In this blog post I’d like to touch on a key point that is vital for the building of your faith. It has to do with believers’ efforts to search for truth through their studies of the Bible, different translations, commentaries and books about the Bible, etc. – and why they never quite get where they were hoping to get.

Recently I saw a tweet from Pastor John Hagee, saying: “The person who spends time studying God’s Word, praying, and worshipping can expect God’s help.”

Though at first this may seem like good council, these types of sweeping statements are in fact ambiguous in that they create the perception that if you study the Bible, pray and worship God, you can expect God’s help as a result; suggesting that God will reward your efforts, no matter what form it takes, or what conclusions you come to. Such partial truths are dangerous, because they direct believers away from the mark of God’s standard and expectation for faith.

God does call us to study, pray and worship, but He gave these things form and function in Jesus Christ by way of His new covenant and spiritual priesthood. This alone is the environment God sanctified for faith’s effective functioning, so if these boundaries are not set in place the expectations are misplaced.

In 2 Timothy 2:15 we read “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”.

There are a few key words in this verse but I want to focus on: “the word of truth.”

Jesus said in John 4:23-24: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

The question now is, what is the “truth”?

In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

When Jesus identifies Himself as the truth, He speaks of the importance of the knowledge that represents Him; God defines truth as the facts that are consistent to His character, purpose and plan.

God’s character, purpose and plan for salvation are fulfilled within Jesus Christ. When truth is set within our hearts through the instruction of His spiritual government we are transformed by Jesus, that is, we begin the process of regeneration and the renewing of mind whereby to take on His character according to His purpose, for God’s plan of redemption to be fulfilled in us.

When the question is asked, “What is the truth?”, many will immediately point to the Bible and everything that the Bible says. But the Bible is not truth, it is paper and ink; though its writings are inspired by God, it is not God. People can pick up the Bible and read the same words and draw different conclusions, resulting in many differing ideas, and interpretations. Hence, they all define truth (the plan of God concerning Christ) differently, even though they are all reading the same Bible. That is why Apostle Peter warned against private interpretation of scripture:

2 Peter 1:20
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

Truth is the doctrine of Christ, His record and blueprint for our faith. Truth is the ordered knowledge of the covenant of Jesus Christ. Even Jesus said, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.” (John 7:16). Jesus set the example. Doctrine must come through the door of God’s choosing (His elect stewardship) in order for truth to remain consistent to God’s character, purpose, and plan.

We need doctrine to give classification to the words we read in the Bible. The doctrine of Christ cannot be discovered; the doctrine of Christ is revealed to and through God-appointed stewardship, and set within the heart to equip you to study the Bible from God’s perspective. This is why Jesus called His apostles the master builders. The doctrine of Christ is His foundation knowledge upon which the righteous build.

Without the foundation knowledge of truth, the soul is starving; there is no substance and nutrition that brings life to the soul. In the absence of the knowledge of Christ, the soul is always in a state of struggle, wanting the fruit of the Spirit, but not experiencing the divine transformation. The power of grace is absent because the Spirit of God only gives witness to Christ, meaning His foundation of truth must first be laid in the heart.

The holy knowledge of Jesus Christ is not common knowledge. The record of Christ contains His new covenant terms and conditions for faith. The record of Christ contains the sanctified tokens of faith that is needed for contact with God in our spiritual priesthood. The record of Christ is the 12 elements of the gospel, the blueprint of His knowledge. It is the only record that the Spirit empowers.

1 John 5:11
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

The apostles of the first century church did not proclaim the scripture; no, the apostles taught the record of Christ, the mystery that was made known to them by God, and for which He equipped them with a measure of grace in the calling to instruct believers in the same. This is the key of knowledge by which the Bible is accurately unlocked, and the mysteries of God unfolded.

Matthew 13:10-11
¹⁰ And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

¹¹ He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

1 Corinthians 4:1
Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Ephesians 1:9
Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.

Today still, it is the apostle’s office that has the measure of grace to set the foundation knowledge of Christ in the heart of a believer, and to instruct the church in the ordered knowledge of His covenant. When this role is sidestepped, believers build faith on unstable ground, not having that solid foundation which is Christ in truth, and so try to patch the resulting cracks with scripture.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11
¹⁰ According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

¹¹ For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

God has again raised up living apostles today for this glorious work, as many believers are brought to the realization that now is the time to come into covenant with God and receive the foundation knowledge of Christ (truth). Our IDCCST Course walks you through this transitional knowledge training, step by step, to truly be made free by the truth of Jesus Christ, to unlock the Bible in God’s perspective, and to learn how to worship Him in Spirit and truth for the fruit of His Spirit to be birthed in your heart.