Amen!

You probably hear the word all the time, but do you know what it means? No, it’s not Greek for “That’s all” or “Let’s eat” — no matter what people’s behavior at Sunday morning worship might suggest. Amen is a Hebrew word that refers to what is true and sure.

Amen comes from the root word aman. That Old Testament word has several shades of meaning. It may denote that which is sure or established (cf. Psalm 19:7). It may point to the faithfulness or trustworthiness of a person (cf. Proverbs 27:6). Or it may indicate trust or belief (cf. Genesis 15:6). Similarly, the word amen means that one acknowledges a thing to be true or right.

When used at the beginning of a thought, amen means “sure­ly, truly.” Jesus often used the word this way in His teaching; it appears more than 70 times in the gospels, usually translated “truly” or “verily.” Thus Jesus’ common formula, “Truly, truly I say to you…” is literally, “Amen, amen, I say to you…” In this way Jesus highlighted the trustworthiness of His words. (For a few examples, look at Matthew 5:18; Mark 9:1; Luke 23:43; John 3:3,5.)

When used at the end of a thought, amen means “so be it” or “may it be fulfilled.” Jesus closed his model prayer in Matthew 6 with amen — that is, with an appeal to God for its fulfillment (verse 13). We customarily end our prayers in the same way. In the Psalms, a description of God’s glory may be followed by amen to stress its truthfulness (41:13; 72:19; 89:52; 106:48). The New Testament writers frequently do the same (e.g., Romans 1:25; Ephesians 3:21; 1 Timothy 1:27; Hebrews 13:21; 1 Peter 4:11; Jude 1:25; Revelation 1:6,7). And Paul sometimes uses amen as he bids his readers blessings of farewell (Ro­mans 16:24; 1 Corinthians 16:24; Galatians 6:18).

In the Old Testament, amen is often an expression of agreement or consent to something that has been said. For instance, when the Law of Moses was read aloud, the congregation of Israel responded with “amen,” indicating their acceptance of its teaching (see Deuteronomy 27:15-26; Nehemiah 8:6). Thayer writes:

It was a custom, which passed over from the synagogues to the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed had offered up solemn prayer to God, the others re­sponded, ‘Amen,’ and thus made the substance of what was uttered their own.

Paul refers to this custom in Christian assemblies in 1 Corinthians 14:16. And so it continues to this day, when disciples say “amen” to show their agreement with the thoughts expressed in a prayer or sermon. It is right for us to do so, and we need more of it!

In the highest use of the word amen, the prophet Isaiah refers to Jehovah as “the God of truth” — literally, “the God of amen” (65:16). Likewise, Christ calls Himself “the Amen, the faithful and true Witness” (Revelation 3:14). God’s every word is truth, and His every promise is sure. “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20).