Written by Charles O’Donnell

Read: “For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say.” 1 Corinthians 14:13

The gift of interpretation of tongues may be one of the most misunderstood and misused gifts in the Bible. My hope is that you’ll have a clearer understanding of why this gift exists and how it is meant to function in the church, and that your receptivity to it would grow.

Paul repeatedly teaches that spiritual gifts are meant to edify the church body as a whole. 1 Corinthians does a great job of explaining the purpose of spiritual gifts: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7)

Now that we understand the purpose of spiritual gifts through Paul’s teaching, we can better understand the importance of the gift of interpretation of tongues. Paul teaches that if someone speaks in tongues in a corporate gathering for the church body to hear, and no one is present to interpret, it is better for that person to remain silent. (1 Corinthians 14:28)

The reason for this is simple: without interpretation, the message does not profit or edify the church body as a whole which goes against the primary purpose of spiritual gifts. However, when someone in the assembly can interpret another person’s tongue through the Holy Spirit, the church body can be edified and strengthened by the message.

The gift of interpretation of tongues allows a believer, through the Holy Spirit, to understand and communicate the meaning of another person’s utterance so that the entire church body may be corporately edified. In this way, a message that would otherwise be understood by only God and the speaker can become a source of encouragement, instruction, and strengthening for the whole church.

There is always a temptation when we do not understand something to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Because the gift of tongues has been misused and abused by some people in the past, there can sometimes be a hesitancy to operate in these gifts. But at the end of the day, they are spiritual gifts for a reason, and God has a purpose for them.

I have had many questions about the gift of tongues in the past, and, in fact, I still have some. However, I trust in the Holy Spirit and trust that God has given us this spiritual gift for a reason: to edify the church body. When we, as a church, begin to step even further into trusting Him, He will continue to show up!