Tongues, Gift of

The gift of tongues (glossolalia, from Greek glossa, "tongue") refers to a supernatural capacity to speak in languages — whether known human languages or what Paul calls "tongues of angels" (1 Corinthians 13:1) — granted by the Holy Spirit as one of the spiritual gifts for the edification of the church and the witness to the nations. The gift first appeared dramatically at Pentecost: the disciples "began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance," with each listener in the Jerusalem crowd hearing the proclamation in their own native language (Acts 2:4). Luke presents this as a reversal of the Babel scattering: where languages had been divided to disperse humanity, the Spirit now bridges languages to gather a new humanity in Christ.

Paul's most extensive treatment appears in 1 Corinthians 12–14, where he affirms the gift while governing its exercise. Uninterpreted tongues in the gathered assembly are of limited benefit: "if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?" (1 Corinthians 14:6). He therefore requires interpretation for congregational use (14:27–28) and prioritizes prophecy as more directly edifying. Paul affirms personal use of tongues — "I speak in tongues more than all of you" (14:18) — while insisting that ordered, intelligible worship governs the assembly. The question of whether the gift continues in the post-apostolic church (the cessationist position) or remains available to all believers (the continuationist position) has been a defining division in Protestant Christianity since the Reformation and particularly since the rise of Pentecostalism in the twentieth century.