Speculation abounds as to the nature of speaking in tongues and whether or not it’s for believers today. Pentecostal and other charismatic denominations dogmatically assert that believers have the ability to speak in tongues present day while others, just as dogmatically, claim that speaking in tongues ended long ago.
But before we can discuss whether or not speaking in tongues is a valid practice for believers today, we first have to understand what speaking in tongues is.
The gift of speaking in tongues was the God given ability to speak a foreign language previously unknown to the speaker. This gift had multiple purposes including: propagating the Gospel, confirming the validity of the Gospel and that of the Apostles who preached it, acting as a sign to unbelievers, and giving revelation to the early church.
There is much to be discussed in regards to speaking in tongues. And in this article we’re going to take a deep dive into what speaking in tongues is, its purpose, duration, and so on. We’ll also look at some common misconceptions about speaking in tongues and hopefully provide some much needed clarification.
One of Nine Spiritual Gifts
The gift of speaking in tongues is one of nine spiritual gifts listed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.
In a nutshell these gifts are:
- The utterance of wisdom
- The utterance of knowledge
- Faith
- Gifts of healing
- Working of miracles
- Prophecy
- Discerning of spirits
- Various kinds of tongues
- Interpretation of tongues
A point to be made in relation to these gifts is that it is God “who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). Meaning that the individual has no say in which gift(s) he acquires as God is sovereign over who receives which gifts. The reason this is important will become apparent later in this blog post.
Tongues Were Actual Human Languages
Acts 2 records the first use of the gift of speaking in tongues. Here we see that the tongues being spoken by those filled with the Holy Spirit were actual human languages.
Present at the time of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit were men of over a dozen different nationalities, each of which “heard them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God” (Acts 2:11). In other words, they heard the Gospel being preached to them in their native language.
“Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
Acts 2:5-11
As you can see from the passage above, three times the audience testifies to the fact that they heard the men speaking in their own native language. What this means is that the gift of tongues could not have been an angelic or heavenly language, as supposed by some, but actual human languages that could be understood.
Not Angelic or Heavenly Languages
Of course, some would protest this interpretation based on 1 Corinthians 13:1 where Paul says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”
However, Paul is not claiming to actually speak in angelic or heavenly languages nor does this verse give license for believers to do so today. It also cannot be interpreted to mean an individual prayer language either. The meaning behind Paul’s statement here is that regardless of the language being spoken, even if it’s a superior language such as that attributed to angels, if what’s being spoken isn’t spoken in love, then it’s useless.
Paul is using hyperbole to make a point. He’s speaking figuratively. He does this in Galatians 1:8 as well when he says, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
Of course Paul didn’t really believe an angel had the ability to come preach a false gospel to the Galatians, nor do most believers understand that to be what he meant. We quickly recognize that Paul wasn’t speaking literally but figuratively. He does the same with the verse in question.
For more information about this topic, check out my article Tongues of Angels: 1 Corinthians 13:1 Explained.
What Was the Purpose of Speaking in Tongues?
The gift of speaking in tongues served multiple purposes. I mentioned a few of them briefly at the beginning of this article. We’ll now take a moment to discuss the various uses speaking in tongues had in the early church.
1. Speaking in Tongues Helped Propagate the Gospel
Referring back to Acts 2 again, we see that the gift of tongues was used to spread the Gospel message to people of different nationalities whose languages were unknown to those tasked with proclaiming its truths.
Outside of Acts 2, there is no mention of tongues being used for this purpose. However, we have no reason to doubt that tongues were not thus used, especially in light of the Great Commission which demanded the Gospel be taken outside of Judea and “into all the world” (Mark 16:15). The rate at which the Gospel was able to spread may be due, in part, to the gift of speaking in tongues. Being that those endowed with this gift didn’t have to spend years learning a foreign language prior to going on mission trips, the rate at which they could spread the Gospel increased exponentially.
2. Confirmed the Validity of the Gospel
In that speaking in tongues was a miraculous, outward demonstration of the Holy Spirit, it attested to the divine origin of the Gospel message. In other words, it helped validate the Gospel and the teaching of the Apostles.
