--- title: "Is God REALLY Okay with Speaking in Tongues?" description: "Pastor Kim has taught many times why there is a strong belief in a doctrine called dispensationalism. In other words, Pastor Kim believes in rightly..." image: "https://het.realbiblebelievers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/missing.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/is-god-really-okay-with-speaking-in-tongues" --- • Apologetics• Charismatic # Is God REALLY Okay with Speaking in Tongues? 7 min. read ![](https://het.realbiblebelievers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/missing.jpg) Pastor Kim has taught many times why there is a strong belief in a doctrine called **[dispensationalism](/dispensationalism)**. In other words, Pastor Kim believes in rightly dividing verses according to the right group of people and the right time period. If you do not do that, you are going to combine all the verses together and come up with major wrong doctrine. One of those wrong doctrines is the belief that people can simply speak in tongues. Biblical speaking in tongues means speaking in different languages. The Bible shows that this gift of speaking in different languages was given during the time of the **Jews**. But because God has **put off the Jews and switched to the Church**, that operation is no longer available. Pastor Kim is going to look at three verses that seem to show that Christian speaking in tongues is some kind of unintelligible speech. These are three verses that supposedly seem to show that speaking in tongues might be something Christians have today. Pastor Kim is not going to debunk speaking in tongues in general because that has been covered in many other teachings. Instead, these three passages will be examined. Pastor Kim also points out that if every verse in the Bible containing the word **tongue** is examined, it refers to a different language. When God gave it miraculously, a Jew is connected to it. There are, however, three passages that may seem to show something different. ## First Passage: 1 Corinthians 14:9 and 14 The first passage is [1 Corinthians 14:9](/kjv/1-corinthians/14/9). > ***[1 Corinthians 14:9](/kjv/1-corinthians/14/9)** “So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.”* Then look at verse 14: > ***[1 Corinthians 14:14](/kjv/1-corinthians/14/14)** “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.”* People take the phrase **“unknown tongue”** to mean a tongue that the speaker himself cannot understand. But why is it not understood? Look at verse 9. Paul says: > **“Except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken?”** Paul is pointing out that when they are speaking in tongues, it is a tongue that people will understand when the language is known to them. It is spoken by normal human beings. If someone thinks that speaking in tongues is some kind of speech that simply goes into the air, look at the last part of verse 9: > **“For ye shall speak into the air.”** Paul is not describing something mysterious that is merely directed into the air. He is explaining that if words are not understood, the person is speaking into the air because the hearer does not understand what is being said. Another important point is found in verse 14. Does it say, “I don’t understand”? No. It is something that people can understand if it’s their language. It says: > **“But my understanding is unfruitful.”** That is different. The understanding is unfruitful because it does not produce fruit. The meaning is that the speaker’s understanding of the tongue does not bear fruit. If a tongue is unknown to the people hearing it, it is an unknown language to them. It does not bear fruit among the hearers because they do not understand it. Now look at verse 16: > *“Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?”* When they are speaking in tongues, it is going to be a tongue that exists within a normal human language. The person hearing it does not understand because he is a foreigner or because he speaks a different language. The phrase **“mine own tongue”** and similar expressions occur because the passage is referring to different languages. ## Second Passage: 1 Corinthians 13:1 The second proof text is [1 Corinthians 13:1](/kjv/1-corinthians/13/1). > *“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”* This verse is supposedly used to prove that tongues are not necessarily the tongues of normal humans because Paul says: > **“Tongues of men and of angels.”** The argument is that this proves speaking in tongues is some heavenly, inaudible gibberish rather than different human languages. But Pastor Kim says to look at [Revelation 14](/kjv/revelation/14): 6. ## The Tongue of Angels Is Audible > ***[Revelation 14:6](/kjv/revelation/14/6)**: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,”* The angel is speaking to the whole world. This is an audible language. It is not inaudible. The angel is speaking in a language that the world can hear. Notice that when an angel speaks in his tongue for the whole world to hear, it is an **audible language**. What about when angels speak to God in Heaven? > ***[Revelation 16](/kjv/revelation/16): 5**: “And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.”* Again, this is an audible language. > **[Revelation 19](/kjv/revelation/19): 17:** *“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;”* Notice that the angel is speaking to the animals in an audible language. Whenever an angel speaks in his angelic tongue throughout the Bible, it is an audible language. This includes passages such as [Judges 6:12-20](/kjv/judges/6/12-20), [Zechariah 1:9-12](/kjv/zechariah/1/9-12), [Matthew 1:20](/kjv/matthew/1/20), and [Matthew 2:13](/kjv/matthew/2/13). So why does [1 Corinthians 13:1](/kjv/1-corinthians/13/1) say: > **“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels”**? Obviously, angels talk differently than human beings. They can speak in a supernatural tongue or supernatural language. But it is still audible language. ## Third Passage: Romans 8:26 The last proof text is probably the strongest one that people use. > ***[Romans 8:26](/kjv/romans/8/26)**  “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”* The argument is that this proves that Christians do not know how to pray and that the Holy Spirit within them speaks in tongues that cannot be uttered. In other words, they claim that this is not an audible language. But look carefully at what the verse actually says. It says: > **“With groanings which cannot be uttered.”** How can someone utter tongues when the verse says that they **cannot be uttered**? Therefore, this verse does not support the idea of speaking in tongues. These are **groanings**. A groaning is not the same thing as uttering words in a language. The Holy Spirit is not described as giving a person a language that he speaks aloud. Instead, the passage describes the Spirit interceding for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. ## The Holy Spirit Intercedes for Us This is a wonderful promise that the Holy Spirit intercedes for the believer when there comes a time when the believer is uncertain about how to pray. Sometimes when a person prays, he may feel like he is not saying the right words. He may wonder whether he is praying correctly or whether he has expressed what he really needs. [Romans 8:26](/kjv/romans/8/26) gives comfort in that situation. The Holy Spirit helps our infirmities. We do not always know what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. The Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. It is as though the Holy Spirit understands what a believer truly needs even when the believer’s words do not perfectly express it. A person might pray one thing, but the Holy Spirit knows what he really means and what he truly needs. That is the wonderful promise of [Romans 8:26](/kjv/romans/8/26). Pastor Kim believes this promise is ruined when charismatic doctrine turns it into something completely different, into a bab Instead of recognizing the Holy Spirit’s intercession, they turn the passage into a doctrine about speaking in tongues. But the passage does not say that the believer speaks in tongues. It says that the Spirit makes intercession with **groanings which cannot be uttered**. That is a wonderful promise for the believer. Pastor Kim wants to turn that into a promise that applies personally when praying. 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