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What About Tongue Speaking?

The “Age of Aquarius” is also rapidly becoming known as the “Age of Charisma”—that is, the age of renewed and revived interest in the total ministry of the Holy Spirit and a most welcome renewal of concern about the Spirit’s ministry in the church and in her members. And certainly the church in her present weakened condition should do everything in her power to encourage this interest! For not a few church members arc greatly and justifiably disturbed by her weakness, her growing worldliness, and her diminishing influence.

In view of the growing interest, therefore, in the matter of “glossolalia” or tongue-speaking within the traditional churches, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, it is the part of wisdom to adopt the ancient but wise counsel of Gamaliel. In seeking to restrain the Sanhedrin from rash action against the apostles, this doctor of the law counseled that body by saying: “If this counsel or this work be of men, it win be overthrown: but if it is of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them; lest haply ye be found even to be fighting against God” (Acts 5:38b-39).

“Baptism of the Spirit” – We are sincerely grateful that certain members of our local Christian Reformed churches have reported increased spirituality in themselves, and in their families through the “baptism of the Spirit.” I am not convinced, however, that the New Testament knows anything of this so-called “baptism of the Spirit.”

The Special Committee on the Work of the Holy Spirit, appointed by the United Presbyterian Church General Assembly, in its report to the 1970 General Assembly observed: “In the light of current claims that glossolalia is a proof of having received the so-called ‘baptism of the Spirit,’ it is necessary to note that, while the verb to baptize is used by Scripture in connection with the Spirit, the noun baptism is never used in the form ‘baptism of the Spirit.’ The elaboration of the doctrine containing this ‘baptism of the Spirit’ seems to be a sectarian over-interpretation, and to contrast it to baptism with water is contrary to the apostolic teaching that .there is but one baptism. Since ‘by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,’ it is unwarranted to teach that speaking in tongues is an indispensable sign of having received the Spirit.”1 Moreover, this is quite contrary to our accepted creeds! The Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 34, declares that we recognize one and only one baptism. “We believe, therefore, that every man who is earnestly studious of obtaining life eternal ought to be baptized but once with this only baptism, without ever repeating the same, since we cannot be born twice. Neither does this baptism avail us only at the time when the water is poured upon us and received by us, but also through the whole course of our life” (Belgic Confession, Article 34, 4th Paragraph). Therefore, the changes that are reportedly attributable to a new infusion of the Holy Spirit’s power and presence, are, I believe, the result of a greater openness to the Holy Spirit after years of “quenching the Holy Spirit” by low-level Christian living and practice.



Mentioned in New Testament? – Glossolalia or “tongue-speaking” is mentioned in only four places in the New Testament! The first three instances are all found in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, namely:

1. According to Acts 2, at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit fell on the 120 disciples gathered in the Upper Room, they began to speak in tongues. It is noted, however, that they spoke in known, not unknown languages! But on that same day when the 3000 converts had been baptized following the preaching of Peter it is not said that t1lese in turn spoke in tongues.

2. According to Acts 10, the second instance was at Caesarea when Peter was sent to the household of the Roman centurion, Cornelius.

3. Acts 19 tells of the strange case of the twelve disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus.

4. Aside from these three instances, the only other place in the entire New Testament which mentions this strange phenomenon is Paul’s extended treatment of it in I Corinthians, chapters 12-14. It is not the purpose of this brief study to impassionately defend or to cautiously downgrade the practice of “tongue-speaking,” but rather to list the plain facts as they are found in this passage from I Corinthians. It is our double purpose; first to attempt to discover what God had in mind when He originally gave the gift of tongues; and secondly, to keep the admonishment of the Apostle John constantly before us, when he warned us, saying: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (I John 4:1). I shall limit the discussion to the following considerations:

5. The Obvious Problem – In writing to the congregation at Corinth, Paul wrote in I Corinthians 14:5: “I would have you all speak with tongues.” However, Paul immediately added a “BUT” to his wish! Why? Why? Because the church of Corinth was having serious trouble about the use and abuse of tongue-speaking, and Paul was wrestling with the problem.

