As you no doubt already know, tongues is a controversial subject. I’m coming more and more to the conclusion that they don’t need to be if we simply read Scripture and believe what it says without any preconceived notions that people usually bring into the subject of tongues.
Most people that are against modern-day tongues focus on Acts 2, and then cherry-pick verses from 1 Corinthians 14. But it is 1 Corinthians 14 that teaches us about tongues, not Acts 2.
[For transparency, let me say that I’m usually an NIV guy, but for this post I’m going to be using the ESV because it expresses things a little more clearly than the NIV.]
1 Corinthians 14:2-5 tells us:
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. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 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. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
How many times have you heard that when we study the Bible, we must let Scripture interpret Scripture? Yet when it comes to tongues, we throw this rule out the window. I want to rectify that in this post.
The only definition we have regarding tongues is found in 1 Cor 14:2. Here’s what Paul (and thus God) tells us about tongues and its function: “For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries with his spirit.”
Let’s break this verse down.
- One who speaks in a tongues does not speak to men.
- One who speaks in a tongue…(speaks) to God.
- No one understands the one speaking in tongues.
- The one speaking in tongues utters mysteries with his spirit.
Tongues and Gospel Proclamation
1, 2, and 3 are the exact opposite of what non-tongue-talkers claim tongues is.
Most non-tongue-talkers say that tongues are foreign languages meant to preach the Gospel. But according to this passage, when a person speaks in tongues, no one understands. How can this be preaching the Gospel in a foreign language?
They base this this claim, of course, on Acts 2.
Let’s look at Acts for a moment.
We see tongues three times in Acts, in chapters 2, 10, and 19. In chapters 10 and 19, it is those being evangelized that speak in tongues, so that pretty much rules out tongues being used to preach the Gospel in these two chapters.
So, what happened in Acts 2? The disciples began speaking in tongues, and Jews from all over the world heard “them speak in his own language.” But what did they hear? “We hear them telling in our tongues the mighty works of God.”
Was this the Gospel? Look at the results. Was anyone convicted of sin? Did anyone ask, “Brothers, what shall we do?” No. Instead, “they were amazed and astonished…and perplexed,” and some mocked, saying, “They are filled with new wine.”
This is exactly what Paul said would happen in 1 Cor 14:23: “If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?”
If Not the Gospel, Then What?
Paul tells us that when a person speaks in tongues, he is not speaking to men, but to God — he “utters mysteries in the Spirit.”
What does this mean?
When Paul tells us that we are speaking “mysteries,” he’s telling us exactly what we’re doing when we pray in tongues. To see this, we have to see how Paul used this word in the rest of Scripture.
Only three people used this word in the New Testament, Jesus, John, and Paul. I’ll let you look up how Jesus and John used the word, but for now let’s focus on how Paul used it. He wrote “a secret and hidden wisdom of God” (1 Cor 2:7), “the mystery of His will” (Eph. 1:9), “the mystery of the gospel” (Eph 6:19), “the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27), “the mystery of godliness” (1 Tim 3:16).
The only time Paul uses this word in a negative way is in 2 Thessalonians 2:7, when he says, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.” Every other time Paul uses this word it’s in a positive context.
When we pray in tongues, we are speaking to God about the mystery of the Gospel, the mystery of godliness, the hidden wisdom of God, and about Christ in you.
I’m still debating the best way to say this, but basically, when a person speaks in tongues, they are speaking the secret things of God into their spirit. This builds the person up (edifies them).
Edification
Another complaint that non-tongue-talkers have is that tongues build up the individual rather than the church. This, according to them, is bad.
But look what Paul says:
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.
Paul doesn’t say anything about edifying oneself being bad, instead he encourages everyone to speak in tongues and build themselves up. Later, he says, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.”
What kind of tongues was he referring to? The “tongues is a foreign language” tongues or the “no one understands him” tongues? It has to be the latter. Paul is saying, “I thank God that I speak in tongues — alone, not in church; uttering mysteries; building myself up — more than all of you.”
I’ve seen a couple people online saying that tongues is “the selfish gift” because the one praying in tongues is only building himself up, not the church. If this makes tongues selfish, then Paul was the most selfish Christian to ever exist!
Building oneself up is a good thing. This must be understood and accepted.
Why would someone get upset when someone tries to build themself up? Praying in tongues for personal edification should be encouraged by every church in the world.
I’ve got lots more to say, but I’ll end with this. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 14 that when we speak in tongues, we do at least 6 things. They are:
- You speak to God (vv. 2 and 28)
- You speak mysteries “with your spirit” or “in the Spirit” depending on the translation (v. 2)
- You edify yourself (v. 4)
- You pray with your spirit (v. 15)
- You sing with your spirit (v. 15)
- You praise God with your spirit (v. 16, NIV)
- You give thanks (v. 17)
There are other things that we’ll need to look at in 1 Corinthians 14, but we’ll deal with those in a later post.