The Gift of Tongues

First Corinthians chapters 12, 13, and 14 address spiritual gifts, with particular emphasis on guidelines for the proper use of the gift of tongues. What is the gift of tongues? This gift empowers a believer to speak in a language previously unknown to them. For example, a person raised in England naturally acquires English as their native tongue through everyday interaction. In the apostolic age, when the gift of tongues was active, that same person might have spoken fluent Arabic, a language completely foreign to them. Because the speaker did not understand Arabic, the content of their speech remained unknown to them. However, if an Arabic speaker were present, they could interpret what was spoken. This interpretation would then benefit the entire church, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 14:27-28. This establishes a crucial point: the unknown tongue is a recognizable earthly language, not a so-called 'heavenly language' as some assert. Is the gift still pr...