To God be the glory!

Caron Strong
Los Angeles, CA

You cited verses 4 and 5 as if self edification via this method is somehow a good thing. Again, you’re losing the point of the admonishment. Our walk with Christ is about DENIAL OF SELF AND HELPING OTHERS, Luke 9:23, Matthew 23:11. And it is made clear in verses 4 and 5, that we are to seek to EDIFY OTHERS, edify the church, not ourselves. You’ve avoided some key verses in this chapter that speak against your claims. Let’s start with verse 1:

1 Corinthians 14:1 NASB

1 Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

The point is to take focus from tongues that were being used with no understanding by anyone, to working in gifts that edify the church body.  Not someone engaging in self indulgence.

1 Corinthians 14:6-9 NASB

6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching? 7 Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp? 8 For if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? 9 So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.

You understand that someone speaking in tongues in public without anyone being able to understand is bad, but you feel for someone to speak in tongues to themselves saying things they DON’T UNDERSTAND is good. You see the issue when speaking to others, but are missing the point in terms of someone doing it alone. If it’s BAD for you to babble to others without them understanding, it’s of NO PROFIT for you to babble to yourself.  The real issue is that many are claiming the gift of tongues and don’t have it in the first place, so all they are doing is babbling.  See verse 7 above, if lifeless instruments do not produce a distinct sound, nobody knows what was played. If the bugle does not make a distinct sound, who knows to prepare for battle? If babbling to myself or others, if nobody understands what was said, it’s fruitless, to me if done alone and others if done in the open. As verse 9 notes, if you don’t know what you said, you just babbled in the wind. It is made clear that every language is a LANGUAGE ON EARTH WITH MEANING.

1 Corinthians 14:10 NASB

10 There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning.

So when someone babbles, it’s not some special language not undertood by any human, it’s common babble.

1 Corinthians 14:11-13 NASB

11 If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me. 12 So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church. 13 Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.

Again we see that if someone REALLY HAS THE GIFT OF TONGUES, WHICH THOSE CLAIMING TO HAVE THE FULL GIFT OF TONGUES TODAY HAVE NOT PROVEN BECAUSE THEY SPEAK NO ACTUAL LANGUAGE, they are to seek to be able to actually interpret. A real issue today is many claiming to speak in tongues when they don’t have the gift of tongues to begin with. They never display any ability to minister to any unbeliever of another language, ever.   I figure if anyone REALLY has the gift of tongues at this moment, they are doing ministry in some remote area, but the Lord grants gifts as He deems appropriate.  We can’t point to a single person who claims the gift of tongues, that we can ever record doing ministry with their claimed gift.

1 Corinthians 14:14-15 NASB

14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.

Any time a Christian prays, their spirit prays and the Holy Spirit makes intercesion through Christ.

Romans 8:26-27 (New American Standard Bible)

26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Notice the Spirit intercedes and He who searches hearts and knows the mind of the Spirit (Christ) intercedes for saints (to the Father) according to the will of God. So the fullness of the Trinity is in action every time a saint prays.  Whether or not the person praying is clear in what they said or not, the Spirit prays in intercession, given the person is trying to communicate with God, but we don’t know how to pray properly. This does not require or even involve tongues, it is the case with all beleivers when they pray. So praying in the Spirit does not require tongues. To pray in the spirit and with understanding is to simply pray knowing what I said. If I pray not knowing what I said, I’m thinking of things to God and the Spirit might make intercession, but there’s unnessesary activity void of understanding. The tongues are of no profit when nobody including the speaker knows what they said, even if in private alone.

1 Corinthians 14:16-17 NASB

16 Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.

So if I bless without anyone knowing what was said nobody can come in agreement with me. I can bless in the spirit by simply thinking the blessing, but nobody else benefits. Notice, I can bless in the spirit without someone else understanding, by knowing what I said in my own head and not vocalizing it for others to come in agreement. So I’ve given thanks and blessed and left everyone else out. Same can be done by someone speaking in tongues that nobody knows and in the head of the speaker they are thinking blessings. Really it’s meaningless babble, because the tongues have brought no benefit, whether done in public or private. Because even if done in private, there is no understanding.  So it’s best to do things and fully understand what you did.

