Divine purpose for a pure language
Posted: 27 May 2014, 17:391. English is called the global language
2. The English language is indebted to the Bible:
a. The King James Bible is considered good style, and a literary standard
b. William Tyndale added words to the English language
c. Writers have drawn upon the King James Bible in developing their own styles
3. God Almighty can use English to deliver his preserved Word as much as any other langauge
4. The Bible gives prophetic clues about all this...
God, it is revealed, has created man to communicate, “And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” (Exodus 4:11, 12). The ability to speak and write is from God, and the language used to do so is also supplied by God.
God’s power includes languages: “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35). He has created languages, “Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (Genesis 11:7), and all things to do with the developments in language are in His power.
The making of dialects, or changes in language are no accident. Within a few generations of the conquest of Canaan, the tribe of the Ephramites had lost the pronouncing of the “sh” sound, “Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.” (Judges 14:6). Some account the changes of pronunciations, or changes in vocabulary and so on as mere random events. But they are all under the providential hand of the Lord. Especially since man began with full intelligence in the garden of Eden, then the idea of “linguistic evolution” must be altogether incorrect. Purpose must indeed be at the basis of all these things.
It was commented upon by the translators of the King James Bible, that the Grecian language must have been made common throughout much of the world (what afterwards became the Eastern Roman Empire), that would facilitate the preaching of the Gospel from Jerusalem by Greek speakers most commodiously to Illyricum, “Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” (Romans 15:19).
In fact, the Lord Jesus commanded preaching the Gospel to all nations, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20). This preaching was to be in whatever languages were required, and would reach foreign speakers. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14).
The various tongues spoken at Pentecost and afterwards were surely a sign that the Word of God must come to various people by whatever languages. “Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” (Acts 2:11). Whereas the world had been divided at the tower of Babel by the confounding of languages, the uniting of the world would be by having one common message, the Gospel, which began to issue forth in various languages, from the time of the Apostles, to the great endeavours of the missionaries in modern times.
And so, “But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Peter 1:25), even “unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8b).
2. The English language is indebted to the Bible:
a. The King James Bible is considered good style, and a literary standard
b. William Tyndale added words to the English language
c. Writers have drawn upon the King James Bible in developing their own styles
3. God Almighty can use English to deliver his preserved Word as much as any other langauge
4. The Bible gives prophetic clues about all this...
God, it is revealed, has created man to communicate, “And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” (Exodus 4:11, 12). The ability to speak and write is from God, and the language used to do so is also supplied by God.
God’s power includes languages: “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35). He has created languages, “Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (Genesis 11:7), and all things to do with the developments in language are in His power.
The making of dialects, or changes in language are no accident. Within a few generations of the conquest of Canaan, the tribe of the Ephramites had lost the pronouncing of the “sh” sound, “Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.” (Judges 14:6). Some account the changes of pronunciations, or changes in vocabulary and so on as mere random events. But they are all under the providential hand of the Lord. Especially since man began with full intelligence in the garden of Eden, then the idea of “linguistic evolution” must be altogether incorrect. Purpose must indeed be at the basis of all these things.
It was commented upon by the translators of the King James Bible, that the Grecian language must have been made common throughout much of the world (what afterwards became the Eastern Roman Empire), that would facilitate the preaching of the Gospel from Jerusalem by Greek speakers most commodiously to Illyricum, “Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” (Romans 15:19).
In fact, the Lord Jesus commanded preaching the Gospel to all nations, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20). This preaching was to be in whatever languages were required, and would reach foreign speakers. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14).
The various tongues spoken at Pentecost and afterwards were surely a sign that the Word of God must come to various people by whatever languages. “Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” (Acts 2:11). Whereas the world had been divided at the tower of Babel by the confounding of languages, the uniting of the world would be by having one common message, the Gospel, which began to issue forth in various languages, from the time of the Apostles, to the great endeavours of the missionaries in modern times.
And so, “But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Peter 1:25), even “unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8b).