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The Trinity – Divine Order

16 Sep

One of the most difficult concepts for most people to understand is the triune nature of God.  We have come up with the word, trinity to describe it.  But you have to realize that “trinity” is not in the Bible.

As we go through Paul’s explanation of the resurrection, he touches on this subject in passing.

For he “has put everything under his feet.”  Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.  When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
1 Corinthians 15:27-28

The first and most important thing you need to understand is that we serve one God.  Sometimes the way we use the word trinity, and the way we talk about “God in three persons”, makes it sound like we have three Gods.  That is absolutely NOT the case.

The next piece of the puzzle is the realization that this one God, throughout history, has manifested Himself in four ways.  There are times that we see God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit.  Then there are those times when we refer to all of these together simply as God.

Are you confused yet?  I hope not.  But hopefully, I’ll clear some things up for you as we go along.

The Bible is clear that we were created in God’s image.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…”
Genesis 1:26a

It turns out that because of this, we are also triune beings.  We each have a body, a soul, and a spirit even though we’re one person.  Unfortunately for us, these three don’t always agree with each other.

You can think about God in the same way.  Our spirit exists, functions, and interacts in the spiritual realm.  That corresponds to God, the Holy Spirit.

Our body exists, functions, and interacts in the material realm.  That part of us corresponds to God, the Son.

Our soul is the center of who we are.  It houses our personality, memories, and the seat of our decision-making ability.  That part corresponds with God, the Father.

I am one person.  But I have three parts that make me whole.  They are always working together whether I realize it or not.

In my person, my soul is the part with the highest authority right now.  Some people teach that our spirit is highest, but Scripture says otherwise (1 Corinthians 14:32).  After the resurrection, however, our spirits will be in charge (1 Corinthians 15:44).

Now that I’ve explained all of this, let’s look at the above verse from First Corinthians.

Let’s say that I want a new smartphone.  But who really wants it?  It’s the real me – the person inside my being – my soul is wanting it.

How does my soul get it?  My body goes to work and makes a salary.  The money goes into the bank account of my whole person.  My body goes to the store and buys a new smartphone.  Now, my body places the new phone under the authority of my soul.

My body carries out the will of my soul.  It’s under the authority of my soul.  But even though this is true, my body is no less “me” than my soul.

In the same way, God the Son carries out the will of God the Father.  But, that doesn’t make the Son any less God than the Father.  Father, Son, and Spirit are all God.  One God.  They work together in the same way that my body, soul, and spirit work together.

We serve a great God.  He desires to reveal Himself to His people if we would spend time getting to know Him better.

Question: How do you describe the relationship of God – Father, Son, and Spirit?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on September 16, 2019 in Creation, Power of God, Spiritual Walk

 

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Hearing God’s Wisdom

28 Dec

I’ve been posting about how the Wisdom of God can bring your life to a whole new level.  It was destined, by God, to bring glory to the church.  We now need to see how we can lay hold of this wisdom.

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10

The power of the Spirit takes us beyond our own human understanding.  No eye has seen – You can read the Bible from cover to cover and not see everything God has prepared for your life.

No ear has heard – You can listen to every sermon, prophet, and apostle and yet still not hear all God has for you.

No mind has conceived – You can’t brainstorm, imagine, or even dream up everything that’s your portion in the will of God.  BUT…God has revealed it by His SPIRIT.

Paul then goes on to explain that the spirit can investigate everything, even the deep things of God. I believe that Paul is talking about your own human spirit. Your spirit can search out all things.

You may think Google is good. The Bible tells you that your spirit is the greatest search engine ever created.

I know that Paul was given an enormous amount of revelation.  He wrote most of the New Testament under the direction of the Holy Spirit.  How did he receive all of that?  By spending time in the spirit.

Here Paul tells us the secret of this supernatural revelation.  It can only be received in the spirit.  He makes it clear that your flesh (eyes and ears) cannot grasp it.  Neither can your soul (mind) come up with it.  It has to be a work of your spirit.

