Speaking in Tongues

Over the years, tongues speaking has been one of the hot topics in Christianity. Well, I want to share something really important with you, as far as tongues speaking is concerned. As I said earlier, speaking in tongues is the most talked about phenomena in Christianity. Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement has brought speaking in tongues to the forefront, and these branches of Christianity are without doubt the fastest growing segments of Christianity. These movements are impacting the world even more than the reformation did. That alone should tell you how important tongues speaking is. Even though this has been the most talked about, yet a few understand what it's all about. It is the least understood subject among believers and people will be surprised to find that the Bible mentions speaking in tongues thirty-five (35) times.

That ia lot, so this subject should not be cast lightly aside as unimportant to the Church because God does not fill His book with things of minor importance. It's also surprising that many people who have never spoken in tongues speak as though they're experts in this field, when in reality they teach only from theory. Christianity is more than what the human head comprehends or can imagine. It's purely spiritual! Since I do speak in tongues, I feel that I can bring scriptural wisdom with experience in this article. This column will clarify common misunderstandings and show the importance and benefits of speaking in tongues. My first experience speaking in tongues was a day that a Man of God spoke to me in a dream. Even though it was a dream, I suddenly "felt" strange, unknown words well up inside me. As I began to speak them out, a gigantic tidal wave of God's love and power flooded into me, and I could feel the presence of God everywhere.

I had been a Christian from infancy and I loved God so much that I wanted to have a deeper relationship with Him. I thought I could do it by struggling enough, never knowing it could be so easy and simple with communing with the Father through tongues. I had desired this Gift for long and this is what happened. I was in my room and as I slept, I saw my pastor, Rev. Chris Oyakhilome PhD, the president of the Believers' Loverworld Inc. aka Christ Embassy. He said, "See, the glory of God!" He referred to me as God's glory and I begun to speak in tongues. Afterwards, I just thanked God for making me speak in that language while still asleep and I felt no doubt after waking up from bed. I went ahead to speak in tongues and I haven't stopped yet! Glory to God! Next to my salvation, this has been the key event of my walk with Jesus. In the years since then, it has become a richer and deeper part of my life than I could ever have imagined.

Speaking in tongues is as natural to me as breathing. Since this experience changed my life so dramatically, I have a deep desire to share it with others. I want to devote the entire article to dealing with questions about the availability of this wonderful experience to all believers. As we begin our study, I encourage you to ask yourself this question: How intimate with Jesus do you want to be? Consider for a moment the wonderful possibility that we can communicate with our Heavenly Father in a way that is totally unlimited by our finite minds; a way that we can receive from Him in fresh, wonderful new ways. If this appeals to you, I encourage you to read on with an open mind, and an open Bible as I share with you one of the most cherished elements of my Christian life: The practice of speaking in tongues. Although tongues have raised a degree of controversy within the church, more and more Christians are discovering the life-changing power that comes through communicating with God in this manner.

We will also deal with the actual benefits of speaking in tongues and there are many! Now we can ask the question, what is speaking in tongues? First, let's look at a few things that speaking in tongues is not: Tongues are not a status symbol, indicating that one Christian is more spiritual than another. The Corinthian church was a hotbed of tongues speaking, yet the Apostle Paul still chastised them for being carnal (1 Corinthians 3:3). Tongues are not a shortcut to instant spiritual maturity. Tongues are not a state in which the person has no control of his faculties. Speaking in tongues is, to put it simply, Holy Spirit inspired speech in a language unknown to the speaker. As we will examine, it can be spoken in a Christian's private prayer life, or in a public worship service with interpretation.

People have a natural hunger for the supernatural but unfortunately, many turn to the false, satanic supernatural found in psychics, the New Age, and other cultic activity rather than seeking the true supernatural power of God. This is tragic. God is a supernatural God! He can fulfill the deepest longings of our hearts with His love and power. Tongues are one of the avenues that He works through in order to do this; Hallelujah! In Acts 2:16-18, let's look at what Peter told those who heard the disciples speak in tongues on the Day of Pentecost: "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy."

The Prophet Joel had already prophesied about such an event in Joel 2:28-29. This is "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3). It is part of the gospel of which the apostle wrote "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake" (1 Thessalonians 1:5). When Jude exhorted the Church that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3), he was saying the same as Paul when he wrote to the Galatians: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). We are warned of men "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (2 Timothy 3:5). Turn away from them!

