John 17:17 – Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth.
1 John 5:6 – …and it is the Spirit that is testifying, because the Spirit is the truth…
Truth is a rare commodity these days. Objective reality is giving way to personal perception. What is true for one individual is no longer necessarily considered true for another; rather, situational circumstance and opinion are considered as being the guiding standards. The truth has become fluid and fills the shape of whatever container it is represented in.
This should be concerning for believers, but not unexpected. What is happening in the world around us has been happening among the congregations of Messiah for millennia. There is so much factionism and disunity evidenced by the multiplicity of denominations that it is small wonder the world is being influenced in this direction. The inward segregations of Messiah’s believing community are being evidenced by the outworking of societal divisiveness.
Counter to this chaos runs the stability of God’s word and his Spirit, at least according to Yeshua. “Your word is truth…your Spirit is the truth.” Yeshua believed in bedrock, foundational and objective truth; so should we.
The Greek word for truth is used in the following ways throughout the New Testament:
- universally, what is true in any matter under consideration (opposed to what is feigned, fictitious, false)
- of a truth, in reality, in fact, certainly
- what is true in things appertaining to God and the duties of man
- the truth, as … opposed alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and to the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians
According to Yeshua, the truth is what sanctifies and sets apart believers from all other humans on this planet and distinguishes false groups from true. Through this sanctification by truth, we are subject to his rule and guidance.
Yeshua prayed for our unity in the truth, so that others would know that God truly sent him. If we are frustrated that the world does not recognize him, then we must realize it is because we are not fulfilling his prayer for us of unity and oneness. James says that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective,” (James 5:16); how much more so the prayer of the Son of God? I cannot envision a world in which a prayer of the Messiah would not be fulfilled.
John 17:20-22 – “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. “May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one.
The apostle Paul likewise encouraged and sought for the unity of believers:
Ephesians 4:11-15 – And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Messiah, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Messiah’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head – Messiah.
There it is again: the truth, spoken in love. This is what causes us to grow together toward maturity in Messiah. When we speak the truth, the word of God, in love, we open up opportunities to build bridges and strengthen internal ties. The truth, guided by the Spirit of God, draws us together in the Messiah and provides the goal of increased unity in our community. As we unify internally, there becomes less disunity in the outworking of our social lives and culture. This striving together in the truth of God’s word, guided by his Spirit, creates unity. This unity then reestablishes a basis for all truth, and subjective opinions once again become subject to the objective reality of God.
This is how we can become set apart for God’s purpose and bear his image and his truth to the world, fulfilling the prayer of that most righteous man, Messiah Yeshua.
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