Of all the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, none has provoked more interest and fascination than that of the gift of tongues. This is not only true of the last one hundred years, with the advent of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement, but even in the 1st Century as is evidenced by the Corinthian congregation’s preoccupation with the gift.
We aim to use the authority of Scripture rather than the unreliable testimony of rumor and experience to learn the nature of this gift, the purpose of this gift, the appropriate use of this gift and the fate of this gift. We must remember that the Scriptures are the Church’s infallible guide.
I. The Nature of the Gift of Tongues.
The first demonstration of the gift of tongues is found in Acts 2:1-11. In this passage, the twelve apostles are gathered together, by the commandment of Christ Jesus, and they receive the promised baptism of the Holy Spirit. Verse 4 reads, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”
The Greek word for “tongue” is glossa. It refers either to the physical tongue or to the human language that the human tongue speaks. Obviously, in our verse, it cannot be interpreted as the physical tongue; after all, the Spirit did not permit them to use the physical tongues of others with which to speak However, it is not only possible to understand it to refer to the second meaning - human languages spoken by the human tongue - it is so defined within this passage.
Luke tells us that there were “Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.” This was the case because it was the custom for Jews through-out the world to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the yearly Feast of Pentecost. Verse 5-8 states that when the Apostles began speaking in tongues, these foreign pilgrims “were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, ‘Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?’”
Here, the pilgrims explain that the tongues spoken by the Apostles were their own native, foreign languages. The Greek word translated “language” is dialektos, from which we get our word dialect. Note the nationalities represented here, in verses 9-11, “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs.”
The miracle here, as stated by these pilgrims, is that a dozen uneducated Galileans were suddenly speaking these various foreign language or dialects. According to Scripture, the gift of tongues was a supernatural ability to speak an earthly foreign language without special training.
Note, too, that it was not ‘heavenly language’ nor was it gibberish, but speech in a earthly, foreign language. Verse 11 - as the pilgrims state “we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God."
Paul reveals that the gift of tongues was human languages in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.”
Notice that the Apostle says “various kinds of tongues.” The word translated “kinds” is the Greek genos. It means "nationality," "race," or "kindred of people." Therefore, Paul says there are "various kinds of languages," or "various nationalities of tongues." Thus, this terminology identifies "tongues" as an earthly human language.
Another passage which proves that the gift of tongues was a supernatural ability to speak an earthly foreign language is found in 1 Corinthians 14:21. Here Paul reveals that the gift of tongues was foreshadowed in the Old Testament, “In the Law it is written, ‘BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME,’ says the Lord.”
Paul is quoting Isaiah 28:11. In the passage, the Prophet Isaiah is foretelling the invasion and captivity of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The Assyrian army is going to come down and conquer Israel. The Assyrians will speak to the Israelites in their native Assyrian. The very presence of the foreign language of the Assyrians within Israel will be God’s way of speaking judgment upon the unfaithful Israelites. Thus, Paul use of this passage from the Book of Isaiah equates the gift of tongues with non-Hebrew foreign languages.
The Scriptural evidence makes it clear that the gift of tongues was the supernatural ability to speak an unlearned foreign language.
II. The Purpose of the Gift of Tongues.
Having defined the nature of the gift of tongues, let us now investigate the purpose of the gift. Like all miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gift of tongues was a sign. It was to confirm that the Gospel message preached throughout the world was from God.
Mark 16: 14-15, 17-20, “Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation…..These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.’ So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.”
Thus, we see that Jesus stated that the gift would be a sign just like the gift of miracles (e.g., casting out demons, remaining unharmed after being poisoned) and the gift of healing. These signs were the Lord’s way of confirming the Divine nature of the message preached.
1 Corinthians 14:22 is very clear in stating the gift’s purpose, “So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers.”
Tongues was never meant to benefit those who had believed the message; on the contrary, it was to convince the unbelieving to make them believers.
Paul has an additional point here. Combining verse 21 with 22, I believe that Paul is saying that the gift of tongues was primarily a sign for the Jewish people. It was a sign to the Jewish people that the religion of Christ was from God. Further, it was a sign that the Jewish religion was now obsolete. The Jewish system, including the nation and religion was in its last days.
Returning to Acts 2, Peter explained to the Jewish pilgrims the significance of what they were witnessing: Verses 16-21, “but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: `AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, `THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’”
We do not have the time to go into detail, here, but Joel prophesied that in the last days of the Jewish nation, God would pour-out the Spirit on all Mankind; that is, on both Jew and Gentile. The sun darkening and moon turning to blood is common prophetic figurative language of judgment being meted-out upon a nation’s political, economic and religious institutions. The “great and glorious day of the Lord” speaks of God pouring forth destruction upon the wicked and unbelieving. Peter is telling his Jewish audience that they were witnessing the last days of the Jewish nation and religion. Each of them will be punished unless they took heed to the message of the Apostles. Every one of them who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus would be saved.
Less than forty years after Peter’s sermon, the prophecy was completely fulfilled. The Roman army invaded and destroyed the Jewish nation and its ability to practice its religion in the temple. Millions of Jews were slaughtered and a million more was taken into slavery. However, those Jews who had become Christians were spared.
In the days of Isaiah, the unbelieving Jews had the sign of God’s punishment in hearing the heathen language of the Assyrian conquerors. The unbelieving Jews of the first Century received the sign of their impending doom through the heathen foreign languages spoken by means of the gift of tongues.
The gift of tongues was a sign to help the unbelieving Jews to believe and it was a sign of impending doom to those Jews who refused to believe.
(Before going on to our next point, let me add that the reason why the Gentile Cornelius spoke in tongues, as recorded in Acts 10, was to show to the Jewish Apostles that God’s new system incorporated the Gentiles into the Church on an equal basis with believing Jews. Again, it was a sign of the phasing-out of the old system and the beginning of the new.)
III. 1st Century Usage of the Gift of Tongues.
The Corinthian congregation badly misunderstood the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They exalted some gifts and those who had them over others. They used the gifts for self-promotion. They used the gifts for self-edification. They allowed, if not encouraged, everyone to perform the gifts all at the same time and created a crazy, circus-like atmosphere during the worship services. Front and center were those who possessed the gift of tongues. (This sounds like a typical service at your local Pentecostal or Charismatic Revival Meeting.)
Paul delivered commands to guide the use of the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 14.
1. Only a Few Tongue Speakers per Worship Service, Verse 27.
“If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three.”
2. Only One Single Tongue Speaker At A Time, Verse 27.
“If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn.”
3. Gift Could Only Be Used With Interpretation, Verses 27-28.
“If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God.” Please note that the gift was meant to be understood so that listeners could be profited. Speaking in tongues was not an end in itself. The message being spoken in the foreign language was what was important.
These commands are given to regulate the use of the gift of tongues to insure -
A. That the congregation as a whole is edified.
Verses 5, 10-17, “greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying…There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning. If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me. So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church. Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the ‘Amen’ at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.”
B. That unbelievers and visitors will not come and hear babbling and think the congregation is insane.
Verse 23, “Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad?”
4. Only Men Were Allowed To Speak In Tongues in the Assembly, Verses 27-28, 34.
“If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God…The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says.”
IV. Duration of the Gift of Tongues.
We have seen that the purpose for the gift of tongues was to be a sign to confirm the word for unbelievers, especially Jewish unbelievers. The gift belonged to the period that marked the last days of the Jewish nation and the infancy of the world-wide Church of Christ.
Like all of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, they had no purpose after all of the teachings of the Christian Faith had been revealed, written down and collected into the one volume we refer to as the New Testament of the Bible. Paul had told the Corinthian congregation that the gift of tongues would soon cease to exist (1 Corinthians 13:8-11).
Church history testifies that the gift of tongues was unknown after the 1st Century. Early Church writers of the first five centuries all testified to the temporary nature of the gift. Only a 2nd & 3rd Century cult referred to as the Montanists claimed to possess the Holy Spirit’s Gift of Tongues. The cult’s founders - self-proclaimed prophet Montanus and two self-proclaimed prophetesses, Maximilla and Priscilla - believed that they were revealing truth that superceded the written Scriptures. They denied that their utterances were foreign human languages but, on the contrary, were heavenly ecstatic speech, just as do modern Pentecostals and Charismatic groups.
That leads to a discussion of modern day churches who claim that their members possess the gift of tongues. Today’s supposed gift, contrast with those of New Testament times, have absolutely no authenticating quality. Being totally different from the original gift, it is powerless to confirm that God is uniquely with these people.
William J. Samarin, professor emeritus of linguistics at the University of Toronto, has written: “Over a period of five years I have taken part in meetings in Italy, Holland, Jamaica, Canada and the United State. I have observed old-fashioned Pentecostals and neo-Pentecostals. I have been in small meetings in private homes as well as in mammoth public meetings. I have seen such different cultural settings as are found among Puerto Ricans of the Bronx, the snake handlers of the Appalachians and the Russian Molakans of Los Angeles… I have interviewed tongue speakers, and tape recorded and analyzed countless samples of Tongues. In every case, glossolalia turns out to be linguistic nonsense. In spite of superficial similarities, glossolalia is fundamentally not language.”
The tongues performed by charismatic evangelicals today are no different from those which are manifested by those in the non-Christian religions and cults of Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, Islam, Shintoism, spiritistism and voodoo. Ecstatic speech has been a common feature of many pagan religions from ancient times and continues to be so.
Modern Pentecostals or Charismatics generally trace their heritage to Charles Parham’s Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas, where Agnes Ozman began to speak in "tongues" in 1901 when hands were laid on her. It was claimed (though not credibly confirmed) that Ozman spoke in Chinese for three days, unable to speak English, and on the second day she spoke in Bohemian. Soon, most of the others at the school were speaking and singing "in tongues." Parham, at least acknowledging that Biblical tongues had been foreign human languages, claimed that the tongue-speaking in his group were languages.
However, in 1914, Charles Shumway diligently sought evidence to prove that early Pentecostal tongues were real languages. He failed to find even one person to corroborate the claims which had been made. In his 1919 Ph.D. dissertation, Shumway stated that ’letters are on hand from several men who were government interpreters in or near Houston at the time [when Parham conducted a Bible school there], and they are unanimous in denying all knowledge of the alleged facts.’" Parham’s Bible school students jotted down strange writings which they claimed were the product of the gift of tongues. They claimed these writings were foreign languages, such as Chinese, but when they were examined by knowledgeable people, they were found to be mere indecipherable scratchings.
The man who founded the famous Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles was Black evangelist William Seymour. Pentecostal historian Vinson Synan says, "The Azusa Street revival is commonly regarded as the beginning of the modern Pentecostal movement. ... In addition to the ministers who received their Pentecostal experience directly at Azusa Street, thousands of others were influenced indirectly."
In 1903, William Seymour attended Charles Parham’s Bible school in Houston, Texas. There he became committed to the falsity that the Christian must be subsequently "baptized in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of tongues." In early 1906, Seymour was invited to Los Angeles to pastor a small holiness group which, at the time of the invitation, was pastored by a woman, Julie Hutchins. Upon his arrival in Los Angeles, Seymour preached only one sermon before being locked out of the church which had invited him. In his sermon he had declared that tongues was the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit. He said this in spite of the fact that he himself had never spoken in tongues! Seymour moved his meetings to a home and then to an abandoned building on Azusa Street, and strange phenomena began to be evidenced. The meetings lasted more than three years, and large numbers of people visited Azusa Street to seek their own Pentecost, subsequently taking the Pentecostal theology and experience back to their homes.
The meetings began in the mornings and continued for at least 12 hours. There was no order of services and usually no one leading. People sang at the same time but "with completely different syllables, rhythms, and melodies." The services were characterized by much confusion: dancing, jumping up and down, falling, trances, slaying in the spirit, "tongues," jerking, hysteria, strange noises, and "holy laughter." One visitor described the meetings as "wild, hysterical demonstrations." The seekers would be "seized with a strange spell and commence a jibberish of sounds." A Times reporter noted that the participants "work themselves into a state of mad excitement in their peculiar zeal." There was little or no order to the Azusa Street services. Whoever felt "moved by the spirit" to speak, would do so. Seymour taught the people to cry out to God and demand the baptism with the Holy Ghost.
When Parham visited the meetings in October 1906, even he was shocked by the confusion of the services. He was dismayed by the "awful fits and spasms" of the "holy rollers and hypnotists." He described the Azusa "tongues" as "chattering, jabbering and sputtering, speaking no language at all." The Azusa Street meetings were so wild that Parham condemned them with the term "sensational Holy Rollers." He testified that the Azusa Street meetings were largely characterized by manifestations of the flesh, spiritualistic controls, and the practice of hypnotism. According to Parham, two-thirds of the people professing Pentecostalism in his day "are either hypnotized or spook driven." When Parham arrived in Azusa Street in 1906, he began his first sermon by telling the people that "God is sick at his stomach" because of the things which were occurring at Azusa. He never changed his opinion. To the end of his life, Parham, often called "the father of Pentecostalism," denounced Azusa Street as a case of "spiritual power prostituted." Thus the "father of Pentecostalism" roundly rejected the Azusa Street meetings as phony, manipulated, and demonic, even though practically all Pentecostal denominations trace their heritage directly from those meetings!
