Search
Scripture Reading: John 1:1, 14, 16-18; 14:6, 17; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 12:9; Rom. 5:21
In this chapter we will consider the proper meaning of grace and truth. The words grace and truth are used repeatedly in the Bible. In particular, grace is used many times in Paul’s Epistles. However, the saints may not have the same understanding of grace and truth as what is revealed in the Bible.
Most people consider healing from diseases, finding jobs, solving problems, and overcoming difficulties as the grace of God. People who experience hardships or troubles that eventually turn out to be of benefit to them often consider these benefits as grace. Some examples of such benefits include achieving a goal or receiving material gain. Furthermore, being delivered from a certain weakness through prayer or overcoming a spiritual failure after many years is also considered as grace. These latter examples show that gaining spiritual experiences is also considered to be a matter of grace.
Of these two understandings, the latter seems to be better because it transcends the physical and material realm and involves a level of spiritual experience. Nevertheless, both of these understandings of grace are restricted to a natural point of view. These understandings of grace do not come from God’s revelation or God’s enlightenment. As such, these understandings are shallow and superficial. Grace in the Bible is something inward. Hence, healing from diseases, finding jobs, solving problems, overcoming difficulties, or even spiritual experiences of being delivered and of overcoming are not grace itself.
In order to answer the question of what grace is, we must come back to the Bible to see the meaning of grace. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 14 says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.” The Word, who is God incarnated, is the Lord Jesus. Verse 16 says, “Of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” Verse 18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” From these verses we can see that grace is nothing less than the Lord Jesus Himself.
In 1 Corinthians 15:10 the apostle Paul says, “By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me did not turn out to be in vain, but, on the contrary, I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God which is with me.” In 2 Corinthians 12:9 the Lord said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, Paul most gladly boasted in his weaknesses so that the power of Christ might tabernacle over him. Romans 5:21 says, “Just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The above verses show that grace is God entering into man, that is, God Himself being received by man freely. God gives Himself freely to man as a gift; this is grace.
God created millions of items in the universe for man. If God took one of these items and gave it to man, He would be deceiving us if He called this grace. Furthermore, if we consider this to be grace, we are deceiving ourselves. Every blessing that God gives to man is good; however, the best blessing is God Himself. When God gives Himself to us, this is grace. Everything of grace is received freely. God gives Himself to us as a free gift so that we may receive Him freely. This is grace.
Most Christians think that the word truth refers to doctrines. They think that truth and doctrine are synonyms. According to the Greek text, however, the word truth in the New Testament means “reality” (John 1:14, 17; 8:32; 14:6). Doctrine is different from truth, and the two should not be confused.
In John 1 the apostle John puts reality and grace together (vv. 14, 17). Even when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He said that He was the reality (14:6). Hence, reality is God seen by us, and grace is God received by us.
How can we prove that truth is God seen by man? In Exodus God gave the Israelites the law through Moses, charging them to not kill, to not commit adultery, to not steal, to not testify with false testimony, and to not covet (20:13-17). In Leviticus God also said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (19:18). However, no one can keep these commandments, which are intended to test and expose man’s real nature and condition (Rom. 3:20; 5:20; 7:7). The law did not convey any positive reality to man. However, when God came through incarnation and presented Himself to man as the reality of love, man began to see the meaning of loving your neighbor as yourself. Furthermore, when the Lord Jesus came, He came to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17). When people saw Him, they saw the reality of these commandments: “He who loves the other has fulfilled the law. For, ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet’...is summed up in this word, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Rom. 13:8-9).
Galatians 3:10-11 says, “As many as are of the works of law are under a curse...By law no one is justified before God.” According to Deuteronomy 21:23, those who were hanged on a tree were accursed of God. When Christ was hanged on the cross for us sinners, He not only bore the curse for us but also became a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). The curse of the law issued from the sin of man. When Christ took away our sin on the cross, He redeemed us out of the curse of the law (v. 13). When we see the reality of love in the Lord Jesus, we also see the intention of the law.
The law did not convey its intention and reality to man. Man could not see the intention and reality of the law until the Lord Jesus came as the reality of the law. Many doctrines in the Bible were preached before the birth of Christ, but man began to see the reality of those doctrines only when Christ came as the reality. Truth is Christ Himself seen by us. He is the reality of all things.
If we preach as doctrines the many virtues spoken of in the Bible, such as humility, meekness, patience, love, and submission, then these virtues will be merely doctrines, but not reality, to us. However, when we gain Christ and touch God, we will see that the Lord Jesus is the reality of these virtues. Only this is truth, reality. Grace is God Himself being received by man; truth, which is reality, is God Himself being seen by man. When we receive God, we receive grace. When we see God, we see truth, that is, reality.
After going through trials of sickness and unemployment, a brother who follows God may become too weak to pray. He may also suffer the loss of a loved one or of his house through a fire. In such a desperate situation he should set himself aside and open to God, allowing God to come into him. Then those who contact him will spontaneously touch God, as if they were electrified. They will say, “This brother has truly received the grace of God.” This is because, after being dealt with and stripped by God, God has been wrought into him. Day by day he will live in God and in truth. Because this brother has learned genuine lessons and has had real spiritual experiences of the Lord Jesus as the reality, his speaking, his love for the brothers, his humility, and his behavior will all come from the reality that he has seen. In this way he has the reality and practices the truth.
A married couple are not without conflict in their daily living. Even though the responsible brothers can refer a couple to Ephesians 5:22-25, which speaks of husbands loving their wives and of wives submitting to their husbands, the problems between a husband and wife often remain unresolved. They will experience a real salvation only when they suffer a drastic blow that subdues them before God and opens them to Him thoroughly, allowing Him to enter into their inner being. Then they will not only receive God but also see God, and there will be love and submission without the need for exhortation. This is because these words will become their spiritual experience. This is grace and reality.
The above illustrations may be too much, but my hope is that the saints will have a proper understanding and realization concerning grace and truth. May God have mercy on us. May we all open ourselves, empty ourselves, and allow God to come into us so that we may receive God and see God. Only God Himself received by us is grace, and only God Himself gained by us is reality.