If this is true, then you must know how to use your spirit in order to access this information.  It only comes to a person who knows how to interact on the spiritual level.  This means that you must know how to pray in the spirit in order to receive the revelation that’s referenced by this verse.

Your body and soul can never search out the deeper things of God; it will only be accomplished by your spirit working in conjunction with the Holy Spirit.

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?  In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
1 Corinthians 2:11-12

We have to understand how our human spirit functions.  Most people have no idea what it does.  Other than knowing that we have a spirit, most people don’t even give it a second thought.

Our spirit it the most important part of our being.  It has abilities and functions that are indispensable to our Christian walk.  One of its functions is to search out what we’re thinking about.  Your spirit knows what you want as well as all of your hopes and dreams.  The fact is that your spirit knows you intimately.

In the same way that your spirit knows your thoughts, God’s Spirit knows His thoughts intimately.  Now for the question that can unlock the power of God in your life.  What if these two spirits get together and compare notes?  Your spirit knows your needs, thoughts, desires, and questions.  God’s Spirit knows all the answers to these things.

When they get together, the result is a release of the power of God over your life and ministry.  It’s through prayer in the spirit that this will happen.  That’s how to lay hold of the wisdom of God.  It can only be done in the realm of the spirit.

Question: How does prayer in the spirit affect your life?

© 2018 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on December 28, 2018 in Power of God, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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The Body and the Flesh

23 Jul

Do you know the difference between your body and your flesh?  Scripturally speaking, they’re not the same thing.  Knowing what those two Biblical words mean will help you in living for Christ.

We’re looking at the Last Supper as recorded in the Gospel of Mark.  Jesus is revealing a new concept to the disciples as they celebrate the Passover meal.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
Mark 14:22

This is the foundation for the Communion observances in our churches.  It was a small but important part of the Passover meal.  The bread, which was a hard, dry, matzo cracker, was broken and passed to each one around the table.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s important to know what the Lord was speaking about.  In the Greek language, there are two different words that we sometimes take for granted.  In English, they’re translated flesh and body.

In the natural seem to be speaking about the same thing – our physical body.  But when you look at how they’re used in Scripture, you get a new perspective.

The word, body, refers to our outward, physical vessel that holds who we are.  It can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.  The body is what we use to interact in the natural world.

The flesh, on the other hand, speaks of the old sin nature that’s been passed down to us from our ancestor, Adam.  It’s the desire within us to make the experience of our body the center of our life.  It wants our body to have everything it needs to feel good.

So usually, when we see the body spoken of in Scripture, we’re referring to the deeds that are being done and the outward appearance.  In this verse, Christ is speaking of imparting His body to us.  Paul talked about the importance of this.

So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
Romans 7:4

This is an incredible truth.  By taking on Christ’s body, our physical bodies are now counted as dead to the Law.  Not only is that true, but now the resurrection of Christ is credited to my account.

This means that my body is no longer bound to do what my flesh (my sin nature) wants it to do.  The control of the flesh is broken.  This is the foundation of our freedom in Christ.

Look at what Paul goes on to say.

But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Romans 7:6

Not only have we been released from slavery to our flesh and the Law; now our bodies can come under the direct influence of our spirit.  We don’t have to serve God by obeying a list of do’s and don’ts.  I can follow the lead of the Holy Spirit who’s taken up residence in me.

In the future, when you receive the Communion elements, meditate on this truth.  Because you’re receiving His body, you’re receiving the whole work that was done on the cross.  All the power that was released for your life and godliness is available to you right now.

Question: How does your knowing that we died and rose with Christ affect your daily walk with God?

© 2018 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on July 23, 2018 in Encouragement, Power of God, Spiritual Walk

 

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Death – A God’s Eye View #prayerinthespirit

19 Feb

GravesIn my last post, I talked about the three parts of our being – body, soul, and spirit.  Knowing all of this, let’s move on to an understanding of just how our spirit operates.  To do this we must go back to the beginning when man was first created.

