I have been a Bible student and teacher since 1972 and have been praying in tongues since 2 weeks after I was saved. I taught this topic from the pulpit of an internationally recognized Pentecostal Church denomination. (Church of God of Prophecy). More recently (since 1995) I have maintained an online Bible School that has helped thousands to develop in the area of Charismatic/Prophetic giftings. Check out this school by visiting my CF website.
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At any given time, there are dozens of discussions on the topic of speaking in tongues active on this forum and others. Very often these discussions are all hashing and rehashing the same questions and rehearsing the same arguments. It is my prayer that this might be a asset to the site and those who come here looking for answers. Back to Top

Simply put tongues are speaking forth from the spirit with words that do not originate within the mind of the speaker. This definition is wider than what many Pentecostal and Charismatic students endorse. The most commonly held definition of tongues is that it is a gift of the Holy Spirit and only supernatural in nature. The wider definition includes this aspect but also expands it to include:
* utterances from any spirit including those listed in question 7, and
* utterances of a spiritual nature in addition to the supernatural. Back to Top

We sometimes separate the spiritual from the natural as if to be and to operate spiritually is "un-natural". But to be spiritual and to operate spiritually is a completely normal thing... and that is what I mean when I suggest it is natural for us to operate in the spiritual. God created us as spiritual beings, and it is a incorrect therefore to separate our spirituality from our normal existence.

For some time I actually separated spiritual from the natural... as if to operate in the spiritual was somehow "extra-natural" or "supernatural". But now I place spiritual behavior and abilities completely in the "natural" or "normal" column.
I think the confusion is our use of the word "natural". In scripture "natural" is used in the context of "carnal" or fleshy. Combine this with our understanding that "natural" is the realm of "nature"... and we suddenly consider all things physical as "normal" and "natural" whereas spiritual things are outside of nature and therefore "supernatural".

Therefore I submit that certain "spiritual manifestations" are not "supernatural" or "extra-normal" in their nature... rather we should consider them normal... and beyond that as originating from within our own spirits and abilities. We should say that there are certain spiritual abilities and manifestations that are "innate". "Innate" means inherent as part of our normal makeup from birth... or in our case, from the new birth. Certain spiritual abilities and manifestations are innate to our reborn spirit.
Two of these are tongues and prophesying. Of course I am not talking about the Holy Spirit manifestation of "diversities of tongues" and "prophecy". Rather I am talking about the innate ability of our reborn spirits to provide utterance to our minds that can be expressed in the form of tongues or prophesying.

So what I am suggesting is that the ability to provide utterance and therefore "pray in tongues" and prophecy is a spiritual, and therefore natural thing to do. It is an ability that is innate in our spirits, and something we all can and should do from the moment we are born again.
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The utterance, or "spirit", from which tongues originate can be one of five possible sources:
1. Utterance coming from the (Holy) spirit of God (1 Corin 12:10). Also called "Charismatic Tongues" This form or tongues is always supernatural in nature in addition to being spiritual.
2. Utterance coming from the regenerate spirit of man (i.e. the spirit of Christ in all born again believers. (Mark 16:17, 1 Corin 14:14) Also called "devotional tongues", "simple tongues", or "private tongues". This FAQ will refer to these as "spiritual tongues".
3. Utterance coming from demonic spirits (inferred from 1 Corin 12:2-3). One might question to what degree these tongues are spiritual or supernatural. It is this writer's opinion that because they originate from a source outside the speaker they are supernatural in nature.
4. Utterance coming from the unregenerate spirit of man (inferred from 1 Corin 12:2-3). These tongues are spiritual in nature and do not involve the supernatural. This is merely the unregenerate spirit of a man vocalizing the utterances of his own fallen spirit. If it were given to interpret these tongues, they would curse Jesus and deny the gospel. These are the "tongues"
of heathen and cultic religions (See question 13B).
5. Utterance coming from the soul or mind of man in the context of emotional or psychological tongues. This is neither spiritual in nature or supernatural. Technically this is not even tongues as defined by question 6. Since it is not the result of utterance from a spirit, it is merely the product of the conscious or subconscious mind of the speaker.
There are groups that would say that "true" tongues are only #1 above(charismatic as in the Holy Spirit enabled gift "diversities of tongues). But this is in no way a universally accepted position. There are many cases and testimonies of tongues being manifested by religions down through history and even today(See question 13A). This FAQ presents only two valid tongues phenomena:
Charismatic (from the Holy Spirit), and
Spiritual (from the spirit of the regenerate). Back to Top

The valid tongues of the NT would include #1 and #2.

1. The (Holy) spirit of God(1 Corin 12:10). This FAQ will refer to this as "Charismatic Tongues". This manifestation is supernatural in addition to spiritual in nature. This is the Holy Spirit enabled "diversities of tongues":
1Co 12:10 KJV
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

2. The regenerate spirit of man (i.e. the spirit of Christ in all born again believers). This FAQ will refer to this as "spiritual tongues" because it is spiritual in origin and nature rather than supernatural.
1 Corin 14:14 reveals the active agent in the manifestation of tongues:
1 Corin 14:14 ISV
14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is not productive.

The context of this verse separates the spirit and the mind. The spirit of the believer is the “active agent” of tongues and the mind of the believers has no part is the origin of this manifestation. Back to Top

Spiritual manifestations such as "spiritual tongues", "spiritual prophecy", and all other actions defined as "merely spiritual" in nature differ from "supernatural" in that they originate and are the product of the spirit of the believer as opposed to the supernatural power supplied by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual tongues originate in the spirit of the believer and are controlled by the spirit of the believer. All the "signs following" listed in Mark 16 are of this sort. All these functions as well as others found in the NT are the result of the faith and love that is resident within all believers. Any believer can do these things. The believer is having faith for these operations and is manifesting them at will from out of his regenerate spirit. I use the term "merely spiritual" to designate the operation as originating from the reborn spirit of the believer and not the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

Supernatural manifestations such as "Charismatic tongues", "Charismatic prophecy", "Charismatic healing", and all supernatural functions differ from "merely spiritual" manifestations in that they originate from the power of the Holy Spirit and operate only at His will and release. These are usually the manifestations of the Holy Spirit as listed in 1 Corin 12. No believer can manifest these at will, nor can he decide where or when they will manifest. However, the believer must almost always exercise "spiritual faith" in order to establish a conduit for the supernatural gift to manifest. The power and manifestation is that of the supernatural element from Holy Spirit.
Question 18 addresses these differences further. Back to Top

As pointed out in Question 7, anyone can speak in spiritual tongues. These may not all be valid tongues by the NT definition (question 8), but by the simple definition established in Question 6, anyone moved by a spirit can speak in spiritual tongues. Cases will be presented in this FAQ showing where unregenerate spirits speak in tongues (howbeit evil in nature), as well as individuals speaking in demonic tongues (again, evil in nature). Back to Top

As pointed out in question 9, anyone can speak forth from out of a spirit and produce spiritual tongues. That all believers can speak in spiritual tongues is a logically sound idea, howbeit not recognized by all groups and denominations.

The statement of Jesus in Mark 16 implies that the ability to speak in "new tongues" is inherit in all those who are "believers", and not just those who have been baptized with the Holy Ghost.

Mark 16:
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

1 Corin 14 shows that "devotional tongues" originates in the spirit of the believer:

1 Cor. 14
14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

Paul stated that when the spirit in him spoke, it was the spirit of Christ speaking:
2 Cor. 13:
13 Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.

