Christians throughout the world celebrate Easter every year, and during that time they consider The Cross. Unfortunately that is the only time when most Christians consider The Cross. I want us to focus our attention anew on the significance of The Cross to the plan and purpose of God. And we will now be dealing with the term "ALL THINGS", and we must note that when the Bible says "all", it means "all". These "all things" are the things of God in the Bible; those things that pertain to His Eternal Plan.

Luke 10:22-24 - ALL THINGS are delivered to Me of My Father. ** These are the "all things" of God that He set forth in the Old Covenant. Now they would ALL be given to The Son to accomplish, and would be made known by Him. The prophets and kings of old never saw this, but Jesus would allow His disciples to. How will He do that?

Luke 18: 31-34 - We go to Jerusalem and ALL THINGS that are written by the prophets concerning The Son of Man shall be accomplished - BY THE CROSS. ** But they didn’t understand until He went to The Cross.

John 19:28 - Jesus knowing that ALL THINGS were now accomplished (by The Cross) that the scripture (all One Word) might be fulfilled... ** But it took Christ in His Resurrection to show them that His death did accomplish the "all things" of God’s plan. Luke 24:25-32 - The disciples needed Christ to show them in ALL the scripture what was written of Him. This is the greatness of The Cross - JESUS FULFILLED ALL THINGS WRITTEN!

John 6:37 - All that The Father giveth shall come to me...I shall lose nothing. **He lost nothing of God’s plan, but accomplished ALL of it!

** THE CROSS IS CENTRAL TO THE "ALL THINGS" OF GOD, BUT THE CROSS DIVIDES THE "ALL THINGS" OF THE OLD FROM THE "ALL THINGS" OF THE NEW.

Colossians 1:15-19 - (speaking of The Son) - by Him were ALL THINGS created...by Him and for Him, He is before ALL THINGS; He brings them together. **This is speaking of the "all things" of God set forth in the scripture that speak of HIM - types, prophecies, shadows, people, etc. They were ALL pointing to Him. He was the reason for them, but they would only be fulfilled when He came - and died.

All things of Old

Now by The Cross (His death, burial and resurrection) the "ALL THINGS" of God are IN HIM - not pointing to Him, but accomplished and found in Him.

IN All things - that HE might

CHRIST Have the preeminence

** Everything now of Spiritual Life that was spoken of in the old is IN HIM: they are NOT pointing to Him, but are NOW accomplished BY THE CROSS and secure IN HIM. Everything that was spoken of in the scripture - Life, Salvation, restoration, deliverance, forgiveness, peace, joy, glory - ALL IN HIM!!

Let us now briefly consider just a few of the "all things" in the Old Testament and see how they were pointing to Christ and fulfilled by Him at The Cross.

Joseph - (Genesis 37-50) - he was beloved of Father, hated by brethren, cast into pit, falsely accused, put in prison, exalted to the throne and saves his brethren. The "story" of Joseph’s life is just what happened to Jesus - death, burial, resurrection.

Tabernacle and Temple - All spiritual life revolved around the activities in the Tabernacle/Temple. But at His death the veil is rent, and the whole Temple system is destroyed. (John 2:19-21), and He raises up a NEW Temple, a New Body. Now everything the Temple system spoke of is found in Him - sacrifice, light, bread, worship, etc. - but it is all New, spiritual. Now there is no physical temple (Revelation 21:22) in the heavenly Jerusalem, for the Lord God Almighty and The Lamb are the temple of it! All things fulfilled in Christ!

Prophecy - just think of Isaiah 53 - written more than 700 years before Christ detailing the crucifixion and God’s plan by The Cross. The prophets saw the sufferings of Christ prophetically, but did not understand this. This was only made known through The Cross - His death, burial and resurrection.

** Remember - re: prophecy - Revelation 19:10 says the testimony OF JESUS is the spirit of prophecy.

Righteousness - under the Old Covenant righteousness was by clothes, food, days, keeping the Law; but these only SPOKE of a righteousness and never achieved it. 2 Corinthians 5:21 - He was made sin for us and died, so we could be made the righteousness of God IN HIM. Now, 1 Corinthians 1:30 - of Him are ye IN CHRIST JESUS, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. "All things" in HIM.

Glory - in the Old Covenant it was a fire, cloud; it came and went. This all spoke of God’s presence, but it always faded. But now that glory HAS COME! Colossians 1:27 - Christ IN YOU, the hope of glory. By the work of The Cross the glory that Israel hoped for and expected has come - and Christ is God’s glory, and He is come in His Temple - to remain!!

May we come to see "all things" in the scripture fulfilled by Christ and The Cross, and now look for "all things" IN HIM!!

LESSON 2

We are continuing to consider the greatness of Christ and The Cross to the Eternal Plan of God, and to help us understand The Word of God. We have said that "all things" in the Old Covenant were pointing to Christ and His death, burial and resurrection, and would be fulfilled by Christ on The Cross, where He said "It is finished." We want to look at that further now.

John 18 - Jesus before Pilate in the hall of judgment. Vs. 36-38. Vs. 37 - For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto The Truth. Everyone that is of The Truth heareth My voice... WHAT IS TRUTH? ** Notice this whole conversation is leading up to The Cross. This is why He came and this is where He would bear witness unto The Truth. The issue we want to consider is: WHAT IS TRUTH? We know that Jesus said in John 14:6, "I AM The Truth..." so we understand that THE TRUTH IS A PERSON, not a fact; but it is THE PERSON OF CHRIST IN RELATION TO THE CROSS. HE WAS BORN TO BEAR WITNESS UNTO The Truth. It is at The Cross that The Truth is made known, because Christ crucified is The Truth of the "all things" of God.

Pilate asked: What is Truth? The Greek definition is: "the unveiled reality lying at the basis of, and agreeing with the appearance. It is the manifest, TRUE ESSENCE of a matter, the reality pertaining to an appearance." Taking that definition into what Jesus said in John 18: He came to this earth to reveal the reality of everything that God had planned and spoken. By Him and The Cross, He would manifest (make known) what everything else spoke of.

**Before Christ and The Cross, all things spoken were types and shadows of Him and His death, burial and resurrection; but when He came, died and rose, He revealed the reality of them in Himself. John 1:17 - Law was given by Moses, but grace and TRUTH CAME BY JESUS CHRIST.** The things spoken before were true things, but they were NOT The Truth. They were a testimony of The Truth to come. The Truth came by Jesus Christ, and by The Cross He bore the witness of what they spoke of - The Truth. **And He is The True and Faithful Witness! (Revelation 1:5) These true things were hidden before The Cross - in the Testimony, in the prophecies, in the Tabernacle, in the Law; but they were revealed in Truth at The Cross. Christ crucified manifested all they spoke of. Now they are not hidden, but revealed - IN CHRIST CRUCIFIED.

Paul understood this by revelation, and that was Paul’s gospel. 1 Corintians 2:2 - he determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ crucified. Vs. 7-8 - This is the hidden wisdom of God. The mystery became known when they crucified The Lord of Glory.

Paul talks about this mystery. A Mystery in The Bible can only be revealed by God. Man has been trying to solve God’s mystery, but only God can reveal The Mystery, and He has done so in Christ crucified.

Ephesians 3:5 - In other ages this was NOT made known as it IS NOW revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by The Spirit. That brings us to The Spirit. The Spirit reveals - what? THE TRUTH!! HE IS THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH! John 16:12-15 - When The Spirit of Truth comes He shall glorify Christ, He will guide you into ALL TRUTH. The reading goes on in verses 16-33 where Jesus speaks of His death and resurrection.

** The Truth that The Spirit reveals is Christ and Him crucified, and The Spirit of Truth reveals that IN US and to us so we may bear witness of that. (Vs. 12)

Christ and The Cross is where The Truth is manifested, so we have to bring the "all things" of the Old Covenant to Christ crucified to be fully understood. If HE IS the reality underlying everything that God had spoken of, then these things can only truly be understood by The Cross. And now "IN CHRIST" we have to understand "all things" in the reality of The Cross - IN TRUTH.

If you don’t bring everything to Christ at The Cross, you just have a lot of "true things" but NO Truth! This explains what is happening in the Church today: we preach true things that are in the scripture, but we all interpret them according to our own ideas (heaven, holiness, days, prophecies). But there is very little Truth in The Church. True things have separated THE Church into churches. And you can tell whether there is a sharing of "true things" or The Truth" because it is only The Truth that changes lives.

John 8:31-32 - Continue in my word (He spoke of The Cross)...and ye shall know THE TRUTH, and THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE. True things don’t make us free; quoting the Bible doesn’t make us free, but knowing Christ in His death, burial and resurrection DOES - and it is the only thing that does!

May we seek to know and bear witness of The Truth of Christ. This was the strength of Paul’s ministry. Romans 1:16-17 - I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (and Him crucified); for it is the power of God unto salvation...therein is the righteousness of God REVEALED..."

CHRIST CRUCIFIED is The Truth revealed - HE IS OUR GREAT SALVATION!

LESSON 3

In our last lesson we saw that The Truth - the UNVEILED REALITY that is underlying everything of God’s dealings with man was made known by Christ at The Cross - by His death, burial and resurrection. The Cross caused a change in God’s dealings - from "true things" to "The Truth".

Hebrews 1:1-3 - God spake one way in time past...but at THE END of those days He has spoken unto us IN SON. He is the heir of ALL THINGS. ** "Time past" ended at The Cross. True "words" were spoken in time past, but now God speaks in ‘WORD" - His Son - in Truth. (John 1 - In the beginning was The Word...The Word became flesh. Jesus became the manifestation of God’s thought, mind, will. He made it known to man by His birth, death, resurrection.) **WE MUST COME TO KNOW GOD’S WORD AND TRUTH IN THE PERSON OF HIS SON, for they are One, and this knowing is to work IN US. John 17:17 - Sanctify (separate, cleanse) them through thy truth: THY WORD IS TRUTH. Note: not "words" or "true"; but One Living Word - Christ by The Cross, and that Truth is to be manifested in us.

John 8:31-32 - Let’s look again at "The Truth shall make you free." If you continue in MY WORD... We must continue and remain in God’s thought to The Cross, but not having The Cross as a "true thing" or Christ as a "true thing", but coming to the REALITY of His death, burial and resurrection being experienced in our hearts, our minds, our lives. ** We can only know (experience; this is not "fact" knowledge) HIM in the power of HIS resurrection as we are made conformable to HIS death. (Philippians 3:10) **Note this is not "my" death and "my" resurrection - but HIS - This is Truth, and this shall make us free.

Now we are going to look at some scripture to help us see what we shall be free of by knowing The Truth. Note that in these scriptures there must be a revealing of The Truth (a spiritual, God-given understanding; not learning facts about Jesus), and all of these are associated with The Cross.

Galatians 6:14-15 - I glory only in The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom (Paul sees The Cross and The Lord as One) the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For IN CHRIST JESUS nothing matters but a New Creature.

** The natural world and the religious world still keep us bound until we determine to know nothing save CHRIST and Him crucified - not religious things about Him - but HIM. * This is a continual working in us - death, burial - to all of us, the old. Then it is only Christ in resurrection. It is only by the working of His death, burial and resurrection in us that we are made free from the world and the whole earth realm.

Hebrews 2:14-15 - Through death, He destroyed him that had the power of death, the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. *The Truth of His death is that we died with Him! Now we no longer have to fear death. He has already conquered death!

Romans 6 - * Note here the need for "knowing" - Know ye not? Do you not comprehend? This is the problem in the Church - we don’t know The Truth! Vs. 5-7 - If we have been planted (as one) in the likeness of HIS death, we shall be also in the likeness of HIS resurrection (think of that!)... the body of sin might be destroyed that we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is free from sin. But this is not just when we "die" our natural death, but HIS death. Vs. 11 - Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. * Sin and death have no power over those who know Him in Truth.

Romans 7:4-6 - Knowing The Truth we are become dead to the law by the body of Christ that we become married to another, He who is raised from the dead...we should bring forth fruit unto God. * Now we are delivered from the law so we can serve in newness of Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. (Oldness of true words vs. Newness of Spirit Word - Life!) The Law (true things) could not do that.

Romans 8:2-4 - The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. How? By God sending His Son in the flesh to condemn sin and fulfil the righteousness of the law - in us. *We are partakers of what He did by The Cross, and by The Cross we are made free from the law of sin and death.

We can see by these scriptures that knowing The Truth - Christ crucified makes us free from the world (earth realm - self, flesh), death, sin and the law. As we know Christ in this way we can live in The Truth. Galatians 5:1-9 - Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ (in His death, burial and resurrection) hath made us free. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever is justified by the law... who did hinder you that ye should not obey THE TRUTH? A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

**WE MUST COME TO KNOW THE TRUTH AND KEEP ONLY THE TRUTH - IN CHRIST!

LESSON 4

We want to pick up now where we left off in our last lesson in Galatians 5:7 - ... who did hinder you that you should not OBEY THE TRUTH? And I hope we are seeing that "The Truth" is not a set of rules that we try to believe and quote and follow, but The Truth is the reality of The Finished Work of Christ by The Cross. Note the terms: "reality", and "Finished Work". This is not what He will do, but what He has already done by His death, burial and resurrection, and in Truth, everything that He WILL do, is based upon what He HAS done. That is why Christians need to comprehend the Work of The Cross, and live in the reality of it - NOW! We must obey The Truth of it!

