1 Corinthians 14:1-2

“Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 14:1-2).

Question:

What is "tongues"?

Comment:

Speaking in tongues is one of the spiritual gifts that Paul frequently refers to as possible expressions of the Christ Presence in each of us that is the essence of the ministry of Jesus Christ. Speaking in tongues, which is still practiced in some evangelical congregations, describes the phenomenon of verbalizing a spiritual awareness that goes beyond the limited realm of language. Instead, it expresses through sounds that make no logical sense, but which communicate a transcendent Truth. 

Here Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, in which competition has broken out over which of the various spiritual gifts is the most important. Paul believes that prophecy—the ability to understand the workings of Divine Mind—is the primary gift. Speaking in tongues, he points out, is limited by the fact that no one can understand. It’s an experience limited to one person and the Source.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed