Interpretation of Tongues

Now I want you all to speak in tongues (I Cor 14:5)

. . . one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret (I Cor 14:13)

I suppose I have saved the most difficult of the gifts for last – speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues.  I choose to take them together because Paul says that within the church body they need to be practiced together.  In a church service, they are different steps in the same process.  One brings a message from God; the other enables the people to understand it. 

Now if we are to talk about tongues, we need to begin by defining what tongues are, and I am well aware that Christians debate this definition.  Some speak of tongues as a kind of private prayer language between God and them (I Cor 14:2, 28).  Others argue that tongues consist of real languages that the speaker does not speak (Acts 2:1-11).  This disagreement rests on an appeal to different Scriptures.  The fact that Acts and I Corinthians use the same term – tongues – to refer to phenomena that seem to differ has caused much confusion.  Sometimes people think that the same term must always refer to the same thing, but this is not so, and I do not believe that tongues in Acts and I Corinthians actually are the same thing.¹

Of course, they are the same in the sense that they both involve a speaker speaking words in a tongue he does not know.  But key differences also exist.  Is the language the speaker speaks understandable to others (Acts 2) or do you need an interpreter (I Cor 14)?  Is tongues a sign of the baptism of the Spirit (Acts)?  Or are all believers baptized in one Spirit and into one body (I Cor 12:13)?  Can you speak in a tongue for the sole purpose of edifying yourself (I Cor 14:4)?  When you speak in a tongue, are you speaking to God or to men?

I make a distinction between tongues as an initial sign of the baptism of the Spirit (Acts) and tongues as an ongoing spiritual gift (I Cor). Since this blog focuses on the spiritual gift of tongues, I will focus my discussion on I Corinthians.

In Paul’s discussion, I believe tongues can be a private, spiritual communion with God:  “one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God” (14:2).  To Paul this is a good thing.  He does not disparage tongues at all.

However, the main purpose of a spiritual gift is not just for you.  To Paul, the whole point of spiritual gifts is to build up the body of Christ (I Cor 12:7; 14:5).  But apparently the Corinthians were speaking in tongues in the public gathering, and no one knew what they were saying.  In that sense, their practice was not building up the church.

Thus, Paul’s problem with the Corinthians was not that they spoke in tongues – he wished all would speak in tongues (v. 5) – but with how they practiced tongues in the public worship. 

To Paul, prophecy as a spiritual gift is superior to tongues within the context of the public gathering (unless someone interprets the tongue) because prophecy actually gives the people a message they can understand.  Thus, to Paul, when the church gathers, if someone speaks in a tongue, someone must interpret.  The gift must actually be used to build others up.

Therefore, I am going to focus on tongues and interpretation used together for the purpose of building up the church.  When used in this way, these gifts bring to the church a message from God.  This message is generally spontaneous.  It could be encouragement; it could be rebuke; it could be guidance; it could be teaching, but whatever it is, it is informal and brief. 

When someone speaks out loud with a tongue, someone then needs to hear from God and tell the congregation what the tongue meant.  The person who interprets can be the same person who gave the tongue or he can be someone else.  Both the one who speaks in tongues and the one who interprets must listen carefully to the Spirit.  

Importance of Tongues and Interpretation

Tongues and interpretation are a sign of God’s presence that accompany a message from God.

Strengths

• prayer
• sensitivity to the Spirit
• worship
• intimacy with God

Weaknesses

• pride
• a de-emphasis on doctrine
• valuing an experience above Scripture
• a focus on the sign instead of on God
• emotionalism

Examples of People with these Gifts

Paul, many in charismatic churches today

Good Roles for People with these Gifts

prayer ministry, worship ministry

1. For more discussion, see here: https://www.austinif.org/an-interpretive-help-for-understanding-the-charismatic-gifts/ ↩︎