“For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” I Corinthians 4:20 NKJV
Reflection: how can words have power?
I’m sure we all have been the recipient of a verbal attack at some point in our lives. Someone saying something to you that hurts, that stings. Might be very direct in some heated exchange, or well packaged in some sarcasm. And even if the person who dealt the words says they didn’t mean it that way, you know they did because of the damage done. Regardless, the words can create a pretty deep wound that might take years to heal. But, the interesting thing is that the opposite is also true. Words can have an amazing positive effect on us. They can motivate us, drive us to accomplish great things, give us great joy and even help heal us from wounds described above. So how can just a bunch of words, arranged in a specific way do so much damage? But arranged slightly differently, do so much good? It cannot be just the words themselves, but the
power behind the words.
Paul is talking to the church in Corinth about the difference between the words and the power behind the words in order to explain the kingdom of God. That the kingdom of God exists in power, not the words themselves. Think of it this way. When you open up the Bible, and you read along, suddenly a deep truth is revealed to you. You might have read the passage many times before, but never really seen what was just shown you. Or, a friend sends you a very familiar verse for encouragement, and it was just what you needed to hear that day. God is behind the power you experience, revealing truth to you; revealing Himself. That is why God’s Word will convict us, drive us to repentance, to a desire for walking with Him to a life lived in holiness. The
power of the Kingdom of God.
There are dangerous church movements here, that preach perversions of this. Of the power of our words. That all we need to do is to say the right words, and it will be so. While we must check our hearts and guard our tongues, the general problem in these movements is the focus on self as opposed to God. It is saying that the power exists with us, as opposed to with the Kingdom of God. It is a tricky perversion, because God has given us His Holy Spirit. But instead of aligning ourselves under God’s will, the teaching is focusing on self. That we can become like God; a lie that we have heard before. We must humble ourselves before our mighty God, and seek His will only.
Jesus said ““Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”” Matthew 12:33-37 NKJV. Notice his reference to “the fruit” here, which means what results we see from our words. We can say “the right words” carefully crafted, but with an evil intent or power behind them they will be destructive. Similarly, even words not said perfectly well, can bring so much good, if coming from a heart filled with the goodness of God.
So let’s worry less about being crafty with our words, and more about the condition of our hearts. To ask God to truly search our hearts (Psalm 139), and to form us to be more and more like Jesus, according to His will. Then the words we speak, and the resulting fruit, will honor and glorify Him alone.