Tongues-speaking, or speaking with tongues, was one of the miraculous gifts of the spirit prevalent in the Church during the time of the apostles.  Many feel the holy spirit is again miraculously bestowing the gift of tongues on Christians.  Tongue speaking today generally takes the form of ecstatic, unintelligible utterances and is claimed to be the evidence that the Christian is "spirit-filled."  Let us examine the Scriptural evidence to see if this is true.

Are Spiritual Gifts the Same as the Gift of the Holy Spirit?

There is a difference between the miraculous spiritual "gifts" (Greek: charisma) in 1 Cor. 12:1 and the "fit" (Greek: dorea) of the holy spirit promised to all believers in Acts 2:38.  "Dorea" is any gratuity anything given without charge or payment, but "charisma," when related to the holy spirit, denotes a miraculous power.  While all believers are promised the gift of the holy spirit, not all believers in the apostles' day were given the miraculous spiritual gifts, tongue speaking being one of them.

Strict Rules for Tongue Speaking

There are five basic rules concerning tongue speaking that were true in the apostles' day.  As you consider each of these, ask yourself, "Is this true of tongue speaking today?"

1. Tongues were a foreign language.  Acts 2:1-11; 1 Cor. 11:21
2. The tongue speaker understood what he said and expected to interpret it into the common language of the church.  1 Cor. 14:5
3. All utterances by the gift of tongues in the congregation, including prayer, were to be interpreted.  1 Cor. 14:5, 27, 28.
4. Only one person was to speak in tongues at a time.  1 Cor. 14:27
5. Tongues were for a sign, not to them that believe, but for them that believe not.  1 Cor. 14:22

What Was the Purpose of Spiritual Gifts?

The purpose of spiritual gifts, such as healing and tongues, is given by Paul in Romans 1:11, "That I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established."  Because the New Testament had not yet been given, miraculous gifts of the spirit were necessary to establish the faith of the early church until the Bible had been completed.

How Were Spiritual Gifts Given to the Church?

The one baptism of the holy spirit (Acts 1:5) came upon the Church in two steps -- both of which were marked by the miraculous manifestation of speaking in tongues.  The first was on the Day of Pentecost, ten days after Jesus' ascension. (Acts 2:1-11)  The second was 3 1/2 years later when the first Gentile convert, Cornelius, and his household, came into the Church. (Acts 10:44-47)  These are the only two occurrences in the Scriptures where the gifts of the spirit came by the outpouring of the holy spirit from the Lord.  All other Scriptural accounts of gifts reveal that they came not as a baptism from the Lord, but then could only be conveyed through the apostles.  See Galatians 3:5; Acts 4:19-21, 29-31; Acts 19:1-6; Romans 1:11.

When Did the Exercising of the Gifts Cease?

If the gifts could only be conveyed by the apostles, then when they died, the gifts ceased with the death of those Christians who had received these gifts from the apostles.

Gifts are mentioned in the books of Acts and 1 Corinthians.  Traces of gifts are found in the earlier epistles of Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians.  There is no mention of them in the later epistles of 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 1 and 2 Peter, and John's epistle.  The New Testament writings were then being circulated, and the doctrinal truths and the abiding graces of faith, hope and love, rather than the exceptional gifts, were what the Church was to rest on.  The tongues, as foretold in 1 Cor. 13:8, were already in the process of ceasing in the apostles' day.

For more information on Speaking in Tongues, order the booklet "Speaking in Tongues" from our Orders page.

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Last modified: 04/04/07