Paul says in Ephesians 5:19 that when one speaks in spiritual songs, he is speaking to himself:
Ephes. 5:
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Paul states that when we allow "spiritual songs" to live in us, that these "spiritual songs" are actually "the word of Christ". A "spiritual song" is the word of Christ dwelling in us:
Col. 3:
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

The idea being presented by Jesus in Mark 16 requires thought. The believers will speak in "NEW" tongues as opposed to any form of tongues they may have spoken in before. They are "NEW" because they are the product of a new man, a new nature, and a new creature. They are fresh, genuine, and unique. Back to Top

Believers can begin to speak in spiritual tongues as soon as they are born again. Again, this is by no means the commonly accepted view. Many in Pentecostal and Charismatic groups affirm that only those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit can speak in tongues. This position implies that the spirit of Christ in believers is mute until they are baptized with the Holy Spirit. This would contradict the statement of Jesus in Mark 16:17 that tongues is a sign that follows those that believe. If you are a born again believer you have the spirit of Christ in you and you can speak forth tongues from out of that spirit.
The moment before a person is born again their unregenerate spirit would deny Christ and curse Jesus. The moment after a person is born again, their regenerate spirit would confess Jesus as Lord. (1 Corin 1:3) Back to Top

Let's think about this.
When were the 120 born again?
Was it on Pentacost? Or was it before?
I tend to believe that they, as believers, were born again at the moment that Jesus rose from the dead.... 50 days before Pentacost. So if they were born again 50 days before Pentacost, and existed as born again spirits prior to being filled with the Holy Spirit, in what condition was the spirit of Christ in them? Was it mute?

For instance: Did they have the "abba" reflex (or abba "word") within their reborn spirit during that 50 days? If they did, then was that "utterance" issuing from their reborn spirits not a form or tongues/utterance?

Another thought is this: Jesus said these signs would follow those that believe: they would speak with "new tongues...". Now, were the words of Jesus true for those people who were born again believers during those 50 days before they were filled with the Holy Spirit? They were believers... was the potential there for them to do all the things Jesus said all believers could do? I suggest they were. They were capable because those abilities were "innate" or resident within their reborn spirits.

Next, think of Paul: Paul said in 1 Corin 14 that when he prayed in an unknown tongue, his spirit prayed. IOWs the ability to to generate utterance to pray in unknown tongues was resident within his spirit. If it was resident within his born again spirit, then it is resident in all believers. If Paul had been with the 120 believers prior to Pentacost, his words would still have been true. He would have still prayed in unknown tongues and those tongues would have originatied from his born again spirit.

More: When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he said he was glad they all spoke in tongues and that they all could prophesy one by one. Now did that word "all" refer to all of them, or only to those among them that had been baptized with the Holy Ghost? Other language in the NT points to the fact that speaking and singing "in the spirit" is an ability available to us all... not just those who recieve the Holy Ghost. Perhaps a few posts will follow that details each of these instances.

When I read the instances of believers speaking in tongues and prophesying in the book of Acts, it indeed appears as at least circumstancial evidence that there was a "cause and effect" relationship between the falling of the Spirit on the believers and the resulting manifestation. I say "circumstancial" because there is no actual evidence or statement that specifically says "speaking in tongues is the result of and only of being filled with the Holy Spirit". I use the story about the old lady who goes to the kitchen in the wee hours to get a liver sandwich. She flips on the kitchen light and hundreds of bugs go running across the floor to their hiding places. The old women exclaims "Oh MY! Look at what turning on the light did... it made all these bugs in my kitchen!"
Well the bugs were there all along, and all the light did was show them up. But this is the same logic we use when we assume that tongues only occur as a result of the filling with the Holy Ghost. The overwhelming presense of the Holy Ghost certainly enhances and further facilitates the vitality of our spirits which would naturally lead to a fluency of speech. But I submit the ability was present before.

The abilitiy to prophesy (that is speak forth from our reborn spirit in our native language) and speak with new tongues (that is to speak forth form our reborn spirit with soundings that cannot be articulated in a know language) is innate to our reborn spirit, and can be manfested as a function of normal, natural spirituality. Back to Top

1. The first word spoken by all born again believers is the "Abba" word:

Rom 8:14-16 ISV
14 For all who are led by God's Spirit are God's children.
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba! Father!"
16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

There are two spirits active in this operation.
1 The spirit of the believer (that is the born again spirit of Christ). This is our spirit that cries "Abba".
2 The Holy Spirit that bares witness with our spirit that we are a child of God.

This occurs prior to the baptism with the Holy Spirit and in all born again believers. The NT was written in Greek, yet Paul used the Aramaic word "Abba" to illustrate this function. This witness is a form of "devotional tongues" and is the first occurrence of the spirit of Christ in us speaking. While some groups do not recognize the "Abba" word as tongues, it is the spirit of Christ speaking forth out of us. If this word is not originating "with the understanding" and if it is "my spirit" that is praying...then this is a manifestation of 1 Corin 14:14 tongues:
1 Cor. 14
14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.

The "Abba" word in all born again believers is our spirit praying in tongues.

2. The second scriptural example of the newborn spirit of Christ speaking is in Galatians 4.
Gal 4:6 KJV
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.


This, in the truest sense of our definition (question 6), is tongues (spiritual tongues). We see the spirit of Christ ("my spirit") in the heart speaking forth a word in a language that in not native to the mind of the speaker. This is not the Holy Spirit speaking. This is the born again spirit of Christ in all believers speaking.

3. The third scriptural example of the newborn spirit of Christ speaking is in Romans 8.
Rom 8:22-23 KJV
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Rom 8:26-27 ASV
26 And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered;
27 and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Once again, we see two spirits present. There is the spirit of the born again believer and the Holy spirit. Here the Holy Spirit is acting as a helper. The Holy Spirit helps the spirit of the believer to express inner movements. The words that the Holy Spirit is assisting the believer express are vocalized in the form of groanings or sighs that cannot be spoken with articulate words. Again, this is the definition of tongues. This manifestation is most often seen in the intercessory prayers of believers.

"maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered--that is, which cannot be expressed in articulate language."
(Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible)

4. The forth scriptural example of the newborn spirit of Christ speaking is in 2 Corin.
Our spirits groan to be clothed with life:
2Co 5:2-4 KJV
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

Once again, this is a form of tongues (spiritual tongues) where our spirits (the spirit of Christ in us) is producing "utterance" that cannot be expressed with articulate words. Back to Top

Rom 8:26-27 ASV
26 And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered;
27 and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

While it is not necessary to be baptized with the Holy Spirit to speak in tongues(spiritual tongues), this verse reveals an important fact: the Holy Spirit assists the believer in the generation of new tongues(spiritual tongues). In short: when a believer receives the baptism with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit gives the believer a "tongues vocabulary lesson". Because of this "vocabulary lesson", many believers will begin to speak fluently in tongues (spiritual tongues) after they are baptized with the Holy Spirit. Because of this sudden fluency, many believers have concluded that tongues (spiritual tongues)only occur following the baptism with the Holy Spirit. However, devotional or "new tongues" (spiritual tongues) are the product of the reborn spirit of Christ. All believers can speak with new tongues (spiritual tongues) but not all do simply because they do not know they can or have not developed a "tongues vocabulary" from which to speak. Beyond this, all believers have already spoken in some simple manifestation of tongues (groans, sighs, cries) but do not realize that what they are doing is in fact a form of tongues (spiritual tongues). Because of these two misconceptions, many will not attempt to speak in tongues (spiritual tongues) until after they have received the baptism with the Holy Spirit:
1. They erroneously think that they will only be able to speak in tongues (spiritual tongues) after the baptism with the Holy Spirit and therefore do not attempt the act. Only after they believe for the baptism and the resultant "vocabulary lesson" will they have faith to speak.
2. They do not realize that speaking in tongues (spiritual tongues) is the product of the spirit of Christ within (all) believers and therefore they do not recognize the movement of their own spirit as a valid "utterance" for tongues and therefore do not attempt to speak forth from that utterance. Back to Top

IOWs, are "new tongues" (spiritual tongues) actual languages like English or French? Many studies have been completed that would tell us no. Should we be alarmed by this, or should we embrace it and seek to understand the meaning of new tongues, what is actually being spoken, and to whom it is being spoken?
1 Cor. 14:
2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

This is a foundational scripture in the teaching about devotional or "new tongues"(spiritual tongues). This verse reveals that all tongues (spiritual tongues) are unknown to all hearers. No man understands tongues (spiritual tongues) without interpretation. Tongues are a complete mystery to all hearers. Beyond this, all messages in tongues must be interpreted.

