TSW ~ E.W. King: The Gift of Tongues

The Gift of Tongues

by Jerry Ousley

1 Corinthians 14:21 – “In the law it is written: ‘With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear me,’ says the Lord”

This will probably be the most controversial topic I could write about because of the varied beliefs and opinions on the subject. The gifts as found in the Bible, can be categorized as (1) Vocal gifts, or speaking gifts, (2) Power gifts, or those that are a demonstration of supernatural significance, (3) Mental gifts, or those where God reveals something in our minds, and (4) Office gifts, or those that require a person to act in a calling that could be considered a position of ministry. Can God use other giftings than these? I will hold to the truth that God is all powerful and He can do whatever He desires to do, so who knows but God? However, for the sake of this series of articles we will only deal with the gifts as outlined in the Bible.

Speaking in tongues, as it is called in the King James and the New King James Versions of the Bible (and perhaps some others) is the most talked about, denied, and misinformed, misused and plain old missed in use and definition of all of them. For that reason, I will use an entire article to talk about this subject.

First of all, speaking in tongues is not just idle babel. 1 Corinthians 13:1 speaks of two types of tongues, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” Tongues of men are in fact languages spoken on earth so it would be reasonable that tongues of angels is the language spoken in Heaven. When the Bible talks about speaking in tongues it is referring to either talking in languages used on earth or the language of Heaven. We know from the first experience in Acts 2 that they were speaking in earthly languages because those from other nations that were present that day each head them talking in their own native language. Tongues then, is the supernatural ability to speak in an unlearned or unknown language.

1 Corinthians 14 gives very clear and detailed instructions about speaking with tongues. Unfortunately, most congregations that practice tongues do not allow the gift to be used in the way it is outlined in this chapter. Because of this, others who do not utilize this spiritual gift are afraid of it, embarrassed by it, or just flat don’t want anything to do with it. This is very tragic because tongues are a gift outlined in the Bible and have a use. It can be miraculously used in missions and in fact has been in actual situations. For the sake of avoiding a lengthy article I won’t go into everything outlined in this chapter, but I strongly urge you to read it for yourself. It gives very detailed instructions regarding this gift, where and when it should be allowed, and where and when it should not be used. If all who do believe in this gift would study this chapter and allow themselves to be used as Paul instructed, how much more powerful it would be and how much less it would be misunderstood.

Those who identify themselves as Pentecostals, nearly all, will tell you that this gift is the initial and only evidence that one has received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. While it is true that several of the recorded instances in Acts regarding this baptism, does say that they spoke with togues, to say that all were evidenced by tongues requires an assumption. When studying God’s word, we should never, ever make assumptions. Nowhere does it say that this is the proof of this experience.

As a teenager and young man, I was taught to believe that tongues was the only evidence. For this reason, when I was seeking God for it, I was praying in fact to speak with tongues. I eventually did. However, as I matured in the Lord it began to bother me that men such as Billy Graham and others were used greatly by God but, unless they hid it and refused to talk about it, they exhibited being greatly used by God but they did not speak with tongues. We know from the article we did on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, that the experience is mainly to make us ready to be used for service in spreading the Gospel. These people were greatly used in bringing people to Christ. So how could this be if they had not received? It was in that questioning that God revealed to me that any of the gifts, vocal, power, mental or office, were evidence of this great experience. Those who insisted on tongues were given that experience mainly because God allowed it in their ignorance of the gifts and what the Baptism in the Holy Spirit was really all about. There are other instances in the Bible where God allowed things because of the hardness of men’s hearts. I am convinced that speaking in tongues is the same way. God allowed them to speak with tongues while seeking this gift because they simply believed they didn’t have it without the tongues.

In conclusion, tongues are as important in the listings of the gifts as all the others. This gift has its place and use in the Body of Christ. But it isn’t the most important. They are all of equal importance and all have their unique use and purpose in building the Church.

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