What Was Tongues? (Part 2) By Nathan Busenitz

Yesterday, we saw that there is good reason to regard the gift of tongues as described in Acts as the same in kind as the gift of tongues as described in 1 Corinthians 12-14. In other words, there is only one kind of “gift of tongues” — not multiple kinds as some charismatic groups claim.
But was that solitary gift the ability to speak foreign languages (as cessationists claim), or was it some sort of unintelligible ecstatic utterance (as charismatics claim)?
Additional Thoughts Regarding Tongues:
1. The gift of tongues is closely associated with evangelism [in the NT]. It authenticates the message of the evangelist (Mark 16:17, 20; Acts 2; 1 Cor. 14:20–22; cf. Heb. 2:2–3). According to Acts, the content of tongue-speech was “the mighty deeds of God.”
2. The gift of tongues consisted of authentic foreign languages which the speaker had not previously learned (Mark 16:17; Acts 2:4, 8–11). According to Acts 10:47 and 11:17, the tongues of Acts 10 were the same as the tongues of Acts 2. By implication, the tongues of Acts 19 are also the same.
(This sets the precedent for seeing tongues as authentic foreign languages in 1 Corinthians 14—especially when one considers that Luke, who was Paul’s close associate, probably finished Acts after 1 Corinthians was written. In light of the Corinthian controversy, it is unlikely that Luke would have used identical terminology in Acts for something that he realized was intrinsically different than what was taking place in Corinth.)
3. 1 Corinthians 12:8–11 and 27–31 make it unmistakably clear that not everyone is given the gift of tongues (cf. 14:26). (Note that there is no contextual or grammatical warrant for seeing 1 Cor. 12 as one type of tongues [that only a few receive] and 1 Cor. 14 as a different type [that everyone is to receive]. Paul’s statement in 14:5 [“Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues”] is almost identical to his earlier statement in 7:7 regarding singleness [“Yet I wish that all men were even as myself”]. Thus, Paul’s wish does not indicate that which is possible, and in fact makes it clear that not everyone in the Corinthian congregation actually did speak in tongues. Moreover, in the verse, Paul is actually emphasizing the priority of prophecy over tongues. He is not promoting tongues, in the context, but rather prophecy.)
4. The “tongues of angels” in 1 Corinthians 13:1 is probably hyperbolic in keeping with the context. Paul seems to be using hyperbole here (as his subsequent examples make clear). It may even be a figure of speech meaning, “to speak very eloquently.” Even if it is taken literally, there are two things to consider: (1) It is the exception and not the rule (as evidenced by the rest of the NT teaching on tongues and as evidenced by Paul’s hyperbolic list); (2) Every time angels spoke in the Bible they spoke in a real language that people could understand (cf. Gen. 19; Exod. 33; Joshua 5; Judges 13) (cf. Geisler, Signs and Wonders, 166).
5. Paul makes it clear that the gift of tongues was never intended to be the hallmark of the church or its most prestigious spiritual gift. Rather, the gift of prophecy is preferable because it does not require interpretation or translation in order to edify the church (1 Cor. 14:1–5)
6. Paul defines what he means by speaking to God and not to men when he says that “no one understands” (v. 2). This would be true of a foreign language which someone spoke but no one else in the congregation knew. They would not be edified because they would not understand what was being said.
7. Geisler, Signs and Wonders, 167: “The fact that the tongues of which Paul spoke in 1 Corinthians could be ‘interpreted’ shows that it was a meaningful language. Otherwise it would not be an ‘interpretation’ but a creation of the meaning. So the gift of ‘interpretation’ (1 Corinthians 12:30; 14:5, 13) supports the fact that tongues were a real language that could be translated for the benefit of all by this special gift of interpretation.”
8. The purpose of the gifts (within the church) is to edify the body (12:7; the whole point of “love” overrides the gifts in chp. 13; cf. 1 Pet. 4:10–11). The intended use of tongues, therefore, is when the gift is interpreted (translated) so that fellow believers are edified. Tongues (languages) that are not interpreted (translated) do not profit the body because the message cannot be understood (14:6–11). The intended use of the gifts is the edification of the church (v. 12). Tongues that are not interpreted do not edify the church (and are therefore do not fulfill their intended purpose). (The private use of tongues is not ideal since the ideal usage edifies others—c.f 14:12–19)
9. The context implies that Paul’s prayer in 14:14–15 is a public prayer, not a private prayer, since the entire discussion regards the use of the gift in the church, and since verse 16 mentions that the ungifted person (who does not understand the language being spoken) will not be able to affirm a public prayer which he does not understand.
Again, verses 14–15 do not mitigate against the view that tongues are authentic foreign languages. The person who prays in a foreign language should also pray that he will be able to interpret the foreign language so that all who are present will be blessed by the translation of the message.
10. The madness of 14:23 seems to be similar to the supposed drunkenness of Acts 2:13. This, of course, would be a fitting response from those who heard others speaking in an authentic foreign language that they did not know.
11. Paul defines what he means by “let him speak to himself and to God” in verse 28 with the preceding phrase, “he must keep silent in the church.” This again does not preclude authentic foreign languages as the essence of tongue-speech.
12. Verses 10–11 directly mention foreign languages. Paul’s reference to Isaiah 28:11, 12 is a reference to foreign languages. These bolster the interpretation that tongues are languages, as the normal interpretation of glossa would suggest.
13. The gift of tongues was to be used in an orderly manner in the church (14:27–28, 39–40).
Note: There are no other passages that specifically teach about the gift of tongues. Some charismatics try to find tongues in Romans 8:26 and 2 Corinthians 5:13…but the context in those passages makes it clear that the gift of tongues is not in view.
Viewing tongues as authentic foreign languages best fits the clearer passage (of Acts 2) and has the least number of problems in interpreting 1 Cor. 14.