Made True Unto God
By David A. DePra
How does a human being come to see, and know, and believe, THE TRUTH? The Bible
makes it clear that we are born with NO TRUTH IN US. We are born with NO LIFE IN
US. Thus, there is nothing within natural man that we can call forth out of
ourselves in order to discover THE TRUTH. Indeed, we might say that natural man
is NOT TRUE -- as to his very being. He is, in fact, an UNTRUE creature. And of
course, what this really means is that by natural birth, we are UNTRUE TO GOD.
Human beings are defined by their relatedness to God Himself -- and the Adam
race is, and always will be, utterly and completely UNTRUE TO GOD.
Compounding the problem is that natural man is blind to
his condition. In other words, we are UNTRUE by nature, but we think we are
TRUE. To put it another way, we are ABNORMAL, but we think we are NORMAL.
Everything is turned upside down, but we think we are right side up. Thus, not
only did the sin of Adam turn the human race into UNTRUE human beings, but the
corruption extends to our complete blindness to this fact. It is one thing to be
blind and know it. In that case, you could cry for help. But it is another thing
to be blind and NOT know it -- to think that you can see. In this case, you
think darkness is light. And you will be content, and even self-righteous. This
is terrible deception.
So the Adam race has no Truth in us and no Light in us.
But if you examine that, you will see that it means that every building block of
our character and personality -- every aspect of our being -- is constructed out
of UNTRUE materials. Sure. That is all that is there to work with in Adam. That
which is born of flesh IS flesh. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Even many
Christian don't believe this. But it is a fact. Where there is NO TRUTH within,
there can be only UNTRUE BEINGS. This is where we all start as human beings.
Thankfully, it is not where we need to remain.
So how do we come to know the Truth -- have life and
truth within? Do we study real hard? Develop our brain power? Take Bible
classes? Well, it is possible to study error real hard, and to absolutely
memorize and brainwash yourself with wrong interpretations of the Bible. No.
There is only one way to obtain Truth and Life within: Through THE TRUTH HIMSELF
and THE LIFE HIMSELF. Jesus Christ said, "I am the Truth." He also
said, "I am the Life." The fact is, ALL Truth and ALL Life is found in
Christ, and there is NONE outside of Him. Thus, we must be born again new
creations in Christ Jesus. Then, and only then, can there be Truth within.
The Truth is not mere doctrine and teaching -- the
Truth can be expressed and conveyed through doctrine and teaching. But Truth is
a Person. If you want to know the Truth you have to know Jesus Christ -- not
just know facts about Him -- but know Him. And if you want to be eternally alive
you have to have the Person who IS THE LIFE at one with you by His Spirit. Jesus
is both Life and Truth. He is, in fact, "the light of life."
The reason that there is so much confusion and
disagreement as to doctrines in the Christian church is because people try to
discover the Truth apart from the Person who is the Truth. We muster up
interpretations and revelations out of ourselves and call these of God. But
Truth is a Person. You have to know Him. And you have to belong to Him.
When Christ comes to dwell in our spirits, we then have
THE TRUTH HIMSELF dwelling in the midst of what had been UNTRUE by nature --
namely US. Much of the Christian life is therefore a matter of being set free
from UNTRUTH into the TRUTH -- through the progressive unfolding to us of the
Person of Jesus Christ. But again, while this certainly includes doctrinal
correction, and the understanding of God's Word, ultimately it is US that must
be MADE TRUE unto God. We must have our UNTRUE nature, character, and motives,
dismantled and exposed -- WE must come into the light. Everything that is UNTRUE
about us -- including even our religious patterns and so-called faith -- must be
exposed. You cannot be made true unless you are first shown to be untrue! But
this is the path to freedom. As God does this work, the TRUTH will set us free.
How does the Truth set us free? The Truth sets us free by MAKING US TRUE UNTO
GOD through a knowing of His Son.
When a person is MADE TRUE UNTO GOD they are totally
honest and transparent to God -- as far as they know. (There will always be a
need to be made more TRUE UNTO GOD!) But that person will no longer be hiding
behind their works, or pride, or spiritual credentials. No. They will know and
celebrate the words of Paul, "Yet NOT I, but Christ." All of this is
just a fancy way of saying that we are made true unto God, and made true, by
standing in the LIGHT -- and by walking in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
So how does a person come to have Truth within? We will
never find it in ourselves as the source. Truth has to come into us from the
outside IN. In other words, we have to be BORN FROM ABOVE -- we have to be born
again through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus said that unless
you are born from above you cannot see ANYTHING. Clearly, unless we are born
again we are deluded if we think we can know the Truth at all. No. We must be
born from above NOW in Christ. Then the One who IS the Truth, and who IS the
Life will be one with us -- for he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit with
Him. (I Cor. 6:17)
God makes it plain and simple -- everything is in His
Son. But the even greater news is that the very definition of Christianity is,
"Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col. 1:27) Thus, despite our need
to continually grow to know the Christ who is within, it is nevertheless a fact
that we are complete in Him. It IS finished. Truth and Life -- the Person -- is
within those who are born from above. God has given us Himself through His Son.
And in Christ are all the gifts of God.