The Chapel Light - March/April 2010

I noted in last month’s Scrip that by definition the gift of “tongues” is really just the gift of “languages” – the ability to speak in a foreign language, apparently miraculously as one is empowered by the Holy Spirit to do so. I also noted that this is not how our Pentecostal and charismatic brethren define or practice the gift. The “tongues” practiced today are not human languages that are understood by anyone. Tongues-speakers claim instead that theirs is a heavenly language, perhaps an angelic language, and that it is given as a personal and private gift – a prayer language to spiritually benefit the speaker’s inner life.     The only place the apostles mention angelic languages is 1 Corinthians 13:1, where the apostle writes: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal…”  Pentecostals and charismatics often point to this verse as justifying their notion that the gift of tongues can be non-human language.     The context of the passage is indeed a larger discussion of the gift of tongues (1 Cor. 12-14). The Corinthians who possessed this gift seem to have gloried in it because of its miraculous nature, and they seem to have demeaned those who did not possess this gift (1 Cor. 12.15-25). Paul encourages them to desire the best gifts, but points out something more important than spiritual gifts: the practice of love (1 Cor. 12.31). The apostle then expounds on the greatness of love in what has come to be known as “the love chapter.”     In the first three verses he points out how the possession of gifts is meaningless if the possessor doesn’t practice love, saying each time: “though I have X and even Y, if I don’t have love, I am nothing.” In each verse, the first point (X) is an action/gift characteristic of Christian behavior – the tongues of men (v.1), the gift of prophecy (v.2), and bestowing one’s goods to feed the poor (v.3). The second point in each verse (Y) seems to be an exaggerated point: giving my body to be burnt (v.3), understanding all mysteries and all knowledge (v.2), and speaking with the tongues of angels (v.1). Exaggeration is a common figure of speech, even for us. “I’ll just die if he asks me out.” “She weighs a ton.” “If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times.” Put into casual modern idiom, Paul is saying, “I don’t care if you’re the most miraculously-endowed and dedicated Christian that ever lived, if you don’t have love – you’re nothing.” So, in 1 Cor. 13.1, he acknowledges the gift of [human] languages, and then goes to the ridiculous extreme: “I don’t care if you’re speaking with the tongues of angels, if you don’t have love, you’re nothing.” He is not saying that they do speak angelic languages; the figure of speech would indicate exactly the opposite.     The notion that the gift of tongues is given primarily as a private prayer language to be used for the spiritual benefit of the speaker seems to arise from 1 Cor. 14.1-5: “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets that the church may receive edification.”     Paul does indeed say that tongues-speakers speak to God. He also says that the tongues-speaker edifies himself. But you can’t isolate these statements from their context. Throughout chapters 12-14 he is trying to put tongues in its proper place as a gift. The Corinthians were exaggerating its importance, and Paul is trying to say that although it is certainly a spiritual gift, its importance is limited. More to the point, its importance is exceeded by the gift of prophesying. Prophesying is simply speaking a word from God in the language that the audience understands. “Tongues” is speaking a word from God in a language that the audience does not understand – a foreign language. Being understood is more valuable than not being understood. This is Paul’s point (1 Cor. 14.6-19, esp. vv 18-19).     Tongues-speaking is speaking to God, not because God gave the gift to be used as a private prayer language, but because no one in the room has a clue as to what you are saying. If no one else in the church knows what you are saying, they can’t be blessed or profited; and if they can’t be blessed or profited, then your gift is not serving any loving purpose. Love never vaunts itself; it always puts others first and serves them. Paul penned 1 Corinthians 13 to address this particular point about tongues!     None of the gifts, according to the apostle, are given for private use; they are all given for the profit of others (1 Cor. 12.7). This is why love – thoughtfulness of and concern for others – is so important in the consideration of the use of all gifts. The Spirit doesn’t give you a gift to make you feel good about yourself; He gave it to you to function properly toward others – to bless and profit them. If you are simply using a gift to edify yourself – as the tongues-speakers were doing (14:4), then you are acting selfishly and misusing the gift, because you are not showing love! For the apostle, love was tied to the profit of others by definition. If your gift couldn’t profit others, then you were to keep it to yourself – and to God. No showing it off just to demonstrate that you were gifted (1 Cor. 14:28)! The only way speaking in tongues was of any use as a gift was if another could understand what was being said – either because he was a native-speaker of that tongue, as on the day of Pentecost, or because the “tongues” message was interpreted (old KJV for “translated”).     Again, I know it’s not chic or politically correct to question the spiritual experiences of others. I’m not questioning that tongues-speakers are experiencing something. I’m not saying that modern tongues are demonically-inspired, as some fundamentalists suggest. Nor do I think that Pentecostals and charismatics are evil or ill-intentioned, or that we should question the genuineness of their faith in Christ or their sincerity. I’m just pointing out that whatever it is that they are experiencing doesn’t square with the gift of languages described in Acts or 1 Corinthians, either in its practice or its purpose. So whatever the experience is, it doesn’t seem to me to be the biblical gift of tongues. We don’t need to say more than that; we certainly shouldn’t say less.