Tongues

The gift first appears dramatically at Pentecost, where the apostles spoke and "each one heard their own language being spoken" (Acts 2:4-6) — a clearly identifiable, real human language, unlearned by the speaker but understood by hearers from other nations. Paul addresses the gift extensively in 1 Corinthians 12-14, where the Greek word glossa simply means "language" or "tongue." In Corinth, the gift seems to have functioned somewhat differently than at Pentecost — more often a Spirit-given utterance addressed to God in prayer or worship, requiring interpretation to be understood by the gathered church (1 Corinthians 14:2, 13-14).

This is probably the most contested of the five sign gifts, and the disagreement runs deeper than most. Faithful Christians differ not only on whether the gift continues but on exactly what it consists of, even in the New Testament itself.

The two views, stated fairly

Cessationists generally hold that this gift — along with the other sign gifts — served to authenticate the apostles' message during the foundational period of the church and ceased once that period ended. Some additionally read 1 Corinthians 13:8-10's statement that tongues "will cease" as pointing to a specific, bounded timeframe (sometimes linked to the completion of the New Testament canon or, in some older interpretations, to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70), after which the gift was no longer given.

Continuationists hold that tongues continue among believers today, generally understood either as real human languages (consistent with Acts 2) or, in the view held by many charismatic and Pentecostal traditions, as Spirit-given prayer or worship language not necessarily tied to any known human tongue. This view notes that 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 ties the cessation of tongues, prophecy, and knowledge together with the arrival of something "perfect" or "complete," which continuationists generally read as Christ's return rather than the closing of the biblical canon — meaning, in their reading, none of these gifts has yet reached its stated end point.

Both views agree on Paul's actual instructions for the gift's use: it should never be exercised chaotically or without interpretation in a gathered church setting (1 Corinthians 14:27-28, 40, "everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way"), and it should never be treated as a status symbol or a mark of superior spirituality — Paul explicitly ranks it below prophecy in value for the gathered church precisely because, without interpretation, it doesn't edify others (1 Corinthians 14:1-5).

What practicing this gift well looks like

In continuationist settings, this typically looks like private prayer or worship in tongues as a devotional discipline (which Paul permits personally, 1 Corinthians 14:4, 14), and, in corporate settings, only with a qualified interpreter present, exercised in an orderly way rather than disrupting the gathering. In cessationist settings, the equivalent devotion is expressed through other means — fervent prayer in one's own language, worship, and spiritual disciplines that don't claim this specific gift.

It's worth noting that even within continuationist churches, there is internal diversity on the finer details — some hold that New Testament tongues were always real human languages and expect the same today, while others, citing Paul's description of tongues as sometimes "the tongues... of angels" (1 Corinthians 13:1) and his reference to the human spirit praying in ways the mind doesn't fully grasp (1 Corinthians 14:14), hold that the gift can also include a Spirit-given prayer language not reducible to any known language. This is a secondary question even among those who affirm the gift's continuation, not a settled, uniform position.

Common misconceptions

A persistent misconception is that tongues are simply ecstatic, meaningless babble — both biblical pictures of the gift, the real languages at Pentecost and the Spirit-prompted utterances in Corinth, are presented as meaningful communication, not nonsense. Another misconception, held by some within charismatic circles themselves but not required by either major view, is that speaking in tongues is proof of a "second blessing" or evidence of a deeper spiritual life that other believers lack — a claim most continuationist scholars reject as going beyond what Scripture actually teaches.

For a reader trying to sort through the debate honestly, it helps to notice what both views actually share: deep respect for Paul's own words on the subject, a shared conviction that love matters more than any spiritual experience, and a shared concern that worship gatherings remain orderly and intelligible to everyone present, including visitors unfamiliar with any gift being exercised (1 Corinthians 14:23, Paul's concern that an outsider might conclude the whole church "is out of your mind").

Growing in and stewarding this gift

Wherever this gift is practiced, Paul's own instructions remain the standard: value love and the building up of others above the experience itself (1 Corinthians 13, sitting directly between two chapters on tongues, is no accident), seek interpretation before speaking publicly, and never treat this gift as something to measure spiritual maturity by.

The shadow side

This gift's shadow, clearly on display even in the Corinthian church Paul was writing to, is disorder and spiritual pride — using the gift to draw attention to oneself, speaking over others, or implying that those without this experience are somehow lesser believers. Paul corrects this directly and at length, which is itself a caution against letting this gift become divisive.

The body needs this gift

Whatever a church believes about its continuation, the deeper truth behind it — that the gospel crosses every language and culture, and that the Spirit enables believers to pray and worship beyond their own natural capacity — matters to the whole body of Christ, a body that, per Revelation 7:9, will one day include "every nation, tribe, people and language" worshiping together.