• What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit?
• Why should I be baptized in the Holy Spirit?
• What is the purpose of speaking in tongues?

There are three clear accounts in the Bible where people were initially baptized in the Holy Spirit and describes the physical manifestations which were present: 
 

Acts 2:1-4

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place...All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."
 

Acts 10:43-46

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”
 

Acts 19:1-6

“...Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit’...When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”

In each of these instances the disciples KNEW they had been “clothed with power from on high”, or “filled with the Holy Spirit”, because they spoke with other tongues! 

Speaking in other tongues is the initial evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. There may also be other evidences, as there were in these examples, but EVERYONE who is filled with the Spirit will speak in other tongues!
 
 

There are five purposes for speaking in tongues beside the initial evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit; four are personal in nature and involve the individual edification (building up) of the believer while one purpose is public and intended to edify the corporate body of believers (the congregation as a whole).

As Christians, all of us should want to grow and be built up in our faith. Edification means "building up." One way of doing this is mentioned in 
 

1 Corinthians 14:4

“He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself...”

This personal edification is perfectly acceptable and necessary for the Christian. The four personal uses of tongues are discussed below:

Prayer

The first of these personal purposes is a personal prayer language. According to the Bible there are two types of languages: human languages and angelic languages. 
 

	1 Corinthians 13:1
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

So, the prayer language, or tongue, that a person receives at their Spirit baptism may be a human language or an angelic language.

The Apostle Paul explains in:
 

Romans 8:26-27

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.”

Often when we pray we run out of our own words and wish there were a better way to express our deepest concerns to God. It is at this point that praying in tongues or “praying in the Spirit” (synonymous expressions) becomes invaluable!
 

1 Corinthians 14:2, 14-15

“For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God...For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.”

When a person prays in tongues they don’t know exactly what they are saying, but the Spirit is praying in tune with God’s will. And God knows what is being said. Paul asks the question in verse 15 

“So what shall I do?” and then answers it by saying, “I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind...”

Being able to pray both in our known language and in tongues is a distinct benefit of being filled with the Spirit! We are instructed by both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Jude to pray in the Spirit.
 

Ephesians 6:18

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

Jude 20

“But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.”

Singing 
 

In our personal worship of God singing is one way we express our love for Him. When we are filled with the Spirit we can sing in our own language and we can sing in tongues too. 
 

1 Corinthians 14:15

“So what shall I do?... I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.”

Praising God 
 

Again, in our expressions of love for God we can praise Him in our known language or we can praise Him in tongues.
 

1 Corinthians 14:16-17

 “If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?”

Paul is here explaining why, in a public worship service, a person should not praise God audibly in tongues. Nevertheless, praising God quietly, or privately in tongues is perfectly acceptable to Him! 
 

Giving Thanks to God
 

As with praising God, after we are filled with the Spirit, we can also give thanks to God in either our known language or in tongues. Paul is continuing his instruction of the Corinthians in the proper use of tongues in a public worship service when he says, 
 

1 Corinthians 14:17

“You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.”

His primary concern is with everyone being built up in their faith when the whole church comes together. By giving thanks to God in tongues an individual may be doing it well enough between himself and God, but because those around him don’t understand what he is saying they are not built up. So, giving thanks to God in tongues privately is very appropriate, but without an interpretation, it should not be done out loud in a public worship service.
 
 

The Gift of Tongues

Each of the personal purposes of speaking in tongues mentioned before (prayer, singing, praising God, giving thanks to God) can also be used in a public worship service. However in the public worship setting, though they are the same tongues, they have a different function and their use is restricted by very clear guidelines for their exercise to be considered "Biblical."

The tongues used in a public worship service are referred to as one of the “Spiritual Gifts.”
 

1 Corinthians 12:8-10

“To one there is given through the Spirit...speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.”

These two gifts of the Holy Spirit (speaking in different kinds of tongues and interpretation of tongues) are to function together when the corporate body of Christ is in worship. When these two gifts function together in a service it is God speaking to the church directly through a Christian who has been baptized in the Holy Spirit.

There are three primary differences between the personal and the public use of tongues. 

First, whenever tongues are used audibly in a public worship service they are to be interpreted by someone so the entire congregation can be built up and not just the one doing the speaking. In private there is no interpretation of tongues given.

Second, the number of times an utterance intogues followed by an interpretation can be given in a corporate worship setting is limited to two or at the most three. 

Third, though everyone is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues, NOT EVERYONE who has been baptized in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues will be able to use their tongues in an utterance in a corporate worship setting followed by an interpretation. Only those the Holy Spirit specifically selects will be used in giving a message in tongues in a church service. They are the ones who have been given the "Gift of Tongues" by the Holy Spirit.