New Testament Examples of the Efficacy Word Group

 

Efficacy Motherlode - 

Complete List in Word

Bible

Effectual, powerful: energes

1 Corinthians 16:9 (KJV) For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and many adversaries.

Philemon 1:6 (KJV) That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) For the word of God quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Operations, working: energema

1 Corinthians 12:6 (KJV) And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

To show forth, work: energew

Matthew 14:2 (KJV) And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.

Mark 6:14 (KJV) And king Herod heard ; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.

Romans 7:5 (KJV) For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

1 Corinthians 12:6 (KJV) And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

1 Corinthians 12:11 (KJV) But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

2 Corinthians 1:6 (KJV) And whether we be afflicted, for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, for your consolation and salvation.

2 Corinthians 4:12 (KJV) So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

Galatians 2:8 (KJV) (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)

Galatians 3:5 (KJV) He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Galatians 5:6 (KJV) For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Ephesians 1:11 (KJV) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Ephesians 1:20 (KJV) Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set at his own right hand in the heavenly ,

Ephesians 2:2 (KJV) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh
in the children of disobedience:

Ephesians 3:20‑21 (KJV) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, {21} Unto him glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Philippians 2:13 (KJV) For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of good pleasure.

Colossians 1:29 (KJV) Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 (KJV) For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received not the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

2 Thessalonians 2:7 (KJV) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth , until he be taken out of the way.

James 5:16 (KJV) Confess faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Effectual, working: energeia

Ephesians 1:19 (KJV) And what the exceeding greatness of his power to us‑ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Ephesians 3:7 (KJV) Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

Ephesians 4:16 (KJV) From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Philippians 3:21 (KJV) Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Colossians 1:29 (KJV) Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Colossians 2:12 (KJV) Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

2 Thessalonians 2:9‑12 (KJV) , whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, {10} And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of
the truth, that they might be saved. {11} And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: {12} That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. [Note 2
Thessalonians 2:7, the mystery of iniquity already at work.

Nostalgia for the Good Old Days, Which Were a Lot Better in Many Ways

 

We suffer today from the church structures coveting and imitating big business. There is a deliberate connection with Peter Drucker and other fads, such as mission vision statements. But I have already written about the ecclesiastical wannabe executives.

One person, who has published hundreds of books, suggested I talk about the way we were. What were the strengths of the earlier generations?

The two main strengths were the use and memorization of the Bible, and the traditional hymnal. Today the Bibles are getting worse every year and the hymnals are equally bad. The latest Teufel-book weighs a ton but is lite in doctrine, lusting for modernism and Calvinism.

Biblical use is the victim of these glad-handing, earnest salesmen of the latest thing. The power of the Bible comes from realizing that the Scriptures are God speaking to us. Not only that, every verse contains the power of the Holy Spirit acting on us when we hear it, read it, or remember it. 

A generation or two of ordained morons has taken away respect for the King James Version, the most precise translation of the Testaments and also the most reliable. The modern New Testaments have hundreds of deliberate erasures and blatantly false - but ever-changing - paraphrases.

Awe and respect for the Holy Bible lends itself to reading and memorizing. Our great grandparents had tiny Bibles and small hymnals they could carry, read, and memorize. The hymnals often had no notes, but the old-timers knew the tunes. What good is an anchor weight hymnal with 900 good, horrible, and mangled songlets? 

If the object is to please and motivate, why not copy the fight songs of the Big Ten football teams? Hymns should be modeled after the Psalms and the poetry of Revelation, not the Top Thirty. The purer the communication of the Biblical message, the more effective it is.

But that is not to say that the result is always positive. Those who reject and make fun of the Scriptures (including the KJV haters) harden and blind themselves through the efficacy of the Word of God. 

The dilution of the hymns - and worship - goes hand-in-claw with the goals of their Father Below. The church shrinkers have the humility and compassion of a Chinese warlord. They permit no objections or corrections. They must win at any cost, and they have. 

However, the technology they love so much can place a traditional church service into any online device. The Word cannot be fettered. 

Seasonal Lutherans Disobey 2 Timothy 4:2 - Proclaim the Word. Be Urgent Best-Timesly, Worst-Timesly.