We "obey The Truth" by daily functioning in the reality of what The Cross has done. Paul came to comprehend The Truth and his life manifested the reality of it. Everything he did was out from this reality. The question for us is: are these just scriptures to us, or are we obeying The Truth in our daily lives? Let’s look at a few scriptures and note that they all refer to the work of The Cross - The Truth.

- Galatians 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ... I live, yet not I, but CHRIST...the life I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God. So - is our life Christ?

- 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 - If one died for all, then were all dead..they which live should not live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and rose again. So - do we live unto ourselves?

- Ephesians 2:5-10 - We WERE quickened, raised and seated as One in Christ Jesus...that we would show the riches of His grace...ye are saved through faith; not of yourselves...not of works...we are His workmanship...we should walk (live) in this Truth. So - are we living in this understanding of what He has done?

- Colossians 3:1-4 - If ye then BE risen with Christ (not "going to be"- The Truth is we are NOW risen with Him), seek things above...set your affections above...for YE ARE DEAD, and your life is hid with Christ in God. So - where are our affections? Do we live as those whose own life is hid with Christ in God?

These scriptures all speak of the understanding that is The Truth - the REALITY of Christ and The Cross. This is what God planned and purposed, and set forth in type through the Old Covenant; and this was unveiled and manifested by Jesus and The Cross. **We can not change The Truth; we cannot add to The Truth or take away from The Truth, for it is the REALITY of God, made known to man. We must come to comprehend The Truth, and daily walk in it, because this is real for us NOW - IN CHRIST!!

So the question in Galatians was: who did hinder you from obeying The Truth? And we can see the answer clearly set forth in Colossians 2:4-7 - MAN can beguile you with enticing words. As ye have received Christ Jesus The Lord (in and by The Cross), so walk ye in Him. Vs. 8-13 - Beware lest ANY MAN spoil you through philosophy and deceit, after the tradition of MEN, after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ...ye are complete in HIM. (Too much of Christianity today is after the philosophy of man, and not after Christ - The Cross.)... ye were circumcised by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him, quickened and raised with Him. (That’s what The Truth did for us.) Vs. 14-17 - He took every law to His Cross and triumphed over all principalities. Let NO MAN judge you in meat, drink, days... These are the shadows (types); but the body (substance, essence - TRUTH) of Christ. ** "Man" will take you back to those things that spoke of Him, but by The Cross The Truth has come! Now we are to obey The Truth - not the types and shadows that were pointing to Him. Vs. 18-23 - Let NO MAN beguile you to vain fleshly worship, (much of our worship comes out of our imaginations of what we think the scriptures say or what we think God wants) and not holding THE HEAD... ** We must give Christ His rightful place - as Head! If we are dead with Christ (that’s The Truth of The Cross), why are we subject to ordinances and the commandments and doctrines of MEN? These things have a shew of worship and humility, but don’t change our lives!!

We can see from these scriptures that it is MAN - meaning our natural understandings and traditions that hinder us from obeying The Truth of Christ’s Work on The Cross. They are mainly basing their teachings on "true things", but never bringing them to the REALITY of The Truth, and therefore man, self, the world remains - and we are deceived.

May we desire to come to the knowledge of The Truth, and obey The Truth every day by living in the reality of The Cross. ** This is NOT learning true things, but learning THE TRUTH. Here is a serious warning for us. 2 Timothy 3:1-7 - ...MEN shall be... having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (God’s power is The Cross!)...they creep into houses and lead captive silly women... ** EVER LEARNING AND NEVER ABLE TO COME TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH. Vs. 8 - they resist the truth...

May that not be said of us, but may we set our hearts upon God revealing His Son, The Truth, The Cross, Christ crucified in us, so we can daily walk in The Truth.

Lesson 5

We are continuing to discuss The Cross of Christ - His death, burial and resurrection, and its significance to the "all things" of God. We all know "true things" about Christ and The Cross, but we must see Christ crucified AS The Truth - the manifest reality that was behind all that God has done and will do concerning man. We are not so much interested in "the truth ABOUT the Cross", but that Christ and The Cross IS The Truth.

**The Cross (Christ crucified, The Truth) is central and eternal to God’s plan and is essential to understanding the scripture: all things in the Old Testament were foreshadowing it; all things in the New Testament are the result of, and the reality of it. The Truth (Christ crucified) makes all things understood. Paul’s ministry was to declare The Truth - Christ crucified. (2 Cor. 2:2)

Ephesians 3:8-11 - The mystery was hidden, but now is to be made known BY THE CHURCH ... according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. ** The Cross was and is what God does everything "according to" - THE CROSS GOVERNS EVERYTHING! (Ephesians is full of this word "according": God works according to this plan. See Eph:1:4,5,7,9,11,19. All is according to The Truth. And the first chapter of Ephesians ends with Christ risen from the dead and He as head of the Church.) **God’s Eternal purpose in Christ was manifested by The Cross, The Truth, and we now as The Church, His Body, are to make The Truth known - we are to be living BY and IN The Truth. God’s Truth is Eternal!

Look at Ecclesiastes 3:14-15 - and as we read this, let us see The Cross, The Truth, The Person of Christ crucified, and the significance of it.

- What God does shall be forever. ** The Cross is not in history, but in eternity! The Work of Christ crucified is eternal - our eternal state is dependent on our relationship to Christ’s Work on The Cross!

- Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it. Isn’t this what "man’s" religion has done? (Revelation 22:18-19 warns about adding and taking away from the words of this book - plagues and losing part in the book of life and the holy city.) Trying to change "The Truth" leads to death! Man makes religious "truths" and adopts them to this world and this generation, but God’s Truth does not change.

- That which has been is NOW, what is to be has already been; and God REQUIRES that which is past. God’s Truth is forever - it NEVER changes. ** Christ and Him crucified IS, and WAS and IS TO COME. The Cross was always there in God’s "present", and will always be. God requires what had already been done. All things are dictated by The Cross. God requires that, since The Cross was foreordained to accomplish God’s Eternal Purpose in Christ. (1 Corin. 2:7 - ordained before the world.)

Now the scripture makes more sense as we see The Cross governing God’s dealings through the Old Testament - He "required" it.

