Even though the church talks a lot about the Word of God, I wonder sometimes just how mature we really are. At one point the writer of the Book of Hebrews rebukes his listeners for their lack of maturity.
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:12-14
In order to become mature, we must learn the elementary truths of God’s Word. Then when we’re mature, we are able to discern the good from the evil. This is especially needed when someone supports their evil with a verse of Scripture.
People try to push the dumbest things, all in the name of God’s Word. I believe these days of such foolishness are coming to an end. I believe that God is bringing His people to a new level of maturity in the Holy Spirit.
As we mature, we will be able to discern whether something is of God, or just a clever deception. That’s one of the reasons I’m posting this blog. So that the Lord’s people can live for God unashamed and correctly handling the Word of Truth.
In Jesus’ encounter with the devil in the wilderness, He made the following statement.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4
Here is why maturity in the Word is so important – The Word is our Life. Jesus said that food was not enough for man to live on. If someone truly wants the abundant life, then he needs to grasp the Word of God.
Paul understood this truth as he ministered to his people. He wrote to them about how to live as examples to the world.
…as you hold out the word of life – in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Philippians 2:16
This is such an important aspect that God’s Word is even called the Word of Life. That’s why Jesus – the Word made flesh – could say that He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Word of God brings life. The Word of God is life. This is a very important point for us to understand.
Question: In what ways have you experienced the abundant life?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: becoming mature in the word, Christ, discern, elementary truths, evil, God's word, good, Holy Spirit, Jesus, life, mature, maturity, truth, way, word, word of God, word of life
We live in an age where people are using the Bible to support what they’re doing or teaching. How do I know if I’m truly hearing God’s Word? Just because someone quotes the Scripture – is it really God’s Word they’re proclaiming?
In my last post we saw that Jesus didn’t accept the scriptural declaration of the devil. He knew that the enemy was not speaking God’s Word to Him.
Here is a surprising fact you may not know. Throughout the entire Bible, the Scripture never calls itself the Word of God. That’s something we have done.
At this point you’re probably ready to stone me as a heretic. Please wait. I’m not saying that the Bible is not the Word of God. All I’m saying is that the Bible doesn’t call itself the Word of God.
There is an important reason for that, which Christ Himself will testify to. You need to let His words speak to you to understand the true nature of Scripture and the Word of God.
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
John 17:17
Jesus is very clear in this passage. God’s Word is not just truthful. It doesn’t only contain truth. It is, by its very nature, TRUTH.
What about Christ the Living Word? Didn’t He say, “I am the Way, THE TRUTH, and the Life.”? There’s no getting around it – God’s Word is truth.
It’s unfortunate, but people can take the words of Scripture and twist them around for their own ends. That’s why we need a daily walk with the Holy Spirit. There’s a reason He’s called the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit of God gives us the discernment we need when reading or hearing the Scripture.
Christ needed to discern the “word” He heard from the devil. He was mature enough to see that even though Satan was quoting Scripture, his intent was evil. In that case, the verse that the devil spoke was not the Word of God to Jesus.
We’re running into the same type of problems in the church today. It grieves me that there are ministers whose only reason for studying the Bible, is to find passages that will convince you to put your money into their wallets. They’ll tell you, based upon a Bible verse, that you will be blessed if you send them an offering of your month’s salary.
They’ll tell you that it’s God’s Word to you that if you’ll send them the money, then you’ll be out of debt and in a new house by the end of the year. Of course, when it doesn’t come to pass you’ll blame God. “I stood on God’s Word and He failed to keep it.”
Unfortunately, it was not God’s Word that failed. What happened was that some preacher’s faulty use of the Scripture failed. Then again, it got him the money he wanted, so it didn’t fail to bring in what he was after – your money.
Question: Have you ever seen the Scripture used to promote a lie?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Bible, Christ, devil, discern, discernment, enemy, God's word, Holy Spirit, Jesus, mature, Satan, Scripture, Scripture truth word of God, Spirit of God, Spirit of truth, truth, walk in the Spirit, walk with the Spirit, word of God
In my last post I talked about the lies of the devil. We saw that, according to Jesus, the enemy cannot hold the truth neither is there any truth in him at all.
