Vital Language
Some of the most popular verses in the Bible speak of the power of the tongue and the bridle we are supposed to have over it. Proverbs 12 18 talks about the tongue of the wise being health, Proverbs 15 4 says that a wholesome tongue is the tree of life and then in chapter 18 and verse 21 of the same book we learn the tongue has the power of death and life. James 3 5 also talks about how the small tongue can kindle a great fire. In large part everyone is acutely aware that language is important though there's another passage that is by no means obscure but not one of the most famous and it comes from 1 Corinthians 14 10 saying, There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. In Greek, the original language of the text, the word for 'world' was kosmos. Kosmos means more than just the physical make up of the earth only including land and sea but is also means the inhabitants of the earth, literal or figurative.
The original Greek word used instead of the English 'voice' is phone. inside of the definition of phone is an articulate, bestial or artificial tone. Signification basically is defined as to bring meaning to. Most people are able to understand what a literal inhabitant of the world is when looking at the all the other humans and animals we see on a regular basis. a slightly harder thought is deciphering what a figurative inhabitant of the world exactly is. It is, though not exclusively the pagan gods and goddesses created by heathen cultures ranging from Zeus to Osiris, Dagon to Mithra and Amaterasu Omikami to Thor. these figurative inhabitants may well have an artificial tone but even an artificial voice can be brought into signification or given meaning by the vehicle of language. the literal and figurative, the articulate, bestial and artificial, the seen and the unseen can all be given life if it is spoken to and/or agreed with. what gave the false god Zeus the power to unite, motivate, propel and spiritually trap an entire people group for hundreds if not thousands of years? someone at some point used language to give the artificial voice of a figurative inhabitant in the world meaning.
The language was a porthole to bring significance to a spirit that was not literal to become a tangible epoch changing force in an area it had not previously been. what have we given power in our own lives by what we decided to say? you may be the hardest working person in the country but of you keep saying, I'm lazy, its giving life to an artificial tone in the atmosphere and sooner or later you'll become lazy in some sector of your life. what is real and what is fake? Real are the things that are given signification. no language means no signification, no signification means no power. without the power to cause a ripple either in the spiritual or physical realm, then that thing is not real. what is said literally shapes the world around us so whoever can influence what people talk about has a key to changing a culture.
The world is not ignorant of these concepts. In 1916 when Europe was embroiled in a war that had much to do with imperialism, course in General Linguistics by French theorist Ferdinand de Saussure was published. In this work, Saussure mentions language as being a system of signification. anyone familiar with 1 Corinthians 14 10 ears should've started itching. Saussure claimed that language is made up of two parts; the first being the signifier which is the sound we make with our mouths, and the other being the signified; which is the concept the sound is pointing to. For example, if I say the word mean, the letters m-e-a-n are not what I'm talking about. I'm speaking of the concept that society has decided to label mean. M-e-a-n is the signifier and everything we know to be mean in the signified. Now for language to be of any use, the signifier must agree with the signified or the words spoken must equal the concept behind them. If I say happy, it's necessary that the person listening to me must concur with the concept I'm trying to impart otherwise he/she is hearing something different. this conundrum comes to life when an English speaker learns the language of another culture in a classroom and then travels to the locale where that language is spoken and tries to communicate.
Only having knowledge of the signifier and not the signified creates a breakdown in the dialogue. An English speaking mindset hasn't been changed because no real knowledge of the culture has been birthed so there is no grasp of the societal concepts and experiences. without common knowledge of the concept the words are attempting to signify, the people hear something other than what you're saying. If I say dog, every experience this society had with dogs is wrapped up in that word. If you have no history with that experience, d-o-g means nothing. when a Spanish speaker says perro, the understanding forged through history of p-e-r-r-o is encapsulated in the word. the Spanish history with perro differs from the English experience of dog, therefore perro doesn't mean dog, it means perro. just leaning Spanish and saying perro but in you mind thinking dog results in listeners not truly understanding you and you truly not understanding them. Shared experience is the backbone of language. Signifier and signified must be the same for either party.
The Bible and secular society both attest that language is a method of bringing significance to the unseen and intangible. a concept is made concrete through words. Language is the bedrock of any civilization as well because it is the foundation of the culture's understanding of the outside world. It brings into significance the things that the people deem important. Exterminate a language and the signification for that society is extinguished as well as the experience which consequentially means the civilization itself. History proves it to be true. Native Americans were forbidden from using their language by conquering United States armies, Africans were by imperialist genocidal Europeans, Aborigines and the list goes on and on of cultures that faced near extinction because they could no longer use their system of signifier and signified. If a people can't use their system, it means they're using someone else's which is bringing life to the new and killing the original.
Every kingdom has a culture and every culture must have a language. It's no different with the Kingdom of God. There is a method of signification and a mutual system of signifier and signified in this counterculture. Now the Kingdom is made up of people from various backgrounds and diverse histories so how can these vastly unique individuals get on the same process of signification? the answer is that we must share an experience first since it is the foundation of language. That experience consists of the redeeming of the soul upon being saved and even beyond that an undeniable, sometimes incomprehensible touch from God that comes from prayer, fasting, consecration and authentic yet costly communion with Him. After a spiritual dinner date with the Father you are no longer what you used to be and there is no turning back. You've had an encounter that separates you from the rest of the world. That encounter creates for you a concept that can only be communicated with someone whose had the same experience. with shared signified, agreeing on the signifier isn't hard. Words like awesome, amazing, magnificient, wonderous, scary, and crazy all take on new meaning when conversing with a person who's been though a similar experience. a touch from God also changes the filters over our eyes that we've processed all information through previously. So having a common filter to synthesize information the outside world gives us and a shared tongue built through seeing God, the counterculture of the Kingdom can bring into signification the voices that necessitate meaning. when prosperity health wisdom peace power dominion and perseverance are declared in the Kingdom all the citizens will be on the same page as to what those words mean and be able to declare exactly the same thing in their own lives. other artificial voices won't be given significance for the reason that the culture is on one system and the words needed to bring these figurative inhabitants signification is not a part of the language. Mixture of language brings forth mixture of signification which turns into mixed results.
Some Christians living in purpose and destiny while others merely existing in states of depression and loneliness is a consequence of too many systems of signification. Words, phrases and whatever else that comes out of the mouth must be aligned with God's plan for his Kingdom or else a personal or worse yet, a national Zeus has a gateway to wreak havoc. Murder, fear, hate, lust and all other evil voices are waiting to gain power through your mouth. Don't let them find significance through you, signify only what the Kingdom needs signified, not just for you but the entire culture.
[l]
