TRUTH - 2 John 1:3-4

 “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.” 2 John 1:3-4

Grace (divine favour and good-will), mercy(free pardon and forgiveness) and peace (tranquility of spirit and serenity of conscience) come from God, but are contingent upon living in God’s truth and love.  We can never really have grace, mercy and peace apart from His truth.  In a well balanced Christian character, truth and love coexist harmoniously.  

Walking in truth shows we are walking with the Lord.  It shows believers have received Him, embrace and profess the Gospel plus are living lives according to the truth.  This is a progressive action requiring discipline.

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - I John 3:18

 “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” I John 3:18

Real love is demonstrated in actions and truth not merely in word and tongue.  It is in truth when it is in reality, is cordially and heartily done, with cheerfulness, and without grudging.  When it is done by giving what is really needed and whether anything is said about it or not.

Let’s show our love by what we do, not only by words.  It is better to show deeds by reaching out, giving a call, encouraging actions and giving support financially if necessary.  Fulfill your words. Love shows itself by serving one another, bearing one another’s burdens, forgiving one another, praying for each other and building one another up in faith.

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - Proverbs 23:23

 

TRUTH - I John 2:20-21

“But you have an anointing from the Holy One,
and all of you know the truth.
I do not write to you because you do not know the truth,
but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.”
I John 2:20-21

All believers possess the resources for knowing the truth because of the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit gives confidence that the teaching accepted is indeed the truth.  The truth is necessary for preservation and eternal salvation.  It helps believers have a better understanding of God’s character, a greater confidence in Him and a clearer knowledge of how to live.

There is no error in the truth.  No lie can be of the truth or have its foundation in the truth.  Doctrine contrary to that taught by God's word is not the truth.

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - I Peter 1:22-23

 “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” I Peter 1:22-23  

A pure heart is only possible through obeying the truth of the eternal word of God.  Truth needs to not only be accepted intellectually, but it needs to alter moral conduct.  It requires receiving, believing, embracing and yielding to truth and to its influence on the mind.

The Truth is the sum of the Revelation of God in Jesus Christ - His life, His death, His glory.  It is intended to come into the life, character and inmost spirit of man so that it can grip, mold, transform, animate and impel mankind. God’s truth is revealed in His Holy Word.

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - Proverbs 16:13

 

TRUTH - James 1:17-18

 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”  James 1:17-18

God’s goodness is constant and stands in contrast to the world.  He chose believers to gift with salvation through the Word of Truth, the Gospel, delivered through the Holy Spirit, not by any work or obedience of man.  The Word of Truth is the means or instrument by which we are regenerated. 

God’s purpose in this regeneration is consecration or being set apart for him.  It is not a creative act, but the truth secures a fair and full influence on the soul.    The Gospel, which is the Word of Truth, contains nothing but truth.  We must listen to this truth carefully and diligently as it is the beginning of a higher life.

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - 2 Timothy 2:15

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,
a worker who does not need to be ashamed and
who correctly handles the word of truth.” 

2 Timothy 2:15

It is important that believers study, keep focused and pay attention in order to please God not man.  It takes hard work and endurance to serve the Lord.  It also takes diligence and cultivation of heart and mind.

Believers must pay attention to what the Scriptures say and don’t say to understand the word of truth and be sure that a specific passage is consistent with the entire message.  We are accountable to present the essential doctrines and master the right interpretation, so there is nothing added or taken from it.  Proper distribution is also required for every truth to be laid open to others plainly, clearly, honestly and faithfully for edification.  

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - Psalm 119:43

 

TRUTH - I Timothy 2:1-4

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving
be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, 

that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 

who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 

I Timothy 2:1-4

God wants all people to be saved - to have a real, certain and actual salvation.  He bears good will to all mankind as they are his creation and the work of His hands.  This is absolute and unconditional.  He wants the salvation of all, so He desires prayer for all.

God wants all people to come to a knowledge of the truth.  It should be proclaimed and then it is the duty of all who hear to acknowledge and receive the truth.  Acknowledgement makes it the rule or model and director of life and actions.  If believers do not know the truth, they cannot be guided by it.

                                                            Joyce

 

TRUTH - 2 Thessalonians 2:13

 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13

God’s salvation involves two forces, the Holy Spirit and the belief in the truth.  Both are essential for sanctification or separation from the world and commitment to God.  God chose and believer’s accepted an internal holiness by the Spirit.  Believers are set apart to be holy and to be used as instruments of the work of the Spirit.

