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Category Archives: Spiritual Walk

A Renewed Mind

12 May
A Renewed Mind

I’m continuing my posts about the teachings that the Apostle Paul referenced in his letter to the Ephesian church.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV

My last few posts dealt with the putting off of the old self. Now I want to talk about the second thing that the Apostle Paul said was taught to the believers in Ephesus. He tells us that we need to be made new in the attitude our minds.

In the sequence of putting off the old self and embracing the new, the mind becomes the battlefield. It can be our greatest ally or our worst enemy. That’s because our mind can side either with the flesh or the spirit.

In order to win the war, our minds must be renewed. This can be a very quick process, if it’s done in the spirit. But the mind must be in agreement with submission to the will of God.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2 NIV

So many people have approached me over the years asking how they could find God’s will for their lives. The reality is that you can never “find” God’s will. According to Scripture, you must approve the will of God for your life. This will only happen as your mind comes into agreement with what God wants for you.

God has a perfect plan for your life. He developed it before the foundation of the universe. He knew you before you ever existed.

Even so, He’ll never implement His plan without your approval. That’s why we’re told not to conform…to the pattern of this world. That literally means don’t be forced into the world’s mold.

Instead, we are to let our mind be renewed. The word Paul uses for this is like the English word morph. We know about morphing in special effects in movies and on TV. When one thing changes into another, we say that it’s been morphed. That’s what God wants to do with our mind.

He wants to remove the thought pattern that we’re used to, the attitudes of the world. Then the Lord changes them into His thought patterns. In that way we’re renewed into His way of thinking. This is a work that the Lord must perform in us.

We’ve watered it down, in this generation, to the point where I’ve heard it taught that all you need to do to renew your mind is to read the Bible.

What is the Scriptural way to a renewed mind? It’s right in the second verse that we first looked at.

…to be made new in the attitude of your minds;

Ephesians 4:23 NIV

Again, the translation waters down the true meaning of this verse. We need to get back to the original meanings. The literal Greek of this verse says renew, in the spirit, your mind. Let that sink in. We need a spiritual renewal. How can we ever expect our mind to renew itself?

There needs to be an outside force at work in our mind. That’s where true renewal comes from. It’s a work done in the spirit.

I don’t know why we keep striving to do in the natural what can only be worked in the spirit. You may think that I’m wrong for continually emphasizing it, but our spiritual prayer life is more important than we realize.

Question: How has your thinking changed since you’ve been saved?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 12, 2023 in Power of God, Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Baptism – The First Step to Victory

10 May
Baptism – The First Step to Victory

We’re continuing through the book of Ephesians. In my last post I started talking about how other generations of believers experienced the transforming power of God. I said that we needed to be retaught what they had learned. We looked at the following passage.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV

According to Paul, the first thing we should be taught is how to put off the old self. This is talking about our flesh – the dwelling place of our evil desires. It’s the gift given to us by our ancestor, Adam.

According to James, this is where all of our temptation comes from.

…but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

James 1:14 NIV

Contrary to what we see in the cartoons, it’s not the devil sitting on our shoulder that tempts us. It’s our own flesh that sees something it wants, and tries to get our soul to agree with it. The desires of our flesh – that’s where the battle starts.

Paul wrote a lot about this subject. It’s from his writings that we can learn how to overcome the flesh. It’s in Romans, chapter 6, that he begins dealing with the subject of sin. He tells us that it’s the grace of God that covers our sin.

Paul goes on to ask a question that may sound a little foolish, but it’s one we deal with all the time. Should we sin more in order to get more grace? Obviously not. But he uses the following argument.

By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Romans 6:2-3 NIV

Here’s an important truth – in Christ we’ve died to sin. In the waters of baptism we’ve identified ourselves with the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord. So, we shouldn’t want to live according to our old life. But by the very question he asks, he implies that it’s possible to live in sin even though we died to it. How can we get the victory over this sin?

It all starts with our water baptism. This is where we identify with Christ. This is where we begin the process of removing the old man. Peter agrees with Paul’s assessment.

