CHAPTER FIVE

TRUTH SANCTIFYING FOR ONENESS

Truth occupies a prominent place in the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is not only a book of life but also a book of truth. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life,” and verse 14 says that He was “full of grace and truth” (KJV). Furthermore, John 1:17 says, “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (KJV). In John 14:6 the Lord Jesus declared, “I am…the truth” (KJV). This Gospel reveals that the compound Spirit, the Spirit which was “not yet” (7:39) before the Lord was crucified and resurrected, is the Spirit of truth (14:17, KJV). Regarding the Father’s word, the Lord Jesus said, “Your word is truth” (17:17). Therefore, the Lord Jesus is the truth, the Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and the Father’s word is truth.

TWO FUNCTIONS OF THE TRUTH

The Gospel of John reveals two functions of the truth. The first is to set us free. John 8:32 says, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” In John 17:17 the Lord Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth.” Therefore, according to the Gospel of John, the functions of the truth are to set us free and to sanctify us.

John 17 indicates that truth, sanctification, and oneness are interrelated. Here we have the Father’s word, which is the truth that sanctifies us. Hence, verse 17 puts together truth and sanctification, for sanctification issues from the truth. When the truth works within us, the result is sanctification. This sanctification through the truth is for oneness. Verses 17 through 23 of chapter 17 cover truth, sanctification, and oneness. Truth sanctifies, and sanctification issues in oneness.

TRUTH BEING THE REALITY OF THE TRIUNE GOD

The truth that sanctifies us for oneness involves the Lord Jesus, the Spirit of reality, and the word of the Father. Therefore, all three of the Triune God are related to the truth. The Lord Jesus, the Son, is the truth; the Spirit is the Spirit of truth; and the Father’s word is truth. In the New Testament, especially in the Gospel of John, truth does not mean doctrine; it means the reality of the Triune God. We may have known that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all related to life, but we may have never seen that all three of the Triune God are related also to the truth.

We have pointed out that the Father’s word is truth. Because the Father’s word is His expression, and because His word is truth, truth is the expression of the Father.

The whole Bible is the word of God. We need to be deeply impressed with the fact that the Bible is not merely a book but a word that expresses God. Whenever we come to the Bible, we should have the consciousness that we are coming to God’s expression, to God expressed. Every time I come to the Word, I have the sense deep within that I am coming to God Himself, and not to a hidden God or a concealed God, but to the God who is expressed. By means of the Bible I can meet with God, talk to Him, and listen to Him. We all need to have such a conviction whenever we come to the Bible.

Christ, the Son, is also the truth. This is somewhat easy to understand because the Father’s word is the Son, who is the expression of God. Many Christian teachers have rightly said that the Bible is the written Word and that the Son is the living Word. I agree with this. The Bible is the word without, and the Son is the word within. But these two, the outer word and the inner word, are one.

All this is realized through God the Spirit. We have pointed out that in the Gospel of John the Spirit is the Spirit of truth. The Father is embodied in the Son, and the Son is realized as the Spirit of reality. The Spirit is the realization of the Son as the embodiment of the Father. Therefore, the Spirit is the reality. The Spirit is also the word. John 6:63 says that the Lord’s word is spirit, and Ephesians 6:17 says that the Spirit is the word. Hallelujah, we have the Word without and the Spirit within!

Whenever we come to the Word with an open heart and an open spirit, we immediately touch both the Word and the Spirit as the truth. I can testify that every time I open my heart and spirit as I come to the Bible, I meet God. Through this one act, I touch both the Word and the Spirit, both the written Word and the living Word. Two or three times every day we need to come to the Word. It is rather difficult to come to the Lord as the Spirit apart from the Word. Although it certainly can be done, we do need the Word. What a wonderful instrument the Word is for contacting the Lord! When we are disappointed or depressed, feeling empty within, we can open ourselves and come to the Word. After reading for a while, something within us rises up, and we enjoy the presence of the Lord. This is the experience of the truth, the reality. It is the Triune God in His word being imparted into our being. This is the truth.

The Father is embodied in the Son, the Son is realized as the Spirit, and the Spirit is one with the word. When we touch the Word, we also touch the Spirit. Then something is infused into our inner being. Whatever is infused into us in this way is the truth. Although this involves the acquisition of biblical knowledge, there is something living inside this knowledge. This is the Triune God realized by us and transfused into us through the word. This is not merely the word. It is the word mingled and saturated with the Triune God and infused into our being. This is the truth that sets us free and sanctifies us.