“I Am the Truth”

[Netchaplain]

It is only in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ that we have truth fully brought out. I will learn truth through the Holy Spirit, and He is the only power of my knowing the truth, and is therefore called “Truth” in 1 John 5:6 (and is “the Spirit of Truth; Jhn 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1Jo 4:6).

When you speak of the truth, you do not mean merely either the divine nature in its perfectness, or His person “from whom cometh down every good gift” (Jas 1:17). But why is it that the Lord Jesus should be emphatically the Truth (Jhn 14:6)? He is the One who objectively has presented to me that which shows me the bearing and relationship of everything to God as well as to man.

If I want to test any one thing, I never can arrive at its full character till I view it in connection with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the truth subjectively (Jhn 14:17—NC), because no man can behold the Lord Jesus or find the truth in Him without the Spirit’s ministry. He is the revealer of the Lord Jesus; our own mind cannot see Him. Even the new man cannot of itself understand Him, or enter into the things of God (The Holy Spirit is the Creator of our new birth - Jhn 3:5, 6, 8 and the Author and Teacher of the Word of God (2Pe 1:21; 1Co 2:13—NC).

You will observe how strikingly this was shown when the disciples themselves had to wait till the Lord Jesus opened their minds to “understand the Scriptures” (Luk 24:45), and after that, for power to act on them. After they were converted, they needed the ministry of the Spirit to utilize the Scriptures. Beside, again they must wait for power to testify the truth from the Scriptures to others. They required to have the ministry of the Spirit, distinct from the new nature for the purpose of entering into the things of God.

Mere human nature never understands the things of God, but the new nature does. In order to do it, the Spirit’s ministry is requisite. The new nature is characterized by dependence. The Holy Spirit acts in His own power. So that we do not merely need dependence upon God, but enablement from the Spirit to enter into truth. It is not a matter of being converted merely, but of the practical entering into the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the way of the Father as brought out in the ways of His Son (“practical entering” is in the doing of God’s guidance—NC).

To gather evidence of God’s being is one thing; to know Him is another. It may come down to the Law, but does this give me truth (all of God’s mind for us—NC)? Its design was more for making the discovery of man than of God (revealing sinful state of man—NC). Its operation was that man might thereby learn what he is in himself. It runs like a ploughshare, when directed by the Spirit into the heart, and lays bare many furrows, and discovers what man never knew was there before.

But the Law was never meant to show what the Father is to man in grace. At best is declares what a man ought to be as well as do; but this is not the truth (entire truth—NC). What I ought to be is not God’s truth but my duty. Law was the standard for a man in the flesh; and hence it never was given till man was a sinful man. “The Law was given by Moses,” not to or by Adam. The commandment laid upon Adam was never called the law, although it was, of course, a law (Gen 2:16, 17).

You will never find truth, even in the Bible, if you sever it from the Lord Jesus Christ! But the moment the same blessed One, who has shown me in His own life and death what man is, has also shown me in the very same what the Father is, then all the clouds break and the difficulties vanish. Now I know my Father, beholding Him in the Lord Jesus Christ.


—William Kelly (1821-1906)






MJS daily devotional for January 25

“The day we were saved, total war was declared between sinful self and the Holy Spirit. Lasting peace will come when we rest in Calvary’s conquest of sin and self, and allow that victory to be applied by the faithful Spirit of God.”—MJS

“The Holy Spirit does not reason from what man is for God, but from what God is to man. Souls reason from what they are in themselves as to whether God can accept them. He does not accept you thus; you are looking for righteousness in yourself as a ground of acceptance with Him. You cannot get peace in this way. ‘But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’ (Rom 5:8).

“The Holy Spirit always reasons down from what God is, and this produces a total change in my soul. It is not that I abhor my sins; indeed I may have been walking very well; but it is ‘I abhor myself.’ The Holy Spirit shows us what we are, and that is one reason why He often seems to be very hard and does not give peace to the soul, as we are not relieved until we frankly, from our hearts, acknowledge what we are. Until the soul comes to that point He does not give it peace—He could not; it would be healing the wound slightly. The soul has to go on until it finds there is nothing to rest on but the Cross-proved goodness of God; and then if God be for us, who can be against us?”—John Nelson Darby (1800-1882 – father of dispensationalism)

None But The Hungry Heart

 

[Randy Kluth]

But the Law was never meant to show what the Father is to man in grace. At best is declares what a man ought to be as well as do; but this is not the truth (entire truth—NC). What I ought to be is not God’s truth but my duty. Law was the standard for a man in the flesh; and hence it never was given till man was a sinful man. “The Law was given by Moses,” not to or by Adam. The
—William Kelly (1821-1906)

It was all excellent up until this last point Kelly makes. Creating a dichotomy between "the Law" and "spiritual understanding" is flat out wrong! God would never have given the Law only for carnal motives, to serve only the sinful flesh!

