The following is a portion of a series of reflections on the book War of Words by Paul David Tripp. You may also want to read the first and third reflections in this series.

There are many sins named in Scripture: envy, wrath, adultery, murder, hatred, and of course, a biting tongue. There are also many titles for Jesus Christ: the Branch, the Son of God, the root of David, and of course, the Word. John in particular speaks of Jesus as the Word:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. –John 1:1

What may be most interesting is that there are only a few correspondences found between a list of sins, and then a list of titles of Jesus. One of those correspondences is between words–a biting tongue–and Jesus as the Word. (The other apparent correspondence is between hatred and Jesus, as God, being named as “love.”) The conclusion, then, is this: while Jesus is the solution for envy, wrath, adultery, murder, and hatred, He not only is the solution for sinful words, but He is in fact the Word.

Quite literally, then, Jesus is both the solution to sinful words through His enabling of the offer of the gospel, and He is the solution by being the embodiment of God-glorifying words. He saves us from our words by being the Word. This seems different than, for example, the fruit of the Spirit. Pressing into Jesus produces in the Christian peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and so forth; but Jesus does not just produce God-glorifying words, but is in fact the Word itself (Himself).

Tripp puts this another way that is equally compelling: “words do not belong to us. Every word we speak must be up to God’s standard and according to his design” (15). What is God’s standard? Perfection and holiness, of course. But with regard to words, God’s standard is Jesus Christ Himself.

In an argument, this is a clear call to speak not just as Jesus would speak, but to speak Jesus Himself. Tripp addresses speech in confrontation this way: “The content of confrontation is always the Bible” (154). Our words in confrontation must be the Word, which is Jesus, the Word of God. “The truths of the gospel–both its challenge and its comfort–must color our confrontation” (155).

But it seems that there is more to this issue of communication that simple confrontation. There are often times when a word or phrase or tirade can easily be identified: that was sinful! that was not according to God’s plan! However, there is a wealth of speech that is not so clearly argument, confrontation, or ranting lecture. There is a wealth of speech beyond a God-ward sermon, beyond counseling from Scripture, and beyond exhortation. Taking Jesus–the Word–as an example, every word He spoke was in accordance with God the Father’s plan.

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” –John 14:10

This implies that every word Jesus spoke was in accordance with God’s plan. Jesus’ casual speech to his disciples were according to God’s plan; his requests for a place to sleep; his instructions regarding a location to eat His last meal; even passing comments to His mother were according to God’s design.

Is not, then, the necessary conclusion that beyond the “good” words that edify, and the “bad” words that we must correct, there are no neutral words? While Tripp suggests the following words in the context of confrontation, they can be extended to every situation:

We all need a redemptive perspective on our relationships. Before we speak, we need to ask ourselves what the Redeemer wants to accomplish in the situation, and we need to be committed to be a part of it. (160)

Before it is possible to take Tripp’s gospel-oriented suggestions and admonitions toward improving communication, this stunning realization must be made: every word matters. Every word either is submitted to, and is embodied by, the Word; or every word rejects the authority of the Word. Every word, just like every thought, must be brought into captivity to Christ.

The following is a portion of a series of reflections on the book War of Words by Paul David Tripp. You may also want to read the second and third reflections in this series.

Just five pages into War of Words, Paul Tripp makes this astonishing claim: “God has a wonderful plan for our words” (5). Modern evangelicalism is quick to talk about God’s plan–and God’s plans–so this statement doesn’t sound overtly different, provocative, or perhaps even book-worthy. In fact, seminaries, churches, and parachurches have made so-called Christian counseling all the rage, so another book on godly communication should fit right into the local Christian bookstore.

However, it’s the following supplemental points that Tripp makes that stir a deeper thinking:

• Sin has radically altered our agenda for our words, resulting in much hurt, confusion, and chaos.
• In Christ Jesus we find the grace that provides all we need to speak as God intended us to speak.
• The Bible plainly and simply teaches us how to get from where we are to where God wants us to be.

This is an incredibly God-centric approach to communication. Nowhere in this list or the rest of the book is there a set of four, five, or six steps toward more effective communication, getting your point across, or active listening. Instead, Tripp argues that communication is broken because of sin. This is granted by most Christian counselors. However, Tripp’s argument continues: if the solution for sin is Jesus Christ and His reconciling death, then the solution for sinful communication must be a return to Jesus Christ, not a system or set of best practices.

Tripp lays this out early on: “I am convinced that we do not understand how radically the gospel can change the way we understand and solve our communication problems” (5). There are implications that run deep here, and bear meditation. Sin, the Bible would teach, affects the whole man. Further, as Jesus Himself says, what comes out of a man simply bears witness to what is inside that man.

“Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” –Matthew 15:17-20

Communication, then, reflects our sinful hearts. Consequently, an outward approach to improving communication–writing out your thoughts before voicing them, counting to ten internally, asking questions rather than making demands–is at best an attempt to restrain the effect of sin. But does this in fact deal with the actual sin producing the poor communication? Does this outward restraint do anything other than layer a sinful heart with external moralistic behavior? No.

A Biblical approach to dealing with words, then, looks past words. The Bible and Tripp’s book demand a return to the Gospel in all its power. Jesus, identified as the Word, is the ultimate solution for our words. A Christian who seeks to “improve” their communication is in fact denying a sin problem. Sin cannot be lessened in some continuous, long-term, quantifiable manner. It can be warred against, and repented of, and forgiven; in fact, this is the Christian gospel. Jesus died and rose so that we might make war against sin, repent of sin, and be forgiven of sin.