THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
Truth
Message Three—The Bible Conveying and Unveiling the Truth
Scripture Reading: John 8:32; 11:25; 14:6; 17:17; 1 John 1:1-2, 5-7
I. Truth is the shining of light, the expression of God as light—vv. 12, 32:
A. Light is the source of truth, and truth is the issue of light—1 John 1:5-6.
B. Truth is God revealed and realized in His many aspects, as unveiled, for example, in the Gospel of John—John 1:14; 16:13.
C. Truth is the shining of the divine light on the facts of the Bible to “televise” a heavenly vision of those facts into our being—Psa. 119:130, 105.
II. The content of the Bible is the truth because the Bible reveals God to us; thus, our receiving of the truth is our experience of God as truth—Col. 1:6; John 1:17.
A. The Bible is the revelation of God as reality—v. 1; 17:17:
1. The Bible itself is not the reality; the Bible is God’s speaking, His utterance, and God Himself is the content, the reality, of the Bible—2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21
2. When we touch the content of any doctrine, if we do not touch God Himself, we still do not have the truth; only when we touch God do we have the truth—2 Cor. 3:6.
B. When we know the Bible in truth and not only in doctrine, we have the shining of light, which causes us to have life—John 8:12; 1:4-5; 6:63.
C. If we reject a particular teaching from the Bible, we are rejecting God in that aspect and thus cannot experience Him as such—8:37-38, 40.
III. In order to know the Lord’s recovery in truth, we need to know the Bible in the way of truth—John 17:17; 8:32; 1:14:
A. Truth is the Triune God shining into us; thus, knowing the Lord’s recovery in truth requires that we experience God shining as the divine light—John 1:1, 4-5, 9; 8:12, 32.
B. Truth—the content of the Bible—is between doctrine and light—2 Cor. 3:6; 4:6; John 8:12, 32:
1. The truth is the reality conveyed in the doctrines—17:17:
a. When we realize the truth, we have the reality that is conveyed in the doctrines; such reality can be revealed to us and realized by us only through the Spirit—14:17; 15:26; 16:13.
b. Truth is the reality conveyed in the doctrines and realized through the Spirit—17:17; 16:13.
c. Through the Spirit’s enlightening, the doctrines become truth and the shining of the divine light in us; then we are joined to the light, and the light becomes life to us—1:4-5; 8:12, 32.
2. As we read the Bible, we first receive doctrines; when the Holy Spirit enlightens the words of the Bible, the doctrines become truth, reality—16:13:
a. The truth is conveyed in doctrines, yet the truth in the doctrines can be realized only by the enlightening of the Spirit—2 Cor. 4:4, 6.
b. When the Spirit enlightens us, the doctrines we know become truth, which brings light, and light brings life—John 8:12, 32; 1 John 1:5-6.
c. For this, we need to pray much in a proper way, opening our entire being to the Lord; the more we pray in this way, the more the Spirit will enlighten us to cause the doctrines to become truth—Eph. 1:17; Col. 1:9.
IV. The goal of knowing the truth is that we would have the riches and the abundance of life—10:10:
A. In order to have the riches of life, we must have the truth, the shining of the Triune God; the shining of the divine light in its many aspects is the riches of life—1:4-5; 10:10; 11:25.
B. All the riches of life are in the truth; every truth is an aspect of the riches of life.
C. The rivers of living water are different aspects of life—7:37-39:
1. These rivers flow out through the truth; actually, every river is a truth—14:6.
2. The way to have the abundance of life and to flow out the riches of life is the way of the truth—8:32:
a. The more truth we have, the more riches of Christ as life we enjoy—Eph. 1:13; 3:8.
b. Eventually, we will have the abundance of life; the abundance of life is altogether in the truth—John 10:10; 8:32; 14:6.
D. The increase in truth results in the growth in life; as a believer receives more truth, life becomes more abundant in his experience—Eph. 4:15-16.
Ministry Excerpts:
TRUTH BEING THE SHINING OF LIGHT
The Word, life, grace, reality, the Spirit of reality, and light—along with the Son and the Father—are the basic factors in the Gospel of John. In other words, John is composed with the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—the Word, life, light, grace, and reality, or truth. These terms may be familiar to us, but we need to see that all these factors are a person, God Himself. The Father, the Son, the Spirit, the Word, life, and light are God. Grace is God for our enjoyment, and truth is God revealed and realized.
