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Monthly Archives: April 2025

Husbands and Wives

Husbands and Wives

I’m continuing through Peter’s first letter. In my last post I started talking about submission in the husband and wife relationship. Remember that submission is a personal choice to arrange yourself under someone.

But the question comes up; why does the Lord tell a wife to arrange herself under her husband? For the answer, we need to go back to the last verse we looked at in 1 Peter.

The verse literally says to do this so that if any husbands are not convinced to obey the Word they may be won over without words. It says that they are inspecting the wife’s behavior.

The Lord wants them to see that this behavior is clean, innocent, modest, and pure. Of course this is accomplished under the fear of God, not the fear of your husband.

This verse is not necessarily talking about the salvation of the husband as much as his obedience. Is your husband obeying the Word as he should?

If you remember from my last post that Christ is the Head of the home, not the husband. The husband must arrange himself under Christ. And that’s not as easy to do as it is to say.

I feel that it’s important for me to take a side track to talk about this. It’s something that’s misunderstood very often.

On the surface, that sounds like a good arrangement, if you’re a husband. But, there’s more to it that we seem to forget.

We are to love our wives the same way Christ loves the church. That’s a tall order. It says that He gave Himself up for her. That word, gave, literally means He surrendered and yielded up himself for her.

In actuality, the husband is called to surrender himself for his wife. What does this mean to us as husbands? What did it mean for Christ and the church?

I’ve heard so many husbands say things like, “I’ll do my job when she does hers.” The fact is, that’s Adam talking – it’s all her fault. That’s not loving like Christ.

He took the initiative to relate to the church. He showed love first, never getting a commitment that His “bride” would follow suit.

In my next post I’m going to continue this thought to show just how deep this calling to surrender goes. It could possibly change the whole course of your marriage relationship.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 28, 2025 in Relationships

 

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Home Submission

Home Submission

We’re continuing through the book of 1 Peter. We’re currently in a section of Scripture dealing with the different areas of society where we need to be under submission. I understand that this is a controversial word in some sectors.

However, I’m going to try and give the biblical teaching. I want to show the true Scriptural way that we are to arrange ourselves under the structures of human society.

The purpose of this is to bring the Gospel into all the structures of society. So that through us, Christ can be seen.

Today, Peter is talking about the home.

The actual words used in this verse are more general than this translation makes it seem. Peter says to women, in the same manner, arrange yourself under your own man.

When we were going through some of Paul’s writings, he talked about the three phases he saw in the lives of Christian women.

Phase one was the virgin, submitted to her father’s authority. Phase two is the married woman, submitted to her husband’s authority. Phase three is the widow, submitted to Christ’s authority.

Right now, our society has a huge single female population. Scripturally, this is uncharted territory. There are those who are single and on their own. There are those who are divorced, with children. These are just a couple of examples.

In this post I want to start with the husband and wife relationship. In the marriage relationship, the wife must arrange herself under her own husband. That being said, I want to deal with some unscriptural views.

First of all, I have to give the truth that all women are NOT called to submit under all men. A wife is only to arrange herself under her own husband. I know there are some who teach that all women are to submit under all men. That is simply not Scriptural.

The next thing I have to clear up is that arranging yourself under does NOT mean you are a slave to that person. Again, I know there are some who teach that the husband is the supreme ruler of the home.

Remember from chapter 2, that submission is an internal thing. It is not to be forced from the outside by the husband. It’s a condition of your heart.

In actuality, the husband is not the head of the home. I will leave you with this verse as proof of this truth and continue in my next post.

Without a doubt, Christ is to be the head of the home.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 23, 2025 in Relationships, Spiritual Walk

 

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Christ in the Workplace

Christ in the Workplace

As we continue through Peter’s first letter, we’ve been talking about how we relate in the workplace. In my last post, I talked about how we are to be a copy of Christ in our workplace.

But, if we’re to be an accurate copy of the Lord, we need to know how He worked. Needless to say, His workplace was the cross. Peter uses this as the prime example for us to follow.

