Would you discuss the idea of praying in a heavenly language where the person is edified even though others don’t know what they are saying?<\/p>\n\t
The mention of the language of angels is only found in\u00a0I Corinthians 13:1\u00a0where Paul states that speaking in any language is without benefit if it is not accompanied by love. The passage to which you allude, though, is found in I Corinthians 14. The King James Version added the word “unknown” several times in this chapter in an attempt to clarify what was being stated. The addition is marked by the word “unknown” being in italics. It is not in the original Greek, but the translators of the King James Version felt that it would clarify what Paul was saying. Unfortunately, there are groups who have decided that “unknown” must mean unknown to anyone on earth and have declared that Paul was talking about speaking in the tongue of angels. The truth is far from this and is clearly seen in the text.<\/p>\n
First, we must understand that the word “tongue” simply refers to a language. We still use it in this sense in American English when we refer to a person’s mother tongue. The proper definition is clearly seen in\u00a0Acts 2:6\u00a0where the first occurrence of tongue speaking is found. “And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language<\/em>.” People from at least fifteen regions of the world were present, but when the apostles spoke they did not use the local dialect by the native languages of the listeners. An amazing feat for poor fishermen from the backwaters of Galilee.<\/p>\n Paul argues in I Corinthians 14 that prophecy is better than speaking in other languages because there are times when the language spoken is unknown to the audience. When this happens, God understands, but no one else benefits (I Corinthians 14:1-5). In contrast, prophecy is always beneficial.<\/p>\n Paul then argues that speaking in tongues is without benefit if it doesn’t have a purpose, such as to teach another. Speaking in another language for that reason alone is just showiness. Speaking in another language without purpose is like playing an instrument without a tune. (I Corinthians 14:6-12)<\/p>\n Prayer done in a tongue might benefit the spirit of the one praying, but it doesn’t help even that one person if he doesn’t understand the language. Notice especially verse 15, “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding<\/em>.” Paul is saying, if you are going to pray, pray so that both your spirit and mind benefit — in other words, Paul is stating you should pray in a known tongue. (I Corinthians 14:13-15). This is the opposite of what was being advocated by charismatics.<\/p>\n Besides, prayer in worship should also benefit the listener. Paul is telling the Corinthians to speak so that those listening will understand and gain knowledge from hearing you (I Corinthians 14:16-19)<\/p>\n Finally, Paul points out that speaking in tongues was given to reach the unbelievers (I Corinthians 14:22). Using a language that the unbeliever doesn’t understand defeats the purpose for which the gift was given. Instead of being impressed, the unbeliever will leave thinking everyone is touched in the head (I Corinthians 14:23).<\/p>\n Isn’t this what happens in most charismatic services today? People babble, but no one is edified, including the babbler! Oh, he might feel uplifted, but he hasn’t learned a thing. I would rather pray with the spirit in sincerity and pray with my mind in understanding than play the part of a babbling idiot. Which will lead people to the knowledge of Christ?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Would you discuss the idea of praying in a heavenly language where the person is edified even though others don’t know what they are saying? Answer: The mention of the language of angels is only found in\u00a0I Corinthians 13:1\u00a0where Paul states that speaking in any language is without benefit if it is not accompanied…<\/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":[143,142,141],"class_list":["post-723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-charismatic","tag-speaking-in-tongues","tag-tongue-speaking"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1730,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-an-unknown-tongue\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":0},"title":"What is an unknown tongue?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 21, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is unknown tongues a heavenly language or does it mean a language not known to people but for God? Answer: The phrase \"unknown tongue\" only appears in the King James Version in six places in I Corinthians 14. If you look carefully you will notice that in all six\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":34016,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-the-prayers-in-i-corinthians-11-referring-to-praying-in-an-unknown-tongue\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":1},"title":"Were the prayers in I Corinthians 11 referring to praying in an unknown tongue?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, Regarding I Corinthians 11:3-16, where women commanded to cover their heads while praying and prophesying. Some argue that the prayer mentioned in that verse was a miraculous activity connected with prophecy. God talked to man through the Spirit. In I Corinthians 14:14, Paul mentioned praying with an\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":18563,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/speaking-in-tongues\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":2},"title":"Speaking in Tongues","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Acts 2:1-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I received several questions in recent days regarding speaking in tongues \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People wanting to know what it was, what is the heavenly language, what is the unknown tongue \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But probably more than anything else, they want to know if you must have the gift of tongues\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46768,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-unknown-tongue-in-i-corinthians-142-would-sound-like-mumbo-jumbo-to-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":3},"title":"The unknown tongue in I Corinthians 14:2 would sound like mumbo-jumbo to you","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: [Note: I left the following unedited since the author claimed to have the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He had asked that this not be published, but since there is nothing in the note that is personal to him, I decided it serves as a good example of what\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":83748,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-speaking-in-tongues-for-communicating-with-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":4},"title":"Is speaking in tongues for communicating with God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: May God continue to strengthen you guys in Jesus' name. Amen. You may not be aware, but many issues arise with the topic of speaking in tongues here. A brother recently sent me some voice notes discussing speaking in tongues with a man. He explained that speaking in tongues,\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":34476,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-person-pray-in-a-tongue-and-not-know-what-they-are-saying\/","url_meta":{"origin":723,"position":5},"title":"Can a person pray in a tongue and not know what they are saying?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I was talking to someone about tongues, or the so-called 'tongues,' with a friend. She insists that people can say what they don't understand and referred to I Corinthians 14:14. This verse literally says one can pray using words they themselves don't understand. Please help me out. Thanks.\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}