So what's the deal with speaking in tongues?
Earlier today, I stumbled upon this blog post about why Christians should "cut out" speaking in tongues. I had to respectfully disagree. Here's why.
There are 3 different types of tongues referenced in the New Testament.
- Tongues of men - The Holy Spirit imparts this ability to witness to people who speak a different language. For example, my cousin speaks English & only English. However, when she went on a mission trip to Mexico, she started prophesying “in tongues”. She had no idea what she was saying but everybody there heard her in speaking in Spanish.
- The(spiritual) Gift of Tongues - This is one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and it should ALWAYS be accompanied with another person giving the interpretation(also from the Holy Spirit)… if there’s no one present to give the interpretation, it is out of order to do. This type of tongues is meant to edify the Body of Christ… that’s why the interpretation is REQUIRED. It is out of order to go around speaking in tongues in public without an interpretation. Paul is clear on this. If you see someone speaking in tongues in public and it’s not followed by an interpretation, that is NOT of God.
- Tongues of Angles - This is a gift that every Christian gets once they experience the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is STRICTLY for the Christians PERSONAL prayer time, in private. It is meant to build your relationship with the All Mighty. Paul refers to it as edifying, meaning it builds you up. It allows the Christian to pray for things/people that they have no intellectual knowledge about. For example, it would allow me to intercede for another Christian in another country, who needs prayer. I have no idea of what that person needs, but the Holy Spirit does… so thru me, He can speak a blessing into that person. Or you may have an undetected health issue, that you have no idea about... speaking in the tongues of angels will allow the Holy Spirit to pray about that... We are instructed not to lean on our own understanding because our understanding of matters is very often deficient. The Holy Spirit knows ALL things.
As Proverbs 21:18 states,
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
This is a natural law God, Himself put in place and even He must obey it; if He did not obey His own law, He would not be a just God. So, it would be out of order for Him to move on Earth without someone first speaking that into manifestation. That is why our words are so very important. Speaking in tongues allows God to move in this realm as He would like to.
“Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” James 4:2
If you notice in Scripture, nothing ‘just happens’…. there’s always cause/effect. More often than not, someone speaks, then God moves. It doesn’t have to be immediately, but that’s always the pattern. Even with the birth of Jesus… hundreds of years before He was born, people would prophesy concerning Him… literally speaking Him into this realm.
It is my argument that speaking with the 'Tongues of Angles' is one of the most important things we can do as Christians because He uses our tongues to get work done. It’s kinda like a partnership. We don’t have to speak in tongues, we GET to speak in tongues. Also, I believe that it is a type of verbal encryption that the enemy cannot understand; therefore the enemy cannot thwart that prayer. God moves based on what we ask Him to do... Of course, He can do whatever He wants to do... but He will not trample on our freewill. He is a benevolent God and He is faithful to His Word.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would fall on a prophet, that prophet would speak... then the Holy Spirit would leave. Since Pentacost, that has changed... The Holy Spirit is with every believer and will never leave or forsake them... However, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a separate experience that comes with the gifts that can manifest in people who aren't holding the office of prophet, as the Spirit sees fit.
Also, that's why we shouldn't tell lies, because on a subconscious level, it diminishes the power we perceive in our own words. Jesus says, that if we speak to a mountain and say be cast it to the sea, it will happen... but there's a caveat to that... we CANNOT doubt. When we lie, we chip away at our own credibility within ourselves... so we start to doubt our own words. Consider the account of the woman with the issue of blood, found in the Gospels. .
"Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” Mark 5:25-34
... She literally spoke her healing into existence, thru Christ. Jesus said as much. It's there in black & white.
Furthermore, it is suggested we put on the full armor of God. Notice that every piece of the armor of God is defensive except for one piece... the sword & here's what it says about the sword...
"...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Ephesians 6:10-20
Seems very clear to me. The Bible states that the Holy Spirit only speaks what He hears the Father say; so why on Earth would you want to hinder that by NOT speaking in tongues?
I like the original post you are referring to. Concerning that post, I would say that (as per the annotations of the Bible I use) 1 Corinthians 14:2 does not refer to a language we speak but the meaning behind what we say. For instance, I could say something as simple as The Truth is a living being. And people would not understand its meaning, but only those that have learned from God to understand it, for it is a mystery. (The Bible I use also has a secondary interpretation for this verse, by saying that some scholars belief he was referring to Hebrew as it was not a widely used language).
For the sake of another example, we hear a lot “God is love”, even in atheist people, who would use this sentence in their discussions. But we know they do not understand this language; and we believe we do, for we can tell we understand it beyond infinity, by the grace of God. However, the truth is that even for infinity it is an unknown language for us, as it is a mystery spoken by the Spirit. And indeed when I say “God is love” my heart and my mind grow, as if God would teach me lessons just by saying it or thinking about it, but it doesn’t mean it will necessary teach other people, unless they repeat this language in their mind and heart (1 Corinthians 14:4).
Even if there is someone to interpret me saying “God is love” (a believer), it doesn’t mean this person could repeat it so that some else could understand it using the same gift of interpretation, which makes him/her a believer. This third person would be a using the gift of a Prophet when helping other people understand more this language.
Your explanation of the way you use the phrase “Tongues of men” is good. But I refer to “tongues of men” using the name “Gift of Tongues.” What you call gift of tongues, I do not believe it is a gift. So this part of the topic gets to a dead end for you and me; i.e. I would not discuss it further.
As for the language of Angels, which is in 1 Cor 13:1, the Bible I use has a note that reads: “Even if I were to speak the tongues of all the nations of the word, or if I were to make myself be understood without using my voice or an external sign, as the Angeles do, which not needing to speak, communicate immediately their concepts, which would be even more praiseworthy than speaking all the tongues of the word, etc.” (a fast translation made by me).
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