The first thing we’re told is that there was no sin or trick in His mouth. That’s a big issue. When it comes to the workplace, how often does our tongue get us into trouble. When it does; do we try to get out of it by defensiveness or deceit?

We need to be careful of what we say and how we react.

This is one of the hardest parts of being a true copy of Christ. When He was abused, He did not reply with abuse. When He suffered, He didn’t threaten. This was true even though the Lord knew the authority of His position.

He used the proper channels. The Lord surrendered all of His rights to God the Father. He’s the only one who will give a just decision. Christ was vindicated. The proof of this was the resurrection.

So many people complain about unfair treatment in the workplace. Here we see that Christ Himself suffered the most unfair treatment in the history of the universe.

Fair would have been for me to be eternally separated from God. Instead, Jesus Christ paid for my sins. That is supremely unfair.

Think about that the next time you believe that someone is treating you poorly in a way you don’t deserve. I thank God regularly that He wasn’t fair in dealing with my sin.

Christ did this because He saw the whole picture. The Lord knew that it was the only way to purchase our salvation. I’m so glad that He did.

Here’s the bottom line for all of us in the workplace. We need to remember where we came from to where we are now. We were all lost, without hope. Now we are a part of God’s family, if we’ve accepted the gift of the Lord’s salvation.

We need to constantly be aware that our ultimate Supervisor, Shepherd, and Inspector is Christ. But He goes deeper than any earthly supervisor. The Lord oversees our soul. This means that He not only decides based upon your treatment of others, but your attitudes as well.

That speaks volumes about our place in this world. Bring Christ to your workplace!

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 

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The Light in Your Workplace

The Light in Your Workplace

We’ve been studying through the book of 1 Peter. In my last post I talked about the place of godly submission in your workplace. When you align yourself correctly, your co-workers see the difference in your life.

The fact is that your workplace needs the Good News of Jesus Christ. For that to happen, you need to see things from God’s perspective. You’re not there just to sell cars or fix broken pipes. You’re there to bring good news to the system.

Notice that the assumption of this verse is that you want credit. In this context, credit is a good thing. It means an obvious renown. You’re being noticed for the good life you’re living.

On the other hand, if you’re punished for your mess up – you deserve it. That’s not the trouble Peter wants to deal with. He’s talking about suffering even though you’re living right in God’s eyes.

It’s important that we understand that word, commendable. The apostle is literally saying, this is the grace near God. What is this special grace? If you’re in the workplace doing good AND you suffer for it AND you endure and don’t give up…this is the place of grace near God.

Am I saying that you can never leave a dead-end job that treats you like dirt? No – God wants your best. Listen to the Holy Spirit. He will let you know if it’s time to leave. Or He may even change your boss’s attitude.

This is where we get into the difficult issues. Peter brings the subject of calling into the discussion. In my experience, this is something most people don’t want to deal with.

But the truth is that God’s grace for you is directly tied to your calling. I’m sure you understand that no matter where you go there will be trouble, that you didn’t cause. The question is, will you receive the grace to endure it?

This verse assumes that you are walking in your calling. The trouble is that many believe that calling only deals with what you’re called to do. Actually, calling includes what you’re called to do, the place you’re called to do it, and the time when you are called.

Too many people leave the place of their calling because of the challenges. At that point they miss out on the grace they could have received to make it through.

These challenges are a part of our calling. You may ask, “Why do I have to endure problems caused by others?” The answer is simply, “Because Christ was.”

This passage has a very interesting structure in the Greek. It says that Christ suffered over us. He did this to leave us an example – literally an underwriting. Like a piece of paper under carbon paper, like we used to use to make copies (back in the old days!). You could always tell the copy because it was blue.

He suffered over us and left us behind as the underwriting, that we should walk where He walked. We are the copy. So, we are to be a copy of Christ to our workplace. That’s seeing the whole picture.

It’s not only about your happiness and benefits. It’s about the eternal destination of everyone you work with.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 18, 2025 in Ministry, Spiritual Walk

 

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Workplace Submission

Workplace Submission

We’ve been looking at the teaching of the Apostle Peter in his first letter. He’s been talking about submission to authority in general. Now he gets more specific.

