Perhaps one of the most controversial issues across all
church ages is speaking in other tongues. Many from the Pentecostal circle
elevate it so high even though some of them understand it very little and cannot
personally attest to its value in their life and walk with God. On another
hand, you have people from the conservative circle who don’t believe any much
in speaking in tongues even though they aren’t against it. Then finally you
have those who are completely opposed to it. But why should speaking in other
tongues generate this much controversy over the years? Shouldn’t there have
been some sort of intervention to lay the controversies to rest? While there
are many questions that we can ask, the truth really is that like many other
subjects that have generated some controversy in the church, people have stuck
to their guns and taken fixed positions on the subjects before ever hearing an
argument for or against the subject matter. I therefore appeal to you before I
proceed, to lower your guards as you read on, perhaps you can get some new
light from this piece irrespective of whether you are for or against speaking
in other tongues.
I believe that the real controversy about speaking in other
tongues isn’t really about whether there are scriptural references to it in the
bible or not because there obviously are, neither is it about whether the
disciples of Jesus spoke in other tongues or not because the records have it
that they did. The real controversies are as regards to;
- Whether speaking in other tongues is a gift for some selected few
- Whether it ended with the first set of disciples or continued on
- Whether is for every one
- Whether there are any benefits at all to speaking in other tongues
Now before we go on to answer some of these basic questions,
it is pertinent to note that as long as you are a believer in the finished work
of Christ and you are saved, there are certainly more things that we all agree
on than things we don’t necessarily agree on, and some of these minor
disagreement could have been occasioned by differences in culture background
and traditions. Hence, there should be no prejudice in your heart against other
sets of believers who don’t necessarily agree with your believes on certain issues.
Also you must never come to the place where you begin to see yourself as better
than others or see others as being inferior to you because of what they believe
compared to what you believe. Such an attitude will push people farther away
from you even if there is something they could learn from you. I personally
think that this attitude of “we are better than them” because of what we
believe what they don’t believe is what has limited the ability of the
Pentecostals to reach out to the conservatives. You can’t teach me anything
from the standpoint of superiority, I will not receive it, but when you reach
out to me from the standpoint of humility and brotherly love, I am open to you
and more likely to accept what you are teaching me.
Now back again to the controversial questions we raised,
let’s take them briefly one at a time, knowing that we cannot discuss them
exhaustively in this piece
1. Is speaking in other tongues a spiritual
gift?
Generally, as we see from the scriptures, speaking in other
tongues isn’t a spiritual gift, although there is also the spiritual gift of
tongues as discussed in 1 Cor. 12: 1-10. Evidences abound from the scriptures
that believes generally spoke in tongues right from the day of Pentecost in
Acts 2:4. We understand from this portion of scripture that speaking in other
tongues is a consequence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit which was first
experienced when the disciples of Jesus (about 120 of them) gathered together
at the upper room after Jesus had ascended into heaven. We then see this
experience duplicated again in in Acts 8:14-17, 10:44-46, 19:6.
In 1 Cor. 12, the scripture teaches on spiritual gifts, and
we understand that we all have different gifts as it pleases the Holy Spirit to
distribute to us, but in all the references provided in the book of Acts, they
all spoke in other tongues as they were filled with the Holy Spirit so we can
conclude from these scriptural references that speaking in other tongues
generally isn’t a gift. It is however also important to note that in the place
of speaking in other tongues as a spiritual gift, it is usually accompanied by
the interpretation of tongue because the two gifts combine mostly in delivering
a prophetic word.
2. Did it end with the first disciples?
Sure it didn’t. It began in the upper room like we said
earlier with about 120 disciples gathered together on the day of Pentecost with
the apostles inclusive. Even further beyond the book of Acts, we see the
Apostle Paul instructing the church at Corinth on this vital subject in 1 Cor.
12 and 14. If it had ended with the first disciples, then there wouldn’t have
been any need to instruct the believers at Corinth on the subject. It is
obviously because they also spoke in other tongues as a church in Corinth that
Paul found it needful to instruct them properly on the subject.
3. Is it for everyone?
Let’s begin with the parting words of Jesus in Mk 16:17 (And these signs shall follow them that believe;
In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues),
who was Jesus referring to? He was referring to everyone who would come to
believe on His name and that includes you and me. Many claim the other promises
in that verse of scripture but leave out the vital part of speaking in other
tongues. Speaking in other tongues is for everyone who believes in His name,
not for Pastors alone, or for elders, or some special people, it is for everyone. In 1 Cor. 14:18, Paul was thanking God that
he spoke in tongues more than all the believers in Corinth, so we get the idea
that they all spoke in tongues. Then finally we see it in the prophecy of Joel
as echoed by Peter on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:16-18
4. What benefits are there to speaking
in tongues?
The benefits are enormous but unfortunately they are hard to
describe to the one who has not yet embraced it, you may try hard, but such one
lacks the experience needed to comprehend your description. However, there are
some pointed benefits that we can easily draw out from scriptures. In Rom.
8:26, we come to see how speaking in tongues greatly enhances your ability to
pray, there are several times that you don’t know what to pray for in a
particular situation or how to even direct your prayers, but by praying in
other tongues, you are set on the right course. Also, in Jude 20 we see that
praying in the spirit builds you up. This is based on the simple understanding
that you are a spirit, you have a soul and live in a body. The real you is the
spirit man and it is your spirit that gets born again not your physical body,
so as you pray in other tongues you are building up your spirit man.
Some other question around speaking in other tongues include:
Can one be taught how to speak in tongues? Certainly not, it comes as the Holy
Spirit gives utterance and as you yield yourself to the Spirit of God.
Do I have to understand what I am saying when I am speaking
in other tongues? You don’t necessarily have to understand what you are saying,
because you are operating in a realm beyond your physical senses 1 Cor. 14:2
Do I have to tarry long like the disciples for days to
receive the Holy Spirit so I can speak in other tongues? No, you don’t have to
tarry anymore like the disciples did on the day of Pentecost because the Holy
Spirit has been given and all you have to do is to receive. Beyond the account
in Acts 2, you will not find any other place in scriptures where believers
gathered to tarry for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. You can simply receive
by faith and begin to speak in other tongues. I have personally prayed for a
few folks and by simple laying on of hands, they were filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in other tongues.
I have tried to share a few of my thoughts and many of the
things I have learnt over the years on this very important subject but like I
said earlier this is not in any way exhaustive. You can take out more time to
personally dig into the scriptures to better understand this subject. My
conclusion is that God has made His Spirit available to you and the ability to
speak in other tongues is all together for your benefit. It is now up to you
what you choose to do with this truth, but I encourage you to take a leap of
faith if you haven’t yet done so, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you right now,
then begin to speak in other tongues. I assure you that you will lead a better
Christian life.
N.B
For questions on this subject and other subjects, kindly use the Prayer request/Testimony pane. You can also send me an email or reach me by Phone on 08081249992
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