The power of the Word in the life of the Christian
To introduce this text on the power of the Word of God, we will use these verses from the Gospel according to John, as it will constitute the basis of the thoughts that will be shared with you through these lines: John 1:1-3 “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made”. From these three verses, we will try to explain how the Word of God is a powerful weapon in the life of every Christian, and above all, when and for what purpose God has allowed us, or rather, commanded us, to use the power it exudes.
What does the word "Word" mean?
The
word “Word” in this text refers to the “spoken Word and the written Word” of
God; which are, in Christian language, the revelation (proclamation) of God's
thoughts to mankind. There are two kinds of “Word”
a) Logos:
The eternal thought of God, through which the world has been created. We can
fairly say that this eternal thought is shared with us through the Scriptures.
b) Rhema:
We can think of it as a revelation of the Word of God by the Holy Spirit in our
hearts, at a given moment (a specific revelation coming from a preacher under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on one bible verses, for example), in
response to a specific situation in our lives. Matthew 4 vs 4: Jesus
answered, "It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word
that comes from the mouth of God"
The Logos, unlike the Rhema, does not change over time or space; like the Gospel in the Bible, for example. But the Bible gives an even deeper meaning to the Logos; for it presents it to us as the eternal word at the origin of Creation. It represents the force that materialized and "gave life" to God's design.
Genesis
1:3 "And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.."
Genesis
1:11 "Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants
and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their
various kinds.” And it was so."
To better understand the creation process, let's try to match the stages to the phases of a project cycle. Thus, God spoke, ordained (Conception Phase), then this thought has been brought into life/existence in accordance with God's design (Execution Phase). Then, in verse 31, " God saw all that he had made" and it was very good " (Performance and Control Phase). And finally, in Genesis 2:2, " By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work." (Project Close).
When exactly did God give man access to the power of the Logos?
The
answer to that question is clearly found in Genesis 1:26. Access to the power
of the Logos hqs been granted to man since the conception phase of his
creation. "Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our
likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the
sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures
that move along the ground.”
Thus, man and woman were created according to God's design, like Him. Genesis 1:28 "God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." So God has used the Word to give us power over His creation. We can be sure that this authority is indeed effective, for this was ordained by means of the Word (Logos), just as it was done to bring light into existence.
What means has God placed at man's disposal to exercise this power?
The same means He used to create everything, the Word (Logos). Indeed, we can easily see that, of all that was created, according to the book of Genesis, by the Word of God, man is the only one to have been given the ability to speak. For when a power/mission is entrusted to someone, they must be given the necessary weapons/tools/structures to exercise it. Furthermore, how can you change the nature/modify a thing by a means other than that by which it was created. If someone wants to make changes to a written text, he/she must go through the writing process. If someone wants to modify this text on the blog, they must have access to the account linked to the blog. Let's imagine that a programmer has developed an application and someone wants to change some of its functions. He'd need access to the code and, above all, knowledge of the programming language used (I don't know much about programming, but I want to think I am right on that example).
Genesis
2: 19-20 " Now the LORD God had formed out of
the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them
to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each
living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock,
the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper
was found.” Genesis 2:23 " The
man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called
‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”
Has this authority been taken from us because of Adam and Eve's
disobedience?
Romans
11:29 " for God’s gifts and His call are
irrevocable." Indeed, throughout the Old
Testament, there are plenty examples of the manifestation of the power of the
word after the fall of the first men; particularly through the history of God's
prophets, who were placed as mediators between God and His people, and had
therefore received the authority necessary to fulfill the function.
2
Kings 1: 10 " Elijah
answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and
consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the
captain and his men."
We
can draw an important lesson from this last verse: to use something, we must
necessarily be aware that it exists. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus said to the
disciples: " He replied, “Because you have so
little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you ". We can't use what is unknown to us!
However,
once we're aware of it, we also need to know how to use it. For the power of
the Word can be used for good or evil. James 3:6, 9, 10 "
The
tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts
the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set
on fire by hell…With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we
curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out
of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should
not be.” And here, the example that best fits this
case is the curse pronounced by Noah against his son Ham. It's like having gold
in your basement, knowing it's there and knowing its value. It can be used to
make jewelry or to bribe.
Jesus
taught us that everything must be done in accordance with God's holy will and
for His glory.
Does this authority still exist after the coming of Jesus?
The Bible teaches us that the Word at the origin of creation is none other than Jesus. For it says that the Word (Logos) became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:14 " The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." And several other verses in the New Testament make it clear that Jesus' coming did not take this authority away from us, but strengthened it for those who believe in him. For, if before we had authority only over the physical things of God's creation; in Jesus we also have authority over spiritual things and beings.
Matthew
16:19 " I will give you the keys
of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Mark
16:17-18 " And these signs will accompany
those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in
new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink
deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on
sick people, and they will get well."
So
when we hear the Word of Christ, believe it through the Holy Spirit and accept
Christ as Lord and Savior, He lives in us. And given that Christ is the Word of
power, from Whom all things come and for Whom all things are, then through Him,
the Word becomes more than a tool to exercising the authority God has given us
over His creation; it becomes part of our nature, of who we are. Didn't Paul
say in Galatians 2:20 " they will pick up snakes with their
hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they
will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well ". This idea
is further reinforced in John 14:20 " On
that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am
in you".
We
carry within us the living Word of God. It has made us the light of this world
(Matthew 5:14), just as Jesus was and still is for mankind (John 1:4-5).