You may read this verse and think, “This verse doesn’t apply to us. We’re not in slavery.” That’s not exactly true. The words slave and master in this verse directly translate to household servant and binding house-husband in English.

In our society, contracts are binding. In a modern company, you’ve effectively bound yourself to your workplace. So, this slave/master relationship can directly apply to the worker – boss relationship.

We’re told here to submit to our supervisors with all respect. That word for respect is actually the word fear (phobos). If you remember from my previous posts, that this is the fear that only lasts until love is present.

That’s an important concept to know especially in this context. In talking about the world’s way of living Paul said something that applies here.

What we find is that in our society people worship and serve created things rather than the Lord. Peter tells us to respect, not worship those in authority. What we see happening in many cases is that they love money, so they worship the workplace for the money they receive.

We’re told by Peter to give respect. But who do we respect; only those who respect us? NO! We’re to respect all. That includes those who are good and appropriate, as well as those who are harsh, warped, and bent.

The fact is we must respect our boss, manager, or supervisor. Remember, it’s the position God established that you’re respecting. There’s a bonus for obeying this teaching.

The word commendable in this verse is actually the word grace. God has a grace available to you for the workplace. Why do we need this special grace?

According to Peter, it’s under the sadness of suffering unjustly. Guess what! This will happen to you no matter where you work. There will be policies put into effect over you because someone else messed up.

But the key is, you obtain this grace because you are conscious of God. That word, conscious, means that you’re seeing the whole picture all together like God does.

Of course, you could always narrow your vision and say, “That’s not fair. Poor me.” Or you can see the whole picture and take on the attitude of Christ.

That word creation is talking about all the authority structures in society. This includes your workplace. When you arrange yourself correctly under your employer you get grace. You start to see the whole picture.

It’s not just about you. Your boss and co-workers need to hear the good news. By your attitude, you can make it easier for them to hear and believe the Good News of Christ.

Be the light of the Gospel they need to see in your workplace.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 14, 2025 in Leadership, Relationships, The Gospel

 

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The Flow of Authority

The Flow of Authority

I’ve been writing about Peter’s first letter to the church. In my last post, I started talking about godly submission to authorities. We concluded by seeing that submission is always to the powers established by God, not to a person.

This is important to understand, because power always flows down the authority structure. But that brings up a question. What structures are there?

Actually, there are four authority structures that God has established. They are the government, the home, the church, and the workplace. It’s through these that authority flows down from the throne of God to the individual.

When they first hear this, some say that I missed one – the school system. No, God didn’t establish that structure independently. Scripture tells us that the parents are to train up their children. So in reality, the school is under parental authority.

As we talk about godly submission, the true question is “How do I submit?”

We need to be reminded of this truth sometimes. That word, obedient, literally means to allow yourself to be persuaded by. Submission always allows persuasion to take place.

“What if I don’t like that person?” It doesn’t matter. The only case where you would rebel against the person is if that person contradicted the known will of God.

It’s like what happened when the Jewish Sanhedrin ordered the disciples not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus. These believers made it clear that they had an obligation to serve God rather than man.

Now we can understand what Peter was saying. We must be under submission to the ultimate and sent authorities. That means we must place ourselves in a position to be persuaded by their leadership.

Peter continues by showing us God’s purpose through all of this.

Peter always speaks his mind. This is quite the verse if you read it in the original Greek. The apostle says that it’s God’s will that through your doing good, you can muzzle the ignorance of the mindless people.

It’s the next verses that are the key in speaking about submission.

Here he tells us to live our lives unrestrained. Yet, as we do this, we don’t hold our freedom as a cloak for evil.

As God’s people, we understand power. We serve the ultimate power. Submitting to the office that people hold, allowing ourselves to be persuaded by the person holding that position.

Then we must place the correct value on everyone. This includes love for fellow Christians. Fear of God and honor for government officials. We must place ourselves in the position of correct submission.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 

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Authority and Submission

Authority and Submission

We’ve been going through 1 Peter verse by verse. Now he starts a new topic – submission to authority.