Understanding this gives us insight into how the devil operates. He speaks lies, sometimes by making true statements. We need to understand this as we look at an encounter between Christ and the devil.
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Matthew 4:5-6
This verse is important in understanding the relationship between the Bible and the Word of God. Here we see the devil quoting the Bible correctly. He even used it in context. The verse is from Psalm 91 which we all know is about the protection of God for the Messiah and us.
Now, it’s time for the tough question. In quoting the Bible, was Satan speaking the Word of God to Jesus? Be very careful how you answer this. It’s the basis for understanding how the Word of God works in us.
Jesus clearly taught that Satan could not hold the truth neither was there any truth in him at all, yet it is clear that he has the Bible memorized. We know that the devil only quotes the Scripture when it suits his purpose to try and deceive us. His use of Scripture is actually a lie – according to Christ Himself.
As I said previously, we get so caught up asking the wrong questions. We should be asking, what exactly is the Word of God to me? I need a Word from heaven. How do I know what that Word is? When Jesus heard the Scripture from the mouth of Satan, He totally rejected it as a lie meant to trip Him up in His walk with the Father.
Then what is the Scripture? It is the written record of the Word of God, given to various people, at different times, under different circumstances and for many purposes. I have to ask, is what I’m reading God’s Word to me? The answer to that is both yes and no.
There are some scriptures that have nothing to do with me or what I’m going through. There are others that the Holy Spirit can use to speak to me. That’s the key. What is the Holy Spirit saying to me? Very often He will use Scripture to speak to believers.
But you must also understand that Satan will use Scripture as well. That’s why it’s so very important that we learn to discern the voice of the Spirit. The Bible is a spiritual book and must be read prayerfully.
Question: How has God spoken to you through the pages of Scripture?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Bible, Christ, devil, devil and the word of God, discerning, Holy Spirit, Jesus, lie, lies, Satan, Scripture, Spirit of truth, temptation, truth, understanding, word, word of God, word of truth
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Acts 4:31
We are so far removed from the reality of this Scripture. This is such a simple statement about the early church, yet the term Word of God meant a far different thing to them than it does to us.
One of the things I must be careful about is to bring forth this truth clearly so as not to confuse anyone. That’s not my goal. I want to see the church of this generation walk in the same powerful Word that these believers had.
It’s unfortunate that when most believers read the phrase Word of God, they immediately think – the Bible. The truth is, that’s not always the case. We must remember that at the historical point in this Scripture, there was no Bible that they could speak from.
Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.
1 Corinthians 4:6-7
Here Paul warns us not to go beyond what is written. Unfortunately we don’t understand this today. Because of our shallow understanding of what the Word of God is, many abuses have crept into the church. There are those who are now very adept at using the words of Scripture to fleece God’s sheep for their own personal financial gain.
God wants to clean up His church. I believe a proper understanding of the Word of God will help us in this area. That’s why I’m going to post about this for a little while – it’s so important.
Jesus, the Living Word, is the final authority on this matter. That’s why His teaching will be the foundation for what I share. Before we begin to look at the words of Christ in the next post, I want to share a couple of interesting facts that I uncovered in my studies.
When you read the pages of Scripture, there are some facts that emerge. First, throughout the entire Scripture, the Word of God is always spoken and never read. There is one notable exception to this.
The prophet Jeremiah was banned from coming before the king on pain of death. The Lord spoke to him a Word of prophecy for that king. So Jeremiah dictated it word for word to his secretary and told him, “Write what I SPOKE and read the Word of God to the king.” As this Word was read to the king, he burned it page by page as it was being read.
Conversely, according to the Bible, the Scripture is always read and never spoken. These are a couple facts that we need to think about. Over the next few posts, I believe that the words of Christ will clarify some of these issues concerning the Word of God.
Question: Have you ever heard someone use a Bible passage for their own agenda?
