We have been saying that the proof that the Bible is true can be found in doing, in following, in obedience to the Word. But this promise of the Bible is about much more than intellectual knowledge that God exists. I want to illustrate this point from the promise in the title of the post. It comes from John 8:31,32 and part of what it is saying is that the knowledge the Bible brings will change us when, with His help, we respond to it the right way.
Lets look at the passage more closely. Combining various versions (AMP, KJV, NKJV, NIV) we can paraphrase the full text as “So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, 'If you abide in, and continue to abide in, My Word, hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them, then you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.'”
There are a couple of things to note before we get into the meat of the text. The first is that it is spoken to believers. There is a clear implication here, that you can be a believer and still not be free. For it is only “if such and such" that can we claim this promise to be made free. The second thought is similar, it is that not all believers are true disciples. Again “if ... then you will be my true disciples ....” It is only as the conditions are fulfilled that the conclusion follows. The word 'disciple' literally means 'learner.' The closest to the Biblical meaning that we have in our culture is 'apprentice', or perhaps 'graduate student'. We are not talking here about a student who crams the night before the exam and vomits it out the next day on the test. I call this the binge and puke method of Education. We sucked it all in, and hold it in with our breath until the exam, then we let it all go. And guess what? It's all gone. Do we remember anything from the times we did this? Yet this method is used widely in our culture.
If we approach our spiritual lives this way, the truth will not set us free. After all it has cost Him to bring about our freedom, this approach makes Him want to vomit (Revelation 3:16). And which one of us has not been at that place at times? When we find ourselves there, we need to heed the command that follows later in the Revelation passage, and that is to be repent and to be zealous (verse 19). As I said last day if we really want to know the truth, it will cost us everything we are and have. In the words of 12 step programs “half measures profited us nothing.” There is no fence, if you do not gather with Him you scatter (Matthew 12:30), and you will not be being progressively set free. We are in a war to the death with the enemy of our souls. He gives his all, and we need to give our all too!
The next thing we need to see in these verses is that though we do need to give our all, it is the truth that sets us free, not our efforts. It works like this, when we give it our all, the Truth becomes operational in our lives. But what is truth? The concept of truth is a dirty word in our culture and before we continue I need to say more.
It is interesting to me to note that the very same culture that denies the existence of truth, has no problem denying the existence of lies. On the other hand, it does have a problem with the existence of the father of lies! It is also interesting to me that Jesus calls the Devil this, in the very same context of our primary text (see John 8:44). But let's come back to the question 'What is truth?” I have found that being asked this question, is a common response to my talking about truth. In one way it is a very modern question, in another it's as old as the hills (unless you are in Manitoba :-)). This is the very same question that Pilot asked Jesus when told “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37, 38). But as that passage clearly shows, it wasn't really a question, he was saying “truth is unknowable.” The point is, that both then and now when we don't want to have to come to terms with truth, we can use this “question” to bypass the challenge it brings. But then and now, truth is proved to be truth in the “pudding of doing” (see last day's post).
On the other hand, if you have ears to hear, the question “what is truth?” can be answered. And when you see it, it makes perfect sense of what Jesus said to Pilot that everyone who is of the truth hears His voice. You see Truth is not some abstract thought or idea, Truth is a person. Jesus tells us this in John 14:6. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” If this is true (and it is) then what He is saying to Pilot is that embracing the truth is the same as embracing Him, and that from that vantage point we can indeed hear Him. I said earlier that the Bible is either true or it's a bunch of baloney. John 14:6 always reminds me of John Stott's trichotomy. Stott says “I want to prevent you from saying the really silly thing, that Jesus was just a good teacher." The point is that if He is not who he says He is, He is either a lunatic, or a liar. And if He is neither of these things, then He is who He says He is. That is, He is Lord (see also “ Lunatic, Liar or Lord” March 2011).
But the fact of the matter is that Jesus is Truth incarnate, and as Truth incarnate He sets us free as we learn to abide in His Word. Actually He is not only the Truth, He is also the Word (John 1:1). The word “abide” (meno in the Greek) is the word used in today's main passage (verse 31). It is the very same word used in the well know passage in John 15. So reading our text as "If you abide in Me ... I will set you free" would be a valid paraphrase of it.
So then it is in being vitally connected with Jesus in ongoing loving intimate relationship, that we become progressively free. You see the essence of Christianity is not a bunch of propositional truths, is it a person, the person of Jesus Christ. As I have pointed out before, the essence of eternal life is to know Jesus and the Father (John 17:3). We need (I need) to keep coming back to this Truth (that is to Him), for we far too easily pass over it. I know that God exists, but it is not enough for me. I have two degrees in theology, but it is not enough. It is not enough for me to know about God, I need to know Him (in the way that we know persons), and I need to know Him more! And this is what the verses we were looking at last day promise “I will let Myself be clearly seen by him, and make Myself real to him” (John 14:21 - Amplified Bible).
Another way to think of this is as His presence. His presence in my life is everything. In His presence I am comforted and healed and set free. In His presence there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), a joy that lifts us above the circumstances of life. But it is so much more. He Himself “is our exceedingly great reward” (Genesis 15:1). I don't know why we seem to struggle so much to see and/or enter into the reality of this. But what I am aiming for, pray for and long for, is to come to the place where my will and His will are no longer in contention. I know intellectually that if I am “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Colossians 1:9) then I will agree with Him this His will is the very very best for me and for those I love. But I want to know it in my heart. So this prayer (from Colossians) along with the prayer “Holy Spirit please put to death the deeds and the desires of the flesh,” is my most frequent prayer. If the Son shall set you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36).
Prayer: Father, Your Word tells me that You are able to do exceedingly above all I ask or imagine. Lord I know in my head that you are my exceedingly great reward, I want this truth to permeate my heart and life and my very being. Only You Lord can put to death the things that hinder, and only You can add the things that will make me whom You want and intend for me to be. Show me the what and the how, and give me the wherewithal to do my part in drawing close to You, so that I can claim the promise that You will draw close to me. It is only in You that I will become more and more free. In Jesus Name Amen
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In case you are wondering about the Manitoba comment, many of the "hill" there are man made!
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