“Living Victoriously: The Word Worldwide”

Victor Paul Wierwille
June 27, 1982

– Sunday Night Teaching 1128 Transcript –
Living Victoriously
New Knoxville, Ohio

There is a time for all things, but there is one thing for all times, and that is The Word Worldwide.

Living Victoriously is victorious living; it is abundant living; it is radiant living. It is living God’s Word with the living Christ within; and that by God’s mercy, His grace, His peace, His love and His power. And with all of these there will be a victorious Word in all the nations of the world, worldwide.

We, as God’s sons and daughters, have to rise up to the level of His Word, and believe the Word, and carry God’s Word to the world. Whenever you do that it will take the “L” out of the world, because when you take God’s Word you end up with the “L” out of the world, and there is plenty to take out.

The last words that Jesus Christ spoke with his people are:

Acts 1:8:

But ye shall [absolute tense] receive [lambanō, receive into manifestation] power [dunamis], after that the Holy Ghost [pneuma hagion, holy spirit, the gift] is come upon you:...

The text should read “when” and not “after,” because, every born-again believer should immediately manifest the dunamis after they are born again. Biblically, the manifestation is speaking in tongues, for speaking in tongues is the external manifestation of the internal reality and presence of God in Christ in you, holy spirit. And that is exactly what you get at the moment you are born again. You have the dunamis; it is the potential or latent spiritual power. It becomes kinetic when you exercise it. I have seen, many times through the years, that people were taught ahead of time and were instructed about speaking in tongues, and how it operates and then, when they were born again, they immediately manifested; they spoke in tongues.

Acts 1:8 continued:

...and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem [where it occurred], and in all Judaea, and in Samaria [going out further], and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

There it is, witnesses all over the world; and that is what I mean when I think in terms of the Word over the world.

I don’t think this has ever been done before, therefore in order to help you get a great understanding of the whole subject of Evangelism, and the reaching of the Word around the world, we are going to look at five Greek words. I challenge you to work them in your heart and life. These five words you will see appearing in the Word of God, time and time again. All you need to do to check whether these words are in the text is by the Young’s Analytical Concordance, or Strong’s, or Bullinger has them. They are in there; check these five words.

The first word is kērussō. (I want to give it to you in a nutshell so that when I tie it all together perhaps you can have the greatest understanding possible from my heart to share with you the integrity and accuracy of the Word.) A kērussō was a herald for one of great authority, a king, for instance. When the king made a declaration, the kērussō blew his big horn and then he said, “Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye!” Then, he simply proclaimed what the king had said. (The word kērussō, which in the text will be “preaching,” or sometimes it is translated another word; you check them out in your concordance, then you understand.) A kērussō heralds, telling it like it is, but there is no teaching implied.

A second word to note in our study is the word mathēteō. That word means “to disciple someone” or “to make a follower out of someone.” It describes someone who likes to be with you. In this particular word we see the charisma of a leader, of a witnesser (someone who is out witnessing to people). If people do not like you or our personalities, then they are not going to follow. This word implies those who like to follow you; they like to be with you even if you never taught them anything, they just like your presence. They enjoy your fellowship; they just enjoy being with you. That is this word mathēteō, to disciple: basically a follower who just wants to follow because they like what they hear and like to be in your presence. Evidently there are some people who just like to be communists. Somebody else likes to be a socialist; somebody just likes to be a follower of Roman Catholicism; somebody else likes to follow The Way Ministry. That’s this second word.

Thirdly, is the word euangelizō. That word is one of the words from which we get our English word “evangelism.” It means “to teach well.” It also has in it the meaning that you do not teach everything you know; but whatever you teach, you do well. This is very easy to understand, it is very sensible. There is never a time when a teacher, in one session, can teach everything. But, euangelizō means that whatever you teach, you teach it well, although you may not teach everything regarding it. Do you see the difference? It’s very important because this comes up later on when I show you these words in the Word.

