The Tree of Life represents Jesus and His redemptive work on the cross. When we believe, we partake of the Tree; when we apply the truth of His redemptive work, we enjoy the benefits of the leaves of the Tree, which bring healing (Rev 22:2). And the first step of applying the truth is speaking it. We are to align our speech to God’s truths.

The healed tongue is a tree of life (Pro 15:4, YLT), which tells us that the Tree of Life brings is healing by our spoken words. When God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1), the first ingredient God used was his Spirit (Gen 1:2) and the second his spoken word (Gen 1:3). God’s spoken word frames the power of God and makes it material and tangible for us (Heb 11:3, NASB). All matter is made up God’s power and his word. It is the Word of God that makes God perceivable (John 1:14) to us. Though the Spirit is the origin of life, it is Christ’s spoken word that frames it into reality for us.

When God spoke living creatures into being, he spoke to its source of sustenance. When he created vegetation he spoke to the earth (Gen 1:11) and therefore vegetation needs to be connected with the earth for it to survive and thrive. Likewise fish need to be sustained by water (Gen 1:20) and animals need to be in contact with the earth (Gen 1:24). When God created Man He spoke to Himself (Gen 1:26), so Man was created from God and needs to stay connected with God for sustenance.

Man is created in God’s image and His likeness (Gen 1:26), which means that we have God’s outward features and inward qualities. And this means that we, like God, have the power to create through our words. Our words frame the material that we have collected in our hearts (Mat 12:34). What we believe in our hearts is a spiritual substance (Heb 11:1) and this substance is framed into being by spoken words (Heb 11:3).

Because what we already have in our hearts is a spiritual reality in God’s eyes, sinning in the heart is as bad as actually committing the sin physically (Mat 5:22, 28). And the tongue can sin by speaking words that create strife (Pro 18:6) or by spreading lies (Pro 6:19) or by gossiping, which leads to quarreling (Pro 26:20). Sometimes the problem is simply that of talking too much (Pro 10:19).

We allow the tongue to be used by the devil when we use it for the things of man rather than the things of God (Mark 8:33). James shows us that the tongue sets the direction of our lives as a rudder sets the course of a ship (Jas 3:4). And he warns us against using the tongue to both bless God and curse men (Jas 3:9-10). When the sons of Korah used their tongues to speak against Moses and Aaron (Num 16:3) the LORD punished them for their rebellion (Num 16:31-33). God wants us to use the tongue for edifying the rest of the body of Christ (Eph 4:29), because misusing the tongue can grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30). We are also to get rid of bitterness and every form of malice (Eph 4:31), as bitterness is a root that grows to cause defilement (Heb 12:15). And the way to cleanse the heart of bitterness is to walk in forgiveness, because in Christ God has already forgiven us (Eph 4:32).

God has given our spoken words great power, and we can use this power to bring into our lives what would satisfy (Pro 18:20). Therefore we ought to make the effort to love our tongue and use its power for life, not death (Pro 18:21).

Points to Ponder:

1. Why do you think the Bible means when it says that life and death are in the power of the tongue?
2. What do you feel has been a special challenge to you in this area of your walk with Christ?

God uses His Spirit and His word to create the universe. The Holy Spirit provides the invisible power and substance, His Word frames it and gives it tangible materiality. Through God's Word the worlds were framed and put in order out of what was invisible (Heb 11:3). His Word is what holds all things together (Heb 1:3). Because Man is created in God's image and likeness (Gen 1:26) we too have the power to create and speak things into existence.

What we believe in the heart is the substance from which we create our worlds. Our faith is a tangible substance and valid in God's eyes (Heb 11:1). Evil is first created in the heart (Mat 15:18) before it is framed into being by the spoken word. The Word of God warns us sternly not to use our mouth to create strife, anger, dissension and gossip. (Eph 4:29-31). Instead, we should deliberately guard our hearts (Pro 4:23) and store up good within (Phi 4:8) to be spoken into fruition in our lives. And that is why we need to bring our words and the meditations of our hearts into alignment with each other and with God's truth (Psa 19:14).

The Israelites chose not to do this. Time and time again they harbored unbelief in their hearts and spoke it with their mouths. Their words revealed their lack of faith in God, that he would deliver them (Exo 14:11), provide food for them (Exo 16:3) and give them water to drink (Exo 17:3). While the people were grumbling and speaking the problems (Num 20:3-5) God instructed Moses to speak to the rock and it would bring forth water for the people to drink (Numbers 20:8). God wants us to speak forth the solution rather than the problem.

Like Zechariah, who prayed for a son (Luke 1:13), we may still have unbelief when God agrees to fulfill our prayers. Because Zechariah chose to speak out of unbelief when he encountered the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:18), the angel had to shut up Zechariah's mouth until the birth of his son (Luke 1:20). Even though God knows what we need before we ask him (Mat 6:8), God wants us to pray and declare his reign and the rule of his kingdom over our lives (Mat 6:9-10).

When Bartimaeus sought Jesus for healing, Jesus had him speak out his desire (Mark 10:51) and Jesus called that a faith that healed him (Mark 10:52).

Jesus himself practiced this when he went to pray for Jarius' daughter. When people said the daughter was dead Jesus chose to ignore what they said and instead spoke faith into Jarius' heart (Mark 5:36). He let kept people with unbelief away (Mark 5:37, 40) and when he prayed for the daughter he spoke to her and she was resurrected (Mark 5:41). We see how Jesus spoke the solution, while those around him were speaking the problem. He also praised the Roman centurion who believed that Jesus' spoken word was enough to heal his servant (Mat 8:8, 10).

Because the tongue can be greatly used for evil (Jas 3:6) it is the first part of the body that God seeks to control through his Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). Reining in the tongue is the first step to enjoying many good days (1 Pet 3:10) so that it may be for us a tree of life (Pro 15:4).

Points to ponder:

1. When David faced the challenge of battling Goliath, (1 Sam 17:23-51) how did he use his words to bring about the victory?
2. What are the areas of your life that you are seeking God for breakthroughs in? What are the Bible passages you can use to speak life and victory into those areas?