Mark confirms this when he says “they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs” (Mark 16:20). Part of these “accompanying signs” was “speaking in new tongues”, along with casting out demons, handling serpents, not being adversely affected in the event of drinking deadly poison, and healing the sick, all of which the Apostles did. (Mark 16:17-18). With the exception of drinking deadly poison we have Biblical records of all the other signs being fulfilled in the lives of the Apostles.
Hebrews 2:1-4 also declares that signs accompanied the Apostles to validate their message of salvation:
“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
Hebrews 2:1-4
Thus tongues acted as a sign to corroborate the Apostles message of salvation as truth.
3. Tongues Gave Much Needed Revelation to the Early Church
In 1 Corinthians 14:6 Paul tells us that tongues are useless unless by them “some revelation, or knowledge or prophecy or teaching” is given. By this we understand that tongues were used to impart guidance to the early church who did not have at her disposal the completed canon of Scripture that we have today.
This is part of the reason that Paul demands an interpreter be present (1 Corinthians 14:28) whenever someone speaks in tongues, so that the church as a whole can be edified. Tongues left uninterpreted are as useless as one “speaking into the air” (1 Corinthians 14:9).
4. Evidence of the Gentiles Inclusion in God’s Plan of Salvation
In Acts 10 Peter is sent to preach to a group of Gentiles. Upon doing so, the Holy Spirit falls upon them and they began to “speak in tongues and extol God” (Acts 10:46). This outpouring of the Holy Spirit was proof that God was including the Gentiles in His plan of salvation – a concept not likely to be accepted by the Jews without divine proof as the Jews believed that they alone were God’s people.
That the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues and extolled God was enough to convince Peter and the other Jewish Christians that “to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18). By this demonstration of the Holy Spirit it was evident that both Jews and Gentiles “have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18), and are united as one body in Christ.
Is Speaking in Tongues For Believers Today?
Before we discuss whether or not speaking in tongues is for believers today I need to make a few things clear. First, when I refer to speaking in tongues I am referring to Biblical tongues, not the tongue speaking that occupies charismatic gatherings today where the speakers are the authors of their own utterances. That type of tongues is not for believers of any time period.
Second, I believe that God is sovereign and that on specific occasions and under certain circumstances he may grant a believer the ability to exercise a gift that, by and large, has ceased such as speaking in tongues.
That being said, speaking in tongues was a temporary gift that served specific purposes during a specific time in history. Thus, the cessation of tongues was necessary due to its temporal nature making its use modern day almost wholly unnecessary. So no, speaking in tongues is not for believers today.
We find evidence of this in two passages of Scripture. Let’s look at them now.
Tongues Will Cease
In 1 Corinthians 13:8 Paul says that “tongues will cease” and that this will take place “when the perfect comes”. The issue then is understanding what the “perfect” is. There seems to be a 50/50 split when it comes to interpreting this passage. Some think the “perfect” mentioned here is the Second Coming of Christ, while others believe Paul had the completed canon of Scripture in mind. I agree with the latter.
Paul says that three gifts will “pass away” or “cease”: tongues, prophecy, and knowledge. All three of these gifts are revelatory in nature. Meaning that by them God gave revelation to the early church to help guide her through her infancy. This was necessary in that 1) the Apostles couldn’t be everywhere at all times to instruct the early believers and, 2) they didn’t have the completed canon of Scripture to go by as we do today.
With the completion of the New Testament writings the full revelation of God was given. That which was “perfect” had come. Thus the partial revelations obtained by the early church and the means whereby they were acquired (tongues, prophecy, knowledge) became obsolete in light of the full revelation of God being given in the form of the written word. We know that the Bible as a whole is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind and there is nothing more to be added unto it. That being said, it is perfect, final, and complete.
Thus when the full revelation of God was given through Scripture, tongues were no longer needed. Their temporary purpose had been fulfilled.
This is That
The second passage I want to reference in regards to the cessation of tongues is Acts 2:16.