Tags: abuses, Bible, Christ, church, early church, Holy Bible, Jesus, living word, personal gain, powerful word, Scripture, understanding, understanding the word of God, word, word of God
I want to talk about the very foundation of the Word of God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
John 1:1-2
Whenever you talk about the Word of God you must start with Christ. Notice that in this verse the Word is a He. God and His Word are one and the same. When the Bible speaks about the Word of God, it’s talking about God’s revelation of Himself.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
Christ is the Word made flesh. He was the Word throughout eternity past. He will be the Word for all of the eternity that lies before us. This is the foundation of all we know about the Word of God.
By looking at Christ we see the total embodiment of what the Word of God is and does in our lives. It’s through His life and words that we can truly understand how the Word applies to us.
You would think that because of this truth, there would be no question as to what the Word of God is in our life and walk. I wish that were the case. The fact is that there’s much controversy surrounding exactly what the Word of God is.
Please read my posts carefully, and prayerfully. It’s my hope to cut through some of the problems created by our present use of “Christianese” – the religious language we have grown used to in the church.
This language is not always in line with Scripture. It’s my prayer that you will see a difference between how we describe certain truths and how the Bible describes them. I also pray that when you see this difference, you’ll choose the Biblical definition.
It’s because of our use of this religious language that we get into many arguments. One of these is over what the Word of God is.
There are some who insist that only the King James Version of the Bible is the Word of God. There are others who say that any translation is the Word. Who is right?
Actually, according to Scripture, the above argument is not even asking the right question! Let’s allow Christ, the Living Word, to be the Judge in this situation.
Over the next few posts I hope to clarify some things that are causing tremendous problems in the Body of Christ. I want to see God’s people get back to where we should be in our handling of the Word.
Question: How does Christ continue to reveal Himself as the Living Word of God?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Bible, Christ, Christianese, eternal, eternity, God, grace, living word, religious language, revelation, Scripture, truth, word, word made flesh, word of God, word of God who not what
Do you serve God superstitiously? How do you know whether or not you do? You may be surprised at the answers.
We’re told in Scripture that we’re to serve God by our faith. We’re told that it’s impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). As a matter of fact, anything not coming from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
But, just as important as faith is, it’s just as important to know where this faith comes from. The Bible is clear on this issue, even if we are a little fuzzy sometimes.
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17
This verse literally says that faith springs out of hearing, but hearing through the Word of Christ. There are a few key concepts that are important in this verse. The first is that, of all the different kinds of faith that we can have; only the faith that has its birth in the Word of God is valuable.
The next is one you may not want to hear. But, this faith comes by hearing the Word and not reading the Word. That’s because it’s the Greek word rhema that’s translated word in this verse. The Greek word rhema always refers to the revealed Word of God to us.
This isn’t talking about reading the Bible and drumming up faith in ourselves. It’s about listening to the Holy Spirit speaking to us. It might take place while we’re reading the Scripture, praying, or listening to a sermon.
Jesus got upset at the Pharisees for this same type of superstition.
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
John 5:39-40
Here’s what takes place sometimes. It may be that there’s a believer in need of healing – for example. As they’re reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit uses it to grab their attention. The Lord takes the Word that they’re reading and makes it rhema to them.
In a moment of divine faith and obedience, they declare that Word with their voice. Immediately they’re healed.
What does he do next? He starts teaching that if you confess this verse, you will be healed. That is superstition.
It’s not reciting the verse that healed this person. Christ our Healer was the one who made them whole.
This is how easy it can be, to turn faith into superstition. Instead of bringing people to a deeper relationship with Christ, it’s easier to recite Scripture over and over.
Please understand – I didn’t say to stop memorizing and confessing the Scripture. What I am saying is to seek to hear from Christ. He’s the One our life flows from and not our “works of righteousness.”
Question: Why is it so much easier for us to recite the Bible than to seek to hear from God?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, Christ the Healer, faith, foolishness, hearing the word, Holy Spirit, Jesus, life in Christ, listening, prayer, presumption, reading the word, revealed, revealed word of God, rhema, Scripture, serve God, superstition, turn faith into superstition, Word of Christ, word of God, works of righteousness
I believe that signs and miracles are a part of the true Gospel. Without them, it’s difficult to impact the unbeliever.
The Apostle Paul refers to this truth throughout his writings.
