Living water

16. What Did He Say?

To one is given... the interpretation of tongues.

- I Corinthians 12:8,10

The interpretation of tongues is a companion gift to the speaking with tongues. It is the only gift for which a person is told specifically to pray. Paul said, "Let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret" (I Corinthians 14:13).

Without the gift of interpretation of tongues, an utterance of tongues has no place and no value in a public church service. In fact, Paul says, "If you bless with the spirit [that is, in tongues], how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say 'Amen' at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? ... If the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?" (I Corinthians 14:16,23).

I can answer Paul's last question: Yes, they will think you're crazy.

I remember inviting a close friend to visit my church. Ed Hanke was a big kid who later played defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers. We went everywhere together after school. I was witnessing to him and coaxed him to come with me to church one Sunday morning.

As we sat in the pew, a lady in front of us started breathing heavily I panicked, because I knew that her heavy breathing always preceded an utterance in tongues. I quickly bowed my head and started pleading, "O God, please don't speak to us in tongues today!" I knew Ed would never understand it, and I knew there would be embarrassing questions afterward that I couldn't answer.

But, God, I guess, didn't hear my prayer, because in a moment the tongues were loosed. And so were Ed's questions. Unfortunately, my answers weren't. Had I known then what I know now, I might at least have been able to help Ed understand what was happening. I would have told him that tongues and the interpretation of tongues are marvelous gifts of God - sometimes the Lord even uses them to bring an unbeliever to faith in him (more about that later).

Translation or Interpretation?

I grew up in a Pentecostal church that practiced speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues in its public services. As a young man I was very confused at how these gifts were exercised. I would often hear short utterances in tongues, followed by a long interpretation. At other times I would hear a long utterance in tongues followed by a short interpretation. This made no sense to me.

Occasionally I would count how many times a phrase was uttered in tongues and then count to see if a corresponding phrase was repeated that many times in the interpretation. Often it wasn't. Not only did I question the interpretations given, but eventually I began to question the validity of the experience itself.

Now, I had a great respect and reverence for these gifts. I always bowed my head and prayed during these manifestations. That is probably why I sometimes feared I might be bordering on the unpardonable sin in trying to analyze these things.

I now realize that part of my problem occurred because I had confused tongues and translation with tongues and interpretation.

Translation and interpretation are not identical. A translation is a word-for-word transfer of significance from one language to another. Interpretation goes a little further than translation. It tries to explain the meaning of an expression regardless of the words used in the original language. The words are not as central in an interpretation as are the concepts.

I have had translators who sought to be interpreters. I would make a short remark and they would take a couple of minutes to interpret my remark. They weren't just translating for me, they were interpreting, and I always wondered what they were saying. Quite often I discovered that they didn't understand me.

Several years ago I was speaking in a large Presbyterian church in Korea. I opened with one of the best jokes I have, to warm up the people and let them know I was human. When my punch line was translated, they all sat there looking dumbfounded. I thought, This is going to be tough. These people don't respond. After the service I asked one of my hosts, "What do you think I said?" I discovered the translator didn't get the joke at all and totally botched the punch line. I made a practice from then on that if I were going to tell any jokes, I'd tell them to the translator first. If he laughed, then I would use them. If he didn't laugh, I'd shelve them. Without a good translation, jokes just don't work.

In the interpretation of tongues, an interpretation does not have to match the length of the utterance in tongues. The utterance in tongues could be short yet have a prolonged interpretation (or vice versa). An interpretation gives the sense or meaning of an utterance in tongues, not just a word-for-word transfer from language to language.

The Purpose of Interpretation

The Greek word translated "interpret" is hermeneia, from which we get our word "hermeneutics," which refers to the science of scriptural interpretation. Normally this word is rendered "translation," but it would seem that the gift can refer to an interpretation as well.

The gift of the interpretation of tongues is designed to edify the whole body of Christ. If the gift of tongues were operating in a church service without the companion gift of the interpreting of tongues, then only the person speaking in tongues would be edified. Therefore, Paul said, if a person feels an urge to give an utterance in tongues in a place where no one is present to interpret, he should speak only to himself and to God (I Corinthians 14:28).

I disagree with those who say the gift of interpretation is to be desired every time you speak in tongues, even in your own private devotional life. Tongues need to be interpreted only when they are spoken in a public service. Paul said he thanked God that he spoke with tongues more than all the Corinthians, but also said, "If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful" (14:14).

This obviously implies that when Paul prayed in an unknown tongue in his devotional life, he didn't understand what he was praying about. He didn't understand the praises or the petitions he was offering. And that means that those who say, "You should have the gift of interpretation so that every time you speak with tongues - even in your devotional life - you can understand what you are saying" do not have a scriptural basis for their position.

