What About Speaking in Tongues?

by Travis L Quertermous

From The Reminder, September 26, 2010

One of the more controversial subjects in the religious world is whether or not the Biblical gift of tongues is operative in the church today. Modern Pentecostalism, of course, insists that it is. But it is evident they misunderstand both the gift itself and the temporary nature of all miracles.

The Greek word for tongues in the New Testament means languages. The gift of tongues is therefore the gift of languages. The first time this spiritual gift was manifested in the church was in Acts 2:1-4 by the apostles after they had been baptized in the Holy Spirit. The crowd in Jerusalem said, “And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?” (Acts 2:8). Luke then listed the 17 dialects the apostles were speaking at that time. The crowd then remarked, “…we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11). Notice how the Bible uses the words “language” and “tongues” interchangeably.

The gift of tongues was the miraculous ability to speak fluently in a language one has never studied before. It was not spouting gibberish as is so often the case with modern so-called tongue-speakers. Moreover, Paul clearly predicted in 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 that tongues and all miracles would come to an end once the Scriptures had been fully revealed and confirmed. This is the case because they had then served their purpose and would no longer be needed. The Bible would then serve as the church’s sufficient guide in all spiritual matters.