Chisholm 1st Baptist Church Email: revdan@cpinternet.com 218-254-3307 Go to Outline
Pastor Dan Erickson’s Weekly Message
1 Corinthians 14:1-25 "TONGUES: A CONTROVERSIAL GIFT"
January 7, 2001
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"Wise men say, ’Only fools rush in’ but I can’t help talking about 1 Corinthians again." Sorry, Elvis. Yes, after a seven-week break, we come back to the Book of 1 Corinthians where we pick up in Chapter 14. Here the topic is the gift of tongues, an issue which has been surrounded by conflict over the last fifty years. In this room today there are a variety of opinions on this subject, and I think the smart thing would be for me to just skip over 1 Corinthians 14 and move on to Chapter 15 and talk about the resurrection, something on which we all probably agree. We are not going to do that, however. Even though it may seem foolish to tackle such a divisive topic, an important part of my job as your pastor is to preach to you what Paul calls "the whole counsel of God." At this church we believe that all parts of the Bible, including 1 Corinthians 14, are words from God for us that will benefit our soul. I also know there is sometimes mistrust between Christians who speak in tongues and those who do not. My desire is that this sermon might help us get over some of that so that we can grow in love for each other. Now, maybe you are visiting with us today and really have no idea what I am talking about. If that is the case, I guess you are kind of stepping into the middle of a family argument, but I hope you are able to learn some things as well. So as we head into this topic, I feel a bit of anxiety, but I also think God has something for all of us. Let’s pause and pray that He would speak to us through His Word today.
Before we look at our text today, I am going to take time to share with you my personal journey concerning speaking in tongues. I hope at least some of you find this helpful. I grew up in a little Baptist church in Prentice, Wisconsin. When I graduated from high school, I had never heard anyone speak in tongues. I was not even exactly sure what it was, but I knew it was something we were not supposed to do. Our pastor had taught us that it was meant only for Christians in the 1st Century. However, that summer, 1975, I worked for a weekly newspaper in Northwood, North Dakota. It was a town of about 2000 which had just three churches. Two big Norwegian Lutheran ones, and one tiny, little Assembly of God Church. That is where I ended up. The folks in that church did not believe tongues were only for the 1st Century. Every Sunday I would hear someone speak in tongues, if not in the morning worship service, certainly in the evening service. Now, I never spoke in tongues, was never pressured to try to do that, but did enjoy some sweet fellowship with the believers in that little church. In fact, I still get a Christmas card each year from the couple, now well in their 80s, who were the pastors of that congregation.
When I arrived at college that fall, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, I was not an advocate of speaking in tongues, but I had nothing against it. That quickly changed. Within our Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship chapter, I saw people abusing the gift of tongues. I met folks who thought they were more spiritual than other Christians because they could speak in tongues. I talked to students who did not think studying the Bible was important because they said they had a direct line of communication to God through speaking in tongues. I knew individuals who would enthusiastically pray in tongues at a prayer meeting, but who demonstrated very little commitment to the Lord and very little godliness when they left those meetings. Though I could not convince myself that the Bible taught that tongues were not for today, something I tried to do a few times, I did conclude that they were not a good thing for the church. I believed that Christians who spoke in tongues tended to not be as solid and mature in their faith as those of us who did not. That was the opinion I held pretty much through college and seminary.
Then in 1985 I became the pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church, Wentworth, Wisconsin, just outside of Superior. This was a church that had suffered a pretty deep split over the issue of tongues, and the congregation still consisted of folks on both sides of the issue. In fact, one of the reasons I was hired is because I described myself as a "non-charismatic." I quickly discovered, however, that some of the most solid Christians in the congregation were the folks who spoke in tongues. Though I continued to disagree with some of their theological beliefs, I developed a great love and affection for these brothers and sisters. Thus, by the time I arrived in Chisholm, August 1993, I was both sympathetic and critical of the charismatic movement and of Christians who spoke in tongues. In fact, I could not decide if I was a sympathetic critic or a critical sympathizer. Seven years later I suppose those labels might still fit. I continue to believe that the view which says tongues was only a gift for the 1st Century lacks real biblical support. I think it is a spiritual gift that God can give people today. However, I also believe that the abuse of tongues and other charismatic gifts is a very serious problem in the Christian church. I have also become convinced that if both sides would take more seriously what the Bible says, especially what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians Chapter 14, we could avoid a lot of the tension and conflict between those who speak in tongues and those who do not.
