What Does the Bible Say About Speaking in Tongues?

Acts and 1 Corinthians both speak of tongues, and they do not describe the same scene. Acts 2:4–11Close^2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. ^2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. ^2:6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. ^2:7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? ^2:8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? ^2:9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, ^2:10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, ^2:11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.Acts 2:4–11 · King James VersionOpen source (1) says the crowd heard the disciples speak in the languages of the hearers. 1 Corinthians 12:30CloseHave all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?1 Corinthians 12:30 · King James VersionOpen source (2) asks whether all speak with tongues, in a series of questions whose shape is “are all apostles?” Pentecostal statements say baptism in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by speaking in tongues. The Westminster Confession, 1.1 (9), says former ways of God’s revealing his will have ceased, and 21.3 (9) says vocal prayer is in a known tongue. This page quotes those texts and does not decide.

Key Points

• Acts 2:4CloseAnd they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.Acts 2:4 · King James VersionOpen source (1) says the disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave utterance. Acts 2:6–11Close^2:6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. ^2:7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? ^2:8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? ^2:9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, ^2:10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, ^2:11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.Acts 2:6–11 · King James VersionOpen source (1) says each hearer heard them speak in his own language, and names the wonderful works of God.
• 1 Corinthians 12:4–11Close^12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ^12:5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. ^12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. ^12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. ^12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; ^12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; ^12:10 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: ^12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.1 Corinthians 12:4–11 · King James VersionOpen source (2) lists diversities of gifts from the same Spirit, including divers kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. 12:29–30CloseAre all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?1 Corinthians 12:29 · King James VersionOpen source asks whether all are apostles, prophets, or teachers, and whether all speak with tongues or interpret.
• 1 Corinthians 14:2CloseFor 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.1 Corinthians 14:2 · King James VersionOpen source (3) says the person who speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not to men but to God, because no one understands him. 14:27–28Close^14:27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. ^14:28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.1 Corinthians 14:27–28 · King James VersionOpen source says two or at most three, in turn, and an interpreter, or else silence in the church. 14:39CloseWherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.1 Corinthians 14:39 · King James VersionOpen source says forbid not to speak with tongues.
• 1 Corinthians 13:8CloseCharity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.1 Corinthians 13:8 · King James VersionOpen source (4) says whether there be tongues, they shall cease, in the same sentence that says prophecies shall fail and knowledge shall vanish, while charity never faileth. The verse does not give a date.
• The Assemblies of God, article 8 (5), says Spirit baptism is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues. That speaking is the same in essence as the gift of tongues in 1 Corinthians 12, but different in purpose and use. What Do Pentecostals Believe? quotes the rest of that statement.
• Iuvenescit Ecclesia (7), a 2016 letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, says speaking in tongues, in the respect Paul discusses, is different from the gift of prophecy, and it says Paul does not reject glossolalia. The letter is not the Catechism.
• Baptist Faith and Message II.C (8) says the Holy Spirit bestows the spiritual gifts and, at regeneration, baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. It does not say every believer speaks in tongues.

What Happened in Acts 2?

Acts 2:4CloseAnd they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.Acts 2:4 · King James VersionOpen source (1) is the sentence Pentecostal statements cite for utterance given by the Spirit. The following verses describe the hearers. Acts 2:6CloseNow when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.Acts 2:6 · King James VersionOpen source says every man heard them speak in his own language. Acts 2:8CloseAnd how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?Acts 2:8 · King James VersionOpen source asks how they each hear in the tongue in which they were born. Acts 2:11CloseCretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.Acts 2:11 · King James VersionOpen source says the hearers hear the wonderful works of God in their tongues. The chapter lists peoples, from Parthians and Medes through Cretes and Arabians. The narrative’s claim is that the speech was recognizable speech to those hearers.

Is the Holy Spirit God? is who that Spirit is. Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? is water baptism, which the Assemblies of God treat in a different article from Spirit baptism.

What Does 1 Corinthians 12 to 14 Say?

1 Corinthians 12:11CloseBut all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.1 Corinthians 12:11 · King James VersionOpen source says the same Spirit divides the gifts to every person severally as he will. Tongues are one item in the list, beside prophecy, healing, and interpretation. The questions in 12:29–30CloseHave all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?1 Corinthians 12:30 · King James VersionOpen source (2) are parallel: all are not apostles, and the grammar asks “do all speak with tongues?” the same way.

1 Corinthians 13:1CloseThough I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.1 Corinthians 13:1 · King James VersionOpen source says tongues of men and of angels, without charity, are sounding brass. 13:8CloseCharity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.1 Corinthians 13:8 · King James VersionOpen source (4) sets charity, which never fails, beside prophecies, tongues, and knowledge, which fail, cease, or vanish. Churches that say the gifts continue read the ceasing as future, with the perfect that the next verses describe. Churches that say revelation has closed point at Westminster 1.1, quoted below, which does not use the word tongues. The verse itself names the ceasing and does not say when.

1 Corinthians 14:2–4Close^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. ^14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. ^14:4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.1 Corinthians 14:2–4 · King James VersionOpen source (3) contrasts an unknown tongue, which edifies the speaker, with prophecy, which edifies the church. 14:13–19Close^14:13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. ^14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. ^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. ^14:16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? ^14:17 For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. ^14:18 I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: ^14:19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.1 Corinthians 14:13–19 · King James VersionOpen source prefers five words with the understanding in church to ten thousand in an unknown tongue, and Paul says he speaks with tongues more than all of them. 14:27–28Close^14:27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. ^14:28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.1 Corinthians 14:27–28 · King James VersionOpen source limits public tongues to two or three, in order, with an interpreter, and otherwise tells the speaker to be silent in the church and to speak to himself and to God. 14:39CloseWherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.1 Corinthians 14:39 · King James VersionOpen source says to covet prophecy and not to forbid tongues.

