The Power of Words and the Wonder of God Includes Some Scriptural, Thoughtful Essays on These Subjects
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“Given the contributors, I expected this book to be good, but it exceeds expec- tations. There’s no weak link. Every chapter, including the introduction, brings a unique and vital perspective to a critical subject. It’s impossible to overstate the power and eternal impact of our spoken and written words, for good or evil. With stylistic diversity but thematic unity, these men bring a rich, biblical, Christ-centered, interesting, and immensely helpful perspective. I wholeheart- edly recommend it.” — Randy Alcorn, author, Heaven and If God Is Good “Solomon tells us, ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits’ (Prov. 18:21). Words kill and words give life; they’re either poison or fruit. They have massive potential for both good and evil. They have the power to either build up or tear down. The contributors to this volume understand this well, and they show, in both theologically deep and practically down-to-earth ways, how the church must be marked by redemptive speech. They show how the sweetness and strength of the gospel—the sweet- ness of grace, the strength of truth—should flavor everything we say. John Piper asks, ‘What would the world be like—the home, the church, the school, the public square—if words were used the way Jesus used them?’ Read this book and find out.” — Tullian Tchividjian, Pastor, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church; author, Unfashionable “A splendid book that deserves a spot on the bookshelf of every Christian communicator. Consider it a passport into the world of God-seeking, skilled wordsmiths. One insight after another—creative, practical, and drenched with wisdom.” — Max Lucado, author, You Are Special and the Wemmicks series “Words are powerful. As the Scriptures indicate, they can create and destroy, build and burn down, save and condemn. The triune God created and upholds us by his Word, redeems us by renarrating our lives by his gospel, and directs us by his commands so that our words become more conformed to his Word. These many facets of verbal communication—both divine and human—are displayed in one rich and enriching jewel. Faith and practice are wonderfully integrated in this collection of godly wisdom.” — Michael Horton, J. G. Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California “In a culture dominated by the abundance of text messages, tweets, and sta- tus updates, we are in desperate need to have a biblical understanding of the power of words. Those who are serious about raising up the next generation of kingdom leaders will take heed to the Bible-saturated wisdom in this book and teach their staff and students to do the same. I know I will!” — Matt Bradner, Director, Campus Outreach, Lynchburg, Virginia PowerWordsWonderGod.10496.i03.indd 1 8/12/09 8:26 AM “Jesus Christ set the record straight when he declared that we do not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father. We live and die by words. Words are central to life, to communication, to meaning, and to Christian theology. This said, our relative inattentiveness to the meaning of words in the Christian church is to our shame. The contributors offer a res- cue from this inattentiveness with wise words of spiritual counsel, deep words of doctrinal conviction, and saving words of the gospel. This book is urgently needed, and I am most pleased to recommend this volume with a good word.” — R. Albert Mohler Jr., President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary “God’s Word is not only the word he speaks to us; it is Jesus Christ himself, according to John 1:1–14. So God’s speech is fundamental to who he is. Perhaps surprisingly for many of us, human life reflects God’s word in this respect. Our words are central to our lives, as God’s Word is to his. James 3:1–12 tells us that if we can control our tongues, we can control our whole lives. So we need to give a lot more thought to our language, its meaning and effects, and its rela- tion to God’s own Word. The Power of Words and the Wonder of God includes some scriptural, thoughtful essays on these subjects. I hope that it attracts many readers and much attention.” — John Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary “Read this book and you will be given a vision for your speech. You will speak less in some situations and more in others. You will be guided to speak both gently and with boldness. You will be more alert to what you say as you sing. You will say, ‘Thank you, Lord, for words.’ You will also say, ‘Forgive me, Lord, for my casual and reckless words.’ And—I thought this was a bonus— you will get to know the authors in a great Q&A.” — Edward Welch, Counselor and Faculty, Christian Counseling and Education Foundation “This is a truly wonderful book on a timely and neglected subject. Our society is drowning in a glut of words and images; we do not need more of them. What we need is what this book can guide us to—the right kind of words used for the right ends. This collection of essays, consistently weighty in substance, makes good on the claims of the book’s title: it convinces us of the power of words and instills a desire to see them used to express the wonder of God. My heart leaped many times as I read it.” — Leland Ryken, Professor of English, Wheaton College PowerWordsWonderGod.10496.i03.indd 2 8/12/09 8:26 AM The Power of Words and the Wonder of God PowerWordsWonderGod.10496.i03.indd 3 8/12/09 8:26 AM Other Books Coedited by John Piper and Justin Taylor: Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints (2008) The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World (2007) Suffering and the Sovereignty of God (2006) Sex and the Supremacy of Christ (2005) A God-Entranced Vision of All Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards (2004) PowerWordsWonderGod.10496.i03.indd 4 8/12/09 8:26 AM The Power of Words and the Wonder of God John Piper and Justin Taylor General Editors WHEATON, ILLINOIS PowerWordsWonderGod.10496.i03.indd 5 8/12/09 8:26 AM The Power of Words and the Wonder of God Copyright © 2009 by Desiring God Ministries Published by Crossway Books a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as pro- vided for by USA copyright law. Cover design: Matthew Taylor, Taylor Design Works First printing 2009 Printed in the United States of America Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked nasb are from The New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked niv are from The Holy Bible: New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society. All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the authors. Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-1049-6 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-1050-2 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-1051-9 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-2376-2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The power of words and the wonder of God / John Piper and Justin Taylor, editors. p. cm. Includes indexes. ISBN 978-1-4335-1049-6 (tpb) 1. Oral communication—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Piper, John, 1946– . II. Taylor, Justin, 1976– . III. Title. BV4597.53.C64P69 2009 241'.672—dc22 2009010899 MLY 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 PowerWordsWonderGod.10496.i03.indd 6 8/12/09 8:26 AM In Memory of John Bunyan Of whose great Pilgrim book he truly wrote: This book is writ in such a dialect As may the minds of listless men affect: It seems a novelty, and yet contains Nothing but sound and honest gospel strains. PowerWordsWonderGod.10496.i03.indd 7 8/12/09 8:26 AM PowerWordsWonderGod.10496.i03.indd 8 8/12/09 8:26 AM Contents Contributors 11 Acknowledgments 13 Introduction 15 Justin Taylor 1 War of Words: Getting to the Heart for God’s Sake 23 Paul David Tripp 2 The Bit, the Bridle, and the Blessing: An Exposition of James 3:1–12 45 Sinclair B. Ferguson 3 Is There Christian Eloquence? Clear Words and the Wonder of the Cross 67 John Piper 4 How Sharp the Edge? Christ, Controversy, and Cutting Words 81 Mark Driscoll 5 Story-shaped Faith 105 Daniel Taylor 6 Words of Wonder: What Happens When We Sing? 121 Bob Kauflin Part 1: A Conversation with the Contributors 137 John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Sinclair Ferguson, and Justin Taylor Part 2: A Conversation with the Contributors 149 John Piper, Bob Kauflin, Paul Tripp, Daniel Taylor, and Justin Taylor Notes 162 Subject Index 167 Scripture Index 171 Desiring God: Note on Resources 175 PowerWordsWonderGod.10496.i03.indd 9 8/12/09 8:26 AM PowerWordsWonderGod.10496.i03.indd 10 8/12/09 8:26 AM Contributors Mark Driscoll is a founding pastor and the lead preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle.