Question of the Week #5: What is the Church’s position on speaking in tongues?
Wow this is a big one. I want to do my best to answer this question in something 5 minutes, but I think that it’s going to be longer, but for those for those who are interested, I want to recommend a book called “The Language of Heaven” by Sam Storms. It’s by far the best book I’ve ever read on this tricky topic.
So based on passages like 1 Corinthians 12, Acts 2, and Acts 19, we believe the gifts of tongues is one that continues today. We’re called Continuationists. Often people who have a different view point to 1 Corinthians 13, which says that when the perfect comes, the gift of tongues will cease, and will say that because the Bible has come, the gift has ceased because they believe the bible is perfect. We’d argue that actually, that “perfect” is referring to Jesus, and since he’s not back yet, the gift of tongues continues.
What exactly is tongues and how do we express it?
Is it a heavenly language or an earthly language? We believe the Bible suggests it’s both.
In Acts 2:5-13, we see the gift of tongues manifesting as earthly languages that other people could understand. Which is great – no problems there. But the Bible ALSO seems to suggest heavenly languages also exist else where. For example, 1 Corinthians 12:10 and 28, 1 Corinthians 13:1, and 1 Corinthians 14:2. We don’t have time to explore those in more depth, but again, I want to encourage you to check out that book i recommended if you’re interested. Also, it’s really important to note that if the gift of tongues is ALWAYS a human language, the gift of interpretation could just be learned rather than given by the Holy Spirit, right?
All that to say, we believe the Bible SEEMS to point to the gift of tongues functioning as both a heavenly AND earthly language.
What is it for?
There’s something about the gift of tongues that allows us to commune with God in a way that bypasses our own earthly languages, it helps us to connect on a deep level with our heavenly father in a supernatural, profound way. But it’s almost ALWAYS directed towards God, and NOT humans.
How do we know? 1 Corinthians 14:2 tells us that the person who speaks in a tongue isn’t speaking to people but to God. Verse 14 then tells us that we “pray” in a tongue, and verse 15 says we can sing PRAISE in tongues – notice, it’s all very GOD-focussed. Almost every mention of tongues in Acts and 1 Corinthians seem to fit into the categories of prayer, praise and worship or gratitude.
BUT, that’s not all. 1 Corinthians 14:12 and 26 show that while the gift of tongues should usually be used DIRECTED to God, it should also be used to build up the church, too.
Now, with those foundations laid, there are some KEY things we need to talk about:
Firstly, there must ALWAYS be an interpretation with public tongues. 1 Corinthians 14 is SO CLEAR about that. We’ll talk more about that in a moment.
Secondly: is the gift of tongues isn’t for everyone. Some churches will teach that, even going so far as to say that it’s required in order to be saved. We don’t believe that. The whole of 1 Corintihans 12:4-12 goes to GREAT LENGTHS to highlight that people have DIFFERING spiritual gifts. And then later in verses 29-30, there are a bunch of rhetorical questions with a fairly emphatic NO implied in the original language. It seems pretty clear that not everyone will speak in tongues, and that’s ok.
Ok, so we believe the gift of tongues is for today. We believe it can be both an earthly AND heavenly language but almost always directed at God, and is important to help build up the church. There must be an interpretation when the gift of tongues is used in a public setting, and I should say, in an orderly way, and we don’t believe the gift is for everyone (and that’s okay!)
What does that mean for us when we gather on Sundays?
1 Corinthians 13:1 tells us that the gift of tongues without love is just noise, so it has to be rooted in love. So that means, we’re not speaking in tongues to look extra spiritual but genuinely seeking to benefit the church.
1 Corinthians 14:27 tells us that the gift of tongues should only be shared by two or three people, each in turn, with interpretations – so that’s what we’re looking for.
And HERE IS SOMETHING THAT IS SO KEY: 1 Corinthians 14:28 tells us that if there is no obvious interpreter, that person should keep silent and speak to himself and God. So interpretation is so important. That means that we can CHOOSE to be silent if we want.
All that to say:
If you want to privately speak in tongues at Centre Church, we say, “YES! GO FOR IT!” We ENCOURAGE it! If you sense God has given you a tongue for the congregation, a public exhortation through tongues, and you have prayed for interpretation and sense there is one, we ask that you to speak to one of the elders: at the moment, that’s me, Brian, and Gary. If we’re not around, you can talk to a worship leader or one of the leadership team, too. Here’s why we’re asking that:
We want to explain what is happening SO THAT we can encourage interpretation. We DO NOT want to stifle or vet your gift…but we do want to provide a healthy foundation for us to express the gifts of God in a biblical way. Because we want tongues to be expressed with love, we don’t want people to be scared or uncomfortable with what’s happening. And we really do think it’s very important that we hear the interpretation of what God is saying.
That’s a lot, and to put it simply here’s what would happen on a Sunday. I’d probably walk up on the stage and I would say:
“Hey my friend here has sensed that there’s a tongue for our congregation. we believe that that’s biblical. we believe that’s important. but what i want us to do is pray together while this person is sharing that gift that there would be an interpretation.”
I’ve never experienced a time where there hasn’t been an interpretation.
You may have tons of questions, we’ve barely scratched the surface there. Like I said at the beginning, I’d really recommend checking out that book, The Language of Heaven by Sam Storms. It’s GREAT. Otherwise, I hope this helps to explain our position as a church!
Next week, we’ll hopefully explore a little bit of an easier question – but if you have any questions you want us to answer, feel free to comment below or email us at info@wearecentrechurch.ca. Have a great day!
