we can build solid evidence of what should happen when someone is baptized in the Holy Spirit. But in both instances, it was obvious that they received the Holy Ghost, so there had to be a visible sign.

BASED ON THE OTHER THREE PASSAGES, WE CAN BUILD A GOOD, SOLID CASE AS TO WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN WHEN SOMEONE IS BAPTIZED IN THE SPIRIT!

We are told in these three other passages that specific physical manifestations took place. In each case, more than one physical sign took place, which teaches us that there is usually more than one sign when people are baptized in the Holy Spirit. Yet, there is one sign and only one sign that is common to all three examples. The identical sign was speaking in tongues! In the passage from Acts 19, we are told that the Jewish believers knew Cornelius and his household had received the Holy Ghost because "we hear them speaking in tongues."

Based on this observation, the standard sign of Baptism in the Holy Ghost is speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is the physical, biblical evidence that one is baptized in the Holy Spirit. We should not settle for anything less than the scriptural evidence. If you haven't been baptized in the Holy Spirit, seek God and pray for it. God never lets a thirsty soul go dry.

Sixth, Do all Christians speak in Tongues?

Someone may say, "How can you say that all Christians should speak in tongues considering the apostle Paul's words, 'Do all speak in tongues? (1 Corinthians 12:30). In this passage, Paul talks about public ministry gifts manifested in the Church. He is not talking about tongues as the initial sign of the Baptism in the Spirit, nor is he talking about tongues as a private, devotional prayer language.

You can recognize this by looking at Paul's language concerning speaking in tongues. In this chapter, he calls speaking in tongues "different kinds of tongues" (see 12:10,28). "Different kinds" means "not the usual." The usual kind of speaking in tongues is a language no man understands or interprets. However, speaking in "different kinds" of tongues enables the speaker or someone else to recognize and interpret the tongue's meaning.

 So when Paul asks, "Do all speak in tongues?" he refers to the public manifestation of tongues, which enables a person gifted in interpretation to speak out the meaning of the tongue. Not all have been given this gift of "different kinds" of tongues.

In the fourteenth chapter of I Corinthians, Paul corrects the misuse of tongues in the Church. He told them to stop the practice, gathering "the whole church [so] everyone [can] speak in tongues" (v. 23). Notice carefully that the "whole church" was gathered and that "everyone" was speaking in tongues. That clearly shows us everyone in the Corinthian Church spoke in tongues. Most of them should have allowed those gifted in the "different kinds" of tongues to exercise their gift, and the rest should "keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God" (v. 28).

Friend, I encourage you to seek the scriptural sign of the Baptism in the Holy Ghost and to settle for nothing but the best.

If you would like to know about Jesus, Contact Dr. Clayton R. Hall Jr. at pastorfalf@hotmail.com