Little Words Mean a Lot

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

November 4, 2021

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

The Bible is the inspired, written word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Scripture is timeless and independent of any race, culture, or geographical location. There are no inconsistencies in the Bible. The fact that various genuine Christians disagree about the meaning of quite a number of verses in the Bible simply reflects the inability of natural man to understand correctly that which is written (1 Corinthians 2:14). Almost every church will say that they believe the Bible is the Word of God. What many are really saying is they believe that their interpretation of the Bible is true. Although Paul told the elders of the Church at Ephesus that he had not shunned to declare unto them all of the counsel of God (Acts 20:27), there are several parts of "all the counsel of God" that today are not politically expedient to share publicly unless a man is prepared to see many of the hearers leave. Could that be one of the reasons why almost everyone left Paul (2 Timothy 4:11 and other verses)?

Back in the 1950's a song titled, Little Things Mean a Lot, was quite popular. That was somewhat of a romantic, love song geared to older teenagers and those in their twenties. But to us Christians, little words in Scripture also mean a lot. In this message may we all maintain an open mind and ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Further, may we all search the scriptures to see if these things are so.

On February 8, 2005, at about 3 a.m., the Spirit of God woke me up and brought the topic of "this and that" to my mind. The word "this" normally refers to a person, thing, time, place, or idea that is present; or near in place, time, or thought; or that has just been mentioned. The word "that" normally refers to the one farther away or less immediately under observation or discussion. We should pay more attention to the little words in the Bible ... words such as "this" and "that." There are many more "little words" that we also need to pay attention to, such as "if," "then," "the," "to," "of," and "in." In this message, we want to share with you a few thoughts concerning some of these little words.

Scripture contains approximately 2,700 occurrences of the word "this" and about 1200 occurrences of the word "that." Of course, most occurrences of "this" and "that" are very straightforward and cannot be misconstrued. But we need to make sure we understand what "this" and/or "that" refers to in a specific context. Paul, four times in 1 Corinthians 3 called the church at Corinth carnal, which means that which is motivated and controlled through the appetites and desires of the flesh. Carnality speaks of a self-indulgent, self-seeking motivation.

In the first 14 verses of John, Chapter 6, Jesus fed 5000 folks with 5 loaves of bread and two small fishes. Then Jesus said, in John 6:51-58,

51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat?

53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

The contrast is between eating natural bread in Verses 1-14 and eating spiritual bread in Verses 51-58. Eating natural bread does not guarantee long life. Eating the flesh of Jesus, who is spiritual bread, and drinking His spiritual blood guarantees eternal life. In the natural realm, life is in our blood. In the spiritual realm, life is partaking of the blood of Jesus.

After Jesus spoke those words in Verses 51-58, many of His disciples left. Why? because they interpreted the words of Jesus in the natural realm. They had no understanding. I sincerely doubt that any professing Christian today would interpret what Jesus said in those verses to be true in the natural realm. To eat the flesh of Jesus and drink His blood must be interpreted in the spiritual realm. It speaks of our identification with Christ. Now let us look at one example of the word "this" in 1 Corinthians 11:20-34.

20 When ye come together therefore into one place this is not to eat the Lord's supper.

What is the Lord's supper? The Lord's supper has nothing to do with the natural realm. The Lord's supper is not a piece of bread and a sip of wine. In John, Chapter 21, after the resurrection of Jesus, He had prepared a meal of fish and bread for His disciples, but that is not the Lord's supper either. The Lord's supper is described in Psalm 34:8-10, 

"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O fear the LORD, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing." 

The Lord's supper is the nature of the Lord, Himself, as He said three times in John 6:51-58. He is our shield and our exceeding great reward (Genesis 15:1).

Jesus spoke a parable in Luke 14 which describes and defines the Lord' supper.

15 And when one of them that sat at meat with Him heard these things, he said unto Him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

The word, "blessed," means "fully satisfied." Men are always searching for that which will fully satisfy them. No man will ever be fully satisfied except by fully partaking of Christ. That is an on-going process.

16 Then said He unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:

The certain man refers to God the Father.

17 And sent His servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

His servant is the Lord Jesus Christ. Note that Jesus came at supper time! Who is bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb? An old gospel song says, "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be." How sad! Note that Jesus says that "all things are now ready." Both John the Baptist and Jesus preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Now is the acceptable year of the Lord, not simply in the sweet bye and bye. 

18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

Excuses, excuses! Those who made, or make, excuses are saying, "We like all of our rituals in our church and in our daily life. Lord, you are asking us to release what we have trusted in all of our life. You ask us to see and partake of something higher than what we are familiar with." They were holding too dearly with what they had. 

21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to His servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

How can we cooperate with the Lord to compel them to come in? by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Our very lives must compel them to come into the kingdom of God. We compel them to come in by our pursuit of God, not by our words. Who is "them?" both non-Christians as well as those Christians who are content to build three tabernacles, dwell at ease on earth, and just wait to go to heaven one day.

24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Revelation 19:7-9, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And He saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And He saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." 

