What is speaking in tongues?

Understanding Acts 2:4, 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Corinthians 14:1-25, Mark 16:17

Speaking in tongues is one of the most visible and most divisive topics in Christianity. It has split denominations, defined entire movements, and generated passionate disagreement among believers who agree on virtually everything else. Understanding what the Bible actually says — rather than what various traditions claim it says — requires careful attention to the relevant texts.

Pentecost: the foundational event

The first occurrence of speaking in tongues is recorded in Acts 2:1-13. On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus' resurrection:

'All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken' (Acts 2:4-6).

The text is explicit: the disciples spoke in real, recognizable human languages they had never learned — Parthian, Median, Elamite, Mesopotamian, and others (Acts 2:9-11). The crowd was amazed: 'Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?' (2:7-8). Some mocked, accusing them of drunkenness (2:13), but Peter explained it as the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people' (Acts 2:17).

This Pentecost event was xenolalia — speaking in real foreign languages by supernatural means. Its purpose was clear: the gospel, formerly confined to Aramaic-speaking Jewish disciples, was now being proclaimed in every language represented in Jerusalem. It was a dramatic reversal of Babel (Genesis 11), where God confused languages to scatter humanity; at Pentecost, the Spirit overcame language barriers to unite humanity under the gospel.

Other occurrences in Acts

Tongues appear two more times in Acts:

Cornelius' household (Acts 10:44-46): When Peter preached to Gentiles for the first time, 'the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.' This convinced the Jewish believers that Gentiles were genuinely included in God's plan.

Ephesian disciples (Acts 19:6): Paul encountered believers in Ephesus who had only received John's baptism. After being baptized in Jesus' name and receiving the laying on of Paul's hands, 'the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.'

In each case, tongues served as evidence that the Holy Spirit had come upon a new group — Jews, Gentiles, and disciples of John — confirming their inclusion in the new covenant community.

Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians

The most extensive discussion of tongues is in 1 Corinthians 12-14, where Paul addresses a church that was enthusiastic about the gift but using it chaotically.

Tongues as a spiritual gift: Paul lists 'speaking in different kinds of tongues' and 'the interpretation of tongues' among the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:10). He affirms tongues as a genuine gift: 'I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you' (14:18). But he immediately qualifies: 'But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue' (14:19).

Private vs. public use: Paul distinguishes between tongues used in private prayer and tongues used in corporate worship. In private: 'Anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit' (14:2). 'The one who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves' (14:4). This suggests tongues can function as a personal prayer language — communication with God that bypasses the mind: 'If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful' (14:14).

Interpretation required in church: For public worship, Paul insists on interpretation: 'If anyone speaks in a tongue, two — or at the most three — should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God' (14:27-28). Uninterpreted tongues in corporate worship are unhelpful: 'If you are praising God with your spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying?' (14:16).

Tongues as a sign: Paul quotes Isaiah 28:11-12: 'Through people of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people' (14:21). He concludes: 'Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers' (14:22). This is debated — does Paul mean tongues attract unbelievers' attention, or does he mean (as the Isaiah context suggests) that tongues are a sign of judgment on those who refuse to listen?

Order over chaos: Paul's overarching concern is order: 'God is not a God of disorder but of peace' (14:33). 'Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way' (14:40). He does not forbid tongues — 'do not forbid speaking in tongues' (14:39) — but insists they be exercised with love, order, and concern for others' edification.

Major theological positions

Continuationism (Pentecostal, Charismatic, and many non-denominational churches): All spiritual gifts, including tongues, continue today. The gift of tongues is a valid expression of the Holy Spirit's work — both as a prayer language for personal edification and as a public gift requiring interpretation. Many Pentecostals go further, teaching that tongues are the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit — that every Spirit-filled believer will speak in tongues (based on the pattern in Acts 2, 10, 19).

Cessationism (many Reformed, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches): The miraculous gifts (tongues, prophecy, healing) ceased with the apostolic age — either when the last apostle died or when the New Testament canon was completed. Paul's statement that tongues 'will be stilled' (1 Corinthians 13:8) is taken as a prediction of their cessation once the 'perfect' (13:10) — often interpreted as the completed canon — arrived. Modern tongues-speaking is attributed to psychological phenomena, learned behavior, or cultural conditioning rather than the Holy Spirit.

Open but cautious (a growing middle position): These believers acknowledge that the Bible does not clearly teach cessation but also note that many modern claims of tongues do not match the biblical pattern (recognizable languages, orderly use, always with interpretation in public). They remain open to genuine manifestations while exercising discernment.

What kind of 'tongues'?

A significant question is whether the tongues in Acts (recognizable foreign languages) and the tongues in 1 Corinthians (which Paul says 'no one understands,' 14:2) are the same phenomenon.

Some scholars argue they are the same — real human languages in both cases, with 'no one understands' meaning simply that no one in the Corinthian congregation happened to speak that language.

Others argue that Paul describes a different phenomenon — glossolalia, a Spirit-given utterance that is not a human language but a heavenly or angelic language (Paul mentions 'tongues of angels' in 13:1). This would explain why interpretation is a separate gift — it is not translation of a known language but Spirit-enabled understanding of a supernatural utterance.

Why tongues matter

The tongues debate matters because it touches the broader question: how does the Holy Spirit work in the church today? Is the Spirit's activity limited to illuminating Scripture and producing moral fruit, or does the Spirit also manifest in dramatic, supernatural ways? Christians on both sides agree that the Holy Spirit is active, that the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is the primary evidence of spiritual maturity, and that love is greater than any gift (1 Corinthians 13). The debate is about the mode of the Spirit's activity, not His reality. Paul's counsel remains the wisest guide: 'Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit' (14:1) — in that order.