Sunday: What Does This “Other Tongues” Mean?
WEEK 12
SUNDAY
WHAT DOES THIS “OTHER TONGUES” MEAN?
1 Corinthians 12:27-31
We must look again at a physical phenomenon at the coming of the Holy Spirit—a phenomenon that pointed beyond itself to the spiritual. The statement has puzzled many, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4 RSV). What is this “other tongues,” and what is its purpose?
I believe that a very important purpose was behind the speaking in tongues. If the disciples had spoken only in Hebrew to the throngs who had gathered from all of that ancient world—Africa, Asia, and Europe—on the day of Pentecost, the impression would have been that this was just one more religious movement within Judaism. It had no world significance. But when the people from all lands heard the message in their own language, they must have immediately pricked up their ears. This new redemptive movement was no mere Jewish movement; it had stepped straight off into a universal appeal and pattern. That simple fact broke the Jewish mold and universalized the gospel.
And while it spoke to the foreigners a message, it also spoke to the Jews. Their language was no longer sacred; God was speaking to all people everywhere in their own languages. That struck a tremendous blow for the freedom of the new movement. There was no longer one chosen people, with a chosen language and culture. Humanity as humanity was chosen. Peter expresses this in speaking of the new humanity in Christ, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession. . . . Once you weren’t a people, but now you are God’s people” (1 Pet 2:9-10). God was going to use all languages and all cultures as vehicles of the Divine. That was a startling innovation. Walls of exclusion went down, like Jericho’s walls, not by the sound of a ram’s horn but by the sound of a universal message, understood by all people in their very own languages.
When that purpose was accomplished, this scaffolding of speaking in tongues was taken down. This was a special miracle for a special purpose, and it fulfilled its purpose.
Lord, we thank you that you love all and you are speaking to all, each through our own language and culture, for you are intending to redeem a race. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: As God is breaking down walls of exclusion, so will I—I am for humanity.