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The Truth the whole Truth and Nothing but the TruthBy Kevin Basconi

The Truth the whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth   

Jesus was the truth. The Lord taught his friends about the truth and encouraged them that the truth or the (gospel) could set them free!

John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

The Courtroom of Heaven

We often hear this quoted in a courtroom:

“Do you solemnly swear to tell The Truth the whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth, so help you God.”

This commitment can come in different forms depending on the situation of the witness. The types of commitment used in the United States are, (for example):

An oath: A commitment made to the witness's diety, or on their holy book.

An affirmation: A secular variant of the oath where the witness does not have to mention a deity or holy book.

A promise: A commitment made by a witness under the age of 17, or of all witnesses if none of the accused are over the age of 17.

A sworn testimony is evidence given by a witness who has made a commitment to tell the truth. If the witness is later found to have lied whilst bound by the commitment, they can often be charged with the crime of  perjury. Again, the types of commitment can include oaths, affirmations and promises which are explained in more detail below. The exact wording of the commitments varies from country to country.

In the United States of America the oath reads like this:

Oath: Do you solemnly (swear/affirm) that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, (so help you God/under pains and penalties of perjury)?

Swear may be replaced with "affirm", and either "so help you God" or "under pains and penalties of perjury" may be used; all oaths and affirmations are considered to be equivalent before the law. These modifications to the oath were originally introduced in order to accommodate those who feel uncomfortable swearing religious oaths, such as Quakers, as well as to accommodate the irreligious . In the USA vs. Ward, the court of appeals ruled that certain other modifications of the oath were acceptable so long as they (witnesses) demonstrated "a moral or ethical sense of right and wrong".

Does this witness with your spirit? I hope so! The Lord taught us this important Kingdom Key in the book of John. John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

In John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

The Apostle Paul and Real Truth

The Greek word here for truth is Aletheia (Greek #225) meaning; absolute truth or true or simply truth. Other sources define this Greek word and translate it as "unclosedness", "unconcealedness", "disclosure" or "truth" and primarily used in ancient Greek philosophy.

Jesus said that He was Truth. The Aletheia.

Many of my friends in the Body of Christ do not actually know the real truth that Jesus was speaking of!

The Apostle Paul taught about this dynamic in his ministry. We see this in 2 Timothy 3:1-7  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,  traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

Verse 5; having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Personally I see the Aletheia, or I could say that I would classify this (God’s truth) as the Gospel of the Kingdom.

The Chief Cornerstone

And the Gospel of the Kingdom must be solely based or founded upon the chief cornerstone Jesus Christ! Again, Paul teaches about this dynamic in the book of Ephesians. So please allow me to outline his ideas and Paul’s doctrine about the truth from this passage.

Ephesians 2: 19-22; Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together (past tense) for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (KJV).

Many people in the Body of Christ today believe and actively practice  a “feel good gospel” or a gospel that is based upon human reasoning and human logic (not on the power of the Spirit). Their understanding is not founded on the real Truth (the Aletheia), the Spirit of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. A gospel like this is soul driven or human concept of the kingdom. This kind of truth or gospel is the logic of the soul or soma. This kind of preaching is not based upon the Holy Spirit, but is based upon man’s logic and human reasoning and intellect (soulish revelation).

Real Salvation

Again; Jesus spoke of this in John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, (Aletheia) and the truth shall make you free."

First free from what? Torment, anxiety, sickness and primarily the wages of sin. Second spiritual death – the Truth (Capitol T Jesus) gives you salvation for your souls. Truth.

We see how Jesus the God man, became flesh and blood (Jesus was fully God, yet He was also fully human) to win our souls for eternity through the real truth (Aletheia) and freedom. Look again John 1:14; And the Word (Logos) became flesh and dwelt (tabernacle) among us, and we beheld His glory (doxa), the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace (Charis) and truth (Greek: Alethea).

So Jesus is actually Truth. He is Salvation in fact the original meaning of the word translated as Jesus us salvation!

Let me outline this for you from the book of Luke.

Luke 1: 26-31; Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

Then the angel said to her (a specific person), "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. Jesus is of Hebrew origin (3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord later translated as Yeshua. names containing Yah derived from YHWH.

There is important biblical truth we can learn here – Aletheia. (4 points actually).

God sends His angels to specific cities.

