Speaking in Tongues (Part 1)
Among those who claim to do miracles, speaking in tongues is the one most frequently performed. When asked about it, they describe an emotional experience, a feeling they have never felt before. When asked what they said, the reply is often, “I don’t know, but God does.” Not too long ago, I saw a person on television who appeared to be speaking in tongues. What came out of his mouth did not resemble a spoken language at all, but gibberish – fast, repetitive, and incomprehensible. Is this what the Bible teaches regarding speaking in tongues? What was its purpose? Was it an emotional experience? Was it not meant to be understood by anyone but God?
The miracle of speaking in tongues was not utterances only understood by God, but languages that people could understand—what we call foreign languages. Acts 2:4 says, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Those who heard the apostles speaking in tongues were amazed. They evaluated what they heard. They said to each other, “Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” (Acts 2:7-8). They listed the languages (Acts 2:9-11). They were amazed that unlearned Galileans could speak in the language of their birth. Acts 2:11 records their experience: “we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” These were human languages that others could understand. First Corinthians 14:10-11 says, “There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me” (ESV). The miracle of speaking in tongues was comprehensible to people, not just God only.
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley