What is the gift of tongues? Is this normal?

IThe phenomenon of the gift of tongues has been a long debated and often questioned reoccurrence throughout church history. Are tongues for today? Is this something that should be normative for all believers? How does one obtain this gifting? There are at least three main schools of thought concerning this issue- the charismatic/Pentecostal understanding; the cessationist view; and the open but cautious perspective.

1. The charismatic/Pentecostal understanding begins by seeing all of the uses of tongues found throughout the New Testament as active and vibrant today. Some passages that may be cited include Acts 2:5-11; I Cor. 12:10; 28; 30; and I Corinthians 14. This perspective has a large range of uses and understandings for tongues including as a private prayer language (Rom. 8:26; I Cor. 13:1); a sign of God’s presence (II Cor. 12:12); and even in some cases as a sign for salvation (Mark 16:17). It views tongues as a very real and wonderful experience that believers should fully participate with in order to grow and connect with God.

2. On the other side of the spectrum is the cessationist view that believes that tongues are no longer active nor necessary today. The belief is that it ceased after the apostles had passed away. In other words, tongues were an authenticating mark for authority for the apostles. And so after they died off, there was no longer any need for tongues since the apostles were gone. This viewpoint also sees the Bible as the final necessary revelation from God that would then supercede or finish off the need for tongues. This perspective would see the “perfect” in I Corinthians 13:8-10 as the final written word. People in the cessationist perspective would argue that tongues have ceased all together and that it is no longer necessary since we have the completed Word of God.

3. The final view is known as the “open but cautious” perspective which holds to the possibility of tongues for today but would want to make sure that it follows the biblical directive for its use. Some of these instructions include making sure that it is done orderly and by turns (I Cor. 14:27a) and also that there must be an interpreter (I Cor. 14:27b). The reason for this is in order to be a good witness for possible observing unbelievers (I Cor. 14:23) and in order for it to bring edification to the body (I Cor. 14:26). This view would also say that tongues are not normative for all believers but are given only to a select few just like all the other spiritual gifts that are given to different individuals.

These different views on tongues are not restricted to any specific denomination or type of church. They are pretty widespread and cross many different boundaries and denominational lines. It is generally true though that a Full Gospel or Assembly of God church is more apt to speak in tongues but there are instances where Baptists, Methodists, and even Presbyterians also speak in tongues. Typically, the Bible churches and more Reformed churches usually adhere to a cessationist perspective and practice. But a greater segment of the church is starting to rethink this whole issue and feel comfortable enough to hold the open but cautious viewpoint.

A closer examination of the definition and nature of a spiritual gift (of which tongues is included in) will help clarify its intended use and necessity. We see from I Cor. 12:7 that all gifts are given “for the common good.” This means that it is for the edification and building up of others. It was thus used for ministry and edification not for personal gain or even direct growth. This should help eliminate the idea that tongues then is for ourselves or that a private prayer language would even fit into this category with tongues since it also does not edify others. All spiritual gifts are for the building up of the body! Tongues also are stated to be used as a sign for unbelievers in I Cor. 14:22. This verse seems to be a very neglected passage! What this means is that it may have been used to communicate the gospel cross-culturally in order to bridge the gap between known and unknown languages and that it may have also served as a “sign” of judgment for those who did not heed to its message. Thus, the need for an interpreter was also necessary for the edification aspect to those who heard the “tongues” which may have actually been real languages. We also see in that verse that the preferred gift for believers is prophecy because of its ability to again edify others. This explanation thus lends itself closer to the open but cautious perspective. Hopefully, this has given us some greater clarity and understanding concerning the talk about tongues!

Benjamin C. Shin is an English Minister of The Open Door Church in Los Angeles. He is also a professor who teaches classes on hermeneutics, Bible and spiritual formation, Romans, and the New Testament at Biola's seminary, talbot School of theology.