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Hello.  I have a question that deals with the interpretation of tongues.  So here it is; I’m going to explain it the best that I can.  Can a person that speaks in tongues be his own interpreter?  There has been some confusion between my mother and I about this subject.  It states in the Bible that there has to be an interpreter, but it doesn’t really explain past that (or if there are any restrictions on who it can be).  Hopefully, you can be of some assistance.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Seeking A Translator

Dear Seeking A Translator,

The problem with answering your question is that the modern practice of speaking in tongues is nothing like the Bible account of the topic.  Speaking in tongues was a miraculous gift that allowed a person to speak in other actual languages (such as German, French, etc. – see a list of some of the languages in Acts 2:6-11).  The modern teaching of speaking in tongues has people speaking in “hidden” or “spiritual” languages that have no bearing on society.  Speaking in tongues was a tool God gave to the first century christians to help spread the gospel to people of many cultures without facing the language barrier – it wasn’t for the church’s edification; it was for evangelism (1 Cor 14:22).  Modern speaking in tongues is exactly the opposite.

Furthermore, speaking in tongues was a gift from the Holy Spirit.  The way that people received those gifts was through an apostle laying his hands on them (Acts 8:17-18).  Since it took an apostle to convey the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gifts would cease with the death of the last person that the last living apostle laid his hands on.  In fact, God promised that this would happen.  Paul says that spiritual gifts would eventually perish once God had given us the complete and perfect Bible (1 Cor 13:8-9 – read more on this subject in “Gifts That Stop Giving”).  So when you ask if you need an interpreter, we are hard-pressed to give an answer for an issue that is no longer applicable within the Lord’s church.

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What does the word ‘for’ mean?  Example: for forgiveness, for remission of sin, etc.

Sincerely,
Looking ‘For’ Answers

Dear Looking ‘For’ Answers,

In English, the word ‘for’ can mean ‘because of’ or ‘in order to receive, acquire, or achieve’… but in the Greek language, it can only mean one of these things (more on this a little later).  For example, if someone said, “I went to the store for my wife”, they probably mean that they went to the store because their wife asked them to.  On the other hand, if I said, “I went to the store for milk”, I probably mean that I went to go and get milk… not that the milk asked me to go to the store!  In the English language, the word ‘for’ can be used with either definition, and context has to decide which is the more appropriate use of the word.

However, the Greek language (the original language of the New Testament) is much more precise.  The word used in the phrase “for forgiveness of sins” in places like Acts 2:38 is a word that specifically means “that you might receive, acquire, go towards, unto”.  The Greek word translated most often as ‘for’ in most modern translations is ‘eis’ (pronounced the same as ‘ace’), and it always means the same as “I went to the store for milk”… never “I went to the store for my wife”.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom