About speaking in tongues

“The point is that it’s not up to the individual to determine which gifts he or she wants. And just because all believers may want to speak in tongues doesn’t mean that they will. It is God “who apportions to each one individually as he wills”.” Justin This commentator, who goes simply by the name, “Justin”, is clear and concise, presenting some extremely useful insights, all of them delivered with a southern twang: https://thespiritsearches.com/do-all-speak-in-tongues/ Do All Speak in Tongues? June 23, 2023 | Justin This article is part of my resource titled: An In-Depth Study of the Nature, Purpose, and Duration of Tongues. …. Many charismatics make the claim that it’s God’s will for all believers to speak in tongues. What then can be said for the multitude of Christians who have not experienced this phenomena? Do they simply lack the faith to receive this gift? If such is the case, then what can be said of all the great men throughout church history who did not possess this ability? Are we to assume that their faith was too small even though God used them in mighty ways to advance his kingdom on earth? And what are we to make of those in the early church; those who we read about in the book of Acts who have nothing of the miraculous and supernatural sort attached to their record? Reason would suggest that if it was God’s will for all to receive the gift of tongues, then certainly all of those who were alive during this time period would have done so. But such is not the case. For whatever reason it seems that God has chosen this current generation to generously bestow this blessing upon; that all who call upon his name not only shall be saved, but given the ability to speak in tongues, an ability withheld from the majority of Christians ever since Christianity became a thing. Throughout this lesson, we’ll explore what Scripture has to say about the distribution of spiritual gifts and hopefully dispel the idea that all believers have the ability to speak in tongues. What About Mark 16? The primary text that proponents of this view point to is Mark 16:16-18. Here Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” In a previous lesson we discussed this passage at length so I won’t do so again here. However, we will examine it briefly for the sake of supporting our argument. First of all, the legitimacy of this passage is questionable. With regards to verses 9-20, Robert Gromacki in his book The Modern Tongues Movement says that “no Greek manuscript earlier than the fifth century has it.” Meaning that the oldest, and presumably more accurate manuscripts of Mark 16 don’t contain this passage. Although this isn’t enough to dogmatically assert that it isn’t inspired, we shouldn’t base our understanding of any particular doctrine on it, especially that of tongues. Furthermore, if this passage does indeed testify to the fact that every individual believer ought to speak in tongues, then likewise they should cast out demons, handle serpents and drink poison innocuously, and heal the sick at will. No right minded believer can make the claim that such is the case, nor that God intended it to be. If he did, then why don’t we see this taking place throughout the entirety of church history? Has God’s intended will for the believer been failing only to succeed with the believers of the last 100 years or so? I doubt it. And lastly, the “those who believe” of this passage cannot refer to every individual believer. In fact, it points more strongly towards the apostles exclusively since the bulk of the miracles we read about in the New Testament are attributed to them. There are some cases where people other than the apostles speak in tongues and or perform miracles but they are few and far between in comparison. In another previous lesson, A Timeline of Tongues Throughout the Book of Acts, I reference close to two dozen passages where believers and new believers are mentioned who are never said to have spoken in tongues or performed anything miraculous as the result of their faith in Christ. That being said, Mark 16 does not support the theory that all believers can or should speak in tongues for not even every believer mentioned in the New Testament did so. If such was not the standard then, by what means does it become so today? God’s Sovereignty Over Spiritual Gifts Many charismatics will say that in order for someone to speak in tongues, they have to sincerely desire the gift, that they have to pray for it and seek after it in order to receive it. This is contrary to what Paul says about the reception of spiritual gifts. After giving a list of spiritual gifts, including tongues, in 1 Corinthians 12:4-10, Paul says in v.11 that “all these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” It is God who determines who receives which spiritual gifts. Therefore nothing we say or do can bring it about. If God intended for us to have it, we would have it without having to beg and plead for it. Consider the apostles on the day of Pentecost. Do we read of them begging God for the ability to speak in tongues? What about Cornelius and his household? Did they