Belief or faith in the truth involves embracing and loving the truth of the gospel as well as a reliance, trust and dependence on Jesus Christ.   There must be the belief of truth for true sanctification.  Faith and holiness must be joined together.

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - Psalm 119:30

 

TRUTH - Ephesians 4:11-16

 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God  and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves,  and blown here and there by every wind of teaching  and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body  of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”  Ephesians 4:11-16

Believers are to speak the truth in love.  Truth should be spoken openly, honestly and sincerely to one another with a love for souls and a desire to do them good.   The manner of saying words is as important as the words.  Truth and love must be preserved together.  Love strengthens and intensifies the spirit of truth. 

Truth and love also work together to help mature believers.  Following truth in love, constantly persevering and living in truth is a means of our growing up.  It is how we are to relate to one another in God’s family - in love, but never budging from truth.

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - Ephesians 1:13-14

 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14

Followers of Christ hear the truth, believe the truth and are sealed by the truth.  The truth is the gospel, called the message of truth, the word of God.  This truth is spiritual, comes directly from God and is indeed a true word or message unmixed with Jewish traditions or Gentile philosophy.  This truth is heard not only externally, but internally so it is understood, believed and put into practice.

Truth is sealed on the souls of believers by the Spirit.  The Spirit then guides into all the truth.  Having repented, believed, been justified and sanctified, believers are sealed by the Spirit to the day of redemption.

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - Psalm 96:13

 

TRUTH - John 18:37

 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” John 18:37

The “good confession” of Jesus (as this passage is referred to) was that He was a king, His kingdom came from heaven, and was a kingdom of eternal truth in contrast to earthly power.  He was not appealing to Pilate for acquittal or mercy, but recognition of truth.  It was by truth alone that He would govern.

Jesus was born with a definite purpose - to be a witness to the truth and exhibit the truth.  It was His sole business in coming and had no other end than to establish it.   Truth is all the reality of the Divine nature and character, all the eternal God thinks, all the absolute fact, all the need of redemption and all the mystery of Christ. It is of utmost importance and as believers we need to seek and value truth, believe and love truth, and hear and obey truth. 

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - John 17:17

 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”  John 17:17

Sanctify means to be set apart or dedicated for God’s special pleasure and use.  It is a work of God in and through us and the dynamic behind it is truth.  The Spirit reveals and makes use of all truth in beginning and carrying on that good work in us.  It is a gradual process.

The word of God comes from the God of Truth, through Christ who is Truth and is dictated and made effectual by the Spirit of Truth.  Divine revelation is not only pure truth, but the entire truth without deficiency.  All needful truth is summed up in the word of God.

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - Psalm 25:5

 

TRUTH - John 16:13

 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”  John 16:13

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth in John 14:16-17.  He teaches or guides believers in all necessary truth and brings truth home to their hearts.  He abides with every believer forever and leads, confirms and empowers the truth as it is in Jesus.

In John 16:13, the Spirit of Truth was given for reproof and conviction plus enlightenment and edification.  He will guide into all specific truth about Jesus and the significance of what He said and did.  He brings the truth home with power. He guides to discover truth beyond all comparison with any other truth, but never in opposition to the Scriptures. 

The Spirit of Truth bears testimony of Jesus and teaches nothing contrary to what Jesus taught.  He is a “remembrancer” of truth that Jesus conveyed to His apostles.  He unfolds truth to the eye of the human spirit and fully explains future events to make revelation complete and perfect.

                                                            Joyce

TRUTH - John 14:6

 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

There is no pathway to God the Father except by receiving, embracing and believing in Jesus.  He is the Way because He is the Truth and the Life.  Without the Way there is no going, without the Truth there is no knowing and without the Life there is no living.  Believers need to begin with Him, continue in Him and end in Him.

Jesus is the Way, He doesn’t just show us the way.  He is the Way because of the cross by  His obedience and sacrifice.  He is the only means to access or approach the Father.  He is our atoning sacrifice and our advocate.  He provides access only through obedience, surrender and dependence upon Him.

Jesus is the Truth, the representation of things as they are.  The life and teaching of Jesus Christ was the most complete and perfect representation of the eternal that has been presented to man.  He taught the way of God in truth, He is the sum of all the truths of the Gospel and He is the truth of all promises and prophecies.  He furnishes believers with all knowledge required for life.

Jesus is the Life, the author and giver of natural, spiritual and eternal life.  He is one with the Father and raises men from spiritual death.  Christ is the true way to eternal life.  

                                                            Joyce