In the biblical sense, glossolalia refers to the supernatural gifting from the Holy Spirit, which enables a person to speak in a language they do not know. This gift is the result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which means only believers can receive the gift of speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 12).
Where Is Glossolalia in the Bible?
Glossolalia appears in five parts of the Bible:
Mark 16:17. Here Jesus commissioned the Apostles to preach the Gospel, and He explained that various signs would accompany those who genuinely believe. It should be noted controversy surrounds Mark 16:9-20. Scholars are cautious about including this section in Scripture because some of the oldest manuscripts do not contain these verses.
Acts 2:1-11. This passage records the day of Pentecost, which was the advent of the Holy Spirit to God’s people. On this day, the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and other disciples and enabled them to speak in tongues.
Acts 10:46. When Peter preached the Gospel to the Gentiles, they received the Holy Spirit upon conversion and began to speak in tongues. This event served as a sign to Peter that God had granted salvation to the Gentiles and the Jews (Acts 11:17-18).
Acts 19:6. When Paul went to Ephesus, a small group of converts spoke in tongues after receiving the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12-14. When studying the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians, it’s imperative to recognize that chapters 12-14 are one unit. Paul wrote these passages to correct the misunderstandings and misappropriations of the spiritual gifts at the church in Corinth.
Do People Still Speak in Tongues?
The topic of glossolalia has prompted much discussion in recent times and has given way to heated debates. It’s vital to acknowledge that genuine believers exist on both sides of this issue, both earnestly seeking to understand and obey God according to Scripture. There are two primary positions to this question.
Cessationism
The first position, known as Cessationism, argues the miraculous gifts recorded in the New Testament, including the gift of tongues, ceased upon the completion of the canon of Scripture. The primary argument for this position has to do with how God used miracles throughout the Bible, especially through human agency. In the Bible, God performed miracles through people during specific times when He spoke (giving new revelation of Himself). The purpose of the miracles was to authenticate the messenger and message as being from God. Cessationists argue that there is no need for miracles now that God has completed His revelation to us in the Bible. For a good introduction to this position, please refer to this lecture by Tom Pennington.
Continuationism
The second position, known as continuationism, argues the plain reading of Scripture indicates that Christians should view miraculous gifts of the Spirit as normative. There are two primary arguments for this position. First, Scripture makes no explicit distinction that modern-day believers shouldn’t expect the same experiences as first-century believers. Second, there are no verses that clearly state that miraculous gifts will cease during our time on earth.
The position of this article will hold to a moderate view. First, it’s difficult to say speaking in tongues is a normative occurrence in the church today. The complete biblical picture of speaking in tongues provided in 1 Corinthians 12-14 seems to be rare, if not absent among churches today (more on that below). In many churches which claim their members speak in tongues, there is a confusing, chaotic display of people uttering phonetic sounds. Even when this is done in an orderly fashion, the people claiming to speak in tongues rarely if ever, speak a recognizable language. Often, this behavior is shielded from criticism by the claim that people are speaking in the tongues of angels. Based on what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, there are problems with this argument (more on that point below).
On the other hand, Scripture does not tell us the Holy Spirit would never grant people the ability to speak in tongues after the Apostolic Age. Therefore, it seems most reasonable to be open to the possible occurrences of tongues, yet not expecting them to be regular.
What Should We Know about Glossolalia Today?
The gift of tongues is not a necessary proof for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Some claim that all true believers must speak in tongues to prove they have received the Holy Spirit. Normally, the day of Pentecost is used to support this assertion. This article cannot address this misunderstanding fully, but here are two key points.
First, all believers receive the Holy Spirit upon conversion (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14). Acts 2 records the day of Pentecost as a historical event, not a template for what all believers experience at conversion.
Second, Paul makes it clear that not every believer will speak in tongues because the Holy Spirit distributes the spiritual gifts according to His will, and He doesn’t give everyone the same spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7-18, 12:30).
Speaking in tongues does not make someone more spiritual than others. It’s somewhat ironic, but in his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote to address the sinful behavior of people who abused their spiritual gifts. One of the letter’s intended functions was to correct people who tried to measure their spiritual maturity based on the kind of spiritual gift they possessed (1 Corinthians 12:13-18). It was wrong to think of oneself as more spiritual simply because of their spiritual gift. Paul corrected this misunderstanding by teaching that people’s maturity is based on how well they love, not the spiritual gifts they possess. In essence, all spiritual gifts are potential expressions of love intended to edify the church body, but the mere exercise of a gift without love is folly (1 Corinthians 13 1-3). So, it follows that a Christian who does not speak in tongues but excels in love is far more spiritual (in the biblical sense) than a Christian who speaks in tongues yet wavers in love.