…and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…

1 Peter 3:21 NIV

The word pledge in the above verse means the asking, desire or demand. When we allow ourselves to be baptized in water, we are placing a demand on God for a good conscience. Because we desire to live rightly before Him, we take this step. It’s how we start down the road to remove the old sin nature.

That’s also how Romans chapter 6 starts. The first 10 verses describe our identification with Christ through water baptism. Then, in verse 11, Paul brings out the next step in the process.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:11 NIV

The words in the same way let us know that this is a new truth. You were baptized, and by faith identified with the death of Christ. In the same way that you trusted God for this, now go on to the next step of faith. I’ll talk about that step in my next post.

Questions: Were you baptized in water? How was your faith released during your water baptism?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 10, 2023 in Power of God, Prayer, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Were We Taught?

08 May
Were We Taught?

In my last post, we started looking at Paul’s exhortation to us about knowing Christ intimately. I want to continue our talk on this subject.

God wants us to understand that living for Him is not just a single decision, but an ongoing walk. Sometimes I think that the modern church has lost sight of the spiritual life that the early church walked in. It’s a principle that many believers in former generations understood. We need to relearn some of the truths that we’ve let slip over time.

I like looking at church history. I read how those in the past lived for Christ. Sometimes the walk of these early Christians, and even my grandparents, amazes me. I see a walk of righteousness that we only dream about. It causes me to ask, why do we struggle with things that they overcame on a daily basis?

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV

I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve lost something over time. In the above verse Paul said, “You were taught…” What was it that they were taught? I believe it was how to walk according to the Spirit.

It’s not something you just grow into. You don’t just wake up one day mature in the Lord. These are things that we need to be taught. More than that, we must accept, apply and perform them.

We sometimes get in trouble theologically because we rip things out of context. We apply things to our lives that are not for us or that we haven’t attained to yet. We need to know who this verse was written to.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus…

Ephesians 1:1 NIV

We need to understand that Scripture wasn’t written in a vacuum. There were things surrounding what was written. The letter to the Ephesian church was sent to a group of mature, faithful believers who were walking in the truths Paul was writing about. They understood these things – and I’m convinced that many of us in the modern church don’t.

Here’s what happens. We read the words in chapter 4, above, and we think that it’s true about us. We think that Paul is writing these words to us. No, on the contrary, he’s writing to a people who are living it; as an example to us.

If the things Paul wrote in that verse were true of us, then we would be experiencing it in our daily walk. Why then are we still corrupted by our deceitful desires? Why do so many in the church still have the same attitudes as the world? Why, in the church today, do we still not live like Jesus, with the same love and works that He operated in?

I believe it’s because we’ve lost some of the truth that these other generations possessed. There are three things in the above verses that need to be done. Paul said that they put off their old man, renewed their minds and put on the new man.

I’m convinced that these milestones are worked on after our initial salvation. Paul makes it clear that these were things that they were taught. Teaching requires time, and I don’t think it was time spent being taught before they received Christ.

This has been on my heart for a while now. I’m burdened not only for myself but for the church as a whole to experience this renewal. Because of that, I may be posting about this subject for longer than I normally take for a couple of verses. But I really think that it’s needed and relevant to the church today.

Question: What would the church look like if we were “like God in true righteousness and holiness”?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 8, 2023 in Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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Do You Truly Know Christ?

05 May
Do You Truly Know Christ?

As we continue through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I just talked about how not to live for Christ. Paul exhorted us to live above the world’s way of thinking. Now he goes on to show us the true way to a fulfilled Christian life.

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:20-24 NIV

The apostle is talking about gaining a knowledge of Christ Jesus. The knowledge of Christ that he’s talking about is that which is based in relationship. It’s the knowledge of Christ that changes your life. Nothing is off-limits to the Holy Spirit.

This was the basis of Paul’s prayer that we looked at in the beginning of this series from Ephesians.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Ephesians 1:17 NIV

What is this knowledge actually about? He uses the Greek word epignosis. There’s really no exact word in the English to translate it. It means to have full discernment or recognition.

It’s like this…I can tell you that I know Abraham Lincoln. But you would immediately realize that I was lying. That’s because you know that there’s no way I could have ever met him.

