And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues
The gift of speaking in tongues is one of the spiritual gifts which came into operation in the church of Jesus Christ as a result of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
There has been a great deal of confusion about the gift of speaking in tongues. While some believe that speaking in tongues is reserved only for certain believers, others believe that it was only an event which took place on the day of Pentecost and has hence passed way.
Jesus said in Mark 16:17 that speaking with new tongues is one of the many signs that shall follow those who believe in him.
The gift of speaking in tongues is given to the believer for their benefit. It is beneficial both for the private life of the believer and for the work of the ministry.
Many Christians are ignorant of the benefits that come with this gift of the Holy Spirit and hence are not able to partake of it.
Some people believe that every Christian ought not to speak with tongues. They say that the gift is reserved only for a few people and they use 1Corinthians 12:30 as their reason for saying it is not compulsory for every believer to speak with unknown tongues.
1Corinthians 12:30
Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
What these people do not understand is that in the scriptures the gift of speaking in tongues operates in two ways. In the scriptures there are two operations of the gift of tongues. Inability to discern these two different operations is the reason for the confusion in a lot of people’s mind regarding the gift of tongues.
1Corinthians 14:2;12: 12:6-10
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….To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
Gifts of the spirit are operated by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ in different ways as the Holy Spirit wills. Paul in 1Corinthians 12:6 specified clearly that there are diversities or different types of operations but the same God works through all those different ways in all believers.
The diversities of operations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit imply that a particular gift of the Holy Spirit can operate in different ways in the church. Speaking about the gift of tongues; we see from the scriptures that there are two obvious operations of this gift in the body of Christ.
There is the operation of the gift of tongues described in 1Corinthians 14:2 as ‘the gift of unknown tongues’ and there is the operation of this same gift of tongues described in 1Corinthians 12:10 as ‘the gift of divers or various types of tongues.
These are not two different types of gifts but different operations of the same gift of speaking in tongues.
The operation of unknown tongues is the prayer language of the believer, given to him for the purpose of edification, while the operation of various types of tongues is a ministry gift operation for the purpose of edifying the body of Christ or as a sign to unbelievers. Both of these operations of the gift of tongues can be interpreted with the gift of interpretation of tongues.
In Paul’s teaching on the gift of speaking in tongues in 1Corinthians 14, he was speaking to the church about the orderly use of the gift of tongues in a church gathering.
Uses of the Gift of tongues
There are two scriptural uses of the gift of tongues corresponding to the two operations of the gift.
The first use of this gift is for private personal edification, while the second use of the gift is for public edification of the hearers of such a one who speaks in divers’ kinds of tongues.
In the first use of this gift the speaker is speaking strictly to God and not to men as seen from 1Corinthians 14:2.
1Corinthians 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.
In the second use of the gift of tongues the speaker is speaking strictly to people as also seen from 1Corinthians 14:6.
1Corinthians 14:6
Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
Paul says here, ‘if I come unto you speaking with tongues,’ implying that the intent of this use is to speak to God’s people.
Rules governing use of the gift of tongues
There are scriptural rules governing the use of the gift of tongues and the rules governing these two different operations of the gift of tongues differs.
When the gift is being used for private personal edification the user of this gift is not necessarily required to interpret because his understanding is unfruitful and he is not speaking to men but is speaking mysteries in the spirit to God, though he can pray for the interpretation;
1Corinthians 14:14
For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
1Corinthians 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.
This use is strictly for praying to God privately hence Paul said in 1Corinthians 14:14 ‘if I pray in an unknown tongue…’ indicating that this is a prayer use of the gift of tongues.
If the gift is used for public edification of a body of believers, it is used in this context as a ministry operation. The purpose is to minister to God’s people. In this case the user of this gift is compulsorily required to interpret such a message so that the hearers may be able to receive edification else such a speaker would be of no spiritual relevance to his hearers, as seen from 1Corinthians 14:11
1Corinthians 14:11
Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
Group Public Praying
When a group of people or a congregation prays, the whole group could pray in tongues without anyone interpreting because even though they are praying as a group, they are all individually talking to God and are not speaking to one another.
Many people teach that speaking in tongues should not be done in a group or congregational setting.
When a group or congregation prays, they are all individually praying to God and hence they can all individually pray in tongues.
But if one person is doing the praying to the hearing of the whole congregation, it is important that such person prays in a known language so that the congregation can exercise their faith in the prayers that is being made.
The congregation is expected to agree to the prayer of that one individual who prays in the behalf of everyone by saying amen to whatever request or prayer that is made.
They would not be able to agree with the person who is leading the prayers except such a person prays in a known language or if the person prays in tongues then the individual must interpret the prayers made to the congregation so that they can understand what is said and exercise their faith in it.
It is important to note that interpretation is always required whenever the gift of tongues is used to speak to the congregation.
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