1Co 14:
27 If any man speaketh in a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most three, and that in turn; and let one interpret:
28 but if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

These verses establish that tongues are not human languages, cannot be understood by anyone without interpretation, and therefore must always be interpreted. (Later in this FAQ we will establish the fact that the actual sounds and vocalizations are immaterial and inconsequential. The Acts 2 event will also be discussed as well as the topic of "tongues of men and angels".)
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Tongues has been studied by many linguists who refuse the idea that the experience is a real language:

"we are dealing here not with language, but with verbalizations which superficially resemble language in certain of its structural aspects."
J. R. Jaquette, "Toward a Typology of Formal Communicative Behaviors: Glossolalia," Anthropological Linguistics 9 (1967):6,

“There are no reported instances of a glossolalist speaking a language which was then literally translated by an expert in that language. Of the hundreds of thousands of occasions on which glossolalia has been uttered, there is no tape recording that can be translated from a language spoken somewhere in the world. My point is this: If glossolalic utterances were somehow real languages, it would seem that there would exist somewhere in the world evidence that the speaking in tongues was in fact in such a foreign language.”
Kildahl, Psychological Observations, 363.

"In summary, the answer to the xenoglossia belief is . . . that glossolalia is not the surface structure of a linguistic, symbolic code, of a linguistic deep structure, but rather, in terms of the present research, an artifact of hyperarousal dissociation." (pp. 148-152).
Felicitas D. Goodman, Speaking in Tongues, A Cross-Cultural Study of Glossolalia, Univ. of Chicago Press, 1972

"What bearing does the discipline of linguistics have on the assessment of modern tongues? To my knowledge there is universal agreement among linguists who have taped and analyzed thousands of examples of modern tongues-speaking that the contemporary phenomenon is not any human language. The patterns and structures that all known human language requires are simply not there."
D. A. Carson, Showing the Spirit, p. 83

"….glossolalia consists of strings of meaningless syllables made up of sounds taken from those familiar to the speaker and put together more or less haphazardly. [It is] language-like because the speaker unconsciously wants it to be language-like. Yet in spite of superficial characteristics, glossolalia fundamentally is not language." William T. Samarin, professor of anthropology and linguistics at the University of Toronto

"It is extremely doubtful that the alleged cases of xenoglossia (miraculous speech in real languages) are real. Anytime one attempts to verify them, he finds that the stories have been greatly distorted or that the 'witness' turns out to be incompetent or unreliable from a linguistic point of view"
Dr. William J. Samarin (Tongues of Men and Angels, MacMillan, 1972

Samarin concluded that glossolalia is a "pseudo-language." He defined glossolalia as "unintelligible babbling speech that exhibits superficial phonological similarity to language, without having consistent syntagmatic structure and that is not systematically derived from or related to known language." (William J. Samarin, "Variation and Variables in Religious Glossolalia," Language in Society, ed. Dell Haymes, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972 pgs. 121-130) Back to Top

It is the proposition of this document that the ability to generate utterance for tongues is innate in all spirits. Spirits can generate utterance for just as the mind can. This can be seen in the various and sundry examples of tongues existing outside of Christianity and outside of religion altogether.

The highly respected 1972 study of John P. Kildahl (The Psychology of Speaking in Tongues) concludes that "from a linguistic point of view, religiously inspired glossolalic utterances have the same general characteristics as those that are not religiously inspired." In fact, glossolalia is a "human phenomenon, not limited to Christianity nor even to religious behavior."
(Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements by Spittler, P. 340).

Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation entitled "An Ethnological Study of Glossolalia" by George J. Jennings, March 1968. Jennings observes that glossolalia is practiced amoung the following non-Christian religions of the world; the Peyote cult among the North American Indians, the Haida Indians of the Pacific Northwest, Shamans in the Sudan, the Shango cult of the West Coast of Africa, the Shago cult in Trinidad, the Voodoo cult in Haiti, the Aborigines of South American and Australia, the aboriginal peoples of the subarctic regions of North America and Asia, the Shamans in Greenland, the Dyaks of Borneo, the Zor cult of Ethiopia, the Siberian shamans, the Chaco Indians of South America, the Curanderos of the Andes, the Kinka in the African Sudan, the Thonga shamans of Africa, and the Tibetan monks.

In an article entitled "Behavioral Science Research on the Nature of Glossolalia" which appears in the September, 1968, issue of the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation. This article is perhaps one of the most comprehensive scientific discussions on glossolalia and some of its conclusions are briefly quoted as follows:

Summary of Behavioral Science Research Data on Glossolalia

1. Glossolalia is an ancient and widespread phenomenon of most societies, occurring most usually in connection with religion.

“There are records of ecstatic speech and the like in Egypt in the eleventh century B.C. In the Hellenistic [Greek] world the prophetess of Delphi and the Sibylline priestess spoke in unknown or unintelligible speech. Moreover, the Dionysianrites contained a trancelike state as well as glossolalia. Many of the magicians and sorcerers of the first century world exhibit similar phenomena.”
(G.R.Osborne, in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 1984, page 1100.)

"Descriptions of ecstatic speech are common in the study of comparative religions.... The Delphic and Pythian religions of Greece understood ecstatic behavior and speech to be evidence of divine inspiration by Apollos."
[C.M. Robeck, Jr., in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 1988, page 872.)

“Once they began to commune with that deity, they would begin to speak the language of the gods. This was a very common practice in their culture. In fact, the term used in 1 Corinthians to refer to speaking in tongues (glossais lalein) was not invented by Bible writers. It was a term used commonly in the Greco-Roman culture to speak of the pagan language of the gods which occurred while the speaker was in an ecstatic trance. By the way, this language of the gods was always gibberish.”
“The Truth about Tongues--Part 1” , John MacArthur Tape GC 1871

"...Glossolalia is a very ancient practice it is still practiced nowadays in many religions, especially those where one seeks contact with the spirit world (witchcraft/shamanism, voodoo) or a mystical union with the "All". Mohamed, the founder of Islam, is probably the most famous of those who have practiced glossolalia. "
Bruno D. Granger

“… the significance of the term "glossolalia," or "speaking in tongues," comes to the fore. "The gift of tongues and of their interpretation was not peculiar to the Christian Church, but was a repetition in it of a phrase common in ancient religions. The very phrase glossais lalein, ‘to speak with tongues,’ was not invented by the New Testament writers, but borrowed from ordinary speech."
Encyclopedia Britannica (1911), s.v, "Gift of Tongues," by Fredrick C. Conybeare, 27:10. Back to Top

As with prophets, the spirit of the tongues speaker is subject to the tongues speaker. You have control over what and when your own spirit speaks.