I may have studied about him in history. I might have watched documentaries about his life. I know about him – but I don’t know him.

That’s what Paul is trying to tell us in this verse. He didn’t pray that we would read the Bible more; or that we would attend church and listen to more sermons about Christ. Instead, he prayed that we would tap into the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. He wanted our knowledge of Christ to be more intimate than second-hand word of mouth.

In order to truly know the Lord, we need wisdom – the ability to interpret and apply the facts that we know. We also need revelation; the uncovering of things that we don’t know. That’s how we learn to know Christ in the way He wants to be known.

“Well, then it’s up to God to give me this knowledge.”

Actually, He already did. When we were saved, He placed the Holy Spirit on the inside of us.

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true — even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

1 John 5:20 NIV

This has already been accomplished in us. If we’re in Christ, then we have the Holy Spirit. Now it’s up to us to receive the wisdom and revelation that He desires to give to us.

But that seems to be the hard part. Because receiving God’s wisdom means that I leave the foolish thinking of the world. That’s key to living a fulfilled life in Christ.

I’m going to take a few posts to look into this a little more deeply. Hopefully, it will be a blessing to you as you come along with me on this spiritual journey.

Question: How does worldly thinking have a negative effect on the life of a Christian?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 5, 2023 in Prayer, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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That’s No Way to Live

03 May
That’s No Way to Live

We’re continuing through the book of Ephesians. Paul now tells us the type of life to keep away from.

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

Ephesians 4:17-19 NIV

Paul has quite a lot say in this paragraph. But it goes a long way in describing our society at this point in history. Unfortunately, we see much of this creeping into the lives of God’s people.

The first thing he tells us is that this is no way to live. We’re not like the rest of the world. So, we shouldn’t think like them. We can’t have a life view like society around us.

The apostle describes it in this way. He says that their thinking is futile. That literally means that their thoughts are empty, devoid of truth. That should never be a description of how a Christian thinks.

But, the fact that Paul is warning us about it, tells me that we could fall victim to this thought process. How could that happen? What would make a believer take on the world view of the unsaved?

According to Paul, their understanding is darkened. This means that the area of their mind that thinks deeply is darkened. They aren’t using this facility that God has given them.

This is something I’ve observed in the lives of some Christians. We don’t want to think deeply about the things of God anymore. We want the shallow teachings that can get us in and out of church quickly.

The word, separated, in this verse means to be off on one’s own. Too many of us want to be off on our own, away from the life of God. We know what God wants for us, but we don’t want to walk in it just yet. We have other priorities right now.

We have to understand that it’s the life of the Lord that brings light to our minds. The further we walk from God’s way, the darker our thinking becomes. But that’s just a symptom of the true problem.

It starts with ignorance – the desire not to know something. There are some things from God’s Word we just don’t want to hear. That’s because we know that it will convict us.

As we continue down this path, our hearts become hardened. The knowledge of God’s Word has less and less of an effect on us.

At that point, we begin to lose sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. We no longer listen to that still, small voice that’s calling us closer to God. Then, we find ourselves in a place we never thought we would get to. We’re doing things we never though we would do.

It’s time for us to turn around. Listen to what the Lord spoke to Israel if they would turn back to His ways.

I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 11:19 NIV

If you find yourself in this condition – thinking and acting the same as the world around you – it’s time to pause and consider. Begin to think deeply about your relationship with God. If repentance is needed, then be quick to approach the throne of grace.

The time is now for God’s people to live on the level He calls us to. Then the world will see the difference in us. Then they’ll be drawn to the feet of Christ.

Question: What is the condition of your heart?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 3, 2023 in Prayer, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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No Longer Infants

28 Apr
No Longer Infants

As we go through the book of Ephesians, Paul is talking about our growth and maturity. The five-fold ministry is tasked with preparing us for growth and service to Christ. To become mature, we must leave the infant stage behind.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

Ephesians 4:14 NIV

When we’re saved, we’re adopted into God’s family as infants. We then need to grow into the full-fledged rights of sonship. One of the dangers of infanthood is the trusting nature of a child. We often see this in new believers.

