Question:
Dr. Lindstrom, my question concerns the Apostle Paul when he told the Christians of his day to be silent referring to speaking in tongues if no interpreter was present. I realize he was referring to the Christians of that era who were actually speaking in tongues,or foreign languages, but do you think the interpreters he referred to were interpreting by the Holy Spirit and did not know the language or were the interpreters people who actually did know the language? The reason I’m asking is; it seems to me that unbelievers probably wouldn’t believe if they couldn’t understand the speaker and thus, wouldn’t have any way of knowing if the interpreter was actually interpreting or just making up something, but on the other hand, at least the interpreter, if not a believer, would be impacted if he heard the message in his own language. I understand that everyone heard in their own language on Pentecost, but what about the later interpreters that Paul speaks about here, were they interpreting by the Holy Spirit, or did the interpreters Paul spoke of actually know the language ? Thanks.
Answer:
Since there was the ‘gift of interpretation’ mentioned in I Corinthians 12:10, I believe that there were those who by the Holy Spirit could interpret foreign languages.