What is Biblical Tongues?
There is often debate and uncertainty around the topic of tongues. Some people believe that there is little Biblical basis to support the gift still being active today, while others believe the gift is still present and useful in edifying the believer.
Most people's contention with the topic is based on Acts 2, where we see a striking display of tongues in which the believers spoke foreign earthly languages. The issue that arises for some is that if the gift of tongues empowers us to speak foreign languages only, then what most people speak today is gibberish.
Let’s address this…
What is often defined by us English speakers as “The Gift of Tongues” is never titled this way in scripture. Addressing the Corinthian Church on the matter, Paul describes the gift as “various kinds of tongues” (1 Cor 12:10). The Greek for “various kinds” here, “Genos”, means family or progeny. This is very intentional as it highlights the existence of different expressions of the gift of tongues.
In the New Testament, we see evidence of three different expressions of the gift of tongues:
The Proof Tongue
Pastor David Hernandez coined the term ‘proof tongue’ in describing the type of tongues seen in Acts 2.
Acts is a continuation of the Book of Luke and records events that took place in the early church after the ascension of Jesus. We read: “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place... they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1,4).
The term “other tongues” is very important here as it literally translates to “other languages”.
It’s no coincidence that on the day of Pentecost, a day when migration into Jerusalem from Jews all over the world was at its peak, the Holy Spirit decided to give hundreds of believers the ability to “declare the mighty works of God” in “other [known] languages” (Acts 2:5,11).
This expression of tongues was not given for the benefit of those who spoke it but as a powerful sign for the people nearby. The effect of this overt and calculated “proof tongue” along with Peter immediately proclaiming how this was the fulfillment of scripture, made such a compelling argument that “over 3000 souls were added that day” (Acts 2:41).
The Personal Tongue
The kind of tongues seen in Acts 2 doesn’t fit the description of what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 14. When addressing this Church composed mainly of Gentile converts, Paul writes “For the one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.” – 1 Cor 14:2
The tongues seen in Acts 2 were the complete opposite of this. For one, the tongues spoken on the day of Pentecost weren't spoken to God but to men in their own languages. Secondly, at least 14 different languages were perfectly understood by the people in Acts 2, meaning it wasn’t a spoken “mystery” that “no one understands”. Furthermore, the gift of interpretation wouldn’t be that necessary if all tongues were capable of being understood by man, yet, Paul asks us, not to hire a translator off the street, but to "pray that [we] may interpret" (1 Cor 14:13).
What we see clearly in this passage is the description of a type of tongues that one is gifted by the Spirit in order to “build up himself” (1 Cor 14:4). Paul practiced what he preached, boldly claiming to speak in tongues more than anybody in the entire Church (1 Cor 14:18).
A possible third type of tongue seen in scripture is The Prophetic (1 Cor 12:10). However, this in and of itself is a distinct gift of the Spirit and it’s unclear if this falls under the “family” of tongues Paul writes about so won’t be covered in much detail here.
What we do know is that scripture clearly communicates different manifestations of the gift of Tongues. Discerning if the tongues we personally speak align with this Biblical truth requires submitting the issue to God in prayer and listening to the convictions of the Holy Spirit.
