In Matthew, our Lord Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for speaking against the Holy Spirit, asking them, “How can you speak good when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:32)

Pondering this verse in my quiet time, I turned it around and thought of Jesus’ words as coming from the abundance of what was in His own heart. I’ve often wondered what it would have been like to hear the Savior speak and observe the power of His words to heal, cast out demons, open blind eyes and deaf ears and even raise the dead.

Jesus’ words revealed His divine power, love, wisdom, and even wrath. His words were such that only God could speak. When once the Sanhedrin sent guards to arrest Him they returned empty-handed. Their explanation? “No man ever spoke like this man.” (John 7:46)

According to the Bible, upon our Lord’s return He will smite the nations with the sword of His mouth and by it destroy the wicked one. His Word will be the instrument of judgment at the end of time. Jesus said, “The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.” (John 12:48)

We can be sure that Jesus never said a single word that was not intentional and purposeful. Everything He said was motivated by His desire to glorify the Father. In John 7, the Lord Jesus said, “The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.” (John 7:18)

And at the end of His public ministry, Jesus had successfully accomplished that goal saying to the Father: “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:4–5) His passion to please the Father and do His will is what gave His words such power.

Think about how often our words are motivated by selfish ends, by fear or by malice. The words of men are frequently motivated for their own glory. Imagine what you would have said had you been in Jesus’ shoes. Knowing you would be criticized and rejected, would you have said to the crippled man, “Your sins are forgiven?” Knowing she was an immoral outcast, what would you have said to the woman at the well?

The words of men are frequently motivated for their own glory.

Would you have rebuked your host at a dinner party for his failure to love as the sinful woman who interrupted the festivities? (Luke 7:47) And what would you have said to Pontius Pilate during interrogation? Would you have had the courage to rebuke the rich and powerful as Jesus often did? How would it change your speech if you purposed only to speak words that would glorify God without fear of what anyone else would say or do? How would it affect the way you speak to your spouse, your kids, your co-workers, and fellow believers?

Since our words spring out of the abundance of what’s in our hearts, let’s endeavor to fill our hearts and minds with His word. The apostle Paul instructs us to, “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

Living and speaking for the honor and glory of God is very liberating. It frees us from the fear of man and from our own selfishness.