kata Drew

phil-omni-glot (from Greek phil “love” + Latin omni “all” + Greek glot “tongue, language”) : noun. A lover of all languages. (A personal coinage of yours truly.)

Why love all languages?

The point has been made that the reason people from every tribe, language, people and nation are seen worshiping around Jesus’ throne in Revelation 5 is because people from every tribe, language, people and nation will find him all-satisfying. In other words, what is special about the one true God is that people from every ethnicity and tongue find in him what they need and they worship. God is therefore not a tribal deity whose “splendor” is seen by a select, remote view, but he is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and his Son is the One through whom all that has its existence was created (John 1:3).

Analogy: If I design a pair of shoes and only people in West Virginia like them, I won’t be a failure, but I won’t be a complete success either. However, as in the case of Nike, if I can design shoes that are desired and praised by people all over the world, that points to a superior shoe. A diverse body recognizes its value.

By his blood Jesus ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation (Rev. 5:9). This is their “new song” (Rev. 5:9a), praising this act. The answer then as to why to love all languages is because God loves all languages and ransomed people from every language by the blood of his Son. Moreover, the telos of each of those languages is to find praise and adoration for the Lamb who was slain and is worthy on the lips of the ransomed speakers.

The Christian has another reason to love languages: because the Scriptures were written in other languages (i.e., not English). Consequently, since I know you’ve heard of sermon jams, you’ll want to give the John Chapter 1 Jam herein linked a listen (featuring John 1:1-3 from the Greek New Testament and the Latin Vulgate courtesy of GreekLatinAudio.com [sorry, maybe one with Hebrew will be forthcoming]).

Long live philology!

I’m sure you have heard preachers ask the question, Why, after you’re saved, doesn’t God just take you out of the world? There are probably more answers to this than there are categories of High School Musical memorabilia; but I think there’s a (lame) analogy in baked barbecue chicken (which, as you can guess, I made last night; thus the following afflatus):

Bake chicken skin side down at 425 for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and spoon barbecue sauce over and return to oven for 40 minutes at 375.

So goes the recipe. The chicken after 45 minutes at 425 looked crispy and ready to eat. I venture to say it was cooked; but did we just eat the plain chicken after 45 minutes at 425? No! The chicken was basted with barbecue sauce and returned to the oven to bake for another 40ish minutes. Why? Why return it to the oven, if it’s already ready to eat already? Because it tastes better to the cook after baking longer.

“Tell us what this means teacher,” you say.

I’ve been baked once (”saved”). I got the barbecue sauce (”Holy Spirit”) and I’m baking a second time (”sanctification”) to taste better to the Cook.

More than this and the analogy breaks down quicker than teenyboppers watching High School Musical II.