There is a purpose for the gift of tongues, but it’s not to “prove you have the Holy Spirit” as some people seem to think.
If we take the Bible seriously, we must admit there is a true authentic gift of tongues. But, why is this gift given? What’s the purpose of speaking in tongues?
The first mention of believers speaking in tongues is in the Gospel of Mark, which says.
“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
– Mark 16:15-18
This is the Great Commission. The disciples were being sent into all the world to preach the Gospel to other nations. It’s important to point this out because the context of these signs is directly connected to the Great Commission.
We see examples of these things in the book of Acts. The Apostles cast out demons, healed the sick, and spoke in various tongues. The Bible even tells us that Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake and it didn’t hurt him.
The signs listed in Mark 16 accompanied the Apostles, but not everyone experienced all of these signs.
Some people incorrectly conclude that all believers should be able to do all of these signs, but that’s not what the Bible says. Some people even claim that if you don’t speak in tongues, you aren’t saved. That is absolutely false, and a total perversion of what the Bible says. Some people also claim that speaking in tongues is the evidence that you have received the Holy Spirit, but that’s not true either. In fact, the Bible tells us that not everyone speaks in tongues.
“And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?”
– 1 Corinthians 12:28-30
This is a rhetorical question, “do all speak with tongues?” By including similar statements about prophets, teachers, miracle workers, and healings, we are meant to conclude that the answer is the same for all these things. And the answer is NO!. Not everyone is a prophet. Not everyone is a teacher. Not everyone works miracles, and not everyone speaks in tongues.
This is because the Holy Spirit distributes the gifts individually as He sees fit.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to ONE is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to ANOTHER the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to ANOTHER faith by the same Spirit, to ANOTHER gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to ANOTHER the working of miracles, to ANOTHER prophecy, to ANOTHER discerning of spirits, to ANOTHER different kinds of tongues, to ANOTHER the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, DISTRIBUTING TO EACH ONE INDIVIDUALLY AS HE WILLS.”
– 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
The Holy Spirit distributes the gifts individually. Each person is different, so we can’t say that all believers must speak in tongues, because it’s up to the Holy Spirit to distribute the gifts as He wills.
Each of the spiritual gifts has a purpose and function. There is a reason why the Holy Spirit would give certain gifts in certain situations. And we need to remember that the gifts are given for the profit of all.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all”
– 1 Corinthians 12:7
This means the gifts are beneficial to others, and they serve a purpose. So, when we hear someone speak in tongues, we need to ask ourselves, what purpose does it serve? Is there a reason for that person to speak in tongues, and did it benefit the hearers?
If there’s no purpose for it, then why was it done?
“How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.”
– 1 Corinthians 14:26-28
God is not the author of chaos, so if the manifestation of tongues or any other spiritual gift seems to be chaotic, then it’s probably not the Holy Spirit. Everything must be done in an orderly manner. There is order and structure and purpose in everything God does.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are both practical and purposeful. This means if there is no need for a spiritual gift, then we shouldn’t expect to see one.
Let that sink in for a moment.
If the gifts are given as needed, and they serve a purpose, then we shouldn’t expect to see spiritual gifts manifest at every church service.
All of the gifts serve a purpose, but what is the purpose for the gift of Tongues?
We see a very practical use for this gift in the book of Acts.
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? … we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
– Acts 2:4-11
Notice the gift had a purpose. They were preaching the Gospel to people who spoke different languages. This is a very practical use for the gift of tongues. And we see the purpose in it. It has a function and a reason.
This also directly links Acts 2 with the Great Commission in Mark 16. They were told to preach the Gospel to all nations and these signs would accompany them, and one of those signs was speaking in new tongues.
“…Go into all the world and PREACH THE GOSPEL to every creature… And these signs will follow those who believe… they will speak with NEW TONGUES… And they went out and PREACHED everywhere, the Lord working with them and CONFIRMING THE WORD THROUGH THE ACCOMPANYING SIGNS. Amen.”
– Mark 16:15-20
Notice that these signs were given to confirm the word that was preached by them. Speaking in tongues is a sign that confirms the preaching of the Gospel, which is exactly what happened in Acts 2. The disciples were preaching the Gospel in the languages of the nations that were present.
Now, compare that with someone who stands up during church and randomly says something in gibberish, and no one in the room has any idea what was said. There is no interpretation given, so it has no meaning and no purpose. It doesn’t edify the Church, and it doesn’t succeed in communicating a message to anyone. It has no purpose.
Tongues without purpose or meaning is simply babel.
“So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. Even so, you since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.”
– 1 Corinthians 14:9-13
Think about what happened at the Tower of Babel. God confused their language to divide them.
“Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”
Genesis 11:7-9
The confusion of languages was the result of pride and sin, and this confusion is referred to as “Babel”. The dictionary defines babel as “a confusion of sounds or voices, a scene of noise or confusion.”
That’s exactly what happened at the Tower of Babel. People couldn’t understand each other and it caused confusion and division.
But, in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit brought clarity through the gift of tongues. The Bible says there were people from every nation, and they all spoke different languages, but when the disciples spoke in tongues, they heard them in their own native language.
The disciples were able to preach the message without the hindrance of language barriers, and the confusion caused by Babel was no longer a problem for the Gospel.
This is important because of the Great Commission. How could the disciples go into all the world and preach the Gospel if they didn’t speak the same language as their audience?
This realization makes the gift of tongues vital to the Gospel message because, without it, the disciples would not have been able to reach as many people as they did.
Every example we have in the Bible of speaking in tongues is someone speaking in a known language that can be understood or interpreted by others.
But we need to remember that the Bible tells us not to forbid speaking in tongues.
“Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy and do not forbid to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.”
– 1 Corinthians 14:39-40
We don’t forbid speaking in tongues because it’s a gift of the Holy Spirit, and we don’t want to hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. However, everything must be done correctly and with order and purpose.
So, we don’t forbid speaking in tongues, but the Bible also says when someone speaks in tongues there must always be an interpretation given.
“…Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.”
– 1 Corinthians 14:26-28
Interpretation gives meaning and purpose to the message in tongues. If no one understands what was said, then it doesn’t benefit anyone. It doesn’t have a function or a purpose. That’s why interpretation is important.
When someone speaks in tongues, it must be understood or interpreted, or else it’s useless because the message is lost.
The purpose of speaking in tongues is so the Gospel can be spread to all nations without the hindrance of language barriers.
Spiritual gifts are given to bring glory to God and expand His kingdom. They are given for the purpose of doing ministry, and if they don’t serve that purpose, we SHOULD question their authenticity.
