Is Speaking in Tongues Biblical?

Today we look at a topic that gets all kinds of Christians fired up. Is speaking in tongues biblical? If you were raised in a Pentecostal church, your answer is “yes”! If you were raised in a cessationist church, your answer is “no”! In this episode we’ll see what the Bible has to say. 

First, let’s define terms. 

Pentecostalism: Pentecostalism is a Christian movement that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily within the United States. It places a strong emphasis on the direct experience of the Holy Spirit, particularly through practices such as speaking in tongues, divine healing, and prophecy. The movement takes its name from the biblical event of Pentecost, as described in the book of Acts, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Jesus, empowering them to speak in other languages and to proclaim the gospel.

• The Azusa Street Revival – Los Angeles, California, from 1906 to 1909, at the Apostolic Faith Mission located on Azusa Street.
• Pentecostal vs. Charismatic
• AoG, Church of God, Foursquare, Calvary Chapel, Hillsong, Bethel Church, etc.

Cessationism: Cessationism is a theological position within certain Christian circles that holds that certain spiritual gifts, particularly those described in the New Testament such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, and miracles, ceased or ceased to be normative after the apostolic age or the completion of the New Testament canon.

• Historical Perspective: Cessationists may point to historical evidence suggesting that the frequency of miraculous gifts decreased after the apostolic era, leading them to conclude that these gifts ceased to be normative in the life of the church.
• Completion of Scripture: Cessationists often argue that the purpose of miraculous gifts was to authenticate the message of the apostles and to establish the early church. With the completion of the New Testament canon, they believe that the need for such miraculous gifts diminished.
• Cessationism is a theological perspective rather than a denominational affiliation, so it can be found within various Christian denominations to varying degrees. However, there are certain denominations or theological traditions that tend to emphasize cessationist beliefs more strongly than others. Many Reformed churches, particularly those influenced by the teachings of John Calvin and the Westminster Confession of Faith; Some Baptist churches, etc.

Next, let’s look at Acts

In the Bible, speaking in tongues is primarily discussed in the New Testament, particularly in the book of Acts and in the letters of the Apostle Paul. Here are some key passages often cited as a biblical defense of speaking in tongues:

1. Acts 2:1-4: This passage describes the event of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Jesus, and they began speaking in other languages. This event is often considered the origin of the Christian practice of speaking in tongues.

• Acts 2:9-11 (NLT) 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
• This was for the Jews.

2. Acts 8:14-18 (NLT) 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. 15 As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. 

• This was for the Samaritans.
• Does not explicitly say they spoke in tongues, but is the most likely answer
  • (Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Abridged Edition (2 Volumes)) We are not told just how the coming of the Holy Spirit upon these new converts was expressed in their lives, but the context suggests that his presence was attended by such external signs as marked his coming on the earliest Christians at Pentecost–probably by some form of glossolalia.
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The best explanation is that God himself withheld the Spirit until the coming of Peter and John, ‘in order that the Samaritans might be seen to be fully incorporated into the community of Jerusalem Christians who had received the Spirit at Pentecost.’
  • (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The delay in the sending of the Spirit put the Samaritans somewhat in the position of the Jewish disciples before Pentecost. They had a genuine faith in the risen Lord, but had not yet received the promised Holy Spirit. Neither the experience of those first disciples nor the experience of the Samaritans can be made the basis for a two-stage view of Christian initiation, either in a Catholic or Pentecostal sense.

3. Acts 10:44-46: In this passage, the Holy Spirit falls upon Gentiles who believe in Jesus, and they begin speaking in tongues, much like what happened at Pentecost. This demonstrates that speaking in tongues is not limited to a specific group or ethnicity.

• Clear sign that God’s invitation was for Gentiles.
• Acts 10:44-46 (NLT) 44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God.

4. Acts 19:1-7: Paul encounters some disciples in Ephesus who had not yet received the Holy Spirit. After Paul lays hands on them, they receive the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in tongues and prophesying.