Truth Being God Realized
On God’s side, truth is God revealed; and on our side, it is God realized. When God reveals Himself, that is truth; and when we realize and touch God, that is also truth, or reality. When God is hidden, we do not have truth. The revelation of God is truth, but it needs our realization. Our realization goes along with God’s revelation. We cannot have realization without revelation. The revelation of God brings forth the realization of God in us. This is truth.
The Word and the Truth Being One
As we have seen in previous chapters, when we have the truth, we have light, for truth is the shining of light. The shining of light is actually light itself. Furthermore, light brings in life; light becomes life. Life is our enjoyment of God, which is grace. Grace is God Himself—the Father embodied in the Son and the Son realized as the Spirit enjoyed by us—and God is the Word. Therefore, the basic factors in John are like a circle—the beginning is joined to the end. The beginning is the Word; the end is the truth, reality; and the Word and the truth are one. The basic factors in John are one; they are all aspects of the Triune God. We must see this in order to understand what the truth is.
We have seen that truth is the real content of doctrines, but we must also see that truth is nothing less than God Himself. In Galatians 2:14 Paul says that Peter and the other Jewish believers who refused to eat with Gentile believers “were not walking in a straightforward way in relation to the truth of the gospel.” We sometimes speak of certain truths, such as the truth of the church, the truth of the kingdom, or the truth of baptism. According to this usage, the truth means a doctrine or teaching. However, the truth of the gospel is the reality of the gospel—God revealed and realized. Christians who emphasize doctrinal teaching may argue that the truth of the gospel in Galatians 2 is that, according to the New Testament gospel, the Gentile believers can eat with the Jewish believers. This argument is apparently right, but it is shortsighted—it is not the truth but a doctrine. The truth of the gospel is God revealed and realized because it is not a matter of whether the Gentiles can eat with the Jews but a matter of whether the Gentiles can enjoy God. In the Old Testament economy the Gentiles were alienated from enjoying God, but in the New Testament economy the Gentiles are allowed to enjoy God with the Jews. This is the truth of the gospel. We must come to God Himself as the truth.
Ephesians 1:13 says, “In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation.” In this verse the word of the truth and the gospel of your salvation are synonyms. Therefore, the truth is not a doctrine but salvation, which is the Lord Himself. When we touch the content of any doctrine, if we do not touch God Himself, we still do not have the truth. Most Christians think that we have the truth when we understand the contents of the doctrine. However, that is not truth but still doctrine. When we touch God, we have truth.
THE BIBLE BEING FULL OF GOD AS THE TRUTH
If we are not clear about what the truth is, we may be divided by disagreements over doctrines. The real truth, Christ Himself, will prevent such division. We should not argue about matters such as the proper way to immerse people when we baptize them. As long as we baptize them in the power of the Spirit to transfer them into Christ, the way they enter the water does not matter. The truth stops different opinions. Without the truth, the more we discuss such matters, the more we are loaded with vain and divisive doctrines. The Brethren were divided mainly by disagreements over so-called truths related to matters such as the timing of the rapture. When we touch the matter of rapture, we should care only to minister Christ as life, light, and grace. When we minister Christ into the saints, He will be the nourishment that causes them to grow. This will produce the maturity that is necessary to be raptured.
Doctrines in the Bible Conveying the Truth, which is God Himself in Many Aspects
We do not care for doctrinal arguments about matters such as the timing of the rapture, because they do not convey the reality of God. However, we do care for the proper doctrines, which convey the truth. All teachings, including those printed in our books, are doctrines, but not all doctrines are the same. Doctrines that convey Christ as reality are like grain, but doctrines that do not minister Christ and only lead to division are like chaff. Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching.” The proper teaching of the Scriptures ministers Christ as the reality. If we know what the truth is, we will not be deceived by empty doctrines. The doctrines in the Bible convey the truth, which is God Himself in many aspects.
Seeing and Receiving the Truth, and it Becoming Our Experience
Question: What is the relationship between our receiving of the truth and our experience of it?
Answer: When we see the truth, we receive it, and it becomes our experience. Our receiving of the truth ushers us into the experience of it. If we reject a particular teaching from the Bible, we are rejecting God in that aspect and cannot experience Him as such. However, we must be careful not to interpret the Bible according to our old, natural concepts, for this will cause us to miss important aspects of the truth. When we genuinely receive the truth, we experience and practice it. Therefore, any real truth always issues in our experience of God, even the matter of the ground of the church. When we see the truth of the church ground and receive it, we apply it and experience an abundance of life.
