The Power of Words
- His Servant - Rob McKee
- Jun 19, 2023
- 20 min read
Ever wonder why mankind is able to communicate so intelligently, like we do? I mean look at the other mammals, birds, and other lifeforms on earth. I know that science believes that these other species can communicate with one another, and perhaps they can to some degree. But do you really think that they can communicate at the same or on a greater level than we do? With the same detail that we are able to convey things to each other? So, the question then is, why? What is a more developed level of communication good for? Well, let’s look at what some of the purposes are behind the communication we use daily?
When we communicate, we share our thoughts and feelings, right? Why would we want to do that? Isn’t sharing thoughts and feelings a way to let others understand us? Maybe it’s the motives for the actions that they witnessed us take? Maybe it is to make them aware that we appreciate them, (or do not appreciate them so much.) What about sharing what we know?
It’s no secret that people learn from each other’s words. As a matter of fact, the longer that time goes on, man continues and will continue to grow in knowledge, generally speaking. What I mean is that the average person knows more that the average person did yesterday, last year, and so on. Now, I did not say that they were wiser. That’s because general knowledge can be learned in many ways and very quickly for some people, right? However, wisdom only comes through experience and use of knowledge. If knowledge is used correctly, we begin to understand why things are the way that they are. If we are prudent and exercise this understanding, we become wiser and can see things afar off and learn to use our knowledge in a more profitable way.
Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Proverbs 18:15 The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.
Proverbs 8:14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
Proverbs 15:21 Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
It’s true that we learn from one another, and that the more we communicate, the more knowledge increases. This can be a good thing, or a bad thing. Remember the tower of Babel?
Genesis 11:1-9 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. 4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Obviously, man was increasing in their own knowledge and their own way here – not good. Nowadays they fly rockets into space, don’t they? So, what’s the problem? We print history books, we have God’s Word to tell us the history of what happened when man was so bold to believe that he could build himself a tower to reach God, so why are they doing these things? The answer is simple – mankind, in general, is not wise and they do not like instruction!
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Yep, mankind sure does love to learn. They love to explore. They love to create and build things too, don’t they. This is because they were made in God’s image and in His likeness…
Genesis 1:26-27 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
Now, of course, we all know that mankind fell from God’s likeness (being Holy, or sinless) when Adam and Eve disobeyed The Lord. Because we are made from the soil of the earth, the earth and everything else that is made from it also became corrupt.
Definition of “corruption” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corruption
a departure from the original or from what is pure or correct
I want to point this out because, the fact that man is not in the same state as they were created to be in, there are some key differences in the power of their words! Why, because man is capable of lying. Man is also capable of making commitments and then finding that they are not able follow through 100% of the time. This is because their word, or should I say that the carnal man’s witness, is flawed by their character. Adam and Eve plunged us into a position where our likeness was no longer like God. In this position, we are still made from the dust of the earth, but the dust of the earth that we were made from is not the same dust that God originally created. It has changed, become flawed if you will? Mankind’s new character does not exhibit the same attributes that God’s has, (unless of course, if God has intervened in your life!)
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned
The problem is that man’s spirit and God’s spirit were separated when Adam and Eve forsook God’s way. I believe that Adam and Eve had God’s Spirit, but they traded God’s righteous way of thinking for the knowledge of good and evil, confusion was the result. The communication that satan had with Eve, and then Eve with Adam, once the believed and accepted it: confused them. This new prideful knowledge turned their mind against their heart’s desire to do good. Once they became confused, they could no longer retain only good thoughts and were driven from the safety of an obedient way in The Grace of God.
Let me prove what I am saying here: did you know that your mind is your spirit?
Ephesians 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind
What is your mind used for? How does it differ from the minds of others? It is what determines your way of thinking, and ultimately our actions! The contents of a person’s mind determines what experience they have in dealing with different thoughts and how they rationalize with the intentions of their heart. This dictates what they choose to do. When God created Adam…
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
And what did Jesus say?
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
We conclude here that when God created Adam, the scripture tells us that He created him in His Image and in His Likeness. This means that Adam had a heart and mind to serve God. His thoughts and way of approaching things (with the limited knowledge that he had of course) would be in a manner that would always please The Lord. In other words, he would have then also behaved in the same manner as God- Adam and Eve had fellowship with God!
