by J. Christian Andrews
April 10, 2015
The Power of Words
“In the beginning was the Word...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1a, 14
I suspect my parents taught me the childhood rhyme “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me” to try and toughen me up sometime or over the course of early childhood on occasions when I was being teased. I suppose there is some value in being a little toughened up. We need to learn that not all of life is easy and people are going to say things. I don’t know that it is particularly healthy to cry “bully” every time someone says something that get under our skin.
There is, however, real power in words; and we should recognize that power especially so that we ourselves are careful about how we use them.
We are confronted with words at the very beginning of the Bible, when God retells for us the narrative of creation. We only need get to the third verse to find that God said and with each successive day of six He again said, and all that is came into being: light; the heavens; earth and sea and vegetation; the sun, moon, and stars, fish and birds, and the earth’s creepers.
On the second part of the sixth day, God spoke again; but this time it was not to create but to have a conversation with Himself to proclaim a special creation: “Let Us make man in Our image…” As the narrative continues we find that “in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
There is no time indicated in the narrative, but it would seem not long after the special creation of the man and the woman, first forming the man from the dust and breathing life into him and then crafting the woman from one of his ribs, another voice spoke. This time the voice was deceptive, and it questioned God’s words and planted doubt. Sin came into the creation as the man and the woman listened to the deceptive voice and broke trust with God. The relationship was destroyed, and death came.
Fast forward to the beginning of a new era, and we again encounter the word, except this time it is the Word (logos), not just any word but the whole wisdom and counsel of God. This Word already was when our beginning began. This Word was with God and was God. This Word was active in creation. This Word became flesh.
This Word Become Flesh came to mend the breach in the trust and relationship that God wants to have with His creation. So God, who loved the world, gave His only Son, the Word Become Flesh, so that anyone who puts his trust in the Word, so that anyone who believes, will not continue in separation ending in the death which is eternal separation but will instead have life which is the forever restoration of relationship with God.
In God’s plan, then, the Word who became flesh was sent to a Roman death cross. From that cross, He spoke. His first words gave voice to His purpose: “Father, forgive them.” Again when He cried out, He quoted an ancient hymn, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1) and revealed to us that “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 6:21). Then, as He died, His words once again echoed across the ages, “It is finished.” The redemption of creation, the reconciliation of humanity planned before the foundations of the world, had been accomplished; and humanity was invited once again into the whole and eternal relationship with God for which it had been designed.
There is power in words, but there may be no greater word than that which the Word spoke with His life, with His death, and with His resurrection. It is this Word which calls us to faith, to believe that the promises are true, to trust in the forgiveness of sins, our resurrection from the dead, and the gift of life everlasting. Amen.