Divine Translation

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1: 14)

Translation is “the process of rendering from one language into another” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary). Back in English class we were taught that a word is the basic expression of thought. In the spiritual realm, when God wanted to express His thought to us, He did it by sending His Son into our world in a form which we could understand. In a sense, He was the translation of the mind of God in our terms. All that we need to know about God has been revealed in Christ. This was the answer to the question in Isaiah 40: 13 (NCV), For who has known the mind of the Lord? Paul adds the statement, But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16. God’s mind has been effectively communicated to us in Christ, and He has invested His mind in every believer.

There is another step in this spiritual translation process. Just as Jesus became the communication of the mind of God toward us, and we have the mind of Christ in us, so we are to become translators of the Word to the world around us. In John’s first letter he deals with the principle of the believer’s taking the things of Christ and communicating them to the world . In chapter 4: 12-17, he speaks of our translating God’s love into terms our world can understand. He concludes with the clause, as He is, so are we in this world.

Wycliffe Bible Translators was born through an all-night and extended prayer meeting at Keswick. The focus was on the refusal of Mexico to allow missionaries to enter. As the people prayed, the leaders prepared to approach the president of Mexico with the idea of allowing translators to reduce the tribal languages to writing. When this was agreed upon, translators moved in to begin work in the languages of some of the tribal groups . They used as their medium for translation the Word of God. Millions have been reached in their own language through translation. Rev. William A. Raws served at America’s Keswick for 60 years in various capacities, and is the grandson of our founder, William Raws.

Keswick, America’s  (2012-12-13). Real Victory for Real Life Volume 2 (Kindle Locations 7461-7482).  . Kindle Edition.

Daily Bible Reading: Proverbs 19-21

Think About This: All my theology is reduced to this narrow compass – “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” —Archibald Alexander

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18