- With Abraham - "Get thee out". He must leave the old; Abram and Sarai’s names change (denotes a new nature); put out Ishmael; Isaac the promised seed/son is sacrificed - obedient unto death, then the covenant is confirmed. (Genesis 12-22)

- With Joseph - Beloved of Father, sold, left for dead, wrongly accused, put in prison, finally exalted to have power over all. (Genesis 37-47)

- With Job - all of "his" life is taken away; he finally sees his own self righteousness and abhors himself. Then God restores - but much more!!

- With Daniel and the three Hebrew boys - they were all faithful to God. God took them through the death (lion’s den and the fiery furnace). Then God was glorified, as who He was, and they were exalted.

- With Jonah - he was disobedient to the will of God for himself and the Gentiles, so God took him through the death, burial and resurrection using the fish. *It is interesting that in Matthew 12:38-41 Jesus told the Pharisees that this was the SIGN that would be given to them - AS Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, SO shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth. The Cross governed God’s dealing with Jonah.

- With Lazarus - (John 11) Lazarus IS dead. Jesus didn’t heal him, but because he believed, Lazarus was raised IN the resurrection: I AM The Resurrection.

- With Saul - Religious, zealous Saul was struck down as dead; after THREE days (death, burial, resurrection) he receives his sight, arose, was baptized (Acts 9)

These are all types of The Work of The Cross that Jesus fulfilled through His death, burial and resurrection. He completed all that God required in His Eternal Plan. Now, if God "required it" in the shadows, So MUCH MORE does He require it in us, who are in The Truth! We are living in the reality, and should be manifesting the Work of The Cross - daily.

1 John 2:7-8 - ...which thing is true in Him and in you... Why? Because the darkness IS PAST, and THE TRUE LIGHT (Christ, The Truth) now shineth! Where? IN US!!

LESSON 6

In the last lesson we were seeing that all that God has done is in accordance with His Eternal Plan in Christ; and that required The Cross (His death, burial and resurrection) (See Ecclesiastes 3:14-15 - This is forever, and cannot be added to or taken from.)

The Cross governed all of the types and the shadows in the Old Covenant, and was made manifest - seen to be The Truth of all things by Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection. And now today, in the reality of The Cross God REQUIRES US to walk in The Truth - that means to LIVE, conduct ourselves, demonstrate through our behavior what The Cross has done - not just to Jesus, but TO US.

2 John 1-4 - The Truth dwells in us, and shall be with us forever. God’s people should be walking in The Truth. Vs. 7 - many deceivers are in the world. Vs. 8-11 - we must abide in the DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. That is The Cross, The Truth revealed by His death, burial, resurrection. ** Any other doctrine is antichrist (a substitute for The Truth; that is the Lie.)

3 John 3-4 - The Truth is in thee, even as you walk in The Truth. ** "in" = one with The Truth; no mixture; ALL that we say and do is one with the reality of Christ and The Finished Work of The Cross. ** God NOW requires that we live/walk in The Truth because The Truth CAME in The Person of His Son, Christ Jesus!

1 John 1:1-7 - That which was from the beginning we have heard (remember Ecc. 3?), seen and handled; that life was MANIFESTED. Vs. 6 - Now, if we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie, and DO not The Truth. We now must walk in the light as He is in The Light. And we can do that because of The Cross (the blood cleansing us).

Because that Light, The True Light, The Truth has come, the darkness is past, and we are to walk in The Light and manifest The Light/Life/Truth - that is Christ!! This is the ministry of The Church.

2 Corinthians 4:1-2 - We have renounced the hidden things, not handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by MANIFESTATION of The Truth... Vs. 5 - We preach not ourselves (man is a lie! Only Jesus is The Truth!) Vs. 6-7 - God shined this light, This Truth in our hearts... ** What does God require as the manifestation of The Truth? VS. 10-12 - ALWAYS bearing about the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body ... death worketh in us, but life in you. THE CROSS, THE TRUTH IS ALWAYS AT WORK IN US!!

This is what is required of His Body: should not His Body manifest The Truth (reality) of His death, burial, resurrection? That’s why The Church is here on this earth - to MANIFEST The Truth!

Ephesians 4:17-25 - The Church, The New Man in Christ is NOT to walk as a non believer who has the understanding darkened. (Note a contrast between darkness and light, vanity and understanding. The Truth is The Light and comes to bring understanding so we can walk in Light). **... But you have not so learned CHRIST (not "things" about Him, but Him); if ye have heard him and have been taught by Him, as The Truth is in Jesus. He is One with The Truth, He is The Truth; all that He did/does is out of The Truth - the reality of The Cross. So, what should we have learned? Vs. 22 - That ye put off the old man, which is corrupt...and ye put on The New Man, which after God is created in righteousness and TRUE holiness. ** That’s what The Cross has done!! The rest of chapter 4 through chapter 6 then gives us the way we should now live as The New Man - as The Truth is in Jesus.

How can that be required of us? Ephesians 5:8 - For ye WERE sometimes darkness, but NOW are ye light in the Lord; WALK as children of light. By The Truth as it is in Jesus (The Cross) now being worked IN US - daily, deeper, constantly, we can walk in that Truth.

Colossians 3:1 - If ye be risen with Christ (The Truth says you are!) Vs. 3 - ye are dead (The Truth says you are!) Now - Vs. 5 - mortify (bring to death) your members upon the earth. Vs. 7 - you once lived in them. Vs. 8-11 - But NOW ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and HAVE put on The New Man (The Truth says you have!) This is Christ, Who is all and in all!

If we are learning Christ, The Truth, and the work of The Cross is being wrought in our hearts, we will walk in The Truth - in all things. Colossians 3:17 - And whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do ALL in the name (the nature, the Life, The Truth) of The Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and The Father by Him. That is walking IN THE TRUTH.

LESSON 7

In our last lesson we were seeing that God wants us to "walk in The Truth". That means we are to live and function in the reality of The Finished Work of The Cross - we are to MANIFEST that reality.

Unfortunately most Christians try to walk in the "true things" of the scriptures, and we fail when we do, because there is no reality in the "true things" - only The Truth is the reality, and the substance of The Truth is Christ crucified. Two examples: the "streets of gold" and the "mansions" we read about in the Bible. The REALITY of these can only be found in Christ - we WALK in a divine understanding, only ONE way of Life (not streetS); and now we are where He abides. Anything else is our vain imagination, and will not cause us to be changed inwardly. ** Only The Truth changes us.

Our problem is we try to understand the scripture in our natural understanding and by the natural realm, but that is NOT The Truth.

