When Paul spoke of speaking in tongues in 1 Corinthians 14, was it a language that only God can understand? 1 Corinthians 14:2ESV - 2 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. There are two types of speaking in tongues. The first is the initial sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit to equip a believer to be a more effective witness for Christ. Jesus said: You shall receive power (Greek: dunamis - dynamic ability) after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be My witnesses... We see this in Acts 2:1-11; Acts 10:44-46; Acts 19:6-7, where several people spoke in tongues as a sign of the infilling of the Holy Spirits power. In Jerusalem, the hearers from 16 nations understood them in their own languages. It may have been similar at Caesarea since they testified that it happened like it did in Jerusalem. At Ephesus they were glorifying God - was that in tongues or in their own languages. Thats not made clear. However, I have witnessed this happening in Indonesia where a 10 y.o. person spoke in clear English although not knowing any English. What is clear, is that these cases indicate, at least sometimes, proper earthly languages, spoken miraculously, that could be understood by at least some of the hearers. In the context of 1 Corinthians 12-14; we see 9 specific gifts from the Holy Spirit distributed among the believers. Not everyone gets the same gift. Each of the 9 referred to has a normal aspect as well as the supernatural aspect. All should have knowledge, wisdom and faith. All can pray for the sick and prophecy. All should have discernment and be able to see miracles happen in their Christian walk. However there is a supernatural wisdom, knowledge, faith etc, given by the Holy Spirit for special circumstances, which only those who have that gift can use. See 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. They are divided among the believers so each is dependent upon the others. No-one has the lot! As with the others, so with speaking in tongues. In the first use above, tongues was a sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the numbers were not limited. This is perhaps what Paul was referring to as his prayer language which he spoke more than all the Corinthians - not in church but on his knees at home. In the church services it was another matter. The gift (one of the 9) of tongues was restricted to a maximum of three and had to be interpreted, 1 Corinthians 14:27-28. Why? Different from the prayer language tongues which is a man speaking the secrets of his heart to God (i.e. from man to God), the Gift of tongues is the opposite direction. It is a message from God to man and therefore must be interpreted. Otherwise, the speaker must keep quiet, or pray for the interpretation himself, 1 Corinthians 14:13. Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 13:1 that there are tongues of men and angels and that the most important thing about their operation is the love of Christ. Any gift operating outside of His loves motivation is out of order. Even though Paul did not speak publicly in tongues, he did encourage everyone that they should speak in tongues, 1 Corinthians 14:5. Obviously it is of great advantage to a believer to be endued with the Holy Spirits power to be an effective witness, but speaking in tongues is not the greatest. Paul even said that prophecy was greater, and of course above all is love. That doesnt mean we neglect the lesser, but the motivation of heart, Christ-like love must be preeminent. Finally, tongues is not gibberish and fuzzy repetitive, meaningless sounds. It is languages. The word tongues is old English. What is your mother tongue? True, biblical speaking in tongues is the sign of the exciting equipping of the Holy Spirit to empower a believer to be a dynamic witness for Christ. It is not a sign of superior spirituality, but it is a gifting the Lord has given and made accessible to believers as they follow Christ. We must not be satisfied with a copy-cat experience, but we really do need the real thing! Some tongues will be understood, for a divine purpose. Some will not be understood, except by God, as it is the sharing of the secrets of the heart.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 16:15:13 +0000
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