Speaking in Tongues
Speaking in Tongues
No one can go any further than he himself has been
taught, and a teacher can teach no more than he knows.
If you want to help someone else, first you yourself
must be helped; otherwise, the blind lead the blind and
they both stumble around. One of the darkest spots of
understanding in the Bible concerns the Holy Spirit, both
the Giver and the gift of holy spirit. Let us no longer be
blind. Let us study God’s Word to understand His will.
First of all let us clarify that God is Holy Spirit. When
a person is born again, God gives to His new son a gift.
And since God is Holy Spirit, He can only give what
He is—holy spirit. To help distinguish between God the
Giver and His gift, the Giver, Holy Spirit, is always
capitalized while His gift, holy spirit, is not.
A person receives the holy spirit when he confesses
Jesus as Lord and believes that God raised Jesus from
the dead, as Romans 10:9,10 directs. The gift of holy
spirit has nine parts or manifestations. I Corinthians 12
lists these manifestations: (1) word of wisdom, (2) word
of knowledge, (3) faith, (4) gifts of healing, (5) miracles,
(6) prophecy, (7) discerning of spirits, (8) tongues and
(9) interpretation of tongues. In this study we want to
specifically look at the manifestation of speaking in
tongues—when one speaks in tongues and why one
speaks in tongues.
A believer operating the manifestation of the spirit
called tongues will be edified spiritually, spiritually built-up.
He can operate this manifestation in two situations:
in public and in private. (1) The bulk of a believer’s
speaking in tongues is in his own private life. As such,
speaking in tongues in private will be prayer or praise
to the Father and, therefore, is never interpreted. This
prayer and praise is spoken of as “praying in the spirit.”
(2) A believer can speak in tongues publicly in a believers’
meeting. When a person publicly speaks in tongues, he
must always interpret. A public message is never a
prayer however; it is a communication from God meant
for the people present. Both public and private speaking
in tongues are called speaking to God.
When you pray silently in the spirit you are speaking
in tongues. When you speak aloud in a believers’ meeting,
you are also speaking in tongues. These different
usages of speaking in tongues must be kept distinct from
each other. We must learn how to operate speaking in
tongues, and bring it forth accurately from The Word.
Let us consider speaking in tongues inside the Church.
The “Church” in the Word of God refers to the born-again
Sons of God, filled with the power from the Holy
Spirit, and operating the manifestations of the spirit. In
the Church speaking in tongues with interpretation by a
believer is a message from God or for God to the body
of believers to edify the group of people by way of exhortation
and comfort. “To exhort” means “to encourage
to a more worthy endeavor.” “To comfort” is “to give a
quiet serenity, a peacefulness and an acquiescence to
the greatness of the things God has to say.” Speaking in
tongues with its interpretation edifies the Church by encouraging
them and/or by comforting them.
This edification, this building up of the body of believers
by means of speaking in tongues with interpretation, is
a direct message from God as if God Himself is in the
believers’ meeting. God is speaking to His people. As
we speak in tongues and interpret in a believers'
meeting today, we receive God’s message to that particular
gathering. What He wants for us tomorrow, we will find
out tomorrow. We do not know now what the specific
message is for the future, but we do know what the message
is for this particular day if we have ears to hear.
Speaking in tongues privately and speaking in tongues
plus interpreting publicly have two distinctly different
ways of edifying. The private message is a prayer which
edifies the spirit of the speaker. The public message is a
communication which edifies the minds of the people
present, including the speaker. Now, is a person who
speaks in tongues and interprets in a believers’ meeting
edified in his spirit? No. The speaking in tongues in a
believers’ meeting by one who also interprets does not
edify that believer in the spirit for the spoken message
is from God to the people, and the interpretation, in the
language of the body of people present, is for the edification
of the body of believers. A public message with
its interpretation does not nourish the spirit of the speaker
but rather edifies the minds of the congregated people.