OK, let’s take a look at what the Apostle Paul says about speaking in tongues in 1 Corinthians 14. Though some of the details in this passage are a bit difficult to grasp, Paul’s main point is crystal clear. He prefers the gift of prophecy to the gift of tongues. Let me just read the first few verses. 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. He continues to emphasize and illustrate this theme for the next few paragraphs. To make sense of what Paul writes here, we need to figure what he means by the terms "prophecy" and "tongues." Now, maybe some of you have felt a little foolish because as I have talked the last few minutes, you have been thinking, "Pastor Dan, I don’t have the foggiest idea what you are talking about when you say ’speaking in tongues.’" Don’t be embarrassed. It is not something they usually talk about on the 10:00 o’clock news. Actually Bible scholars have been discussing for years what Paul means when he refers to this gift. They are also having a hard time reaching an agreement about what the gift of prophecy involves, but that is our topic for next week. So, what is speaking in tongues?
In simplest terms, speaking in tongues is when someone speaks in a language that he or she does not know. If I were to get up here and start speaking Chinese, that would be an example of speaking in tongues. In Acts 2, at Pentecost, this is apparently what happened. Folks from all over the Roman Empire were gathered and they heard the apostles speaking in their own language. Some have suggested that the miracle there was in the hearing, that the person from Egypt heard Egyptian being spoken even though no one was speaking it, but I don’t think that was the case. I believe the apostles and maybe others with them actually were praising God in languages they had not learned. Perhaps Andrew was declaring the glory of the Lord in Egyptian, though he had never studied it for even a minute. This was a miracle and in some way the words spoken certainly came from the Lord. There is a problem, however, because very, very few people who claim to speak in tongues today are speaking another human language. Linguists have listened to thousands of tape recordings of tongues speaking and only very rarely have found even a fragment of another known language. Does that mean that these people don’t really have the gift that Paul talks about? Are they just making gibberish noises? Not necessarily. In Acts 2 the apostles apparently spoke in tongues because the people listening to them spoke a wide variety of languages. That is not the case in Corinth, in 1 Corinthians. Here it seems there is at least a possibility that tongues are a language unknown to any human being. The phrase "tongues of men and of angels," which Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 13:1, suggests the possibility that the gift of tongues may involve speaking in some angelic language.
Now, what is the purpose of this speaking in tongues? Paul seems to mention two purposes. First of all, when it is interpreted it provides a message from the Lord, much as prophecy does. 14:5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. We will discuss next week how this prophecy works, but Paul seems to think that both prophecy and a message in tongues which has been translated are valuable to the church. How does this interpretation of tongues happen? Well, apparently in two ways. Paul’s list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:10 and his instructions given in Chapter 14:26-28 seem to indicate that there may be certain individuals in a church who have the spiritual gift, really miraculous ability, to understand and translate what someone speaking in tongues says. The impression I get is that this individual was able to do this whenever someone spoke in tongues. But, Paul also seems to say that the person who speaks in tongues might be able to translate it for others. 14:13 For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. Now, I really don’t claim to totally understand how this was all supposed to work, but those are the instructions Paul gives. Again, I think it is so essential that both those who speak in tongues and those who do not, pay close attention to what the Lord says to us in these verses.