Genesis 2:22-23 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Obviously, once they sinned, or rebelled against God’s Word, they not only had the knowledge of both good and evil, because of their disobedient and evil actions. They also became partakers of both good and evil because of their new knowledge and the confusion that it must have created. They now possessed a spirit or mind that could entertain disobedience.
Jeremiah 3:25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
Imagine all of the new foreign thoughts that must have gone through their hearts and minds, like prideful intentions that they would have never had before. It’s very sad, but they chose to do the exact opposite of what God commanded, so this was justice. Not only this, but they had to suffer in the flesh as well because the things that they did, they did in their earthly bodies.
Thank God that He separates us in death from the flesh and destroys sin in our lives so that we can live in The Spirit eternally! Amen!?
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
So far, we have talked about man’s word, for the most part. Most of what we have discussed evolves around the word of the carnal man. Let’s shift gears and talk about God’s Word!
We all know that when God speaks, it happens. Amen? What God says cannot help but be. Why? Because it is impossible for God to lie, that’s why! It’s called integrity. It’s called reality. It’s called power. – there are many things that we can call it, but God’s Word is Truth! His reputation precedes Him. Don’t believe me? Look outside at the trees. Look at the stars in the sky. Look at yourself. The Lord created all of it with His Word alone!
God’s Word is binding. If He promises something, you can take it to the throne or righteousness – it will come to pass, just as He said it would. So, now that we understand these things, what do you suppose compels God to speak? His Will of course. What is His Will? His wishes; His thoughts. It is His Way. What authors God’s way or His thoughts? His Mind; His Spirit. God’s Word creates. God’s Word multiplies. God’s Word compounds goodness. Doesn’t the scripture say that God looked upon each thing that He made and saw that it was good? Doesn’t it say that He blessed these same creations and told them to multiply. It proves His character because His actions and the evidence thereof line up with what His Word says!
How does satan’s word differ from God’s? The devil’s word tears down and it destroys. satan seeks to cover or hide the goodness of God. It proves his character because his actions and the evidence thereof do not line up with his words.
What does man’s Word do? It proves his character because his actions and the evidence of those actions either lines up with his word all of the time (if he is One in Christ), some of the time (likely if he is a sinner), or seldom (I would say, if he is a child of the devil.)
You see, we can do more things with our word besides simply communicate our thoughts and feelings, and spread knowledge. It goes deeper than this: we can use our words to intentionally teach someone by instructing them. We use words to sift through our thoughts when making a decision. We use words to record our thoughts by committing them to memory or writing them down so that we can remember them again later, or as a vehicle of communication with others.
All of these things are true, but did you know that we also use our words to create commitments or contracts with others? Did you know that we too have the power to speak things into existence? Now, I say this, but that power is very limited for mankind. Why? Because of our character and reputation. Just as mentioned earlier, the power and weight behind everyone’s word is dictated by their ability to bring it to pass. Does your word invoke action? The exact action that you stated it would? Be careful here! You know, it is true that sometimes we enter into agreements based upon what we know or based on what we believe at the time. If we then find that the situation has changed, or that we were deceived, we are often inclined to change our minds, aren’t we? Beware though, this could be dangerous to your reputation!
Matthew 5:34-37 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 35Nor by the earth; for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
James 4:13-16 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
I heard a saying that is very true, I believe that it goes like this: “you’re mind is a garden, your thoughts are seeds, you can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds.” The thing about people is, they speak about what is on their mind, right?
What does the Lord say?
Galatians 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Matthew 12:35-37 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
What about this?
Matthew 10:27-28 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
God’s Word was sent to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Our words bear witness of our thoughts, whether they line up with God’s Will, or not. God’s will for us is that our word’s give glory to The Truth and that our actions line up with Truth so that our word’s hold more value than merely making sound when we speak. Here is John sharing Word’s of Wisdom:
1 John 1:1-8 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
…but what happens when we tell the truth?
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Why was John sharing these word’s with us?
1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Remember, actions do speak louder than words!
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Of course, words are not always necessary:
James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath
If we do choose to speak, let’s check our thoughts against God’s Word first. We must be careful!
Numbers 30:2 If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.
