A gift of the Spirit

The Gift of the Interpretation of Tongues

The nine gifts of 1 Corinthians 12 · 1 Corinthians 12:10

The interpretation of tongues is a Spirit given ability to make an utterance in tongues understandable to the gathered church, so that what would otherwise edify only the speaker can build up everyone. Paul names it last among the nine gifts, the companion that makes the gift of tongues serve the whole body.

To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:1 Corinthians 12:10 (KJV)

Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.1 Corinthians 14:13 (KJV)

What the gift is

Paul closes his list of the nine gifts with the interpretation of tongues. It is the necessary companion to the gift of tongues in public worship, for Paul insists that in the church an utterance in tongues must be interpreted, or it profits no one. The interpreter is given by the Spirit to render the meaning of what has been spoken, so that the mind of the hearers, and not only their spirit, may be built up.

Interpretation is not translation by study or skill; it is a gift, given as the Spirit wills, to open to the church what was spoken in an unknown tongue. Paul even tells the one who speaks in a tongue to pray that he may interpret, so that the gift will edify and not merely mystify. Without this gift, Paul says, the speaker in tongues should keep silence in the church, for the whole aim is that others be built up.

How it appears in the New Testament

The gift is named among the nine in the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians, and its role is spelled out in the fourteenth. Paul's rule for worship is precise: if any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course, and let one interpret. And if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church. The interpreter turns a private mystery into a shared edification.

The New Testament gives us few detailed scenes of interpretation, but the principle is everywhere in Paul's teaching: understanding is what builds up. He would rather speak five words understood than ten thousand in a tongue no one grasps. The gift of interpretation exists precisely to satisfy that principle, so that a gift of tongues can serve the assembly rather than leave it in the dark.

How it builds up the body of Christ

By making an utterance in tongues understandable, this gift lets the whole church share in what was spoken, so that all may say the Amen and all may be edified. It turns something that would bless only one person into something that blesses the many. In this way it guards Paul's great concern that all things be done unto edifying and that the church be built up in understanding.

Like all the gifts, it is for the common good and must be exercised in love and order. The interpreter serves quietly, adding nothing of his own for show, simply opening the meaning so that God is glorified and the body is strengthened. It is a gift of service, content to make another gift useful for everyone.

How to recognize and use it

Where the gift of tongues is present in a congregation, the interpretation of tongues is its needed partner, and Paul directs that it always accompany the public use of tongues. If God gives you this gift, use it humbly and faithfully, seeking only that the church be built up and that everything be done decently and in order.

And whatever our view of these gifts, Paul's governing principle holds for all worship: let all things be done unto edifying. Understanding is love's servant. Whatever helps the whole body grasp the truth and glorify God is walking in the spirit of this gift.

Where Christians differ, held honestly. Because the interpretation of tongues is bound to the gift of tongues, it shares in the same discussion among Christians. Here sincere, Bible loving Christians genuinely differ, and it is worth saying so plainly. Cessationists hold that the more visibly miraculous gifts were tied to the foundational age of the apostles and to confirming the gospel before the New Testament was complete, and that they have therefore ceased, or greatly quieted, now that we have the finished Scripture. Continuationists hold that the Spirit never withdrew any gift, that the same God still gives as He wills, and that we should earnestly desire the gifts while testing everything by the Word. Godly, careful believers stand on both sides. The Living Bread takes no side in this. What every faithful reading agrees on is the purpose: the gifts are given by one Spirit to build up the church, never to exalt the person who carries them, never to rival or add to God's revealed Word, and never to be pursued apart from love.

How this gift points to Christ

This gift exists so that praise offered to God in an unknown tongue may become praise the whole church can share, ending in a common Amen to the glory of God through Jesus Christ. It serves understanding, and understanding serves love, and love builds up the body of Christ. In making one gift useful to all, the interpreter quietly does what all the gifts are for: joining the many members into one, so that with one mind and one mouth they glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It seeks no notice, content that Christ be exalted and His people edified.

The more excellent way

Whatever place the gift of the Interpretation of Tongues holds, Paul sets one thing above every gift. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, he says, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal; and though I have all knowledge, and all faith, and have not charity, I am nothing. The gifts will one day pass away, but now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; and the greatest of these is charity.

So this gift, like all the rest, is given by one Spirit for the common good, to build up the one body of Christ, and it is nothing at all apart from love. The gifts are not for our standing but for our serving, and they all belong to Him whose body the church is. Use whatever you have been given to love one another, and to point every eye to Jesus, from whom every good gift comes and to whom every gift returns its praise.

The Giver calls you

Every gift of the Spirit comes from the risen Christ and points back to Him. The same Lord who pours out gifts on His church calls you by name to know Him, to be filled with His Spirit, and to take your place in His body. Read the Word, pray, and gather with the family of God on The Living Bread. Free, with no ads, for all people.

Get the app Who is Jesus?

Questions people ask

What is the interpretation of tongues?

It is a Spirit given ability to make an utterance in tongues understandable to the gathered church, so that what would edify only the speaker can build up everyone. Paul names it in 1 Corinthians 12:10 and requires it whenever tongues are spoken publicly (1 Corinthians 14:27-28).

Is interpretation the same as translation?

Not by study or skill. It is a gift given as the Spirit wills to open the meaning of what was spoken in an unknown tongue, so that the church may understand and be edified. Its whole purpose is that understanding, and thus love, may reach everyone.

Why is interpretation required for tongues in church?

Because Paul insists that public worship build up all who are present. Without interpretation, an utterance in tongues edifies only the speaker. With it, the whole body shares in the blessing, which is why Paul says that without an interpreter the speaker should keep silence in the church.