Speaking realities

” . . . The words, ‘Let there be light’ are the words of God, not of Moses; this means that they are realities. For God calls into existence the things that do not exist (Romans 4:17). He does not speak grammatical words; he speaks true and existent realities. Accordingly, that which among us has the sound of the word is a reality with God. Thus Sun, Moon, heaven, earth, Peter, Paul, I, you, etc. – we are all words of God, in fact only one single syllable or letter by comparison with the entire creation. We, too, speak, but only according to the rules of language; that is, we assign names to objects which have already been created. But the divine role of language is different, namely: when he says: ‘Sun, shine,’ the Sun is there at once and shines. Thus the words of God are realities, not bare words.”

- Martin Luther, Lectures on Genesis (As quoted in Carl Trueman’s Fools Rush in Where Monkeys Fear to Tread: Taking Aim at Everyone)

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