The Word of God explicitly teaches that when a person
speaks in tongues in a believers’ meeting, he must interpret
to edify the minds of the Body. However, there
are children of God who speak in tongues in a believers’
meeting but their believing or their knowledge is not
sufficient to inspire them to interpret. They are what I
call “unbelieving believers.” They know that they can
speak in tongues in their private life and some even speak
in believers’ meetings, but they do not believe to interpret.
If these “unbelieving believers,” who do not believe
to interpret, spoke in tongues in the Church their spirit
would be edified under such circumstances. Their speaking
would not be a message from God to the people
because if it were, it would have to be interpreted.
To understand this, you must understand the foreknowledge
of God. Does God know before I speak in
tongues in a believers’ meeting whether or not I am going
to interpret? God knowing that I am going to interpret
when I speak in tongues gives a message to the people.
Vice versa, God, knowing that I am going to speak in
tongues but not interpret, inspires a prayer, again, to edify
the speaker’s spirit.
In the body of believers, speaking in tongues with interpretation
is always a message from God or for God
to the people, and its interpretation will edify, build up,
the body of believers in their renewed mind by way of
exhortation and comfort. Not only are the minds of the
believers encouraged and comforted, but I Corinthians
14:22 tells that the given message is a sign to the unbeliever
as well. These unbelievers are not the unsaved
unbelievers, but rather the unbelieving believers. The
word “unbeliever” is apistia.* The unbelieving believer
needs this sign of hearing someone speak in tongues to
know that there is power in believers, that believers do
speak in tongues, and that believers do interpret.
Praying privately to God in the spirit or giving a message
in tongues with interpretation in a believers’ meeting
are both called speaking in tongues. The reason for confusion
of the two usages is that people are looking for a
way to break God’s Word. Why don’t we look for a
way to build The Word rather than to tear it to pieces?
We should believe in the integrity of The Word and let
The Word speak. Then we harmonize our lives and our
believing with the record in The Word. We search The
Word to see how the whole Word fits together precisely.
In the Church, speaking in tongues must be done by
believers who believe to interpret or it is not being used
for the designed purpose which God intended. Those
Christians who speak in tongues but who do not believe
to interpret in a believers’ meeting are simply speaking
a prayer. These people are not to speak aloud in the
Church but are to pray silently in tongues to themselves
and to God.
I Corinthians 14:2:
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh
not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth
him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
The speaking is an unknown tongue to the speaker.
The word “unknown” is in italics and need not be there
at all as it is redundant. “Tongues,” by previous definition,
means “unknown language.” “For he that speaketh
in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no
man understandeth him. . . .” The word “him,” again, is
in italics and, again, should be deleted because “him”
makes the Bible inaccurate. Acts 2:6-11, telling of the
twelve apostles’ receiving the gift from the Holy Spirit
on the day of Pentecost, says that the apostles spoke in
tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. The unconverted
who heard them speak understood the tongues
these twelve apostles were inspired to speak. The listeners
reported that these apostles were speaking “the wonderful
works of God.” Therefore we know that the speaking in
tongues was understood on Pentecost—not by the men
speaking, but by those who heard them speak.
What you say when you speak in tongues is God’s
business, but that you do speak is your responsibility.
On the day of Pentecost, as always, what the speaker
spoke was an unknown language to himself, but not necessarily
to the listeners. On Pentecost a group of listeners
understood Peter, another group understood Matthew, and
another group understood John, and so on with the other
apostles. The possibility for a listener to understand the
tongue is there, because God giveth the utterance. The
Holy Spirit, God, gives it, but you by your own will
must do the speaking.
I Corinthians 14:2:
For he that speaketh in. . .tongue speaketh not unto
men, but unto [Whom?] God. . . .
Another point in this Scripture is that speakers speak
to God. This does not negate the truth that the total
message—tongues with interpretation—is going to be a
message from God or for God to the people. Some may
say that it is the man talking to God only. Let me ask
you a question. When you say you spoke to the President
on the telephone, what do you mean? You mean that
when you spoke to him, he also talked to you. You did
not do all the talking. This truth here in The Word is the
same. Speaking to God is a two-way street. You talk to
Him and He talks to you. That is the essence of it.