1Co 14:
32 and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets;

Paul stated that he used the same "will" and self control to speak in tongues (spiritual tongues) that he used to speak words from his mind. It is just as easy to speak in tongues (spiritual tongues) from your own spirit as it is to speak words from your own mind:

1Co 14:
15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

The topic is the universal nature of tongues. By universal I mean that speaking in tongues is not exclusive to Christianity and has in fact been practiced by religions from many cultures down through the ages. It is therefore stated that all spirits have the innate ability to produce utterance that can result in tongues at will.
I have previously introduced the idea that tongues are not real languages such as English, French, or any other human language that is made up of grammar rules and a vocabulary. These languages essentially originate in the mind of men and are used by men to communicate ideas between minds.
Tongues on the other hand originate within a spirit, are not governed by grammar rules, and do not possess a set vocabulary. They are not understood by anyone other than God. (1 Corin 14:2).
((Some may know of my testimony and research. I have been a Christian since 1971 and have been praying in tongues and prophesying for all of that time. My research led to the creation of my online school located at my website and the development of courses which teach people how to prophesy and even speak in tongues. This may sound odd to some but the testimonial pages at the site prove out the success of this work.
In the last few years the Spirit has lead me in a direction that I believe is intended to both further my understanding of the "inner workings" of the spirit and enable the church to proceed on to the power gifts of the spirit such as miracles, the gift of faith, and gifts of healings. It is my belief that this will be accomplished by our understanding HOW to speak forth from our spirits (which is the spirit of Christ in us) and thereby do the works He did. I am saying that when the spirit of Christ in us speaks then the words we speak will be "enspirited" and will be alive like His were. We will do the works that He did. But we must learn to speak forth from the spirit as He did.))
These are the conclusions I have come to:
1. The spirits of all men, whether they be regenerate or unregenerate, have inner movements.
2. These "inner movements" cannot be readily communicated with the words or languages of the mind.
3. When an individual attempts to express the "inner movements" of the spirit with vocal soundings, the result is tongues.
4. When an unregenerate speaks in tongues in response to an "inner movement" about Jesus: an interpretation of those tongues (if it were possible) would curse Jesus, deny that Jesus came in the flesh, and deny Jesus rose from the dead.
5. When a regenerate speaks in tongues in response to an "inner movement" about Jesus: an interpretation of those tongues would declare that Jesus is Lord, declare that Jesus came in the flesh, and confess that Jesus rose from the dead.

I realize that there is a common consensus that speaking in tongues is only a gift (or manifestation) of the Holy Spirit. I have addressed this in a elsewhere and will not rehash this. Suffice it to say that Paul revealed to us in 1 Corin 14:14 that when we pray in a tongue, it is our spirits that pray. I acknowledge that there is a gift of the Spirit called” diversities of tongues". This is not the main thrust of this FAQ. While anyone can pray from out of their spirit (what I call simple or spiritual tongues) not everyone has this gift of the Spirit. This is amply shown in 1 Corin 12:29-30, and I suspect all would agree to this. Back to Top

Diversities of tongues is a manifestation of the Spirit that has been given to the body of Christ. This is a body ministry function that is given only to certain members of the body of Christ and as with all the manifestations of the Holy Spirit only manifests when the Holy Spirit wills and where the Holy Spirit wills. We say that this manifestation of tongues is "supernatural" in that the utterance come from a source outside of the speaker. "Spiritual" tongues is the result of utterance that comes from speaker's own spirit. This manifestation of tongues is the only gift that is paired with another manifestation of the Holy Spirit, interpretation of tongues. The manifestation these two gifts together is the operational equivalent of another Holy Spirit enabled gift: Prophecy. Back to Top

The charismatic manifestations of the Spirit are administered within the hierarchy described in 1
Corin 12:4-6
1Co 12:4-6 MKJV
4 But there are differences of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
6 And there are differences of workings, but it is the same God working all things in all.

Here we see how that God (the Father) sets forth a work. (verse 6) Mat 9:38
The Lord (Jesus) establishes and sends forth ministries to do that work. (5) Eph 4:8-12
The spirit enables the ministers with gifts to fulfill their ministries. (4) Heb 2:4

Therefore we see that these charismatic manifestations are set forth to accomplish specific ministries and works designated by God. They do not occur randomly nor are they manifested at the will and purpose of those who possess them. These charismatic manifestations occur for the profit of the whole church. Back to Top

We have established from question 13 that tongues is never understood by anyone present and always needs to be interpreted. In no case will a message in unknown tongues be understood by anyone present. The language is not a "human" language and must always be interpreted. This brings us to the Acts 2 event:

Acts 2:4 (LITV)
4 And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave ability to them to speak.

It is unfortunate that the word is translated "tongues" in many versions. This has lead most of the church word to associate this event with the NT practice of "new tongues". This manifestation is not "new tongues" for a number of reasons.
Since the speaking forth in Acts 2 were in known human languages that were understood by people present and needed no interpretation (at least not for the hearer), then this manifestation was more closely identified as prophecy. It was a message in human languages unknown to the speaker but known to others who were present.

The NT translators translated "glossa" as "tongue" or "tongues" all the time. Sometimes it means a literal "tongue" as in your mouth, sometimes it should simply mean "language". It makes perfect sense to translate it "language" or "languages" in every case where men are speaking. So Acts 2 could accurately be translated as it is in Green's Literal Translation:

Acts 2:4 (LITV)
4 And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave ability to them to speak.

This removes the notion that this is the manifestation of tongues that Jesus and Paul spoke of. The Holy Spirit was just causing these men to speak in the languages of those present. This is prophesying, as Peter correctly noted:

Acts 2:16-18
16 But this (the speaking) is that which has been spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 "And it shall be" in the last days, God says, "I will pour from My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy;" "and your young men shall see visions," "and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 "and also I will pour out My Spirit on My slaves and slave women in those days," and they shall prophesy.

The Acts 2 event was therefore prophecy.
The believers were prophesying in a foreign language. In the Acts 2 event people from Spain heard believers speaking in some strange language that was in fact Greek. The Greek people heard what was said and understood it. Those from Spain heard it and may not have had a clue. To the guys from Greece, it was prophesying. To the guys from Spain, it was prophesying that sounded to them like tongues. But it was not real tongues. They are prophesying in a human language that is unknown to them, but is known to someone (but not everyone) present.
The difference is that true tongues is always unknown to everyone present and is not understood by anyone and tongues always needs to be interpreted. Back to Top

The main difference between the Holy Spirit Gift "diversities of tongues" and the practice of "new tongues" is this:
Diversities of Tongues are supernatural.
New Tongues are (merely) spiritual.
That is:
Diversities of Tongues only occur at the direction of and as a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit; "new tongues" are simply the expression of what is taking place in your reborn spirit. "Abba" (or whatever word your spirit uses for 'Father') is an expression of your reborn spirit. It is not supernatural. It is “merely” spiritual.
A message given in "Diversities of Tongues" is supernatural in that it will only occur as the Holy Spirit gives utterance.
New Tongues are from the spirit of Christ in you... that part that Paul said "it is no longer I that live, it is Christ that lives in me"
Diversities of Tongues are of the Holy Spirit and manifests only in those who have been baptized with the Holy Ghost and to whom this particular Gift has been given.
Any believer who has been born again can speak with new tongues
Only those who have received the Holy Ghost and who have the gift "diversities of tongues" can manifest this gift. Back to Top

Mark 16:17
17 And miraculous signs will follow to those believing these things: they will cast out demons in My name; they will speak new languages;

Jesus uses very specific wording here when referring to "tongues" or "languages". The literal translation is closer to the reality of what He was saying than the KJV, but still lacks the accuracy of the Greek. The word "new" here is often thought to mean a language that is merely "new to the speaker" but not "new" as in "genuine" or previously unknown. By "genuine" I mean having never been spoken before; new as in newly created and unique. They are altogether new. Look at the Greek dictionaries:

G2537
kainos
kahee-nos
Of uncertain affinity;
new (especially in freshness; while G3501 is properly so with respect to age)
: - new.

This brings forth the idea more accurately. These "new" languages we speak will be fresh. Strongs refers to the root word which solidifies the "freshness" concept:

G3501
neos
neo¯terosneh'-os,
neh-o'-ter-os
A primary word, including the comparative (second form);
"new", that is, (of persons) youthful, or (of things) fresh;
figuratively regenerate: - new, young.

Thayer’s Dictionary takes the idea of "new" to mean "never heard before".

Thayer Definition:
1) new1a) as respects form
1a1) recently made, fresh, recent, unused, unworn
1b) as respects substance
1b1) of a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of
»they shall speak with new tongues« translates »glôssais lalêsousin kainais«. kainais is the dative plural form of kainos which means "new; of new quality; unused; unknown, unheard of" [UBSGNT].

Any of these shades of meaning can be applied to the subject of glossolalia; we could say that they will speak with new languages, languages of new quality, unused languages, unknown languages, languages unheard of. In any case, Jesus is saying that they will speak languages previously unknown to them. Apparently, the King James translators believed that this was what Paul was describing when they supplied the word »unknown« in 1. Corinthians 14. NOTE: kainos stems from Protoindoeuropean *ken- which means "fresh, new, young" [AHDofIER], which suggests to me the possibility that God might simply create previously non-existent languages on the fly as he baptizes his people with the Holy Spirit.
This is a list of other instances of this Greek word and how it is used:

Mat_9:17 The new wine is "fresh" wine.
Mat_13:52 In teaching, a scribe will use used teaching and fresh teaching. It is significant that Jesus used the Greek word for "worn" or "antique" as the opposite of "new". Hence the meaning of the word here "new" would logically mean "unworn and "newly built". It is not simply "new" to the teacher's methods; it is fresh and altogether new... having never been "worn" before. The "new languages" we speak will be new in that they have never been "worn" before, they are not "antique" (which a known tongue would be) and they are "fresh".
Mat_26:28-29, 1Co_11:25 The "New" Covenant is genuine and fresh. Note that the use in verse 29. The phrase "new wine" uses this word under consideration. It is new wine because it is fresh wine. The languages we speak will be "new" in the same way fresh "new wine" is "new".
Mat_27:60 & Joh_19:41 Here the meaning of the word is reinforced by the context. Jesus was placed in a "new" tomb that was "never been used." So too the languages Jesus said we would speak will be languages that have "never been used".
((CEV) In the place where Jesus had been nailed to a cross, there was a garden with a tomb that had never been used).
Mar_1:27, Act_17:19, Act_17:21 The teaching here is new in that it was never heard before. It was fresh and genuine. So to the languages we speak will be fresh new languages that have never been heard before.
Mar_2:21-22 (2) Here a wonderful clue is disclosed about the meaning of this word "new". The word "new" actually occurs twice in the verse, but from two different Greek words. In the first instance the meaning is "new" as in an unprocessed or unrefined piece of cloth, i.e. a "patch".

G46
agnaphos
ag'-naf-os
From G1 (as a negative particle) and the same as G1102;
properly unfulled, that is, (by implication) new (cloth): - new.

The second instance is our word used to describe "new languages". Jesus in this parable is referring to a "fresh new patch" that is "unrefined and unprocessed". While this verse is not referring specifically to the topic at hand, it is significant that the two words here are thrown parallel to each other. It leads us to the concept that these "fresh genuine languages" will be "unrefined" and "unworn" like an unprocessed piece of cloth.

2 Corinthians 5:17
17 So that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!

The precise meaning of the word "new' here can be seen. The 'new languages' will be new with the freshness of a new creation. It is something that has never been seen or heard before. It is as new and different from known languages as the new creation is new and different from the unregenerate.

Revelation 2:17
17 The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To the one overcoming, I will give him to eat from the hidden manna. And I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name having been written, which no one knows except the one receiving it.

The use of the word “new” here further confirms that the tongues we receive will of a sort that “nobody knows”. The languages we speak are not known; else they would not be “new, fresh, unique, genuine, and unheard”.


So the conclusion we would come to in researching this word would lead us to see that the 'new languages' the believers will speak will be fresh, unworn, unique, genuine, unheard, unused before, and perhaps by association, unrefined and unprocessed. Hence we could confidently say that these are not known tongues that are in use by men and angels.

• They are languages that spring forth new and fresh.
• They are outside the understanding of the natural man.
• They have never been heard or spoken before.
• They are unique to the speaker alone. Back to Top

We have at least two instances where Jesus spoke directly out of His spirit in groans that could not be expressed with articulate words. These were examples of "spiritual tongues" and what can be accomplished by their use.

Joh 11:33-38 ASV
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
34 and said, Where have ye laid him? They say unto him, Lord, come and see.
35 Jesus wept.
36 The Jews therefore said, Behold how he loved him!
37 But some of them said, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him that was blind, have caused that this man also should not die?
38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

By our definition (Question 6) that tongues is speaking out from the utterance of a spirit, this groaning is a form of tongues. He "groaned in the spirit" and "groaned in himself".
Jesus then specifically stated that these groanings were prayers. He pointed this out because those present did not recognize these groanings to be prayers:

Joh 11:41-42 ASV
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the multitude that standeth around I said it, that they may believe that thou didst send me.


When praying for the man who was deaf and dumb, Jesus sighed and spoke a word that required interpretation. This could be a form of tongues.

Mar 7:33-35 KJV
33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;
34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

It has been suggested that the words of Jesus on the cross when He gave up His spirit were also tongues:

Mat 27:46 KJV
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

The free form Message Translation puts it this way:

Mat 27:46 MSG
46 Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"

This being quoted from Psalms 22. The word "groaning" is validated:

Psa 22:1 GW
1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away from helping me, so far away from the words of my groaning? Back to Top

Crucial to this understanding and unique to its application are these truths regarding praying in new tongues:
1. The spirit of Christ is different from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the source of the gift "diversities of tongues" but the "new tongues" Jesus spoke of originate in the spirit of Christ (that is the spirit that has been born again into all believers). 1 Corin 14:14
2. Regarding praying in new tongues: the origin of the utterance is the spirit of the speaker, not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the witness, not the origin of the message. Rom 8:16


The differences between the spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost can be seen in the basic teaching about the trinity. Some groups push the "oneness" aspect of the trinity, while others push the idea that there are three separate spirits. The truth is somewhere in between.

1. For instance one of the scriptures used to show the uniqueness of three spirits of the trinity is Luke 3:22-


Luk 3:22
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Here we see two spirits. There is the spirit of Christ in Jesus the Son, there is the Holy Spirit descending from the heaven, and there is the Father God speaking from heaven. If the spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit were the same we would not see the Holy Spirit descending from heaven... He would already be inside the person of Jesus.

2. Peter confirms this with his teaching in Acts:
Act 10:38
38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Again... the three are shown here. God (the Father) anointing Jesus (the Christ) with the Holy Ghost. The spirit of Christ could not be the same as the Holy Ghost.


John the Baptist did not want to perform the baptism because He knew who Jesus was and wanted Jesus to baptize Him. Jesus insisted saying that this is the order in which things should be done.


Mat 3:15
15 Jesus answered him, "This is the way it has to be now.
This is the proper way to do everything that God requires. Then John gave in to him. So this is the proper way.. the plan of God. We receive as Jesus did. The spirit of Christ received power from the Holy Ghost. So it is with us. This is the pattern Jesus set up. We are born again first and become the spirit of Christ. We then are baptized with the Holy Ghost.