Submission to authorities is a very important truth. As a matter of fact, you can’t serve God without learning submission. This verse tells us that we need to submit to all the authority structures of mankind.

To submit literally means to arrange under. It’s how we view ourselves in relation to others – both in the body of Christ and in society

The first thing we must see is that we’re to submit ourselves under authority. This tells me that submission is always voluntary. It cannot be forced from the outside. We must decide to arrange ourselves under all the structures of man.

In order for us to have a better understanding of this, Peter gives an example that he’s familiar with. He starts with the king, who is held above as the supreme authority. He adds this description so that you can replace king with whatever the highest authority is in your government.

But not that only, he goes on to mention the governors. These are the leaders or commanders. He explains that these are the ones who are dispatched through him (the one held above).

Their job is to punish “bad-doers” and to praise “good-doers.” So, there are two levels here. There is the one at the highest, and there is the enforcer.

Here in the USA, we do not have a king – but we have a supreme authority. You may be surprised to learn that it’s not the president, congress, or our judges. The supreme authority in the USA is the constitution. This means that our entire government is in the hands of dispatched people.

Paul also talks about this.

America allows us to choose those whose job it is to enforce the authority of the constitution. Once chosen, it’s then our job, according to Scripture, to submit.

But this verse goes on to explain the terms of our submission. The word for authority here is actually the word power, not a person. God does not establish the person, but the office.

God didn’t tell me who He wanted for president. But He established the office, so regardless of who I voted for, or my opinions, what people say – I submit to the office of president. Right now, this is Pres. Donald Trump.

The other choice is to rebel against the authority, not the person, God has established. That’s because submission is always to the power. That’s why as believers, we submit to the office, not the person.

In my next post we’ll continue with this subject.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 9, 2025 in Leadership, Relationships, The Church

 

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Ready for Inspection

Ready for Inspection

We’re continuing through Peter’s first letter. He’s been writing about who we’re called to be in Christ. He wants all believers to live up to their calling.

Now he talks about what the world sees in us.

Peter makes a very interesting statement here that we should take note of, especially in this generation. The opening phrase literally reads that we should busy ourselves, being seen as good and valuable among those in the world.

This brings into question how the world sees us acting on social media. (Yes, I’m going to go there!) How do we treat each other in front of the world? Everything we say and do is public, for all to see these days.

We need to live our lives with the knowledge that everything we say or do is noticed on the world stage. They’re going to judge our Lord based upon how we act or treat each other.

We need to start reflecting the attitudes of Christ more and more in our online dealings. And we’re to live this way, even if we’re accused of doing wrong. That’s true even when we’re labeled as haters for speaking truth.

This verse says that the world will inspect the good works which come out of your life. Then, will glorify God on the day of His visitation. It’s interesting that this phrase means the day of inspection.

That brings up a good question. What is this day of visitation? First of all, I don’t believe that it’s talking about the second coming of Christ. It sounds like a temporary thing for only a season.

Jesus told the people of Jerusalem that they would be judged for not perceiving it.

This is the same phrase used by Peter. They would be conquered because they didn’t recognize their day of visitation.

We read some of the promises of God in the Scripture. Then, we think that when the list of qualifications for a promise is met – we get the fulfillment.

In reality, God sets a day of inspection. We may have already met the criteria at some point. But then, if we don’t continue in that way of life, we fail the inspection and don’t obtain the promise.

God wants the world to see His blessing on our lives. But, in order for that to happen, we must live for Him on a consistent basis. We can’t be trying to live for Christ and ourselves at the same time.

Paul said it well.

It’s time for the church to be who God says we are. Especially online in front of the world. We must always realize that we’re constantly under inspection.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 

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Who Are We? Part 2

Who Are We? Part 2

As we go through 1 Peter, we’re now in chapter 2 looking at Peter’s description of the church. This is the legacy that we’re striving to live up to.

In my last post, I talked about believers as a chosen people and a royal priesthood. The next thing Peter calls us is a holy nation. This literally speaks of a holy, set apart, ethnic group.

