I. KINDS OF TONGUES
Last week, we talked a lot about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the New Testament pattern of speaking in tongues. We learned:
(1) The importance of the baptism in the Spirit to equip the believer for service. Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."i The baptism in the Holy Spirit ushers the believer into supernatural ministry. As a general statement, it is foundational to operating in the nine gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Cor. 12.
(2) The indicator of the baptism in the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts is speaking in tongues/supernatural utterances. In Acts 10:46, the way Peter knew Cornelius and the other Gentiles received the baptism in the Holy Spirit was that he heard them speak in tongues. That was the proof he needed. He did not wait for weeks or months to see what fruit they bore. He accepted that sign as evidence they had received, just as he had received on the Day of Pentecost.ii
(3) Speaking in tongues is directly related to empowerment for service because it enlarges the believer’s capacity for prayer and worship. 1 Corinthians 14:4 says, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself….” This is the primary purpose of tongues.iii By speaking in tongues in his private devotional life, the believer’s spirit is strengthened for service to others. One person likens it to charging up a battery.iv We all know that a charged-up battery is better than one that’s lost its charge. Many Pentecostals don’t operate in the gifts of the Spirit because they don’t use what God has already given them. If God has given me the power to pray in tongues, I am expected to build myself up by doing that. Then, my spirit is strengthened to operate in the public gifts of the Spirit.
The gift of "different kinds of tongues" listed in 1 Cor. 12:10 is the PUBLIC operation of the devotional gift of tongues. We are now ready to define the gift listed as “different kinds of tongues” in 1 Cor. 12:10. Like the other nine gifts, it is a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit for the occasion. The exercise of this gift must be initiated by the Holy Spirit and must operate in conjunction with its companion gift, interpretation of tongues. It is the supernatural enablement of a believer to speak a message in a public assembly in a language he or she does not know. This message flows out of the person’s spirit and is not a product of the mind (1 Cor. 14:2, 14). When exercised with the gift of interpretation of tongues, it is for the edification of the church and is equivalent to prophecy (1 Cor. 14:5). The language spoken in tongues is of God’s choosing. It may be a language currently spoken in the world; it may be an ancient language no longer being spoken; it might even be angelic. I Cor. 13:1 talks about “tongues of men, and of angels.”
This gift is usually the easiest one for a Spirit-filled believer to move into because the mind does not have to process the message. The person needs to simply understand a few DIRECTIVES from Scripture.
(1) The gift is only to be exercised as the Spirit wills. 1 Corinthians 12:11: “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” This statement follows Paul’s list of the nine gifts of the Spirit and applies to all nine gifts. It is initiated as the Holy Spirit wills. How do we know when He is initiating a message in tongues for the congregation? You will feel the pressure of that message in your spirit, in your belly, wanting to flow out. That lets you know that God wants to use you in that service to give a message in tongues. If God is giving you a prophecy, you may get the first few words or some revelation of what the message is. With the gift of tongues you are not given the content of the message.
(2) Wait for an appropriate time to express the message in tongues. “Let all things be done decently and in order” is the rule of thumb given in 1 Cor. 14:40. This usually means you wait until a pause is given in the worship rather than interrupting someone. It is the responsibility of the leadership to give space for the gifts to operate. We try to make opportunity for the gifts to operate at some point during the worship time. Often, the leader is being told by the Spirit that a message is coming, as well as the person with the message in tongues. Out of ignorance, some people think they can’t control when the message is given. But Paul makes it very clear that you not only can but are responsible to do so. 1 Cor 14:32 says, “…the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.”
(3) There are never to be more than three messages of tongues and interpretation in a service (1 Cor. 14:27). So, if the three have already been given, just quietly speak that to God and don’t interrupt the service.
(4) If there is no one in the congregation who can interpret, then don’t give the tongue unless you will give the interpretation. 1 Cor. 14:28: “But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.”
