The Charismatic Movement has popularized tongue-speaking in many
churches. Some claim that tongue-speaking has brought revival to
the church, while others observe that it has caused confusion
instead. Should Christians speak in tongues today? What does the
Bible teach concerning tongues?
A Supernatural Gift
of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the One who enables a person to speak in
tongues (1 Cor 12:4, 8-10). It is He who decides which gift or
gifts a Christian should have (1 Cor 12:11). If it is not the will
of the Holy Spirit that a person should have the gift of tongues,
he will not have it even if he seeks it through much prayer and
fasting. Paul has made it very clear that not everyone will have
the same gifts: “Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all
teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of
healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?” (1 Cor
12:29-30). These rhetorical questions expect the answer, “No.” Not
everyone will have the gift of tongues, and be able to speak in
tongues.
It is also important to note that when the gift of tongues is
given to an individual, the
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Holy Spirit supernaturally enables him to speak in tongues. One
does not need to go through any speech training in order to
exercise this gift. Tongue-speaking is not letting one’s tongue
“roll” in super-quick hallelujahs till one gibbers. Such
self-induced and self-taught tongues are not biblical tongues. The
ability to speak in tongues is God-given, not man-made!
Foreign Languages or
Ecstatic Utterances?
The first instance of tongue-speaking was at Pentecost when the
Holy Spirit filled the disciples of Christ, and they began to speak
“with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).
The Greek word glossai (tongues) means “languages.” The Apostles at
Pentecost were supernaturally empowered to speak in foreign
languages they had not previously learned. This is proven by the
fact that when they spoke in tongues, the people were amazed
because “every man heard them speak in his own language (literally,
“dialect”),” and questioned among themselves, “Behold, are not all
these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own
tongue (dialect), wherein we were born?” (Acts 2:6-8).
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Who were these people who heard the Apostles speak? They were
“Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in
Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about
Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and
Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues (languages) the
wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:9-11). Luke the inspired historian
would have us know that when the Apostles spoke in tongues, they
spoke in foreign languages or ethnic dialects. Tongue-speaking is
not ecstatic speech or gibberish. The gift of tongues is the gift
of languages.
It is readily admitted by many modern tongue-speakers that the
tongues they speak are not human (i.e. foreign languages) but
angelic tongues (i.e. ecstatic utterances, cf. 1 Cor 13:1). As far
as we know from Scripture, whenever the angels spoke, they did so
in human languages, namely, Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. In any case,
it ought to be understood that Paul was using hyperbolic speech
here. A hyperbole is an intended exaggeration to drive home a
desired point. Paul was not saying that he is able to speak in
angelic tongues (or that there is such a thing as tongues of
angels), or understand
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all mysteries, have all knowledge, or move mountains. He is
saying that even if he can do all those things, but does not have
love, he is a big zero. To understand 1 Cor 13:1-2 other than this
is to miss Paul’s point.
The confusion over tongue-speaking is not new. Paul found
absolute confusion over the use of spiritual gifts in the church at
Corinth (1 Cor 12-14). The gift of tongues was abused by the
Christians there. Every member in church wanted to speak in
tongues. Obviously, some did not have the gift, but pretended to
have it by speaking ecstatically.
It needs to be clarified that the “unknown tongue” (so KJV) Paul
speaks of is not ecstatic speech but foreign language (1 Cor 14:2).
It is “unknown” in the sense that the gifted man is able to speak
in a foreign language he has never learned or heard before, and
that it is unintelligible to the hearer who does not know the
language spoken. In ordinary circumstances, when a person speaks in
tongues in his own native church, no man understands; only God
understands since He understands all languages (1 Cor 14:2). Thus
the one who speaks in tongues edifies only himself since without an
interpreter or translator, he is the only one who
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understands what he is saying (1 Cor 14:4). Paul emphasized the
importance of understanding; “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” (1 Cor
14:19).
The central idea Paul was trying to get across was that
edification (1 Cor 14:3, 4, 5, 12, 17, 26) comes by way of
understanding (1 Cor 14:2, 7, 9, 14, 15, 16, 19). Paul said that
prophesying is superior to tongue-speaking. The gift of prophecy is
the gift of being able to foretell and forthtell the will and word
of God. When the prophet speaks, he speaks to his own people in
their own native tongue. The members of the church benefit from the
words spoken because they are able to understand the message given.
