The Truth of the Matter (Part 2)

 

Last time, we talked about how we are expected to conduct ourselves if we want to be part of God’s kingdom. Now let’s shift focus slightly. Can we apply what we know of God’s unchanging character to more then just our physical actions? Like maybe our understanding of His Word and His plan for us? Of course we can! In fact, I dare say, without applying these principles, we will not be able to fully or properly understand His truth and how He expects us to worship Him.

God’s Word contains everything that is necessary for us to truly get to know Him, who He is, His character and His plan for us. As we read in 2 Tim. 3:16-17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Though it is all contained in the scriptures, it is not easy to extract. As Prov. 25:2 says “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

By design, we must put in effort.  We have to search and dig for it. “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Is. 28:10).

God wants us to put in effort and not be lazy. He has no use for someone who does not value Him or His truth enough to work for it. As He says— “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Mat. 7:7).

As we read through our bibles, look around at how many other people are reading the same words but coming up with a completely different interpretation and understanding of the scriptures. With so many interpretations and opinions coming from the same words—how do we know that our understanding as we read through the scriptures is the truth? How do we make sure we are in alignment with God’s truth and not just clinging to our own interpretations?

There cannot be multiple “truths” for “God is not the author of confusion but of peace…” (1 Cor. 14:33). There is only one interpretation that describes the reality of what is—it is God’s understanding, not our own.

In order to fully understand and correctly interpret God’s Word, we must first understand its purpose and what He is showing through it. As I just mentioned up above, God’s Word contains all of the information we need for this. His Word verifies itself!

God’s Word is a map and blueprint showing what His plan for us is (bringing us to Himself into His family) and also what we must to do to be a part of that plan.

He does not expect us to blindly “follow” Him without understanding what it is that He is doing. He wants us to understand and then choose Him! He wants to have a relationship with us. How could He expect us to enter into a covenant with Himself without understanding the terms and what it is that we are agreeing to? To agree to any contract without understanding it would be naive and foolish.

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).

This is not possible if we cannot understand what the “truth” is.

When we apply what we know of God’s character (that it is unchanging) to His Word it becomes apparent that the message and picture that His Word is painting for us must be consistent and unchanging all the way through!

With this in mind, let’s take a look at a few hotly debated interpretations of scripture and apply this principle to them to see if it helps discern the truth.

1. The Old Testament: Most “Christians” today after reading some of the new testament claim that Jesus did away with His Father’s law and that the “new law” is just one of love and tolerance. Well, right off the bat, we know this is false because it does not fit the character of our Messiah that we have already laid as a foundation upon which we are now building. We also have a whole host of scriptures to draw from such as Heb. 13:8  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” And Mal. 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” There has been a change in ceremonial law from physical to spiritual with the death of Yeshua/Jesus and the new covenant, but the message and picture that was painted through those ordinances (as Heb. 8:1-5 talks about) did not change. God gave mankind the physical ordinances first as a map and pattern of the spiritual so that we could better understand what He is doing for us as Amos 3:7 says— “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” Therefore, “…The spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual” (1 Cor. 15:46).

2. The Calendar: There are literally hundreds of variations of “God’s Calendar” in use today to determine the observance of His Holy Days. So, how do we know which is the real one? For anyone who has studied this topic, it has quickly become apparent that there are not many black and white scriptures in the Bible that can be used to prove which one it is. We know that there can only be one as there can only be one reality. Let’s apply God’s character to His calendar as another criteria and see what happens. Well, since the calendar’s primary purpose is to show us when to keep God’s holy days, which in turn are a picture and blueprint of His plan for us, it becomes evident that it also must be stable and unchanging. This immediately disqualifies all calendars that use physical observances as they are inherently unstable and always varying. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). There is only one calendar that meets all of the biblical criteria and fits with our God’s unchanging character, in which the first seven months that contain all of His holy days does not vary. It is the calculated Hebrew calendar that He has preserved through the Jewish people. 

3. The Sabbath: Many people make the claim that the seventh day Sabbath was only for the Jews or that it was changed to Sunday. As we apply God’s character to this topic as well, it is obvious that He did not and never will change which day is the Sabbath. And until days cease to exist in that sense, the seventh day will always be the Sabbath! God also does not have different standards for different people. The Sabbath along with all of His other holy days are revealing His plan for mankind. The Sabbath (which goes all the way back to the first week of creation) was made for all of mankind. As Yeshua/Jesus said in Mar. 2:27, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” 

4. The timing of Passover: Again, there have been claims made by many that Yeshua/Jesus didn’t die at the same time that the Passover lambs did (which were a picture and type pointing to His sacrifice) or that He changed the timing of the Passover to the previous night when He introduced the bread and the wine. By once again applying God’s character, we can immediately see that He would not and could not change the timing! He would have had to go against His character and break His own commandment to do so. He established back in Egypt when the lambs were to die as a picture of His Son’s sacrifice and our redemption through the blood. In order for that type to be completed, Yeshua/Jesus had to die at the exact same time as the picture in Egypt, for He is our Passover lamb! "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7).

These are just four examples of many that by applying what we know of God’s character to His Word—it can completely change how we interpret His Word. It gives us a foundation upon which we can build and as we do so the treasures revealed from His Word continue to infinitely expand, giving us an ever clearer picture of who our God is and what He is doing for us.

Let us never discount the importance of truth and the stability of our God. Let’s always strive to become more like Him in every way. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).

 

The Truth of the Matter (Part 1)