SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE
Friday – January 6, 2017
Praise the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures to all generations. Greetings from Eastern Gate Ministries International and The Three Minute Word publications. Be reminded to pray for the body of Christ that we come to a unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God which brings each of us in turn into maturity strengthening the whole body of Christ.
There is an additional issue that we are to explore before diving back into our Bible Study. The issue of credentials and Bible School education has been highlighted in my thinking. One of the first if not the first question that a person in organized religion will broach is where did you or the person under discussion go to school, who did they train under. I never hear this discussion with regard to the ministry of Jesus, Moses, Elijah, or Peter. So what is with this line of thought and inquiry? It strikes me as a way to manipulate and control the ministry, i.e. protecting turf. I have made the point before and I make it again that for the most part the organized Church of today is like the organized Church of Jesus’ day. The Church of Jesus’ day was powerless, hypocritical, and manipulative of those involved. They questioned the authority of Jesus to minister just as the Pharisaical Church of this day challenges those doing the work of God.
Matthew 21:23 (KJV)
23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
It is important to know and recognize that none of the spiritual leaders (Prophets Etc.) of the Old or New Testament were called, trained, or ordained by a religious organization. They were called, ordained and anointed of God for the work of the ministry. Organized religion and the training that occurs in that environment leads to the perpetuation of false doctrine and the absence of the power of God.
Now let’s return to our text and Bible Study in Ephesians.
Ephesians 4:11-14 (KJV)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
A choice, and it is a choice, not to move forward in developing our own personal maturity and by example encouraging others to do the same, is an act of rebellion and depravity toward God, reflects pride on our part, and results in our descending further and further into deceptions of all sorts. The Scripture tells us (Ephesians 4:14) that as children (immature) we are prone to being tossed one way and another for we are not settled on the pure Word, the meat of the gospel. We have not shown diligence in our examination of the Word of God and have not made it our own. We have not been a Berean in our diligence (Acts 17:11).
Ephesians 4:14-15 (KJV)
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
So, we are not to be children tossed here and there easily deceived but we are to mature in faith and our knowledge of the Son of God to advance the Kingdom of God and avoiding deception. Furthermore speaking the Truth in love facilitates our growing up into Him or coming to His full stature even the full stature of Christ. The frequently heard interpretation of this verse is generally perverted. The reason for the perversion is a misunderstanding about Bible love. In the body of Christ many times what is referred to as love is really kindness, gentleness, or patience. Furthermore it is inferred that to speak the Truth to another person you have to compromise, soften, or leave out a part if not all of the Truth. Speaking our mind and speaking the Truth can be wildly divergent things dependent on maturity, what we want is a heart after God so that we speak the mind of Christ.
Bible love is an attitude of selflessness, an adherence to Blood Covenant, and obeying the Word of God. At its core Bible love is thinking, saying, and doing the Word of God. I will talk about the Truth in a moment but first how does one speak the Truth in love. In obedience to the Word of God we are not to compromise the Word of God and as led of the Spirit of God we are to speak the Truth to those we are led to speak to. Just think about Jesus, the folks He talked to were not always tickled with what He said but would any of us dare venture to say that He did not act or speak in love and that He did not speak the Truth, or that He was not led of the Spirit (the Father)? So as we end this Bible Study for today and for the week let’s explore the Truth. You may have noticed that I have been capitalizing the word Truth whereas the Bible verse did not. As you will see, the Truth is Divine and of Divine origin.
First, you probably recall 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.
The Holy Spirit is the 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 Word of God is Truth.
John 17:17 (KJV)
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Finally, love itself is Truth.
Psalm 119:142 (KJV)
142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
And what is the premier law and the one like unto it?
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.
Speaking the Truth in love is to speak the good news which is the love of God in action. It is speaking about Jesus, about the Holy Spirit, about the Word of God, and how our focus is to be on God and our neighbor. Everything hangs on our love of God and our neighbor. We say what God says about everything including our neighbor and there comes the rub. We want God to give our neighbor a drubbing but we want mercy. Help me Lord Jesus.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
