Concerning Tongues Speaking — A Topical Bible Study

Excerpt

Tongues speaking is one of the most debated topics in the Christendom. In this Bible study, you’ll learn what the Bible says about it in great detail.

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Tongues speaking is one of the most debated topics in the Christendom. You may ask why. Many believers don’t speak in tongues, which doesn’t mean they are not saved. After all, the manifestation of a person’s salvation in Christ is not dependent on one’s physical ability to speak in tongues. No! God is not that cheap to name His children by what they say. Before I did a topical Bible study concerning tongues speaking, which I’m going to write about today, I wrote an article about a section on the same topic. I published it on our ministry’s website, and it has become one of the most-read articles on the website. That made me see how intensely people are looking for answers to Biblical questions online. Wow! Let’s dive in.

Download the PDF version of the article here.

Prophecy in the Old Testament

It’s interesting to know that tongues speaking was prophesied about in the Old Testament. Guess which prophet said it by divine revelation? Isaiah. Isaiah 28:11 (NKJV) says,

“For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people,”

Look at that again. That prophecy was for the believers of today. I mean, in the dispensation of grace we live in. Why? Because, from one preceding scripture in the same Isaiah 28, that is, Isaiah 28:5, the phrase “to the remnant of His people” referred to us believers in Christ. And Jesus confirmed it in Mark 16:17 [Boldface mine (NKJV)], where He said that,

“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;”

So here’s a profound truth. No man of God in the Old Testament spoke in tongues. But every believer in Christ has the gift of tongues speaking in him. One may not manifest it by speaking it, but it is in there.

Stammering lips and another tongue

Now, back to Isaiah 28:11, which says God will speak to His people with stammering lips and another tongue. So there are two main ways God will do it: stammering lips and another tongue. What, then, is the difference?

“Stammering lips” literally refers to believers who speak in tongues in a way people who stammer speak. Their words will be inconsistent during prayer, but the Spirit behind such utterances is the Holy Spirit, not a made-up word concept. See, it’s even hard to say you are praying in tongues with your own words. You’ll suffer. Because it is a spiritual language, you cannot fake it. If you speak it, you speak it; if you don’t, you don’t. There are no gimmicks here.

“Another tongue” refers to a foreign language unbeknownst to the believer. That believer will be speaking in tongues in prayer to the Lord but may be speaking another Earthly language he doesn’t know, yet the interpretation of whatever he says channels back to God. The Holy Spirit usually uses this to prove to unbelievers that God can do mighty things, and He did that in Acts 2. The disciples were praying but didn’t know they were speaking in other people’s languages!

As a believer, because the utterance to speak in tongues doesn’t come from you but the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:4), you cannot discern whether you are speaking in an unknown tongue, whom God alone understands, or tongues of men, which may be another person’s language unbeknownst to you. You have to focus on praying in the Spirit as He gives you utterance.

No man of God in the Old Testament spoke in tongues. But every believer in Christ has the gift of tongues speaking in him. One may not manifest it by speaking it, but it is in there.

Tongues – it’s menace in the Body of Christ

Yes, although there were several things shared about tongues speaking, when did it begin in the Body of Christ? I’m glad to say that it was the very day the Church was born in Acts 2. When divided tongues, as of fire, rested on each of the 120 disciples in the upper room (see Acts 2:3), then it started. Amazingly, just a little ignition of the Spirit produced a firebrand continuously praying disciples in the same room. 

Nobody knows how long they prayed. But I believe it was long enough to draw people to the base of the building they were in. Maybe they spent at least four hours praying earnestly in tongues. That is how powerful it is. When you speak in tongues, you can pray for long without feeling tired, and I’ve witnessed this several times in my life.

Reference from Joel 2:28

“And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.” – Joel 2:28 (NKJV)

According to Joel 2:28, when the divided tongues of fire came upon the disciples, it was a manifestation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But take note that it wasn’t gender-specific. That means tongues speaking is both for male and female believers in Christ. And I think it’s evident in our day where both males and females speak in tongues.

