1Corinthians 4:20-21(NLT)
“20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. 21 Which do you choose?”
This passage in 1Corinthians 4:20-21 presents a choice that is before every living human being. It informs us first, that God’s Kingdom is not just a lot of talk. This is extremely important for us to know. We shouldn’t allow the heft of God’s statement in 1Corinthians 4:20 to slip by us because what we have today in many religious institutions is a lot of talk, but the end result of hearing it isn’t a demonstration of God’s power. It’s just talk; and that’s not enough. Yes, the truth of God’s Kingdom includes talk, and we can’t leave out that component. How will we learn if we’re not taught? We can’t. So, we understand that we need to talk about God’s Kingdom so others can learn about it. However, if we leave out the element of living by God’s power, we may have a big head with lots of knowledge, but no power to live as God has commanded.
As women, most of us have had a ‘live and in technicolor’ view of what it means to be just a lot of talk. My biological father taught my sisters and me that a man’s word is all he has. He said that if a man doesn’t keep his word, you can’t trust him to do much else either. Many of us have met the kind of man my father warned against. This is a man who talks a good game, and we might have fallen for it, but because he lacked the commitment, intention, and action to bring his words into manifestation, he was an empty tank. There was no fuel in his engine, and we found that out the hard way. This man might have let us down and was a total disappointment. God’s Kingdom will never leave us disappointed and will always be witnessed through God’s power.
God backs His Word. Every prophecy He has spoken comes to pass and every Word He speaks is true. We spend a great deal of time praying about so many other things, but Proverbs 4:7 tells us that praying to receive revelation and wisdom from God’s Word is the principal thing. Whenever and wherever we trust and believe God’s promises in faith, we’re going to see the manifestation of those promises, because God backs His Word and blesses it powerfully.
It is a mistake for us to think faith doesn’t require us to know the Word. It’s easy to be Christians that are just a lot of talk, as a matter a fact, we see a great deal of this in our day. They’ve got the vernacular down pat. They say they are blessed and highly favored, but don’t know the truth of God’s Word. They aren’t manifesting the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, but still clinging to that old man nature. This is living beneath our privilege as God’s sons and daughters.
Living in the Spirit is not just a lot of talk, it’s living with the Spirit’s power! It’s leaving a trail of good deeds for God’s Kingdom because this is what He’s empowered us to do. We can only move powerfully through our lives if we have faith in God and in all the spiritual blessings that He’s given us because of our union with Christ. Philippians 4:13 declares that we can do all things because Christ has strengthened us and given us the power and authority to live through his love and faith. If we believe this, God says our faith will manifest it!
The Apostle Paul said in 1Corinthians 2:4-5(NIV), “4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” Don’t allow your faith to rest on human wisdom. There’s no power in that, and you’ll not have the faith you need when you need it. Rest on the power of God and recognize that this is the power that saved you, and in truth, it is the power that is in you through God’s Holy Spirit. Know that when you are committed to live with Holy Spirit power, you will live from the inside out. Then, you’ll be what God says you can be, you’ll have what God says you can have, and you will do what God says you can and should do! ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
“Not Just A Lot of Talk”, written by Kim Times, edited by Fran Mack and K. Stephens for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!