The Apostle made this very clear by using the illustration of music
(1 Cor 14:7-8). Music is music only when there is a tune or a
melody. How does one expect to appreciate music when the pianist
plays only one note throughout, or a random string of notes that
does not make up a tune? So unless one speaks in a language that
others can understand, one is wasting one’s breath (1 Cor 14:9). A
language has grammatical forms and syntactical structures
comprising nouns, verbs, conjunctions, prepositions,
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adjectives, etc. As Paul said, “There are, ... so many kinds of
voices in the world, and none of them is without signification” (1
Cor 14:10). When a person prays in tongues, he prays with his heart
as well as with his mind (1 Cor 14:15). In other words, he knows
what he is saying and can identify the language he is speaking. A
genuine tongue-speaker will be able to analyse the language he has
spoken by identifying the different words he has used, and their
respective meanings. The Holy Spirit is perfect. The gifts that
come from Him are perfect. The gifted tongue-speaker, when given
the supernatural ability to speak in a foreign language, will be
perfectly proficient in that language he is enabled to speak. He
will be able to write out the content of his speech, list the
vocabulary, and demonstrate the grammatical-syntactical
relationship of the words. Are modern-day tongue-speakers able to
do this?
A Sign-gift
“Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but
to them that believe not” (1 Cor 14:22). What did Paul mean when he
said that “tongues are for a sign?” In verse 20, Paul chided the
Corinthians, “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit
in malice be
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ye children, but in understanding be men.” In other words, Paul
was telling them, “Know your Bible! Don’t you see the purpose of
tongues?” Paul then drew their attention to the Old Testament. In
verse 21, the Apostle cited Isaiah 28:11-12b. The context of Isaiah
28 is that of judgment. The Israelites have repeatedly refused and
stubbornly rejected the clear admonitions of the Lord through His
prophet. Since they would not heed the word of the Lord spoken to
them in their own native tongue, namely, Hebrew, they would now
have to hear it in another language, namely, the Assyrian. “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” (Isa 28:13). It was a word of judgment against
the unbelieving Israelites.
Therefore, tongues were a sign to unbelieving Jews. The Jews
thought that they were the only people to whom God extended
salvation. This was a misconception. The gift of tongues was meant
to correct this erroneous idea. Consider Peter’s experience in Acts
10. The Lord wanted Peter to preach the gospel to Cornelius, a
Gentile. As a full-blooded Jew, Peter would
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have nothing to do with a Gentile. But the Lord spoke to Peter
in a vision commanding him three times to eat the foods the Jews
classified as unclean (Acts 10:11-16). This was to prepare Peter to
minister to Cornelius, an unclean person in the eyes of the Jew.
When Cornelius sent for Peter, Peter in obedience to the Lord went
to see him, and the Scripture says, “While Peter yet spake these
words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And
they of the circumcision which believed (i.e. Christian Jews) were
astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the
Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they
heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God” (Acts 10:44-46).
When Peter returned to Jerusalem, he was summoned by the Council to
account for his visit to a Gentile home. His fellow Apostles and
Elders were angry with him because he preached the gospel to
Cornelius. How did Peter vindicate himself? Peter told them the
whole story, how God spoke to him, and how the Spirit led him to
Cornelius’ house. Peter testified, “And as I began to speak, the
Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning” (Acts 11:15).
Peter saw Cornelius and his household gloriously saved as evinced
by their speaking in tongues just as he did at
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Pentecost. Peter went on to say, “Forasmuch then as God gave
them the like gift (i.e. the Holy Spirit) as he did unto us, who
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could
withstand God?” (Acts 11:17). What was the response of the
Jerusalem Council who took Peter to task? “When they heard these
things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath
God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life” (Acts
11:18). Herein is the purpose of the gift of tongues—a sign to
unbelieving Jews. To Peter and the Jerusalem saints, it was a sign
of confirmation, but to those who refuse to believe, it is a sign
of judgment.
Is there still a need for God to convince Jews that the gospel
is also given to Gentiles? There is no need. No longer are Jews
preaching the gospel to Gentiles, but Gentiles to Jews! What then
is the purpose of tongues today? Since it has accomplished its
purpose, has it been withdrawn?
Have Tongues Ceased?
The Apostle Paul, in the first century, told the Corinthians
that revelatory gifts such as prophecy, tongues, and knowledge,
will cease: “Charity never faileth: but whether there be
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prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they
shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1
Cor 13:8).