A careful study of Acts 2:4

Let’s carefully look at Acts 2:4, for some truth to be laid plain before you.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” – Acts 2:4 (NKJV)

Filled with the Holy Spirit

First, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit when the divided tongues, as of fire, settled on each person. We don’t know whether it got settled on their heads or tongues. But they spoke in tongues following the infilling of the Spirit. In the early church days, the Holy Spirit was coming afresh. That’s why God used that method of settling on them. Today, God doesn’t do that. Why? Because every believer already has God’s Spirit in him (see 1 John 4:8, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16, and many more scriptures), no Christian needs another infilling but rather impartation to be conscious of the Spirit’s dwelling in them.

… began to speak with other tongues

Secondly, in Acts 2:4, the disciples spoke with other tongues, which simply referred to tongues speaking in another Earthly language unbeknownst to the believer, as I said in earlier parts of this article. There are other categories of tongues speaking. But there are several reasons why the Holy Spirit made the disciples speak this one.

No Christian needs another infilling but rather impartation to be conscious of the Spirit’s dwelling in them.

#1 To draw in new members to the church

The Church was born on Pentecost Day. But God didn’t want it to consist of only 120 believers. No! He wanted many more people to join the Church right from day one. So, He had to make the disciples pray in a way that attracted crowds so that they could be ministered to, saved, and added to the church membership. That day, about three thousand souls were added to the church (see Acts 2:41). Glory to God.

#2 There is power in waiting on God

Another reason, which may be secondary, was that God wanted the disciples to experience that waiting on Him is never a wasted time. I believe that word is for you, dear one. Maybe God told you to wait for some time before starting that ministry, company, NGO, or probably to get married. If you rush to step out before His appointed time, you might end up struggling. If the disciples had started evangelising before the Holy Spirit came, they wouldn’t have had that number of souls added to the church that day. Today, it’s pretty sad that some ministries start with very few members without even praying and preparing for a bumper harvest. Hmm!

Remember that prematurely born babies have to be kept in incubators before they can survive. Don’t destroy your life by birthing out something God has told you to do in His wrong timing. Remember that Jesus never told the disciples the specific days to wait in the upper room. He told them to wait. So dear, wait, but keep praying!

… as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Lastly, the Holy Spirit is the one who gave the disciples the utterance to speak in tongues, not they themselves. So, as said earlier, no believer can speak in tongues with his own strength. The utterances are from the Spirit realm.

Waiting on God is never a wasted time.

The next time the believers prayed in Acts 4:23-31

In Acts 4:23-31, some believers prayed in response to the persecution the Church was facing. They prayed in their native language so plainly that the words were recorded in Acts 4:24-30. But at the end of the prayer, the Bible says they were filled with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 4:31). Wow!

The meaning of the Word “filled” in Acts 4:31 is the same as the “filled” used in Acts 2:4. That means the infilling of the Spirit, then, was not only a product of tongues speaking but also prayers done by faith for boldness to do the work of the ministry.

Addressing the baptism of the Spirit

You may have read what John the Baptist said about Jesus in Matthew 3:11 (NKJV). He said,

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Some people differentiate the baptism of the Holy Spirit from that of fire because of the word “and” used in the scripture. However, the meaning of “and” in the scripture does not differentiate the two forms of baptism Jesus will give. John meant the baptism of the Spirit, which also comes with fire. That is, the fire of God in each believer’s life, translated as spiritual fervour in Romans 12:11 (NIV).

Acts 2:4 clearly shows that the baptism of the Spirit the disciples received produced fire in their spiritual lives, never seen before. So, speaking in tongues is necessary to ignite and keep God’s fire burning in your life. Are you exhausted in ministry? Leave the plenteous tasks and go and speak in tongues. You’ll get the zeal to continue.

The case of Acts 19

According to Acts 19:2, Paul found some disciples and asked them one question: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” But they answered that they received John’s baptism. You may ask, what was that? It refers to baptism unto water and repentance (see Matthew 3:11). For baptism unto repentance signified an open renouncement of sin by the believers of old, but that of water was simply about water baptism.

