Are tongues still in existence today?<\/p>\n\t
When the gift of speaking in tongues was first mentioned in the Bible, the people found it a wonder. “And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?<\/i>” (Acts 2:8). Hence, the proper definition of “tongues” is “languages.” By that definition, of course, tongues still exist. I speak American English, others speak Spanish, Italian, Tagalog, and a wealth of other languages.<\/p>\n
However, most people asking this question are not interested in other languages but whether the Holy Spirit miraculously gives the gift of tongues (the gift of languages) to people today. Paul answers this in\u00a0I Corinthians 13:8-10, “Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail;\u00a0whether there are tongues, they will cease<\/b>; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.<\/i>“<\/p>\n
Some object saying, “But we still have knowledge!” True, but we don’t have miraculous knowledge — knowledge that comes to an individual without ever having to study. Just as we still have languages (or tongues), but we don’t have the miraculous gift of languages. What is generally presented as “tongues” today is not the ability to speaking in a person’s native language, but simple babbling of sounds.<\/p>\n
Others, strongly desiring to justify their “tongue” speaking, argue that the perfect has not come. By this, they mean that Christ has not returned. The argument fails because Paul is not speaking of a perfect person but a perfect thing. It is not “he who is perfect” but “that which is perfect.” Yes, the Bible speaks of Christ being perfect, but there is also something else that is called perfect as well. “But he who looks into\u00a0the perfect law of liberty<\/b>\u00a0and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does<\/i>” (James 1:25). It makes perfect sense that when God’s perfect law was fully delivered, the gifts that sustained Christians during the interim of its delivery would end; for that was the purpose of the gifts — to confirm the word. “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?<\/i>” (Hebrews 2:3-4).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Are tongues still in existence today? Answer: When the gift of speaking in tongues was first mentioned in the Bible, the people found it a wonder. “And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?” (Acts 2:8). Hence, the proper definition of “tongues” is “languages.” By…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[428,142,141],"class_list":["post-1894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit","tag-speaking-in-tongues","tag-tongue-speaking"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37362,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-kind-of-tongues-are-meant-in-i-corinthians-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":1894,"position":0},"title":"What Kind of Tongues Are Meant in I Corinthians 12?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman in\u00a0Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 47, Nov. 20, 2009. The apostle Paul writes of various \"gifts of the Holy Spirit\" in I Corinthians 12-14. Notice the reading in I Corinthians 12:7-11: \"But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal. For to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/tongue-300x251.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10535,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-speaking-in-tongues-and-prophesying-similar-gifts\/","url_meta":{"origin":1894,"position":1},"title":"Are speaking in tongues and prophesying similar gifts?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: With talking in tongues, some of the time it says they talked in tongues and prophesied. Was that part of talking in tongues, or separate? I always get confused. I know in I Corinthians 14:22 mentions reasons for each, but I don't know if they are separate. Answer: Speaking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90710,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/speaking-in-tongues-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":1894,"position":2},"title":"Speaking in Tongues?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ron Boatwright Many in the religious world today are obsessed with \"speaking in tongues.\" According to the Bible, one of the miracles of the first century was the ability to speak in understandable foreign languages, which the speaker had never learned. In Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10447,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-balaams-donkey-speaking-in-tongues\/","url_meta":{"origin":1894,"position":3},"title":"Was Balaam’s donkey speaking in tongues?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was speaking in tongues done in the Old Testament? The reason I ask is that talking in tongues is nothing more speaking in a language not known to the user. I know it won't be a critical or applicable statement, but didn't even a donkey speak in tongues with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83621,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/speaking-in-tongues-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1894,"position":4},"title":"Speaking in “Tongues”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim Deason via Biblical Insights, Vol. 15, No. 1, January 2015 Anyone who has \"surfed\" the 666 channels on your cable network or has talked with your neighbor across your backyard fence has heard people claim the special and direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. Many of these people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18561,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-explain-prophecy-tongue-speaking-and-interpretation-a-bit-more-for-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":1894,"position":5},"title":"Could you explain prophecy, tongue-speaking, and interpretation a bit more for me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question. It has to do with I Corinthians 14. We are studying the various spiritual gifts bestowed upon the church members and how this gift was abused. The gifts we are focusing our study on is prophecy and tongues. 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