As already mentioned, Peter and the Apostles had just been filled with the Holy Spirit and were speaking in tongues. Some men from the crowds accused them of being drunk. Peter then stands up with the others and addresses the crowds with the following words:
“Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.”
Acts 2:14-18
According to Peter, what was taking place was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit along with the gifts that accompanied it were all predicted long ago and were finding fulfillment in Peter’s lifetime. If then the prophecy was fulfilled and its accompanying signs already demonstrated, which they were, we can reasonably conclude that speaking in tongues ceased with the completion of this prophecy.
That being said, there are many within the charismatic denominations that use this very passage in support of their tongue speaking. However, Peter was clear that Joel’s words were in reference to events that were taking place in his day, not to a day thousands of years in the future. Once a prophecy is fulfilled, it’s fulfilled and unless Biblical evidence can be produced that says otherwise – that clearly states a prophecy will find continual fulfillment past the date of its initial fulfillment – we have no grounds to assume that it does.
Common Misconceptions About Speaking in Tongues
In this last section I want to discuss some common misconceptions about speaking in tongues. In that speaking in tongues is highly controversial and there are many differences of opinion as to the nature of the gift, it’s important that we understand some key truths about the gift so as to not be led astray by denominational specific teachings.
Speaking in Tongues is an Individual Prayer Language
There is nothing in Scripture that states or implies that speaking in tongues is an individual or private prayer language. Biblical tongues were actual human languages that could be understood by others, not arbitrary sounds and syllables spouted off during an emotional high which no one can understand.
That being said, if tongues were exercised without an interpreter or in an assembly where no congregant understood the language being spoken, the tongues were only understood by God. This is the meaning behind 1 Corinthians 14:2 where Paul says, “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”.
The one speaking was not speaking to men because he was exercising the gift in the presence of no one who could interpret or naturally understand what he said. He was uttering “mysteries in the Spirit”. That is, he was truly speaking the revelations that God was imparting through the Spirit, but because no one could understand what was being spoken, no one could benefit from what was said.
This verse does not give license to the unintelligible gibberish charismatics call speaking in tongues today, for not even God can understand nonsensical utterances articulated indiscriminately by the mouths of those whose minds have been deluded. After all, random sounds and syllables have no meaning.
All Believers Should Speak in Tongues
As with the first point, there is no Biblical support for the idea that all believers should speak in tongues. In fact, quite the contrary.
1 Corinthians 12:11 says that it is God “who apportions to each one individually as he wills”, meaning that the believer has no say in which spiritual gifts he receives. While this by itself doesn’t forbid God from giving all believers the same gift of speaking in tongues, it is highly unlikely that God would do so “for the body does not consist of one member but of many” (1 Corinthians 12:14).
Furthermore, Paul tells us that not all believers would speak in tongues. In 1 Corinthians 12:29-30 he poses the following rhetorical questions: “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” The answer to these questions is an obvious no.
That being said, the Bible does not support the theory that every believer can or should speak in tongues.
Speaking in Tongues is the Evidence of the Holy Spirit
Some charismatic circles declare that speaking in tongues is the evidence of a believer having been filled with God’s Spirit. This evidence is necessary due to Romans 8:9 which says, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” So if you want to know for sure that you’ve been filled with God’s Spirit and are numbered among the saints then you have to speak in tongues.
How absurd. This theory would almost be laughable if it weren’t for the number of people who actually believe it.
Fortunately for us non-tongue speakers nowhere does the Bible say this is the case. In fact, Paul says the fruit or evidence of the Spirit are the following: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). So if you exhibit these characteristics as a result of your faith in Christ, then rest assured you have been filled with God’s Spirit. Speaking in tongues is not the evidence of a believer being filled with the Holy Spirit. Period.