(5) Anytime you give a message in tongues during a service, ask God to give you the interpretation. 1 Cor. 14:13 tells us to do that. If you are new in giving the congregation a message in tongues, God will probably use someone else to give the interpretation. But as you get seasoned in giving messages in tongues, normally He will then use you in the companion gift, interpretation of tongues.
II. INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES
This gift is defined as the supernatural articulation in the people’s known language, stating what the message in tongues means. This is not due to linguistic ability. The one giving the interpretation does not know the language spoken in tongues. He simply receives from God the interpretation of what has been said in tongues. Like all the other nine gifts, this is not an expression of human talent. It has nothing to do with learned linguistics. It is a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit for the occasion. The Holy Spirit prompts someone to give a message in tongues. Then, He prompts someone to interpret the tongues. That may be the same person who gave the tongues, or it may be someone else in the congregation.
Interpretation of tongues is not necessarily a translation of the message in tongues. It can be. But an interpretation simply gives the meaning of what was said in the unknown language. Remember when Jesus spoke with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection? Luke 24:27 says: “…He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” The word translated “expounded” is the same Greek word translated “interpret” in 1 Cor. 12 and 14.v That Greek word means “to explain thoroughly.” The length of an interpretation may be very different from the length of the message in tongues for a couple of reasons.
(1) The number of words it takes to say something in one language may be different from the number of words needed to convey the same thought in another language.
(2) In the interpretation God is using the person’s mind as part of the process. In expounding the meaning of something, one person may be more detailed and verbose than another person giving essentially the same meaning. I am a bottom-line person by nature. Even though I could give a very detailed explanation of an income statement, my tendency is to look at the net income, total revenue, total expenses, and identify major factors in those outcomes. I might interpret the income statement by saying, “We had $ 70,000 income last month. Revenue was $ 280,000 (up from last month because we had a fifth Sunday this month).Expenses were $ 210,000 which included two facility payments of $ 20,000 each and one major outreach that cost an additional $ 18,000. The net profit was $ 11,000 below our monthly average for the year, but we are a facility payment ahead and we had a successful outreach.” Another person might take 30 minutes explaining what the same income statement says, giving all kinds of detail on revenue and expenditures. That’s just an example of how one interpretation can differ from another and still convey the essential message. When a message is given in tongues, God reveals the meaning of the message to the one giving the interpretation, and that person speaks it forth in his or her own words.
Sometimes, when a message in tongues is given, there is someone present in the meeting who understands the language used in that message. This is very rare, but it happened on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, and it serves as a powerful sign to the person understanding the language. In one of Lester Sumrall’s meetings in Washington D.C., a brother in the congregation gave a message in tongues, and another gave the interpretation. When the meeting ended a young man walked up front and spoke in a foreign language to the one who gave the message in tongues. The brother told him that he did not understand any language except English. The young man said, “But you spoke my language beautifully. I am Persian. You spoke my language and told me that I must get right with God, that I must find God right now.” The brother explained to him that it was the Spirit who spoke. “God is talking to you, not me.” To the young man’s surprise, neither the man who gave the message in tongues nor the one who gave the interpretation spoke or understood his language. The young man stood there trembling, knelt down in prayer, and gave his heart to the Lord.vi There are many other similar modern-time stories.vii When this kind of thing happens, it is a powerful sign for the unbeliever.
When a message in tongues is interpreted, it is equivalent to prophecy according to 1 Cor. 14:5. So all the things we said about prophecy in this series apply to the Interpretation of Tongues. Both are to be judged by the others who operate in these gifts. 1 Corinthians 14:29 says, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.” First Thess. 5:19-21: “Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.” Why do prophecies and interpretations of tongues need to be tested? Since these gifts represent a blending of the human and the divine, error can get in on the human side. I plan to give some guidelines for judging prophecy at a later time. But I just want to make sure at this point we understand the balance of receptivity to what God may be saying on the one hand and discernment as to what is from God and what is not from God on the other hand. “Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies.”