The fourth word that we are going to cover in our study regarding The Word Worldwide is the word katangellō. The prefix is kata. It again has in it the word “evangelism” but it is evangelism meaning “to the end of teaching something thoroughly.” It brings to mind our course on Ephesians for The Way Corps, in which we taught everything that we possibly could work in the Book of Ephesians. (I taught it twice. The first year, I took the Corps as far as I thought they could go. The next year, there were very few “holds barred” but I thought they could handle it therefore the research department and I worked so that I taught them everything I could possibly work in the book of Ephesians—that is this word katangellō.) That is an illustration of this wonderful word katangellō meaning to teach thoroughly, taking people into the inner depths of God’s Word to give them that fantastic foundation and understanding.

And then there is the fifth word, diangellō. This word means: “to disciple thoroughly to the end that you reach out all over the world.” Diangellō is to evangelize, to speak the Word all over the world. (That is W.O.W. in that Word. Isn’t that something?) It has been in God’s Word all these centuries, but not too many people have seen it. But that is why we have a “Word over the World Ambassador Program.” It’s the Word of God. The Word of God is the will of God, and He says: move out across the world with it! When He says, “Jump,” you don’t ask how high, you just jump. When He says, “Word over the world,” you just begin to do what? MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! That’s the wonderful word diangellō, meaning to disciple. When you go out, leave all those worries, anxieties, and frustrations behind. When you go out in field, you be God’s man or God’s woman. There is a scripture that you should remember and apply: forgetting those things that are behind and pressing on to the upward calling [Philippians 3:13, 14]. God doesn’t look at who you were in the past. If you are going to evangelize, you must put your best foot forward. You cannot expect to win people, to disciple them, if they do not like you. You have to love people and lay your soul out for them.

The natural man, the first time he sees some of us beautiful believers, often misinterprets our love because we have got something they have never had before and have never seen. Of course, they look at it sense-knowledge wise and they think our love is eros love. Most of them never even get to phileō and they certainly never reach agapē because they must get born again first.

God so loved, and the Word of God says that this treasure is in an earthen vessel, so why not make that vessel shine. We are men and women for God; put your best foot forward and use the greatest personality you have, the greatest charisma. Let people see the Christ in you again with the beauty of the greatness of that love of God. That is how you get the Word over the world.

Matthew 28:19:

Go ye therefore...

If you really believe God’s Word, you are going to get the green light and you are going to go. If you had the cure for a so-called incurable disease, and somebody had that type of sickness, would you provide the cure? Certainly you would. It is the same when you really get turned on for God—and the things of God, and the Word of God—you realize His fantastic greatness and you simply want to talk about it. You cannot help but talk about it because you are so filled with it and you just know that everybody needs it, so you talk about it. That means you go. Go! Go! Go! Why sit we here until we die? You might as well give your utmost for His highest and walk with the greatness of the power of God. Move in your community—Go! Go! Go!

Matthew 28:19 continued:

...and teach...

Go and teach!

That is the word I gave you, mathēteō. “Go and teach, mathēteō.” That is the word here.

There is another Greek word that is used when the Scriptures talk about a master teacher. It is the word didaskalōs and it ties into this word, mathēteō, in that a disciple is one that follows the teacher, the didaskalōs. The verb form of didaskalōs, didaskō, is used in verse 20 and is translated there as “teaching.” The teacher, the didaskalōs, is the one that teaches the mathētes (of which mathēteō is the verb form), the disciples. In college there are courses on teaching called “didactics.” See how these words tie together?

Matthew 28:19 continued:

...and teach all nations...

That is everywhere! Then come these words: “...baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Delete them all. That is a deliberate Trinitarian forgery that crept into the text years and years after the original was given. I would say sometime after AD 340 was the first time that this was added in the text.

Eusebius, the Church historian, quoted Matthew 28:19 and 20 eighteen times and not once did he quote, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” So therefore, those words were not in whatever text he was reading, and he died in AD 340. So, by AD 340 those forgeries had not yet appeared in the text that Eusebius, the historian, quoted from.

Earlier than that lived a man, by the name of Justin Martyr, who died in AD 165. He also quoted these 19th and 20th verses and he never quoted those words either.

It is interesting that, had this been in the original text, then just before Jesus Christ ascended he would have told them, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Then, why did they never carry it out? It would have been one of the last things he said; why didn’t they carry it out? In the records in the New Testament, there is no record that they ever carried it out. On the day of the original outpouring, Pentecost, Peter said:

Acts 2:38

…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of…

The Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost? NO! You have never heard anything like that. He said—

Acts 2:38 continued:

...in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins....

