Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The Word of God is final authority regardless of whether a man or woman, saved or unsaved, believes this or not. God’s Word and its veracity is not dependent on what any one man, or any group of men, think. Men come and go; God’s Word stands forever. And God’s Word has never, and will never, change, for all eternity. For all the so-called intellectuals of great status in this earth, if they leave this world without Jesus Christ, their intellectualism will burn with them in the lake of fire for all eternity. And they will be reduced to a fading memory that eventually will be blotted out by time while The Word of God will march on, unimpeded, unrestrained, unconstrained, and unchanged as the eternal life force upholding all things by The Word of God’s power.
God’s Word is His will. If you want to know God’s will for your life, or any area of your life, read The Word. It’s in The Word where you will find it. God’s Word is full of Spiritual laws that when enacted, in the right way or in the wrong way, are going to work regardless of whether we knowingly or ignorantly have put these laws into effect. This is why God commands us to “study His Word to SHOW ourselves approved unto God…” How do we “show” ourselves that meets with God’s approval?
II Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing The Word of Truth.
“Show” = Greek word “paristémi” which means, “to present, to stand by, to provide, to offer.” In the New Testament, “it is often used in the context of presenting oneself to God, offering one’s body as a living sacrifice, or standing by in support or service.” In II Timothy 2:15, it specifically means “to present or show.”
“Approved” = Greek word “dokimos” which means, “approved, tested, tried, genuine. The term ‘dokimos’ is used in the New Testament to describe something or someone that has been tested and found to be genuine, reliable, or approved. It often carries the connotation of having passed a test or trial, thus proving its worth or authenticity. In a spiritual context, it refers to the quality of being approved by God after being tested.”
“Not to be ashamed” = Greek word “anepaischuntos” which means, “having no cause to be ashamed. The term ‘anepaischuntos’ is used to describe a state of being unashamed or without shame. It conveys a sense of confidence and integrity, particularly in one’s actions or beliefs. In the New Testament, it is often associated with the idea of standing firm in one’s faith and convictions without fear of disgrace or embarrassment.”
“Rightly dividing” = Greek word “orthotomeó” which means, “I cut straight; met: I handle correctly, teach rightly. The term ‘orthotomeó’ is used in the New Testament to convey the idea of accurately handling or correctly interpreting something, particularly the word of truth. It implies a precise and careful approach to teaching and understanding Scripture, ensuring that the message is conveyed without distortion or error.”
As Believers, who are we proving ourselves to in II Timothy 2:15? Yes, God The Father. And what are we proving to God? That we can and will handle The Word of God without distortion or error. When tested through trials, afflictions, and persecutions, we are found to be reliable and trusted with The Word. Why is this important to God? Because God must work through men and women in this earth to accomplish His will, and He must use those He can trust to do so without bringing Him or The Kingdom of God disgrace or embarrassment. God needs confident Believers who operate in the integrity of His Word.
Luke 4:5-8
5 And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto Him, All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.
The passage of Scripture from Luke 4:5-8 is one of the three temptations of Jesus, by satan, after Jesus was baptized with The Holy Ghost and led by The Holy Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days and nights. This testing of Jesus was purposeful. Jesus had to pass the test that Adam had failed, and the Children of Israel had failed, and He did so during these days of temptation by satan. We’ll talk about this in another message. What I want us to see is verse 6 where the devil says to Jesus, “All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.” Adam’s fall turned the title deed to the earth over to satan. All the power over the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them belonged to satan. Specifically, I want us to home in on the expression “and the glory of them.” The glory of the kingdoms of the earth was their material wealth. satan is rightly declaring that all the money pertaining to the kingdoms of the world is under his jurisdiction, the kingdom of darkness. He has authority over it. In essence, satan has all control over money.
Let’s ask ourselves one question. Was there money in The Garden of Eden? No. Why? Adam and Eve didn’t need money. Everything belonged to them, and they commanded everything by their words through something that was so natural to them called faith. God provided everything for them that they could possibly imagine. When Adam fell, they lost this authority and power that was part of The Spirit of God in them, and they lost the ability to operate effortlessly in faith. They also passed from The Kingdom of God into the kingdom of darkness. satan, as he told Jesus in Luke 4:6, could give the money or wealth to whom he pleased. God knew satan was going to use money and the access to it in this kingdom of demand and supply (kingdom of darkness) to control mankind and to establish who mankind would serve – mammon. Notice Jesus’ reply to satan in Luke 4:8 when satan offered the power over the kingdoms of the world and the glory or wealth of them. “Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” This is very important for what I’m about to explain next.
God had to protect His children from satan’s legal right to deny them money and give the wealth of the earth to whom he pleased. God also did not want His children chasing after money. If this were to happen, who or what becomes their god? Yes, mammon. How did God do this? With the tithe. The tithe is the shield God put around Adam and Eve, and it is still a legal shield around us today. The tithe prevents satan from stealing our provision. The tithe started with Adam and Eve, well before the law of Moses, and it is still in effect today. It did not pass away with the fulfillment of the law of Moses by Jesus Christ. In fact, Hebrews 7 tells us Jesus, as the High Priest of the order of Melchizedek, is collecting the tithes today. Yes, what we tithe today is accounted for by Jesus Himself. And Jesus is an awesome accountant.
So, what does this legal shield, called the tithe, do for us? We can read Malachi 3:10-12 and see what tithing does to shield us and prevent satan from stealing our provision. It is a Spiritual law, The Law of the Tithe. When tithing, it allows God to 1.) open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing on us that there shall not be room enough to receive it, 2.) have legal jurisdiction to rebuke the devourer for us, 3.) and protects our vine (provision) and its fruit (seed) preventing satan from stealing our provision and our seed. These are commonly known as “tither’s rights.” If one doesn’t tithe, they don’t have these rights. God still loves the Believer, regardless, and not tithing doesn’t affect their eternal security. However, the non-tither has limited God’s legal right to bless them and to protect them from the devourer (satan) in this earth.
Next week, we’ll look more into the tithe and the legal Spiritual implications of it. God put the tithe in place to ensure The Words spoken by Jesus thousands of years later would always point back to “worshipping only The Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” The tithe is an act of worship declaring God as our source. When we tithe, we are saying to God, to satan, and to the world, “I worship and serve only one God, The Father of Jesus Christ.” In doing so, we give God legal authority in this earth, on our behalf, to exercise our “tither rights” for us.
Remember, if we choose to serve God, fully persuaded, we’ll always operate with “inside information.” It almost makes me feel sorry for satan – NOT!
In Christ,
Larry