On one side of the issue we must not reject the gifts of the Spirit. We must not count them a common thing just because they come through imperfect people. We must value the gifts of the Spirit, even though the human element is always present.
On the other hand, we are not to be so gullible that we swallow everything hook, line, and sinker. “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” When these gifts are manifested through people, the personalities, education, idiocracies, backgrounds, etc. come through along with the essential message God is giving. The person may use horrible grammar, mispronounce words, stutter, and falter, and it still be God. Learn to listen for the essence of what is said. Is it biblical? Does it honor the Lord Jesus Christ? Does it uplift, encourage, strengthen, and comfort the people of God (1 Cor. 14:3)? Learn to operate the gifts in a style that is palatable to the congregation.
Sometimes, people’s style sabotages the effectiveness of the message. For example, people who were introduced to the gifts in old-time Pentecost were taught, primarily by example, to get loud, use King James language, and throw in some “my little children” phrases along the way. If you’re prophesying in one of those churches, it works fine. But in most current churches, it is a distraction. It is received better if you simply say something like, “I believe the Lord has a word for us,” and speak it out in a normal tone using your daily language. Volume does not make it any more anointed. Of course, sometimes the speaker feels a lot of emotion, and it's okay to express that in the message. Express it in the same way you would in a conversation with the people you’re speaking to. When you’re hearing a prophecy or interpretation, don’t get hung up on the style. Listen for the message God is giving.
People operate in these gifts at various levels of faith. Romans 12:6: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith.” Sometimes, people give only part of the interpretation, then run out of faith and don’t complete the rest of it. Other people may give the message and then add some of their own thoughts. We have to be able to sort that out. The leadership is especially responsible here.
Over time people mature in their exercise of the gifts, if they will use the gifts God has given them. Perfectionism is an enemy of learning. Since there is a human element in these supernatural manifestations, people may shy away from them because they don’t want to miss God. That sensitivity to the honor of God is a good thing. But it should not morph into a fear that keeps us from obeying the promptings of the Spirit. Carl Brumback put it well: “We should always thank God for a wholesome fear to presume upon the exercise of a supernatural gift and may we ever shrink from any kind of an attempt to stimulate the manifestation of the Spirit.” This is one side of his caution. The gifts of the Spirit are initiated by the Holy Spirit. When we try to “make it happen,” we will likely get into trouble. He makes it happen. We cooperate with what He is doing.
We can and should position ourselves to be used by the Spirit in the gifts. I will talk later about how we do this. We should earnestly desire spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14:1). We should ask God to use us in the gifts. We should expect God to manifest Himself in the gifts. But we don’t whip ourselves up into the gifts. We don’t work ourselves up into the gifts. We wait on the Lord and look to His leadership. So, presumption is to be avoided. Then Brumback gives us the other side of his caution. “But, we must not allow our fear of imperfect exercise of the gift and the resultant criticism from others or possible embarrassment, to keep us from desiring, receiving and exercising the gift of interpretation of tongues.”viii
If tongues and interpretation are equivalent to prophecy, why does God have these two gifts? Why doesn’t He always simply use the gift of prophecy?
(1) First, the prerogative to use these two gifts in a meeting versus prophecy is God’s call, not ours. He manifests these gifts “as He wills.”
(2) Tongues are a sign to the unbeliever that something supernatural is going on. Paul quotes Isaiah in 1 Cor. 1 Cor. 14:21 where he writes, “In the law it is written: ‘With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,’ says the Lord.” Verse 22: “Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers….” Sometimes, that sign is profound, like on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and with the Persian man in Lester Sumrall’s meeting. Most of the time, it is simply a sign that God is supernaturally manifesting Himself.
(3) Tongues are an essential part of the believer’s private devotional life. It needs to be manifested before new believers so that they can inquire as to what it means. In his directives for the exercise of tongues, Paul is not trying to hide the fact that he and others speak in tongues. He is simply putting it in its rightful place for conducting services. People need to hear messages in tongues and be encouraged to speak in tongues in their personal prayer lives.
