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Don't miss the blessing of "The Hallelujah Principle"! See the details below.
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He Gave His Word Life and Power
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:12,13 NKJV).
We are told four things about the Word of God here. First, the Word of God is "living", alive (quick, KJV). It is not a dead book just because people have let dust gather on the cover. In John 6:63b Jesus said, "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." Certainly your copy of the Bible was produced by a lifeless mechanical process called printing, yet the Word says about itself that it is alive. The Bible contains life-giving words.
The Word of God is also "powerful". It is "active, operative, energizing, and effective" (Amplified Bible). Yes, the Word is alive and active. As Albert Barnes wrote: "All the great changes in the moral world for the better, have been caused by the power of truth. They are such as the truth in its own nature is suited to effect, and if we may judge of its power by the greatness of the revolutions produced, no words can over-estimate the might of the truth which God has revealed." Next, the verse goes on to describe how the Word operates. It is "sharper than any two-edged sword." That is the only place the Greek word translated "sharper" is used in the New Testament. The Roman sword always had two edges sharpened, so that it could penetrate more easily as well as cut in whichever direction it went. "Piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow..." It penetrates deeper into a human than any sword, into the very essence of a human being, and lays it all open for that person to view.
The Word is also "a discerner [a critic] of the thoughts and intents of the heart". "It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are" (New Living Bible).It is wonderful how the Word works in our lives; here is an illustration of it. This is in the renewing of the mind field. How is the Word a critic of the motives of our heart? Because as we read the Word it has an effect upon our lives. We start to gear our thinking to God's Word. This is constantly happening in the life of the believer. Either you read the Word yourself, or you hear somebody teach from it (and you should do both), and the thoughts and concepts you read and hear become a part of you.
For example, it says in Ephesians, "Let him that stole steal no longer" (4:28). Previously you would have thought "I could get away with this real easy." But now the Word immediately comes to your mind, "No, don't do that. Remember, let him that stole steal no longer." With these principles becoming ours through the renewing of our mind, God's Word becomes the discerner, the critic of our thoughts. Almost without our knowing it our actions are adjusted by our thinking of what the Word says. The degree to which we have fed our minds with the Word will determine how we act in that particular set of circumstances. We will act the way the Father wants us to act or we will act the way we have always acted. This is how the Word is the "critic" of the thoughts and intents of our hearts.
The next verse reads, "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." You cannot separate God from His Word; they are eternally one. The word for "open" is also only used here in the New Testament. It means to bend back the neck (trachelizo), as the surgeon does to expose the face and neck to full view for operating. "Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done" (New Living Bible).
Thus God's Word is living, it is powerful. it is sharp, it is a perfect critic. -- Peter Wade
The Hallelujah Principle
A new audio CD by Peter Wade based on Psalm 150:6, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." "Hallelujah" are the Hebrew words translated "Praise the Lord". Here are three clear motivating teachings by Peter Wade that will help you get through these difficult times as you praise the Lord.
- "The Perspective of Praise" shows that this is what Heaven is doing right now -- praising God. The foundation of praise is that God reigns; He's got things under control.
- "How To Bless A Mess" (or the Process of Praise) goes through the steps we take from a mess to a mansion. Praise doesn't just enable us to survive; it enables us to thrive!
- "The Paradox of Praise" -- Paul and Silas praised God with their feet in stocks in the inner prison. You can get out of your inner prison of negativity and mediocrity by praising the Lord.
Psalm 119:164 "Seven times a day I praise You." You'll want to listen to this CD many times so you can drill these truths into your mind. Now ready for mailing to you, this single audio CD is only $5.00 US a copy plus $2 postage. Go to:
< http://www.peterwade.com/modules.php?name=Store&op=cd06 > and order your copy today.
Insights From Every Chapter Of The Bible
G. Campbell Morgan was a well-known preacher and writer of over 60 books from the first half of the 20th century. In each issue of this newsletter he gives a comment from one verse in every chapter of the Bible. We continue with Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.
"What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (I Corinthians 4:7).
This is a truth the recognition of which will keep the children and servants of God from being "puffed up, for the one against the other." The reference of the Apostle was to the foolish pride which some were manifesting in himself, others in Apollos, and so on. He did not deny the importance of that in his ministry, or that in the ministry of Apollos, in which they were boasting. He reminded them that in every case they had received as a gift that which had helped them. And this was as true in the case of one as of the other, in that of Apollos, as of himself. Pride, therefore, was entirely out of place. Instead, there should have been gratitude, and recognition of the value of the gifts bestowed upon others, which probably they had not shared.
The application of the principle was to the teachers as well as to the taught. Paul had nothing of his own, neither had Apollos. What they had ministered, they had received. Therefore they were, as he had already said, "ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God"; and in their ministry, as administering the estate of the mysteries, there could be no place for pride. All this is of the widest possible application to Christian life and service. The gifts by which we serve, and the gifts which we receive through the service of others, are all gifts of God. We do not create them, we receive them. We may do so thankfully, joyfully, but there is neither place nor time for pride; and when we allow it to gain ascendancy, we are frustrating the grace which bestows, and is bestowed.
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Only 7 weeks before the first "In Christ, Christ In" seminar in the Seattle area. For other meetings with Peter and Vivien Wade, check out our seminars section:
< http://seminars.peterwade.com >
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"IN CHRIST" QUOTE FOR TODAY