Interestingly, water baptism is still practised in many churches, and it’s not bad. But God has moved on. In the dispensation of grace, which is Jesus, the main baptism to focus on is the Holy Spirit’s baptism, not really water baptism. However, if any believer baptises by water, there’s no sin attached to it, and one’s salvation doesn’t depend on it.

For more explanation of this topic, please refer to this article I wrote, which explains this doctrine in great detail.

Paul baptised the believers he met in the name of Jesus.

Before Paul laid hands on the small group of believers to pray in tongues, he baptised them in the name. Really? Is that another baptism? Oh no! The baptism of Jesus is simply the baptism into the death of sin, which is automatically done in the realm of the Spirit when a believer gets saved (see Romans 6:3, Galatians 3:27).

So, while John’s baptism focused on repentance and immersion in water but couldn’t purge sin (because the Israelites who did it still continued sinning), Jesus’ baptism kills sin to the core and puts on the nature of Christ in the believer, that is why every Christian is called a new creature in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:17).

You may ask that Jesus told the disciples to baptise in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit (Matthew 28:19). But in Colossians 1:19, the fullness of the Godhead abides in Jesus. So baptism into Jesus is also baptism into the Godhead, and there are scriptures to prove this—God in you (1 John 4:8), Christ in you (Colossians 1:27), and the Holy Spirit in you (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Paul laid hands on the believers before they spoke in tongues.

In Acts 19:6 (NKJV), the Bible says,

“And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”

So, Paul laid hands on them before the Holy Spirit came upon them so that they could receive the utterance to speak in tongues. That means that impartation to speak in tongues is also a way of helping a non-tongue-speaking believer catch the utterance to speak it. That one is more common these days than the direct impartation of the Holy Ghost, as seen in Acts 2.

Advantages of speaking in tongues to the believer

Let’s look at some advantages of speaking in tongues to the believer.

#1 You’ll communicate with God in a secret code language, which adds more privacy to your prayers (see 1 Corinthians 14:2, 14).

When you pray in tongues, nobody can eavesdrop on your prayer points. The prayer topics will be in your head as you pray in tongues toward them. That is usually the case when God helps you speak in unknown tongues so nobody will understand what you say.

#2 It helps you to keep the love of God in you

In Jude 20-21 (NKJV), the Bible says,

[20] “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, [21] keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

When you pray in the Spirit, which is praying in tongues (by the Spirit’s utterance), you keep yourself in the love of God, which is in you. That does not mean you have to labour to keep yourself in God’s love. No! Instead, it means you become more conscious of God’s love for you because of your communication with Him. It’s just like marriage. Without communication, it becomes sour. But with communication, the love atmosphere is ignited and continuously burning hot. You are married to Jesus, so don’t deny yourself communion with Him.

#3 It helps rekindle your spiritual fervour

As mentioned earlier, tongues speaking is a great way to experience daily spiritual renewal, especially for ministers of God serving in church administrative offices. Don’t ever overburden yourself with work, so much so that you don’t have time to speak in tongues. All that pain and bitterness will leave when you pray in tongues consistently.

A disadvantage of speaking in tongues to the believer

A believer who speaks in tongues has only one disadvantage, which can even be well-managed. That is, men won’t understand what you are saying when you are speaking in tongues unless the Holy Spirit interprets it for them (see 1 Corinthians 14:2, 14:4, 14:6-9, 12:10). So, while tongues speaking is good, you can’t use it to preach to people. You have to talk in their native language. However, if you are an evangelist, and you are going to preach in a city that doesn’t understand your language and you have no interpreter, ask God to help you preach in tongues. He will interpret it so they understand you.

A disadvantage of NOT speaking in tongues to the believer

Lastly, for a believer who doesn’t speak in tongues, salvation is still assured. But ordinary prayers will make your Christian life dull because the spiritual fire will be missing. That is why many Christians in this lifestyle usually struggle with secret sins because there is no fire to clear out the filth. 

Build fire by speaking in tongues, and watch the Holy Ghost do marvellous things in your life.

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