Coterie for Christ: Lesson 1: “The Power of Words: God’s Word & Creation ” By: Samantha Mang “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.” Genesis 1:1-4a Human history begins with God’s spoken word. With authoritative power God said, “Let there be…” and there was. Words themselves did not create in the beginning, nor do they retain any creative power by their own right. God created. It was through words that God chose to communicate and orchestrate the events of creation. Words play a significant role in the drama of creation in that God has endowed them with a certain creative quality. Their character is to create. This, I believe, is an important distinction to make. As fine as the line may seem, it is the difference between “ex nihilo” (out of nothing) and “ex aliquid” (out of something). In the beginning, GOD created; not “In the beginning words created.” We must treat words with much care; we forever run the risk of undermining God’s intended purpose for them by giving way to idle talk and purposeless speech. On this side of glory, words will always fail to perfectly express, define, assign, illustrate, and communicate (this is so due to the entrance of a crafty serpent in the garden; we will look at the fall and the birth of destructive, slippery speech more closely next time, but assume its effect at the onset.) Though any analogy I could draw will fall short somewhere—words are a to be a tool of creation. They are as a paintbrush, a chisel, a pen; they do not replace the Artist, the Woodworker, or the Writer. The hole in this analogy’s logic is that God still could have done without them, unlike the painter with his brush. So, why words? God could have used another medium through which to create—perhaps a mere thought. A whistle. A sneeze. He could have even caused a “Big Bang”— but He didn’t (thank His creative “Goodness”!) God chose the spoken word. Why? Well, quite simply—because He said so. It is the easiest, and at the same time, the hardest answer to simply say that “He said so”—it always begs the question “Why?”. When we consider all the ways God “could have” created, what do we discover? For one thing—I find it difficult to escape the participation of some outside force. Take for instance a sneeze: when we sneeze, it is because of a cold, or dust, or looking directly at the sun. A sneeze is a result of some outside force imposed on our senses, which in turn brings about the ol’ “achoo.” We cannot flee the reality that the sun, germs, dust, etc. must originate from something “other” before they can give birth to something else. We conclude, then, that a list of examples itself is in fact a list of results. When we argue outside of God’s spoken word to explain their place in creation, we deny “ex nihilo” and are left to grapple with a scavenger hunt of outcomes and no Ultimate Cause. Now, this is no philosophy course, I intend only to point out the problems with which we are confronted when we begin even remotely considering that God used some other means to create all things other than What. He. Said. The answer to the question of “Why words?” is undoubtedly more than a sheer recognition of the problems caused were this not God’s way. There is purpose. God’s Word is wrought with meaning and power and magnificence. Words themselves are an outpouring of a loving and gracious Heavenly Father Whose glory bursts from His being, giving light and life and all that is “Good.” Because we know this, because we claim the Truth of His Word and hold fast to the Truth of the Genesis account, we are called to concern ourselves with how we are to use words. How we “ought” to speak is directly linked to the reality of God. How we “ought” to use our words is a natural outgrowth of faith, the fear of God, and the pursuit of wisdom. You see, all created things must come from God Himself. That God would gift us with the ability to communicate and express ourselves through words connects us to Him in the most organic and profoundly significant way. Having been made in the image of God, we retain His attributes in that we are rational, emotive, relational, and creative ourselves. We maintain aspects of His nature on a creaturely level; because God’s Words are original and creative, our words our derived and recreative. We are charged to concern ourselves with the question of how we should behave—and this study is particularly interested in how we as God’s created beings are to use our tongues to glorify God. How are we to use our words when speaking about God? About others? About ourselves? These questions, among others, are the focus of this group’s first unit of study. In order to understand how we are to use our words we must first look closely at their Author and so pattern our words according to the standard set for us in HIS Word. Reflection: 1. Read the following verses: Matthew 15:18; Luke 6:45; Proverbs 4:23. What conclusions may be drawn from these verses regarding the human heart? What is needed (2 Corinthians 10:5)? 2. In what ways do you use your words? Are they intentional and purposeful; Are they idle and aimless? 3. How much influence do the words of others have on you? 4. What if someone is deaf/mute and cannot speak? Do they retain less of God’s image than someone who can hear and speak? Optional Journal Writing Prompt: 1. Write about a personal experience (positive or negative) in which your words or those of another built up or tore down. How did this make you feel? What was your response? What did you learn from it?
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 23:09:16 +0000
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