Message
17 - By Jerry D. Green
The Love of The Truth
In John 4:24, Jesus
tells the Samaritan woman that “God is…Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him IN
spirit AND IN TRUTH.” But what is TRUTH? John tells us in I John 4:1 to “…believe NOT every spirit, but
try (test) the spirits whether they are of God.” Why is this so important today? Because today there is so much so called
“spiritual” worship, in so many, so called Christian
churches, that is anything but worshipping IN TRUTH. I can only wonder what spirit much of
this worship is IN. It looks more
like “Woodstock” to me, than a church service.
It is certainly not “IN the HOLY GHOST;” which is “THE HOLY SPRIT” of
the God I know. There are MANY spirits
in the world today, but only ONE Holy Ghost; and only ONE Spirit of
Christ. This is the reason John
admonishes us to “try (test) the spirits, whether they are of God.” I cannot, in my mind, by any
stretch of imagination, picture Jesus worshipping the Father in such a manner
as I see taking place in many church services today. To me, most of this is pure out-and-out
heathenism. Seems to me, the “IN
TRUTH” element has been completely left out of their worship. Let’s look into the scriptures and see what
they have to say about “THE TRUTH” in which we are to worship.
II Thessalonians 2:7 thru 12
7 “For the mystery of iniquity doth
already work: only he who now letteth (meaning to hinder, or restrain) will let (will hinder or restrain), until he be
taken out of the way
(Who is this he, who will hinder or
restrain the mystery of iniquity?
Paul is speaking of himself and others [especially apostles] who stood
against the grievous wolves of their day [Acts
20:28 thru 32; I
John 2:18-19]. Who were these “grievous wolves,” and what were they doing,
that they should be restrained? They are
those who, in general, corrupt the Word of God, and more specifically, the TRUTH of the gospel of Christ; and they are always there, and must be stood against in every generation;
especially so in this, our day).
8 And then (after those,
who would hinder the mystery of iniquity, are taken out of the way) shall that (Wicked; those) Wicked (ones) be revealed, whom the
Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming:
9 … (Even
those) …, 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 (because they refuse to receive the love of
the truth) GOD shall send them
strong delusion, that they… (would; and
yet will) BELIEVE A ([Strong’s #3588 THE]) LIE (THE lie
of religion [John 8:44-45]): That they ALL MIGHT BE DAMNED who BELIEVED NOT THE
TRUTH (of the gospel of Jesus Christ), but had (and continue unto this day, to have) pleasure in (The Greek word, Strong’s #2106, means to
approve; to approbate [to officially sanction; or authorize]) unrighteousness.”
The single most important thing a person can have as a seeker of the
God of truth, is “the love of the truth.” Without the love of the truth, one
will never come to the knowledge of the truth that makes “…free indeed…” from
sin (John 8:30-36); and
no unconverted person (i.e., one who yet has a sin nature) will ever be received into
heaven (Revelation
21:8, 27; 22:15). One may say, I love God but I don’t know
about the truth. Surly loving God
is enough to get me to heaven (I Timothy 2:1, 4, 7). If a person believes that, they are deceived
already, for the love of God and the love of the truth are absolutely
inseparable. It is impossible for a person to love God and not love the
truth of God, or vice versa. You either do love God and the
Truth or you don’t love God and the Truth. I don’t know how to say it any plainer than
this.
For most English speaking people today, truth is a universal word for both fact and truth. Because of
this, the truth as pertaining to
God is lost. We teach our children to tell the truth, meaning
to tell things exactly as they are, and that’s good. Our judicial system calls
for the witness to, “tell the truth and nothing but the truth,”
meaning to tell the actual facts about the case; and I believe that everyone,
most especially those who profess to be the children of God, should be factual
about everything they say. But “the
truth” as pertaining to God is so much more than just being factual. You
may ask then, as did Pilate, “…what is truth…?.” (John 18:37).
Well, Jesus says in John 17:17 as He
prays to the Father, “…thy word is truth.” Is He speaking only about the written record of
God; the holy scriptures which we call the Bible? No!
And even though the Bible certainly is
the written word of God (and, the written word of truth),
it is not the totality of the Word of God, nor of truth. The
Christ of God (Luke 9:20, who took
up a 33½ year residency on this earth as Jesus of Nazareth) is also the LIVING WORD of GOD, the LIVING WORD of TRUTH (I John 5:7).
Let me say it again lest someone misunderstand; the Bible is absolutely
the inspired written word of God; the written word of truth
(II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:19-21). but Jesus Christ was, and is, the LIVING WORD of
God, and, the TRUTH
of GOD. The apostle John gives us more scriptural
proof.
John, chapter 1, verses 1 thru 5
1 In the beginning (before there ever was a universe, there) was the WORD, and
the WORD was with God, and the WORD was God.
2 The same (WORD [as the mouth piece of God in the
creation of all things]) was in the beginning with God (Genesis 1:1).
3 All things were made by Him; and without
Him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In Him was LIFE; and the LIFE was the light
of men. And the light shineth in
darkness; and the darkness comprehended (perceived) it not.
In these scriptures John is speaking of Jesus, who was so much more than a written, recorded Word. He was the manifested Christ, the living Word
of God and truth. Verse fourteen of John 1 also
says that He, Jesus, who was “…the WORD…” of God, was also
“…full
of GRACE and TRUTH.” And Jesus plainly declares to His disciples,
and to us, that He was, and is, “…the way, the TRUTH, and the life…”, and, that “…no man cometh unto the Father, but by…” and through, and in Him.
Darkness can never overpower light. The light of LIFE in Jesus
Christ will always overpower the darkness of sin and DEATH; and
Jesus Christ is THE LIFE. He is also the
LIVING WORD of TRUTH.