Back to 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 21. 

21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. 

Here, Paul again points out their carnality ... their self-indulgent attitude; for they had no concern for the poor, the orphans, and the widows. James 1:27 says, 

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless [or orphans] and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."



23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24 And when He had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

What did Jesus mean when He said, "this is my body which is broken for you"? I doubt that He meant that a little piece of natural bread was His body. The Roman Catholic Church believes in something called trans-substantiation. From Wikipedia, "Transubstantiation, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, is the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of the Blood of Christ. This change is brought about in the eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Christ and by the action of the Holy Spirit." That interpretation, to me, is gross error. Another possible interpretation of "this is my body" is that Jesus was talking about His own physical body. That likewise makes no sense because none of His bones were ever broken.

Psalm 34:18-20. 

18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

I must believe that Jesus was speaking of the spiritual significance of His broken body. Jesus was offering His own brokenness for our nourishment. The brokenness of Christ is a life completely yielded to the will of the Father. When something is broken, we trade it in for something new. When we allow God to break us, our lives can then become a demonstration of His heart. We are to reflect a new value system which is the giving of ourselves in the same way that Christ gave Himself for us. The central core of Christ is that He came to the world not to do His own will but to do the will of the Father. The cry of our heart in these last days should be LORD, break me and then make me! The body of Christ should not be self-indulgent, but rather vessels that are fully given over to the government of the Holy Spirit.

Now consider when Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." Does that refer to eating natural bread? or was Jesus referring to His physical body which was to be broken for all men? Do we need to eat a little piece of bread in order to remember Jesus? Or does it mean that we should serve our spiritual bread to others? Only the Lord has all of the answers. Among other possible meanings may I suggest that Jesus was saying to His disciples over all of time, you do what I have done. I have gladly broken my body, my self-will, for you. You must likewise be broken of all traces of self.

25 After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

Nowhere in Scripture are we told what was in the cup. Life is in the blood. Just as Jesus shed His blood at Calvary, His disciples, in order to enter the kingdom of God, must likewise give up our life to receive His life in fullness.

26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come.

Although Jesus did die on the cross at Calvary, He denied self on earth. From Verse 26, how can we drink any natural cup? Jesus said, in John 18:11, "... the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" And what does it mean to show the Lord's death? Show (or proclaim) His death to whom? Not to myself, but to non-believers in the workplace, at food stores, everywhere in the world, and sadly, at times to other believers.


27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

How do we eat this bread and drink this cup unworthily? by partaking of a form, a ritual, but never abandoning our self-indulgent life or our will; i.e., being a carnal Christian.

30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

Many years ago, our New Testament house church would gather every Sunday night in the home of one of the elders for a covered-dish supper, followed by a teaching. One Sunday night I was the next-to-last person to go through the food buffet. I could see that the food was almost gone. The young man in front of me paid no attention to that. He just piled his plate so full of food that it almost overflowed his plate. Then I took a very small amount of food, saving an equal amount for the believer who was last in line. Then I saw the hostess pull out a jar of peanut butter, which was her food for the evening. Concerning the young man in front of me who had no concern for others, the Lord took him home when he was 51 years old.

33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.

34And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

Paul is saying, "If you must satisfy all of your fleshly eating lusts, do it at home. Don't display it for all of the other believers to see.

One final comment about 1 Corinthians 11:20-34. Please go back and read those verses carefully one more time. Just like the verses in John 6:51-58, they specify what we are to eat and drink. Jesus said, in John 6:63, 

"It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." 

Now, is there anything "wrong" about eating a little piece of bread and taking a sip of wine or grape juice during what men call communion? Not necessarily. But if we do that once a week or once a month and continue to be self-indulgent in our journey on earth, then that would be hypocritical and even idolatry, which is reducing that which should be spiritual to the natural realm. Jesus said, in Matthew 23:25, 

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess."

1 John 1:3-4, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [or our communion] is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." 

Now let us consider the word, "that." 

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.

10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

There are four "thats" in the above three verses. The first "that" is self-evident and simply tells what Paul is praying for. The last three "thats," all in Verse 10, have similar meanings. They really mean "in order that." In other words, "that ye may approve things that are excellent" or "that ye may discern things that differ" has a prerequisite ... namely, that our love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment. In other words, unless our love abounds (or increases) more and more in knowledge and in all judgment (or perception), then we will not be able to discern things that differ. We could also say that the first part of Verse 10 explains WHY our love should abound more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.

The second "that" in Verse 10 has the same significance as the first "that" in the Verse. Unless we discern things that differ then we will not be able to be sincere (or pure) and without offence till the day of Christ.

We see an orderly progression in Verses 9 and 10. It starts with prayer and intercession that our love may increase more and more in knowledge and in all judgment. This enables us to discern things that differ, which in turn enables us to be pure and without offence till the day of Christ.