This is a common view I'm finding throughout Christianity in my own experience, which is belief that the Law is corrupt and serving a menial purpose, whereas the Spirit and the Gospel are on a completely different side of the equation, meaning something else.

Yes, the Gospel is different from the Law. But the Law and the Gospel have come from the *same God!* Both have had spiritual development in mind--faith in mind. Paul only indicated that the Law is not based *exclusively* on faith, because it partly relies on fallen Man's performance.

Showing Israel their sinful nature was indeed a major purpose of the Law, but it was not void of spiritual understanding. Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, who was under the Law, about the New Birth. This is spiritual regeneration through the word of God. Even under the Law Moses told Israel, "the word of God is near you so that you may do it."

So it is the word of God, in all of its various forms, the Law and the Gospel, that enables Man to obey, and to live a spiritual life. The Law is no longer a covenant in play, but when it was in place it provided the means of obedience, along with spiritual understanding--not just about our sin nature, but also about God Himself.

But I am fully on board with the notion we need the Spirit of God to understand the things of God. This "truth" comes through God's word to our conscience. And all men have God's Spirit speaking to their conscience because we were all made that way, to hear God in our conscience.

But like what Kelly said, the hearts of men are darkened, and do not tend to listen to God. It's just that I believe there is no elite status that enables us to have access to the Spirit. We don't even have to be Christian to hear the Spirit in our conscience.

What we do need, in order to have the Spirit indwell us, is our response to God's word to us about regeneration. We must fully embrace a life based on God's word if we are to be fully regenerated by that word.

Then the Holy Spirit will indwell us as an everlasting possession. We will meet the conditions for knowing God as our everlasting Father. That is an exceptional way of knowing God as "truth," to know Him as Savior.

It's interesting the way the Bible speaks of "truth." I think the pagan Greeks used it more as a philosophical concept, inquiring into whether there even is such a thing. Western Civilization, including its Christian contingent, has also viewed truth from more of a philosophical viewpoint. What can be even known to be true?

But the Hebrews, raised under God's word, seemed to view "truth" with a particular slant, in the sense of knowing what God is the true God. Even more, God was viewed as "true" and moral in the sense that He always kept His word. He always delivered on His promises.

In that sense, the Hebrews viewed God as "true," as faithful to His promises to Abraham concerning Israel existence and prosperity, and true in how He responded to Israel obedience or disobedience. But thanks for raising the subject--it's a subject I find particularly interesting, having been interested in both the Bible and Western Philosophy.

 

[Netchaplain]

It was all excellent up until this last point Kelly makes. Creating a dichotomy between "the Law" and "spiritual understanding" is flat out wrong! God would never have given the Law only for carnal motives, to serve only the sinful flesh!

The carnal motives are those that have to do with the physical more then the spiritual, not the spirit or soul;
which answers to "carnal ordinances" (Heb 9:10). These are not carnal as sinful but are just all that is related to that which is physical and the senses, like "meats and drinks, and divers washings," which are said to "imposed on them until the time of reformation." God's dealings with Israel and the Law were always more to do with the physical related things, and not so much with spiritual, like the full mind of God revealed, which we now have.

God's blessings for the OT saints were often in physical things like deliverance from enemies, provisions of food and shelter, etc. .

Also appreciate the compliment of the author's article! God bless!

 

[Randy Kluth]

The carnal motives are those that have to do with the physical more then the spiritual, not the spirit or soul;
which answers to "carnal ordinances" (Heb 9:10). These are not carnal as sinful but are just all that is related to that which is physical and the senses, like "meats and drinks, and divers washings," which are said to "imposed on them until the time of reformation." God's dealings with Israel and the Law were always more to do with the physical related things, and not so much with spiritual, like the full mind of God revealed, which we now have.

I hear you. That is indeed true, and a better of way of saying it than how I was thinking it. I appreciate the clarification and the clarity by which you explain this.

The Law is indeed focused on Man's flawed performance, which was designed by God to be based on elements, like water and animal sacrifices, that cannot really cleanse in a spiritual way. Under the Law water purifies only by a man's attending to the word of God that commands him to purify himself in this way. The water, as an element, can only purify the flesh, and not the soul.

In this sense yes, the Law is a "carnal commandment." It is external in its elements, but spiritual only in Israel's attendance to God's word which used those elements to temporarily purify. As Hebrews indicated, sacrifices could meet the need for atonement only temporarily, until the next sin was committed. Final purification came by the work of Christ, fulfilling the law of sacrifice.

God's blessings for the OT saints were often in physical things like deliverance from enemies, provisions of food and shelter, etc. .

Also appreciate the compliment of the author's article! God bless!

Yes, I typically share both positives and negatives. I appreciate you, brother. Lots of useful truths in these quotes, despite the occasional questions I ask. I've never questioned the "Christianity" in your quotations. I enjoy reading them.