• Acts 19:1-2 (NLT) 1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. 2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.
  • Paul saw that the two went hand-in-hand! It was normative. 
  • Ephesians 1:13-14 (NLT) And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
• Acts 19:2-4 (NLT) “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.” 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
  • Baptism of John different than baptism of Jesus
  • Didn’t know the gospel yet! 
    • (Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Abridged Edition (2 Volumes)) Probably these twelve men thought of John the Baptist as the height of God’s revelation–perhaps even as the Messiah himself.
• Acts 19:5-7 (NLT) 5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
  • (Pillar New Testament Commentary) So why did the group in Ephesus collectively experience the phenomena of tongues and prophecy when other converts in Acts apparently did not? 
    • At one level, it was the appropriately dramatic inauguration of Paul’s ministry in this city, where God’s Spirit would be remarkably at work, opposing the power of magic and false religion, and winning many to Christ throughout the region. 
    • At another level, it was specifically related to the identity and need of these particular men. As those influenced in some way by the ministry of John the Baptist, they were brought collectively into the community ‘established by Jesus and his disciples through the Spirit.’ 
  • In salvation-historical terms, they were a transitional group, whose full incorporation into the church needed to be openly demonstrated.

• If this was the last of it, I’d be a cessationist. But it’s not!

Let’s consider 1 Corinthians 14

The section starts in ch 12:

• 1 Cor 12:(NLT) 1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this.
  • We need this today!
• He makes it clear: speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift for the body (corporate) – v28
  • Not everyone has this corporate gift.
  • But it doesn’t matter, because love is greater than any spiritual gift
    • 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NLT) 1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Then gets into details in ch 14. Let’s get into it and draw some conclusions about his mysterious gift of tongues…

1 Corinthians 14:1-4 (ESV) 1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For 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. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.

• Tongues builds YOU up
• Prophesy builds the CHURCH up
• Paul’s conclusion…

1 Corinthians 14:5 (ESV) 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

• It’s not a bad thing! It’s not forbidden, it’s encouraged
  • But in the church (corporately), it’s not always helpful

1 Corinthians 14:12 (ESV) 12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

• They were eager for manifestations. Why?
  • Feels good! Builds you up.
  • Maybe also a spirit of competition, arrogance?
  • Definitely immaturity
    • 1 Corinthians 11:17-18 (ESV) 17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you.
    • 1 Corinthians 11:21-22 (ESV) 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
    • Consumeristic mentality
• Paul’s point, again: “strive to excel in building up the church.”

1 Corinthians 14:13-15 (ESV) 13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.

• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The contrast between spirit and mind “was well known in the Hellenistic world, where ‘spirit’ was considered to be a faculty superior to that of mind. In the Platonic view of inspiration the mind is somehow displaced or inactive, virtually asleep, when inspiration occurs. For Paul, unlike the Platonists, such inactivity is problematic. Paul wants to see “the spirit and the mind work together. His plea is for the complementarity of spirit and mind in prayer. Ultimately his anthropology is holistic.”
• Pauls says here he will pray with his “spirit”, which in context is clearly praying in tongues
  • I believe you can pray with your spirit in other ways
  • Romans 8:26 (ESV) 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
• The point: Paul prays and praises in tongues
  • The question: in which context? Corporately or personally?
  • v 18 gives us the answer…

1 Corinthians 14:18-19 (ESV) 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The thrust of the surrounding argument suggests he rarely, if ever, spoke in tongues in public worship. His meaning could possibly be I will pray with my spirit [in private], but I will also pray with my understanding [in church]…
• This much is clear: in Paul’s personal prayer life, he spoke in tongues often
  • He was thankful for it
  • It edified him on a personal level
  • But in the church setting he did not exercise it
    • it would take approximately 75 minutes to speak 10,000 words at a typical conversational rate!

1 Corinthians 14:39-40 (NLT) 39 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.