Speaking in Tongues
Foreward	This is Christ-centered Bible-based research on one of the most disputed topics: Speaking in Togues. There has been a lack of correct teaching regarding what "speaking in tongues" is, and thus it has been feared and shunned by a large part of the Body of Christ. It is a wonderful gift that the Lord desires to give to His people. Clearly, with the restoration of any truth, there will be people who will accept it and those who will reject it, thus forming denominations that separate that are not a glory to the Lord. Also, because of either human flesh, worldly patterns of behavior, or even lack of teaching, there have been abuses, but let us look unto the Lord and see what His plan to bless His body is.
Index	Definition Gift of Diverse Kinds of Tongues - Human Languages The Unknown Tongue - Heavenly Language Applications Abuses Reasons Why People Cannot Speak in the Unknown Tongue
Definition	"Speaking in togues" is sometimes an inaccurate term that emerged from the Pentecostal denomination. If we do a careful study, there are two category of tongues! Because these two different kinds of gifts are confused by the term "speaking in tongues" as one gift, the scriptures pertaining to "tongues" thus appears confusing and is misapplied. The two kinds of tongues are: 1.    Gift of diverse kinds of tongues - human languages 2.    The unknown tongue - a heavenly language.
Gift of Diverse Kinds of Tongues - Human Languages	This is a gift in which the Holy Spirit enables you to speak in an existing tongue of men; earthly languages. 1 Cor. 12:10 says, "... to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another [divers] kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues..." You've never learned to speak these earthly languages, yet the Holy Spirit enables you to speak them! We see this in operation in Act 2:4-6 in which Jesus had already ascended into heaven, and now the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5) was now bestowed upon His disciples. They spoke in the tongues (or "languages") of the Jews from fantastically different parts of the world, yet the disciples were mere Galileans! Notice that the tense is plural, i.e. "tongues". There is also a gift of interpreting these tongues/languages as we see in verse 10. This gift of speaking in diverse kinds of tongues has a purpose. It is understood by men, and it is used as a vehicle to convey the mysteries of God. Acts 2:11 says, "... we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God." Apparently, this gift is sometimes used by the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the prophetic gift! 1 Corinthians 14:6 says, "Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?"
The Unknown Tongue - Heavenly Language	This is the gift of the Holy Spirit by which you have a personal prayer language which you do not understand yourself, nor do other men understand; however, God understands it fully! 1 Cor. 14:2 says, "For he that speaketh in an [unknown] tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth [him]; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries." Notice the word "tongue" is singular, versus "tongues" as in "gift of diverse tongues" is plural! Further, notice the difference of application here. The unknown tongue is a tongue in the spirit, to be spoken to and understood only by God, whereas the Gift of Tongues is to be spoken to and understood by men! Verse 4 says, "He that speaketh in an [unknown] tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church." The word "edify" means "to build up." By speaking in this unknown tongue, you are speaking mysteries, speaking unto God, and you are building up yourself in the spirit!
Applications	Now that we have established that there are two kinds of "Tongue"-related Gifts, let's examine their different applications! The Gift of Diverse Tongues - The Gift of Diverse Tongues is a vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convey the mysteries of God, usually in a church setting. The mystery may come forth in the form of a revelation, or knowlege, a prophecy, and even doctrine. 1 Corinthians 14:6 says, "Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?" Does everyone have this gift? No. 1 Cor. 12:30 says, "Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?" Conversely, 1 Cor. 12 discusses the aspect of the Body of Christ. A human body as many parts, each playing a different part. It is said, "That which I am a part of is more important than that part which I play." Yet there is a concert of purpose, unity and inspiration from the same Holy Spirit despite the fact that everyone's giftings are different! Someone may feel led by the Holy Spirit to give a prophetic message to his congregation. The Bible says that since this gift is for edifying, it would be best that this delivery be accompanied by an interpretation, so that not only do the people who understand the language the delivery is given in, but everyone else in the congregation, so everyone can say "Amen" to it! 1 Cor. 14:27-28 says, "If any man speak in an [unknown] tongue, [let it be] by two, or at the most [by] three, and [that] by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God." The context of this scripture passage focuses on edifying the body, and thus when Paul says "an [unknown] tongue" here he is referring to the Gift of Diverse Tongues. Thus, for example, "If anyone speaks in Greek, but nobody understands Greek (including the deliverer), unless there is a person with the Gift of Interpreting Diverse Tongues and is led by the Spirit to provide an interpretation, the deliver should keep his delivery to himself and to God." Keep in mind that in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, there are nine gifts outlined. These are ministerial gifts, adminsitered by the Holy Spirit. Please do not confuse these gifts with natural born gifts of God, e.g. piano playing, art, singing, dancing - all of which can be mightily used of God in a ministry capacity, but these do not fall under the category of these nine gifts of operations of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4-6). The Unknown Tongue - The unknown tongue is an often misunderstood tongue. It is a language that is given by the Holy Spirit that is not known to any man, but to God! 1 Cor. 14:14 says, "For if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful." How is this gift put to good use? Prayer. 1 Cor. 14:15 says, "What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." Since we do not understand this wonderful language in the spirit, we can pray in this language to edify our inner man, and we can pray also in English to edify our understanding, and that of the person who is praying in agreement with you, so that he can say Amen!. Thus we have a balanced application of prayer in the spirit and in the understanding. Verse 16 says, "Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?" Is this gift for everyone? It is very possible. In Acts 2, it says that "cloven tongues of fire" came and sat upon each and every person in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. Interestingly, the word "cloven" means "divided in two." It is possible that both the unknown tongue and the gift of diverse tongues were in operation on that splendid day, when they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit! Why not everyone receives this gift is convered in the next session. But look at verse 15 again. "I will sing with the spirit..." You can sing in this beautiful heavenly language? Yes! Singing is an act of worship, which is very dear and tender to God. Psalm 22:3 says, "But thou [art] holy, [O thou] that inhabitest the praises of Israel." The word "inhabit" in the Hebrew is a one-word poem that paints a picture of a large eagle coming to its nest and filling up all the space within the nest and inhabits the nest. In the same way, God enjoys our worship that He fills it all up, and thus we can experience the presence of God in a strong way! In John 4:23, John says, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him." We've often been taught this verse without a clear understanding of what it means to worship God "in spirit". "In truth" means you have nothing to hide - no hidden agendas, no hidden sins, no disguised wrong motives; you are transparent to the Lord! But worshiping God "in spirit" means that your worship bypasses the unwillingness of your sinful flesh, the soulish mind, and you commune and communicate with God... spirit to Spirit!