3. And then there is Luke 4:
Luk 4:1
1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Here we see Jesus (the spirit of Christ) being filled with the Holy Ghost and then being led by that same Spirit into the wilderness. This would not make sense if the spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit were one and the same.


4. Another text showing the separateness of the spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost is in John 15:26-


Joh 15:26
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Joh 14:26
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.


Again we see three individuals. There is Jesus (who is the head of the spirit of Christ), the Father, and the Spirit of Truth who Jesus is sending us from the Father. None of this could be possible if the three were actually one and the same person. We see the Holy Ghost not speaking of Himself... but speaking only of Jesus (the who is the head of the spirit of Christ).



Joh 16:13-15
13 However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.14 He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you.
15 All things whatever the Father has are mine; therefore I said that he takes of mine, and will declare it to you.


If the spirit of Christ was also the Holy Ghost, then when He was speaking of Jesus, then He would be speaking of Himself (or glorifying Himself)... something Jesus said the Holy Spirit would not do. Again we see the three. Jesus (who is the head of the Church, which is the body of Christ), the Father, and the Holy Ghost (or the spirit of truth).


5. Here Jesus shows that there is a difference between His spirit (the spirit of Christ) and the Holy Ghost. He could not say this if they were one and the same:


Mat 12:32
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

6. Finally, here we see that there exists two spirits involved in this communion. There is the spirit of Christ that is in us saying "abba", and the Holy Ghost who bares witness to that truth:

Rom 8:15-16
15 For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God:


It is usually the "Oneness" Pentecostals and Jehovah Witnesses that try and negate that there is a difference between the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of Christ. Back to Top

Let me show that our identity is with Christ as members of the body of Christ:
1. When we are born again, we are baptized into the sprit of Christ.

Gal 3:27
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
2Co 5:17
17 Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.

2. Paul even goes so far as to identify his spirit as the spirit of Christ.:
Gal 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

We never see it said that we are members of the body of the Holy Ghost, nor does it say that we are "baptized into the body of the Holy Ghost". As Jesus pointed out, the Comforter (the Holy Ghost) would come to us. Here is an example from Acts that shows that the Holy Spirit comes to believers after they are baptized and saved:

Act 8:14-17
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

These people were believers and saved. But they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. Back to Top

The reason people tend to associate speaking in tongues with the baptism in the Holy Spirit is because of the unfortunate translation/interpretation of Acts 2.
The Spirit fell on them and they began to speak in "languages". As presented in Questions 17 and 29, this was a manifestation of prophecy not of "diversities of tongues". God simply wanted those present to hear the Good news, so He caused the 120 to prophesy in languages that all could understand. They spoke in known languages, not "tongues".

Acts 2:4
4 And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave ability to them to speak.

It is unfortunate that the word was translated "tongues" in some translations. This led to two errors:
Error 1 > People speak in tongues only after they have received the Holy Spirit, and
Error 2 > The Holy Spirit speaks in tongues (including the "initial evidence" teaching)

Speaking in tongues at its most basic level is merely the enunciation of spiritual movements(Question 6). The "spiritual movements" (or utterance) can be grief, joy, compassion, intercession, thankfulness, or any of the other "movements" of your spirit. When you cannot put these inner "movements" into articulate speech, you can simply "make up" (if you will) soundings that give approximation to those inner movements. It may very well sound like gibberish to those who are unaware of what is happening. (That is why people may think we are "drunk" or "mad") Hence some people will groan, moan, cry, sigh, or issue soundings during prayer that represent what they are "feeling" inside. This is the essence of "spiritual tongues". As you mature spiritually your "language" or tongue will expand its vocabulary and your tongues will take on a form that sounds more like a real human language.
We all have the "abba" word. You do not have to receive the Holy Spirit to speak this. It (like all "new tongues") originates out of the new born spirit of Christ in us all. This is the first word of any baby. We say "Abba Father". Why did Paul specifically point out that believers will cry out to God in a language that is other than their own? ("Abba" is an Aramaic word). I submit that the "language" of your inner man (or your spirit) is not a human language created by men. Language is the tool of the soul. Tongues are the attempt to articulate the movements of the inner man. Back to Top

As indicated in questions 6,7,9,and 15, tongues is a spiritual manifestation that is common to all men who have a spirit. They are certainly not all "Christian Tongues" and if we were to interpret them they would be full of evil and cursing and would all deny the Lord Jesus.
Any man can speak forth from his inner man and this technically would be a form of tongues. I have done extensive research and found many instances where religions around the world ancient and new practice speaking in tongues. You could and did speak in tongues before you were saved. You had movements in your inner man, and if you articulated those movements with a sounding... you were speaking in tongues.

What is different about Christian tongues and the tongues spoken by unbelievers?

When unbelievers speak in tongues (and prophesy), they will always deny Christ, speak blasphemy, curse Jesus, etc.. and we would likely not what to know what they are saying. What issues forth from the heart of an unregenerate man?

Matthew 15:18-19
18 But the things which come out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and these defile the man.
19 For out of the heart come forth reasonings, evil things, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, blasphemies.

Once we understand that prophesying and "spiritual tongues" are a common practice universal to most religions and ages, we will come to understand 1 Corin 12-14.

When believers speak in tongues and prophesy, they speak of the wonderful works of God, they teach the word of God, they bless, intercede, sing psalms, sing spiritual songs etc....
Also, speaking from the spirit of Christ within you is the vehicle that releases the other spiritual manifestations as listed in 1 Corin 12 and in other places. The manifestation of the spirit requires a vocal pronouncement from the spirit. This vocal pronouncement from the spirit is most often prophecy but can be tongues. Back to Top

We miss something in our modern culture that is ruled in large part by logic and reason. We do not see what Paul and Peter and even Jesus saw in the 1st century... and that is the fact that "tongues" was a wide spread phenomena throughout the ancient world. The peoples of that day knew what tongues were. There is no record of the disciples scratching their heads in wonder when Jesus said "they shall speak with new tongues". They knew what He was talking about because "tongues" was practiced by many cultures and religions in that day.
When Paul spoke to the Corinthians about tongues, He and they knew that this practice was as common among the people of that day as humming a song is today in our culture. It was known as a practice of verbalizing the spiritual movements with soundings that could not be spoken in articulate languages. It was a common practice amongst all the pagans in Corinth to speak in tongues. But it was neither "pagan" nor even religious. It was simply a normal function and practice. This is my point:. Tongues is a normal human function. It is the verbalization of spiritual movements that cannot be assigned logical meanings associated with human words.
Think of this. Paul said "I will pray in the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding". When he said that, he was not contrasting tongues and normal human prayer issuing from our minds. He was contrasting tongues and prophecy. He was implying that just as tongues comes forth directly from our spirit, prophecy issues from our spirit through our minds(understanding) and is delievered in a form other minds can understand also. What is my point? Each of these functions are performed at will and under complete control of the speaker. The phrase "I will" is used 4 times in that verse.... Paul spoke in tongues and prophesied forth from his own spirit at will with the ease of humming a song. They knew what he was talking about because all this was common practice by many religions in that day.
It is my suggestion that everyone reading this can and has spoken in tongues. It is a normal and common practice among human beings. It is not supernatural (as discussed in the OP), rather it is "merely" a spiritual practice that we all can do like having compassion, having faith, and loving.

