Truth.

 Truth.

Jesus is the way...the truth...

The truth sets us free.

The Spirit is of truth.

Jesus prays for us to receive the Comforter-  the Spirit of Truth.

We need to pray for the Spirit. 

Luke 11:13

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Asking- supplicating - praying for the Holy Spirit.

God help us know only His truth, Jesus is the truth. 

Excerpt- A.T. Jones

Notice the last half of the verse. 

(John 8:32): "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." 

The effect of the truth is to make us free. 

The first half is the best promise in the Bible, if we could measure promises. But we cannot do that because one is just as important as another. All are the thoughts of God, and His thoughts are eternal. But this is an excellent promise, "Ye shall know the truth."  That, it seems to me, is a most wonderful promise. "Ye shall know the truth." Think you know it? Wonder if you know it? Wonder whether such and such a thing is true? No sir. "Ye shall know the truth." That is the promise of Jesus Christ to you and to me, that when we trust in Him and follow Him, we shall know the truth. And as certain as we yield to Him and follow Him, He will take care that we know the truth, and we trust Him for it.

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, 'If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'" How are we to know the truth? Continue in His word, be His disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth. Then His word is the word of truth. "Ye shall know the truth." We want to stick to that promise. It seems to me that if that promise were the only one in the Bible it would be all we would need. "Ye shall know the truth." Because Christ has promised that, this is for you and for me, when we follow Him and when we yield to Him. And because this is so, it seems to me that we ought to be the gladdest people on the earth, for that promise given, "Ye shall know the truth."

There will be plenty of opportunities, assuredly--there have been some already, no doubt, in just the first lessons which have been given--some opportunities already for persons in the classes to say, Well, now, is that so?  Probably some opportunity has already been offered for some to say, "Well now, I do not know about that."  There will be countless instances doubtless, before the six weeks are past, that the Lord has given us to study His word and ways, numberless times in which we will be called upon to say, Well now is that so? What is the promise? "Ye shall know the truth."

Now the Lord does not want us to take things because some one says them.  God does not want us to say when anyone says a thing, Well, that is so, because he says it. That is not the thing. We are to know it is true, because God says it. And I say that there is the promise, "Ye shall know."

There will be the opportunity for the query to arise, Is that so? How about that. There is the query, but there is the promise with it. Do not forget it. Jesus has said to you every time that query arises, "Ye shall know the truth."  Then, when that query arises from some thought in the lesson, what is the answer to you and me? What are we then to consider? What is the place for us to occupy just then? Here is some brother who will be speaking some day, and he will make a statement perhaps, reading a passage or two or three passages, and catch a thought there that is new to me, make an expression here that is new to me, and the query comes, Well now is that so?  What is the answer to me? "Ye shall know the truth." Then what am I to do just then with that new thought, with that query? Am I now just to hold that query, that new thought, that which is to me a new thought? Am I not to hold that right before Christ, and ask Him the truth? Or wouldn't I better go to some of the brethren and ask,  "What do you think about that? Brother A. says so and so. What do you think about that? That is new to me,  and I kind of half doubt it." "Well, I doubt it too," says the other brother. Well then, of course it cannot be so;  that settles it. It is not so. It is none of your business what I think about it.

I remember once in a camp meeting a brother read some scriptures right straight through--it was about all he did do; it was a Bible reading--but the thoughts he brought out in the Bible reading were new to a large number in the audience. About half a dozen came in a flock to me and asked, "Well, now, Brother Jones, what do you think about that?" I said, "It is none of your business what I think about it; what do you think about it yourself?"  "Well, we do not know what to think about it," they replied. Then I said, "Find out." Suppose I had said I do not believe it. Then they would have gone off and said, "I do not believe that, because Brother Jones said he did not." Suppose I had said it was so. They would have said, "That is so. Brother Jones says that is so." 