The Emperor Constantinople subsumed the Church into Rome and it became secularized and paganized. The apostles ("saints") became the objects of worship or prayer as did Mary, the mother of Jesus. Tongues ceased generally to be spoken - these were not what Jesus called "true worshippers" in John 4:23. Yes, these were never the true worshippers! If tongues speaking is not important, how come Jesus said: "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him" (John 4:23). How then do you worship the Father in spirit and in truth? Listen, He said the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit and in truth! He didn't say in the time past or in the future, but now is! So why do some say speaking in tongues only took place on the Day of Pentecost and that's all? In later times there were minor revivals of "the faith... once delivered to the saints."

In this latter day there is a relatively major revival. Thousands are receiving the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues was foretold by Jesus when He said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; ...they shall speak with new tongues" (Mark 16:17). The word "new" means appearing for the first time. No one had spoken these languages before. Contrary to bad theology tongues is not an ability given to preach the gospel in the language of foreigners. This would make tongues "old" languages. It is only appropriate that "new tongues" should be spoken by those of the "new birth." If you're born again, tongues speaking should be a normal thing for you. In Acts 10:44-48, the apostles and their companions baptized the first Gentiles when they heard them speak in tongues.

"While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God" (Acts 10:44-46). It appears that speaking in tongues is foretold in Zephaniah 3:9 which says, "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent." God says the people (we) will call on Him with a pure language and to serve Him with one consent. The gift of tongues is very important in a believer's walk with God. Isaiah 28:11 also reads, "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people."

The Apostle Paul makes it clear when he wrote to the Corinthians, stating, "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful" (1 Corinthians 14:2, 14). Paul says here that the one who speaks in tongues does not speak to people but God, because no man understands him; in the spirit, he's speaking mysteries. Then he says when he prays in an unknown tongue, his spirit prays but his understanding is unfruitful. Notice he says his spirit prays, that is, when speaking in tongues. This is what Jesus referred to as believers worshipping the Father in spirit and in truth; Simple! The Good News Bible also puts it beautifully, "Those who speak in strange tongues do not speak to others but to God, because no one understands them. They are speaking secret truths by the power of the Spirit" (1 Corinthians 14:2, GNB).

Those who speak in tongues speak secret truths by the power of the Spirit. To make it clear, those who speak in tongues worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. So if you're denying the power of tongues speaking, then it's up to you. Tongues is described as the language of the Spirit: "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26-27). This is remarkable! First, the Spirit helps by interceding for us with groaning which cannot be uttered; the Spirit searches our hearts as well as our minds and makes intercession on our behalf according to the will of God because we don't even know what we should pray for as we ought!

According to respected Greek scholar P.C. Nelson, the literal Greek translation of this implies "groanings which cannot be uttered in articulate speech." Praise God! No matter how articulate and brilliant we think we are, we can never get into that deep relationship with God without speaking in tongues. We need the Holy Spirit to help us this way just as much, if not more, than the first century church did. I used to ask myself how I could worship the Father (God) in the spirit; is it when I close my eyes and try to go through that long process of silence, meditating? Or when we meet and everyone turns to say, hey keep quiet; keep quiet and let's be in the spirit now for God is here. That's childish thought, a babe! If you're really going to worship God in the spirit, then you're going to speak in tongues! Jesus said the Father seeks such to worship Him.

If you pray in your understanding and language, do you realize that you have limitations? You don't really know about what you should pray for, and then you're stuck! But this is not so with the person who prays in tongues; this man speaks as the Spirit gives him utterance. Hallelujah! This is just what we clarified above. I heard there was an article by a certain denominational minister in which he tried to explain tongues by saying that, when Jesus commissioned His disciples to go into the entire world, He didn't want them to spend all of their time taking language classes, so He gave them tongues to preach in foreign nations. While I don't question that this brother meant well, this theory is simply not Biblical. Nowhere in the Bible do we ever see an example of a person preaching in tongues. The first to speak in tongues were the disciples and this occurred on the day of Pentecost.

