Ask The Pastor: What Does The Bible Say About Speaking In Tongues?

As a pastor I get a lot of interesting questions as you might imagine.  I thought I’d start answering some of those questions.  I’ve gotten this question about tongues several times.  So here’s what I’ve come to know about this topic by simply reading what’s written in the Bible.    

Many of us have come across videos online showing pastors and church leaders speaking in what they describe as tongues. These videos often show individuals speaking rapidly in sounds that bear no resemblance to any known human language, sometimes with large crowds responding emotionally, and with no interpreter present anywhere in the room. It is worth pausing and asking a straightforward question. 

Does what we are seeing in those videos match what Scripture actually describes? 

In a word.  No. 

If we want to understand the gift of tongues, the right place to begin is where Scripture introduces it — the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, something remarkable happened. Acts 2:4 tells us that they "began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

But what exactly were those tongues?  Scripture does not leave us to wonder. Acts 2:5-6 tells us that devout Jews from every nation were gathered in Jerusalem, and when they heard the sound, "a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken." These were not mysterious, unknowable utterances. They were recognizable human languages spoken by real people.  Acts 2:9-11 goes even further by listing the nations represented there.

The crowd's own words in verse 11 confirm exactly what was happening: "we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" These were real people hearing the gospel proclaimed in their own native languages.  The miracle of Pentecost was a miracle of communication — God's message crossing every language barrier with perfect clarity. This is the biblical foundation for understanding the gift of tongues. It was not an unintelligible utterance. It was a known, human language being spoken by someone who had never learned it.

The gift of tongues is a gift of communication.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 to lay out very specific, practical guidelines for how tongues were to function in the gathered church. These guidelines are precise enough that they give us a clear biblical measuring stick.  In 1 Corinthians 14:9, Paul writes: "Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air." Intelligibility was not optional. If words spoken in a tongue could not be understood by those present, Paul says they accomplish nothing — they are simply noise directed at no one.  This is why Paul insists on interpretation. Verse 13 says: "For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say." Verses 27-28 make this even more explicit: "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." 

Notice the precision of Paul's instruction. Tongues in the church required an interpreter. Without interpretation, the speaker was to remain silent. There was also a strict limit — no more than two or three speakers, taking turns, never speaking simultaneously or in chaos. Paul summarizes the entire principle in verse 40: "But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." 

The standard Paul sets is unmistakable: intelligibility, interpretation, order, and edification of the whole body. Every one of those requirements matters.

That’s not what I’ve seen in many of these videos.  What many of those videos display is a performance that, however sincere the individuals involved may be, does not align with the biblical pattern God established.

The gift of tongues is a biblical reality. Acts 2 makes that plain. But so are the guidelines God has given for it. Paul wrote these guidelines precisely because the Corinthian church had allowed spiritual gifts to become disordered, self-focused, and disconnected from their God-given purpose. What he wrote then speaks just as directly to what we are seeing today. 

In a world where videos of dramatic religious experiences are only a click away, the most grounding thing we can do is return to the text. Let the Word be your anchor. Let it be the measure by which you evaluate everything you see and hear — online and off. When Scripture speaks this clearly, we can trust it completely, and we do not need to look anywhere else for our standard.

~Pastor Todd Creason