1 Corinthians 2:9-16 - Eye...ear (natural elements) have not heard the things God HATH (already done) prepared... God hath revealed them by His Spirit... We have received not the spirit of the world, but The Spirit which is of God: that we might KNOW the things that are freely given to us of God. ** The Spirit reveals what God has prepared - The Truth; the mystery is now revealed (Vs. 2,6-8 - Christ crucified). If we are born of The Spirit we are to receive The Truth revealed by The Spirit. Only then can we WALK IN THE TRUTH - The Spirit will enable us to do that.

When was The Spirit given? John 7:38-39 The Spirit would be given AFTER Jesus was glorified; when He was received back up to The Father, having FINISHED His Work by The Cross; His death, burial and resurrection.

** This was the message that was declared by Peter on the day of Pentecost: Acts 2:16-17 - This is what Joel spoke of...My Spirit on all flesh... But, Peter declares CHRIST!! Vs. 21-24, 32-36 - that same Jesus is both Lord and Christ! By His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus PROVES He is Lord and Christ. He NOW is glorified and The Spirit IS COME, and that is how The Church is born (vs. 42-47. THE CHURCH IS BORN IN THE TRUTH! (Sadly most Christians are only "taught" that the day of Pentecost was when The Spirit caused them to "speak in tongues". That is a true thing, but not The Truth!)

* Now The Spirit of Truth is come, for He has been released by The Truth (Christ crucified and raised) now to teach us The Truth.

John 16 - Jesus promised The Spirit. Vs. 12-15 - The Spirit of Truth (He’s not just "The Spirit", but The Spirit of Truth (the reality unveiled and made known) will guide you into ALL TRUTH (so that you can walk as One with The Truth). He will SHOW you (reveal the sure things to come - what God hath prepared), He will glorify Me, He will receive of Mine and reveal them to you.

But what is The Truth that He will show us? The Spirit will show us THE CROSS/CHRIST CRUCIFIED, AND OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THAT. John 14:16-20 - The Spirit of Truth may abide with you forever...shall be in you... At that day (light of Truth) ye shall KNOW that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you. This is heaven!; our relationship with The Father in The Son. How? By The Cross! That is The Truth as it is in Jesus, and The Truth that The Spirit will reveal.

**This RELATIONSHIP is what The Spirit reveals. Man doesn’t reveal Truth; only The Spirit of Truth can. Man (natural understanding, flesh) has brought "the lie". 1 John 2:18-29 - you have the anointing (vs. 20,27), The Spirit of Truth, you know ALL THINGS. You do not need (natural) man to teach you. The anointing, The Spirit of Truth teaches you of all things, and IS TRUTH, and is no lie. The Spirit of Truth has taught us The Truth by revealing Christ crucified. Now it is not we who live, but Christ. By this teaching we can abide in Him, walk in Him, live IN THE TRUTH.

The problem is there is too much "natural" teaching in the Church today. We are to be taught by The Spirit, Who is now come, and The Spirit will teach The Truth - Christ crucified, and YOU crucified, buried and raised with Him. **This is how we can "try" the spirit, and this is the only way we can walk in The Truth.

Man’s "natural" teachings have separated The Church, caused divisions, stunted the growth in Truth of believers; we are still children with envy, strife, we walk as men ( 1 Corinthians 3). But The Church is to grow up and walk as The Body of Christ - in Truth. This is what the ministry OF TRUTH is for in The Church. Ephesians 4:12-16 - till we all come in the UNITY of the faith, of the knowledge (The Truth) of The Son of God...unto fulness of Christ: That we be no more children tossed to and fro by doctrines, by the sleight of MEN (who did hinder you from obeying The Truth? MEN!) Whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But SPEAKING THE TRUTH in love, may grow up into Him in all things.

The ONLY way The Body will grow up into Him in all things is by speaking THE TRUTH in love. That is Christ crucified, and seeing all things in the reality of that Finished Work. Man’s doctrines deceive us and keep us as children, separated and walking in darkness. May we all desire to allow The Spirit to teach us THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS, and so edify The Body in love.

LESSON 8

We have been speaking about The Church walking in The Truth and that we would no longer be children who are deceived. *This is so important because The Church is the vessel on this earth who is to manifest The Truth, but if we do not know The Truth and walk in The Truth, we are the ones who are perpetuating the Lie, and deceiving others.

So - what is The Church to do? Ephesians 4:15 - But speaking THE TRUTH IN LOVE, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. **The answer to our being children, tossed to and fro by man’s doctrines is speaking The Truth in love so we grow up into Him in all things. *NOTE: This is not "US growing up"; but us growing up INTO HIM in everything; that we are perfected in Him, that we understand all things IN HIM, that HE is the substance of all things to us; that His nature, character, Life becomes what we are. When we speak The Truth (Christ crucified) in love to The Church, His Life becomes manifest in us, because the nature of The Truth is His Life; His Life manifests The Truth - the reality of The Cross.

**This is the only way we will grow up into Him. Paul desired this for The Church. Galatians 4:19 - My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until CHRIST be formed in you. It is this Christ, The Truth - Christ crucified who now must be formed IN US ( a continual, inner working, transforming us and conforming us into HIS image, HIS NATURE in us.)

This is not done by "learning true things about Jesus" but by Christ being revealed (unveiled as The Truth, the reality of God’s Finished Work) in me. (Galatians 1:15-16). Only when Christ crucified as The Truth is revealed IN US will we preach Him, and not ourselves. But we will preach Him and live in Him AS our very Life, and grow up IN HIM in all things.

So, we have been seeing that The Truth is a Person and that Person is Christ and Him crucified, but we must understand that a person has a NATURE, and it is the nature of The Truth, the nature of The Person of Christ crucified that is now by The Spirit at work in us. And it wasn’t just what Jesus did, or what was done to Him that was so important, but it was His NATURE, THE NATURE OF TRUTH that pleased The Father. And now, by The Cross, Peter says that we are partakers of the DIVINE NATURE (2 Peter 1:4) and Hebrews 12:10 says The Father’s chastening of us is so we might be partakers of His holiness. **The nature of man could not please God. That is why we must be born again, and thereby receive a NEW NATURE, that is in fact the nature of Christ crucified. This is the nature that pleases God. This nature is the nature of The Truth, and this revealing is what opens up this Life and the scriptures to us.

Revelation 5 - Remember John is declaring The Revelation of JESUS CHRIST (not the future) to The Church; the unveiling, The Truth of Christ, the REALITY of The Work of The Cross. This was to be an encouragement to The Church who was in persecution and in doubt as to what was happening. So what does God do? He takes John in the Spirit and shows him THE TRUTH OF CHRIST. Vs. 2-6 - no man (no natural understanding) can open the book. The Lion has prevailed to open the book, but what is the true nature of the Lion? He is THE LAMB as it had been slain - He is the one with all authority, all knowledge, all fulness of The Spirit. He - the nature of The Lamb - is in the midst of the Throne and the New Creation. Vs. 9 - HE (the Lamb) is worthy, he has redeemed us to God - Thou wast slain (The Truth, Christ crucified)... Vs. 12. - The Lamb slain is worthy to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing. ALL THINGS are in HIM; because of His nature God has exalted Him.