The second purpose of tongues is this: Even if it is not interpreted, it still can provide spiritual encouragement to the one who speaks in such a way. Though Paul does not say so explicitly, he implies a number of times in this chapter that some Christians speak in tongues privately and find benefit in doing that. Look at 14:18,19 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. My guess is that Paul may have never spoken in tongues when he gathered with other Christian believers. He wanted to talk in a way that made sense to the people who were listening to him. So, where did he speak in tongues more than everyone else? In private, when he was alone. Listen to 14:13-16 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? Now, Paul’s point is that prophecy is a more valuable gift to the church than tongues. But the implication is that when someone privately speaks in tongues, that person is praising God with his or her spirit, and that is certainly a good thing to do. It’s just not as good as if one spoke words that everyone could understand and from which they could benefit. But should not spiritual gifts be used only to benefit others? Not necessarily. That is their primary purpose, but Paul apparently is telling us that a secondary reason why God gives some people this gift is so they can use it as a private prayer language. Now, some have suggested that speaking in tongues which are to be interpreted and speaking in tongues as a private prayer language are really two distinct gifts from God’s Spirit. They say that not everyone has the gift of speaking in tongues publicly, but every Christian can, and maybe should, have the gift of speaking in tongues privately. Well, there is really no biblical support for that view, and it seems to contradict what the Lord tells us here in Chapter 14.
I should also mention that in Verse 22 Paul says tongues can function as a sign for unbelievers, but then in Verses 23-25 he talks about how an unbeliever who walks into a church where people are speaking in tongues is going to be turned off and think everyone there is crazy. The only way I can make sense of what Paul says is that in Verse 22 he is talking about a situation where an unbeliever hears someone speaking his native language, like what happened at Pentecost. That type of tongues would be a sign for a non-Christian, but otherwise that is not the purpose. So, what does this mean for us today? Let me give you two of my conclusions as I have studied this text and the rest of the New Testament. I encourage you to listen to what I have to say, then go home and check it out; study the Bible to see if the things I am saying are true.
First of all, speaking in tongues is a legitimate spiritual gift. It certainly was in the early church. That is obvious in our text today. The Apostle Paul spoke in tongues and in Verse 39 he warns the folks at Corinth to not forbid speaking in tongues. But, what about today? Well, friends, I find nothing in the Bible to indicate a change since the 1st Century, so I conclude it is still a gift that God can give to people today, and I am afraid that Verse 39, "do not forbid speaking in tongues," may apply to me as well as to the Corinthians. "But, Pastor Dan, don’t a lot of great Bible teachers say that the gift of tongues was only for the early church and not for today?" Yes, they do, and I have some very good friends who agree with them. These folks are often called cessationists, because they claim that God has ceased giving any Christian the gift of tongues. They usually make two arguments. 1) 1 Corinthians 13 teaches that tongues will cease and 2) that church history shows that has happened. However, I don’t find their case convincing. 1 Corinthians 13:8 does indeed say that tongues will be stilled or cease. That is clear. But, when will this happen? Paul says, in Verse 10, that "when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears." Tongues and other spiritual gifts are clearly the imperfect, but what is perfection or, as the King James Version says, "that which is perfect"? These folks say, "It is the New Testament canon. Now that we have the New Testament, which they did not have in Paul’s day, we no longer need things like tongues." Now, that logic makes sense, but I don’t think that is what Paul said. Verse 12, where Paul speaks of seeing "face to face" and knowing "fully" clearly seems to be a reference to the return of Jesus Christ and the end of the age, and there is no indication that Paul is speaking of a different time in Verse 8. Thus, I think Paul is saying that the gift of tongues will cease to exist when we enter our eternal home at Jesus’ return.
What about the second argument? Did people stop speaking in tongues after the 1st Century? Well, basically, yes. Some charismatic teachers have tried to claim that many great Christian leaders throughout the centuries have spoken in tongues, but that is almost total speculation. In fact, most of the reports of tongues-speaking, up until recent history, have been in some rather bizarre, cult-type groups. But, there is another side of the historical coin. Though I can’t explain why so few Christians spoke in tongues for about 1800 years, neither can I explain why so many Christians have spoken in tongues in recent decades. Though I might think some of the folks who speak in tongues today are pretty bizarre, many of them are very solid Christians. The truth remains, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12, that God is sovereign, and He distributes spiritual gifts to people as He wills and when He wills. If He chooses to give some folks the gift of tongues at this time, I think He can do that.