The fact is that we have a new ethnicity, no matter where our families are from originally. We are a part of a new race of people.

We must come to the realization that we’re a holy race. A race has a particular set of customs and attributes. This usually includes their own language. A race of people have their own view of how the world works.

That should be the attitude of our life in the body of Christ. That’s why there’s no place for prejudice or bigotry in the church. We are a new group of people tied together in the bonds of the Spirit.

Peter goes on to call us a people belonging to God. This means that we’re a people group who were acquired into a particular time, place, or purpose.

Based on the context, this tells me that we’re a people acquired by God for a particular purpose. This verse is very clear as to what this purpose is. That purpose is to declare a particular message.

Like it or not, your main purpose is to declare the praises, valor, greatness, of the One who rescued us. Your purpose is not to amass as much money or toys that you can. It’s not to climb to the top of your chosen profession.

Our goal is to bring glory to the One who took us out of darkness and obscurity. We have now entered into His light. This place of light is wondered at, marveled at by all who perceive it.

This is who we are right now. I find that absolutely incredible! But there is a problem, however.

The challenge is that we’re at war. But it’s not against the world or the devil. According to this verse, the longings of our flesh serves in a strategic military campaign against our soul – which is our mind.

Believe it or not, our flesh is very crafty. It does everything in its power to get us to think that we’re not select, kingly, holy or needed for a particular purpose.

Peter is inviting us, calling us to refrain from these desires. We need to fight against the thoughts that we’re the same as everyone else in the world. If we fulfill these longings, we reinforce the lie of the flesh.

We then look at ourselves incorrectly and say that we’re no different than anyone else. We need to remain strong in His Word about who we are. That’s what will keep us headed in the right, upward direction.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 

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Who Are We? Part 1

Who Are We? Part 1

We’re looking at Peter’s first letter to the church. He’s been talking about us as the living temple of the Holy Spirit. Now he continues to describe us as the people of God.

In this section of Scripture, he’s talking about who we are in Christ. He compares who we are now to who we were before.

In the past we were not one people group. We all come from different backgrounds. We are from multiple ethnicities, social, economic, and educational backgrounds.

However, right now, we are one new group – we are God’s people.

In the past, we could not expect any rewards from God. But now, in Christ, we have obtained rewards from God. The fact is that because of the Lord’s work on the cross, you and I now qualify.

That’s what I want to talk about in the next couple of posts. Who we are now and what this means to us. Let’s look at how Peter describes us.

The first thing he says is that we’re a chosen people. A better translation would be that we are a chosen generation. It’s talking about a generation in the sense of a newly generated – newly created – group of people.

Think of it like how in our society we have different generations. There are the Baby Boomers, Baby Busters, Gen X, etc. Each of these groups share like experiences and form many of the same opinions. Sometimes their ways are foreign to the other generations. We call that a Generation Gap.

According to Scripture, we are a chosen, selected, newly formed group. I’m no longer a Boomer, I’m now a member of the select, the chosen people of God. So, theoretically, there should be no “gap” in Christian homes.

That’s because we’re all a part of the same new group. We’ve been born again under the same conditions.

The next thing that we’re called is a royal priesthood. The word royal means kingly. In Christ, we have the authority of kings in this world – under Jesus the King of kings.

We’re also a part of the priesthood of believers. That means we represent Christ to the world, but we also stand before God on behalf of others.

We are a kingly priesthood. What does it mean to be kingly? A king walks differently, acts differently, talks differently.

That’s because they know that everything they do comes under scrutiny. Do you understand that we’re being watched closely?

I’m not just talking about the Lord watching over us. The world is watching all that we do. I know that there’s some believers who say, “They shouldn’t be watching me. I’m human, just like them.”

Get over it. They inherently know that as believers we have a higher calling. They are going to watch us more closely. They want to see if what we have is the real thing.

There have been times when the most unlikely people have come to me asking for prayer either for themselves or a loved one. That’s where our priesthood comes into play. They’re looking for truth. Will they find it in us?

That’s why we need to be in the Word and in prayer. We must be ready for the Spirit’s leading.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
 

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