Do you believe in ''speaking in tongues''? Why is it that some people who have been Christians for a long time do not know how to speak in tongues, while others who are considered baby Christians can already speak in tongues? Is it true that if one can speak in tongues he/she is already baptized?
Dear Ms. Reyes,
These are very important questions. Unfortunately, a brief answer will not be sufficient. I do hope that what I say below will be of help to you as you continue to grow in your Christian faith and life.
In Paul''s first letter to the Corinthians, "speaking in tongues" is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit to believers. This is clear from the following lists: (the left column is from the Revised Standard Version [RSV], a more or less literal translation of the Greek text; the right hand side is from the Good News Bible [GNB], a much more meaningful translation).
1 Corinthians 12.8-10:
|
RSV |
GNB |
| 1 |
utterance of wisdom |
a message full of wisdom |
| 2 |
utterance of knowledge |
a message full of knowledge |
| 3 |
faith |
faith |
| 4 |
gifts of healing |
power to heal |
| 5 |
working of miracles |
power to work miracles |
| 6 |
prophecy |
speaking God''s message |
| 7 |
ability to distinguish between spirits |
ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not |
| 8 |
various kinds of tongues |
speak in strange tongues |
| 9 |
interpretation of tongues |
to explain what is said |
1 Corinthians 12.28: (Here Paul lists the gifts in the order of their importance)
|
RSV |
GNB |
| 1 |
apostles |
apostles |
| 2 |
prophets |
prophets |
| 3 |
teachers |
teachers |
| 4 |
workers of miracles |
those who perform miracles |
| 5 |
healers |
power to heal |
| 6 |
helpers |
power to help others |
| 7 |
administrators |
power to direct others |
| 8 |
speakers in various kinds of tongues |
speak in strange tongues |
There are other lists in the New Testament, but these lists in 1 Corinthians will be sufficient for our discussion. First, let me make some general statements regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
1. The gifts of the Spirit are "gifts," that is, the Spirit bestows these talents and abilities on people, not because they deserve these gifts, but because the Spirit wants to give them these gifts.
2. It is the Spirit and not the recipients, who determines who should receive these gifts. Two verses from 1 Corinthians 12 will make this clear:
12:4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them.
12:11 But it is one and the same Spirit who does all this; as he wishes, he gives a different gift to each person.
This means that we do not determine the gifts that should be ours. Sure, we desire some gifts, and sometimes these are given to us. But we cannot and should not dictate what gifts should be ours. It is the Spirit who gives these gifts to us. So if we ask for a certain gift and it is not given to us, we should not feel cheated. Perhaps it is the Spirit''s will for us not to possess a certain gift that we have asked for.
3. There are clear functions and purposes of these gifts. Several verses from Scripture will make this clear.
1 Corinthians 12:7: The spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all.
Ephesians 4:12-13: He did this (that is, he gave gifts to people) to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ''s full stature.
1 Peter 4:10: "Each one, as a good manager of God's different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God... so that in all things praise may be given to God through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and power forever and ever. Amen."
Taking these verses together, we find the following purposes for the gifts of the Spirit:
a. To serve everyone.
b. To prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service.
c. To build up the body of Christ (the church).
d. To enable Christians to become mature people.
e. To enable people to praise God.
It is clear then that the gifts are not to be simply enjoyed by people for their own benefits. Instead, the gifts are for the good of everybody. The gifts are not supposed to wreck and destroy the body of Christ, but to build it up. The gifts are not supposed to lead us to quarrels and ramblings, but are supposed to make us mature people, both in our thinking and in our actuation toward others. It is with this background that we now go back to the matter of "speaking in tongues."
1. Speaking in tongues as Paul understood it is the ability to speak non-human languages (cf. "tongues of angels" in 1 Corinthians 13:1). This should not be confused with the gift of tongues in the book of Acts, which is primarily the ability to speak another human language. In Acts 2, the disciples were understood by the Jews who had come from all over the Roman Empire, simply because the disciples were speaking known human languages and not non-human or angelic languages.
2. The two lists in 1 Corinthians seem to reduce the importance of speaking in tongues. This is clear from the fact that speaking in tongues is way down the list. Paul himself had the gift of speaking in tongues, as he says in I Corinthians 14.18: "I thank God that I speak in strange tongues much more than any of you." But he reduced its importance as the next verse (v.19) shows: "But in church worship I would rather speak five words that can be understood, in order to teach others, than speak thousands of words in strange tongues." Clearly, Paul here puts importance on speech that can be understood rather than on angelic language that cannot be understood
Why then did Paul lessen the importance of speaking in tongues? The reasons for this can be deduced from 1 Corinthians 14.
1. First of all, as already mentioned, Paul emphasizes as most important the gifts of proclaiming and teaching God's message (or prophecy and teaching). If this is so, then since speaking in tongues is not proclaiming God's message, it is therefore considered less important. Consider the following verses:
Corinthians 14:1b-5:
"Set your hearts on spiritual gifts, especially the gift of proclaiming God's message. Those who speak in strange tongues do not speak to others but to God, because no one understands them. They are speaking secret truths by the power of the Spirit. But those who proclaim God's message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort. Those who speak in strange tongues help only themselves, but those who proclaim God's message help the whole church."
I would like for all of you to speak in strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God's message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues…
2. In the light of the purposes of the gifts of the Spirit, as we have already mentioned (for the good of all, building up the body of Christ etc.), speaking in tongues tended to divide the body of Christ rather than build it up. Why is this so? Because speaking in tongues was (and is) the most ecstatic gift, and those who possessed it had a tendency to regard themselves as superior to those who did not have this gift, even to the extent of considering them as lacking in faith, or simply as not being part of God''s people. When this happened, speaking in tongues became a condition for salvation, thus undermining the whole doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
3. Finally, speaking in tongues tended to disrupt the worship life of the church. The whole of 1 Corinthians 14 gives to us a vivid picture of a worship service that is so disorderly and disconcerted and noisy simply because those who attended the worship service were trying to outdo one another in showing off their gift of speaking in strange tongues. It is in this chapter that Paul reiterates the functions and purposes of the gifts of the Spirit:
1 Corinthians 14:12: "Since you are eager to have the gifts of the Spirit, you must try above everything else to make greater use of those which help to build up the church."
1 Corinthians 14:26b: "Everything must be of help to the church."
1 Corinthians 14:31: "All of you may proclaim God's message, one by one, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged."
To summarize then, speaking in tongues is a legitimate gift of the Spirit; it must not be forbidden among Christians. Even though it is not emphasized, it is still a valid gift. So, 1 Corinthians 14:39: "So then, my friends, set your heart on proclaiming God's message, but do not forbid the speaking in strange tongues."
However, speaking in tongues is not the only gift nor the most important or the most useful gift. And those who are privileged to receive this gift must learn to use it properly, and must discover how such a gift can build up rather than divide or confuse the body of Christ. |
