What does it mean to speak life?

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" (verse 21). The Epistle of James (chapter 3) speaks in the same manner of the power of the tongue and its misuse. Evil words will bring evil results. But the tongue speaking the words of life and love, as given in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a power for good, the power of life--and oh! what shall the harvest be in that day!

Verse 29. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth," etc. Edification is to be kept constantly in view, as the main end of the walk of those who confess that they are members of one another. And purity of speech and action can alone conduce to this. The lips of a believer have been purged from their natural uncleanness (Isa. 6:5-7), by the confession of the holy name of Jesus. Instead, therefore, of uttering perverseness, or indulging in the speech of fools, he is to speak as one who knows that both death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21). Our lips are no longer our own, but His who has bought us altogether for Himself. What is looked for in Christian intercourse is such an habitual remembrance of the Divine presence as shall effectually restrain the ebullitions of natural corruptions. Nothing that we cannot say confidently in that presence is fit for the ears of one another. We shall do well to remember, that if our words do not edify, they are injurious. For whatever does not savour of Christ does savour of the world; and such communications tend not to the strengthening of God's building, but to its dilapidation and destruction (1 Cor. 3:17). Now if the flesh be allowed to act in any way, it is always in derogation of the Spirit; and so it is immediately added:

Next, it is not our deeds only that have to be considered, but our words. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers." (Ver. 29.) Worthless language is to be eschewed as one rejects good-for-nothing fruit; if it were on the tongue, let the unprofitable word proceed no farther. Unclean allusion we shall find specified and forbidden in the chapter following. Here I conceive the circle is more comprehensive. Many who would neither utter nor hear impure conversation may often have to bemoan the utterance and the sanction of unsavoury discourse. Better to be silent if there be not (such is the force) something good for needful edification. The need measures the service, and love builds up instead of puffing up as knowledge does. It is equally true that "in the multitude of words there wants not sin," and that "the lips of the righteous feed many;" they "know what is acceptable;" and those who hear are refreshed and blessed.

The same thing may be observed in the next exhortation, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers." (v. 29.) A special class of corrupt communications, such as might be expected from Gentiles who wrought "all uncleanness with greediness," is alluded to in the next chapter; but here the exhortation has a wider scope. "How can ye, being evil, speak good things?" asks our Lord of the Jews. (Matt. 12:34.) A corrupt tree can only bring forth corrupt fruit. The words, as well as the works, will bear the character of the heart from which they proceed. But it is not enough that the believer merely abstains from corrupt communications such as naturally belong to "the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts." He has put on the new man, of which Christ is the perfect representative. Did Christ merely refrain from evil in His conversation? No; His words, like His life, "ministered grace unto the hearers." And so will the words of one who is in communion with Christ. Just so far as we walk after "the new man" will our words resemble the words of Him of whom it is written, "Grace is poured into thy lips, therefore God hath blessed thee for ever." (Ps. 45:2.)

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (v. 21). For this reason, how careful we should be in the way we use our tongue! The apostles, being ministers of the new covenant, used their tongues to communicate the Word of God to others, with serious results, first, to "those who are perishing," to whom they were "an aroma of death leading to death," but to believers "the aroma of life leading to life" (2 Cor. 2:15-16). The latter are "those who love it."

Verse 4 now speaks of "a wholesome tongue" as being "a tree of life". This is a tongue kept in proper control, and used for good purposes. It has elements in it that resemble a living, growing tree, producing fruitful results that are lasting. On the contrary side, perverseness, being a misuse of the tongue, tends to break the spirit, destroying what may otherwise be useful.

(Vv. 9-12). Moreover, the tongue can be thoroughly inconsistent, for, while capable of blessing God, it can also curse man made in the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth blessing and cursing can proceed. This is contrary to nature, for no fountain can send forth sweet and bitter water, nor does a fig tree bear olives, nor a vine figs. By the ordinance of God the nature of a thing induces products according to its nature. Christians, as born of God and morally partakers of the divine nature, are in speech and acts to be consistent with God's ways.

The Apostle is not speaking of the tongue when used by grace and restrained by the Spirit, but of the tongue used under the influence of the flesh and energised by the devil. Nothing but the power of the Spirit filling the heart with the grace of Christ can restrain the tongue. When the heart is enjoying the grace and love of Christ, the tongue will speak in grace out of the abundance of the heart.

We offend one another in many things. Perhaps nothing is so offensive as the tongue. This member of our body can cause great offence. We should read what is written in the epistle of James about the tongue (see James 3). It is a source of untold evil, and has done more harm than anything else in causing offence one to another. What need we have to control this unruly member, and watch continually against unkind words.

On the other hand, the tongue can be used for blessing. When our speech is gracious and kind, we can do much good to all those with whom we come in contact. Of the virtuous woman it is said, "In her tongue is the law of kindness" (Proverbs 31:26). If this could be said of us, how happy we should be! How happy too we could make others, by gracious and kind words.

"The mouth of the righteous is a well of life" (v. 11), for from such a mouth flows living water, words of refreshing value, influenced by the truth of God's Word. But from the mouth of the wicked come words of violence. While hatred stirs up anger and strife, love in contrast serves to cover sins (v. 12). Of course, there are cases where sin needs to be exposed, but if it is not harmful to others, wisdom seeks to cover wrong doing.

Instead of the mouth giving forth corrupt communication, its outflow is to be good and edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearer. The law speaks of that which issues out of the mouth of the unregenerate sinner, and we shudder at its faithful testimony: “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips.” Now the law speaks to the man under it, in order that his mouth may be stopped. A gateway open for such a welter of wickedness as this had better be shut up for ever. But if the heart is purified by faith, and grace is poured into the lips, the outflow shall be a delight to the heart of the hearer and refreshing to the weary among God’s pilgrims on their way to glory.