THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
Truth
Message Nine—The Freeing and Sanctifying Truth
Scripture Reading: John 17:14-24
I. Truth is the divine light shining on the facts of the Bible and televising a heavenly, spiritual vision of these facts into our being—John 14:6; Psa. 119:105: (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
A. The Lord is the light, the truth, and the Word; the Word, which is also the truth, gives light, for in the Word there is light—John 8:12; 14:6; 17:17; Psa. 119:105. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
B. Truth is the shining of the light, the expression of the light; in other words, truth is light expressed. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
C. The Spirit is called the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of reality (John 14:17); the Spirit of reality is the “heavenly electricity” by which spiritual things are televised into our being. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
1. When the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of reality, shines upon the spiritual facts recorded and contained in the Bible, we receive the truth, reality. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
2. If we read the Word without the shining of the Spirit, we may have doctrine or “news reports” but not the truth, the reality, or the vision. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
D. All the divine facts are contained in the Word and conveyed to us through the Word; when the Spirit shines upon the Word, we have the “heavenly television”; the light shines upon the facts in the Word and conveys a heavenly vision of these facts into our being, and we know the truth—cf. Eph. 1:17-18a. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
II. There are two functions of the truth—John 8:32, 36; 17:17; Eph. 5:26: (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
A. The truth sets us free from the bondage of sin, freeing us from all the negative things—John 8:32, 36. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
B. The truth sanctifies us positionally and dispositionally, saturating us with the element of God—17:17. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
III. The Triune God in His Word realized by us and being imparted and infused into our being is the truth that sets us free and sanctifies us—John 8:32, 36; Eph. 5:26: (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
A. When we are disappointed or depressed, feeling empty within, we can open ourselves and come to the Word; after reading for a while, something within us rises up, and we enjoy the presence of the Lord. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
B. By taking the Word in this way, something of the Lord is wrought into us; this is the reality of the Triune God living, moving, working, and separating us. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
C. Every morning we can touch the living Word and have the divine reality, the Triune God, infused into our being: (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
1. This transfusion of the element of God frees us from such negative things as temper, jealousy, hatred, and pride; it sets us free from every kind of falsehood, and we have real liberation, real freedom. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
2. As we are being set free, we are also sanctified, separated, made holy to God, not only positionally but also dispositionally; we become one with God because His very essence is wrought into us. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
D. Daily we need to come to the Word in this way; we need to come to the Word every morning and, if possible, at other times as well. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
E. When the Word is mingled with the living Spirit in our spirit, we are sanctified with the essence of God: (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
1. Our crucial need is to have the living Triune God infused and wrought into us through the written Word, the living Word, and the applied word of God. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
2. By contacting the Word in this way, God is added into us day by day; as a result, we are permeated with God and made one with Him. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
IV. Sanctification through the word of the truth results in oneness by dealing with the factors of division; truth sanctifies, and sanctification issues in oneness—John 17:14-24: (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
A. The Lord Jesus, the Son, is the truth; the Spirit is the Spirit of truth; and the Father’s word is the truth—1:14, 17; 14:6, 17; 17:17; 1 John 5:6: (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
1. The Father is embodied in the Son, the Son is realized as the Spirit of truth, and the Spirit is one with the Word—John 6:63; Eph. 6:17. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
2. Whenever we come to the Word with an open heart and an open spirit, we immediately touch both the Word and the Spirit as the truth. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
B. The sanctifying word, the sanctifying Spirit, the sanctifying life, and the sanctifying God are all one; therefore, if we are being sanctified, we are one spontaneously because all the factors of division are taken away. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
C. In John 17:17-23 we see that sanctification issues in the genuine oneness because this sanctification keeps us in the Triune God: (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
1. The only way to be in the Triune God is by the sanctifying truth that deals with all the factors of division. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)
2. Sanctification through the word of the truth results in the oneness of the Body of Christ, which is the enlarged oneness of the Triune God—v. 21. (2011 ITERO-F, msg. 2)