We can do nothing against the truth
There are truths which remain true whether you believe them or not. Paul understood this and wrote ‘for we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth‘ (2 Cor 13:8)In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God did something for and with mankind that is immutable – not subject or susceptible to change or variation in form or quality or nature. The success of what He accomplished is unchallenged, unaffected by unbelief. In Christ God removed every obstacle and hindrance that stood between Himself and man. He dealt with sin – all sin of all people. He invalidated guilt – it has no foundation. These are things He did for us, whether we are aware of it or not. But He also did something with us – in His death, we died. In His resurrection we were elevated to a new position of blameless innocence before God. “There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge.“ (1 Cor 1:5 MSG) These things do not become true when you believe them – they are true even if you are unaware of them. Even if no-one believed, the truth about man and God would remain true. “What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all!” (Rom 3:3)
Fully persuaded
So if the truth remains truth no matter what I believe, does my faith really matter? Absolutely yes, in every way. We only experience the benefit of truth as we embrace it. “For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said” (Heb 4:2) The truth has no value for you individually, if it is not combined with faith. Paul wrote about the ‘wealth’ or ‘riches’ of being fully persuaded (Col 2:2) There is a richness of life, a rest of satisfaction, an abundance of contentment, that is only found in being fully persuaded.
Falling in love
Faith is so much more than correct information … as much as falling in love is more than knowing the facts about another person. When I met Mary-Anne, I did not not even know how to spell her name, her date of birth or background, but that did not stop my heart from responding with a ‘wow’. When a beautiful landscape appears before me, I instantly respond with appreciation without needing facts and figures. Faith is such a gift – its an instant response when encountering God. Whenever He reveals Himself we automatically respond with awe and adoration. Seeing what He sees causes us to believe what He believes. It is so much more than the pathetic ‘Statements Of Faith’ that some organisations publish. I’m so glad that neither Jesus nor Paul ever wrote a ‘Statement of Faith’ – they knew that the adoration they had in response to the beauty of the Father could never be reduced to a set of principles or neatly categorised into a doctrine. All we could ever hope to express is an introduction, an invitation for others to see what we see.
For the truth
‘for we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth‘ (2 Cor 13:8) Although we can do nothing against the truth, we can do something for it! We can allow it to have its full effect in us and through us. We can draw the maximum value and benefit from it as we combine it with faith, allowing God to persuade us fully as He is persuaded. 1Cor 1: 6 speaks about the testimony of Christ that has been confirmed in us.
Why do you think Paul, knowing that we can do nothing against the truth, would still risk his life and endure agonising persecution and torture for the sake of making this truth known. Well, we don’t have to guess, he wrote about his motivation. “For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: if One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.” (2 Cor 5:14,15) Paul reached a conclusion – the conclusion that, what Christ accomplished, included all mankind … yet the full implication of this truth, the benefit of this truth still eluded the masses because of ignorance. The desire for others to enjoy the full benefit of these immutable truths, drove him to make this truth known as accurately as possible.
So what can we do for the truth? We can allow it to have its full effect in and through us. Allow the testimony of Christ to be confirmed in you. We do this as we continue to live in awe at the revelation brought to us through Jesus Christ. We do this as we allow our enjoyment of Him to overflow into loving others – a love that compels us to live for more than just ourselves.
The full value and benefit of the truth will be realized. He is not pressed by time or impatient to draw all men to Himself – He has all eternity to show us the full value and benefit of what He accomplished on our behalf “so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” until “all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father” (Eph 2:7; Phil 2:10,11)
We have the privilege of being co-workers with Him. You can read more about witnessing for Christ in an article called ‘Are-you-qualified-to-share-christ?‘
Hi Andre – you succinctly and clearly describe the truth about the truth. In my experience I’ve found a huge difference between religiously ‘trying to have faith to believe’ (because this is what is urged of us : ‘if you confess with your mouth and believe……then you shall be saved’) and the more natural and spontaneous response when the truth is presented in such a way that it evokes that response in me.