Scripture does not teach that we speak in the tongues of angels. Often, to safeguard against criticisms, many appeal to 1 Corinthians 13:1 as evidence that we may not always speak in a language that can be understood. This interpretation misses the entire point of the passage. Paul is emphasizing that love is matters more than any specific spiritual gift. He does this through exaggerated language (hyperbole), which is not intended to be taken literally. Claiming this passage affirms speaking in the tongues of angels is inconsistent. Advocates would also have to believe there are people who “know all mysteries and all knowledge” and people who “have faith to move mountains” (1 Corinthians 13:2). Only God knows all mysteries and all knowledge, and nobody has faith to literally move mountains. In context, the “tongues of angels” is part of Paul’s exaggerated language to prove a point. Paul used similar language in Galatians 1:8.
People sin when they do not adhere to the regulation given by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14. Sadly, many church congregations who claim they are just believing Scripture when they embrace tongues ignore Paul’s instruction on using the gift. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul gives precise regulation on the public use of tongues in the church body. Whenever tongues are spoken in front of the congregation, Paul states there must be someone to interpret, and no more than two or three people should speak at one time (1 Corinthians 14:27). Otherwise, they are to keep silent (i.e., not speak in front of others) (1 Corinthians 14:28). That is because the message is what the Holy Spirit intends to use to edify the church body, not the mere experience of speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:9-19). Paul makes it known that it violates the Lord’s command to ignore these regulations (1 Corinthians 14:37-38).
The interpretation of tongues is a separate, complementary spiritual gift to speaking in tongues. It’s not uncommon to hear of people claiming to have the gift of tongues, but rarely, if ever, do we hear of people claiming to have the gift of interpretation of tongues. This is listed as a separate gift from the speaking of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10). The Holy Spirit gives this gift as a complimentary gift. Wherever there is the speaking of tongues, there should also be the gift of interpretation of tongues. This does not refer to someone getting a subjective impression at the same time someone is speaking in tongues. Instead, it refers to someone supernaturally understanding the meaning of the actual words being spoken (1 Corinthians 14:9-13).
The intended use of speaking in tongues is the edification of the church body, not just the speaker. Many who claim to pray privately in tongues point to 1 Corinthians 14:2-4 as support for the argument that the gift of tongues can be confined to private use only. In this passage, Paul mentions speaking mysteries to God in the spirit when we speak in tongues that we don’t understand. He also mentions how tongues edify the individual. People who use this passage to support the idea that it’s acceptable only to use tongues privately miss the purpose of this text. When the Apostle Paul mentions how tongues edify oneself and how it speaks mysteries to God, he is not saying this in a positive way. That is the entire reason Paul argues the gift of prophecy is superior to the gift of tongues.
Whenever someone speaks in tongues that nobody can understand, this can only edify the individual. This misses the intended use of the gifts of the Spirit: for the common (shared) good of the church body (1 Corinthians 12:7). It’s true that Paul does not explicitly forbid the private use of tongues in 1 Corinthians 14; however, private use is not looked upon favorably. The purpose of this passage is to get people to focus on using their spiritual gift of tongues in its most loving application, which is the edification of the church body (1 Corinthians 14:12-13). The gift of tongues’ most loving use is the church body’s public edification through the gift of interpretation. Therefore, this calls into question people who claim to experience the gift of tongues but never have an interpreter and cannot inform the church body.
If we are honest, most modern-day occurrences of tongue-speaking contradict the teaching of the Holy Spirit as revealed in Scripture because they can only produce a partial picture. Whenever someone’s supposed gift of tongues never has the potential for public edification, that is concerning and suspicious. The intended use of the gift is to edify others (1 Corinthians 14:1-5). If not judged according to the parameters of Scripture, glossolalia can easily open a pandora’s box of spiritual malpractice in the Church, which brings grief to the Holy Spirit. God can certainly work in His church as He sees fit. He doesn’t need our permission. However, in light of the modern-day occurrences of speaking in tongues, if the Holy Spirit is truly behind these experiences, we must ask: why are the most crucial elements always missing?
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