“For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit…” Hebrews 4: 12
If there is one thing that we see again and again in the Scriptures, it is that God speaks. We know that He always speaks truth, for the Spirit of God, by whom He speaks IS the Spirit of truth. We also know that there are certain promises in Scripture which reveal to us that when He speaks, there are results. For example, in the book of Isaiah, we read: “…So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (55:11) From speaking the creation into existence to speaking to two disciples walking together on the road to Emmaus after Christ’s resurrection, both times the Lord God spoke with a power and authority that had tremendous results, either in the physical world, or in the hearts of men. What was it about Him speaking that would produce such results? It was the life-giving, life-revealing power of not only what He said, but the very real working of the Spirit by the specific word.
When God speaks, it is not primarily an issue of men’s languages. When by the Lord’s words, as we see in the Psalms, He causes the “deer to calve,” we do not know the language with which He spoke. When He spoke to Moses or to Abraham, He spoke certainly in Hebrew. On the day of Pentecost however, He spoke through a multitude of different languages, those specific to the nations from which all were gathered, having come to Jerusalem to worship. We know from the testimony of Scripture, that the voice, and word of God, goes beyond just languages, being the communication of His truth. As the Lord Jesus would declare that He IS the truth, so His words are the absolute truth communicated to man in different languages throughout the world. So, how do we recognize Him speaking to the heart, and this, throughout the languages of the world?
In a hymn by E.M. Grimes, we read this stanza: “Speak, Thy servant heareth, Be not silent, Lord; Waits my soul upon Thee for the quickening word.” What is Mr. Grimes saying here? It is that God speaks, and this in a manner that can be distinguished, and discerned. He describes it as being a “quickening word.” This is the same expression that we find in the letter to the Hebrews, as God’s word is “quick,” or living. God’s word, or Christ speaking by the Spirit, will always be according to the eternal truth of Scripture, but when He speaks it is distinguished not only by the clarity with which words are used, but with the life-giving power of them. The disciples on the road to Emmaus noticed that their hearts burned within them when Jesus spoke. The Apostle John, when in company with the other disciples after the resurrection, as they had been fishing all night, heard the voice of Jesus from the seashore. There was something in that voice that brought not only a large catch of fish into their nets, but cause John to understand that it was Jesus who was speaking. The living word of God can be like a hammer to the heart and soul, if that heart is hard. It can also be almost a whisper, as a very gentle breeze to the sensitive soul. In all languages, in all circumstances, when God speaks using the objective truth of Scripture, He does so in distinguishable tones to the one who is willing to hear. This, Mr. Grimes would affirm when he wrote, “…waits my soul upon Thee, for the quickening word.”
How can one who is dead in trespasses and sins be awakened out of darkness, call unto Christ the Redeemer, repent and believe on Him for eternal life, unless God speaks life into the dead?
Dear Father, Speak Thy quickening word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.