Spiritual infants are inexperienced in the Word. Because of this, they’re very trusting of anyone quoting a Bible verse. They tend to jump in with any new fad that comes out on Christian radio or TV.

That’s why they need to be firmly grounded in a local church where the basics of the Scripture are taught. That’s the only way they can learn to distinguish truth from flakiness.

The United States has become a hotbed for new doctrines for people to follow. Sometimes I watch Christian cable networks. I see people who use the Scriptures to convince you to take money from your wallet and put it into theirs.

Even though their doctrines and teachings are foolish, out of context from the Scripture, and, many times, illogical, Christians flock to their meetings. They rake in millions of dollars a year. Spiritually speaking, they’re “stealing candy from babies.”

There are other places in Scripture that talk about this stage of development.

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:1 NIV

One of the main characteristics of an infant in Christ is worldliness. They run after the things that our society says will satisfy them. They have the same mindset as the world and place importance on obtaining things and pleasures.

Unfortunately, because we’re unaware of the growth process, many overzealous believers will write these people off. Sometimes in our self-righteous fervor we may even accuse them of being unsaved. That’s as foolish as telling your 5-month old that he’s not a part of the family because he never takes out the trash. Instead of condemning them, we should be there to help guide them through the growth process.

But, more than anything else, the infant stage of our walk with God is characterized by the following…

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

Hebrews 5:13 NIV

The word acquainted in this verse literally means to test, attempt, or experience. This verse says that the infant believer has not yet tested, attempted or experienced the Word of righteousness. Yes, they are righteous by position in Christ. But they haven’t yet learned how to apply it to their daily walk.

So many American believers are living for themselves, yet they feel secure because they only know about positional righteousness. When they read the Bible, or hear a sermon about the effects and blessings of righteousness, they think it automatically applies to them. Little do they realize that so much of Scripture deals with the walk of righteousness rather than the position.

Because of the lack of teaching on the Word of Righteousness we have produced a generation of Christians who seem to be perpetual infants. They’re continuing in their habits and sins. They follow after whatever the world offers them. Worst of all, they don’t realize their condition – total powerlessness in the spiritual realm.

It’s time for us to grow up in Christ. Only then will we see the full power of the Holy Spirit manifest in us.

Question: How do you treat the infant believers that are in your circle?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 28, 2023 in Ministry, Sonship, Spiritual Walk

 

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On to Maturity

26 Apr
On to Maturity

I’ve been going through the letter to the Ephesian church. In it, Paul writes about our ministry as the body of Christ on earth. In my last post I talked about the five-fold ministry.

That’s the group of leaders that serve on a global level. They are the ministry gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. According to Paul, they’re given for a specific purpose.

…to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:12-13 NIV

This word, mature, also means to be complete. This is God’s desire for His people. That we attain to the same level of maturity as Christ.

The unfortunate thing is that many teach that this is impossible. Over and over, we’re told that to walk like Jesus is beyond our reach. I don’t buy into this type of reasoning.

When I see the lives of the Apostles in the book of Acts, I don’t get the idea that they’re immature. I see the same signs and wonders that were performed by the Lord. I see thousands of people drawn to, and changed by, the Word of God. If it was possible for them, then the same is true for us – if we’re willing to walk the same road they walked to get there.

One of the key ingredients to us reaching this level is the ministry gifts God has given to the body of Christ. In talking about apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, Paul said that they were given as gifts to the church. They have a very clear purpose.

The goal of the five-fold ministry is the maturing of the saints. The level of that maturity is beyond question. It is that we would live and minister as the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Why would the Holy Spirit inspire Paul to write these words if it were not possible? We need to stop making excuses and start working towards the walk of maturity.

Paul understood this aspect of his work as an apostle of Christ.

We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

Colossians 1:28-29 NIV

That’s the goal of the ministry. We are here to present everyone – not just a select few – perfect and mature in Christ. This requires supernatural strength and wisdom. We cannot hope to perform this on a merely human level. As a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I need to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this great task.