do likewise? And what of the disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus? Did they pray vehemently and with great desire prior to being granted their ability? The answer is no. (See Acts 2, Acts 10, & Acts 19) The point is that it’s not up to the individual to determine which gifts he or she wants. And just because all believers may want to speak in tongues doesn’t mean that they will. It is God “who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” The Body of Christ and the Physical Body After pointing out God’s sovereignty in the distribution of spiritual gifts, Paul makes a contrast between the body of Christ and the physical body for the sake of demonstrating that not all believers receive the same gifts. Consider the following verses: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ…For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 1 Corinthians 12:12,14-20 The entire point of Paul’s words here is to make it clear that not every believer would have the same gifts and that that’s ok. If the entire physical body consisted of a single member, say the foot, then “where would the body be?” There wouldn’t be one. Unless the body is made up of many different members it isn’t complete. So it is with the body of Christ. If every member had the same gift, say speaking in tongues, then the body would be incomplete. That being said, it goes against Paul’s teaching here to assume that all believers can speak in tongues. Are we also to assume that all believers can interpret tongues, utter words of wisdom or knowledge, prophesy, perform miracles or do any of the other things listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-10? Why would we? For what does the text say? “For to one is given through the Spirit…” not “to all is given.” It is no more fitting that the entire body of Christ speak in tongues than it is for the human body to consist of merely an eye. Paul’s Rhetorical Questions After making his contrast between the physical body and the body of Christ Paul goes on to say the following: “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” 1 Corinthians 12:27-30 Paul’s emphasis on God’s sovereignty in distributing spiritual gifts and positions is stressed again here. By asking this series of rhetorical questions he clearly demonstrates that it’s not God’s will for all of God’s people to have the same roles and gifts as one another. It’s God that “has appointed in the church” by his divine decree apostles, prophets, teachers, tongue speakers and so on. The diversity of roles and gifts within the body of Christ are part of God’s will. To say that all believers can speak in tongues is to go against God’s strategy for equipping the church with gifts vital to its function. “Are all apostles?”, asks Paul. The obvious answer is no. And no is the answer to the rest of his rhetorical questions. Not all believers can speak in tongues any more than all believers can be apostles. If we’re going to answer “yes” to Paul’s questions about whether or not all can speak in tongues then we have to be willing to answer “yes” to the rest of his questions. But to make the claim that all can be apostles is not one that even most charismatics would make. Believers from every denomination easily recognize the unique role the apostles played in laying the foundations of the church (Ephesians 2:20). Once the original apostles died there were none to take their place. So why would we say that all believers can speak in tongues if we can’t make the same claim to apostleship, to being a prophet, to being a teacher and so on? This inconsistency is only one of many which plague the charismatic movement and cloud their judgment with regards to speaking in tongues. The Unfortunate Masses of the Early Church If speaking in tongues is meant to be something which every believer can and ought to do, then surely we should hope to find confirmation of this in the New Testament record. However, upon scouring the pages of Acts we find very little evidence of this being the case. There is very little in the book of Acts to suggest that speaking in tongues was the normative experience for all believers. In fact, it’s episodic, occurring explicitly only three times and inexplicitly four. (See Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, & Acts 19) Take for example the 3000 souls on the day of Pentecost which were added to the church. Nothing is said of them speaking in tongues (Acts 2:38-39,41). The lame beggar who was healed and presumably converted upon this experience isn’t said to have spoken in tongues (Acts 3:1-10). The Ethiopian eunuch who was saved and baptized after having the Scriptures explained to him by Philip didn’t speak in tongues but rather “went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39). “All the residents of Lydda and Sharon…who turned to the Lord” aren’t said to have spoken in tongues (Acts 9:32-35) and on and on it goes all throughout the book of Acts. More often than not when believers are mentioned throughout this book, there is nothing to suggest that anything supernatural occurred. Of course, one may argue that this is an argument