The Corinthian Church, as someone has said, gave the Apostle more headaches and heartaches than any other church he served. The church was tom by factionalism and contentiousness, immorality, and idolatry. It was an immoral; carnal church in an immoral city! And it immediately becomes evident from chapters 12-14 that the Corinthians, while endowed with the Spirit’s gift of tongues, were abusing that gift by their personal pride and excesses. Uses and abuses had hopelessly divided the church! Tongue· speaking to this day continues to be a very divisive force in the Christian Church in general, and within our own denomination also as is demonstrated on the local, classical, and denominational levels.

John Sherrill, Neo·pentecostal author of the popular book, They Speak with Other Tongues, in the Epilogue to his book, calls attention to the same when he writes: “Then there is a curious problem created by the fact that the Pentecostal really is an effective Christian. While his enthusiasm scares some, it attracts others and soon there is a division within the church between those who are pro-Pentecostal and those who are not.”2 And that danger is most certainly present also in our own circles and churches when certain individuals who lay claim to this Spirit-baptism esteem other Christian believers who have not had like experiences less, and awaken serious doubts in them as to whether they have ever really become children of God. “This is totally unscriptural; to demand the gift of tongues as an evidence of the fulness of the Spirit has no basis whatever in the Word of God.”3

6. A far more serious matter, however, is that tongue-speaking is Biblically a very, very rare phenomenon! Dr. William A. Criswell, in his excellent book, The Holy Spirit in Today’s World, brings together the following indisputable facts as culled from Scripture:

a. Tongue-speaking is not once seen in the life and experience of our Lord Jesus! We know, however, from Luke 4:1 and other related passages that Christ was “filled with the Holy Spirit,” but it is never recorded that our blessed Savior ever spoke in an unknown tongue.

b. The phenomenon of tongue-speaking is never mentioned in any of the Gospels!

c. With the exception of the passage in I Corinthians, the gift is never referred to in any of the other and later epistles of Paul. Nor, for that matter, in the letters of Peter, James, John, or Jude! Nor in Hebrews or Revelation!

d. The carnal church of Corinth is the only church of the New Testament age where this phenomenon was found. Isn’t it strange that it was absent in the churches of Macedonia, Achaia, Judea, Samaria, Asia, Rome, and so forth?4

e. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13:8: “Whether there be tongues they shall cease.” Could this explain why from the time of the infancy of the church until the dawn of this century, tongue-speaking disappeared almost completely from the church? The great church-fathers like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and all the others did not find tongue-speaking among the normal gifts God permanently bestowed upon His church.5 And never have I found in my personal research one instance of any great preacher of the Gospel, whether Chrysostom, Wesley, Moody, Finney, Spurgeon, Torrey or Billy Graham who spoke or speaks in tongues.

f. Is it not highly significant that the ability to speak in tongues is never mentioned amog the qualifications for ministers, elders or deacons?6 A careful study of I Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9 demonstrates that Paul did not include this as a qualification for such offices or officers, etc.

7. The Scriptural Place – Though the Corinthians obviously valued the gift of tongues above all the other gifts of the Spirit, Paul placed it last among the gifts of the Spirit in the lists found in Chapter 12, verses 8-10, and verse 28. Is this placement of the gift of tongues last just coincidental or intentional? Drs. Hoekema and Criswell and others judge that the position is intentional.7 The Corinthians were guilty of emphasizing the least and the lowest gift of the Spirit to the loss and deprecation of the far more useful gifts of prophecy -generosity or kindness or other gifts such as the well reported Ephesians possessed, namely, faith and love (Eph. 1:15). Therefore, Paul meeting that emergency in Corinth, listed the Spirit’s gift of wisdom first and the gift of tongues last! John Calvin in his Commentary on 1 Corinthians puts it well: “Paul disapproves of nothing that was useful while he cxhorts them to prefer what was of primary importance.”8 The Rev. Larry Christenson, Lutheran pastor and new·Pentecostal author of the widely-read book, Speaking in Tongues, uses a very helpful expression in any Biblical attempt to correctly assess the place of “tongues” in the order of the Spirit’s gifts. Rev. Christenson calls the gift of “tongues” the “little finger” that is often greatly overemphasized.9 It is not the hand! Nor is it the index finger! It is the littlest finger!