That was on the day of Pentecost. And again, another record from the first-century Church:

Acts 8:16:

For as yet he [it, holy spirit] was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the...

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost? NO! Again, “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

This is so simple and yet so dynamite—all truth is dynamite!

Acts 10:48:

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of [Whom?] the Lord....

Again, not the Trinitarian doctrine of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It was not there in the early Church. You can document it right from the Scriptures that are available today. You do not need any of the historians, but their testimony is there also.

Chapter 19 of Acts has another reference.

Acts 19:5:

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of [In the name of whom?] the Lord Jesus.

It was not that they were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Now, going back to Matthew, this is how it should read, and it does:

Matthew 28:19, 20:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

You go therefore and teach all nations. That is The Word Worldwide. “Teaching them to observe”—to take special care, to watch, to keep in proper order—“all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”

And then Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you alway.” He is always there. You have to learn to rely upon the presence of God in Christ in you. It is always there.

“Even unto the end of the ages,” is the text.

Now in I Corinthians, chapter 15, is the tremendous chapter that deals so beautifully, towards its conclusion, with the great return of Christ. I am thankful to God that in this chapter these great truths about heralding the Word, evangelizing it and teaching it to the full, are all set forth.

I Corinthians 15:1:

Moreover, brethren, I declare [declare is “make known”] unto you the gospel...

The word gospel is “good news” or “glad tidings”. There can be good news regarding many things. This is good news regarding the Mystery: that the Gentiles shall be fellow-heirs and of the same Body, with Christ within, the hope of glory. That is the glad tidings; that is the good news.

I Corinthians 15:1 continued:

...which I preached unto you...

That word preached is euangelizō, “evangelize.” He evangelized or taught them well, but he did not teach them everything he knew.

I Corinthians 15:1 continued:

...preached unto you, which also ye have received...

The King James Version says, “also ye have received.” The word also should come after the word received. In Greek the word also precedes the word it emphasizes, while in English it comes after the word it emphasizes, and this text accurately reads: “...which I preached unto you, which ye have received also, and wherein ye stand.”

The proper placement of the word “also” is often a matter of importance in rightly dividing the Word. I just saw it in this great first verse and wanted to bring it to your attention. (See E.W. Bullinger, “ALSO”: A Biblical Study of the Usage of Also.)

And it’s in this evangelization that Paul made known the gospel “wherein ye stand.” The reason you are able to stand with men and women who love the Lord Jesus Christ is because you were evangelized and you stand with them.

I Corinthians 15:2:

By which [through which] also ye are saved [“ye are saved also” is the accuracy]...

The word also follows the word saved. That is what it emphasizes. The word saved is the word sōzō and means “to be made whole.” It means to be made whole: mentally, physically, spiritually, financially and in every other way.

When men and women are born again of God’s spirit they not only should immediately speak in tongues but, if there is anything physically wrong with them, they should be totally healed. That is the word sōzō. This is what Jesus Christ came to make available, but we all got talked out of it!

It is so hard at times to build yourself up to where you finally get over all those negative things that you were taught.

I Corinthians 15:2:

By which ye are saved [sōzō, made whole] also, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you...

The “if” is inaccurate. “If ye keep in memory” means, “simply remember.” You would not become unsaved if you forget it tomorrow morning, we know that from other scriptures, therefore this word has to be properly divided.

I Corinthians 15:2:

...saved also, if ye keep in memory [simply remember, do not forget] what I preached [euangelizō] unto you, unless [except] ye have believed in vain [believed unto no purpose].

If you do not remember what you are saved from and for—if you do not keep that in your memory—and if you do not keep the Mystery in your memory, then your believing is to no purpose. Why? Because you are going to sit home and you are not going to witness to anybody. When you go to work they will never know you are Christian even after many years. That’s believed in vain, unto no purpose.

I Corinthians 15:3, 4:

For I delivered unto you first of all [among the first things that I shared with you] that which I also received [received also], how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

And that he was buried, and that he rose again [the text reads “and that he was raised again”] the third day according to the scriptures.