2 Timothy 4:2King James Version (KJV)

2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

I learned long ago that for many stalwart Lutherans, there is a "right time."

A layman asked a well known LCMS figure to address a doctrinal issue. The celebrity said, "I would, but it is not the right time. I have to wait for the right time."

That is used so often that clergy nod their heads solemnly, acknowledging the importance of "the right time." The layman said to me, "That is ridiculous."

The use of this phrase shows once again that Lutherans no longer teach or believe in the efficacy of the Word. They seldom mention efficacy, if they even realize there is profound, consistent Biblical teaching on the topic. Lutheran leaders trust their political instincts, their ability to network with the right people, and their proficiency in ducking issues.

Pfotenhauer, the last conservative LCMS Synod President said, "Resist the beginnings." His grandson is an ELCA pastor. who took his congregation from the Missouri Synod into Shelob's Lair. The great-grandson is a politician's grandson.

Ever since old Pfotenhauer spoke those timeless words, few beginnings have been resisted in the LCMS or anywhere else, because a right time to resist seldom occurred.

The Greek terms are concise and dramatic, and I hope to capture their meaning in the future Living Surfer Dude Paraphrase of the Bible, a book so easy to understand that seminarians will say, "Why study Greek, bro? The work is already done for us. And it rocks."

The phrases are concise, staccato commands:

• Proclaim the Word - imperative.
• Be urgent - imperative. επιστηθι
• At the best time - one Greek adverb, best-timesly. ευκαιρως
• At the worst time - one Greek adverb, worst-timsely. ακαιρως

2 κηρυξον τον λογον επιστηθι ευκαιρως ακαιρως ελεγξον επιτιμησον παρακαλεσον εν παση μακροθυμια και διδαχη

Here we can see the shocking truth of Paul's command - the time value has been removed. Ministers are to proclaim the Word of God at all times, not simply at the best time.

If Luther himself had followed the current standards, the Christian Church would no longer exist in any form. The Lutheran Reformation burned and raged throughout Europe and made people face the truth and utter falsehood, the Spirit in the Word cutting sharper than any double-edged sword. The Reformation did not establish the Lutheran Church or Protestantism in general. Both were spewed out of the herpetic mouth of Holy Mother Rome.

Rome had to face some reform itself, because corruption was so deep that Borgia Pope became a derogatory word understood by anyone with a little church history background. The Christian Church had lost almost all credibility during that time, so the power of the Spirit in the Word separated the wormy flour from the good flour, which was good for everyone involved.

I can count a number of famous Lutherans who have joined the Church of Rome - or Eastern Orthodoxy - during my short life. The conversion of Richard J. Neuhaus (son of the LCMS pastor we knew from Ontario) led to many other convesions -he was joined by Jaroslav Pelikan in Eastern Orthodoxy. One should pause to consider why the senior editor of Luther's Works would join another branch of Christianity altogether, at the end of his career, and donate $500,000 to their seminary. Did that not mark the beginning of the end?

Ironic note - when I contacted an Eastern Orthodox priest in researching Glende's give-away of a great church location on the Illinois university campus, the minister who took over the property invited me to consider EO in a kindly and friendly way. He did not stick a thumb in my eye, as LCMS, WELS, and CLC (sic) leaders do.

Not trusting the Word leads us to say, "I could say or write this, but bad things will happen to me if I do." In fact, many have objected to something and found themselves canned and trashed by their Lutheran sect. The problem is, the ministers want back in, which is a big mistake. If they cannot get themselves reconciled in their old sect, they give up altogether. And yet, teaching the Word of God will gather a congregation.

When I worked at Walmart for three months I found out that a number of older men, retired from great careers, were also working part-time. They wanted something to do, and they did not look down on becoming greeters or having another basic job. I learned a lot and had a great time. Why would an expelled but faithful pastor look down on being a tent-maker like Paul? Oh yes, that is only for a sermon illustration. Let's not take Paul's example seriously.

Preaching the Word at the best and worst times definitely brings the cross. However, innumerable blessings also grow from that experience. These blessings cannot be predicted or imagined in advance. Sometimes they arrive slowly, so slowly it seems forever. At other times many come in a rush.

This is an indication of what came from J. S. Bach's
Lutheran Orthodoxy.