I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done – by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
Romans 15:18-19
Paul tells us how he led the Gentiles to obey God by announcing the Gospel and making disciples. Notice, that he accomplished this by what he SAID and DID. It was through the power of signs and miracles. The difference between a sign and a miracle is that a sign is a miracle that confirms what you say about God.
The key issue is that by operating in this way, Paul fully proclaimed the gospel. I believe that just talking about Christ is not the whole Gospel. The Bible is clear that the kingdom of God is “not a matter of talk but of power.” (I Corinthians 4:20)
Last week I asked, what is it about the Gospel that we’re ashamed of ? I used some illustrations. If I won a new car I would call you over to look at it. If I got a promotion at work, I would immediately show you my new business cards. How is that different from the spiritual Good News?
I believe it’s because we have reduced the Gospel to clichés. “Jesus loves you.” “Jesus wants to bless you.” “God loves you and I do too.”
The problem is that there’s no demonstration. It’s not like the new car or the promotion at work because I offer you no proof of what I’m saying.
Based upon Scripture, if there’s no demonstration, then there’s no Gospel. Many are ashamed because all they can do is tell about Jesus. Some can’t even see the proof in their own lives because of the lack of power. It makes many believers feel like charlatans when they share the Good News.
It seems we’ve lost the original Good News. We don’t understand the power of God and we don’t understand the Gospel. The two go hand in hand.
Without the Good News, there’s no need for the demonstration of power. Some American Christians want the power without proclaiming the Good News. The fact is, that without the message of the Gospel there’s no need to demonstrate healing, prosperity, joy, freedom from depression, or anything else the Lord has provided for us through the cross. I’m striving to spur the church on to get hungry to experience the full Gospel.
That’s why Paul could say that he had fully proclaimed the Gospel of Christ. Not only did he tell about Christ, but he also demonstrated the love and power of the Lord.
Question: How can we return to the true Gospel?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: announce, ashamed, ashamed of the gospel, Bible, Christ, confirm, demonstration, good news, gospel, Jesus, make disciples, miracles, place of signs and miracles, power, power of God, power of the spirit, proclaim, revival, Scripture, share, signs, true gospel
Do we proclaim the same Gospel as the early church did? Is there something missing from our experience that would make a big difference? I believe that we’re lacking one of the greatest aspects of the Gospel. We need to return to this truth if we’re going to impact our generation for Christ.
In my last post I talked about the need to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. In today’s post I want to explain exactly what that means. Here’s one of the verses I looked at last time.
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
1 Thessalonians 1:4-5
I have heard people explain this verse by saying, “The hearers were convicted by the Holy Spirit. That’s the power Paul’s talking about.” I simply can’t agree with that kind of thinking. Paul said that the Gospel came to them with power AND the Holy Spirit, AND deep conviction.
Even the very word conviction that Paul used was a Greek word that means many assurances. It was something that could be seen and experienced by the unbelievers receiving the Good News.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5
As you can see, I’m not using some isolated verse without context. This teaching runs throughout the New Testament. The Good News must be demonstrated. That demonstration can only be energized by the power of God. It is beyond our human ability to walk on that level if we rely upon our own strength, wisdom, and knowledge.
I fear that too many Christians allow their faith to rest on man’s wisdom, because they have never seen a demonstration of the power of God. There are so many believers that have never seen a healing or a miracle. They have never heard an anointed prophecy or someone speaking in the heavenly language. There are Christians that have never witnessed someone delivered from demonic possession or oppression.
As a result the Good News, in most cases, has merely become an intellectual debate. On many occasions, what we call the Gospel today, is void of any power to change the direction of a life impacted by it.
The church needs to do what it takes to once again walk in this life-changing power. In short – we need revival. We must admit that we’ve lost something along the way and allow the Lord to make the necessary adjustments.
Questions: Do you think the modern “American Gospel” has the same impact as the early church? If not, what must we do to change?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, convicted, conviction, deliverance, demonstration, early church, good news, good news of Jesus Christ, gospel, healing, heavenly language, Holy Spirit, how we water down the gospel, Jesus, miracle, missing, power, power of God, preach, proclaim, prophecy, revival, share, spiritual power, water down
I’ve been taking a few posts to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today I want to talk about an aspect we don’t hear about too often.