There are a few basic things that I have no Scripture for, but I have to take on faith, knowing what the Word of God infers.  First, I believe what Jesus said – that God desires true worshippers who worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Second, I believe that God created Adam to be absolutely perfect and that in this perfect state Adam communicated with God the way God wanted him to.  Because of these two beliefs I infer that Adam, in his perfect state, did not communicate with God using his flesh.

All of the interaction between God and Adam took place in the realm of the spirit.  I also believe, if you will stick with me for a moment, that the Scripture will bear this out.

And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17

When I read this passage, I see Adam hearing in his spirit the command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  He was warned that if he did ever eat it he would surely, definitely, absolutely, DIE.  My problem was this – when Adam ate from the tree, he didn’t die.  At least he didn’t die according to our modern society’s concept of death.

What I found was that we don’t understand what God means when He uses the word death.  We usually only see it from the earthly standpoint.  Just because our body stops functioning does not constitute death to God.

We are told in the letter to the Romans to “Count yourself dead to sin” (Romans 6:11).  Paul said that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (II Cor. 5:8)  This tells me that when my body stops working, I merely change residences.

To understand the events in the Garden, I need to know what God means when He uses the word death.  A careful study of the Word will prove that when God says that someone has died, it means that communication has stopped.  There is no longer any capability to interact with that person.

That’s why, in the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father said, “My son was dead, but now is alive.” (Luke 15:24)  The prodigal was not physically dead, but the father could not communicate with him.  So, to the father, he was dead.

Even among Christians we’re told not to grieve like the world that has no hope.  We understand that when we attend the funeral of a fellow believer, the parting is only temporary.  Why do Christians grieve?  Because of a temporary loss of fellowship.

This concept is important to our subject.  In my next post, I’ll apply it to Adam’s situation.

Question: How does this view of death explain sin’s affect upon us?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on February 19, 2014 in Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit

 

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The Foundation for Fasting #spiritualfast

30 Sep

BibleI am posting about the New Testament fast.  I believe that it can revolutionize your walk with the Lord.

Did you ever feel like your spiritual breakthrough was right there?  You could almost taste it.  You have the faith, but you just couldn’t cross over to the promise before you.

Hopefully, that will no longer be the case.  No, you don’t have to fast to be saved.  However, if your desire is to walk in the fullness of the salvation that the Lord has provided for you, then fasting is one of the tools available to propel you forward.

Fasting is something that should be a normal part of your walk with the Lord.  As a matter of fact, no one should even be aware of your doing it.

When the Lord spoke of washing your face and putting oil on your head he was referring to the normal grooming that most people of His culture did each day.  In other words, go through your day in the normal routine, only without eating.  That is the impact of what Jesus was teaching in the verses we looked at in my last post (Matthew 6:16-18).

On the other hand, I have seen people get religious about this point.  They lock themselves in their room for the day.  It’s not a sin for people to know that you’re fasting.

My regular fasting day is Tuesday.  It would be impossible for me to hide this from my wife and children.  What I’m not to do is use fasting as a way to make myself look good in the eyes of others.  I simply go through the day normally – only without eating.

The big question is – why does the Lord want us to fast?

To understand fasting, we must look at an incident that occurred in Jesus’ ministry.  This happened immediately after the Lord’s transfiguration on the mountain.  I will look at it in detail in my next post.  By understanding this event, we will see why the supernatural is so difficult to enter into in the United States.

The first thing I need to understand is who I am as a person.  I’m a multi-part being.  I exist as body (flesh), soul (mind), and spirit.

My spirit is the part of my being that communes with God.  My spirit believes everything in the Word of God.  It agrees, without reservation, to every word spoken by the Lord.

My flesh, on the other hand, is the part that I inherited from my ancestor, Adam.  It rejects and doubts whatever God says.  The tension between the flesh and the spirit has created a war that’s constantly waging within me.

The third aspect, my mind, is the part of me that’s in control and has to sort it all out.  This will be the case until we receive our resurrected body from the Lord.  So we better know the scriptural way to handle it.

In my next post we’ll see what Jesus says the problem is.

Questions: Have you been trust God for a spiritual breakthrough?  How close is it?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on September 30, 2013 in Fasting, Spirit of Excellence

 

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