examples. As I write my attention is drawn to an instance of this given in the C.E.M. magazine (Page 7) for March, 1960 in which a young native boy, speaking in a native language that neither he nor the others around understood, was yet speaking to a native woman who did happen to come from where that language was spoken. She understood him and found that through him God was answering all the arguments she had used against Christianity! As a consequence she gave her heart to the Lord.
Tongues in the Assembly
The ability to speak in a foreign language however is of no profit in an Assembly unless:
(a) there happens to be a stranger present who knows the language spoken: in this case of course he will be astounded at the miracle and acknowledge that God is in the midst and so he may be converted; or
(b) there is someone in the Assembly to whom the Spirit gives the interpretation of the tongue in the language of the listeners. In which case it may be linked with prophecy, as a presentation of the mind of the Spirit. The Greek word translated "interpretation" does not primarily mean "translation". It is used for example in Luke 24:27 of Our Lord "expounding" the Old Testament Scriptures (cf. verses 32 and 45) and it is normally translated "expound", "explain ", "give the meaning of". The interpretation may then be longer or shorter than the tongue of which it may give a shorter or longer exposition. The interpreter may receive his gift before, during, or after, the tongue: he may launch out upon a single sentence, and