Isn’t that wonderful? He was raised on the third day, which you and I know as Saturday, before sunset, because sunset in Judaean reckoning started the next day. But, the first day of the week, when he appeared to Mary Magdalene and to the two men on the road to Emmaus, it was the fourth day. He was raised the third day “according to the scriptures.”

I Corinthians 15:9:

For I [Paul] am the least of the apostles, that am not meet [not fit] to be called an apostle,...

I think all of us feel the same way. I am not the man I would like to be, or know to be.

I Corinthians 15:9 continued:

...because I persecuted the church of God.

Paul said here that he is not fit to be called an apostle because he persecuted the Church, as recorded in the Book of Acts.

I Corinthians 15:10:

But by the grace of God I am what I am:...

What a breath of fresh air that is to the soul!

I Corinthians 15:10 continued:

...and his grace [God’s grace] which was bestowed upon me was not in vain;...

The text reads, “did not prove to be empty.” The grace of God that He bestowed upon Paul, “did not prove to be empty,” because Paul held forth the Word of God; he spoke the Word.

I Corinthians 15:10 continued:

...but I laboured more abundantly than they all:...

Paul was at one time a top leader in Jerusalem, educated under Gamaliel. He belonged to the Sanhedrin which was the ruling body of Judaism. But, he got born again on the road to Damascus, and from that time on his life was changed. When he became a Christian believer he laboured more, he spoke more, than he ever did when he was among the others, on the other side of the fence.

I Corinthians 15:10d, 11:

...laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach...

“So we preach.” That word preach is the word kerussō. That is where it all starts. You simply go into a community and you tell it like it is. You herald it forth with no teaching implied. He went in and he simply kerussōed. And when he kerussōed it says:

I Corinthians 15:11 continued:

...and so ye believed.

They liked what he said; they followed him; and because of that, they started to believe.

I Corinthians 15:12:

Now if Christ be preached [kerussōed] that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

By the time when the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, people had already come forth and said, “Look, he really did not rise from the dead.” It is the same thing that you hear today.

I Corinthians 15:13:

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

The Aramaic text literally reads: “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised.”

I Corinthians 15:14, 15:

And if Christ be not risen [has not been raised], then is our preaching [kerussō, heralding forth] vain [to no purpose], and your faith [believing] is also vain [to no purpose]. Yea, and [moreover] we are found false witnesses of God;...

Jesus Christ had said, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me.” Look at how this all ties together with Matthew 28 and I Corinthians 15:15 which tells us that if Christ was not raised then we are found false witnesses.

I Corinthians 15:15 continued:

...because we have testified of God [“of God” is “against God”] that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the [rest of the] dead rise not [do not rise].

When you kerussō God’s Word you are a witness for God, but we are testifying against God when we say there is no resurrection.

I am sure it was a remarkable time in your life when you learned from the Word of God for the first time that the dead are dead until the return of Christ. It must have been rather disconcerting for you, like it was for me, for I too had been taught that whenever somebody dies he goes some place up there where they fly around, where they are alive after death. But you see, when I used to think that way, I would pray, and then I would ask my mother, who before her death was a wonderful woman, to help me. She never did. But I happened to know my mother; and I knew that if my mother was up there with God, close enough so she could talk to Him or to Jesus Christ occasionally, then my mother would be blessed to help me. But she could not, because she is not alive. My mother is dead, waiting for the return of Christ. This is just tremendous!

I Corinthians 15:16:

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

We know that Christ has been raised because of the one thing which cannot be counterfeited: speaking in tongues. That is the proof of the resurrection. It is the proof of Christ in you, the hope of glory.

I Corinthians 15:17:

And if Christ be not raised, your faith [believing] is vain [to no purpose]; ye are yet in your sins.

That is why we herald forth God’s Word; we simply witness to it. Whether a man believes it or not is secondary; the witnessing is primary. It is our responsibility to witness. We cannot make a man believe, but we can certainly put our best foot forward and help him to the best of our ability so that he has the greatest possibility of believing. But, every man has to believe for himself; he has the freedom of will to either accept or reject the truth of the greatness of God’s Word that sets men and women free as we speak The Word Worldwide.

Thank you Father for allowing us to live tonight. Thank you for the greatness of your Word, your love and your great truth. And may the Word reach around the world, in the wonderful name of your son, our lord and savior Jesus Christ. Amen.