** The TRUTH of The Kingdom of God, of the Throne of God is that the nature of THE LAMB RULES. That nature gives Him all power. This is not man’s way, (man wants to be great in God’s kingdom), but the nature of God’s Kingdom is a laying down of ourselves and becoming the least. (John 10:11 - the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. That’s Christ crucified, The Truth manifested at The Cross.) This is the NATURE of The Truth, the nature of Jesus that fulfilled God’s plan for man at The Cross. And this is the nature that we must seek to be formed in us so we can grow up into Christ in all things.

Philippians 2:3-11 - Let NOTHING be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind... LET THIS MIND (nature, character) BE IN YOU (we can choose not to allow this) which was also in Christ Jesus. The nature of The Truth does not seek His reputation, but humbles Himself and becomes obedient unto death, even the death of The Cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, given Him a name which is above every name...

The Church must LET the mind, nature, character of The Lamb be formed in us. Seeking our own reputation and vain glory keeps us as children and allows divisions and deception. Let us speak and live The Truth (Christ crucified) in love to each other so that the whole Body may grow up and manifest The Head - which is Christ!

LESSON 9

In our lessons we have been making the distinction between the "true things" in the Bible and "The Truth", meaning Christ crucified. In our last lesson we were seeing that there is a NATURE to The Truth. The nature of The Truth, of Christ crucified is the nature of THE LAMB (Revelation 5 - He rules in the midst of the Throne, and HE receives all power, blessing, etc.)

** We Christians speak true things from the Bible (heaven, holiness, etc.), but the question for us is - is the nature of The Truth working in us? When we speak those "true things", do we speak The Truth IN LOVE? Because we must understand the underlying nature of The Truth, of The Lamb - is LOVE. Is HIS LOVE working in us - in all things?

* God must reveal this love to us, because it is NOT man’s thought of love. God MADE KNOWN His Love by The Cross, by Christ crucified.

1 John 4 - John is admonishing the believers to try the spirits that are deceiving, and this letter sets forth CHRIST to the "little children" as THE TRUTH. Over and over again in this letter John brings in God’s love.

Vs. 9-10 - In this was MANIFESTED the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world...to be the propitiation for our sins (to die on The Cross). ** Therefore...Vs. 11 - If God so loved us, we ought to love one another.

1 John 3:16-19 - Hereby we PERCEIVE the love of God, because he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down OUR LIVES for the brethren. Vs. 18 - Let us not live in word or tongue (saying "true things"), but in deed and IN TRUTH. And hereby we know that we are of THE TRUTH... ** The nature of The Truth (laying down our lives for one another) ought to be working IN US. You can not be of The Truth and seek your own life, your own reputation, your own good - that is contrary to the NATURE of The Truth.

Jesus told His disciples this in John 15:12-14 - This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

See, The Truth, Christ crucified MANIFESTED this love. We see this admonition, and the contrast between a "true thing" and The Truth in John 13. Vs. 1 - Jesus knew that his hour was come (that was The Cross)...having loved his own which were in the world, he LOVED them unto the end (unto the uttermost, unto the fulfillment of what God planned.) Now, by The Cross, this Love would be seen and this nature of Love - from God, by His Son to us, would fulfill the "all things" of God’s plan. Note Verse 1 - this is at the feast of the Passover. This is the feast characterized by the death of The Lamb. *This feast of The Passover had been celebrated as a "true thing" by the Jews for hundreds of years since they came out of Egypt and were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. But now, during that same traditional feast, Jesus would FULFIL and finish all that The Passover spoke of. How? By He Himself becoming that Lamb, and shedding His Blood on The Cross. **The "true thing" (Passover) is now going to be confronted by THE TRUTH.

What I want us to see is the difference IN NATURE between the disciples who were celebrating this "true thing" as a tradition, and The Truth, which is Christ, The Lamb of God, Who was to manifest God’s Love.

Luke 22:24-27 - There was STRIFE among them as to which of them should be the greatest! Now this was in the "religious" things, and caused problems among them. (See Matthew 20:20-28 and Mark 10:35-45 - James and John want special seats on the right and left of The Lord in glory.) ** They didn’t want "bad" things, they just had no idea of the true nature of Christ and His Kingdom: the chiefest would be the one to serve. That is the nature of The Lamb, the nature of The Truth that Jesus would manifest.

This haughty, prideful, distrusting nature was how the disciples entered into that last Passover feast. We must see the beauty of this: they all come into that room to eat The Passover, but there is no servant waiting for them to wash their feet, and none of them would "stoop" to be lesser than the other. **They were doing the "true thing", but without any NATURE of The Truth! Unfortunately, doesn’t that also describe many Christians?

John 13 - but now the hour had come for not another ceremonial washing that could not purify them inwardly, but The True washing that God’s Word spoke of. And no servant could do that BUT Jesus, God’s Own Son. The True Lamb of God! Vs. 2-16 - Jesus had "all things" in His hands, He rises, lays aside His garments, humbles Himself and cleans them. He did that with the nature of The Lamb, the Love of God, and would manifest that Love and cleansing of them at The Cross. Then Verse 15 - He tells them this is an example - for them to do.

**God’s Love is manifested by His laying down His Life for us. And now we have that Love manifested in us so that we can love one another and show the world who He is! (Vs. 34-35) This can only truly be done by the NATURE of The Lamb, the NATURE of The Truth, which is God’s Love by The Cross being formed IN US.

** Let us not just say "true things"; but allow His Nature to manifest The Truth in us, by The Cross!

LESSON 10

In these studies we are seeking to understand and appreciate our Great Salvation and to walk in it daily. It is a NOW reality by The Truth of The Cross, The Finished Work of Christ Crucified.

We need to understand that our Salvation is a RELATIONSHIP that we have been brought into by Christ, by The Cross - to The Father. (No one comes to The Father but by Me, Jesus said. John 14:6) This is a relationship of LOVE, and we’ve been talking about that because the NATURE of The Truth, of The Cross, of The Lamb, of God Himself is Love, and our Salvation means that we have been brought into that Love, and by Him, by The Cross, we should have that nature of Love worked IN US.

John 17 - This is Jesus’ prayer to His Father before The Cross, and we see this glorious love relationship of Father and Son. Vs. 1 - Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. Vs. 5 - Glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. We marvel at these words of love between The Father and The Son, but then Jesus prays that WE would be brought into this!! ** The Truth is we are One! Vs. 18 - AS Thou has sent me into the world, EVEN SO have I also sent them... (He came as The Lamb to lose His Life, to serve others. Is that how we are?)

Vs. 19-26 - We are sanctified (set apart, cleansed) by The Truth = Christ crucified, that they all may be one; AS Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. **The Church is to show forth this relationship - ONENESS of Father and Son to be working in us, causing us to be one - AS THEY ARE - One Life, One heart, One glory! Vs. 22 - He has given us the same glory He has - that oneness with The Father. - How did this happen? By The Cross - the division, enmity, separation was done away with by His death and burial, and by His resurrection He brings forth One New Man who is reconciled to God and has His very Life, nature, His glory. Vs. 23 - We are to be made perfect in one...that the world will know The Father loves us AS He has loved The Son. Vs. 26 - that the LOVE wherewith Thou hast love Me may be IN THEM, and I in them... Then Jesus goes to Gethsemene, to The Cross!

* The Cross, Christ Crucified was dictated by God’s Love, His Oneness with His Son; and by The Cross WE were brought into that Oneness, that Love. But the NATURE of this Love is obedience, subjection, a willingness to give up the separateness, and allow that Love to be manifested.

This is what Jesus did when He came to this earth. Hebrews 10:4-10 - obedience to God’s will is better than sacrifice for sin. He came to do the will of The Father, and that is the nature of The Lamb, of The Cross, of Christ. We now as His Body are to have that same nature - ONENESS - He in us, and we (swallowed up) in Him.

Philippians 2:5-10 - Let this mind BE in you... This is the mind of The Truth, of God’s Love manifested. BE = a permanent condition. *If we are to be perfected in One, The Cross must work in us - humbling us, that we become obedient unto death - of all of me!!

Let’s just look at a few things Jesus said about this obedience, this oneness of relationship with His Father. This is the mind that we must ask The Lord to BE in us. (We in our own selves are contrary to this.)

- John 10:11 - The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Vs. 15 - As The Father knoweth me, even so I know The Father, I lay down my life for the sheep. Vs. 17 - * note: "love" - therefore doth My Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. (Note in Vs. 16 - other sheep, but ONE fold, and ONE shepherd. How? By laying down His Life!)

- John 5: 19-20 - The Son is totally dependent upon The Father. (Satan’s temptation of Jesus was to get Him to act independently of The Father - Luke 4:1-13, but Jesus refused). * The question for us is, how much do we do on our own, or are we totally dependent on The Father? His Love wants to show His ways and His mind. Are we doing the works of our Father?

- John 7:16-18 - My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent Me...He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory; but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. * Whose doctrine are we speaking? Whose glory are we seeking?

- John 6: 38 - I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. *Is that our motivation? To do His Will - only?

Jesus spoke all of these things that demonstrated His relationship with His Father (John 10:30-39 - I and My Father are One), but the people didn’t understand, and the religious ones wanted to kill Him for it! And they could not understand the words He spoke until this love, this relationship was MANIFESTED by The Cross.

John 8: 26-29 - When ye have lifted up The Son of Man (on The Cross) then shall ye know...He that sent Me is with Me; The Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him. **At The Cross was where The Truth was made known - Who He truly was, and what pleases The Father.

May this mind be in us, that we may be made perfect in One, in The Obedient Son, and experience the fulness of God’s Love.

LESSON 11

We have been seeing that God has made know His plan and purpose for man by Christ Crucified. That is The Truth of the scriptures, and The Church now is to manifest this reality. We saw in our last lesson that this relationship is a ONENESS OF LOVE. **The Truth has determined that we are NOT separate from Christ, but ONE With Him. Ephesians 2:5-7 - ...hath (this is The Finished Work of The Cross; it IS NOW, not "going to be") quickened us together (as One), hath raised ("us" is not in the original) up together (as One), made (us) sit together (as One) in Christ, that (here’s the purpose) He might SHEW His grace in His kindness toward us through Jesus Christ.

The Church is that vessel upon this earth where God is to openly manifest the exceeding riches of His grace. We are to manifest The Truth of Christ Crucified - as the reality of what The Cross has done. ** We are not called to just "talk about" The Truth, or debate The Truth, but we are to LIVE THE TRUTH - living as those who are One with The Crucified, Risen Savior!

2 Corinthians 4:10-12 - ALWAYS bearing in the body (individually and collectively as The Church) the dying...that the life also of Jesus might be MANIFEST in our body...Vs. 15 - all things...that the abundant grace might be to the glory of God. (Dying and life of Christ is The Truth - in us!)

God had always planned to have a people who would show this forth on the earth. Turn to Zechariah 8:1-3 - God has always been jealous for Zion - a people living in God’s full thought. Zion and Jerusalem were physical places in the Old Covenant, but spoke of a RELATIONSHIP God desired to have with a people who are one with Him. Vs. 3 - I am returned to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst...Jerusalem shall be called A CITY OF TRUTH, and the mountain of The Lord a holy one. Vs. 8 - I will bring them and they shall dwell in Jerusalem (City of The King) and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, IN TRUTH and righteousness. **Vs. 16 - These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man THE TRUTH to his neighbor; execute the JUDGMENT OF TRUTH and peace in your gates. Vs. 19 - ...therefore love THE TRUTH and peace.

** This relationship of Zion and Jerusalem has been fulfilled by The Cross as The Church, The Heavenly Jerusalem, who is the dwelling place of God, and we as The Church are to speak The Truth, and execute the judgment of Truth in us (The Truth separates soul and spirit!) This is the "city" - not of buildings, but a people in this relationship - by The Truth, of The Truth, that John saw in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

It is sad that many Christians read Revelation 21 and think this is talking about a physical city of buildings that they will "go to some day", rather than seeing this city in The Truth, as the expression of The Church. *The spiritual expression of all that Jerusalem spoke of is to be seen in a people - The Church manifesting the beauty of Christ. Look at the description of this heavenly (spiritual) city given in Revelation 21:22-27 - no temple... God and THE LAMB are the temple of it. No need of sun or moon... for THE LAMB is the light thereof... no darkness (night). **This City has the nature of THE LAMB, which is The Truth - Christ crucified. These are those who are in The Lamb’s book of Life - His Life coming out from The Cross.