In my opinion ‘religion’ has put too much emphasis on ‘Go ye forth and make disciples..’ because that is what Our Master wanted us to do and that is what Paul did so successfully. The danger in ‘spreading the gospel’ before we ourselves are fully persuaded or before we are established in the truth, is that we are motivated by obligation and guilt. In my experience I have found that living in the awareness of the truth is the only way. I’ve stopped feeling guilty because I’m not spreading the gospel and enlightening those ignorant thereof. I prefer to focus on enjoying His Presence and find that the ‘spin-off’ is that I am fulfilled, at peace and continually grateful. I then live my life from the attitude of Thy Grace is my sufficiency and am guided to live according to the scriptures. This sounds easy and it is when I maintain my focus ‘Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee’ and there is such joy in His presence that I WANT to be there, rather than feel obliged to do what I’ve been I should be doing.
I don’t know whether I make any sense but in a nutshell at the moment I prefer to ‘know’ and therefore ‘live’ the truth, rather than try to enlighten the ignorant.
I also have a very strong suspicion that God has earmarked us all for a particular function, and I’d rather trust Him to show me what He wants me to do, which means that I first need to develop a very personal relationship with Him so that I can know Him intimately– for out of that intimacy a natural discipleship develops. My life then is a spontaneous expression of His qualities in me, which He has taught me how to use most effectively.
This discipleship is an intensive commitment and requires my full-time focus – and of course the rewards are life-enhancing….to me and those in my world.
Hi Jean Martin ,
I understand the dilemma you describe very well and im sure many of Gods people would echo this in thier own experience. When i was a young believer i was nurtured in a get saved and get busy enviroment . I always wished that some older more mature brother had the wisdom to take me aside and say to me i.e. take your time to marinate in the Lord , Gods not in a hurry . He has millions of servants doing his bidding but few lovers . Organised religion and even those who consider themselves to be on the cutting edge dont give you this luxury . It took time with me to get into His place of rest .I had to rebel at first i think out of exhaustion at first and God had to ween me of the approval of others and that’s a biggy. I had to be defeated and conquered to be brought to his rest . You see i laboured under the delusion that i could live the christian with Gods help . My guilt at not being able to live the life was accentuated by others telling me i had no excuses for failure as i had all Gods resources available to me . Well in that case , i thought , im finished . Where do you go when you cant live upto Gods , your own or other peoples expectations,?…No-one ever told me that failure was the destiny of everyone that is going on with the Lord . Ive never met many who like to talk about failure nor understand its necessity to bring us into the Life that is Christ . Dont get me wrong ive met many who are in the place of failure and cant seem to get over the dis-appointment . Yet not knowing it they are right on course and have been prepped and conditioned by God to hear the Good news , this takes time , years in my case . Glorious failures. The rest of faith only begins when we cease from our own striving to do the works of God . I thought if i did this i would burn and crash. The promised land is the miracle of Christ living his life . Two things prevent us entering into miracle land, One is unbelief , we simply find it hard to believe that miracle land is real , and second we must make every effort . This is the bit that always got me ,how can making every effort and the rest of faith be compatible . The making every effort is the work on our part of absolute surrender . This is the only condition we have to meet as, conformity to christ is brought about by spirit transformation not self effort.I have learned through personal experience that there are those who want to master the christian life through knowledge and methods and those who are defeated and mastered by the holy spirit . I want to say more but i,ll stop here .Selah….Roddy
Andre-
I really enjoyed this post. I am still working out the atonement. However, that does not effect the love, unconditional love that God, our Source has for each and every living being. You are a constant source and example of the love you comment about. Thanks for your caring blog.
Don, Roddy and Jean
Thanks for your valuable participation. Nothing makes the truth of this gospel more appealing than our own utter enjoyment of it – an enjoyment unaffected by circumstance. Paul wrote that he discovered the secret of contentment no matter the situation … and he certainly proved it when he burst out in spontaneous praise while in chains in prison.