So I propose to tell you nothing about what I think. It is none of your business. You know for yourselves what is the truth. That is the position I propose to occupy in this institute. I expect to find some things coming out here that are new. I have never found a meeting yet where we have studied the Bible that the Lord did not give us something that was new, beautiful, grand, and glorious. But the place I propose to occupy is right upon that promise, "Ye shall know the truth."

But I find people, and doubtless you have too, who seem to get upon the idea that the only sure way to know the truth is to raise all the objections they can and have them answered. But when I have raised and presented all the objections I know against a point and they are all answered, then am I sure what is truth? Am I sure of it? No,  because there are objections I never thought of. Don't you see? On that line can I ever be sure that it is the truth until every objection that is possible is brought against it by every mind in the universe--can I be sure of it until then? 

When these are all answered would that make me sure it was so? If it would, how can I live long enough to hear all the objections answered? Can we get at the truth in that way? Is there any possibility of getting at the truth by raising objections and having them answered? No sir. What is the use of starting on a road of which you will never reach the end--a wrong road of course? Better not start on it at all. 

Another word. Can there be any objections against the truth? Think of that closely. Well, when something is presented, are you and I to say,  "I see an objection against that?" Is that the position we are to take? No. We are to ask whether it is the truth,  and if it is, there is no objection. 

There can be no objection against it. Our objection is a fraud. Don't you see?  The thing we are to ask is, Is it the truth?

And then another way the people have of getting at the truth is to hear both sides of it. You have heard that thing yourself. "That is one side," they say, "but now I want to hear the other side before I decide." What is one side of the truth? 

Well, here is one side of the truth, and there is the other side of the truth. Then where is the truth? You get on either side of the truth and it is error. I have heard one side, and I want to hear another side of it! Then how can I tell what is the truth, anyhow? But suppose I have heard actual truth (and that is the need of it), and I am not satisfied until I hear the other side. What is the other side? Taking this one side to be the truth,  what is the other side? Error. 

Then we can decide best what is truth by hearing a lot of lies, can we? 

"Well," says one, "I have heard your side of it, and it looks to me as though it were true, but I want to hear the other side!"  

The truth is the word of God. 

Then he proposes by waiting to hear the other side, to know whether it is true or not by comparing it with a lot of lies and thus make a lot of lies a test of the truth.

We do not want to hear the other side. 

All we want is the truth. 

Here is one side of the truth, and there is the other side of the truth. He hears both sides according to his own plan; then how does he arrive at the truth? In his own way. He has heard this and that. Where is the truth? He must find it out some way. Does he not compare one side with the other and weigh one against the other and strike the balance and judge where the truth is?  Well, when he has done that, can he know he has the truth? Is he sure that is the truth? Is my mind, my judgment, my ability to weigh arguments and decide upon the truth--is that the infallible test of truth? Is a man's judgment, his faculties, the test of truth at all? When we want to test the truth so as to know it is the truth, the test must be an infallible one. Is not that so? 

It must be one that will never fail. To discern the truth and declare it,  it must be one that will never miss under any circumstances amid ten thousand arguments and errors. The one by which we must test the truth must be such a one as will strike the truth among ten million diverse opinions,  and strike it without fail in succession--every thought that may be raised among men. Is not that so?

Man's mind we know is not the test of truth. It is only his own idea and the truth that he settles upon. "But your thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord."

Now brethren, in the time in which we are, there are two reasons why that thing could not be worked, even if it were correct. One is, that the truth of God is developing so rapidly that we have not time to hunt out all the objections and listen to the arguments on both sides, because we would be everlastingly behind while we were listening to a lot of arguments and objections. But we do not want to stand in that place when probation closes.  The time is too short for that, and we would be left out when we get there. But there is the promise, "Ye shall know the truth."

Turn again to John 14:16, 17: "I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth."

 Spirit of what? Truth. Oh! Thank the Lord for the promise, "I will pray the Father." What is Christ doing tonight for us, who are here in this institute? Praying the Father. He will send us the Comforter? The Spirit of truth. What is the position to occupy before we come to the class each day?  Taking part in that prayer, that we may have the Spirit of truth, isn't it?