First and 2 Timothy, Titus, and 2 and 3 John, which were written during the degradation of the church, do not stress life as 1 John does but instead emphasize the truth. The following verses from these Epistles all mention the truth. First Timothy 2:4 says, “[God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth.” First Timothy 3:15 says, “I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.” First Timothy 4:3 says, “Who forbid marriage and command abstaining from foods, which God has created to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who believe and have full knowledge of the truth.” Titus 1:1 says, “Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God’s chosen ones and the full knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness.” Second John 1-2 says, “The elder to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in truthfulness, and not only I but also all those who know the truth, for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever.” Verse 4 says, “I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, even as we received commandment from the Father.” Third John 1 says, “The elder to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truthfulness.” Verses 3 through 4 say, “I rejoiced greatly at the brothers’ coming and testifying to your steadfastness in the truth, even as you walk in truth. I have no greater joy than these things, that I hear that my children are walking in the truth.” Verse 8 says, “We therefore ought to support such ones that we may become fellow workers in the truth.”
In previous chapters we have seen what it is to know the Lord’s recovery in life. We also need to know the Lord’s recovery in truth. Like life, the truth is not altogether clear to the saints. According to the natural concept, the word truth is taken to mean “doctrines” or “principles,” such as the popular proverb, “Honesty is the best policy.” However, in the Bible truth means something else. The Greek word for truth in the New Testament is sometimes translated as “reality” or “truthfulness.” It is used in John 1:17, which says, “Grace and reality came through Jesus Christ.” The same word appears in John 4:24, which says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.” Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3:15 that the church is “the pillar and base of the truth.” These cases show that we cannot understand truth according to the natural concept.
According to the New Testament usage, truth means that which is real. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way and the reality and the life.” Christ is not the doctrine or the principle but the reality. Every positive thing in the universe is a type of Christ. The sun, the air, the water, and food are types and shadows of Christ, who is the real sun, air, water, and food. Likewise, all human virtues, such as love, holiness, kindness, patience, and humility, are shadows, the reality of which is Christ. He is the real love, holiness, kindness, patience, and humility. The Old Testament offerings are also shadows; Christ is the reality of every offering—the sin offering, the trespass offering, the peace offering, the meal offering, the drink offering, the burnt offering, the wave offering, and the heave offering. Even the words we speak are a shadow. Christ must be our word—our expression, speech, eloquence, and utterance. In the entire universe, only Christ is real; He is the reality. Thus, in the New Testament the word truth denotes Christ as the reality. Accordingly, in John 8 the truth and the Son are used synonymously: John 8:32 says, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Verse 36 says, “If therefore the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.” Christ, the Son, is the truth. When we read the New Testament, we should not understand the word truth according to the natural concept; instead, we must realize that it indicates Christ as the reality.
In previous chapters we have seen that the truth is in between doctrine and light. We have also seen that the truth is the content of the Bible. When people read the Bible, they first receive doctrines. When the Holy Spirit enlightens the words of the Bible, the doctrines become reality, truth. Without the enlightening of the Spirit, we have only empty doctrines. The truth is conveyed in doctrines, yet the truth in the doctrines can be realized only by the enlightening of the Spirit. When the doctrines become the truth, it brings light, for the truth is the shining of the light. When we see the truth, light shines within us. The purpose of our having truth is so that life would be imparted to us. When the Spirit enlightens us, the doctrines we know become truth, which brings light, and light brings life.
It is difficult to say whether light or life comes first. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” This verse implies that life comes before light. The same order is also implied in the phrase the light of life in 8:12. However, in creation light came first. God created light on the first day, and life did not appear until the third day. The reason it is hard to say whether light or life comes first is that the two are one. When one is present, the other is also present. Nevertheless, we must see that life is the goal. God’s intention is that we would have life. The way to have life is by means of light. It is because God is light that we are able to receive Him as life. In order for Him to be our life, He must first be light to us. In order for us to know and possess Him as life, we must see light. God’s goal is to impart Himself to us as life, but this requires His being light as the procedure.