In The Beginning

John 1:1-2In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.

John tells us in John 1:1-2 In the beginning was the Word, but Genesis 1:1 said `in the beginning, God,' so which is it? The answer is both. God gives us the answer in verse 2 of John chapter 1:2: the same was in the beginning with God. We cannot separate God from His Word; God and His Word are the same. Or you could say that God is as good as His Word. We as Christians should strive to be as good as our word. Most of us don't realize the importance of our words, and because of that, we don't think much about what we say. Because we do not value our own words, in return we do not value the words of others. If we are to be honest with ourselves, we don't really expect people to tell us the truth, we look for people to lie to us. Where do we get this mentality from? We get that mentality from ourselves. As we study the bible we find that God is big on words, words that He speaks and words that we speak. God not only expects us to honor His Word, but He also expects us to honor our own words and the words of others that do not conflict with His Word.

One of the main things that make the Word of God powerful is that it was in the beginning. God's Word established who He was and is from the beginning. The Word of God is supreme and it is to be honored above all. The Word of God is honored and obeyed by Him. God honors His Word so much that God Himself is bound by His own Word. Likewise, God expects us to honor our word, and be bound by our word. The bible teaches us in:

Ps 15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

We must remember that when we give our word to someone, we shouldn't change it. Even if it hurts us, we should stand by our words.

I remember from my childhood the saying, "Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." As I grew up I found that to be very untrue. With our words we have the ability to make people happy or make people sad. With our words we can bless or curse. We can even touch people's emotions with our words. Most of us don't give much thought to the words we speak, because we don't fully understand the power of words. Because words are so powerful, when spoken they dictate how our life will go, and also plays a great part in our destiny. The Bible teaches us in James 3 that words set the course that our life will take:

James 3:3-6 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

One of the first things we learn as Christians is that God is faithful to His Word. Just like God's words establish who He is, our words should establish who we are. Have you ever met someone that didn't keep their word and didn't do what they said they would do? If so, this failure to keep their word probably established in your mind the type of person they were. When you deal with people that don't keep their word, it creates problems for you and prevents you from functioning at your best. Words are how we express ourselves to the people around us. Words also reveal things about us, whether good and bad. How we us words will tell people things about us that we may not want them to know. Words are our most valuable asset, but they can also be our worst enemy. The Bible teaches us that our words contain blessings and curses, life and death

James 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing....

Prov 18:20-21 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Our words alone carry power, but when we add faith to our words, our expectation rises. Even when we speak God's words, we must mix faith with them. Everything that we get out of God's Word will be based on whether or not we believe it and to what extent we believe it.

Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

What we say is very important. For this reason, we must study the Word of God and learn the mind of God, so we can say what God said. We should always choose our words very carefully. Jesus taught us that we would have to give an account for the words that we spoke:

Matt 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

What is an idle word? An idle word is a word that is barren, inactive, unemployed, and useless: in other words, it is a word that doesn't do anyone any good. Notice that an idle word does not have to be a lie; it can be true and still be an idle word. Jesus is speaking here about the heart. In essence, what Jesus is saying is that any word we say with our mouths that does not agree with or come from our heart is an idle word. Can you imagine how many fewer words we would speak if we only spoke words that were useful and that came from the heart? A good habit to get into when you are not sure about what to say is to ask yourself the question, "Is what I am about to say going to do anybody any good, and is it coming from my heart?" If your answer is no to this question, then don't say it.

If you were to take inventory of your life, you would find that words played a large part in whatever position you are in now. Are you happy with your life? The right words spoken at the right time made that possible. Are you unhappy with your life? The wrong words spoken at the wrong time made that possible. Words should be very important to us as they are important to God. The reason words are so important is not only because they set the course of our future, but they also reveal our past. They can also reveal what's presently in your heart.

Have you ever heard the phrase "the art of listening"? Learning to listen is a good thing, but we must also learn to listen to ourselves, because we could learn a lot. Look at what Jesus said in Matt. 12:34:

Matt 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

You would think that Jesus would have said "how can you, being evil, do good things". But Jesus said "speak" because Jesus knew that what we speak is what we get.

