EPISODE 124 1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 14 "What about the gift of tongues"

Welcome to Share the Word. Today's topic: the gift of tongues. If you're new to Share the Word, we welcome you, and if you've been following us for a while, we thank you. And you're probably getting the sense that I'm avoiding explaining what you're about to hear. Well, you're absolutely correct, because in my opinion, there is nothing I can say that will add to the eloquence of what you're about to hear. Paul.

First Corinthians chapter 14. What about the gift of tongues? When I was 17 or 18, as a young man who had already felt called and had committed myself to a life of Christian service, I was blessed to be part of a great Christian youth group. I know a lot of youth groups and churches are mostly just for fun, a place parents feel their kids can have a good time and be safe. But this one was a lot more. We had godly leaders, and we were in a church that was very biblically sound.

Many young people in that group were followers of Christ in a real way and living out their faith boldly, and that made a difference. I had a peer group of other young men, eight or ten of us, all within a year of my age, who were serious about following Christ. This was the early 1970s, the era when the charismatic movement was surging on the East Coast. Pentecostalism, a segment of Christianity that believes the supernatural gifts described early in Acts and in First Corinthians 12 and 14 had been reborn in the 20th century, had already been around for decades by then, but was small and mostly seen as out of the mainstream by Bible-believing churches. But the charismatic movement, which believed pretty much the same things, came along in the 1960s and grew into the 1970s and was a more contemporary feeling and appealed to a wider audience.

People across denominational barriers, even Roman Catholics, were drawn to this movement with its emphasis on the spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit, including the supernatural ones, and their free expression in Christian gatherings. This movement came to our town as well and touched my small group of Christian friends. A couple of them, in particular, got so into it that they left our youth group, started attending other groups where the emphasis was on things like speaking in tongues in order to prove you had been baptized by the Holy Spirit, amusing their terminology. I have to say I found that at the time interesting, but also confusing at the same time. I sincerely wanted whatever God wanted for me, but nothing that wasn't real or valuable. One evening, the two guys I mentioned invited me and a good friend to discuss what they had been experiencing and being taught.

They asked us to come and talk to them about it, discuss it, and we were interested to listen, so yeah, we agreed to meet up. What I remember of that night was a lot of discussion back and forth about this topic and what the New Testament has to say about it. And then, as it was getting late, not wanting to miss the chance, I said to the one who was doing most of the talking, It sounds like you believe you have the Holy Spirit in a different way than we have experienced, and that he has given you the gift of tongues as proof of that, which, as he had explained it, meant God would speak through him in an unknown language. So I asked, Can you show us? Can you do that? Um, right now?

The two of them looked at each other for a second before he said, Yes, I think I could. And then he closed his eyes as if to pray, maybe he did pray intelligibly for a moment. Then after that, began to make sounds, regular sounds, but not that connected together into any understandable words, just disconnected sounds. After he finished, I reminded him that in the chapter we're looking at today, 1 Corinthians 14, the apostle stressed that the only value of the gift of languages is if it edifies other people, that is, if it benefits others spiritually, and for that to happen, it must be translated. I asked his sidekick, Do you have the gift of translating? I could tell by his expression that he wasn't going to claim he did.

But then the friend who had prayed in the unintelligible sounds said, I can interpret what God has said through me. Not to be smart, but I remember thinking, Wait, if God was giving you a message for us, why did it need to come through that gibberish and you now have to interpret it rather than in just plain English? But anyways, I will never forget his interpretation. He told us, looking very solemn, The Holy Spirit says that you will not leave this place tonight without also receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues just as I have. Wow. I didn't expect that.

I looked at my buddy who was with me, a godly young man, I might add, and said, Do you feel like that's really a message from God for us? Because I didn't. He didn't think so either. It was kind of an awkward way to end the evening, but we said, Hey, thanks for the discussion, but getting late and we're not feeling we're disobeying God by leaving now, and we got up and did. I'll never forget that. I also remember thinking about it seriously before I fell asleep that night and even praying, Lord, if this is really something I need for some reason, I don't want to miss anything you legitimately have for me.