In previous chapters we saw that life is God and that the truth is the content of the Bible. God is life to us through His steps of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, descension, and indwelling. The content of the Bible is the truth because the Bible reveals God to us. However, when we read the Bible, it is merely doctrine to us until the Spirit enlightens us. For this reason, we must daily touch the Lord and allow Him to deal with us so that we will have a sincere heart, an open spirit, and a pure conscience. Then when we read the Bible, the Spirit will enlighten us, and the doctrines in the Bible will become truth to us, which is God Himself, who is light, life, and grace. Thus, our receiving of the truth is our experience of God as truth. Everything that we speak and teach must convey such truth; otherwise, it is mere doctrine.
Ministering the Truth, which Conveys God
Question: Is it all right to speak things that we have not yet fully experienced?
Answer: A great teacher once said, “A good minister always speaks beyond what he has experienced.” We should not speak in pretense, but we often must speak concerning things that we have not fully experienced. In a sense, our ministry must always be ahead of our experience. The apostle Paul ministered beyond what he had experienced when he wrote concerning glorification (Rom. 8:17, 30). John also ministered beyond his experience when he wrote concerning the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21—22).
Ministering beyond our experience differs from teaching doctrines without life. The things that the apostles Paul and John taught beyond their experience were full of life. We may not have fully experienced what we minister, but whatever we minister should be the truth, which conveys God. The Bible is different from any other book, for it is full of God as the truth. When we read a piece of Christian literature, we should judge its value by whether it helps us to touch God. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Basic Principles Concerning the Eldership”, ch. 14)
NEEDING TO KNOW THE BIBLE IN THE WAY OF TRUTH IN ORDER TO KNOW THE LORD’S RECOVERY IN TRUTH
The Truth Being the Content of the Bible
The Truth Being the Reality Conveyed in the Doctrines
The truth is the content of the Bible. In between doctrine and light is the truth. According to the human mentality, the Bible appears to be a book of many doctrines concerning matters such as God, man’s fall, and salvation. Anyone who is literate can read the Bible and learn such doctrines. The truth is the reality conveyed in the doctrines. It is possible to know the doctrines but not have the truth, the reality. When I was a youth, I heard the pastor of my family’s denomination preach that Jesus is the Savior who died for all men. I heard this doctrine, but I did not receive the truth. Before I was saved, I could even teach the doctrines concerning Christ and salvation. My mother had been baptized in our denomination, but she was not saved. Nevertheless, she taught her children many Bible stories, and she told us that Jesus was the Savior who died on the cross. That was only a story and a doctrine to us. We did not realize the truth.
When we realize the truth, we have the reality. Christ becomes living to us, and His death becomes real to us as an event that took place specifically for the forgiveness of our sins. We receive the reality that is conveyed in the doctrines. Such reality can be revealed to us and realized by us only through the Spirit. For this reason, if two speakers give more or less the same message, one may preach only doctrine, but the other ministers the reality, because the power of the Holy Spirit is in his preaching. The power of the Holy Spirit makes preached doctrines real to the listeners—it gives them the reality, the fact. Truth is the reality conveyed in the doctrines and realized through the Spirit. The Bible has many doctrines, but few readers of the Bible receive the truth. Anyone can read the term the church in the Bible, but few have seen or touched the reality of the church. When the Spirit operates, the church becomes no longer only a doctrine but a truth, a reality, to us.
The Doctrines in the Bible Conveying Truth,
and Truth Being the Shining of God as the Divine Light
If we have truth, we have light, for truth is the shining of light, just as grace is the expression of love. In the Gospel of John we see grace and reality, which is truth. John 1:17 says, “Grace and reality came through Jesus Christ.” Grace and reality in the Gospel of John become love and light in 1 John. First John 4:8 says, “God is love.” First John 1:5 says, “God is light.” Love is the source of grace, and grace is the expression of love. In the same principle, light is the source of truth, and truth is the shining of light. If we know only doctrine and lack the truth, we do not have light. Once doctrine becomes truth to us, light shines within us, and we have light. To know the Lord’s recovery in truth implies both doctrine and light, for the doctrines in the Bible convey truth, and truth is the shining of God as the divine light.
First Having the Doctrines in order to Have the Truth
Truth is the shining of light, and the divine light is life (John 1:4). This brings us back to life. We may know that life is the Triune God, but we still need the truth, the shining of the Triune God in many aspects, in order to have the riches of life. The shining of the divine light in its many aspects is the riches of life.