God sends His angels to specific individuals in the family of God. (Hebrews 1:14; Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?)

God sends His angels to visit the pure of heart and soul. Those who know the real truth.

Visitations of God’s angels occur in the lives of people that have received the favor of God.

Selah!

Here is some history for you…hermeneutically speaking!

Christians, historians, and linguists for the most part reject Yahshua (????) in favor of Yeshua (????) as the original pronunciation, with Jesus as the accepted English transliteration.

The Hebrew Bible  uses Yehoshua (??????????) for Joshua. Tal Han's Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity (2002), notes Yehoshua (?????), and the later Aramaic form Yahshua among many names containing Yah derived from  Yhwh. (Yahweh), in the Bible, the God of Israel or  "Jehovah"  by modern linguists.

Another English spelling variant, Yeshu, occurs in some rabbinical texts, connected with Jesus in the Talmud and is the modern Hebrew spelling of Jesus.

No Other Name

The Truth is that Jesus is the literal truth. Jesus is the Gospel of the Kingdom. Without Jesus there can be no gospel of any relevance or power.

The literal transition of Jesus can actually mean salvation in the original language. The truth is that salvation is available to all who call upon His name freely.

So not only is Jesus the Truth, He is salvation.

Let’s turn out attention to look at Acts 4:10-12 for a moment; "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

"This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." The word here for saved is the Greek word Sozo. Sozo can be translated to mean- healing for your (spirit –pneuma/Soul Psucua/and Body- soma).

It is important that we understand that we do not have to be dogmatic or religious when it comes to praying to and in the Lord’s name. There are some questionable recent teachings that espouse that you need to pronounce the Lord’s name in a very certain way to have your prayers answered?

It does not matter if you pronounce His name perfectly (especially in order to have your prayers answered). Rather what is most important is what is in your heart. Is your heart pure, or are there no critters sitting on the thrones of your soul? Is your soul sanctified? When I say thrones of your soul, I am referring to the chambers or secret places of your heart!

In John 14 Jesus taught us about one important role of the precious Holy Spirit!

John 14:17 "the Spirit (Pneuma) of truth (aletheia), whom the world cannot receive (to catch or discern), because it neither sees (to behold, to consider, or perceive – or discern) Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells (abides)with you and will be in (intermediate between or it can be translated as to be affixed to or within) you.

Again; John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

How can we supernaturally know the truth? How can we learn to discern and know the Lord Jesus? It is a supernatural exchange and a work of the Holy Spirit! This supernatural exchange only comes by investing time in His Word and investing time in His presence (waiting prayer).

The Greek word to know is ginosko. This Greek word that can be translated as to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applications and with many implications (as follow, with others not thus clearly expressed):to be allowed to know, be aware (of) a thing, to feel a thing, to (have) know(-ledge), or perceive a thing…basically to understand something or to know the absolute truth of a matter, ideology, or person;  to be sure or, understand completely.

Allow me to switch gears again for a moment. Allow me to encourage you to guard your hearts in this reguard.

Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: ????????? gnostikos, "having knowledge", from ?????? gn?sis, knowledge) is a modern name for a variety of ancient religious ideas and systems, originating in Hellenistic Judism and the Jewish Christian Mellinea in the first and second century AD. Many of these systems believed that the material world is created by an emanation or 'works' of a lower god that was trapping the divine influence within the human body. This divine spark could be liberated by gnosis man’s knowledge or revelation, spiritual knowledge acquired through direct experience. Gnosticism is not a single system, and the emphasis on direct experience allows for a wide variety of teachings.

Gnosticism does not deal with "sin", only ignorance. Gnostics believe that to achieve salvation, one needs only gnosis (superior knowledge or revelation of the truth).

Allow me to declare this to you (I consider this one of my life verses):

1Cornthians 2:2; For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. My ideas have been wrong at times. I am not perfect. My knowledge of the truth is not perfect either. I have made some mistakes and I do not look at the Kingdom in the same way that I did fifteen years ago. My understanding of the Word of God has developed and I understand the Truth in a different light in some regards.  So just eat the meat and spit out the bone!

The Gnostic ideas and systems flourished in the Mediterranean world in the second century AD. Gnostic ideas also heavily influenced the early Christian movements; specifically the church’s planted in and around the nation of Greece. 