Abuses	Some Pentecostal denominations, based on their lack of study of the aforementioned scriptures have believed either one of the following: You do not have the Holy Spirit if you do not speak in tongues - While the unknown tongue is one of the evidences of one having received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, we ask for the Baptism by faith just like we ask the Lord Jesus to be our Savior and Lord in faith. Keep in mind that there are certain hinderances that cause people to be unable to be released in the heavenly prayer language. Myself, I did not obtain the release to speak in this personal prayer language until five months later. I did, however, experience a discerning of spirits and even laughing in the Spirit. And this phenomenon of laughing in the Spirit was something I experienced approximately seven years before the "Toronto Blessing" became popularized, and was something I was never taught! (Incidentally, this current world-wide phenomenon is known as the Renewal and is what the Holy Spirit is doing - touching the Church and renewing it. Renewal and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit are not necessarily one and the same.) You are not saved if you do not speak in tongues - This is entirely unbiblical and this teaching should be discouraged for its condemnatory effects on Christians. Tongues are not for everyone - Because some have confused the Gift of tongues (which are not for everyone) with the unknown tongue (which may very possibly be for everyone who has received the Holy Spirit), this teaching has been to the detriment to those believers who really do want to be released in speaking in the unknown tongue.
Reasons Why People Cannot Speak in the Unknown Tongue	Some have prayed to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, but have not been able to speak in this heavenly language. Why is it? My observation of the hinderances of not being able to obtain a release in the personal prayer language comes from personal and ministerial experience. However, keep in mind that experience should never be used to override Biblical doctrine or be its only "key" to is interpretation. First off, it is debated whether or not every person who receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit can speak in this prayer language. For a clearer and more consise understanding of this subject matter, please refer to the studies "Baptism in the Holy Spirit" and "Three Biblical Baptisms" on this web page from the Main Menu. Recall Jesus' words in Luke 11:13. "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" All that the Lord requires is a sincere heart and asking Daddy in faith. Rationalism - They have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit by faith. But taking a leap of faith is sometimes required to speak in the heavenly language. Because this is a language in the spirit and not in our minds, it is difficult sometimes for us to grasp that it is our spirit that prays this language and not with our understanding. Solution: I gently explain to such people that God loves them no less if they are having a hard time gaining a release in the heavenly language. I explain to them the "Transpiration Stream". This is a process in plants by which they draw water molecules through the roots, up the stems, through the branches, and out of the stomata of the undersides of the leaf. As one water molecule leaves the leaf, it automatically draws the one right behind it, and that one the one behind it, and so on! In the same way, we need to step out in faith and speak the first word that God drops in our spirit, however crazy it sounds. When we do so in childlike faith, God gives us the next sylable, and the next, until it flows into a mature and complete language. Past hurt - One one occasion, I was ministering to a Pentecostal sister who wanted to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. As the Spirit came upon her, I asked her if she would begin to speak in her new prayer language with me. However, the Holy Spirit began to minister to some severe past hurts instead. One must be sensitive to what the Spirit of God wants. The prayer time concluded with her not having a release just yet, but she was healed of those very deep wounds! Remember that the Christian walk is a progressive thing. God builds line upon line, precept upon precept. Fear - Some Pentecostal/charismatic churches have acted in very peculiar ways when it comes to the gifts, often becoming "spooky spirituals" and coming under a wrong prideful attitute because certain other denominations have not been as open to the moving of the Holy Spirit. Thus when people like us come around and are new to the Holy Spirit, this imbalance and attitude causes us to fear the Holy Spirit's moving as something that takes over our will and posesses us. I suppose the Bible is right in saying that we are a "pecular" people! 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Remember that people are prone to human error. Look to Jesus. There is still a people who do correctly follow the Holy Spirit's leading in a Biblical and balanced way! Perhaps it may help to find a church that is less spooky-spiritual. Other - There are various other reason why people cannot enter into the speaking in their prayer language. Some people may be under demonic oppression, yet the Holy Spirit can easily bypass this person's problems and give him this gift to knock the enemy out silly. We must be open and willing to obey as the Holy Spirit directs us to minister. See Feedback from Users on this Topic