The Old Testament and the Gift of Interpretation

Is there any corollary to this gift of interpretation in the Old Testament? I can think of only one incident that might be considered a case of tongues and interpretation. When King Belshazzar hosted a wild banquet, the form of a hand suddenly appeared and started writing on the wall. The king began to quake in fear and called for his wisemen and his counselors to interpret these words. But they were unable to do so. Finally, the queen mother suggested, "During your grandfather's reign there was a man who had the Spirit of God dwelling in him; call him and he will be able to interpret these words." So Daniel was called and interpreted for Belshazzar the handwriting on the wall.

The writing was in Aramaic, the official language of the day, so surely the king's wise men and counselors could read the words themselves. Yet the words needed interpretation. The words were mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. The words literally meant, "numbered, numbered, weighed, divided." When Daniel was brought in, he rebuked Belshazzar for his gross sin as well as for his failure to heed the lessons his grandfather learned. Then he interpreted for the king the writing on the wall. This was his interpretation, found in Daniel 5:

- Mene (numbered): "God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it."

- Tekel (weighed): "You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting."

- Upharsin (Peres; divided): "Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians."

Notice that Daniel's interpretation is longer than the words themselves. Had Daniel merely translated, he would have said "Numbered, numbered, weighed, divided," and the king wouldn't have known any more than he already did. But Daniel gave him the chilling interpretation, the divine significance of the words. Had I been a young man with Daniel and Belshazzar in Babylon, I probably would have wondered how so few words could prompt such a long interpretation. But that's the difference between translation and interpretation.

The New Testament and the Gift of Interpretation

It is interesting that we have no recorded cases of the exercise of this gift in the New Testament. All we have is Paul's teaching on the subject in I Corinthians, and that is very limited. We have no documented incidents where the combined gifts of tongues and interpretation were used. That leaves us with little to go on.

In his commentary on the book of Acts, G. Campbell Morgan suggests that when the disciples began to speak with tongues on the day of Pentecost, the miracle was that the people from the various linguistic groups heard them speaking in their own languages - not that the disciples were actually speaking their dialects. Morgan implies that the disciples were all speaking Greek; but that the members of the audience all heard in their own languages the disciples speaking of the marvelous works of God. It's an interesting idea, although I personally don't agree with it.

A Personal Pentecost

Several years ago, when Calvary Chapel was in a transitional form, we gathered each Sunday night in the East Bluff Community Center. One evening, on Pentecost Sunday, 55 or 60 of us had assembled to remember the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the church.

At the end of our Bible study, I suggested that we all worship and praise the Lord and wait upon Him as they did when the Spirit descended on Pentecost. As we did so, Lynn - the woman I mentioned in the previous chapter - began to speak in French. With my three years of Latin I was able to pick up a portion of what she was saying, and I could tell that she was giving lovely praise to God.

Lynn was thanking the Lord for the beautiful new song He had put in her heart. It was her love song to him, a song of joy and blessing. It was especially moving because, prior to her conversion, she had been singing in nightclubs. When she accepted the Lord she left that lifestyle and began to use her beautiful voice to sing for Jesus. This night, in French, she was thanking the Lord and praising Him for the joyous new song He had put in her heart. I could understand just enough to enjoy her celebration, but not enough to give an interpretation.

My wife, however, who doesn't understand any French at all, began to interpret. And I began to rejoice. It was exactly what I had understood! I knew that neither Lynn nor my wife knew or had studied French, so to hear such a perfect interpretation of Lynn's expressions of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord - so close to a literal translation - I had my own Pentecost that night.

A Jewish visitor from Palm Springs who was going through some marital problems had joined us that night. A friend had brought her so I could counsel her after the meeting. When the people left and we were getting ready to talk, she said, "Before we get into my problems, I would like you to explain to me why the one lady spoke to the group in French and why the other lady translated what she said."

"Would you believe it if I told you that neither of those ladies know French?" I asked.

"No, I wouldn't" she replied.

"Well, I've known the one lady for years and I know she doesn't know any French - I'm married to her," I said. "I also know the other lady and I'm sure she doesn't know French."

Then I took her to the Scriptures, and showed her the gift of speaking in tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues. "What you witnessed was an example of what Paul was talking about here, where one speaks in an unknown tongue and another interprets," I explained.

"Well," she said, "that was the most beautiful French I have ever heard. It was spoken with a perfect aristocratic accent. I lived in Paris for five years and it isn't street French; it was the aristocratic form of the language. And the other lady gave a perfect translation."

"Well, what do you expect from the Lord?" I asked.

She paused, and then said, "Before we get to my problems, I think I had better accept the Lord."

She did so, and then her problems were gone, too.