Pentecostal Statements

What Do Pentecostals Believe? already quotes the Assemblies of God on the Trinity, healing, and the rapture, and it quotes article 8 on tongues. This page does not copy that survey. The sentences that belong to the tongues question are these.

Article 7 says all believers are entitled to, and should ardently expect and earnestly seek, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. It says this experience is distinct from and subsequent to the new birth. Article 8:

The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance (Acts 2:4). The speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:4-10,28), but different in purpose and use.

The statement distinguishes the initial sign from the gift. It does not say that 1 Corinthians 12:30 is false, and it does not say every use of tongues is the initial evidence of Spirit baptism.

The Church of God declaration (6) says, “In speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance and that it is the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Ghost.” Water baptism is the next sentence, immersion of those who repent, in the Triune name. The Pentecostal hub lists both documents.

Catholic Teaching in Iuvenescit Ecclesia

The 2016 letter (7) opens from the Second Vatican Council’s phrase that the Spirit guides the Church “with hierarchical and charismatic gifts.” On tongues it says Paul does not deny that a charism may be useful solely for the person who received it. “Such is the case with speaking in tongues, which, in this respect, is different from the gift of prophecy.” A footnote says the Apostle does not reject the gift of glossolalia, “a charism of prayer useful for the personal relationship with God,” and an authentic charism, although not directly of communal benefit. The letter quotes Paul’s rule that “Everything should be done for building up,” and it notes his limit: if no one can interpret, the speaker remains silent; if there is an interpreter, two or at most three may speak in tongues.

That is a curial letter about charisms in the Church. It is not a paragraph of the Catechism, and it does not say that every Catholic speaks in tongues. The Catholic hub lists the Church’s doctrine pages. What Do Catholics Believe? is the wider confession.

Baptist and Reformed Texts

Baptist Faith and Message II.C (8) says the Holy Spirit is fully divine, exalts Christ, effects regeneration, and “bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church.” “At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ.” The article cites a range of passages, including 1 Corinthians 12. It does not require speaking in tongues as evidence of regeneration or of a later baptism in the Spirit. The Baptist hub lists the statement.

Westminster 1.1 (9) says it pleased the Lord to reveal himself at sundry times and in divers manners, and afterward to commit that revelation wholly to writing, “those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.” The sentence is about revelation, the close of the ways that preceded Scripture. It does not say “tongues have ceased.” 21.3 (9) says prayer is to be made in the name of the Son, by the help of his Spirit, and, “if vocal, in a known tongue.” That is a rule for prayer the church can understand. Readers who are called cessationist appeal to 1.1 and to 1 Corinthians 13:8. The confession’s own words are the ones in quotation marks here. The Reformed hub lists the confession. What is Calvinism? is the wider Reformed map.

What Methodist Article XV Is About

Article XV (10) is titled “Of Speaking in the Congregation in Such a Tongue as the People Understand.” The sentence is:

It is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and the custom of the primitive church, to have public prayer in the church, or to minister the Sacraments, in a tongue not understood by the people.

The United Methodist page prints a note that contemporary interpretation of this and similar articles is in “Resolution of Intent: With a View to Unity,” The Book of Resolutions, 2008, page 292. The article does not mention Pentecost, the gift of tongues, or Acts 2. It is about public prayer and the sacraments in a language the congregation does not understand. The Methodist hub lists the Articles.

Does Every Believer Speak in Tongues?

1 Corinthians 12:30CloseHave all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?1 Corinthians 12:30 · King James VersionOpen source (2) asks the question beside “are all apostles?” Baptist Faith and Message II.C (8) says the Spirit bestows gifts and does not say the gift is tongues for every believer. Assemblies of God article 7 says all believers should expect the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and article 8 says that baptism is witnessed by speaking in tongues as its initial sign, while the gift of tongues is the same in essence and different in purpose. Iuvenescit Ecclesia (7) treats tongues as a charism that may edify the person who has it, under Paul’s rule that not everything is said aloud in the assembly. Those three documents do not say the same thing about “every believer.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Have Tongues Ceased?

1 Corinthians 13:8CloseCharity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.1 Corinthians 13:8 · King James VersionOpen source (4) says they shall cease. It does not say they ceased at the end of the apostolic age. Westminster 1.1 (9) says former ways of revealing God’s will have ceased. It does not name tongues. Pentecostal article 8 and the Church of God declaration treat speaking in tongues as present evidence of Spirit baptism. Iuvenescit Ecclesia (7) discusses the charism as a present category in Paul’s instructions, which the letter applies to the Church.

Which Churches Still Speak of Tongues as a Gift?

The Assemblies of God and the Church of God say so in the statements quoted above. The 2016 Catholic letter treats glossolalia as an authentic charism and regulates it by 1 Corinthians 14. The Baptist Faith and Message affirms spiritual gifts and does not name tongues as the sign of baptism in the Spirit. Westminster 1.1 and 21.3 are the Reformed sentences fetched for this page.

Is Water Baptism the Same as Speaking in Tongues?

No text on this page equates them. Water baptism is Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? and What Does the Bible Say About Infant Baptism?. Spirit baptism and tongues are the Pentecostal articles cited here and on What Do Pentecostals Believe?.

The Churches on This Site

• Pentecostal
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• What Do Pentecostals Believe?
• Is the Holy Spirit God?
• Common Arguments