8. Its Biblical Practice – We must immediately grant the point that Paul does not forbid “tongue speaking”! Any attempt to prove that he did would prove both useless and futile! However, it is also emphatically true that not once did Paul encourage his readers to seek the gift of tongues. “The discussion of Paul is not a list of exhortations to speak in tongues, but a long enumeration of restrictions against the practice. The Apostle is not encouraging the Corinthians to exercise the gift but to refrain from its use. He is not presenting a set of rules to glorify the congregation in tongue-speaking, but he is rather laying down stringent regulations to restrain this thing that has broken out in the church. Paul is hedging the gift on every side.”10 In I Corinthians 14 he gives. a long list of restrictions against its use or abuse and its practice. For example:

–verse 4: “He that speaketh in a tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.” The choice: either to edify oneself Or to edify the church. Isn’t the alternative quite obvious?

–verse 5: “I would that you all spoke with tongues but . . . !” BUT introduces once again the better alternative which is to prophesy or preach.

–verse 18: Paul acknowledges that he has this gift but there is no record that he ever used the gift! 1f the gift was used by the Apostle it must have been used in complete privacy, in his personal devotional life, and not as the custom seems to be today in groups or assemblies.

–verses 34-35: under no condition is any woman to speak in an unknown tongue in the church! And that interdiction still stands unremoved!

9. Its Preferences – First, in verse 19 of chapter 14 the Apostle says: “I had rather speak five words with my understanding that I might instruct others than ten thousand in a tongue.” Think of it! Half of ten for others’ edification rather than a thousand limes ten of an unknown and not understood tongue! Those odds are to say the least quite staggering, aren’t they? Especially when we think of what five well-chosen, inspired words can convey! Dr. Alan Redpath, in his book, The Royal Route To Heaven, suggests that we think, for example, of the words found in Romans 8:34: “It is Christ that died!”11 Five words that pointedly direct sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ. Five words that direct men to the cross. Five words that declare the “good news” that Christ died for sinners. Five words to proclaim to lost sinners the way of salvation in our crucified and risen Lord. Obviously, to speak five words such as these in a known tongue that others can understand is to be preferred, says Paul, to ten thousand words in a tongue that neither the speaker nor the hearer can possibly understand.

Furthermore, in chapter 12, verse 31, the Apostle writes: “Covet earnestly the greater gifts,” and he continues on into Chapter 13 to develop this idea of the “greater gifts.” Chapter 13 can be remembered by the Christian church as the great chapter all “love” but it must also be remembered that, in its context, chapter 13 is not an interlude between the discussion of the gifts of the Spirit in chapter 12 and the continuation of that subject in chapter 14. Chapter 13 is an interlink between chapters 12 and 14!”13

Paul makes it very implicit that a far greater gift that the Spirit can bring to our life, and that we should earnestly covet or desire, is the greatest gift—love. The law of love would suggest that we should be far more eager and desirous to engage in any and all works of love which benefit both the congregation and the community than that which is of benefit only to oneself.13 The surest proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit is to abound in Christian love toward others! Love is the fulfillment of our heavenly purpose, the remedy for every excess, and the protection against error. To be sure, we are to covet earnestly all the gifts of the Spirit, but to covet love first and foremost!

If the discussion of this very controversial and potentially divisive matter can only be carried on in a spirit of genuine Christian love and respect for the opinions of others, then our discussion will be helpful in achieving a greater understanding of the Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

1. The Work of the Holy Spirit, Report of the Special Committee to the 182nd General Assembly, The United Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA, p. 7.
2. J. Sherrill, They Speak with Other Tongues, Old Tappan, New Jersey, 1964, p. 135.
3. A. Redpath, The Royal Route to Heaven, Revell, Westwood, New Jersey, 1960, p. 183.
4. W. A. Criswell, The Holy Spirit in Today’s World, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 1970, p. 211.
5. A. Hoekema, What About Tongue Speaking? Wm. B. Eerdmans Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1966, p. 19.
6. Ibid, p. 112.
7. Ibid, p. 86.
8. J. Calvin, Commentary on Corinthians, Wm. B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, p. 434.
9. L. Christenson, Speaking in Tongues, Dimension Books, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1968, p. 86.
10. Criswell, op. cit., p. 212.
11. Redpath, op. cit., p. 185.
12. Criswell, op. cit., p.228.
13. Hoekema, op. cit., p. 99.