Does Romans 8 Support Praying in Tongues??

Last week, I noped Jen Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding, California on a video of her explaining and encouraging praying in tongues.

I then made a breakdown video highlighting seven errors I spotted in her video, you can find it on my

YouTube channel. One of those errors was her reference to Romans 8, 26 and 27 to support her doctrine of tongues.

Don't forget the power of speaking in tongues. Sometimes we don't even know how to pray or what to do and speaking in tongues is just an amazing communication where you speak this heavenly language that God gives all of us.

We touched on it only briefly and I told you I would make a separate video on these verses so we can take a deeper dive because their actual meaning is quite fascinating.

This is that video. So the point in question is, what does Paul mean when he says in verse 26, the spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words?

Many use this as a proof text for speaking in gibberish and calling it a heavenly language, but spiritual gifts are not the matter at hand in Romans 8.

So what is Romans 8 about? Well, Paul has just finished talking about the believer's relationship to sin in chapters 6 and 7.

Believers are no longer under the dominion of sin and while the law of God no longer condemns us, we still wrestle against indwelling sin.

In chapter 8, the focus is on the believer's relationship to the spirit. He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead indwells believers and will raise them also.

By his indwelling power, we put to death deeds of the flesh as we await our resurrection and the spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.

Romans 8 is about living by the spirit in victory over the flesh in view of the great hope that we will one day be fully delivered.

The spirit is given as the guarantee of our eschatological hope in Christ and of our final victory in him and we have this guarantee and this hope in the midst of suffering and our continued battle with sin.

So there's some context. Now let's talk about what Romans 8 26 and 27 doesn't mean.

It doesn't mean praying in tongues. First, speaking in tongues requires speaking but what does the text say? The spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

There are no words involved in the spirit's groaning. Secondly, Paul is offering this great comfort to all

Christians but not all Christians speak in tongues. Paul makes that clear in 1 Corinthians 12 30.

Thirdly, the word intercedes is in its present tense meaning that this ministry of the Holy Spirit is something he carries out continuously and not just when

Christians pray in tongues. Therefore, Paul cannot be talking about speaking in tongues and certainly not babbling and gibberish and calling it a heavenly or angelic language.

Now we should also understand that this text isn't talking about those moments when you sigh instead of speak in prayer.

Maybe you're trying to pray through a difficult situation and you just sigh before the Lord. While all Christians may have that experience, they don't have that experience all the time and Paul is talking about a broader blessing for all

Christians in all times. We should also note that these groanings too deep for words does not mean that the Christian or the spirit cannot find words to express.

Groanings too deep for words is referring to the spirit's intercession and not the Christians and we as believers are nowhere instructed in scripture to pray without words and we cannot conclude that the

Holy Spirit himself cannot find the appropriate words to articulate the desire of our hearts. So let's consider what this text does mean.

Let me call your attention to the fact that the groaning in verse 26 is not the only groaning happening in Romans 8.

There are actually three groanings. Verse 22, creation groans to be delivered from the futility to which it was subjected.

In verse 23, believers groan inwardly for the redemption of our bodies. And thirdly in verse 26, the spirit groans in intercession on behalf of believers.

In verse 20 through 22, the apostle personifies created order as anxiously longing for and waiting eagerly to be set free from its slavery to corruption.

Creation was subjected to futility. The one who subjected it is God and this refers to God cursing the physical universe because of man's sin so that the purpose for which it was originally made can no longer be completely fulfilled as it exists now.

So just as we human beings hope for glorification as we are being presently renewed, the creation personified hopes also for its deliverance from slavery to corruption, this principle of decay to which it is currently bound.

We groan with the creation for the fulfillment of the glorious promises of God attached to our redemption.

We groan because of our suffering, because of our our sin, and because we die. Those we love die.

Even our Lord wept at the death of his friend. But we should not allow the shadow of death to hide from us the bright hope of resurrection.

As those who are being renewed, death ought not to decrease but increase our hope for the redemption of our bodies.

Though our bodies as they are now fail us and die and we still struggle with sin, we have hope of resurrection.

Paul says that we groan having the firstfruits of the Spirit and that we are eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons.

But haven't we already been adopted? Are we not already sons? The answer is in this eschatological concept of firstfruits before fulfillment or fullness.

In the Old Testament, firstfruits were used of the first products of field and flocks which were offered to God.

Deuteronomy 18 .4 You shall give him the firstfruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep.

The firstfruits are the beginning of the harvest. But look at this amazing truth. The Spirit as we have received him now is called the firstfruits.

Who gives the Spirit? God does. So instead of the worshiper giving the firstfruits, it is God who is giving the

Spirit to believers. Why is this so amazing? Because our reception of the Spirit and all the spiritual blessings we enjoy now are merely the beginning of a much greater harvest or fulfillment still to come, the fullness of our inheritance.

For this we groan, but one day your groaning will cease and we will have the full inheritance. We will receive the fullness of our adoption.

The sons of God will be revealed and creation will be renewed and in this we will have the redemption of our bodies.

As Neil Hamilton put it, this future redemption of the body is the not yet fulfilled future aspect of sonship which the

Spirit will fulfill. Now notice that verse 26 begins with the words, in the same way. In the same way as what?

In the same way creation groans and believers groan, the Spirit likewise groans, helping our weakness.

What is the weakness Paul mentions? We do not know how to pray as we should. We are not fully sanctified.

We still struggle with sin. We ourselves are not fully conformed to the will of God. We're not omniscient.

We don't know everything and so often we don't know what to pray. We often don't know what answer to our prayers is

God's will but the continuous ministry of the Spirit is to help our weakness by interceding on our behalf according to the will of God and this intercession of his is unexpressed.

It is a groaning for the will of God to be completed that needs no language nor articulation.

Why doesn't it need words? Verse 27, the Father who searches the hearts of believers knows what the mind of the

Spirit is. God knows our hearts. He sees into the heart of the believer where the

Spirit's ministry of intercession occurs and the Spirit and the Father being one in essence. He knows the mind of the

Spirit intuitively and the mind of the Spirit is the will of God. That's why if we are walking in the

Spirit we will be doing the will of God. We will have the fruit of the Spirit. So even though you don't know how to pray as you should, the

Holy Spirit indwelling you is making continual intercession on your behalf that is perfectly aligned with the will of God.

That is a great blessing and comfort as we pray how Jesus taught us, your kingdom come, your will be done.

And look at verse 28, while we don't know how to pray as we should, what do we know? We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love

God to those who are called according to his purpose and the Spirit's intercession, the Spirit's groaning is instrumental in accomplishing this.

It's quite amazing and I'm sure there is much more that could be said but I sincerely hope this video is helpful to you in your walk with Christ.

Romans 8 support praying in tongues in a supposed heavenly language? Nope.