from silence but to counter this argument would be to argue from assumption. To assume that all these believers did in fact speak in tongues is to eisegete the text, meaning that instead of letting the text speak for itself one’s own opinion, thoughts or assumptions are inserted into the text, making it mean what they want it to mean. This is a dangerous practice and leads to many misunderstandings about Scripture. If the charismatic wishes to dogmatically claim that the normative experience for all believers is to speak in tongues, they’ll have to find support for their theory outside of Scripture. Their assumptions prove nothing. Too Much of a Good Thing is a Bad Thing Finally, if speaking in tongues was something all believers are supposed to do, then why the prohibitions? In 1 Corinthians 14:27 Paul says that, “If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret.” And again a few verses prior Paul says, “If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” (1 Corinthians 14:23). It doesn’t seem right that God would intend for every believer to speak in tongues when the result, according to Paul, is that people will assess the church as a gathering of mad men. After all, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Final Thoughts The claim that all believers can or ought to speak in tongues is not based on sound biblical exegesis. It stems from a charismatic presupposition which insists on the events of the early church being normative for the church in every consecutive age. There is nothing within the text, however, to suggest that God meant for these signs and wonders to continue indefinitely or that every believer was in possession of the gift of tongues, or that every future believer would come to acquire it. The sign of tongues, along with the rest of the supernatural phenomena we read about in the New Testament, was given to confirm the validity of the Gospel message as truly being from God. These signs also validated the apostles as being the vessels through which God was speaking and working. Without these signs, the words of the apostles would have fallen on deaf ears just as the words of Moses would have had not God given him the ability to perform signs in the sight of the people of Israel (Exodus 4:1-9). [End of article] On Gospel validity, read the following (2012) article: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/gospel-validity-messages The Gospel Validity of the Messages The following is an excerpt from the revised edition of Tell My Priests, by Fr. George W. Kosicki, CSB (Marian Press, 2012), which gathers the words our Lord spoke to priests about His mercy as revealed to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: The six messages of our Lord and Our Lady addressed to St. Faustina in regard to priests are entirely in keeping with Pope John Paul II's criterion for acceptable private revelations. They contain "a truth and a call whose basic content is the truth and call of the Gospel itself" (Homily at Fatima, 1982). This Gospel dimension of the messages can be most clearly seen by re-examining each message, isolating a few key words that summarize its basic content, and then comparing these key words to some of the many texts of the Old and New Testaments that speak of trust in God and of His mercy. I desire that priests proclaim this great mercy of Mine towards souls of sinners. Let the sinner not be afraid to approach Me. The flames of mercy are burning Me - clamoring to be spent; I want to pour them out upon these souls (Diary, 50). Key Words: • Preach the Lord's great mercy • Reach out to sinners • Tell them of God's desire to be merciful Mt 4:17 "From that time on Jesus began to proclaim this theme: 'Reform your lives! The kingdom of God is at hand.'" Mt 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who are weary and I will refresh you. Take My yoke upon your shoulders and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for My yoke is easy and My burden light." Lk 6:36: "Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate." Jn 19:28 "I am thirsty." Rom 10:12b-15b All have the same Lord, rich in mercy towards all who call upon Him. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe unless they have heard of Him? And how can they hear unless there is someone to preach? And how can men preach unless they are sent? Lk 15:32 Prodigal Son - "But we had to celebrate and rejoice! This brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life. He was lost, and is found." My daughter, speak to priests about this inconceivable mercy of Mine. The flames of mercy are burning Me - clamoring to be spent; I want to keep pouring them out upon souls; souls just don't want to believe in My goodness (Diary, 177). Key Words: • Priests themselves need to know the Lord's mercy and trust Him. Jn 13:1 He loved His own in this world, and would show His love for them to the end [utmost]. Jn 15:13 "There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." Jn 15:15 "... I call you friends since I have made known to you all that I heard from My Father." No soul will be justified until it turns with confidence