Now, a point which must be studied and understood
is that speaking in tongues in one’s private prayer life
edifies the speaker.
I Corinthians 14:4:
He that speaketh in. . .tongue edifieth himself. . . .
In a believers’ meeting I do the speaking in tongues,
but as I speak God gives the utterance. Then I give the
interpretation from God which will edify the minds of
the believers.
There are two basic ways whereby you may edify your
mind: (1) Study The Word and let it dwell richly in your
mind; and (2) Be in a believers’ meeting where the speaking
in tongues is interpreted, for the interpretation will
give knowledge to your mind that will exhort and comfort.
When I bring forth a message in tongues with its interpretation,
is my spirit edified? No. But, my mind, as well
as the minds of other people present, is edified. The mind
of the Christian must be edified because the mind—the
thinking—makes a person what he is. The Bible says in
Proverbs 23:7, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is
he. . . .”
When a man of body, soul and spirit speaks in tongues
in his private prayer life or in a believers’ meeting and
he does not believe to interpret, his speaking in tongues
will be a prayer or praise to God, and it will edify the
spirit of the man who speaks. That is why verse 4 of
I Corinthians 14 stipulates, “He that speaketh in an. . .
tongue edifieth himself. . . .” When we speak in tongues
without interpretation, we edify the spirit that is in us
which is called the inner man.
Now the problem that we run into is that some say
the spirit of Christ in you is perfect, therefore, how can
this speaking in tongues edify the spirit? Why does the
spirit in a Christian need edifying? The spirit is just like
a baby which though perfect, still needs nurturing. So
it is with the spirit in you, you feed it by speaking in
tongues.
The underlying law involved in this whole matter is
that God is Spirit and can speak to spirit only. Almost
every group confuses flesh and spirit because they do
not keep their Biblical principles straight. I know that
the spirit is perfect. But Christians themselves become
spiritually stagnant. They do not keep refreshed because
many do not edify their spirits by speaking in tongues.
In your private prayer life your spirit is edified, it is
built up, it grows by speaking in tongues—not by interpretation,
not by prophecy.
Interpretation and prophecy build up the body of believers,
not in their spirits but in their minds.
I Corinthians 14:5:
I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather
that ye prophesied. . . .
This is usually where people stop reading in order to
say that speaking in tongues in the Church is not very
important. They would rather have a believer prophesy.
Most of the people who put forth this argument never
prophesy either. Do you see the trickery of Satan? He
wants to belittle The Word, chop The Word to pieces.
There is nothing that equals speaking in tongues in your
private life. This will build you up spiritually, whereas
speaking in tongues with boldness in a believers’ meeting
with its interpretation builds up the body of believers.
I Corinthians 14:5:
I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that
ye prophesied [in the Church]: for greater is he that
prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except
he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
When the believer speaks in tongues and interprets,
the Church receives edifying. In the spirit? No. Where?
In the mind. The interpretation is always in the language
of the body of people present. This is why I Corinthians
14:3 says, “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto
men. . . .” Why? Because prophecy is in the language
of the body of people present. So if the congregation
were German, the prophecy would have to be in German.
I Corinthians 14:3:
But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification,
and exhortation, and comfort.
Therefore, when you speak in tongues and interpret or
prophesy, you and the other believers present are edified
by way of exhortation and comfort. In your own private
life who has to be blessed? You, the individual believer.
In a believers’ meeting, however, everyone must be edified.
I Corinthians 14:12:
Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual
gifts [things or matters], seek that ye may excel to
the edifying of the church.
The word “gifts” is in italics and should be deleted.
The word “spiritual” is the word pneumatikos meaning
“things of the spirit.” We must be zealous for things of
the spirit, whether privately for our own selves spiritually
or publicly for the minds of the entire body of
believers. Let all things be done unto edifying!