What happened that night was a true manifestation of speaking in tongues with an interpretation. The interpretation was addressed to God in praises and thanksgiving for Lynn's marvelous new song and the work of God's Spirit that had transformed her life. When this Jewish lady heard it and understood it - both in French and from the interpretation she was convinced of the reality and the truth of Jesus Christ, and she received Him that night as her Lord.

How Does this Gift Operate?

How does the gift of interpretation operate? The Bible says there are diversities of gifts and diversities of operation. That means that the gift of interpretation may operate one way in my life but a different way in your life.

I love the fact that God is so diverse. He doesn't do things in a patterned way so that we begin to pigeonhole Him and say, "This is the only way He does things." I think He works in diverse ways so that we will be open to however God chooses to work.

Although I can tell you how the gift operates in my life, that doesn't mean it will operate in your life the same way. When I exercise this gift, I understand what is being said as if it were being spoken in English. The thought or the praise or the thanksgiving just comes into my mind. Quite often, the person speaking in tongues goes on for a few minutes and I can't immediately remember what was said. But when I begin repeating the thoughts that first came to me, the rest returns to my mind as I continue to speak. The interpretation begins to flow.

Of course, I do not get an interpretation every time I hear someone speaking in tongues. I appreciate that fact, because it helps me to realize this is a gift from God; that it's not my personal property. The interpretation of tongues is a gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit anoints you to give an interpretation, and you know it when you have it (and you sure know it when you don't).

If someone is giving an utterance in tongues and I don't receive an interpretation, I don't immediately doubt the validity of his or her gift. It just means that God didn't choose to give me an interpretation of what they said. And that's fine with me.

Just as there is a difference between interpretation and translation, so is there a difference between interpretation and prophecy. Oftentimes, as a young man, I was told a service had featured tongues and interpretation, when in fact I now believe it had been tongues and prophecy.

The Bible says that if I speak in an unknown tongue I'm not speaking to man, but to God. "He who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries" (I Corinthians 14:2). I do not find any place in the New Testament where tongues are addressed to man.

In fact, Paul asks how a person who hears an unknown tongue is going to say "amen" to the giving of thanks, since he can't understand what is said. Paul recognized that God never addressed the church through the exercise of tongues; rather, tongues addressed God with praises or thanksgiving.

Therefore, if speaking in tongues is addressed to God, then a true interpretation of those tongues must also be addressed to God. If an utterance in tongues magnifies God, then the interpretation should also magnify God. If the utterance in tongues gives thanks and praise to God, then the interpretation will also give thanks and praise to God. God doesn't speak to the church in tongues, even when the utterance is interpreted.

On the other hand, God does address the church through prophecy. Through prophecy - not through tongues and their interpretation - He exhorts, teaches, comforts, and edifies His church.

Thus, I think it's unscriptural to talk about "a message in tongues with interpretation" as if it were a message from God to the church. So many times such interpretations begin with something like, "Thus saith the Lord: My children, if you will hearken to Me and lift up your voices and praise Me, then I will bless you and I will pour out My Spirit upon you." Such an exhortation to the church is said to be the interpretation of an utterance in tongues, but it is not; it is actually the exercise of the gift of tongues, followed by prophecy.

As I have sought to analyze this, I realize that the people are sincere and they love the Lord. I'm certain they have a genuine experience with God and I don't discount that. But, I think what I was observing was an utterance in tongues, followed by the gift of prophecy "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort" (I Corinthians 14:3 KJV). And if you'll notice the content of the supposed interpretation, which I believe to be a prophecy, the content is generally edification, exhortation, or comfort. And, thus, I think that the people actually believe they are experiencing the gift of tongues with interpretation, when in reality it is tongues and prophecy.

What I think happens is this: When the utterance in tongues is given, a person with the gift of prophecy sitting nearby is emboldened to stand up and give a prophecy which edifies and exhorts the congregation. His utterance was not an interpretation of tongues; it was a prophecy addressed to the church by God.

Barbarians in Church!

Our word "barbarian" comes from the Greeks. They called anyone who spoke in a language they did not understand "barbars." To them, foreign tongues sounded like someone saying "bar-bar-bar-bar." People who spoke these odd tongues were unintelligible, and therefore called bar-barians.

Through the wonderful gift of the interpretation of tongues, tongues speakers do not have to be barbarians in the assembly of the church. When someone gives an utterance of tongues to praise, honor, and give thanks to God, another sitting by who is gifted with the interpretation of tongues can edify the church by clearly proclaiming the beautiful words that have been spoken.

Sometimes, God may choose to use the exercise of these gifts to bring an unbeliever from the kingdom of darkness into the glorious light of the kingdom of God. But more frequently, He simply blesses the church by proclaiming in an understandable tongue the glorious things that have been declared in an unknown language.

Either way, it's a treat for anybody. Even barbarians.