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Originally Posted by berkeley
One who has the gift of interpreting tongues, can they interpret all tongues?
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No. Not all tongues are charismatic tongues.
1 Corinthians 14:2, 4
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2. 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.
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4. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself...
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The charismata are given by God for the benefit of the Body (
1 Corinthians 12:7). But here in 14:2 we see a form of speaking in tongues in which the only person benefited by the speaking is the actual speaker, who speaks only to God, meaning no one else in the Body is benefited. The unknown tongue remains a mystery to everyone else (See also
1 Corinthians 14:28).
This also doesn't speak to receiving the Holy Spirit and speaking with tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. That's a separate concern, in which those tongues are not interpreted in the Holy Scriptures by the Holy Spirit administering a charismata.
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Only the “gift” of tongues?
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Correct. The two charismata go hand in hand.
1 Corinthians 12:10,
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...to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues...
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There is no logical point to having a charismatic gift of interpreting tongues without the corollary of diverse kinds of tongues. Also, as already shown above, there are times when a person who is speaking in tongues needs to remain silent and speak mysteries to God for personal edification. No one should be attempting to interpret these forms of tongues.
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Can they interpret when someone prays in tongues?
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Not automatically. They can however, be allowed to interpret if they themselves speak in an unknown tongue:
1 Corinthians 14:13,
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13. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
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Or, if two or three have spoken to the church in an unknown tongue, one may be allowed to interpret:
1 Corinthians 14:27,
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27. If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
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The only way to know whether someone is speaking in tongues by two, or at the most by three, is if they make it sufficiently audible so that the church may make an account, and follow order, thereby indicating that an interpretation is required, should an interpreter be present. But if no one is speaking loudly enough for anyone else to hear or know, or because they believe no interpreter is present, they lower the volume of their voice, and speak quietly the mysteries the Spirit is giving them, to God, for personal edification.
This shows then, that this rule of two or at most three, is something only applied to the church as a whole, hence a charismata by which all may be profited. A church may have more than three people, quietly, and in decent order, speaking in tongues during a meeting at the same time, as long as they are not disrupting or causing chaos or indicating madness to unlearned visitors. Essentially, it would indicate perhaps a whisper level volume, so that no one else would pick up on it so as to incorrectly assume an interpretation needed to be forthcoming.
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