But again, I felt nothing convincing me it was. Not that my experiences, or lack thereof, are determinative any more than my friends' experiences, who believed he was speaking in tongues, were determinative. By which I mean, we should not base what is real on our subjective experiences alone. Christians need to do our best to judge things by the Word of God always. Chapter 14 is certainly not a tutorial on how to speak in tongues, that's for sure. But apparently, a real or false version or both of the gift of languages was gaining such a prominent place in the Corinthian church's public services, Paul spends most of this chapter addressing that as a problem.

He definitely believed that what he had heard was going on there was out of order. And if you have ever been in a public church service where a bunch of people are speaking at once and in sounds that are not words, and I have, I think you might have an idea what the Corinthian church's services had devolved into. People in that early church were fascinated with this phenomenon, saw it as a mystical otherworldly experience, and it was taking over their services, which Paul knew was completely unproductive. By the way, I prefer the terminology gift of languages rather than tongues, because that is what the word here normally means when it's not referring to the flap of tissue and nerves inside your mouth.

The old King James Version of the Bible used tongues in passages about the spiritual gifts simply because 500 years ago, when that translation was made, tongues was the normal word for languages. So as I said, I think it's helpful today to call it the gift of languages, because it refers to God giving someone the ability to speak in an actual language that's unknown to them, but known and understood by those who would hear them. How do we know that? Because in the New Testament passage where it's first addressed, Acts chapter 2, what happened on the day of Pentecost 33 A.D. was that at that Jewish holiday, people from foreign lands were crowded into Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover, and they marveled that the apostles of Jesus, when indwelt by the Holy Spirit for the first time, could somehow speak in their native languages, languages the apostles themselves did not know.

They said, How is it that each of us is hearing these men in our native languages? And to be sure we don't misunderstand, Luke, the author of Acts, adds that those people were Parthians and Medes and Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Asia, Pontus, Phrygia, Egypt, and so on. So the apostles were speaking in the languages of people from those places. My point is, when we call this the gift of tongues, not the word we typically use to refer to real languages these days, that adds a layer of confusion, and it makes it easier to change this phenomenon into something different than the real gift the Holy Spirit gave during the apostolic age, the gift some were given enabling them to speak a real language they had never learned.

It's clear from reading chapter 14 that the Corinthians were doing something in their public services that they identified, they thought apparently, was the legitimate gift of languages. I know from the comments Paul makes, some of them a little sarcastic, that what was going on was not for the most part authentic, and it was creating confusion. He said if unbelievers come into your service, they're going to think you're crazy. It was apparently something akin to the ecstatic experiences that happened at pagan temples when worshipers felt they were possessed by their gods. It was way out of order in a public Christian worship service. That's why Paul said in verses 6 to 12, Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues or languages, what good is that going to be unless I bring you a revelation or knowledge or prophecy or words of instruction?

Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, like a flute or a harp, how will anyone know what tune they are playing unless there is a distinction in their notes? His point was, what you're doing is no different than if you all brought a musical instrument to church and tooted and strummed and banged out random sounds. Would that be a worship song or just noise? Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, Paul says, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. There are all sorts of languages in the world, and none of them are without meaning.

But if I don't grasp the meaning of what someone else is saying, I'm a foreigner to that speaker, and that speaker is a foreigner to me. And that's what's happening with you, he says. And then he adds, I would rather speak five intelligible words in a church service that instruct others than 10,000 no one understands. And then he says, Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. Tell us how you really feel about this, Paul. By the way, when he writes at verse 10, There are all sorts of languages in the world, and none of them is without meaning, doesn't that confirm to you he is talking about actual languages, not some heavenly language or ecstatic gibberish no one on this planet understands?