(4) Tongues and interpretation can be a beautiful demonstration of the body working in unison when one person gives the tongue, and another interprets.
(5) Tongues alert the congregation to the fact that He is about to speak to them through the interpretation of tongues. Hopefully, this will get their attention so that they will listen carefully to what He is about to say.
Therefore, at times, God chooses to speak through tongues and interpretation rather than prophecy.
Paul gives a few important guidelines for operating in the interpretation of tongues.
No more than two or three should be given during a service. He also says there can be two or three prophecies. So, that is potentially six in total. This directive should be followed, no matter what level of fervor the congregation is experiencing. One mistake many traditional Pentecostals made was to ignore this mandate.
What happens when this rule is ignored?
(1) Other aspects of ministry get neglected. Worship toward God gets interrupted. There is not adequate time for teaching and preaching the word. The word is “a more sure word of prophecy.”ix People must be established in its precepts. Christianity is not just about emotion and excitement. People also need to be rooted and grounded in the word. When the gifts operate according to the parameters Paul establishes in 1 Cor. 14, the gifts bring refreshing and assurance to God’s people. What else happens when we ignore these biblical guidelines?
(2) When we wholesale the gifts of the Spirit, they begin to be treated as a common thing. People lose their respect for the majesty of God’s presence. People get sloppy in the exercise of the gifts, and they get sloppy about judging the gifts. The frenzy opens them up to deception.
(3) The service becomes chaotic. God is not the author of confusion, but confusion comes if there is no order in the service. We come together to receive teaching, edification, and encouragement. The effectiveness of this is lost when things are not done in an orderly fashion. So, in 1 Cor 14:27, Paul writes, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.”
Here is the second rule: only one speaker at a time. And there should always be an interpretation for a message in tongues. It is not uncommon when a message in tongues is given that two or three people could get the interpretation. When that happens, we should prefer one another and not speak out at the same time someone else is speaking. Apparently, this kind of stuff was going on at the Corinthian church. First Cor. 14:30: “But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.” If I’m getting the message, yet the revelation also comes to someone else, and they begin giving it, I am not to interrupt and speak my interpretation. I am to remain silent and let the Holy Spirit use that other brother or sister.
So, we have addressed all nine gifts of the Spirit. Our primary objective has been an understanding of what these gifts are and how they operate. Hopefully, this series has stirred a desire in you to be used by God in these gifts. It has certainly done that for me. In the coming sermons, we want to understand more fully Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 12-14 and talk about how to position ourselves for the Holy Spirit to use us in these supernatural gifts.
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii Acts 11:15-17
iii A.C. Thiselton, “Explain, Interpret, Tell, Narrative, Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 1, Colin Brown, Gen. Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 1971, p. 582.
iv Kenneth Hagin, The Gift of Prophecy, as quoted by Norval Hayes, Endued with Power: How to Activate the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life (Tulsa, OK: Harrison House Inc., 1991) p. 24.
v Strong’s 1329: diermeneuo means “to explain thoroughly.” See 1 Cor. 12:30; 14:5, 13, 27. I am indebted to Dr. Howard P. Courtney for bringing this to my attention.
vi Lester Sumrall, Gifts and Ministries of the Holy Spirit (South Bend, IN: Lester Sumrall Evangelistic Assoc., 1993) p. 127.
vii For example: p. 49 in A Handbook on Tongues Interpretation, and Prophecy by Don Basham: p. 154 in The Gifts of the Spirit by Harold Horton; p. 93-94 in Spiritual Gifts and Their Operation by Howard Carter; and p. 94-95 in Spreading the Fire, Book 1 by C. Peter Wagner .
viii Carl Brumback, What Meaneth This? as quoted by Howard P. Courtney, The Vocal Gifts of the Spirit: Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Prophecy (Los Angeles: Starling Press, 1982) p. 27.
ix 2 Peter 1:19