I love this poem written by Madam Guyon while in prison : prisons-do-not-exclude-god
I agree, LIVE the truth and God enlighten the ignorant through you, without having to say a word! Its all His doing. We are His workmanship! He purged our conscience from dead works to serving the living God. We focus our faith that Jesus has sanctified us and set us apart for His holy use! All His doing. We are His vessels, His love in a body. Faith it till I make it. Transformation becomes evident in our lives as we take our eyes off the flesh. As we stir each other up to choose obedience to faith and righteousness that we received. Others can hear what comes out our mouths and our hearts! We are consumed with the living God. Others sense our freedom! They experience the love of God, through Christ in us, and none of our own doing.His life in us must burn is our hearts so the world can be touched.
Another aspect that I appreciated about your feedback Roddy is that we develop our spiritual awareness, and in that process I found I could understand scripture at a far deeper level. I have always loved the Bible, but when the Holy Spirit opened my ‘inside’ eyes, it was as if I had been blind to the real treasures contained therein. Understanding that my needs were spiritual and not material was also a learning curve….However I am a willing student and more than anything I want to know My Beloved intimately. Interestingly, when I was on my ‘christian’ journey and dragged my (then) young children with me to church(es) my daughter said to me — “Mum, God just wants us to love Him….and to stop asking Him for things.” Then I had the realisation that as a parent I happily supplied my children’s daily needs (without having to be begged or pleaded). I also realised that I didn’t want my children to see me as the Super Shopkeeper, only coming to me when they needed t!
hings.
When I changed my motivation to being in His loving Presence, and just enjoying spending time with Him, it changed my whole life. I felt joy, I felt fulfillment, I felt secure, and most of all I felt at peace…. a warm glowing peace that filled my whole body and overflowed from me….and was far more satisfactory than expecting God to increase my bank balance, give me a better job, etc. Loving Him; experiencing His presence is now my focus….and when I lose that focus then ‘things go wrong’ and I’m dissatisfied, unfulfilled …and pointing fingers at others. The unease within me soon drives me back to my natural milieu. And the best is that no matter how many times I ‘lose it’, when I re-turn to Him, He’s always there for me!”
Your daughters words are so beautiful i.e “Mum God just wants us to love him and stop asking him for things ” This almost made me cry…..It so echo,s the yearning desire of the Lords own heart…..There is a fire and passion in His love for you that wants to consume and ravage you . He is so jealous for your affection that He will have no other rival to him in your life i.e. “if anyone loves His any other human being more than me he/she is not worthy of me” . The purpose of your existence is that you were created by Love for love . And what we are really searching for more than anything else in this life is “love” and its amazing where we will go to find it outside of God. Our desperate quest in this life is to find meaning and purpose that can only be satisfied with a love affair with Jesus Christ . We are called into the fellowship of love light and life that can only be experienced by being brought into the fellowship of the Godhead . That divine life that the Father and the Son shared together in that primordial place before eternity is really the experience and essence of what it means to be a christian . The father and the son had an experience together before Jesus ever came to this earth and Jesus came to pass on this experience , we are one with them just as He and the Father are one. I call it an experience as its more than postional truth and just a nice concept we are called to participate in their felowship. In this place of fellowship there is no shopping list of requests , there is no bible study , prayer meetings , and all the other trappings of present day christianity .Just the divine elements of love , life and light being reciprocated . The origin of the christian life begins in the Godhead . You have the faculty and capacity with-in you to fellowship in realms unseen this is a vast open place vista beyond vista and is your divine right and heritage……Blessings ….Roddy
Dear Andre
In line with your writing, I was wondering whether you had visited the website of the Concordant Publishing Concern before, or are familiar with the Concordant Version of the Bible. I have found this website very useful over the past few weeks, and I am sure that, if you are not yet familiar with it, you will also find it useful.
Kindest regards
Hi Craig … I’ll have a look. Thanks