There are definitely accounts of people speaking in tongues in the Bible where no interpreter was present. For example, Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:44) and the conversions at Ephesus (Acts 19:1-4). Indeed, the comment about needing an interpreter for tongues, stems from a misunderstanding of 1 Corinthians 14 where it says "…if any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most three,…and let one interpret…".

In meetings, it doesn't really happen much, maybe because of that reason. I imagine it goes on more in private than in our meetings. And the few times I have heard it during a meeting, it didn't really affect the rest of the meeting one way or another.

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were speaking recognisable languages and God went so far as to ratify this by having many witnesses there at the day of Pentecost to testify to the fact that they were speaking identifiable languages. We are told however, that some of the languages given by God may not necessarily be identifiable by man since He said that there would be tongues of men and of angels (1 Corinthians 13:1).

Those who would wish to deny others the experience of receiving the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues often quote 1 Corinthians 14:11 which says (in relation to speaking in tongues) "…therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaks a barbarian, and he that speaks shall be a barbarian unto me". Here Paul is not squashing the use of tongues but rather expressing concerns about the misuse of tongues.

we have previously discussed, speaking in tongues is designed by God for speaking to Him and to no other (1 Corinthians 14:2). In James we are told that the tongue is an unruly member that no man can tame - on the one hand we can praise God with it and the next we can curse our brother (James 3:3-13). It is not surprising that God has chosen to tame and take control of the most unruly member of our body and use it to create a new language, pure and undefiled with which we might speak to Him.

The Bible says quite clearly that a person must have the Holy Spirit to be saved. For example, "…Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9), and "…Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). As we have said before "these signs shall follow them that believe …they shall speak in new tongues" (Mark 16:15-20).

Jesus lived under the Old Testament Law, of which tongues was not a part (although it was prophesied in it, in Isaiah 28:11). He came to usher in the New Testament, but not actually live it in person. In Acts 1 and Mark 16, Jesus indicated that tongues would be one of the signs that would follow New Testament believers. Hence speaking in tongues was neither a part of the law nor of Jesus' personal ministry.

Speaking and singing in tongues is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit given by God to an individual to express praise, worship, and prayer back to God in a language understood by Him, but not by the individual. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth,... I will pray with my spirit, and I will pray with my understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

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