to My mercy, and this is why the first Sunday after Easter is to be the Feast of Mercy. On that day, priests are to tell everyone about My great and unfathomable mercy. I am making you the administrator of My mercy. Tell the confessor that the image is to be on view in the church and not within the enclosure in that convent. By means of this image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so let everyone have access to it (Diary, 570). Key Words: • Souls need mercy for salvation. • The Feast of Mercy is a day of forgiveness and atonement. • Priests are to tell everyone of the Lord's great mercy. • The image of The Divine Mercy (Jesus with His hand raised in blessing) is a vessel of grace. Gal 2:20b [He] loved me and gave Himself for me. 2 Cor 5:14-15 The love of Christ impels us who have reached the conviction that since one died for all, all died. He died for all so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised up. Jn 20:19-23 On the evening of that first day of the week, even though the disciples had locked the doors of the place where they were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood before them. "Peace be with you," He said. When He had said this, He showed them His hands and side. At the sight of the Lord the disciples rejoiced. "Peace be with you," He said again. "As the Father has sent Me, so I send you." Then He breathed on them and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are bound." Sir 50:14-21 (Simon, the high priest, on the day of atonement:) Once he had completed the services at the altar with the arranging of the sacrifices for the Most High, and had stretched forth his hand for the cup, to offer blood of the grape, and poured it out at the foot of the altar ... The sons of Aaron would sound a blast ... as a reminder before the Most High. Then all the people with one accord would quickly fall prostrate to the ground in adoration before the Most High, before the Holy One of Israel. ... All the people of the land would shout for joy, praying to the Merciful One. ... Then coming down he [the high priest] would raise his hands over the congregation of Israel. The blessing of the Lord would be upon his lips, the name of the Lord [Yahweh] would be his glory. Then again the people would lie prostrate to receive from him the blessing of the Most High. Lk 24:50-52 Then He led them out near Bethany, and with His hands upraised, blessed them. As He blessed them, He left them, and was taken up to heaven. They fell down to do Him reverence. Acts 3:26 When God raised up His servant, He sent Him first to bless you by turning you from your evil ways. Say unceasingly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he recites this chaplet only once, he will receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy (Diary, 687). Key Words: • Pray the chaplet • Recommend the chaplet to the dying to sinners • The Lord wants the whole world to know to receive to trust in - His infinite mercy • Words of the chaplet: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. 1 Jn 2:2 He is an offering [atonement] for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for those of the whole world. 1 Cor 10:16 Is not the cup of blessing we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Is 6:3 "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts!" they cried one to another. "All the earth is filled with His glory!" Is 57:15 For thus says He who is high and exalted, living eternally, whose name is the Holy One: On high I dwell, and in holiness, and with the crushed and dejected in spirit, to revive the spirits of the rejected, to revive the hearts of the crushed. 1 Pt 2:5 You too are living stones, built as an edifice of spirit, into a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Heb 13:15-16 Through Him let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which acknowledge His name. Do not neglect good deeds and generosity: God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind. Heb 13:20-21 May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus Christ our Lord, furnish you with all that is good, that you may do His will. Heb 4:16 So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and find help in time of need. Mt 5:7 "Blest are they that show mercy; mercy shall be theirs." Mt 6:33 "Seek first His kingship over you, His way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides." Lk 12:32-34 "Do not live in fear, little flock. It has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. ... Wherever your treasure lies, there your heart will be." Eph 2:4-5 God is rich in mercy; because of His great love for us He brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin. 2 Cor 1:3-4 Praised be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consola tion! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from Him. 2 Cor 1:9-11 We were left to feel like men condemned to death so that we might trust, not in ourselves, but in God who raised the dead. He rescued us from the danger of death and will continue to do so. We have put our hope in Him who will never cease to deliver us. But you must help us with your prayers, so that on our behalf God may be thanked for the gifts granted us through the prayers of so many. Rom 11:32-36 God has imprisoned all in disobedience that He might have mercy on all. How deep are the riches and the wisdom of God! How inscrutable His judgments, how unsearchable His ways! For "who has been His counselor? Who has given Him anything so as to deserve return?" For from Him and for Him all things are. To Him be glory forever. Amen. Tell My priests that hardened sinners will repent on hearing their words, when they speak about My unfathomable mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My Heart. To priests who will proclaim and extol My mercy, I will give wondrous power, and I will anoint their words and touch the hearts of those to whom they will speak (Diary, 1521). Key Words: • Glorify the Lord's mercy • Proclaim His mercy • Wondrous power will be given • Hearts will be opened Mk 6:12-13 With that they went off, preaching the need of repentance. They expelled many demons, anointed the sick with oil, and worked many cures. Jn 14:12 "I solemnly assure you, the man who has faith in Me will do the works I do and greater than these." Acts 2:37-38 When they heard this, they were deeply shaken. They asked Peter and the other apostles, "What are we to do brothers?" Peter answered: "You must reform and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, that your sins may be forgiven; then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 3:6-8 Then Peter said: "I have neither silver nor gold but what I have I give you! In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazorean, walk!" Then Peter took him by the right hand and pulled him up. Immediately the begger's feet and ankles became strong; he jumped up, stood up for a moment, then began to walk around. He went into the temple with them - walking, jumping about, and giving praise to God. A vision of the Mother of God. In the midst of a great brilliance, I saw the Mother of God clothed in a white gown, girt about with a golden cincture; and there were tiny stars, also of gold, over the whole garment, and chevron-shaped sleeves lined with gold. Her cloak was sky-blue, lightly thrown over the shoulders. A transpar- ent veil was delicately drawn over her head, while her flowing hair was set off beautifully by a golden crown which terminated in little crosses. On her left arm she held the Child Jesus. A Blessed Mother of this type I had not yet seen. Then she looked at me kindly and said, I am the Mother of God of Priests. At that, she lowered Jesus from her arm to the ground, raised Her right hand heavenward and said: "O God, bless Poland, bless priests. Then she addressed me once again: Tell the priests what you have seen. I resolved that at the very first opportunity [I would have] of seeing Father [Andrasz] I would tell; but I myself can make nothing of this vision (Diary, 1585). Key Words: • Mary is Mother of God and our mother • Be witnesses of what you have seen Jn 19:26-27 Seeing His mother there with the disciple whom He loved, Jesus said to His mother, "Woman, there is your son." In turn He said to His disciple, "There is your mother." From that hour onward, the disciple took her into his care. Jn 19:34 One of the soldiers thrust a lance into His side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. This testimony has been given by an eye witness, and his testimony is true. He tells what he knows is true, so that you may believe. Lk 1:49-50 "God who is mighty has done great things for me, holy is His name; His mercy is from age to age on those who fear Him." Acts 1:14 Together they devoted themselves to constant prayer. There were some women in their company, and Mary the mother of Jesus and His brothers. In regard to the stars on our Lady's robe and her royal dignity, consider these passages: Dn 12:3 But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to jus tice shall be like the stars forever. Ps 45:10 The queen stands at your right hand arrayed in cloth of gold (Feast of the Queenship of Mary. Entrance Antiphon). As we reflect on the relationship between the Gospel and Divine Mercy, we close with this amazing, power-packed statement of Pope Benedict XVI from his Regina Caeli message on Divine Mercy Sunday in 2008: Indeed, mercy is the central nucleus of the Gospel message; it is the very name of God, the Face with which he revealed himself in the Old Covenant and fully in Jesus Christ, the incarnation of creative and redemptive Love. May this merciful love also shine on the face of the Church and show itself through the sacraments, in particular that of Reconciliation, and in works of charity, both communitarian and individual. May all that the Church says and does manifest the mercy God feels for man, and therefore for us. When the Church has to recall and unrecog- nized truth or a betrayed good, she always does so impelled by merciful love, so that men and women may have life and have it abundantly (cf. Jn 10:10). From Divine Mercy, which brings peace to hearts, genuine peace flows into the world, peace between different peoples, cultures and religions.