1 Corinthians 14:18-19 NASB

18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Paul, being an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, knew better than to do something unfruitful. So when he spoke in tongues IT WAS TO MINISTER and when he prayed he prayed in the spirit and with understanding. He prayed knowing exactly what he said. He did not speak in tongues to people who had no idea what he said and he didn’t speak in tongues alone not knowing what he said. He used tongues as the ministry tool that it really is. He said in verse 15, that he did things in the spirit and with understanding. To simply pray in tongues not knowing what he said would have left his mind UNFRUITFUL, that’s verse 14.  (Keeping in mind Paul, an apostle, actually had all the gifts including tongues, while many claim tongues today but don’t really have that gift.)

1 Corinthians 14:20 NASB

20 Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.

We must be MATURE in our thinking, not like children. Babies babble. The proof of tongues being a ministry tool to unbelivers I’ve already covered in my earlier comment.

I know I shake folks up talking about this. That’s my full intent. Because for too long since the Azusa incident, too many saints are wasting time on something unfruitful.

1 Corinthians 14:28 NASB

28 but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God.

And to speak in tongues not knowing what was said is unfruitful, verse 14.  So best to speak and know what you said, verse 15.

1 Corinthians 14:33 NASB

33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

God does not want us doing things that leave us in confusion.  Tongues without knowing what was said, even if done in private is nothing but confusion.  Because the minds of all hearers (even if the speaker is the only hearer) are left unfruitful. 

All gifts of the spirit involve helping someone else in some way. The same with tongues.  It is a ministry tool.  God had Paul to give instruction on it and even those instructions are mishandled.  Either God desires people babbling in confusion in their closets, or he wants us to speak clearly, the the spirit makes intercession and the Father knows what we need before we ask.

Matthew 6:7-8 NASB

Hopefully this brings some clarity to your view of this matter.

Prophesy is for the edification of the church, tongues for the unbeliever. You’ve said much, but you have not said that you’ve actually ministered to someone of a different language in their native tongue which you never knew before in your life. In particular, tongues was a sign to unbelieving Jews, Isaiah 28:11-12 is clear and affirmed in 1 Corinthians 14:21-22. The unbelievers the apostle Paul and others spoke to in an actual language known to humans on planet earth were Jews.

You’re trying to prop up an activity that you are not doing to actually communicate the gospel in another human language, to someone in their native tongue. It’s simply an activity that makes you feel good and is not honestly the Holy Spirit.

You speak of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, but I think you should work to avoid bearing false witness to a movement of the Holy Spirit, that is actually at best a movement of your flesh and possibly even activity of familiar and seducing spirits.

If someone genuinely had the gift of tongues and was ministering in another language to unbelievers, that would be a great thing, but what we are seeing today is trickery.

I was baptized in the Holy Ghost at age 15 and since then have spoken in tongues and ministered under the gifts of the Spirit. I say this not to boast, but to give glory to God for His manifestation for the edifying of the church according to 1 Corinthians 12. In my years of ministry I have souls come to Christ, people getting healed of sickness and delivered from demonic oppression, and many lives restored to the glory of His name.

You cannot judge all believers who have this experiece just because some use the gospel for personal gain. That is not scriptural or spiritual for that matter. You must be careful in your thoughts and judgements, because the pharisees were very self righteous and sure that Jesus was operating under demonic influence when he cast out devils, not understanding this particular manifestation of His ministry, and Jesus warned them about blaspheming against the Holy Ghost. I agree that there is a lot of emotion and fallacity among many present day Charismatic christians and ministries, but you can’t generalize.
I submit this comment with the utmost respect and love and with no desire to be combatant and controversial. May God keep us from false doctrine and spirits of error, and help us to obey His word in humbleness and love, for the glory of His name and the expansion of His kingdom. May the Lord bless you.

IC, check out my post on women in church leadership and please tell me what you think.

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