Mystical Words

What do words mean? They mean reason, logic, logos, conversation, meaning, history, truth. It also means the Word of God. John 1:1-14 says, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life and the life was the light of men...And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." In a sense, Christ is also word, Truthful word--the Word of God. Now let me explain myself before that statement is taken as deifying words or demonizing Christ.

God is Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. How does God communicate with us? He has talked with humanity through all three of the persons, but He does so with the use of words. This is why we have language. It is a reflection of the image of God (Gen. 1:27); it is one of the things that separates us from the rest of creation. It is God's original way of communication. This is why the Bible is written word; why we have names; why literacy is so important. (I find this hard to accept when world missions is in perspective. God does communicate with other means--dreams, creation, people. However, His most enduring, specific communication has been written down in the Bible. Anybody without access to the Bible is going to miss out on the Truth setting them free through justification, sanctification, church leadership, etc.)

Words are one of the most important things in this world. One way to think of words is a relationship between persons. Words are not deity in themselves, but they are an extension of the person speaking them. This is why the crowd fell back when Jesus spoke to them in the garden. "So when He said to them, 'I am He,' they drew back and fell to the ground" (John 18:6). As Christ is God, his words contain the power of God in whatever intentional way he desires. God created the universe with his words. "Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light" (Gen. 1:3). God spoke all of creation into being with the very use of his words.

One role of words in the Christian's life is for the renewing of the mind. First of all, we are to love God with all of our being; our mind is included in this. "So this I say, and affirm to together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart...But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, ...and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another" (Ephesians 4:17-25). Keys to the Christian life are found in understanding, knowledge, and knowing Christ (Phil. 3:10). This is known and processed by the renewing of our mind. Please notice that I am not saying the renewing of the mind is the only way of sanctification in the Christian life. This is simply one way. I think of the mind as the one compartment of the immaterial soul that deals with words. We also have a compartment known as the spirit, which is animated upon salvation by the Holy Spirit (My Bryan College thesis is on the soul, so I won't explain further here.). Both mind and spirit is connected immaterially, influence one another, and in turn, drive the rest of the soul and body. The mind runs on words; the machinery in the mind is reason. When God speaks (i.e. the Bible, Jesus words, etc.), his words are powerful and have the capacity to renew the mind, enabling us to know truth and grow.

Thus, concerning the statement that Christ is also word, Truthful word, the Bible's words are a key to conforming to the image of Christ. His word is alive and sharp. Christ's power is still with us through animation of the Spirit and the Bible. It is not the physical book or the printed word that contains deity, but the relationship and meaning inherent in the words. We should not worship the Bible itself but know that the words contained are intimately an extension of the Godhead. Truth in word form are the chosen method of transferring power and liberating the Fallen world. Knowing words and their power reveals a realm that sits skin to skin touching to the Trinity. Call it mysticism; call it what you may. Just know there is deep significance to words, especially when God uses them.