This Is That

When we are baptized in the Holy Ghost, "that" becomes "this." Hallelujah! This is why the most important function that any minister can perform is to help others how to hear "this" voice for themselves. In a very real sense, the purpose of any minister in a leadership position is to minister himself out of a job.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter said, in Acts 2:

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. Acts 2:14-15

Notice that Peter said, hearken to my words! If any modern-day minister were to say that, he would probably be called presumptuous, proud, and who knows what else. But Peter simply believed that which Jesus had told them, that "ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8). Peter had just been filled with the Holy Ghost, and he spoke the word of God with all boldness. He had an apostolic anointing. Peter goes on to say, 

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18 And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19 And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:16-21

Peter says, "this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." It is worthwhile to compare all of what Joel said with that which Peter said that Joel said. It is very clear that all of what Peter quotes from Joel has not yet been fulfilled. Peter never says that the day of Pentecost was a fulfillment of that which Joel had prophesied.

There are a few differences. One difference is that Joel never says anything about the gift of tongues. Another difference is Joel 2:28. 

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.

29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. Joel 2:28-32

Note that Joel uses the word "afterward" but Peter says "in the last days." What does the word "afterward" mean? After what? The Hebrew word translated as "afterward" is not the simple Hebrew word for "after" but a compound word which means "after that." Therefore "after what" describes "after that," or after the level of repentance described in Joel 1:1-Joel 2:17 and after the Lord brings about temporal restoration, blessing, peace, and prosperity as promised in Joel 2:18-27. (Joel, Chapter 3, speaks of the final, permanent blessings, peace, prosperity, etc., of God's chosen people.) However, the "afterward" will only occur in the last days. Peter calls the house of Israel (Acts 2:36) to the same level of repentance spoken of by Joel in Joel 1:1-2:17. Scripture indicates that about 3,000 souls received Peter's call to repentance (Acts 2:41), but apparently some did not. Had the nation repented at the summons of Peter in Acts 3:18-26, then all things which God had spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets would have been fulfilled, including Joel 2:30-32. That is the same as when Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah which was to come. But John the Baptist was likewise rejected, so there awaits a further fulfillment.

Peter in Acts 2:17 and Joel in Joel 2:28, both say that the Lord will pour out of His Spirit upon ALL flesh. Therefore, what happened on the day of Pentecost was clearly NOT the fulfillment of that which Joel had prophesied. Only those who gladly received his word were baptized.

Only those who gladly received his word could swallow their personal pride and accept the word of God through Peter. It is reasonably clear that the events described in Joel:1-2:27 have not yet been fulfilled in our modern-day world. Those verses describe a level of repentance that the modern-day Church apparently does not understand. Therefore, the events in Joel 2:28-32 have likewise not been fulfilled

In conclusion, what specifically did Peter mean when he said "this is that"? "That" refers to what Joel had prophesied many long years earlier, which was the coming of the Holy Spirit. "This" refers to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. The book of Joel is timeless in application. "This" speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit, Whose purpose for coming was to glorify Jesus Christ (John 16:7-14). To equate "this" to "that" can only be done in the realm of the Spirit, which knows no time or place distinction.

Two other little words that we need to pay attention to are the words "to" and "in." Jesus' disciples before Pentecost had no real understanding of the teachings of Jesus. They heard His words, but there was seldom, if ever, any revelation in their hearts. Let us consider Matthew 16:13-16, 

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." 

The Greek word translated as "revealed" in that last verse is apokalupto, from which we get our English word, apocalypse. Although that was revelation to or unto Peter, that same revelation within his heart had to wait until the Day of Pentecost.

Those verses emphasize an eternal truth ... no apostle, no prophet, no evangelist, pastor, or teacher can reveal within us any word of God. Yes, they can speak or reveal the truth of the word of God to us and we can agree and memorize the spoken word, but only the Holy Spirit of God can reveal His truth within us. Paul said, in Galatians 1:15-16, 

"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal His Son in [or within] me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:" 

The Greek word translated as "reveal" in Verse 16 is also apokalupto.

Romans 8:19, "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God."

 

The Greek word translated as "manifestation" comes from the same root word as apokalupto.

The above three sets of verses seem to indicate a three-part sequence of revelation ... to us, within us, followed by a manifestation to others. All three parts come from God. Today, and in all the days of men, whenever we professing Christians hear a word spoken by any minister, if we agree mentally with that word, we tend to think that now we have it. That is called human nature. That is also what we could call presumptuous faith, which is when we believe we are in a spiritual state which is a bit higher than the reality. There are three opinions of where we are spiritually: where we think we are, where others think we are, and where the Lord knows we are. At times, perhaps all of us, including myself, have heard a spoken word and we say, either inwardly or outwardly, "I agree." But that is just the first phase of revelation. It takes the "making" of a word within us (Genesis 1:26, "And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness ..." and Luke 15:29, "and make me as one of the hired servants..."). Then we manifest His life to others.

We note from Galatians 1:16 that before Paul could preach Christ among the heathen, the Lord had to reveal Christ within him. The Lord had prior to that time revealed Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus.

May the Lord, by His Holy Spirit, continue to impress upon us the meaning of the "little words" in Scripture! Amen.