I find it rather disconcerting to “know” that there are mystical gnostic teachings and ideas alive and will in the church today!

Christian movements of today are not immune to being influenced by these kinds of false doctrines.

A major question in scholarly research is the qualification of Gnosticism, based on the study of its texts, as either an interreligious phenomenon or as an independent religion.

The Gnostic’s were basically an idolatrous cult that worshiped knowledge and superior revelation over God. The revelation and knowledge of man replaced the grace and simple truth of the Gospel. Knowledge and human revelation cannot save you. Only the blood of Jesus and the power of the Cross can save a soul.

We need to seek the real Truth (Aletheia) and not knowledge which only puffs one up. Again, revelation or human knowledge or wisdom can become an idol within your heart and this idol of knowledge may sit upon the throne of one’s soul. And, this will defile a person and separate one from God. I find that a terrible proposition and fearful concept. Again the Apostle Paul clearly teaches how our human knowledge and reasoning can defile a believer in 1 Corinthians.

1Cornthians 8:1; Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love (agape or the God kind of love) edifies. 

Some theologians believe that the Corinth had a large Gnostic population and it is possible that Paul is directly referring to Gnosticism in 1st Cornthians, but alas I digress!

Allow me to digress further. There is a lot of Gnosticism rearing up in the modern church that has perverted the gospel of Jesus Christ (The Truth).

I will specifically mention to you that hyper grace theology is based on supposed “superior knowledge” or “personal revelation” from the gospels and or the epistles of the New Testament. This is exactly what the Gnostic’s did in the 1st and 2nd century.  Hyper grace is a divisive and destructive perversion of the gospel (little g) based on human knowledge, ideas and reasoning.  Hyper grace is not founded upon the Truth (Jesus Christ). Be careful! Any doctrine that replaces or claim to supersede the teaching of Jesus and the Gospels therein is dangerous.

Along this line here are a couple of scriptures concerning the real Truth to consider.

Romans 1:18; For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Romans 1:25; who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

The centrality of the Cross of Calvary and the Gospel based upon the Chief Cornerstone of our faith must be the foundation of any Christian’s faith in God.

Here is the  bedrock of my faith in Christ:

1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 1  And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.

2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit (Pneuma) and of (Dunamis) power,

5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

In conclusion allow me to say:

God gives His children the privilege of speaking things into existence, both good and bad. As for me and my house, our word declaration is this (feel free to join us in the prayer of activation):

(Place your hand upon your heart and pray this declaration out loud)!

Kingly Prayer:

God gives His children the privilege of speaking things into existence, both good and bad. As for me, my word declaration is this:

I am truly blessed and highly favored with great, great grace and divine intervention in my life today. I am a king’s kid and a royal priest according to the order of Melchizedek; and I am walking in the FOG, the favor of God! That is who I am. I am more than an overcomer! I am more than a conqueror in Christ! I am going to prosper and be in health even as my soul prospers. Divine health is mine, divine favor is mine. I will grow in the favor with both God and man. I will lack no good thing! I choose to trust in God, and I will rest in the Lord. I will rest in the fact that God cares for me and the Lord shall withhold no good thing from me. He will keep me from evil; and everything that I set my hands to will prosper exponentially, every day, all the time. And I will be diligent to enter into the rest of the Lord every day. Amen!

(Please feel free to appropriate this word confession and apply it liberally to your life and circumstances as needed. In fact, take two and call me in the morning.) Please feel free to utilize this powerful prayer of covering to help guard your heart and soul.

Prayer of Covering

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your blood. I cover myself in Your blood right now, and I thank You that Your blood is the most powerful substance upon the earth. Thank You, Lord, for washing me and totally forgiving me from by sins with Your own blood. Lord Jesus, today I recognize that by the power of Your blood, I have been transformed into a king and royal priest. And I thank You, Lord, that these privileges open up the doors and gates of the heavenly realms and make a way for me to minister to my God and Father. Thank You, Lord Jesus, because You have redeemed us to God by Your blood. Thank You, Lord, that I may ascend into the hill of the Lord. As I mature and learn to walk in greater levels holiness and purity each day, I ask that You would give me further revelation of what it means to bind on earth and that I might also learn how to loose Your Kingdom upon the earth and understand the mysteries of what will be loosed in heaven. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

 

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This article was written by Kevin Basconi, for

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