I think it's fair to say the whole tenor of this chapter is that even during the foundational era, the apostolic age, when supernatural gifts were for a time normal, the gifts of languages was not one Paul believed should play an important role in public worship. He goes on later in this chapter to instruct them that if someone legitimately had this gift and believed God had something to say through them for the benefit of someone else gathered there, only two or three at most could do so, and only then if there was someone present that could translate for the benefit of other listeners. If you go to a church that believes supernatural gifts are for today, are they following those instructions? If not, that's a pretty big clue that something other than a legitimate gift of the Holy Spirit is happening.

Because, and think about this, if a bunch of people are speaking unintelligibly and no one knows what they are saying, if anything, and unbelievers who happen to be visiting are thinking, This is crazy, would the Holy Spirit be giving the real gift of languages in such a confusing, disorderly way, in a way that would actually be turning off people present who need to hear the gospel? I think the answer to that is obvious. As part of my research, I listened to an hour-long teaching, I guess you would call it, like an instructional video really, recorded by a guy who believes that there are different kinds of tongues and who was trying to teach listeners to do something he called a private prayer language, where it's just between you and God, the Holy Spirit somehow praying through your voice box to God for you, but with sounds that make no intelligible words.

He saw this as something completely different from the public expression of this gift. I listened to him carefully, but I felt his reasoning was pretty contrived. No such distinction is really made in the New Testament. Maybe he had had an experience and then went to the Bible to try and explain it or label it. You know, I learned how to do something years ago that I was really amazed by and what seemed to me to be kind of supernatural, or at least I couldn't see how it worked. But the more I researched it, I realized it didn't have anything to do with the Holy Spirit, just something my mind interacting with my body could do.

Similarly, this is my personal belief, that what is being called the personal expression of tongues or a personal prayer language by some, who teach that every Christian should practice this, by the way, is apparently what my friend I told you about at the beginning had learned how to do. I don't think it has anything to do with the Holy Spirit either. How could it when what he claimed was a message from the Holy Spirit to me did not happen? So what is it, Paul? In the Apostle Paul's day, the pagan worshipers experienced ecstatic speech in their idol worship. Paul's alluding to that at least twice in these chapters, so it's nothing new.

It is experienced in other religions today too. It's experienced in shamanism, in spiritism, in Eastern mysticism. Frankly, it's experienced by people who are not even the least bit religious. It's something most people, not everybody, but most people can learn how to do. I'm not a psychologist or a linguist, but the phenomena occurs when a person learns to disassociate the voice they have from the control of their mind. When we speak normally, our mind is controlling what comes out of our mouths.

The sounds that we make form a real language others understand. But with a phenomenon some call glossolalia, there's a disconnect, and sounds flow freely out of us, disassociated from our minds and any particular meaning. It's interesting that the language experts who study this, and many have, say if a person is English, the sounds disconnected are English sounds, or if they are French, or if they are Japanese, or whatever. They are not new sounds to the person, like some heavenly language or something, just disconnected syllables that are tumbling out of their mouth from their own language. Those who experience this often report a sense of euphoria, like a high, or like a psychic unburdening.

As I discussed during chapter 12, since I don't believe the apostolic era's supernatural gifts, such as men doing miracles, or men performing supernatural healings just by touching someone, or men receiving new revelation as the prophets once did, I don't believe those things are normal for today, or have been normal since the apostolic time. I'm just offering a likely explanation for what is being labeled by practitioners today as speaking in tongues, but which in fact is not any known language. Do I think this is dangerous? Probably not. But if someone tries to tell you it's an experience you must have to prove you have the Holy Spirit or some such thing, they are wrong. Believe me, I know it's virtually impossible to dissuade someone from any kind of personal experience they've had.

But I should point out that regarding the supernatural gift of languages, even in that first Christian generation when God at times was giving it, Paul stresses it must be only used if it has value for the church body. In verse 6, and he said it must be translated to have any value, and it must be, most interestingly, a sign for unbelievers, not to Christians. He says that in verse 22. To unbelievers? That's what he says. Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers.

We don't have time to delve too deeply into that, but regarding his Old Testament quotations there, as well as how the gift was used on the day of Pentecost, which I mentioned, those who benefited were unbelievers, not Christians practicing it in their prayer closet to experience the kind of spiritual high, and not Christians in church services as they assemble to show off their supernatural abilities. The real value would be for unbelievers who came into a Christian church service, Paul is suggesting. If they heard a bunch of people speaking gibberish when they came in, Paul said they'll think you're nuts. But imagine if some visitors whose first language was, say, Russian, came into your church and God gave the gift of languages to someone there specifically as a sign to them, and they heard Christians testifying to them in their own language. That's what happened in Acts chapter 2.

They would be struck by that, Paul says. It would seem to them as something from God and something they needed to pay attention to. They would hear the message then. That would certainly be a gift from the Holy Spirit for the benefit of unbelievers, and that's one way I would expect, if this gift were in fact being legitimately given today, it would be being used today. As I mentioned last time, if this topic interests you, we delve into it more deeply in a blog article called What's Normal When It Comes to Gifts of the Holy Spirit? And you can find that on our website at sharetheword.org.

As we did at the end of chapter 12, let's again finish with some quick hitters. Number one, the Holy Spirit does not give gifts to anyone to show off their spirituality. They are for building others up in the body of Christ. So as Paul put it in verse 20, brothers and sisters, stop thinking and acting like children. It's not about you. Number two, the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts.

We don't choose them. So even if you are 100% convinced you have a special gift of communicating to God in a heavenly language, or however you've understood it, don't push that on other people as if it's something they need. The Holy Spirit distributes gifts. Number three, even in the early church, when supernatural gifts were a necessary part of the scene because the New Testament scripture was not available yet, prophecy, that is, speaking forth the Word of God, was, in Paul's view, much more important than other gifts during a public service. Prophecy, too, was not ecstatic, out-of-your-head, medium-like experience. Paul is clear in verse 32 when he says, The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets, for God is not a God of disorder.

Now that we have the New Testament scripture, it should still be what is the focal point of our services, because teaching God's Word is principally what edifies, what spiritually builds up people, as Paul put it in verse 3. It strengthens, encourages, and comforts the listeners. And number four, if you're looking for a biblical church and you visit one where speaking in tongues is a thing, where they apparently believe it's normal for today, check if they follow the regulations set down here in 1 Corinthians. Is it limited to a couple people in order? Is it done orderly or on top of each other? Are women doing it?

Because Paul says plainly in verse 34, women should not be the vocal ones in public services of worship. At the end of this chapter, he sounds very serious when he says, If anyone thinks they're a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing here is the Lord's command. If anyone ignores it, they themselves should be ignored. These restrictions must apply for things to be done decently and in an orderly way. A church that ignores these instructions is one to turn away from and to ignore. They are about emotional demonstrations and putting on a show, not honoring God and edifying those who come to worship.

In conclusion, the Corinthian church is not one we want to emulate, generally speaking. As Paul stressed in chapter 13, the things to look for in a church you'll really benefit from are faith, hope, and love. So look for those things. Do the members of the church trust what God says, and are they being strongly rooted in His Word? That's faith. Do they believe Christ is really coming back, and so living with seriousness and urgency in light of that?

That's hope. And do they love those who don't know Jesus enough to try and reach them with the gospel, as well as exhibit selfless agape love that Margie was telling us about toward each other? That's, as you might guess, love. Find those things sincerely displayed, and you've found the kind of church body to become a member of and to serve Christ along with. Hey, thanks for listening to me today, and please help us share the word about our podcast by forwarding it to your friends. This is Paul.

Thanks, Paul. I hope all of you found the information as eye-opening and enlightening as I did. This topic, like many others, have been the focus of discussion not only in the church of Corinth almost 2,000 years ago, but we're still debating them today. These controversial topics should never serve to divide, but as Paul brought out in this podcast, should always provide the ability to unite and bring others to Christ. Remember, there's only one truth. And that's what everyone behind this mic strive to bring you, in an informed and researched manner.

Check out our podcasts and more episodes on Share the Word. From all of us at Share the Word, our blessings and prayers go out to all of you.