The Purpose of Speaking in Tongues

2001-09-17

NOTE: I do not agree with everything in this article anymore. For a more up to date view, continue here.

The Biblical Context of Speaking in Tongues

The phrase “speaking in tongues” refers to miracles that happened in the earliest days of the church age where the Holy Spirit moved the apostles to praise God in many different languages they did not know. There are three instances known of when this happened in the book of Acts: in the second (Acts 2:4, 11), tenth (Acts 10:46), and nineteenth (Acts 19:6) chapters. In order to understand the purpose of these miracles, first one must define further what a “tongue” is, and then trace how it relates to ceremonial law and also of what the prophet Joel spoke.

The word “tongue” that is used in Acts 2:3-4 is the Greek word glossa, which of course can mean a tongue, but it also can mean a language. The Spirit of God moved the disciples to speak with “other tongues” (Acts 2:4) after “cloven tongues” had descended on them (Acts 2:3). They were filled with the Holy Spirit, which was the very promise for which they had been waiting (Acts 1:5, 8). They began to speak in many “dialects” (dialekto), and many Jewish men from many parts of the world heard about “the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11) each in their own language. Ethnic groups are listed from where many of these men came in verses 9-11.

People made two responses to this unusual sight. The one group of Jews was in awe that Galileans had begun speaking many different languages. The others had simply dismissed them as being drunk with new wine (Acts 2:13). According to Toussaint in the Bible Knowledge Commentary, the use of the word dialekto in Acts 2:6, 8 means that the words spoken by the Holy Spirit through the disciples were of “living languages”, and were not of an “ecstatic utterance” (Walvoord, 357). Ladd seems to take the view that the language that was spoken was an unknown language that gave the scoffers the idea that they were drunk (Ladd, 382). However, people heard intelligible speech by hearing them praise God in many languages. Looking forward to the results of mass conversion, however, one can tell that there was a marvelous power behind this event regardless of which view is taken.

The setting of this first instance of speaking in tongues is important, for it gives a background to the Mosaic Law that speaks of the Feast of Weeks, which is the Pentecost. After Jesus had been raised forty days, He ascended to heaven, saying they would receive the Holy Spirit shortly thereafter and then they would be witnesses to Him starting in Jerusalem, to Samaria, and to all of the earth (Acts 1:7-8). Ten days later when the Feast of Weeks begun is when this first event of tongues takes place. This is then a sign before a multitude of Jewish people (a sign of what I will discuss shortly). The setting of this first instance of speaking in tongues is important: they are in Jerusalem, for the Feast of Weeks, which was a required festival for the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem (Exodus 23:14-17; 34:22; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:10). This is why there were Jews from all over the world there, and when they go home, they will also bring the message of what they had seen and heard.

The Feast of Weeks is the festival that dedicates the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. As Jesus had said that the Spirit would be given to them, He said that they would be witnesses first in Jerusalem. The first people had been given the Spirit in the beginning of Acts 2. These people were Jewish people, and had been with Jesus throughout His ministry, especially the disciples. Speaking in tongues here is for the firstfruit of the harvest of the Jewish people that have received the Holy Spirit, and it is a sign of the presence of the Spirit in these people. This event opened the new ministry of the Holy Spirit, upon which the entire theme of Acts rests. The firstfruits of the Jewish nation numbered three thousand souls (Acts 2:41). Take note that also the Jewish people present listening to the disciples did not speak with tongues themselves, just the disciples.

When Peter begins explaining to the people what they are witnessing, he refers to Joel 2:28-32. This event the people were witnessing, now in context of Joel’s prophecy, is the Holy Spirit that was to be poured out on all flesh (Joel 2:28). This was to happen in the last days, as in the context of what Joel was speaking. Peter quoted Joel, saying that it should “come to pass in the last days” (Acts 2:17). As these were the firstfruits of Jews that were given the indwelling Holy Spirit, this is also a sign that the last days before the Day of the Lord had come.

In Acts 10, however, speaking in tongues occurs again in the household of Cornelius, to the awe of the Jews that were present (Acts 10:46). In Acts, these are the first Gentiles that come to know Jesus, and these are the firstfruits of Gentiles to receive the Spirit in the last days (“all flesh” in Joel 2:28). At this point speaking in tongues serves to show that they are a part of the church, and God shows that the distinction of Jew and Gentile is no longer of effect (Acts 11:17-18). Now this Gentile audience, after hearing the message, began speaking in tongues, as opposed to the audience of the disciples in Acts 2, who did not.

In Acts 19, once again those who had been baptized into John’s baptism did not know of whom John spoke. Upon their baptism into Christ’s baptism, they received the Spirit and spoke in tongues. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of what John originally spoke in his preaching of repentance (Matthew 3:2), for John spoke of one who would come who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). It is not enough to have repented, they needed faith in Christ, and the speaking in tongues here authenticates the centrality of the person of Jesus Christ.

The Purposes of Speaking in Tongues

With the Old Testament background and the actual historical events of incidents of speaking in tongues, one can draw many conclusions on its purposes. First, speaking in tongues is to praise God. In the instances of the ‘firstfruits of the Jews and the Gentiles’, this was definitely the case (Acts 2:11; 10:46). Paul says to the Corinthians that the one who speaks in a tongue in the church speaks to God, though the church is not edified by what is done. Secondly, from what Paul says, it is clear that speaking in tongues is also something that should edify the church, and therefore, an interpretation should be given. Though the Jews of Jerusalem understood the languages spoken in Acts 2, the language spoken in subsequent instances may not always be understood in the church (1 Corinthians 14:11-12; see Grudem, 1070).

