And in the ministry of Jesus, too, we see all the gifts of the Spirit in operation except for
tongues and interpretation of tongues; you won't find tongues and interpretation of tongues in
operation in His ministry.
The fifth reason why it seems that Full Gospel people emphasize tongues so much is that Paul
gave prominence to tongues. One reason he did was that then, just as now, speaking in
tongues was widely misunderstood.
The Gift of Tongues Is a Supernatural Sign
Divers kinds of tongues is supernatural utterance by the Holy Spirit in languages never learned
by the speaker, nor understood by the speaker, nor necessarily always understood by the
hearer. Speaking with tongues has nothing whatsoever to do with linguistic ability; it has
nothing to do with the mind or the intellect of man. It is a vocal miracle of the Holy Spirit.
We might ask, "What is the good of speaking with tongues?" Jesus said in Mark 16:17, ". . .
these signs shall follow them that believe . . . they shall speak with new tongues."
One preacher, endeavoring to explain that, said, "This just means that a fellow who used to
curse and tell lies and vulgar jokes doesn't do that anymore; he speaks with a new tongue."
This argument, however, is a little thin because in reading the entire context of the following
passage of Scripture, we see that every one of these signs is supernatural.
MARK 16:15-18
15 .. (.Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be
damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils
[ exercise authority over demons and evil spirits in His name]; they shall speak with
new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents [meaning believers won't be harmed if they do so
accidentally, as Paul did on the island of Melital; and if they drink any deadly thing
[accidentally], it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover.
Any thinking person could see that if the other four of these signs — casting out devils, taking
up serpents, drinking any deadly thing without suffering harm, and laying hands on the sick —
are supernatural, surely the fifth sign, speaking in tongues, is also supernatural.
Therefore, one reason we speak in tongues is that Jesus said this is one sign which should
follow believers. Also, tongues is the scriptural, initial evidence also of the baptism in the Holy
Ghost (Acts 2:4).
The Gift of Tongues Is Unique To This Dispensation
One preacher disagreed with speaking in tongues, saying, "John the Baptist had the Holy
Ghost and he didn't speak with tongues. Prophets of the Old Testament had the Holy Ghost,
but they never spoke in tongues. So why do we need to speak in tongues?"
But we must remember that John the Baptist ministered as a prophet under the Old Covenant.
Prophets under the Old Covenant had not been born again. They did not have a recreated