Back to Top

The obvious response is that you have... but you were not aware of what you were doing when you did it. Every movement of your inner man is a form of utterance. Each time you vocalize that inner movement with a moan or a cry... you have spoken in tongues. It was very primitive... but it was a form of spiritual tongues! You HAVE spoken in tongues. All believers have spoken in tongues... but not "on purpose with purpose".

When Jesus prayed in the spirit at the tomb of Lazarus, the word says "He troubled Himself"... meaning He did it on purpose and with purpose:

John 11:33-43
33 Then when He saw her weeping, and the Jews who came down with her weeping, Jesus groaned in the spirit and troubled Himself.

If you are a believer and you want to speak in tongues on purpose with purpose, then put yourself in a situation where your spirit will be affected by an outside stimuli. That stimuli could be the presence of your heavenly Father, and the reaction of your spirit will be to speak in tongues or prophesy. I actually prophesied before I ever spoken in tongues. I knelt down next to my bed when I was 17, told God I wanted it the way they got it in the NT, and immediately "felt" words floating up from within myself. The words said "I have loved you with a great love..."
But like Jesus, you can "trouble yourself" or "stir yourself up". Get close to God and you will feel it stir up within you. Speak forth from that stirring and you will be either prophesying or speaking in tongues.
Remember that tongues and prophecy are always reaction to some outside stimuli or perception. Back to Top

1 Cor. 13
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

Some have stated that tongues is not exactly a "make it or break it" topic. I do think it is more important than believers know. It is a very powerful tool that God has given us, and we ought to know about. Many believe that "new tongues" will be in a known language. There are many ideas about this. If a person gives a message in tongues, nobody will understand it. This based on 1 Corin 14:2

1 Corinthians 14:2
2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.

It is going to be hard to now to identify tongues as a known language based on this scripture alone (see Question 13). But there are others that identify tongues as a sounding that is never understood by men. The entire premise of the chapter (1 Corin 14) is that tongues are not understandable to the hearers. They always need to be interpreted if they are going to edify the church. We are instructed to not even give forth messages to the church if there is no interpreter present. Question 19 discussed the "new" tongues that Jesus referred to at length.

Modern students of tongues actually break the subject into two categories.

Glossolalia: This is the most commonly meaning of "speaking in tongues." This term is derived from two Greek words: glõssai, which means "tongues" or "languages," and lalien which means "to speak." This is the speaking in a pseudo-language that is not known to men.

Xenoglossia: (a.k.a. Zenolalia, Xenoglossia) This is the ability to spontaneously speak a foreign language without first having learned it, or even been exposed to it. This term is also derived from two Greek words: Xenos, which means "foreign" or "foreigner", and glõssai, which means "tongues" or "languages."

Xenoglossia is what occured in Acts 2. This is very rare and discounted by almost all studies. Researchers almost always refute this category of tongues. They will find a few instances of tongues manifesting, record them, and then attempt to identify the language from among known human languages. I suspect the researcher was looking at a samples of Glossia (1 Corin 14 speaking in tongues) and attempting to identify it as a human language. When they could not, they simply denied it as being a real experience. They were just listening to the wrong samples. I believe that this occurs, but as I said, it is very rare and is not really the topic of our FAQ. Our FAQ is mainly talking about what some would call "devotional tongues" or tongues that edify the spirit of the listener. They are not aimed at the minds of the listeners; rather they are intended for the spirits of the listener.

Acts 2 is the manifestation of the miracle of Xenoglossia (supernatural speaking of known languages A.K.A. prophesying).
1 Corin 12 is referring to the miracle of Xenoglossia (supernatural speaking of known languages).
1 Corn 14 is describing Glossolalia (spiritual manifestation of speaking in unknown "languages"). Back to Top

Joe is a guy who believed and got saved yesterday. He has never heard of the Holy Spirit or anything about speaking in tongues.

According to what Jesus said, what can Joe do?

Mark 16:17
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

According to Jesus; as a believer can Joe:

Cast out devils?
Speak with new tongues?
Take up serpents?
Drink of any deadly thing, and have it not hurt him?
Lay hands on the sick and have the sick recover?

Which of these things was Jesus wrong about believers being able to do?
If you are a believer, you have the spirit of Christ in you and you can speak in tongues and prophesy now... TODAY!
It is good to have the Holy Spirit and we certainly encourage this as Jesus promised that the Comforter would come. But nowhere does it say that the spirit of Christ is mute or dumb until the Holy Spirit comes. If you are born again you have the spirit of Christ and that spirit can and wants to speak. Even further... it already has! Your spirit is the source when you pray in tongues. It is good to have the Holy Spirit because He will give your spirit a "tongues vocabulary lesson" and you will become much more fluent after you are baptized in the Holy Spirit. But tongues comes from your spirit (unless of course we are talking about the Holy Spirit enabled "diversities of tongues").
Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot pray in tongues... especially when Jesus said that you as a believer can!
We may not know what we are talking about... but Jesus does! And He said as a believer you WILL speak in new tongues. HE DOES NOT LIE! Back to Top

When you were born again, your fallen spirit was completely removed and replaced with the same spirit that Jesus was resurrected with. When God raised up Jesus from the dead, we were raised up with Him. He is the head and we are members of His body. We are not Christ as in the savior. But we are partakers of the divine nature and abide in Christ and He in us. This "identification" is key to understanding many of the mysteries of Christ and the Church.

Here is where we are identified as the spirit of Christ:
John 14:20
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

John 15:5
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

John 17:23
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:5
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved

This is how we got "into Christ". He was made one with us in death so that when He was raised up we came up with Him. While it is true that we can receive the Holy Spirit, nowhere is there language as seen in these verses where we are identified with Christ: completely tied up with Him in life and identity.

Galatians 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

When our spirits speak... it is not us that is speaking, it is Christ that is speaking in us! Some balk at this reality and miss one of the greatest aspects of the word of God in Christ. All spiritual tongues, spiritual interpretation, and spiritual prophecy eminate from our reborn spirit which is not us, but Christ living and speaking in us.

2 Corinthians 13:3
3 Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.

Essentially, the same spirit that "groaned" at the tomb of Lazarus is now inside of you and can groan also. It is not mute but can speak in us also. Like Jesus, we can trouble that spirit and groan as He did and do the works that He did. Back to Top

Acts 2:
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Many have taught that the Holy Spirit enables us to speak in new tongues. Yet nowhere does it say He gives the believer the ability to speak. You can already speak. In these verses the Holy Spirit gave them the utterance. That means He gave them the specific words to say _in this instance_. They were speaking in languages they did not understand, but this was not "new tongues". Nobody understands new tongues without interpretation (Question 13). What happened in Acts two was not new tongues. It was prophecy. Peter said it was. They were speaking in known languages to people who understood exactly what was being said to them. The words issuing from their mouths were in the languages of the men who heard them.

Acts 2:8
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

Peter referred to that speaking and called it prophesying:

Acts 2:16-18
16 But this (the speaking in their birth languages) is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:


It is just a misunderstanding that Acts 2 translates the word "tongues". It should be translated "other languages".

Acts 2:4(WNT)
4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in foreign languages according as the Spirit gave them words to utter.


This is not "new tongues" that Jesus referred to and which is referenced in 1 Corn 14. New tongues is never a known language and always needs to be interpreted. What happened in Acts 2 was a known language and did not need to be interpreted. Back to Top

The question then arises... Do people need the Holy Spirit to speak in Tongues? Can these things listed in Mark 16 manifest in the lives of those who have not received the Holy Ghost? The answer is: Yes... in fact even today there are many successful Baptist and other non-Pentecostal/charismatic ministers who minister healing and deliverance... not only do they not promote the baptism with the Holy Spirit, but they teach against and even call it of the devil!