Doctrine Becoming Truth in Us Being the Shining of Light,
and the Light Being Life
We first must have the doctrines in order to have the truth. Thus, Christian workers and the fundamental denominations that lack life are still helpful if they preach correct doctrines, for eventually those doctrines may become the truth. Without the doctrine, the truth cannot come. Many missionaries who went to China taught only doctrines, but without their work many Chinese would have never heard that Jesus is the Savior who died on the cross for sinners. Eventually, some of the Chinese who heard this doctrine realized and received the truth that Jesus was their Savior. Through the doctrines we see the truths. Doctrine becoming truth in us is the shining of light, and the light is life. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Basic Principles Concerning the Eldership”, ch. 11)
When the Spirit Enlightening Us, the Doctrine Becoming Reality
The Bible is the revelation of God as reality, but when we first read it, it is not such a revelation but only doctrine to us. When the Spirit enlightens us, the doctrine becomes reality. The word that Peter spoke in Matthew 16:16, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” was a revelation to him. But when we first read it, it is not a revelation to us but a doctrine. Millions have read Peter’s word and received it merely as a doctrine. However, when the Spirit enlightens this word in the believers, it becomes revelation and truth. This is why the Spirit is called the Spirit of reality. It is the enlightening of the Spirit that brings revelation, reality, light, and life. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Basic Principles Concerning the Eldership”, ch. 14)
Concerning the proper ground of the church, we first must know the doctrine. Then, perhaps through our prayer and hunger for the truth, the Lord will enlighten us, giving us the shining of light. Through the Lord’s enlightening, the doctrine of the ground of the church becomes truth, a shining within us. This shining joins us to the light, and the light becomes life. Thus, even the ground of the church is an aspect of the riches of life. To see the light, the truth, of the ground of the church makes us different in life. One who truly sees the ground of the church is different from one who remains in the church yet does not know or see anything concerning the truth of the ground of the church.
We need to know the Lord’s recovery both in life and in truth, which means in the Triune God and in the Bible. For this reason, we need to study the Bible daily, because from the Bible we first receive the doctrines. Through God’s enlightening, the doctrines become truth and the shining of the divine light in us. Then we are joined to the light, and the light becomes life to us. This is what we need. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Basic Principles Concerning the Eldership”, ch. 11)
Without the Bible Man not Knowing God
We need to see why the truth is the necessary step to our receiving God as light. In other words, we need to see why, in addition to God, we need the Bible. Without God, the Bible is not light or life to us. The Bible itself is not the reality. The Bible is God’s speaking, His utterance, and God Himself is the content, the reality, of the Bible. However, without the Bible man could not know God. Without God’s word recorded in the Bible, we could not know God as light or life.
We need to see the importance of God’s word in the Bible. A basic principle in the New Testament is that the word is necessary for believing. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes out of hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” In other words, believing comes from hearing the word. Moreover, without God’s word in the Bible, there would be nothing to believe in. Thus, John 5:24 says, “He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life.” In order to understand and believe into God and receive Him as life, we need His word in the Bible. Like electrical wires, which transmit electricity, the Bible transmits God as life.
Having the Shining of Light which Causes Us to Have Life
When Knowing the Bible in Truth
In order to know the Lord’s recovery in truth, we need to know the Bible not only in the way of doctrine but also in the way of truth. When we know the Bible in truth, we have the shining of light, which causes us to have life. Therefore, how much life we have depends on how much truth we know. An ignorant believer, even if he loves the Lord to the uttermost, cannot have the abundance of life, because he is lacking in truth.
We must spend time in the Word, which will first be doctrine to us. Then the doctrine must become truth to us by the enlightening of the Spirit. There is no need to pray to get doctrine; whoever reads the Bible can get doctrine. However, in order for doctrine to become truth to us, we need to pray much and in the proper way. For this we need to deal with the Lord and be dealt with by Him, and we need to have a clear conscience and a purified mind, will, and emotion. Then we need to open our entire being from our spirit and pray. The more we pray in this way, the more the Spirit will enlighten us to cause doctrines to become truth. Unbelievers and believers alike can read the Bible and learn doctrines. However, in order for doctrines to become truth to us, we need to pray, be dealt with, open to the Lord, and be willing to give up our desires, choices, and preferences, which can be veils to us. Then there will be no shadows, veils, or coverings to frustrate the Spirit’s enlightening, which causes the doctrines we know to become truth to us. The truth is the shining of light, which brings life to us. This is why we need to know the Lord’s recovery in truth.
Paul stresses the matter of truth in his later Epistles, when the church was in degradation. When the church is abnormal and in a time of degradation, there is an urgent need of the truth. This need is met when the doctrines in the Bible become truth to us, for then we are in the light and freed from the darkness of degradation. Because of the situation of Christianity today, there is the urgent need of truth as the shining of light, which will bring in life.
