The Power of Encouragement

Ephesians 4:29 (NKJV)
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary [a]edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Ephesians 4:29b reveals an amazing truth that is overlooked by much of the Church. If realized, it would transform believers’ thinking about their ability to make an impact in the lives of people around them. It would free them from the frustration that many in the Full Gospel movement feel because of the lack of results seen in carrying out the mandates of the Gospel found in Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:17-18, and John 14:12. When believers think of “making disciples, casting out demons, and doing greater works than Jesus did” they tend to feel a disconnect because of the lack of results they experience in each of those areas.

While not wanting to diminish the importance of doing what the Word has called us to do in the three passages listed above, there is another thing that believers can do that will be just as significant as those three things. According to Ephesians 4:29b believers are to use their mouths to edify or encourage others. The world encourages people in a natural way – “Hey, you can do it, you’ve got what it takes and so on….” But encouragement means something more in the spiritual sense. According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, edify means to “instruct or improve spiritually.” That happens when a believer speaks the Word of God into the life of someone else. Words of edification remind a person of who he is in Christ, what he can do through Him, and what he can have in Him. Edification or encouragement leaves a person feeling better not because of who he is, but because of “whose” he is.

It is not surprising that “El Shaddai”, the God of more than enough, would add an additional blessing to the recipients of edification beyond just making someone feel better. According to Ephesians 4:29b those words of edification or encouragement impart GRACE to the “hearers.” Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, says the word impart means “to bestow”. Through our words of edification or encouragement God has given us a part in transferring His GRACE to others.

GRACE is ground zero for what God does for His children because of His infinite Love for them. One minister of the Gospel defines GRACE as “God’s empowering presence which enables a person to become what He already sees.” To think that God has given us a part in releasing His GRACE to others is amazing indeed!

Making disciples, casting out demons and doing greater works than Jesus did are all a part of what believers have been called to do. But never underestimate the importance of speaking words of encouragement to those around you. Through them, you have been given the privilege of opening a door through which God’s GRACE can flow. And, that is NO small matter!

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