The power of words is both mysterious and commonplace. Words can be the deadliest weapon ever invented or the most effective medicine, depending on how they are used.
The biblical account of the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to “just say the word” (Matthew 8:8, NIV) reflects the idea that a single word has the power to change reality, bestow life, and heal. Jesus acted in accordance with this belief. Can we still say the same today?
“Without language, we find ourselves living in a state of emotional chaos,” state Dr Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman in their book Words Can Change Your Brain.[1] Life without the ability to communicate is unimaginable, and although millions of meaningless words are spoken every day, we can agree with the aforementioned authors that “a single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.”[2]
Although language seems simple, it remains one of the great mysteries of our existence. In a 2014 article by a group of researchers from prestigious US and European universities, it is openly stated: “Based on the current state of evidence, we submit that the most fundamental questions about the origins and evolution of our linguistic capacity remain as mysterious as ever, with considerable uncertainty about the discovery of either relevant or conclusive evidence that can adjudicate among the many open hypotheses.”[3]
The power of words: more than just empty words
From a biblical perspective, words are a miracle and a creative power that can be a source of light and life. However, they can also be evil and deceptive, and even deadly.
God creates the world through the word: “He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm 33:9). However, He immediately grants man the gift of speech, the power to name the other created beings, and ultimately his wife. However, we then learn that not only God and man can speak, but also a serpent. Its words give rise to such powerful illusions that Eve and her husband doubt God’s words and believe a lie. Since then, the history of the world has been a battle between true and false words, between words that bring life and those that bring illusions, suffering, and death.
In Genesis, God does not speak merely to say something; each of His words has a purpose and power: they create, bring hope, light, and truth. Words become a means through which we discover not only God’s beauty and incredible power, but also His eternal love for humanity and the world around us.
In a world of sin and death, God gives words new meaning by commanding the Israelites to learn to write. To us, verses such as Exodus 17:14 (“Write this on a scroll “) and Deuteronomy 11:20 (“Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates”) may sound trivial. But for a people who had just been freed from the slavery of Egypt, where writing was so complicated that only a select few knew how to do it, these commands were truly revolutionary.
To make this lesson even clearer, God Himself wrote the commandments with His own finger on stone tablets to be kept in the sanctuary. In a world where images were everything and writing was rare, the Jews had the Word, the writing of God, in the most sacred place of the sanctuary. He gave them the “living words,” which were to make them wiser than any other nation on Earth (Acts 7:38; Deuteronomy 4:6). Furthermore, two of the Ten Commandments, the third and the ninth, explicitly forbid speaking ill of God and others.
In the New Testament, words take on an even deeper meaning. The evangelist John refers to Jesus as “the Word” (John 1:1–3). Just as God’s initial words brought life, hope, and light, so, too, do Jesus’s. He does not utter meaningless words nor speak merely to pass the time: every word of Jesus is an expression of a love that surpasses imagination. To those listening to Him speak, no one had ever spoken like Him. This is precisely why people know that even a single word spoken by Jesus has the power to change the world. John, who calls Jesus “the Word”, reminds us whenever he can that “God is love,” offering us a new perspective on the value of words.
But all the while, the lie continued to spread. People “loved the darkness instead of light” (John 3:19) and even killed the “author of life” (Acts 3:15). They crucified the Word and chose the lie. It seemed as though the truth had been defeated forever. However, Jesus’s resurrection gave new meaning to the Word and new power to its proclamation.
Following Jesus’s ascension into heaven, the disciples were sent out to preach the gospel, the good news, whilst also warning people that “everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken” (Matthew 12:36).
Jesus’s words gave life to the people of His time and were brought to “every creature under heaven” (Colossians 1:23) so that all who desired it might experience their power. The disciples are called “servants of the Word” (Luke 1:2), who do not “peddle” the Word (2 Corinthians 2:17) but pass on God’s eternal love. Their speech was proof that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). Wherever they went, they turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6) using only words and the love they contain. The apostles did not merely utter beautiful and kind words; their words possessed power, just as Jesus’s words did. They brought healing, comfort, or even judgement.
Words that heal or wound: “Now what do you say?”
The Book of Revelation clearly shows us that the battle between truth and the lies of the devil will be the final battle in history. Those who will not share in the blessings of the new heaven and the new earth will be “liars” (Revelation 21:8). In contrast, the saved will be those in whose mouths “no lie was found” (Revelation 14:5).
Today, captivated by images, it seems that we are once again returning to a time when words were merely a tool on the path to our transformation. We are engaged in a Sisyphean struggle to preach a gospel of prosperity to ourselves, built upon the illusion of our own omnipotence. And yet, we remain unhappy and increasingly estranged from one another and from ourselves.
The solution does not lie in finding more skilful speakers or more convincing theories, but in discovering the power of words—words that give life and bring hope and peace; the Word; the Truth; the God who is love and justice. To the extent that they carry forward the miracle of the Word, our words can only be a force for good. And this miracle still exists. For those who have the courage to take it seriously, the Bible remains the most reliable recipe for authentic happiness.
When you smile sincerely, say “thank you”, make the other person feel valued, speak the truth, choose to remain silent to avoid hurting the other person, or offer encouragement, you demonstrate that words are alive for you, part of an ongoing narrative that cannot be stopped or silenced.
This is precisely why I believe that as long as there are people for whom words are not empty, as long as we believe that words and actions are one and the same, and as long as we are willing to love to the very end out of love for the truth, there is hope. His Word is still alive within us. Let us keep it that way!
