Understanding the Gift of Tongues

Gifts of Communication

 

We understand that many spiritual gifts include the ability to communicate.

 

1. Exhortation & Encouragement. The skill to encourage, comfort and strengthen through inspiration.

 

2. Prophesy: Proclamation of God's message or interpretation of God's truth for a given occasion and for the individuals concerned. (Luke 13:33-34, 4:21-24, 7:39; Mark 1:22ff, I Cor. 14:29; I Thess. 5:19 ff; I John 4:1)

 

3. Wisdom: Insight and comprehension of the deep things of God.

 

4. Knowledge: The use of reason and the communication of facts.

 

5. Tongues (languages): The ability to learn and utilize a new language for communicating the gospel.

 

6. Interpretations of tongues (languages): The ability to communicate to people who cannot understand the original language.

 

Paul's instructions concerning the use of languages

 

1 Corinthians 14 gives strict guidelines about the use of various languages during public worship.

 

Historical evidence demonstrates that both the Judeans from Palestine and the Diaspora Judeans shared the same native languages (i.e., Aramaic and Greek). The Judean crowd of Acts 2 had expected to be hearing the "holy tongue" (i.e., Hebrew) the proper language of the temple liturgy, the upper language of the Jewish "church language". Instead, the disciples of Jesus when filled with the Spirit prophesied in their own native languages and violated the Jewish "church language". Luke designates these languages as "other tongues" (i.e., languages other than Hebrew).

 

Because of its geographical location and commercial prosperity, the city of Corinth in Paul's time was a highly multilingual environment. All kinds of languages met at commercial Corinth with its harbors on two seas. Difference of language was a frequent barrier to common action. This means that for many in Corinth, Greek was not their first or native language. Instead, they spoke a non-Greek language as their first or native language, and Greek was a second language for them. It was well known how exasperating it could be for two intelligent persons to be unintelligible to one another. Doubtless most were familiar with the frustration of encountering another intelligent person with whom it was impossible to converse. Visitors from other linguistic backgrounds could not comprehend the Corinthian speech any more than the Corinthians understood theirs.

 

A church tends to reflect its environment. As the city of Corinth was a highly multilingual environment, we would expect to see this reflected in the church. In the ordinary church meeting at Corinth there would be numbers of people with varied linguistic backgrounds. In the face of these tremendous obstacles, Paul gives specific instructions as to our use of various languages in church.

 

  •  There should always be an interpreter so that everyone can benefit from what is being said. (vs. 5, 27).
  •  We should do our best to make sure that foreigners know what is being said (vs. 11,24)
  •  The goal is that everyone can understand (vs. 16, 31).
  •  Worship should be "fitting and orderly" (vs. 39-40).

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