DRAWING NEAR
January 19
Embracing the Truth
"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the
gospel of your salvation--having also believed" (Eph. 1:13).
The gospel is true because Jesus is true, not simply because
Christians believe in Him.
[Ephesians 1:12 That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the
praise of His glory.]
After stating salvation from God's perspective in verse 12, Paul here
states it from man's perspective. Faith in Christ is your response to
God's elective purpose in your life. Those two truths--God's
initiative and man's response--co-exist throughout Scripture.
Paul rightly called the gospel "the message of truth" because truth
is its predominant characteristic. Salvation was conceived by the God
of truth (Ps. 31:5):
Psalm 31:5 (NKJV)
Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD God
of truth.
Salvation was purchased by the Son, who is the truth (John 14:6):
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through Me.
and is applied by the Spirit of truth (John 16:13):
John 16:13
"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you
into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but
whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
To know it is to know the truth that sets men free (John 8:32).
John 8:32
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Believers are people of the truth (John 18:37),
John 18:37
Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered,
"You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for
this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to
the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
who worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24),
John 4:24
"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth."
and who obey the Word of truth (John 17:17).
John 17:17
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
Yet as profound and powerful as God's truth is, people have rejected,
neglected, redefined, and opposed it for centuries. Some, like
Pilate, cynically deny that truth even exists or that it can be known
by men (John 18:38).
John 18:38
Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he
went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him
at all."
Others foolishly think that denying truth will somehow make it go
away.
Perhaps you've heard someone say, "Jesus may be true for you but that
doesn't mean He has to be true for me." That view assumes that belief
somehow determines truth. But just the opposite is the case. Truth
determines the validity of one's belief. Believing a lie doesn't make
it true. Conversely, failing to believe the truth doesn't make it a
lie.
The gospel is true because Jesus is true, not simply because
Christians believe in Him. His resurrection proved the truth of His
claims and constitutes the objective basis of our faith (Rom. 1:4; 1
Pet. 1:3).
Romans 1:4
....and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the
Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according
to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
You enter this day armed with the message of truth and empowered by
the Spirit of truth. Truth is your protection and strength (Eph.
6:14).
Ephesians 6:14
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on
the breastplate of righteousness
Lost souls desperately need to hear that truth. Represent it well and
proclaim it with boldness.
Suggestions for Prayer:
1. Thank the Lord that by His Spirit He has enabled you to understand
His truth (1 Cor. 2:14-16).
1 Corinthians 2:14-16
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of
God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is
rightly judged by no one.
16 For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct
Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
2. Ask for wisdom and boldness to speak His truth in love (Eph.
4:15).
Ephesians 4:15
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into
Him who is the head, Christ
For Further Study: Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and Acts 17:30-31.
1. What key elements of the gospel does Paul list?
2. What is the relationship between Christ's resurrection and God's
judgment on sinners?
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached
to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I
preached to you; unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day
according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of
whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen
asleep.
7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due
time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called
an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me
was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not
I, but the grace of God which was with me.
11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you
believed.
Acts 17:30-31
30 "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands
all men everywhere to repent,
31 "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world
in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given
assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."
When someone sends out invitations to dinner or a birthday party, we
might respond that we can't make it because of some other engagement,
but with God His invitation is an absolute call on our life. Jesus
said, "You MUST be born again." In the above verse, Paul writes,
"These times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men
everywhere to repent." Salvation is a command. It is true that God
saves completely by His grace and mercy, but at the same time, there
is no other alternative.
Acts 4:12
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
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You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
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In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
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To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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