As Christians we often use the term "THE WORD OF GOD", but what are we really saying? Are we saying that God uses different words than us? Of course not, we are using the same words God has already spoken. Then why do God's words work for Him and not for us? Because we are not following the instructions we were given about using the words; we are not mixing them with faith. If you were to study the New Testament you would see the terms "Kingdom of God" or "Kingdom of heaven." These terms identify God's kingdom. We cannot fully see God's kingdom now, but in the future it will be fully manifested. The bible teaches us that the kingdom of God is within us, and we are to live our lives from within. Just as words affect our earthly life, words also affect how we function in the kingdom of God. God created both kingdoms—the earthly kingdom and the kingdom of God—to function by words. God gave us a perfect example of how words work in John 1:14:

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

God spoke the Word in the beginning and the Word became flesh. The main thing we learn from this is that when we speak, the words that we speak have the ability to become what we speak. The reason we speak the words of God is because God has already spoken those words and He have spoken them with faith, and God's faith in His Word are what brings His Words to pass. Because God has spoken His words with faith, we can expect God's words to come to pass. Whenever we speak God's Word, we must also speak them with the faith of God.

One might ask, if God has already spoken the words, why do I need to speak them again? That is a very good question, and the answer is because man has dominion on this earth, and God's Word must be spoken in the earth in order for God's kingdom to be manifested in the earth.

Gen 1:26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

The first thing we learn is that to have dominion you must be a man or woman. God gave man dominion in the earth, so what man speaks in the earth carries authority in the earth.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

If we want God's will done in the earth, we must speak God's words in the earth. This is why God gave us His Word, not just to live by, but also to speak it in the earth. God spoke in the garden, after man's sin, that He would send a seed through the women that would defeat Satan.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Although God had already spoken these words, man had to speak them again in the earth because man has the dominion. God used a number of prophets to speak in the earth about His plan to save man. To name just a few:

Ps 112:2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

Isa 59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.

Can you imagine what Isaiah must have thought after he said, "Behold a virgin shall conceive"? Isaiah must have thought, "Man, what did I just say? A virgin can't have a baby." But Isaiah was speaking through the spirit of God.

It would be very helpful for us to remember that God is a spirit and not a man. Because of this, God must work in the earth through man, because man has the dominion. If God did not allow man to have dominion, then He would be in violation of His own Word. As Christians our main focus should be to bring God's Kingdom to the earth by allowing God to live through us.

The world will not be able to see God's Kingdom, but they will be able to see the effects of God's Kingdom through us. This is what Jesus meant when He spoke to Nicodemus in John 3:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

We cannot expect the world to see God's kingdom because they haven't been born again. But we as Christians walk in the principles of God's kingdom, we can manifest the effects of the kingdom in the earth, thereby allowing the world to see the effects of God's kingdom. Jesus used the wind as an example of how the effects of the kingdom can be seen.

John 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: ...

You have probably used the expression "look at that wind," but in reality we can't see the wind. Rather, what we really see are the effects of the wind, and because of the effects, we know that the wind is present. The Kingdom of God works the same way. The world may not see the kingdom, but because of the effects in our lives, the world should know that the Kingdom is present.

As we begin to learn how to work the Word, we must also learn about the kingdom of God. The reason the kingdom of God will be the major factor in learning to work the Word is because everything in God's kingdom respond to God's Word. We must not have the mindset that says, "I will believe it when it see it." The bible teaches us that our walk with God is a faith walk.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Rom 1:17 ..., The just shall live by faith.

Faith is probably one of the most important topics in the bible. The reason Faith is so important is because if we are to live right, we must first believe right. What we believe is going to determine how we think and what we do. The bible teaches us in:

Prov 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he....

To be effective in God's kingdom we must understand God's purpose and remember that God's purpose is the only thing that counts. Not only do I need to understand God's purpose, I must also understand the role I play in God's purpose. My purpose in the earth is to show forth the glory of God. God's desire is to live in the earth through us, so He can show His goodness to the world through us. We MUST understand that everything that God does in the earth He will do through man.

As we begin to learn how to work the Word, we must believe that the Word is working in God's kingdom as we speak it. As God's Word works in His kingdom we will be able to see the effects in the earth, just like the wind.

Chapter I Scriptures

John 1:1-2In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.

Ps 15:4In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

James 3:3-6 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

James 3:10Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

Prov 18:20-2120 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

Matt 12:36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Matt 12:34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.