We have these things, not by virtue of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit (which we certain advise for all!), but by virtue of who we are in Christ and faith in the name of Jesus.
Many of these things are accomplished merely by faith in His word. Of course we call upon all to receive the comforter who is one called along side to help..... but in the end, it is still faith and faith in His name and the gospel that causes us to receive from God.
Failure to see who we are and what we are in Christ has caused a waning in many Pentecostal churches. They have failed to hear the teachings and leading of God. They want to live in past glories where everything was of the Holy Spirit but with no spiritual maturity. God wants us to mature. That means to grow up into the image of Christ. Sitting around and waiting for the Holy Spirit to do everything is the baby way. It was to these babes that 1 Corin 13 and 14 was addressed.

We need to grow up into Christ:

Ephesians 4:15-16
15 but speaking the truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, the Christ,
16 from whom all the body, having been fitted and compacted together through every assisting bond, according to the effectual working of one measure in each part, produces the growth of the body to the building up of itself in love.

The Holy Spirit is not the object and ultimate goal of God in the Church. The goal is to perfect the spirit of Christ in each of us to the point where we can operate as Jesus did. We will move with our inner man, speaking and ministering as He did. The Holy Spirit and the gifts and ministries are a means to an end... but they are not the end. This is where many ministries and churches have hit a dead end. They get to Pentecost and stop! They should be striving to be more Christ like in their spirituality. We need to move on to perfection. We need to grow up into the head. Back to Top

What happens to those who are born again on one day, and are not baptized with the Holy Spirit for days, or even years? Are these people not able to do what Jesus said all believers could do... namely speak with new tongues. No... they certainly can! And they can because as Paul said when we pray in tongues our spirits pray. We do not need the Holy Spirit for our spirits to pray in tongues. It certainly helps! But there is no logic to say that only people with the baptism in the Holy Spirit can pray in tongues. The evidence from Acts 2 is circumstantial. Yes, the presence of the Holy Spirit enhances and causes one to become more "in the spirit". But that is not what enables you to pray in tongues. You are enabled to pray in tongues because you are a new creature. The spirit of Christ born into you at the new birth can speak to God and do so in tongues at any time... just like Jesus said.
To say that the Holy Spirit enabled the 120 to pray in tongues is like the old women who claimed that turning on a light in the kitchen caused bugs to appear. No the bugs were there all along.. the light just enabled her to see them. So too is it with the Holy Spirit. He does not enable your spirit to speak... His presence just energizes you and gives you words that you did not have before. Being baptized with the Holy Spirit puts you "in the spirit" where it is very easy to speak fluently in tongues and prophecy. But in the end, it is still your spirit, the spirit of Christ in you, that prays:

1 Corinthians 14:14
14 If I pray in another language, my spirit prays, but my mind is not productive.

Many people would pray in tongues today if people would stop telling them they cannot. They need to listen to Jesus instead of the teachings of tradition and men. Just believe what Jesus said.

IF YOU ARE A BELIEVER, THIS SIGN FOLLOWS YOU: YOU PRAY WITH NEW TONGUES! Back to Top

Isaiah 28:11-12
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

Albert Barnes Expands on verse 11:
With stammering lips - The word which is used here is derived from a verb which means to speak unintelligibly: especially to speak in a foreign language, or to stammer; and then to mock, deride, laugh at, scorn

Let me share with you from one of the school's lessons where we teach how to speak in tongues, prophesy, and manifest the gifts of the Spirit:

"For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people"

"...stammering lips: the Hebrew word means a mocker, or imitator.

The concept is that the speaker _appears_ to be mocking a foreigner. The speaking is so "odd", that it is obvious to the hearer that the speaker does not know the language he is speaking, and so the hearer assumes the speaker is mocking a foreigner. In the middle seventies, many Viet-Nam "boat people" were coming to the U.S. They would speak very rapidly in a strange language with unusual soundings and pronunciations. American children would "mock" or "imitate" these speech patterns. The manifestation of speaking in tongues is going to resemble these children. You will likely repeat certain sounds and patterns over and over. Often the babe will do this very rapidly and with an apparent excess of tongue movement. (As you mature in your speech, this will change. The speaking will begin to resemble a real language, and become slower. Very often it will include gestures and facial expressions. Eventually, you will appear to be speaking in a language that you actually know.)


Close your eyes and begin to say Abba. This is a word that the scripture says is already in you. It is there! Repeat it over and over in faith. Speak forth from your love for God and Jesus. Reach down into your "belly" where the living waters flow and speak the love for the father word "Abba..." Back to Top

What is being said?
Where do we find the "movement" from which we will generate the words?

Many teachers and students of the scriptures separate the functionality of the spirit into three distinct areas:
Conscience
Communion
Intuition

(See especially "The Spiritual Man" by Nee and the writings of Kenyon and Kenneth Hagin Sr. on the subject of the inner man)

If our spirits pray, they will pray out from one or more of these area.

You will pray out of your intuition, conscience, or communion. All "new tongues" or "devotional tongues" will originate from one of these sources. You will have a move in your spirit that you will not be able to articulate in words your mind knows. "New Tongues" from your spirit (the spirit of Christ in you) is speaking forth from these moves. It may be nothing more than a groan, a sigh, a moan, or even a laugh or a cry. It may be a repeated phrase or a fluent pouring forth. But it will always be the vocal expression of some issue of conscience, intuition, or communion. The "Abba" word is itself an issuance of communion with the Father. Communion means to partake of the same cup together. When you commune the "Abba" with God, the Holy Spirit responds with the confirmation that you are a child of God. That is the first and most basic form of communion between you and God.
"You are my Father!"

"You are my child!"

Here is an example of the "new languages " manifesting from out of the movement of "conscience function."
Conscience is that part of your spirit (the spirit of Christ in you) that is stimulated when you are departing the path God desires for you to take, or you have missed the mark. Conscience is especially active when you have sinned and exist in the darkness discussed in 1 John 1. If you conscience is "bothering" you, then you know you are in darkness. It is telling you that you must do whatever is necessary to return to the light and the fellowship of the Father. Many times you do not know how or what has caused this broken fellowship. This is where "new tongues" comes into play. The Holy Spirit helps your infirmities and gives you "new language" words to speak. He takes the content of you spirit, or rather the conscience portion of your spirit, and transforms it into words that accurately expresses the issue to God. This is an important point to remember. This would fall under the heading of intercession in groanings that cannot be uttered. Here your spirit (which is not you, but is the spirit of Christ in you) is crying out to return to the light and to restore fellowship with the Father. I suspect everyone reading this has done this many times. Again, you may not have known what you were doing at the time. All you knew is that in the nighttime hours you could not pray to the Father without crying, moaning, or groaning. This was a very base, baby like form of "new tongues." It was your spirit (the spirit of Christ in you) crying out to it's Father for help, forgiveness, and a return to the table of fellowship.

Psalms 38 displays a good type and shadow of this operation:

Psalms 38:6-10
6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.
10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.

And to a certain degree, this function of conscience can be seen in the universal utterance that exists in the spirit of all believers. This is where we desire to be shed of this world and go on to be with Jesus:

2 Corinthians 5:2-4
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

Let me share one more thing out of the many that I would love to share:

John 11:33-44
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.(lit: troubled himself)
34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
...
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

In following story, what did Jesus do in verses 33, 35, 38 that Jesus said the Father heard (in verse 41)?
From our discussion, what was Jesus actually doing in these verses?
Do you think it is significant that verse 33 actually says "he troubled himself"?

"Robertson's Word Pictures"
Was troubled (etaraxen heauton). First aorist active indicative of tarasso¯, old verb to disturb,