You Have to Speak in Tongues in Order to be Saved
Finally I must mention that you don’t have to speak in tongues in order to be saved. Again, there is no Biblical support for this. As I’ve stated earlier, the gift of speaking in tongues was temporary. It wasn’t mean to last forever. Once its purpose was fulfilled it passed away. That being said, a temporary gift cannot serve as a means by which a lasting gift is obtained.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). There are no other qualifications for salvation other than faith in Christ. It’s faith in Christ that allows for us to be cleansed of our sins, filled with the Holy Spirit, and adopted into the household of God. No amount of tongue speaking can earn us our salvation for “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Final Thoughts
It’s an understatement to say that speaking in tongues is a controversial topic. I know that much of what I have written here will be fiercely contested by those of opposing viewpoints. However, the conclusions I have drawn have come subsequent to long hours of study and personal experience with charismatic churches whose practices in regards to speaking in tongues have proven to be unbiblical, heretical even.
These practices and teachings have in some ways and at some times, negatively impacted my faith. Often, after pouring out my heart to God and begging him for the gift of tongues and not receiving it, I would feel like something was wrong with me; that there was something in my life holding me back from receiving the gift. After all, everyone else in the church was speaking in tongues, so why wasn’t I?
At times, my lack of tongue speaking made me feel inferior to those who did; as though they had achieved a level of holiness yet unattained by myself; their speaking in tongues bearing witness to that fact.
Looking back now I’m glad I never spoke in tongues. I’m glad I never caved to the pressure I felt to just “start speaking what the Lord gives you. Even if it’s just syllables at first, just speak it!”, as one Pastor once told me, for now I realize that none of it was real to begin with. It took me many years to finally realize what I was witnessing in the Pentecostal church was learned behavior brought about by emotional highs falsely labeled as “the Holy Spirit moving.” Hopefully this article, along with my others on speaking in tongues will help you come to the same conclusions sooner than I did so you too can rightly understand the gift of speaking in tongues and be able to make an informed decision on whether or not a charismatic church is where you want to go to worship the Lord.
Thanks for reading. God bless!
This is awesome. Thank you for sharing brother Justin.
i am 52 yrs old, got born again in 1994 & i have never spoken in tongues. As a baby believer, i desired to speak in the tongues i heard other believers speaking in church gatherings. i too just like you at some point felt inferior, i felt i was not properly born again, and this led me to ask Christ into my life many times over & even water baptism. i later leaned that its only FAITH IN CHRIST that counts. we are saved by GRACE through FAITH.. period.
All these was because of lack of knowledge and wrong teachings that were handed down to some of us. I guess God allows us to pass through different ways to bring His beloved to maturity In Him..
over the years i genuinely prayed and even cried to God to fill me with this gift so that i could be assured of my salvation because,, we were taught that every believer should be able to speak in tongues.
After years of prayer and not speaking, i decided to relax, study God’s Word & i SIMPLY asked God to fill me to overflowing with His Love, which He did & more as is written in Galatians 5:22-23.
And NOW i just earnestly desire to continue growing in the GRACE and KNOWLEDGE Christ, that i may love Him more intimately..
However, i do believe the Holy Spirit can gift Biblical tongue to a believer in remote parts of the world where He needs the Gospel to be preached.
I also believe that the perfection talked of in 1 cor 13:8 is LOVE, ie where there is God’s love(perfect), word of knowledge, tongues & prophecy ceases. (i’m forever perfected in Christ, though my character is still a work in process & so im still learning)
Once again, thank you for sharing this wonderful article.
Very good article. I appreciate your honesty and it is obvious that you have spent some time researching the matter.
I noticed you called tongues a “gift.” I think that is a common misconception. The scriptures do not call tongues a gift.
1 Cor 12:7-10,
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another [divers] kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
As you can see with a careful reading, 1 Corinthians 12:7 is not talking about gifts. It is talking about manifestations. A manifestation is not a gift.
The gift is holy spirit and it is given to all born again believers. It is in fact the very essence of being born again. It is Christ in you (Col 1:27). The manifestations in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 are the power that God gave anyone with holy spirit, i.e., anyone who is born again, to do the works that are necessary to help others learn about the Gospel. They are essential in carrying out that task. They are an integral the whole armor of God we are told to put on in Ephesians 6:11.
