Truth will grow you

Just as a healthy diet will stimulate growth in the body of a child, so truth will grow the believer into maturity. Jesus said "when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth..." (John 16:13). Truth will grow the believer into the shape and character of Jesus. It will mature the believer.


We all have a world view by which we filter life. Cultures help define what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. The apostle Peter for example was a Jew and as such held certain beliefs about what foods were acceptable. when he saw in a vision, "all kinds of four footed animals...creeping things and birds of the air", followed by a voice telling him to "kill and eat", his reaction was to object because he had never eaten anything unclean. (Acts 10:12-14) But the voice was telling him that what God had cleansed, he must not call unclean. Truth was growing Peter into the shape of Jesus. The gospel of grace was and is intended for all peoples - whether Jew or Gentile.


Peter's preference was to be with Jews but the spirit of truth showed him that "in truth, God shows no partiality" (Acts 10:34) Often we project, even unwittingly, our preferences above principles. Many disagreements are about preferences. Marriages can split over preferences. He likes 'blue'; she likes 'pink'. Experiences can become our guide instead of truth. For example, an absent or negligent father figure can influence what a person may believe about the 'father heart' of God himself - that this God doesn't care and is aloof.


Only truth grows a person into maturity. Jesus called himself truth. He said "I am the way, the life and the truth." He is described as being "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). This phrase is in apposition to "the law given through Moses". The law - that is the Ten Commandments - was the basis of the old covenant cut between Israel and God but the new covenant was built upon the work of Jesus done on behalf of all sinners. The law never grows people; it just measures them. The law however was designed to bring people to the end of themselves with the admission that 'we cannot keep the law'. It is the cry of humility that attracts the spirit of grace and when grace does its work, truth is also revealed.




Adapted from Ross Smith's book, It Is Finished. Go to www.thevine.org.au/resources.html. Ross Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Vine Church, Logan City, Queensland, Australia.