Is speaking in tongues for today?

Contested

Texts of equal or higher authority genuinely pull both ways — SAM names both sides.

The text does not explicitly say tongues have ceased, but it does say they will cease at some point — and honest readers genuinely disagree about when that is.

1 Corinthians 13:8 (Tier 4) says tongues will cease, but the trigger — "when that which is complete has come" (v.10) — is not defined in the text, leaving the timing genuinely open. No Tier 1 or Tier 2 text explicitly states tongues have already ended.

The unresolved tension: The text does not define what "that which is complete" (to teleion, 1 Corinthians 13:10) refers to — whether it is the completed canon of Scripture, the maturity of the body of Christ, or the return of Christ. This unresolved identification is the hinge on which the entire cessation question turns.

Key texts:

1 Corinthians 12:7-11Tier 4 · Apostle

“But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Sp…”

1 Corinthians 12:28-30Tier 4 · Apostle

“God has set some in the assembly: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and various kinds of languages. Are all apostles? A…”

1 Corinthians 13:8-12Tier 4 · Apostle

“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know in p…”

…and 13 more verses weighed in the full analysis.

This is a summary.

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