His LIGHT gives His LIFE, which manifests THE TRUTH - this is The City of Truth - The Church, a people living in this relationship. * Light, Life, Truth - all are Christ. This characterizes the nature of The City. Revelation 14:1,4b - A LAMB stood on Mount Sion...thousands having his Father’s name in their foreheads (nature, obedience unto Father)...they follow THE LAMB whithersoever He goes; they were redeemed from among men (delivered from humanity by The Blood of The Lamb) unto God.

The Church will only function as THE CITY OF TRUTH when it comes to know The Truth in ALL THINGS, and executes the judgment of Truth in ALL THINGS. The Truth only comes by The Light, which is Christ revealing Himself to us by The Cross, and giving us His Life, so we no longer walk in darkness. *We sing the song, "At The Cross, at The Cross, where I first saw the light..." and that is so true. The Cross is where The Light, which is The Truth must be seen, and then all things must be seen by that Light.

Remember the man born blind in John 9? Jesus had told them that HE is the light of the world (John 8:12). "He that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have THE LIGHT OF LIFE." This blind man never had light until JESUS opened his eyes. The Pharisees got upset about this, and the man didn’t know how it happened - he only knew that JESUS gave him his sight. When he was put out of the synagogue, Jesus found him and revealed Himself to the man, who now believed and worshiped Him. The Pharisees remained blind to Who Jesus was, but the man knew Christ - he received The Light and The Life, and would speak The Truth as it is in Jesus! It is by knowing The Lamb and following Him that we too receive His Life, and our lives will be changed so we can manifest The Truth on this earth; so we can be The City of Truth!

Lesson 12

In our last lesson we were dealing with God’s desire for a city of Truth, which is a people who are living in the reality of Christ, and this is God’s idea of The Church. We’ll look at that a little more fully now.

Hosea 4:1- The Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is NO TRUTH, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God IN THE LAND... Vs. 6 - My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee. ** It is not just enough to be "in the land" (in Christ, to be "saved"). Once we are, God wants TRUTH IN US. We must come to the knowledge of The Truth, and live daily in that knowledge. Remember: Truth = Christ crucified. If God had a controversy with the people of Israel who only had the types and shadows, what do you think God is looking for in The Church, in those who have been given Life by The Truth, by The Cross?

Revelation 1 - Isn’t this what is being presented to the churches when John was "in the Spirit"? John had The Truth (Christ crucified) revealed to him - AS HE NOW IS. Vs. 13 - in the midst of the seven candlesticks ONE like unto The Son of man. This is the crucified, risen Christ dwelling in the midst (as One) of the Church - not the "historical, flesh Jesus." (Vs. 13-18) This is the I AM...the first and last, he that liveth, was dead, I am alive for evermore.

**CHRIST AS THE TRUTH is revealed in The Church, and then the Church is "judged" according to Who He is. (Revelation 2 and 3) This is not the judging of non-believers, but The Church is judged by Who He is - in them.

Rev. 2:1 - He that holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst

but - Vs. 4 - thou has left thy first love. (Vs. 2 – I know thy works!) We are His!

Rev. 2:8 - the first and the last speaks, who was dead and is alive. I know thy works...Vs. 10- be thou faithful unto death. We can be faithful unto death because The Faithful One is in us who knows our tribulations.

Rev. 2:12 - Saith he which has the sharp sword with two edges (The Living Word, The Truth) Vs. 13- you have held fast my name and not denied my faith BUT Vs. 14 - you hold wrong doctrines which I hate!

Rev. 2:18 - Saith he who has eyes like a flame of fire, feet like fine brass. (He sees and judges all things out from the judgment of The Cross.) Vs. 20 - You suffer Jezebel to teach and seduce my servants to fornicate.

Rev. 3:1 - He that has the seven spirits of God and seven stars. Thou hast a name that thou livest, and are dead...strengthen the things which remain.

Rev. 3:7 - He that is holy, he that is true, He that opens and no man shuts; thou has a little strength, thou has kept my word... I will keep thee from hour of temptation.

Rev. 3:14 - Saith the Amen, THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS, the beginning of the creation of God, but you were neither cold nor hot. Vs. 17- you thought you were rich and had need of nothing, but you were wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.

** CHRIST IS THE STANDARD BY WHICH THE CHURCH IS JUDGED! The Revealed Christ has a controversy with The Church, and rebukes them, but look at Revelation 3:19 - As many as I love I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

The Church has been given Life by The Truth, and He as The Truth is dwelling in our midst. Therefore we must come to the knowledge of that Truth and live by it and in it; and He is in us to enable us to do that. God is not content for us to just talk "true things". Let’s just look briefly at a few of these things in the Bible and bring them to The Cross, so we can walk in The Truth of them. Remember: Christ crucified, The Finished Work of The Cross is the STANDARD by which all things must be considered and judged by The Church.

So, let’s take - YOU - man. How do you consider yourself? What are you? *Most Christians see themselves as "human beings - on their way to heaven." And because they see themselves that way, they live that way... "some day", "a better place." But that is NOT The Truth according to The Cross, and that is NOT the way we should be living. If we do there is no truth in us. The Truth says:

2 Corinthians 5:14-17 - One died for all, then were all dead...they which live should not live unto themselves but unto Him...any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things passed away, ALL THINGS are become new. Do we live as an old creation "waiting to go to Jesus", "waiting to become new", "waiting to go to heaven"? The Truth, The Cross says (Ephesians 2:5,6) we are quickened, raised and seated as One with Christ in heavenly places NOW! Colossians 3:1,3,9-11 says you are risen with Christ, but YOU are dead; you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on The New Man, but this New Man is not "human", but Vs. 11 - CHRIST IS ALL, AND IN ALL.

** Most Christians are waiting "on their resurrection", then THEY shall rise again. They are still seeing this as an event, or a day in the future that will allow "them" to live. But they don’t comprehend that Jesus said "I AM THE (only One) RESURRECTION and THE (only One) LIFE. (John 11:23), and that by believing in Him, we are already raised up into HIS LIFE. Because He lives, we shall live as He lives. *You can’t look for a Resurrection outside of Who He is, and in The Resurrection only He lives, for that’s Who He is! Why do we keep looking for "us to live in heaven?" Because of NO TRUTH in the Church we continue to feed our imaginations about what life will be like "in heaven", and our relationships there. The Jews had those questions because they didn’t know Jesus in Truth, and sadly most Christ do too. Jesus answered the question of marriage in the resurrection; how can we come up with another answer? Luke 20:27-38 - The children of this world marry, but in the resurrection they neither marry or are given in marriage. GOD IS NOT A GOD OF THE DEAD BUT OF THE LIVING. May The Church come to realize that we are married to the Lord NOW - and eternally, and manifest that union in all our earthly relationships. He is A God of The Living, and may we truly find Him to be our Life!