Who is a person speaking to when they speak in an unknown tongue?
When a person speaks in an unknown tongue, they speak not to men but to God. Only God can understand it, for no man can understand. In the spirit, they speak mysteries beyond ordinary human comprehension. Thus, the only intended listener is God.
Les explains that the person who speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God. Only God could understand it, for no man could understand it. He notes that this is in the spirit (with a small 's'), meaning the spirit of his mind and thinking processes, and he speaks mysteries that are beyond ordinary human comprehension. Les then contrasts this with the three times in Scripture when the Holy Spirit delegated the miracle of speaking in tongues to men, such as Acts chapter 2, where it was men speaking to men. So the unknown tongue is directed to God, while the delegated gift was for men.
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
More Questions
What does 'unknown tongue' mean in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14?
Whenever the word 'tongue' appears in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 in the singular with the added word 'unknown,' it refers to a bunch of sounds that cannot be reduced to print, are not phonetic, cannot be written down by anybody—just a bunch of noise.