GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND TRUTH
Wednesday – February 15, 2017
Hump day already! Let us continually give thanks, praise, and worship to and for our God. Because of Him, in Him, we are a most special people like none before and none to come. Now let’s get back to our Bible Study in Ephesians. I have presented our text in the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) translation because it brings the Truth forward in a more clear way compared to the King James Version.
Ephesians 5:8-11 (HCSB)
8 For you were once darkness, but now ⌊you are⌋ light in the Lord. Walk as children of light—
9 for the fruit of the light ⌊results⌋ in all goodness, righteousness, and truth—
10 discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them.
Notice from Ephesians 5:8 that we were not just in darkness we were darkness before we declared Jesus as Lord. Now in Christ Jesus we are not just in the light we are light. We changed fathers and therefore we are a whole new creature or creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). The first fruit or thing produced by the light (Word) is all goodness. Be aware that darkness has no capacity to produce goodness, all goodness comes from the light, comes from God. The only reason there is any goodness in any of our lives, saint and sinner alike, is the goodness of God in all mercy. Synonyms for goodness are virtuousness, decency, kindness, honesty, and integrity. I have to ask myself; are my thoughts, words, and actions (ways) good, virtuous, decent, kind, honest, and filled with integrity not according to the world standards but the Bible?
Next we see that all righteousness is a fruit of the light, a product of light, produced by the light by the Word. A fruit in the physical is produced by a tree and it is visible and of value to people. In this case the tree or vine is us and we are light. The fruits we are producing among others is goodness, righteousness, and truth. These are to be visible and real to other people and of benefit, never a negative in other people’s lives. Righteousness is not only right standing with God the Father, the same standing that Jesus and the Holy Spirit have but it is also doing things right, the Father’s way. Having right standing with the Father, doing things right, doing things God way will always have a positive impact on peoples lives. Being in right standing means you can speak the Word of God, the will of God, into people’s lives. Gods will is never bad, never brings stealing, killing, and destroying into a person’s life. Now rebelling against His will is a whole other story for by choice the door is open to the thief and his fulltime job is stealing, killing, and destroying and it is legal for him to do it.
The third fruit produced by the light mentioned here is truth. This third fruit of truth is a lot more than telling the truth which is a part of goodness. Good people, or people doing good, or displaying goodness are honest, they tell the truth. You may recall there are four aspects of the Truth. I capitalize the word ‘Truth’ because the Truth are divine beings.
The Word of God is Truth. We have already discussed this week that the Light is Jesus, who is the Word. This Word, this Light is Truth.
John 17:16-19 (KJV)
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
The Word of God, the Truth, cleanses us, makes us holy, setting us apart from the world’s ways for the work of the Master. Next we see that the Holy Spirit is Truth.
John 16:13 (KJV)
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
The Holy Spirit is our guide, He will bring the Truth to us, show us the Truth, and give us insight to the future, ours and others. This is the Spirit of the Prophet and the Spirit of prophecy. The Holy Spirit functions in our lives to let Jesus be seen through us. I know that we are all often surprised but according to this Scripture being surprised by some event in our path should never happen. To recap, the Word of God is Truth, and the Holy Spirit is Truth. Third we find that Jesus is the Truth.
John 14:6 (KJV)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
This makes sense of course for we know that Jesus is the Word and the Word is Truth so Jesus has to be Truth. The Scripture indicates that the One we call Jesus is The Truth not a truth. So we could say that Jesus, who was the Word before coming to the womb of Mary (and still is), is The Word and His Words are Truth, and the Holy Spirit teaches and leads us into all the Truth. This brings us to another aspect of God, God is Love and Love is Truth. Of all of the law, which is the Word of God, the greatest law of all is love, which is the Truth.
Matthew 22:36-40 (KJV)
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Psalm 119:142 (KJV)
142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
Everything with regard to the Kingdom of God and our relationship with God hangs on love. Our exercise of love toward Him and His faithful exercise of love toward us. Bible love is obedience to the Word of God. The fruit of The Light for our benefit is His goodness, His freely giving us righteousness, and making the Truth available to all. Our job as Ambassadors is to make a full display of His goodness through us, His righteousness through us, and His Truth through us.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