Jesus said we would do the works he did and even more (John 14:12). Compare the things Jesus did, and it is evident he regularly operated 7 of the 9 manifestations. He did not speak in tongues nor interpret simply because it was not available to do so until the Pentecost which of course occurred after Jesus ascended. Perhaps those 2 manifestations are the greater works Jesus mentioned, thus placing incredible importance on them? There’s another research project!
By the way, I don’t see a time when Jesus’ declaration that we would do the same works he did went away.
As you may ascertain, I am in the half of the group who believe “that which is perfect” refers to his second coming. I think the very fact you and I don’t see tongues in the same way is proof in itself that we have not all come into the knowledge of the truth. Simple logic dictates only one of us is right about tongues, so clearly we are not on the same page which I would think is hardly God’s idea of perfection. But it’s not just you and I who see differently. Given there are some 35,000 different denominations, we are certainly not where Ephesians 4:13 says we ought to be. I don’t see that coming until we are all known as He knows us and that won’t be until the second coming (1 Cor 13:12).
Also it is worth pointing out that we are strangers in a strange land. We are in the world but not part of it. We are in fact in a world where the adversary walks around as a lion seeking whom he may devour. Ephesian says we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of darkness. They are spiritual, so we need to fight them with spiritual power. That spiritual power is none other than the nine manifestation of the gift of holy spirit. They are the weapons we employ to defeat the adversary. The adversary makes people sick, we operate the manifestation of healing to make them well.
God never forces us to operate the manifestations. They are completely under the control of the believer. Uncontrolled rolling in the aisle is far from the decency and orderliness God exhorts us to exhibit in 1 Corinthians 14:40. That just ends up scaring people or making them think those folks are nuts (1 Corinthians 14:23). If the believer wants to speak in tongues, he certainly can. But if someone does not want to operate any or all of the manifestations, they are free to do so. It doesn’t mean they are in any way inferior to any other believer. It just means they are not operating at the full potential God granted to His wonderful children.
Anyway, the main thing I wanted to comment on was that tongues are not a gift, but a manifestation of the gift They are but one of the nine different ways that the power of the gift of holy spirit can be made evident in the physical world.
Thanks again for your stand with the Lord and your labor of love. God knows the world needs believers like yourself.
Hey brother Rich!
First of all I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It means a lot. Also, thanks for the well thought out comment.
I want to address some of your concerns starting with speaking in tongues not being classified as a gift. You said that it’s a common misconception that speaking in tongues is a gift of the Spirit and that it is, rather, a manifestation of the Spirit. When we look at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 12 Paul says, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.” And in verse 4 he says, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.” The whole context of the passage is that of “spiritual gifts”, so I don’t think the idea of speaking in tongues being a “gift of the Spirit” is completely wrong. I see why you say it’s a manifestation of the Spirit and not necessarily a gift of the Spirit but to be honest I think that’s a distinction without a difference. Whether we call it a gift or a manifestation really makes no difference. At least not any that I’m aware of. Regardless of what we call it, Paul says that “all these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). Meaning that it’s the Holy Spirit who decides or decided who received which spiritual gift, or manifestation of the Spirit as you say.
I’m in agreement with you when you say that the Holy Spirit is a gift that’s given to all born again believers. Peter said to “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38) And Paul says in Ephesians 1:13 that “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit”. Some people believe that we don’t receive the Holy Spirit until we receive a spiritual gift or manifestation of the Spirit in our lives. But what else aside from the infilling of the Holy Spirit can account for the change that has taken place in our lives as the result of placing faith in Christ? It’s the Spirit that transforms us, renews our minds, and makes us like Christ.
With regard to the 9 spiritual gifts or manifestations of the Spirit being the weapons we use to fight the adversary, I would only mention that Jesus, when face to face with Satan in the wilderness, didn’t call upon any supernatural force but rather He used the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11). I think doing the same is a safer and more reliable approach to combating the spiritual battles we face today.
I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree as to whether or not the gifts or manifestations of the Spirit are available to believers today, and that’s totally ok. I have no problem calling you brother even though we don’t see eye to eye on this issue. In fact, there are probably lots of things we don’t see eye to eye on but that doesn’t mean we have to divide over these issues.