Naturally, this was sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Since this was a miracle that was performed for the praising of God, the source was the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the Holy Spirit is the sign of salvation, and in Acts 11:18, the Jews knew that since the Gentiles had shown evidence of the Holy Spirit, then they too would be “granted... repentance to life”. Speaking in tongues is not the sign of salvation in itself, but one sign the Spirit uses to testify of His presence. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ since that day of Pentecost (Romans 8:9).

In Acts 19, as I had mentioned, tongues authenticates the centrality of the message and person of Jesus Christ. Though John the Baptist preached a message of repentance, repentance alone is not enough for salvation (compare Acts 19:4). Faith alone in the one John spoke of, that is Jesus Christ, is of most importance, and then repentance (Acts 2:37-38). John’s disciples then spoke in tongues when they heard that Jesus was the one of whom John spoke.

Finally, speaking in tongues was a sign of judgment to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22). Before the Jews visiting Jerusalem during the days of the Feast of Weeks, the sign was given and three thousand members were added to the elect that day (Acts 2:41). Now there are two sides to this: just because the sign was performed by the Spirit before them does not mean they would necessarily believe as well. Many of the people in Jerusalem thought at first the disciples were drunk (Acts 2:13). People eventually rejected Paul’s message in Ephesus, and was rejected despite the sign of the tongues (Acts 19:9). Throughout the Bible, by no means do miracles necessarily elicit belief, trust, and a relationship with God from people (compare Matthew 12:24).

Speaking in tongues refers to known languages in the context of Acts (Acts 2:8-11), and also in the context of 1 Corinthians 14. In the church of Corinth, tongues were used in worship services and not used for an evangelistic purpose (Quine, article 1). In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul talks about the necessity of love over any other spiritual gift. In chapter 14, he then talks about speaking in tongues, that this gift might edify the church, and serve a purpose other than to just merely perform a spiritual gift. If this is the case, an interpreter was necessary because the gift would be otherwise useless (1 Corinthians 14:6-12). [Take note, if you believe in present day tongues as ecstatic utterances, take to heart 1 Corinthians 14:27-29: do not be filled with zeal over such things, and limit the use of them in worship. Keep in your heart the message of Jesus: that He died for us sinners, and He rose again, so that those who trust Jesus alone will have eternal life]

The main purpose of speaking in tongues, though many were discussed above, is to serve as a sign of judgment for the sake of conversion of unbelievers. Both Joel and Paul confirm this. The immediate context of Joel 2:28-32 talks about the signs in the heavens and other unusual events, but Joel finishes by saying, “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered” (Joel 2:32). Again Paul concludes, “tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not” (1 Corinthians 14:22).

Quine states that Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 28:11-12) is the concept of foreign tongues as the warning of judgment on Israel (Quine, article 2, 41-42). In other words, when the message of God was not heard in Israel’s native Hebrew, it was to serve as a sign of judgment. The speaking in tongues in Acts 2 is reminiscent of this judgment of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C. (Assyrians spoke to them in a foreign tongue, and the Northern Kingdom was eventually laid waste by the Assyrians). Perhaps the men there present in Acts 2 recalled quickly the history of their forefathers in the Northern Kingdom, and took the message of judgment to heart. God, as before, offered opportunity to repent, as both the Jews and the Gentiles had just crucified His Son (Acts 2:36). Perhaps this is why Luke takes careful mention of speaking in tongues of Cornelius’ household, and there is no mention of the thousands speaking in tongues in Acts 2.

Tongues After the First Century?

In 1 Corinthians 13, Quine notes that the middle voice of the verb of ‘to be stilled’ or 'to cease', so that tongues will “cease on their own account” (1 Corinthians 13:8), while prophecy and knowledge will be stopped by an outside source, that is, passive voice of the verb in the Greek (Quine, article 2, 44). In verse 9, Quine also notes that prophecy and knowledge continue, but there is no mention of tongues, which is rather peculiar. The outside force that would stop prophecy and knowledge, which some argue would either be the completion of the New Testament canon or the return of Christ, would follow the self-ceasing of tongues. Accordingly, Quine notes that there have been few alleged instances of speaking of tongues in the centuries following the first century church. One was of Montanus, who called himself the Paraclete, who had a curious ministry, which emphasized the Holy Spirit and eschatology, and the other was Tertullian, who was once one of Montanus’ followers. Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, and Augustine, as Quine notes, all confirm that speaking in tongues disappeared after the age of the apostles (Quine, article 2, 46).

To take this a step further, if tongues are a sign for unbelieving Israel, it might be worthy to note that Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70. Would tongues have ceased at that time? If so, now that Israel is a nation back in the Promised Land as of 1948, could tongues reappear again before the return of our Lord? I do not know of any Scriptural foundation for such thinking, but Peter, quoting Joel, does speak about the end time events (the end times refers to the first coming of Christ, to the present time, to the second coming of Christ, see Hebrews 1:1-2). Perhaps when Israel must choose again at a critical hour to either follow the Lord, or turn from Him, perhaps tongues may reappear. Either way, the gospel will go out to every people, tribe, nation, and tongue (Revelation 7:9); as the gospel goes out to the ends of the earth, the message of the Gospel is a great sign that today God is calling all people everywhere to turn to Him.

Bibliography

Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.

Ladd, George Eldon. A Theology of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993.

Quine, Jay A. The Fun and Function of Spiritual Gifts. Article for Acts and New Testament Epistles course at Philadelphia Biblical University, Fall 2001. Indicated as article 1.

Quine, Jay A. To Each One of Us Grace Was Given: A Fresh Examination of Spiritual Gifts. Chapter 5: Get Off the Boat. Article for Acts and New Testament Epistles course at Philadelphia Biblical University, Fall 2001. Indicated as article 2.

Toussaint, Stanley D. Acts. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Colorado Springs: ChariotVictor, 1983.