Jesus’ words to Pilate were, “… Every one that is OF the TRUTH HEARETH my voice” (John 18:37); which
prompted Pilate to ask, “…what is truth?.”
Only those who HEAR and LOVE the TRUTH, will ever HEAR and
OBEY the voice of God, or the voice of Jesus Christ, or the written WORD of
GOD. the written WORD of TRUTH.
I Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which (who) according to his
abundant mercy hath begotten us again (we are now the born again children of God) unto a LIVELY (LIVING)
hope
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
I John 4:6
We are OF GOD (little children, and): he that KNOWETH GOD HEARETH us (will hear the truth); he that is NOT OF God
HEARETH NOT us (will not hear the truth); Hereby (By this [by which voice a person will HEAR]) …know we (or discern we, between) the spirit of TRUTH, and the spirit of error. Those who DO NOT LOVE the TRUTH
WILL NEVER HEAR the TRUTH with their hearts.
The greatest desire and purpose of God for creating man was that
man should LOVE. This is clearly shown in the answer Jesus gives to a scribe who has asked Him, “…which is the first commandment of
all? And
Jesus answered him (with
a quote from Deuteronomy 6:4-5), The first of all the commandments is,
Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy
God with ALL thy heart, and with ALL thy soul, and with ALL thy mind, and with
ALL thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like (unto the first), namely this, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. There is none (no)
other commandment greater than these” Mark 12:28-31. God desires to fellowship with a people who are of His
Spirit and LOVE Him and their fellow brethren.
As a matter of fact, that was and is the eternal purpose of God in Jesus
Christ; to have a people with whom He can have mutual love and fellowship. That was what He
had in Adam and Eve before sin entered (Genesis 3:8-11). But even though we may truly be a born again child of God,
God continually tries (tests or proves) our heart to know if we love
Him, or no. How does He do this? There are many ways in which God can try our
heart. One way is by simply listening to
our everyday speech; “…for out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). He will not have to listen long to know if
you LOVE Him above all else, or, if you are really His child at all. In like manner we can judge those around us
(try their spirit) by simply listening to their speech. I have been astounded at times, having been
around new people at a new workplace, etc., to find out later they were
supposed to be Christians, even preachers.
Some will say, “Oh, but we are not supposed to judge.” That is exactly what the devil wants you to
believe. Please read, “Thou Shalt Not Judge?,” JDG Message 12, on
our website.
God has many ways of trying our hearts, and, our faith in Him. I Peter 1:7 says
this: “…the trial (or the trying) of… (our) …faith, being much
more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” Another way God tries our hearts and our faith is through the
everyday cares of life, as well as the reproach and persecution of the
world. I Peter 4:12-19, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial
which is to TRY
(test; or prove) YOU, as though some strange thing
happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s
sufferings (have partaken of His bruised and
broken [torn] body; [eaten] of His flesh; have partaken [drank] of His
blood; and have partaken[in union with] Him, His crucifixion on that
cross [Strong’s #4957]; John 6:53-58; Romans 6:6); that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with
exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for
the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth
upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is
glorified. But let none of you suffer as
a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s
matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let
him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin
at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them
*that obey not (*who BELIEVE NOT; *who willfully
and perversely refuse to believe) the gospel of God? (*Translated from Strong’s #544 apeitheo [apitheh’o]; meaning, to DISBELIEVE
[willfully and perversely]). And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where
shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer
according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well
doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”
Another way God has of trying our hearts is by false prophets. If a person
does not have a strong and sincere love of the truth, they will always
make the wrong choices here. I can
remember, as a young Christian, believing that anyone who proclaimed God, Jesus
Christ, or anything written from the Word of God, were surely men and women of
God. How wrong I was! As I came to the place of being able to
discern these things, I wondered why God allowed these test by deceiving
ministries to continue. Then one day as
I was reading in Deuteronomy, I noticed this: Deuteronomy 8:2 gives the reason for these tests in our lives. “And thou shalt
remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the
wilderness, 1. to humble thee, and 2. to PROVE (to try; or, to test) thee, to know WHAT WAS IN THY HEART, whether thou
wouldest keep His commandments, or no.” And Deuteronomy 13:1-4 explains why God allows the false prophets
to come: “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth
thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he
spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast NOT known,
and let us serve them (e.g., the sign and
wonder preachers; the sin doesn’t matter preachers;
the prosperity preachers; the, what I call, how great thou art
preachers, that lift you up and make you feel so
good about yourself, no matter what you really
are; and so many more; the true church of Christ does not know
[receive] these); Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet,
or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God PROVETH (tries you; tests) you, to know whether
ye LOVE the LORD your God with ALL your HEART and with ALL your SOUL.”
How many times down through the
years could (and would) I have made the wrong choices had I not received the
love of the truth. For “I the LORD search the heart, I TRY the reins, even to
give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:10). I have known many people down through those
same years who were, and are, always looking for someone, somewhere,
to tell them something they want to HEAR, and somehow they always
find those who will do just that, and you will too if that is what you
desire. Thus, the old saying, birds of
a feather (but I say, of the same spirit) flock together, so be
careful with whom you flock (John 10:14-15).
If you do not love God, His Son, and the things of God, you will be
drawn to the WORLD like metal to a magnet.
“…When He, the (Holy) Spirit of TRUTH (the Holy Ghost), is come, He will guide you into all TRUTH…” (John 16:13), if you
indeed LOVE the TRUTH. If you do
not love the truth, you will always reject THE TRUTH; even the truth,
into which, the Holy Ghost would
guide you (I John 5:7).
JDG
Teaching Message 17 - The Love of The Truth
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