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.
Ephesians 3:6-7
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has far-reaching effects. Paul tells us about the power of this Good News. As it started to do its work in establishing him, the grace of God began to have an effect. It called out to him – and he listened. In the same way, it’s clear that the Good News calls us to that same place of servanthood.
This means that we are to become servants of the Good News and not servants of the law. This is the servanthood that we are called to. Sons of God are servants of the Good News. We must live to serve the Good News.
What do I mean by this? We must serve the good news just like a waiter serves your food. Think about it. In a rat infested dive of a restaurant, they throw your food at you.
In a restaurant where they have “cuisine,” however, they’re not really serving you, but the food. Why do they have white tablecloths on the tables? Why the silver utensils, crystal goblets, and fine china? Do you think that the waiters wear tuxedos for you? Absolutely not!! All that finery is because they believe that THE FOOD is worthy.
Now think about church. It’s not a place of reverence anymore. Most congregations don’t even dress up these days. Spiritually speaking, people are coming out to eat less and less at these “restaurants of the Word.” This causes me to think that maybe the food isn’t as good as it once was. It just might be that we’re not serving the Gospel like we used to.
As a local pastor, I’m the executive chef of my spiritual restaurant. That makes me as much to blame as anyone for the quality of the spiritual food at my church. Then there’s the leadership team – they are the souse-chef and maître de. Our church members are the waiters and waitresses.
Then there’s the fact that at a “high class” restaurant there are no prices on the menus. If you go there, you expect to pay whatever the meal costs. As the saying goes, “If you need to ask what the price is, then eat somewhere else.” Could it be that many American churches today are “spiritual dives?”
The truth is that we need a deeper understanding of the Gospel. I need to understand my role as a servant. We need to learn to serve the Gospel as they did in the early church.
Question: What can we do to better serve the Good News of Jesus Christ?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, good news, gospel, Gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus, power of the Gospel, reverance, servant, servanthood, serve, serve the Gospel, spiritual food
Who is the Gospel for? Is it only the unsaved that need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ? I think that we’ve short changed ourselves by not continuing in the whole truth of the Gospel.
This is my second post in a series about the true, life-changing Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to look at what it is and its effect upon our lives. In this post I want to explain how the Good News is also for believers.
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.
Hebrews 4:2
According to this passage of Scripture, without faith, the Gospel is of no value or of no benefit to those who hear it. It starts there – you must believe the Gospel in order to enter into salvation. What most Christians don’t realize is that the Good News doesn’t end there. It’s not something that’s only for those in need of the saving power of God.
Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him…
Romans 16:25-26
In the first line of this section of the Word the phrase is able is the Greek word dunamis – power. This literally says that He has the power to establish you. How can the Lord accomplish this? It’s through the Gospel that we are established. Not only does the Good News save you, but it gives you a foundation. It sets you firmly in place by the power of the Lord.
I think one of our fundamental mistakes is to think of the word salvation as a one-time thing. It is actually an ongoing process. According to Scripture, I received salvation when I accepted Christ as my Lord. Now, for the rest of my life, I am being saved by His work in me. One day, when He returns, I will receive my final salvation – my resurrected body. The Gospel is a part of God’s continuing work in my life.
Of course, if you read the above verse carefully you’ll find that it’s not just the Good News. It’s also the proclamation of Jesus the Anointed One and His anointing that brings about this stability in your life. That’s why we can’t neglect the gathering together of the church. We need what happens when we meet together for worship if we’re going to progress in that anointing.
This is Good News, But as great as our lives being established is, the Gospel doesn’t stop there. In my next post I will talk about another aspect of the Gospel we don’t normally consider.
Question: What is a result of failing to see the Gospel as an ongoing work in your life?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: believe, believer, Christ, do I need the Gospel, establish, faith, foundation, good news, gospel, Gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus, ongoing process, salvation, save, saved, stability, unbeliever, unsaved, whole truth
Even though the church talks a lot about the Word of God, I wonder sometimes just how mature we really are. At one point the writer of the Book of Hebrews rebukes his listeners for their lack of maturity.
The Spirit and the Word 