The belief that this is impossible to achieve in our lifetime only serves to undermine the Lord’s goal for us. We need to recognize where He’s leading us to, and cooperate with the Lord’s program for our development. After all, He’s bringing us on an incredible spiritual journey.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:4 NIV

In the book of James, we’re shown the path it takes to get to maturity. The final piece he talks about is perseverance. But I want us to see the result of this work. What happens once you reach this mature walk?

James clearly states, from the Holy Spirit and his experience, that when you walk in maturity you lack nothing. Lacking nothing – that’s what the church is striving for in this generation.

If we’re going to operate at this level, then we need the spiritual walk of maturity.

Question: What would the ministry of a spiritually mature believer look like?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 26, 2023 in Leadership, Ministry, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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Unity – Not Just a Suggestion

21 Apr
Unity – Not Just a Suggestion

As we go through Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, we’re seeing how we are to function as a body of believers. We’re called to guard the spirit of unity that Christ brought us into. Paul continues with that thought.

There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:4-6 NIV

I’m amazed that the Holy Spirit felt the need to emphasize the fact that there’s only one body and only one Spirit. Too often we think of the church as a group of different entities. Each denomination has its own structure and belief system.

That’s not how the Lord planned it to work. When He looks at the earth, Christ sees one body of believers. We’re the ones who place these virtual divisions into His church.

This verse literally says that we were called with one hope of our calling. To understand what he’s saying, you have to know the biblical definition of hope.

It has nothing to do with the modern concept of wishful thinking. We’re not just “trusting that everything will turn out alright”.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:23 NIV

The Scripture is clear. We’re not just wishing that God will do what He says. We fully expect to see God’s will accomplished in us.

That’s what hope is all about in the Bible. It’s an expectation that we’ll see the manifestation of God’s promises.

So, when we read the above verse in Ephesians, we understand that there’s only one calling. That’s because the word, you, is plural in the Greek. We are called with one calling and one expectation of that calling.

That’s why it annoys me so much when someone says that they are personally called to do something for God. Then, they proceed to push themselves forward and walk over other believers in their attempt to “fulfill their calling”.

There is only one call and one hope. Each of us has a role to play in accomplishing it. But we’re called to work together, just as our body functions as a unit.

It would be foolish to think that my right hand had a goal that only it could do by itself. That would be outside the realm of reality. But, in the church, we act like that very often.

Paul continues to clarify this thought. There is only one Lord – one Commander-in-Chief. He’s the one giving us our marching orders. His plan includes everybody.

This means that there’s only one who we put our trust in. We don’t trust any human leader or even positive thinking. We place our trust and our hope firmly in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then we’re told that there’s one baptism – that’s a word that’s too religious. It’s a Greek word that means immersion. We are all immersed into one thing – the body of Christ. That’s why Paul makes it clear that God the Father is over all, through all, and in all.

If we’re going to accomplish the work that God has called us to, then we need to ignore all of our man-made differences. We must focus on the calling of the church. Then, we find our place in God’s plan and obey His instructions to us.

That’s actually what Paul is going to get into as he continues in this epistle. So, over the next few weeks, we’ll see how this progresses.

Question: Where do you see yourself in the body of Christ?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 21, 2023 in Ministry, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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The Unity of the Spirit

19 Apr
The Unity of the Spirit

As we go through Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, we must keep in mind that the Holy Spirit is beginning to emphasize our corporate walk. He’s showing us how to function together as the body of Christ on earth. This thought continues.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3

In order to grasp this, we must first define the term, unity. We must understand that there’s a big difference between unity and agreement. Most Christians use these two terms interchangeably. Actually, they’re two very different truths.

The Word of God is clear that agreement is when we think and believe the same way.

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”
Matthew 18:19

In this verse, the Greek word that’s translated, agree, is sumphoneo. It’s where we get our English word symphony. It literally means to sound together. You agree on the facts, so you speak the same thing.

This means that if I believe Jesus is Healer, and you believe Jesus is Healer, we’ll sound the same when we speak. In that case, we’re in agreement. That makes it a function of our soul.

Unity is a whole different thing. Look at the above verse from Ephesians again.

In the same way that agreement is a function of our soul, unity is a function of our spirits. What we need to realize is that we’ve already been made one in Christ. It’s now our job to keep or guard the unity of the spirit.

