What Is Speaking In Tongue? Facts and Things You Should Know

According to Wikipedia Speaking in tongue also known as Glossolalia is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables that lack any readily comprehended meaning, in some cases as part of religious practice in which it is believed to be a divine language unknown to the speaker.  The term derives from glōssais lalō, a Greek phrase used in the New Testament meaning “speak in, with, or by tongues [i.e., other languages]. Many might disagree with this though. 

But in another article by Grace Communion International they carefully narrated what the Bible says about speaking in though;

“What you are seeing is real,” a church member told the visitor. “These people are filled with the Holy Spirit.” The visitor was seeing a hundred men and women speaking in tongues, raising their hands in the air and singing praises. It was real, not imaginary — but were these people really filled with the Holy Spirit?, he wondered.

Speaking in tongues was a dramatic miracle that helped the Christian church begin (Acts 2). The book of Acts records two other occasions on which the Holy Spirit caused people to speak in tongues, and in his letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul gave instructions about speaking in tongues.

Speaking in tongues has been vigorously debated during the past century. The major questions are these:

1. Does every Christian who receives the Holy Spirit speak in tongues?
   
2. Does speaking in tongues prove that the Holy Spirit has come to a person?
   
3. Are those who speak in tongues more spiritual or closer to God than those who do not?
   
4. What role should tongue-speaking have in church meetings?

To answer these questions, we need to consult the Bible. First, let’s see what Jesus said about tongues.

Acts 2:1-4

Shortly after Christ had risen into heaven, his disciples were observing the annual festival of Pentecost ( Acts 2:1 ). “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (verses 2-4).

What kind of tongues were these? They were foreign languages. “There were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: `Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?… We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!'” (verses 5-8, 11).

The people, amazed and perplexed, asked one another, “What does this mean?” (verse 12). Peter first explained that they were seeing a fulfillment of a prophecy about God’s Spirit (verses 14-21). He then preached a message about Jesus as the Messiah or Christ, and the need for repentance and baptism (verses 22-40). The miraculous languages got the attention of the crowd and allowed Peter, even though he was not a rabbi, to speak with authority to the people.

This experience on the Day of Pentecost is the most dramatic “tongues” incident described in the Bible. This is the most complete description. Let’s note a few details about it:

There were three miracles: a miraculous sound, an appearance like fire and speaking in other tongues.

The “other tongues” were languages currently understandable by Jews from other nations. No interpreters were needed.

The crowd may have thought the miracle was in the hearing (verses 6, 8, 11), but the biblical writers call it a miracle of speaking (verses 4, 18).

Some people ridiculed the apostles and accused them of being drunk (verse 13).

There is no indication that Peter’s sermon, beginning in verse 14, was given in a miraculous “tongue.”

Peter proclaimed to those who accepted his message that they should repent and be baptized and thereby “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (verse 38). This promise applies to Christians of every century, but the verse does not make clear whether the “gift of the Holy Spirit” means that the Holy Spirit is the gift, or whether Peter meant that, in addition to receiving the Holy Spirit, they would receive speaking in tongues or some other manifestation of the Spirit as the gift.

Peter spoke of repentance and baptism, but he did not describe any other action needed for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Thousands were baptized, and many miracles were done (verses 41-43), but there is no further mention of miraculous tongues on that occasion.

The way the story is told in Acts, the apostles’ miraculous ability to speak in foreign languages was only one of many kinds of miracles experienced by the early church. Acts describes many other miracles as God guided the new church into growth through the Holy Spirit. None of those miracles is presented as a requirement for every Christian.

The book of Acts describes two other occurrences of speaking in tongues — one in Caesarea and one in Ephesus. We’ll examine those passages next. (Some scholars say that Acts 8:14-18 reports a tongue-speaking incident in Samaria. The Holy Spirit came upon people in some noticeable way, but there is no mention of tongues, so we do not learn anything about tongues in that passage.)

Tongues-speaking in the book of Acts – conclusion

Let us go back to our first question: Does every Christian who receives the Holy Spirit speak in tongues? The book of Acts records many healings and other miracles, but only three incidents of tongues. This suggests that tongue-speaking was not a common occurrence, but rather a miraculous sign for special occasions as the apostles preached the gospel and established the church.

It seems that most New Testament Christians did not speak in tongues. Several verses tell us that people were “filled with the Holy Spirit,” but without any mention of tongues. Let’s notice the following verses:

Not long after Pentecost, the apostles were praying for God’s help. After they finished praying, “the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” ( Acts 4:31 ). The apostles had already been filled with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Here they are filled again. Miraculous shaking is mentioned, but speaking in tongues is not.

There is no mention of tongues when the Holy Spirit came on converts in Samaria ( Acts 8:14-17 ), when the Ethiopian eunuch was converted ( Acts 8:38 ), when Saul, who became Paul, was converted ( Acts 9:17-18 ), when he confronted a sorcerer ( Acts 13:8-11 ) or when Paul first preached in Asia (verses 44-52). This doesn’t prove that tongue-speaking did not occur, but it does indicate that it was not important to mention it. Last, we note that the Gospels do not describe Jesus himself as speaking in tongues.

The evidence, so far, is limited. Acts is primarily a story of what happened; the book doesn’t contain many commands or promises. Like many histories, it focuses on unusual or ground-breaking events. There is little attempt to describe ordinary practices. The book of Acts gives us only a limited picture of speaking in tongues. However, Paul wrote a great deal about tongues in a letter to the Corinthian Christians. His instructions help us understand whether tongue-speaking is evidence of God’s Spirit, of deeper conversion, or of being closer to God.

Now let’s hear your opinion on speaking in tongue,  do you think when people speak a language that neither you nor them can understand that they are speaking in tongue? When the apostles received the holy spirit they spoke in different languages and people understood then, but why is it that these days when people speak in tongue we don’t understand them neither do they understand themselves? 

Use the comment box below to make your own contribution. 

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