Questions About Speaking in Tongues
by Gary Linton September 1, 2009 2 Comments
Tags: gifts of the spirit, holy spirit, speaking in tongues
This message is in answer to questions we have received frequently about speaking in tongues. I hope you will find many of your questions answered as well through this message. May God the Holy Spirit fill you until you can take no more. Many great men and women throughout history have testified that God so filled or baptized them with the Holy Spirit that they had to ask Him to stay His hand (stop).
Have you spoken in tongues? Yes, I do daily.
Do you think it is something that Christians should strive to do? We should strive for all God has provided for us.
Do you think it is something that God wants us to do? Yes, 1 Corinthians 14:5 says, “I wish you all spoke in tongues” signifying it is God’s desire.
Why do you think some Christians do not speak in tongues?
- Man made traditions. Being told that it is not for today, etc.
- Pride. We have to humble ourself and become as little children to speak in tongues. It is an insult to our intellect. For a grown intelligent person to begin saying things they do not understand is very humiliating to our ego.
- Faith. It takes faith to begin speaking in tongues. We have to by faith begin saying words we do not understand.
- Is the devil making me speak? People have for ages blamed speaking in tongues on the devil. However, Jesus said, “If a son asked his father for bread he will not give him a stone, If he asks him for fish he will not give him a serpent will he? Or if he asks him for an egg he will not give him a scorpion will he? If you know how to give good gift to your children how much more will your heavenly Father (who loves you) give the Holy Spirit to them who ask him? (Luke 11:11-13). Scorpions and serpents always represent the devil or demons in the bible. Jesus was in essence saying, if you ask God for something God will not let the devil give you a counterfeit. He will allow you to get only what comes from His Holy Spirit and what is good.
Here are a few facts about speaking in tongues:
- You receive the Holy Spirit and all of the Holy Spirit the moment you trust Jesus as your Saviour – Romans 8:9. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11 & Act 1:5) is an experience believers may have with the Holy Spirit that already dwells within them as a born again believer.
- It is God’s desire for all to speak in tongues – 1 Corinthians 14:5.
- Tongues are mainly directed in communion with God – 1 Corinthians 14:2. They can be directed at times in a message to God’s people but their primary function is our speaking to God. WOW, God gives us our own personal unique language to talk to Him. How cool is that?
- Tongues are for praise, thanksgiving and worship of God – 1 Corinthians 14:14-16. When you have given thanks to God for all the good things He has done and for who he is and you don’t have any more words to express your gratitude you can then continue your worship and praise of Him through your new spiritual language.
- It’s a wondrous form of prayer – 1 Corinthians 14:14-16. When you have prayed about certain things and don’t know what else to say or how to pray you can utilize your prayer language (tongues). You speak mysteries to God. You speak to Him directly from your spirit.
- Tongues edify or build up your spirit making it stronger – 1 Corinthians 14:4. It’s like exercising your spirit. The more you exercise your spirit through speaking in tongues the stronger your human spirit becomes. This is not a substitute for reading the Word of God (Bible) but it definitely helps.
- It is something you do – Acts 2:4. On the Day of Pentecost it says “they all spoke with other tongues”. Notice it was they who spoke. The Holy Spirit didn’t speak through them He merely gave them the utterance or prompted their speech but they were the ones who spoke.
- It is received by faith. Most everything we get from God is received by faith. Faith is expressed in actions (Mark2:5; James 2:17; Hebrews 4:2). Simply ask God to Baptize you in His Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues, accept it by faith that if you ask Him for something from His Spirit He will give it to you (Luke11:11-13). After asking Him for it and accepting it by faith you just need to act in faith and begin speaking. Begin speaking and saying what you don’t understand. It may begin by you hearing a syllable in your head that you don’t understand. When you hear this just start saying it. Don’t think about what you are saying just do it. Like a child when they first start talking they say one or two things and keep saying them until all of the sudden a language has developed and they are talking. It is the same spiritually with speaking in tongues.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your Word says, that you will baptize those who believe with the Holy Ghost and fire. I ask you to baptize me in your Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking with other tongues right now. I accept this experience from your hand at this time. Help me to exercise faith and speak as your Spirit gives me the utterance. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
2 comments
Joe I appreciate your comment.
1. The Lord is not saying we should not edify ourselves. 1 Corinthians 14:2-4 does say that prophecy edifies the body which is best as you said. It also says in verse 4 that when we speak in tongues we edify ourself. I used to think we shouldn’t seek to edify ourself or seek personal blessings but just seek to bless others. The reality is that we can not adequately bless others if I am not edified and blessed myself. We should not seek edification and blessing in and of itself but as a mean to bless others.
2. Speaking in our understanding. You do have it right that in verse 15, Paul says he speaks and sings with his understanding but he also says he speaks and sings with his spirit also, which refers to tongues. We have to look at all the verse or passage and not just part of it.
3. As for tongues being only a certain language, this is not true. Tongues can be a known language or an unknown language. The key to it being other or unknown tongues is that it is unknown to the one speaking. Paul says his mind is unfruitful when speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:14). It can be and often is a language known only to God (1 Corinthians 14:2).
4. Tongues as a sign (1 Corinthians 14:22). It can be a sign as in Acts 2 and also to unbelievers when it is interpreted and God speaks to their heart through the interpretation.
Thanks for your comment again. I hope this helps.
Pastor Gary
Hi Gary,
Getting back from the holiday rush. I trust you had a blessed celebration of the birth of the Savior?
In reading chap 14 of 1 Cor. I believe that the Lord is instructing people to NOT edify themselves. It begins with the exhortation to pursure prophesy over all other gifts. In v2 when we read that he who speaks in tongues speaks to God – - – I believe that this means that we speak our minds in the given language of our birth and God translates it so that others say: “How is it that we hear in our own language?” Acts 2.8.
For one to believe that the gift of tongues is to be of an uncertain language or “prayer language” is handled here in vv.8,9.
See v.15 – Paul teaches to pray with understanding, to sing with understanding. Paul would rather speak 5 words with understanding (v.19) than to speak ten thousand in tongues.
V.22 is the clincher for me on the issue of tongues for today:
1Co 14:22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.
So when people share their belief that tongues is for today all I want to know is how is it being used to reach unbelievers? Isn’t that a fair question in light of Scripture?
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