Before we discuss the cessation of tongues, let us deal with the
cessation of prophecies and knowledge. Paul said that prophecies
“shall fail,” and knowledge “shall vanish away.” The words “fail,”
and “vanish away” are the same word in Greek, katargeo, which is a
very strong word of cessation. It basically means “to destroy” (cf.
1 Cor 15:24,26). The word katargeo (to destroy) is written in the
Greek passive voice. This indicates that there will be an outside
agent which will cause prophecies and knowledge to cease. What is
this external element? Verses 9-10 give us the answer: it is “the
perfect thing” (to teleion). What is this “perfect thing?” It is
the completion of the canon (i.e. the 66 books of the Bible). When
Paul wrote his epistle to the Corinthians, the New Testament was in
the process of being written. Once it is completed—the last book
written—revelation will cease. All that God wants man to know
concerning Him and us is found in the Bible. It is sufficient and
authoritative. It is God’s complete and final revelation to man (2
Tim 3:16-17; Rev 22:18-19).
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How about tongues? Paul wrote that tongues “shall cease.” The
word “cease” here is the Greek pauo which means “to stop.” Unlike
the gifts of prophecy, and knowledge, which require an external
force to cause their cessation, the gift of tongues will cease by
itself (Greek middle voice). It will automatically fade away in the
course of time when it has served its purpose. G. F. Rendal, a
former Charismatic, commented, “This purpose was fully achieved
when it was fully admitted that the nations, as well as ‘this
people’ (the Jews), benefitted from Jehovah’s salvation. When this
fact was universally believed, accepted and no longer contested by
anyone, this gift was no longer needed....Stars, as everyone knows,
are visible and useful only at night. When the sun rises they
disappear. So it is with the gift of tongues. It was only useful
during the darkness of an unbelieving Israel who opposed the
nations’ salvation. The gift faded out very simply when the
Gentiles’ calling came to light. This is what finished off the last
of my resistance” (I Speak in Tongues More Than You All, 80-1).
Does history confirm the early cessation of tongues? The famous
Church Father, Augustine, wrote in the fourth century, “In the
earliest time the Holy Ghost fell upon them that believed:
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and they spake with tongues, which they had not learned, ‘as the
Spirit gave them utterance.’ These were signs adapted to the time.
For there behoved to be that betokening of the Holy Spirit in all
tongues, and to shew that the Gospel of God was to run through all
tongues over the whole earth. That thing was done for a betokening
and it passed away” (‘Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John,’
Vol VII, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, VI, 10). The greatest
revival of the Church since Pentecost, namely, the sixteenth
century Protestant Reformation, was not characterised by
tongue-speaking, but powerful preaching. Luther, Calvin, and Knox
did not speak in tongues.
The Apostle Paul was trying to drive this point home: the sign
gifts which belong to the Apostles (2 Cor 12:12) will pass away.
They are temporary gifts. The Church should not pursue them.
Christians should rather seek after these three Christian graces:
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the
greatest of these is charity” (1 Cor 13:13). The temporariness of
the gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge is contrasted with
the permanency of the virtues of faith, hope, and love. It is
crucial to note Paul’s three-tier argument: (1) Prophecies,
tongues, and
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knowledge will cease upon the completion of the Bible, and
passing away of the Apostles; (2) Faith, hope, and love are virtues
which will remain throughout the entire Church Age; (3) Faith and
hope will be realized when Christ returns. But the greatest of
these is love because love, being a divine virtue, will remain
forever.
It may be clearly seen, in the light of Scripture, that the
tongues of the Charismatic Movement are not the same as the tongues
of the New Testament. They are not from the same Holy Spirit. God
will not confuse His Church for He “is not the author of confusion,
but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1 Cor 14:33). What
is the solution to the Charismatic confusion? The key is love, for
love “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth” (1 Cor
13:6).
Dr Jeffrey Khoo is the academic dean of the Far Eastern Bible
College and serves as an elder of True Life B-P Church.
Far Eastern Bible College
9A Gilstead Road, Singapore 309063
True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church
P. O. Box 141, Newton Post Office, Singapore 912205.
Sunday Service at RELC Auditorium, 10:30 am
30 Orange Grove Road. Tel: 6254-1287
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.febc.edu.sg