What does the gift of tongues mean in 1 Corinthians 12?
The gift of tongues in 1 Corinthians 12 means various kinds of languages. The Holy Spirit gives this gift, and another gift is the interpretation of those languages. It appears among faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, and discerning, all distributed by the same Spirit.
Les teaches that in 1 Corinthians 12 the “various kinds of tongues” are languages, and the paired gift is the interpretation of those languages. He lists them alongside faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, and discerning whether a thing is true or false, all by the same Holy Spirit. Les then contrasts this with Ephesians, written several years later, where Paul has the complete revelation and teaches the believer’s position in the Body of Christ. Ephesians 4 stresses one Body, one Spirit, and one hope, which Les compares to moving from simple arithmetic to higher mathematics.
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: