Speaking With Tongues
QUESTIONS
- There are nine spiritual gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12:8-10. What three of these gifts involve speaking?
- When we are speaking in tongues in prayer or devotion (i.e. not publicly for the edification of the church), who are we speaking to?
- What should occur after someone gives a message in tongues publicly in the church?
- Speaking in tongues for congregational edification should cease after how many occurrences of tongues?
- What is the main purpose for the spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 14:5, 12)?
REFLECTION
Look at all the scriptures in Acts recounting instances of people receiving the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:4, Acts 8:17-18, Acts 9:17, Acts 10:46, Acts 11:15, and Acts 19:6). List the scriptures and state for each if speaking in tongues is explicitly mentioned, can be reasonably inferred or isn’t mentioned at all. What do the results of this investigation tell you about the relationship between tongues and receiving the Holy Ghost?
In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul teaches that tongues are a gift of the Spirit. Explain why the tongues spoken of in this chapter are different from the initial sign of tongues that occur when someone receives the Holy Spirit or the tongues used in prayer for self-edifica- tion. Read 1 Corinthians 12-13 to get context on Chapter 14.
Some people believe that tongues is simply a God given ability to speak in another human language for the purpose of communicating the gospel. They would point to Acts 2 to support this belief, since the Apostles spoke in the languages of those people who were gathered in Jerusalem from many different countries. Read the account of Pentecost in Acts 2 and explain why this idea is not supported.
1 Corinthians 14:22 states that tongues are a sign for unbelievers. Explain how this can be when the very next verse seems to say that the unlearned, or unbelievers, will not understand tongues, but will think the believers are mad.