Jesus is the ultimate example of the power of words.  He is the living word – he is the WORD made flesh (Jn 1.1-3).  Jesus was with the Father during the creation process, and through him all things were created.  Is it a coincidence, then, that creation was brought into existence through the spoken word (Gen 1.3; Col 1.16).

Jesus told us that his words will never pass away (Mt 24.35).  How could they?  His words are Spirit and they are Life (Jn 16.13).  His words were not just sounds emanating from his mouth.     The very essence of his words was life.  Their very substance was spirit.  His words do not merely communicate life; they do not just contain life – they are life.  Because of this Jesus’ words do not, cannot, fade away or disintegrate.

His words are living and active.  From the moment Jesus spoke, his words have lingered in the realms of the Spirit; pregnant with creative power.  When we become exposed to those words, our spirit is quickened because the words are just as powerful today as when Jesus first spoke them.  They retain the fullness of his nature and carry the goodness of his promises.

Many have attempted to relegate the statements of Jesus to the mere sayings of a prophet, a philosopher or a wise teacher.  The only way one can relegate his words to this human level is through the hardness of our heart.  But no matter how hard it may have become, the heart that hungers can be made soft again.  Once alerted to the life-giving sustenance of his words, the heart quickly acknowledges that bread alone will no longer satisfy (Dt 8.3; Mt 4.4).

And that seems to be one of the main purposes for the words spoken by Jesus.  His intent was to help people hear, see and understand the Father (Jn 14.9).  One way he did this was by speaking only that which he heard the Father say (Jn 5.19).  And, because Jesus revealed and declared the purposes of God, His words that continue to linger will not return to him empty but will accomplish the purposes for which he sent them (Is 55.11).