Now, does this mean I believe everyone who claims to have the gift of tongues really does? No. The fact that there are incidents of tongues-speaking among other religions such as Islam and Hinduism, makes it clear that it is possible to speak in tongues apart from the Holy Spirit. Some of the tongues-speaking that happens in churches today is no doubt simply gibberish, and a psychological phenomenon rather than a supernatural, spiritual gift. I also recognize that a supernatural ability to speak in tongues may come from the other side, the demonic, and not from God at all. The spiritual forces of evil certainly may try to imitate God’s gifts. The fact, however, that some incidents of tongues-speaking are not from God, hardly proves that none are from God. I find no biblical truth, or any other reason, to deny that tongues is a legitimate spiritual gift that a Christian may have today.
My second conclusion is that the gift of tongues has been greatly abused in recent years. Probably the most serious problem has been that people have elevated spiritual experiences like this above the Word of God. Next week we will talk about how any revelation we think we have received from the Lord must always be tested and measured against what God has said in His written Word, the Bible. Today, though, the problem I want to talk about is how some folks have tried to make tongues the mark of a first-class Christian, implying that those who don’t speak in tongues are not quite as spiritual. The traditional Pentecostal teaching has been that speaking in tongues is the sign of being baptized by the Holy Spirit, meaning that those who have never spoken in tongues have not received this baptism. We noted before that Paul contradicts this view in two ways in 1 Corinthians 12. First, in Verse 13 he affirms that all genuine Christians have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into one body, and secondly, he says that not all Christians can or should speak in tongues. Some folks claim that Paul was only speaking about the public gift when he says that not everyone speaks in tongues. But, again I simply don’t find distinctions between a public gift and a private gift in the New Testament. I think Paul is clear that speaking in tongues of any type is not something all Christians are supposed to do.
Though many charismatic teachers reject the idea that one has to speak in tongues to be baptized in the Spirit, they still seem to want to elevate the gift above its proper place. One phrase commonly used is "Spirit-filled Christian." In many cases it is meant to be synonymous with a Christian who speaks in tongues. That is silly. Having the gift of tongues and being filled with the Spirit really have nothing to do with each other. Not every Christian should speak in tongues, but every Christian ought to be Spirit-filled. Now, I doubt there is any Christian who is always Spirit-filled. We all have a tendency to get a little "self-filled" sometimes, but our goal, whether we speak in tongues or not, should be to be filled with the Spirit as the Lord commands us to do. (Ephesians 5:18) Paul has made it clear in Chapter 14 that being able to speak in tongues is not the ultimate spiritual experience. Yes, it is one of the spiritual gifts, but only one. It is foolish for Christians who speak in tongues to think that somehow they are superior to Christians who don’t speak in tongues, just as it is foolish for those who don’t speak in tongues to think they are better than those who do. Did you catch that? Don’t think because you speak in tongues, or because you don’t speak in tongues, that you are better than another Christian. To do so demonstrates not only a lack of humility, but a lack of clear thinking. If that has been your attitude in the past, I suggest you repent and ask not only God’s forgiveness, but forgiveness from brothers and sisters you may have offended.
Friends, I realize that I may have raised as many questions in your mind as I have answered today. I don’t intend to do that, but this is a complicated issue. If you disagree with something I have said, please don’t get mad. Let’s talk about it. You may help me to understand this whole issue better. Also, please remember that as a Christian, it is what the Bible teaches, not what I say; not what another pastor says; not even what you think, but the Bible which is our authority. I pray the Lord will help us search the Scriptures so that we can gain a knowledge of the truth that leads us to unity in Christ.
Finally, I encourage you to focus on what is important. I don’t know whether or not you should speak in tongues, but I do know that each of us should be filled with the Spirit. That is a clear command from the Lord. Asking God to fill us with the power of His Spirit and committing ourselves to follow Him each day is far more important than whether or not we speak in tongues or have any other spiritual gift.
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