People often think that on this day the disciples were speaking human languages, because the people could understand what they were saying. I don't believe this is true because there was a two-fold miracle taking place on this day: the miracle of speaking and hearing. The first miracle was the speaking in tongues. The second miracle was the enabling of some to understand the tongues. Not everyone understood the tongues, because some onlookers made fun of the disciples and accused them of being drunk (Acts 2:13). This clearly shows that they did not understand the tongues. And the ones who did understand the tongues were perplex because each one heard only their own native language and not the languages of the other people (Acts 2:6). The Bible tells us that there were over fourteen foreigners representing many nations, speaking different languages. Yet each person heard the disciples praising God in their own language.

They exclaimed, "How is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?" (Acts 2:8). They could not figure out how this was possible. It is clear that the disciples were not preaching the gospel in tongues, they were instead declaring the wonders of God (Acts 2:11). They were not speaking to men but to God (1 Corinthians 14:2). The people were simply listening in on their praises to God. It wasn't until Peter stood up to speak to the crowd in one common language that the gospel was preached. So tongues are not supernatural human languages given to the apostles so they could preach in languages they did not naturally learn. The disciples were not speaking human languages; they were speaking in unknown tongues. But God enabled those whose hearts were opened to understand what the disciples were saying. Sometimes this happens today. You see, the miracle was in the hearing of the people.

So now we ask another question, are tongues still in operation today? Yes, there are more Christians on earth today who speak in tongues than there have been at any other time in history! Although they have always been around in varying degrees throughout church history, there has been a strong revival of tongues in this century. It is true that the Bible refers to a time when tongues shall cease (1 Corinthians 13:8). However, this same passage also tells us when this will happen: When perfection comes, we see face to face, and we know, even as we are known (1 Corinthians 13:10-12). Have these other verses been fulfilled yet? Obviously not, since true perfection will not happen until after Jesus returns (1 John 3:2-3; Ephesians 5:27). We are still very much "seeing through a glass darkly", as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 13:12.

Until the veil of our mortality is removed, and we see Him face to face, our communication with God will always be filtered through our finite, human limitations. We don't always know how to pray properly. This is why God has made available to us this Heavenly prayer language that takes us beyond our infirmities. Jesus said, "...ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world..." (John 15:19). If Jesus said you are not of the world but He has chosen you out of the world, then there should be a place you come from. If I ask you about where you come from, what would you tell me? In Colossians 1:13, Bible says we should give thanks to the Father, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." Wow! Let me break it down: The language, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness" implies that we were captive; we were under the power of darkness.

Satan is the power of darkness so those in sin are held under his power. The sentence, "Hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" also implies that God, through the gospel, had rescued believers and has translated them into Christ's kingdom. This was effected when they were converted (received the remission of sins). Some teach that Christ's kingdom is yet future, but this passage shows that it already had an existence. The church was its visible form. It was inaugurated on Pentecost, the day the Holy Ghost came. So we've clearly found out now where we come from, we hail from Heaven! As we've found out that we hail from heaven, we've also got to find out the language the Citizens of Heaven speak. Many people inaccurately define speaking in tongues as "speaking gibberish" or "talking nonsense" and recently, I heard someone say those who speak in tongues are "mad."

The truth is, speaking in tongues is the most intelligent and perfect language in the universe. It is God's language. What language do you suppose people speak in heaven? Languages are given their name based on the countries they come from. For example, Twi, Fante or Ga comes from Ghana, Spanish comes from Spain, Italian comes from Italy and so on and so forth. Well, where does tongues come from? It comes from Heaven! Tongues is the heavenly language. It is what is spoken in heaven, that's why we have tongues of angels (1 Corinthians 13:1). The only difference is that the people in heaven understand what they are saying. Here on earth Paul says, "For anyone who speaks in tongues does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understand him; he utters mysteries with his spirit" (1 Corinthians 14:2). So in which language are we to speak as citizens of heaven? Tongues of course! This alone dissolved the argument about tongues speaking.

Bible also says we are "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:23). Oh, so I am born again, I am a new man. As we're born again, then we've to speak in a new language and it is natural and normal to speak in the language of your birth. We are born again from above, therefore we should speak the language from above - that language is called "new tongues." That's our new language; Praise God! In 1 Corinthians 1:7, Paul expresses his desire that we come behind in no spiritual gift, as we wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In other words, until Jesus does return, the charismatic gifts of the Spirit, including tongues, will be in full operation, and we should not be lacking, or come behind, in having these gifts in our own lives.