Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TONGUES

Unlearned languages spoken under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Apart from the reference to “new tongues” in the longer ending of Mark (Mark 16:17), tongues appear in the NT only in Acts and 1 Corinthians. In Acts the writer tells of various groups of believers who spoke in tongues, and in 1 Corinthians Paul discusses the meaning and importance of tongues as he writes to a congregation that makes use of them. The word “glossolalia,” which does not appear in the NT, comes from the NT description of the phenomenon, laleín (en) glṓssē or laleín (en) glṓssais, “to speak in/with a tongue” or “to speak in/with tongues.”

On the Pentecost after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Twelve (or possibly the 120) “began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2:4). Their hearers hear them “each in his/her own language (diálektos)” proclaiming “God’s deeds of power” (Acts 2:11). Later in Acts two other groups speak in tongues: the household of Cornelius when they hear Peter’s message about Jesus (Acts 10:46) and the 12 men of Ephesus after Paul baptizes them and lays hands on them (19:6).

In 1 Cor. 12–14 Paul deals with tá pneumatiká, “spiritual gifts,” and hoí pneumatikoí, the “spiritual persons” who may use those gifts (1 Cor. 12:1; 14:1, 37; cf. 2:12-15; 3:1; Gal. 6:1). He makes several points which apply to spiritual gifts in general and to tongues specifically. The content of a speech carries more weight than its manner of delivery, even including ecstatic speech (1 Cor. 12:1-3). The Holy Spirit decides which believer receives which gifts (12:4-11). The gifts should benefit the body of believers, not any individual (14:1-5). Less spectacular gifts can mean as much as the more dramatic ones (12:14-26). Not all believers receive all gifts (12:29-31). Communicating God’s truth in plain language (i.e., prophecy) means more than obscure communication in tongues (14:13-25). The Church should restrict tongues speaking to those occasions when someone can interpret (14:26-33). The most spectacular gifts mean nothing without love (13:1-13).

Scholars differ on the nature of NT tongues speaking and the historicity of the accounts. The main schools of thought are these: (1) The tongues speaking in Acts 2 is unhistorical, and the Corinthian experience involved “ecstatic utterance” (1 Cor. 12:10 NEB) not to be identified with any human language. This view largely excludes any idea of miraculous speech. (2) The tongues speaking in Acts 2 is historical, and the tongues of 1 Corinthians are human languages. This represents an attempt to see all NT tongues speaking as the same phenomenon. (3) The tongues speaking in Acts 2 is historical, but the tongues of 1 Corinthians are not real human languages. This would account for the fact that Paul does not seem to envision a situation like that of Acts 2, , where ordinary speakers heard their own languages miraculously spoken.

The idea that the “baptism of the Spirit,” a postconversion experience, always involves speaking in tongues finds scant support in the NT. Acts 11:15-17 suggests that its author regarded the “gift” (dōreá) and the “baptism” of the Spirit as two words describing the same phenomenon. However, the idea that miraculous gifts would cease upon the completion of the NT canon, or the books of the canon, is a theological construct uncomfortably imposed on Paul’s words in 1 Cor. 13:9-10.

Bibliography. W. E. Mills, A Theological/Exegetical Approach to Glossolalia (Lanham, 1985); Mills, ed., Speaking in Tongues (Grand Rapids, 1986); V. S. Poythress, “The Nature of Corinthian Glossolalia: Possible Options,” WTJ 40 (1977): 130-35.

Carl Bridges

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TONGUES

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)