Thanks again for reading and commenting. If you’d like to continue this discussion or have something else you’d like to talk about I’m more than open to it.
Take care, and God bless!
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic article post.
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up plus the rest of the website is very good.
This is a strange take. In one moment you say, God can appoint gifts to whom he chooses (which is clearly written in scripture), then you say (based off opinion) that it would be “unlikely” that God would do so (in regards to speaking in tongues).
You also stated that “God does not even understand things that don’t make sense.” That itself doesn’t make sense. He IS and always was, all knowing, all seeing, omnipresent, past present future Lord of Lords, creator redeemer and all in between, and you state, there’s ANYTHING He cannot understand? Silly.
Lastly, “syllables and sounds that don’t make sense”, have always been, and then they do, and even if that was a true or relevant statement, scripture tells us, if one is speaking in tongues, it IS a language that nobody would understand, that it’s meant for God to interpret. Praying in the spirit is something we need to be encouraging, not the exact opposite. Science even shows it’s positive reactions on the immune system.. because GOD CAN. There is absolutely nothing in that Bible that is not accurate. As far as the ending of tongues, it does not specify when. Clearly. At all. Who is any human to say, again based off opinions, when they feel tongues “should” have ended?
I pray for clarity for anyone following the blog writer, for this isn’t right, especially when trying to bring Gods sons and daughters back home to Christ.
We cannot judge HOW anyone goes TO Christ; that is wildly counterproductive to our jobs as Christians.
According to the Bible, the only initial evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Ghost was the speaking in tongues. The risen Christ is the “baptizer” in the Holy Ghost, as John the Baptist preached in Matthew 3:11. Hence the phrase “baptized in the Holy Ghost. Prior to His ascension Jesus instructed His followers to ‘tarry in Jerusalem’ (Acts 1:8) until the Holy Ghost is “come upon you.” They did and the Holy Ghost came with the initial evidence in the believers of speaking in tongues (as prophesied in Isa. 28:11-12).
Of the 5 times in the book of Acts, 3 of the times the initial evidence of the baptism was specifically the speaking in tongues: The other two times was
1. Paul received the Holy Ghost in Damascus. Yet Paul said he spoke in tongues and when Simon the sorcerer witnessed believers being baptized in the Holy Ghost, he offered Peter money for that power. Of course, Peter rebuked him in the strongest terms to think he could buy a gift of God. So in that case it does not cite the gift of tongues there was obviously some physical manifestation.
The problem is that in churches in general, there are so many different non-biblical teachings about the baptism in the Holy Ghost that there is a lot of confusion today, namely it does not make one Christian better than another.
Thank you! I don’t remember not believing in God, I have my life to Christ at 15yrs and completed a Life in the Spirit course at 24yrs. I remember feeling like there was something wrong with me because everyone around me was speaking in tongues after the anointing ceremony. I came to understand that God gives us our gifts and speaking in tongues was not my gift. Fast forward 40yrs., I sat in church this morning and listened to the message about how we can not be complete in the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues. There was an alter call and prayer was lifted up and everyone who was prayed over began to speak in tongues. No interpretation was given. Your article confirms my study of tongues and my life long journey. I don’t feel wrong in my thoughts and beliefs. I will not express my opinion to those who do believe in the power of speaking tongues. Each of us finds our way to the cross.
Hey Susan, it seems as though you and I have had similar experiences with speaking in tongues. I spent a lot of time in Pentecostal churches after I got saved and I have to admit that I always felt inadequate, or that something was wrong with me because I never spoke in tongues, even though I prayed for it for the longest time. That being said, it took me years to break away from the Pentecostal denomination and their unhealthy beliefs in regards to speaking in tongues. I’m glad this article has helped you confirm your own studies and has helped validate your thoughts and beliefs. Also, I really appreciate you taking the time to read and to comment on this article. It means a lot. Take care, and God bless!
Great content! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate it!