Ecclesiastes 5:5-6 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 6Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
Do you want to have a great relationship with God? Then do what you say you are going to do! Relationships rely on trust. We know that God is trustworthy. We need to be just like Him! Do we have to vow unto God for Him to hold us accountable for our word’s? The answer is no. He never breaks vows or lies to us-
Colossians 3:8-10 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him
Ultimately, God sent His Word to us to share the power of His Word with us and thereby save our souls from a devil’s hell. His Word redeems us back to the state that Adam and Eve fell from, if we use it as He intends for us to:
John 1:10-12 He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. 11He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. 12But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name
Believe? What proves our belief? Faith. What are the contents of our Faith? Three simple words: believe, trust, obey. When we do these things, our words and God’s words become one; our thoughts and His thoughts become as one…
1 Corinthians 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Romans 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Guess what? If you have God’s Spirit and are in fact in Christ, your words can even bind things in heaven and on earth! Why? Because if God is in you and you are walking in Truth, your words will hold weight and power to bring things to pass. Now, the bible does say though-
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
2 Corinthians 13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
Matthew 18:18-20 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Let’s go even deeper. You know that God’s Word does teach that we can move mountains. Now, I realize that this is true metaphorically speaking, of course. But, God’s Word is also true in the letter. Now, you might say (and I would have to agree), if it is in God’s Will, and He has a good reason for you to move a literal mountain, it will move. This said, there are sometimes mountains in the life of some believers that are seemingly unmovable, right?
I believe that this has to do with the condition of our relationship with God. I’m not leaving myself out here. This has to do with faith Folks, and everyone who serves The Lord through faith.
Remember that “faith without works is dead, being alone?” Well, what if we are not fully lining up with God’s Word? What if we do not have the integrity that God expects? What if we do not fully believe that God is capable, or that He will do what we ask? Wouldn’t this have to do with a lack of confidence toward God? Even a splinter of doubt can cause this. What might be causing doubt in some people? Is it not our own actions and faithfulness toward God? What I mean is, what if we sometimes speak loosely and do not follow through with our commitments? These could be ‘idle’ commitments. Commitments made to others, even commitments made to ourselves. For instance, saying that you will start your diet tomorrow?
Do you recall Jesus saying that we speak from what is in our hearts? What if our heart is full of Faith in God’s Word? Well, now that is when our words come alive!
Luke 6:45-46 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. 46And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Are you fully devoted to make a conscious effort to always keep God’s Word? What about your own word? The level of dedication that God requires? The reason that I ask these questions is this: If we are truly keeping God’s Word by being slow to speak, if we never make commitments without acknowledging the chance of God’s Will changing our ability to keep them. And, if it is in our power to keep them, regardless of whether we still feel like it or not: our word, our character, and our reputation now matches The Lord’s!
Remember, when God speaks, it has to be reality because of the wisdom and power that is behind His Word; His character and His reputation. God speaks with authority, because He is sure that He is able to make whatever He says come to pass. If we are to become a Son or Daughter of God, our character and our reputation needs to line up with His?
Let’s examine this scripture a little closer…
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
There is a certain word in this passage that stuck out to me when I was last reading it. Know what it was? It was the word “say”. Did you eve notice that whenever Jesus finished praying, asking the Father for something, that He often spoke directly to the situation afterwards? You know, He did this for an example to us. How much faith does it take in your standing with God and His Word; that when you ask for something, you are brave enough to speak to it afterwards and will to pass?
John 11:39-44 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto Him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. 40Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? 41Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Now here’s faith!
Matthew 8:8-10 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Notice that Jesus prayed and made His request known unto God, then He demanded that the thing come to pass that He had asked for. All of those people standing there not only heard Him pray, but they also heard Him command Lazarus to rise. What kind of faith do you suppose it takes? What if you or I did this and the crowd was watching, and then nothing happened? Well, that would be fear and doubt that were both stronger than our faith, I’m afraid.
Hebrews 10:21-23 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised)
James 1:5-8 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
It is clear that God’s Word has power. Just remember that God deserves all glory:
2 Corinthians 3:1-6 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? 2Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: 3Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. 4And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
The greatest power found in God’s Word toward us is His gift of salvation. It is not the letter, but Spirit that brings life-
1 Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
If our words and our actions line up with His Word, we can be partakers of this power. Not only this, but when we can take up God’s Word and speak Truth with others.
1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
Ephesians 6:23-24 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
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