I've been thinking on the authority and power of God's word. In the beginning God creates almost everything out of the spoken word form his mouth, "and God said......with the exception being humans, whom he came down from heaven to create with his hands and give the breath of life. But getting back to the thought of words, we see over and over again in the Old Testament and New Testament the power of words, whether they are words coming from God himself or words from the mouths of his disciples. In Genesis 27 we see Isaac bless Jacob only to find out he was tricked and both Isaac and Esau react violently when they find out the truth. Isaac proclaims, once the blessing has been spoken it can't be undone, nor can it be given again. How often do we say things, only to retract them as if nothing was spoken in the first place, "Oh well, no harm done. It was just words". When we do this we are unwise and foolish, rejecting the authority that has been given to us (Luke 9:1-2). In Matthew 12:33-37, we see Jesus give all of us a warning about the manner in which we use our words. We see Peter, post Pentecost, heal with the power of words and then telling us about it in 1 Peter 3:10.
It light of this thinking, I was wondering if the universe and all that is in it, came into existence through the word of God, should it not also end in the same manner, through the Word of God????
In Ephesians 6 we read about putting on the armor of God and in this passage we see that the only offensive weapon we have against the spiritual forces of evil in this world is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This same word of God is used by Jesus when he encounters Satan in the wilderness. In the Gospel of John we are introduced to Jesus in this manner; "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God......And the Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1:1;14)."
So what about the end, we all want to know how the story ends. The story ends with the rider on the white horse (Revelation 19:11-16). This rider is named "The Word of God" and we are told from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which he will strike down the nations. In light of Ephesians and everything else we see in Scripture, I can't help but think that the sword in the mouth of the rider on the white horse is nothing else than the word of God, there is no literal sword. It will be God's Word speaking that will finally put an end to Satan's dominion over the earth. It will be through words that the new heaven and new earth will be established once and for all.
If words are this powerful, if words carry with them this much authority, why don't I pay more attention to the words I speak. When talking with my kids are my words producing life or death. When I engage someone new what words am I leaving them, do I even believe that my words can carry this much weight? James gives us some advice about taming our tongues and he tells us that it is humanly impossible to speak perfectly at all times. The problem with our tongues is a spiritual problem. If I don't have the Holy Spirit flowing in me, then my words will be nothing more than deadly poison. So maybe before I speak, I should listen, listen for what the Holy Spirit is telling me, teaching me, correcting me, guiding me.
This is my prayer; Holy Spirit, I'm listening.