In the Greek, the phrase, make every effort, means to use prompt and earnest effort. This tells me that it requires work on our part. There’s something we need to do. In order to keep this unity, it will require the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us.

It’s all about allowing the Lord to connect me to those around me in the body of Christ. Only then can we fulfill our calling together. Listen to Paul’s exhortation to the Philippian church.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel…

Philippians 1:27 NIV

Whenever I read this verse, I have to change the tone of my voice. This should be read like a general encouraging his troops on the eve of battle. Their goal is to have complete victory over their enemy.

It’s the same for the church of Jesus Christ. Everyday should be considered life on a battleground. As a matter of fact, Paul will get into that further on in this letter to the Ephesians.

Too many believers don’t understand this fact. They think that they can float through life caring only for themselves. That’s a recipe for defeat.

The Lord, Himself, as well as the apostles make it clear that we’re in a spiritual battle. If that’s the case, then it’s impossible to win this victory all by ourselves.

Paul’s commands are perfectly clear. We are to stand firm in one spirit. That’s the only way that we can be contending as one man for the Gospel. In order to do that, we need to line up our spirits with the Holy Spirit.

I believe that this means we need to be praying in the spirit. It’s this prayer in the spirit that unifies us for the spiritual war that we face each day. This is the unifying factor in the church.

Question: How often are you involved in corporate prayer in the spirit?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 19, 2023 in Fellowship, Power of God, Prayer in the Spirit, Relationships, Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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Worthy of the Calling – Humble

14 Apr
Worthy of the Calling – Humble

We’re continuing to go through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In this post, we’re starting chapter 4.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Ephesians 4:1-2 NIV

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about what it means to be a prisoner of Christ. At that time I dealt with living worthy of that calling. Now I want to take it a step further and let Paul explain what that worthy life looks like.

What we’ll find out is that all the words Paul uses to describe this life deal with our treatment of others. In Ephesians, the Holy Spirit is beginning to show us how we are to live and function as the body of Christ on earth.

First, we come to the word, humble. This is not the normal word used for humility. Actually, this is the first place in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit used this word. It’s a compound word that’s full of meaning in the Greek language.

This word means to have a humble view of yourself. But it also means that you realize just how small you really are. In Scripture, we find that this word is either a good thing or bad, depending on the context.

In some places it talks about people who use this mindset to put on a show. They want to appear humble in order to get people to follow them. That’s not what Paul is talking about in this verse.

True humbleness of mind is one of the foundations for life in the kingdom of God. It’s being able to see yourself as part of the whole. It’s not all about me. I’m simply one cell in the body. We all need each other.

According to the Scripture, this isn’t something that just comes naturally. Paul talks about it in Colossians.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Colossians 3:12 NIV

This humility of mind needs to be put on like a garment. It covers over any other feelings we may be struggling with. This tells me that it’s a choice that we make in dealing with others. In the same way that I choose to love, I must also choose to see myself as simply one part of an organism.

The Apostle Peter talks about this as well.

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5b NIV

Again, Peter refers to this kind of humility as something that you need to put on as a choice. However, he uses a different word for this process. The word, clothe, in this verse, literally means to put on your work clothes.

This speaks of the purpose of humble mindedness. We have a work to do. None of us can accomplish our calling all by ourselves. It has to be done in cooperation with one another. In order for that to happen, I need the correct mindset.

The ability to see and accept that I’m a part of a body of believers is essential to fulfilling God’s call. We’re not alone in this endeavor. God has called us to work together. This is life in the body of Christ.

Peter goes so far as to say that receiving God’s grace depends on it. Yes, I received God’s grace for my salvation, but that’s not the end of it. I continually need the Lord’s grace to fulfill what He’s asked me to do for Him. I have to put on my “work clothes” of humility before I can pick up the “tools” of grace that I need.

Never see yourself as a “lone ranger” in service to Christ. We’re in this together. There’s power in our unity. In my next post, I’ll talk about the other words Paul uses in the above verse from Ephesians.

Question: How do you cultivate this humble mindset?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 14, 2023 in Ministry, Relationships, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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