I’m sure you know that the Word of God is power, but has it ever occurred to you that when you apply the Word of God in your life, it becomes the Word of power in you? As a Marketplace Minister, what would it mean to you if you really allowed God’s Word to express itself fully in every aspect of your life? How would that change the world around you?

Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Where it says, “the word of God…” this means the expressed or manifested mind and will of God.

Think about this: when you study the Bible and apply it, you are literally learning the articulated mind of God as He reveals the deep inner meaning of His thoughts and how to live your life according to His revealed Word. In order to get a better understanding of this concept, let’s look at the nature of man without the Word of God and then the Word of power in you.

The Word of Power In You –The Slavery of Sin

The Old and New Testament explain that the tragedy and suffering that mark human experience is the result of sin. The biblical concept of sin has been clouded in modern culture. But the experience of each individual, like the history of every society, provides overwhelming testimony to the existence and impact of what Scripture calls “sin.”

The OT’s principle word for sin is hātā’, which means “to miss” the mark (cf. Judges 20:16; Pr. 19:2). To miss the mark means to miss the standard that God has set for man. When God spoke man into existence, He articulated His character and standard in the design (DNA) of human nature, so that certain actions that are contrary to His nature are perceived as violations of what is right, even though no law has been given (Romans 2:14-15). Inwardly, one knows the difference between right and wrong. Sin is human nature without the Word of power in you.

Sin is seen in the New Testament as rebellion and as a conscious deviation from known right. Richard J. Foster, in his book “Celebration of Discipline,” says that “Sin as a condition works its way out through the ‘bodily members,’ that is, the ingrained habits of the body (Romans 7:5ff.). And there is no slavery that can compare to the slavery of ingrained habits of sin.” Acts of sin are portrayed in the NT as an expression of an inner flaw so serious that humanity is a willing slave to hostile spiritual forces and to the cravings of a warped nature. Sin distorts the Word of power in you.

The Word of Power In You – A Deep-Rooted Change

Therefore, the real issue is not the outward actions of a person, but the warped nature fueling those actions. So, instead of dealing with the actions displayed, a different remedy must be sought. The solution to sin must involve an inner transformation (a deep-rooted change), so that individuals can be freed from the domination of evil. This is why we are not to be conformed to this world; fashioned after and adapted to its external superficial customs, because the world operates from the slavery of ingrained habits of sin (Romans 12:2). The world operates from the diseased condition of the soul. Sin is a virus that has infected our DNA. It feeds off of self. Sin feeds on self-centeredness and rebellion against the character and nature of Christ. (Galatians 6:8).

When you study and apply God’s Word in your life, it becomes alive and has the power to heal the diseased condition of your soul and renew your mind with the thoughts, feelings and purposes of Christ. This is where you experience the true healing power of God. The Word of power in you gives purpose, meaning, and destiny for your life. God’s Word becomes the essential nature of Himself in you; the ultimate reality that becomes the foundation of all outward actions. Your life and way of thinking transforms into expressions of His character. There is a noticeable change from a sinful, warped nature to a godly, kingdom of heaven nature.

The Word of Power In You – Pulling Down Strongholds

As a Marketplace Minister, you must realize that the Word of power in you is so powerful that it can pull down strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). A “stronghold” is a system of thinking that formulates a persistent belief in a mistaken idea or concept. Most of the time this Scripture is taken and applied personally, as it should, but I find it interesting that some of the concepts and systems that are in place at your workplace and in your business come from a diseased condition of the soul; the slavery of ingrained habits of sin. God has given you the power to put an end to and destroy these slave controlled thought patterns and establish His principles to prosper and bring peace to your workplace or business.

Can you imagine how great the atmosphere around you would change and how the people in your sphere of influence would feel when you apply the concepts from God’s Word and Kingdom systems from heaven on your job and in your business? God has given authority to take dominion in your sphere of influence. All you have to do is ask and He will give you wisdom on how to do it.

Marketplace Ministry is about having the Word of God as the foundation of all that you do in life. By doing so, His Word heals the diseased condition of your soul and frees you from the slavery of ingrained habits of sin. You will have clarity of thought, be spiritually aware of your surroundings and impact the world around you for Christ. This is how the Word of God becomes the Word of power in you.