Berean Fact Sheet Number 012

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Teaching Tongues?
Copyright © 2000, 2006 by Larry G. Overton

I received a curious and somewhat disturbing email not long ago (11/4/99). The subject heading this person chose was, and I quote, “plz send me a simpliefied [sic] speaking in tongues.” The body of the message read simply

hi would you teach me to speak in tongues plz?

Within a twelve-hour time span, I read this email, wrote a response and emailed it to the address given. It immediately came back to me as “Returned mail: User unknown.” Even before my emailed response came back to me as returned mail, I thought to myself, “This would make a good Fact Sheet.” After the circumstances left me no other way to respond to this query, I decided to act on my impulse and turn my response into this Fact Sheet. Here, then, for all to see, is my response. (If you’re still out there in cyber space, I hope you read this.)

Hello. In response to your question, “would you teach me to speak in tongues,” my answer is, “I can't.” I could possibly teach you how to mimic the manifestation gift of tongues, but I won’t. When it comes right down to it, I can't “teach” you to implement a gift of the Spirit. If you receive the manifestation of speaking in tongues, it will be because the Holy Spirit distributed this gift to you according to His own will (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). If you speak in tongues, it will be because the Spirit is giving you utterance (Acts 2:4).

Your question implies that all Christians may speak in tongues, and that it is just a matter of learning to release the gift. This is a commonly accepted doctrine amongst Pentecostals and Charismatics. However, I do not believe this to be true. Please don’t misunderstand me on this. Just because I do not agree with my Pentecostal and Charismatic brethren on their theological system of belief in gifts does not mean that I believe that miracles and gifts ceased after the close of the apostolic era. I do believe that miraculous manifestations of the Spirit of God are available for 21st century believers.

When it comes to believing that speaking in tongues is not for everyone, one Scripture reference in particular settles the issue for me. In 1 Corinthians 12:30, Paul asks the question, “All do not speak with tongues, do they?” [NASB] There are two reasons I know that the correct answer to that question is “No.”

REASON # 1 -- The grammar of the Greek New Testament tells me to expect a negative answer to this question. The first word of this question in the Greek is mē [μη] (pronounced mee), which is a particle of negation. The grammar of Greek stipulates that when the particle mē is used in a question, a negative answer is expected.

REASON # 2 -- The context of this statement in this verse tells me that the answer to the question “Do all speak in tongues?” [NIV] is “No.” Verse 29 asks, “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?” And then the first part of verse 30 asks, “Do all have gifts of healings?” Even if you don't know Greek grammar, you know the answer to each of these questions. Of course we know that not all are apostles or prophets or teachers, etc. The question concerning all speaking in tongues is tucked neatly into this same category. Obviously, then, all do not speak in tongues. According to this passage of Scripture, if one claims that we may all speak in tongues, then in order to be consistent with this passage he must also conclude that all are also apostles and prophets and teachers and miracle workers.

Earlier in this same chapter (1 Corinthians 12), the apostle Paul enumerates the nine manifestation gifts (or manifestations of the Spirit) in verses 8-10, emphasizing the Spirit’s own will in the distribution process (verses 7, 11). Here are those five verses, translated literally from the Greek.

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the sake of the common good. 8 For to one through the Spirit is given a word of wisdom, and to another a word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 and to a different one faith in the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healings in the same Spirit, 10 and to another workings of powers, and to another prophecies, and to another discernings of spirits, and to a different one kinds of tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues. 11 And all these are the work of the one and the same Spirit, dividing individually to each one just as He wills. [LGO]

These various gifts are listed in a contrasting way: “For to one…to another…to a different one…” This underscores the fact that not everyone gets the same gift. This definitely applies to the manifestation gift of tongues, which appears in this list. Not everyone in the body of Christ speaks in tongues.

So, my counsel to you on this subject is this: Relax. Be open to the possibility that God may give you utterance in a language you have not studied, but don’t try to make it happen. And if He doesn’t give you a manifestation of speaking in tongues, then earnestly desire the gifts that He does have for you.

For more information of the manifestation gift of speaking in tongues, see “Manifestation Gifts:  Lesson 9 ~ Kinds of Tongues ” (http://larryoverton.com/berean/outline9.htm), one of my Bible study outlines on my web site pertaining to the manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Hope this helps.

In Christ,

Larry G. Overton
Berean Bible Study Pages (http://larryoverton.com/)