The Bible affirms that “tongues” were
intended primarily for the benefit of unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22), serving
no useful purpose if they could not be understood (1 Corinthians 14:7-11,
14-20). If a tongue-speaker wanted to say something in a religious gathering
where there may have been some who could not understand him, either his message
was to be interpreted or he was to remain silent (1 Corinthians 14:12-13,
26-28).
Some read 1 Corinthians 14 and stop at
verse 5, thinking they have discovered a whole new purpose for tongue-speaking.
But from what Paul goes on to say in the rest of the chapter, it is evident
that in these first five verses he is rebuking the Corinthians for their misuse
of this gift. Certain ones in Corinth were speaking in tongues, but instead of
speaking to men they were merely speaking to God since no one could understand
them (v. 2). Nevertheless, they should have been speaking to men so as to be
understood (vv. 7-11, 14-20). Some were speaking in tongues in order to edify
themselves (v. 4), but their gifts should have been used to edify others (vv.
4-19).
Not everyone in the early church had the
ability to speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28-30). The apostles and
Cornelius’ household received this gift through the baptism of the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:1-4; 10:44-47; 11:15-17), but these two cases were for specific
purposes that were fulfilled. Other Christians received the ability to speak in
tongues by the laying on of an apostle’s hands (Acts 19:6; cf. 8:17-19). However,
this gift was not meant to be permanent in the church (1 Corinthians 13:8).
The miraculous gift of tongue-speaking,
like the other spiritual gifts, fulfilled its purpose of communicating and
confirming the divine message during a time when the church was in its infancy
and without God’s complete written revelation. Now that the Bible is complete,
speaking in tongues is no longer needed.
There is a big difference between
tongue-speaking in the Bible and the ecstatic utterances or unintelligible
babblings that many today call tongue-speaking. There may be counterfeit
“miracles” (Matthew 24:24) and various miraculous claims (Matthew 7:21-23), but this is not sufficient proof that
such is from God. “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians
5:21).
--Kevin
L. Moore
Related Posts: Holy Spirit Baptism, Bible Miracles: Fact or Fiction
Related Posts: Holy Spirit Baptism, Bible Miracles: Fact or Fiction
Originally appearing in The Exhorter (April–June 1998).
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