1 Corinthians 14:27

If any man speaketh in a tongue, let it be by two, or at most three, and that in turn; and let one interpret: but if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

There are a number of rules in these two verses which must be observed whenever tongues may be used. These are:

1. No more than three may speak in a tongue on any given occasion.

2. All tongue-speaking must be done "in turn," that is, by persons speaking one at a time.

3. On no occasion may tongues be used unless an interpreter is standing by to tell the audience every word that was spoken.

To these prohibitions, there must be added a number of others which are given in this chapter, including these:

4. Everything must be done unto edifying, and tongues do not edify.

5. Love is a better thing to practice than speaking in tongues.

6. Five intelligible words are to be preferred to ten thousand in an uninterpreted tongue.

7. Under no circumstances let the women do it (1 Corinthians 14:34), interpreter or no interpreter.

8. Greater is the teacher than the tongue-speaker.

9. Uninterpreted tongues will cause outsiders to say, "Ye are mad."

An analysis of the above apostolic rules on tongue-speaking will emphasize the importance of the inspired interpreter, the gift of interpretation itself being one of the miraculous gifts; and Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 14:28 that, "If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church," still leaves the possibility that there were not any in Corinth who had that gift. This might very well have been Paul's way of putting the terminator on tongues without discouraging any who might really have had the genuine gift. Certainly, the lack of authentic interpretation in the present times raises the most serious questions and goes far to prove the invalid nature of that which passes for tongue-speaking today. Has any revelation been delivered to mankind since the days of the apostles by means of the gift of tongues duly interpreted? If so, where is it? Has there ever been preserved any of this supernatural wisdom that is said to be imparted to people by means of tongues? If so, who has ever heard a single word of it? If it is a fact that God is speaking in such a manner to people today, and that there are interpreters who might tell what is spoken, why has it not been published, in order for all people to be able to share in it?

The things spoken by alleged interpreters who are conveying present-day messages received through tongues are nothing new, being for the most part garbled and confused bits of teaching gleaned piecemeal from smatterings of religious texts, being in no sense whatever any such thing as a coherent and enlightening communication from Almighty God. In a word, all the post-apostolic tongue-speakings for nineteen centuries have not contributed one authentic sentence to the revealed will of God, like that in the New Testament. If this does not condemn the whole monstrous aberration, then how on earth could it be condemned? The blunt, dogmatic apostolic answer to tongue-speakings is just this: "but if there be no interpreter!" We know there are no authenticated holders of this gift today; and the strong suggestion persists in this whole chapter that there were none of that class in Corinth.

Speak to himself and to God ... This stresses the private nature of the true gift; and the apostolic order for it not to be used in church (without an interpreter) removed the only possible reason why the counterfeiters were faking it, making it impossible for them to accumulate any flattery or "glory" from the display of their "abilities" publicly.