THE PHENOMENON OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Tongues inspired by the Holy Spirit, but not understood by men

Tongues of men, inspired tongues, tongues of angles, ecstatic tongues.

THE PHENOMENON OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES Tongues of men, inspired tongues, tongues of angles, ecstatic tongues. Copyright: Ionel Plesa

Translation from Romanian into English: Dianne Bailey

Biblical texts are from the New International Version Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society    

Speaking in tongues of these types creates the most controversial subject in theological schools everywhere. Some schools argue in an exaggerated manner for the necessity of obtaining this spiritual gift through persistent prayer, while other theological schools exclude it categorically and consider it to be outdated for use in churches or in the personal life of believers and lacking in all logical justification. With all the contradictions that exist, this gift is mentioned in Scripture, and cannot be excluded, even if it is counterfeit and therefore repulsive to us. Among the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, appears the gift of speaking in tongues and the interpretation of these tongues. What type of tongues are those that need to be interpreted in order that they be understood by people? Inevitably, they are not the same as those spoken by the disciples at Pentecost, because they were languages understood by those present and didn‘t need to be interpreted. If this is confirmed by a Biblical text, what role do these unknown tongues have, and to whom are they addressed? In 1 Corinthians 14:2 we find the answer, 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. What type of mysteries can he be saying to God, because God knows everything?! These mysteries, spoken in a language unknown to men, remain a mystery to them, but they cannot be hidden from God. In order to understand the content of the tongues, interpretation is needed. What type of things can such an unknown tongue be saying? That answer is found in verse 14 of the same chapter, For if I pray  in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. Thus it follows that an unknown tongue is a prayer addressed to God and never to men.

Further, in verse 17, the following is mentioned, You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

Verses 14 and 17 explain the mystery in verse 2 to us. This language which addresses something to God, but is not understood by men, is the language of prayer and of thanksgiving. The apostle Paul, in explaining about this mode of prayer and thanksgiving, recommended to the Christians in Corinth who were speaking in tongues, to pray for the gift of interpretation of these unknown tongues (1 Corinthians 14:13). He then puts the following question, So what shall I do? And the reply  follows, 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. 16If 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? (1 Corinthians 14:15-16). Coming back to the motivation for such an unknown tongue, the apostle Paul specifies, 4He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5I 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. (1 Corinthians 14:4-5). The apostle Paul does not encourage speaking in tongues in Church if there is not someone present who can interpret. How can a Christian interpret a tongue that is not known by men? If speaking in tongues is truly a gift of the Holy Spirit and not a simple psychological aberration, then the interpretation can only be correctly realized through the gift of interpretation, through the same Spirit, in order to edify the Church. When the prayer is spoken by the spirit in another tongue, the mind is unfruitful (1 Corinthians 14:14). By this we understand that the prayer flows quietly, having a rich content, without the mind having to try to form the ideas and construct the phrases so that it is expressed in the most pleasing manner. All happens in a miraculous way and, under the Holy Spirit‘s influence, a prayer can be said that the human mind could never compose.