God speaks the creation into existence
We are all familiar with the creation account in Genesis chapter one. Notice how many times it explicitly tells us what God spoke:
3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. . . .
6And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters. . .
9And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place . .
11And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation. . .
14And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens. . .
20And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures . . .
24And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds. . .
26Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. (Gen. 1:3-26)
Psalm 33 sums up the stunning significance of the creation account this way:
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
. . .
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm. Psalm 33:6–9
God’s words have tremendous power. He simply spoke the creation into existence from nothing!
God exercises His dominion over the things He created:
So that’s how He created things, but then we get little hints about how God proceeds to exercise His dominion over His creation:
5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Genesis 1:8
8And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. Genesis 1:10
10God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. (Gen. 1:5-10)
God uses His word to create things and then, in his sovereign power, He gives them their names.
God gives man dominion over His creation:
26Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Gen. 1:26)
People often spend much time puzzling, speculating, or even asserting what it means for man to be created in God’s image. But if we keep reading we see Adam exercising one clear aspect of his own God-given dominion:
19Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. . . .23Then the man said:
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:19-23)
Even human words carry great power.
Because of our modern culture, we often miss the significance of Adam’s naming the things in God’s creation. Giving names to things is really an exercise of power, even in our own culture. Think about it. We attach a name on our own children, and, except in rare cases, they are stuck with that for the rest of their lives. Think that doesn’t make a difference? My parents innocently named my older brother “Lynn”, because they were unaware that it was primarily a girl’s name. So for the rest of his life he got letters and advertisements address to Ms. Lynn Rorabacher. I’m here to tell you that was a thorn in his side throughout his life. I was named “Steve” back in the day when that name was largely unused, and it had an effect on my self-image. During my early years my name made me feel special because it was different. Now that “Steve” has become so common, I feel very differently about it because my name is no longer unique. I feel more like I’m just one of the crowd.
The point is that words have power. God’s words have power, and because He made us in His image and gave us dominion, our words have power. And that’s a knife that cuts both ways.
I know a woman whose marriage ended early and in great bitterness. Some years after the tragic end to their family, she confided that their constant fighting had a lot to do with their break up. In anger they said brutal, vicious things to each other. . . things that, once said, could never be unsaid or forgotten.
Keep your words under control
This is why James warns us about this:
5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. . . It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. James 3:5–10
It is also why he admonishes us:
19Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; James 1:19
James’ advice is: Think about what you are about to say before you just blurt it out. I can testify to the wisdom of this. Over the years I have come to regret some things that I left unsaid. But there are far more memories of times when I said something that I later regretted.
The power of positive words:
But this dominion through words that God has given us is not all negative. Paul looks at both sides of the coin:
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29
The good news is that we can deliberately wield this great God-given power of words to actually bring good into the world. Flattery is, of course, self-serving, but honest words of comfort, encouragement, or recognition can change the course of another person’s day and perhaps even the course of their lives.
So let us submit our words to the control of Christ and use them to bring good into His creation!