As elders in the local churches, we need to know the truth of the Bible. We must not be content with doctrines, which in themselves are empty and vain. Instead, we must daily pray, open, and spend time to touch the Lord. We must be willing to allow Him to touch us and deal with us, especially with our conscience so that we can hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience (1 Tim. 3:9). Then the doctrines of the Bible will become truth to us. We may come to the meetings, listen to messages, and read the Bible, but if we are indifferent and do not spend time opening to the Lord in prayer, the doctrines will not become truth to us. As a result, we may accumulate much doctrinal knowledge but lack the truth. Doctrines become truth to us only when we mean business with the Lord by touching Him, being willing to be touched and dealt with by Him, and having a purged conscience and an open spirit with a sincere heart that seeks after God’s heart’s desire. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Basic Principles Concerning the Eldership”, ch. 13)
LIFE AND TRUTH HAVING ONE GOAL—THE ABUNDANCE OF LIFE
All the Riches of Life Being in the Truth
All the riches of life are in the truth. Every truth is an aspect of the riches of life. In our experience it is first a doctrine; then it becomes a truth, which joins us to the light, and that particular aspect of the light becomes life to us in one of life’s rich aspects. This is difficult to explain and analyze, but our experience confirms it. When we read the Bible, we first get doctrine, then the truth, then light, and finally life. This is the procedure. We cannot have life first. We first learn the doctrine by reading, then we see the truth, then the light shines, then light becomes life, and we receive the riches of life. Often during one time in the Word, we experience all four—doctrine, truth, light, and life. However, it takes a long time to realize some truths. After knowing a doctrine for several years, in one particular time of prayer with the Lord it may become real to us as truth and the shining of light, bringing us the riches of life. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Basic Principles Concerning the Eldership”, ch. 11)
The Increase in Truth Resulting in the Growth in Life
Question: How is truth related to the growth in life?
Answer: The increase in truth results in the growth in life. As a believer receives more truth, life becomes more abundant in his experience. This is why we need to know the Bible, receive the truth, and care only for teaching that conveys God as life. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Basic Principles Concerning the Eldership”, ch. 14)
Possessing and Speaking the Truth Being the Way
to Have the Abundance of Life and Flow Rivers of Living Water
Life and truth have one goal—the abundance of life. “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly” (John 10:10). In order to have the abundance of life, we first must read the Bible to learn the doctrines in the Bible. Someone who does not read the Bible cannot be rich in life. Believers who read the Bible only when they feel inspired are spiritually starving; such ones cannot have the abundance of life. However, to read the Bible does not automatically cause us to have the abundance of life. We still need the doctrines to become truth to us. For this reason, the New Testament encourages us not mainly to know doctrines but to fully know and walk in the truth. The apostle John loved the saints in truthfulness (2 John 1; 3 John 1). Because the Christian life is a matter of truth, Christian love must also be a matter of truth. If we do not possess the truth and walk in the truth, we cannot love others in truthfulness. It is possible to love others in darkness, but when we know the truth and walk in the truth, we love in the truth and in light.
Rivers of Life Flowing out through the Truth
The main point we need to see is the way to turn doctrines into life, or put in other words, the way to have the abundance of life. John 7:38 says, “He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” The rivers of living water are different aspects of life, including love, patience, humility, and all the riches of Christ, but we need to see how to practice this, how to cause these aspects of life to flow out of us. These rivers of life flow out through the truth. Actually, every river is a truth. If we do not speak, nothing can flow out. In order to speak, we must know the doctrines and possess the truth. We cannot speak concerning Christ as love or patience if we have no knowledge of the truth concerning the riches of Christ. In order for the riches of Christ to flow out of us as rivers of living water, we must have and speak the truth.
The More Truth We Having, the More Riches of Christ as Life We Enjoying;
Eventually, We Having the Abundance of Life
The way to have the abundance of life and to flow out the riches of life is the way of the truth. We first need to know the doctrines. Then as we are open to the Lord and pray much, the Spirit will come to enlighten the doctrines, and they will become truth, which brings light and life. The more truth we have, the more riches of Christ as life we enjoy. Eventually, we will have the abundance of life. The abundance of life is altogether in the truth. When we release the truth by speaking, that is the flowing out of the riches of life. In order to minister life to others, we must speak, and in order to speak, we must read the Bible and study the truth to learn the doctrines. Without the doctrines we cannot have the truth, and without the truth there is no light or life. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Basic Principles Concerning the Eldership”, ch. 13)