Is God’s Word in Your Hand True or is it Truth?

Encontramos Libertad y Estabilidad Cuando Sabemos que la Palabra es Verdad

As I raised three children, I strove to instill in them a love for God and His Word. As most kids do, when they became teenagers, they began challenging some of the teachings of the Bible. As an example, they knew that according to Philippians 4:8 they should limit the things they watched or read to those things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. Yet, they often wanted to watch popular movies that might be very violent, contain graphic sexual scenes, and promote physical relationships outside of the loving boundaries set forth in God’s Word. They believed God’s Word was true, but did they accept it as being truth?

Somos muy afortunados de poder tener la Palabra de Dios en nuestras manos y poder leerla y estudiarla. Pero ¿la aceptamos como verdadera, o como verdad?

What is the difference between “true” and “truth”? Is it just that “true” is an adjective and “truth” is a noun? Consider how Graham Cooke, a blogger on BrilliantPerspectives.com ((https://brilliantperspectives.com/?s=There+is+always+a+higher+level+of+truth, recuperado el 4 de mayo de 2021).

Siempre hay un nivel de verdad superior a los hechos. Esta es la diferencia entre lo que es verdadero y lo que es la verdad.
A negative mindset can easily state the facts, establishing your inability. “I can’t do it. I’m no good. It’s too big. We are not strong enough. We are not big enough. We are not powerful enough. We feel like grasshoppers in our own sight.”

Estas afirmaciones pueden ser ciertas en el momento que las decimos, especialmente antes de haber recibido la salvación por medio de Jesucristo. Y pueden seguir siendo muy ciertas en nuestra propia percepción. Pero considere lo que el señor Cooke explica como la verdad.

La verdad es que usted tiene una nueva naturaleza. ¡Comience a confesar de acuerdo con esa verdad!
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, who empowers me, who enables me. There isn’t anything I can’t learn, and there isn’t anything I can’t do with the help of the Holy Spirit.

According to Janice Bastani Coaching, “The word VERDADERO es su perspectiva de algo. La palabra VERDAD is universal and cannot be changed.” (https://www.janicebastanicoaching.com/true-vs-truth/, accessed May 4, 2021.) This is very consistent with what Mr. Cooke stated. Those statements he used as an example of what is true (“I can’t do it. I’m no good. It’s too big. We are not strong enough. We are not big enough. We are not powerful enough. We feel like grasshoppers in our own sight.”) is the speaker’s perspective at the moment he or she spoke the statements. However, the truth as shared by Mr. Cooke (“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, who empowers me, who enables me. There isn’t anything I can’t learn, and there isn’t anything I can’t do with the help of the Holy Spirit.”) es universal para todos los cristianos y no se puede cambiar.

As Christians, we know that we are to think on those things that are true as the apostle Paul taught in Philippians 4:8. So, let’s consider how certain people in Scripture viewed Jesus.

Discípulos de los Fariseos y Herodianos

As recorded in Matthew 22:15-16, the Pharisees sent their disciples along with the Herodians to Jesus proclaiming their belief that Jesus is true, although they did so out of pretense because the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus in His own words. Before asking Jesus to tell them if it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, they proclaimed, “Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.” (Matthew 22:16.)

This is an example of the Pharisee’s disciples and the Herodians declaring Jesus as being true, but not viewing Jesus as being truth. They declared it out of their perception at that time but they did not view it as a universal truth that is not subject to change.

The Apostle John’s Teaching

In John 3:31-36, the apostle John taught his disciples about accepting God as being truth. The Amplified Version makes clear in verse 33 a person that accepts Jesus’ testimony is assured of the truth of God: “Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal of approval to this: God is true. [That man has definitely certified, acknowledged, declared once and for all, and is himself assured that it is divine truth that God cannot lie].” In verse 36, John explains there are two ways of reacting to Jesus’s teachings. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Each person can react to Jesus’ teachings one of the following ways: 1) Believing and accepting them to be truth, which leads to everlasting life; or 2) not believing and accepting them, which leads to the wrath of God.

¿Hay un Punto Medio?

¿Hay un punto medio? ¿Podemos aceptar a Dios y Su palabra como la verdad y, sin embargo, aplicar dicha verdad a nuestras vidas de manera inconsistente, como:

Escogiendo ciertas partes de Su Palabra para vivirlas, considerando otras partes de Su Palabra como no relevantes para nuestra vida; o
Applying certain parts of God’s Word in certain circumstances but not applying it to other circumstances?

If we are picking and choosing certain parts of God’s Word as worthy of living it, or applying only certain parts of His word in certain circumstances, then we are believing that God’s Word is true but we are not accepting it as being truth.

Remember, if we believe it to be true but not truth, then we believe it to be true only when we perceive it to be true, which is often when it is convenient or when we are in desperate situations and need it to be true. If we believe God’s Word to be truth, then we can stand on it at all times and in all circumstances because it is universal and unchanging.

Applying God’s Word as True or as Being Truth

How does accepting God’s Word as being true or truth look in our lives? Does it make a difference?

Let’s take a couple of scriptures and look at the difference between seeing it as true and seeing it as being truth.

Porque él me esconderá en su tabernáculo en el día del mal; Me ocultará en lo reservado de su morada; Sobre una roca me pondrá en alto. Luego levantará mi cabeza sobre mis enemigos que me rodean, Y yo sacrificaré en su tabernáculo sacrificios de júbilo; Cantaré y entonaré alabanzas a Jehová. (Salmos 27:5-6).

Y sabemos que a los que aman a Dios, todas las cosas les ayudan a bien, esto es, a los que conforme a su propósito son llamados. (Romanos 8:28).

First, let’s look at these scriptures as true.

Cuando la vida es buena, proclamamos estas escrituras todo el día. Cantamos Sus alabanzas. Nos unimos fácilmente a la adoración. Confiamos en que Dios está de nuestro lado y que todas las cosas funcionan para nuestro bien. ¡Esto es verdad! ¡Aleluya!

If we only believe God’s Word to be true, but not truth, then it changes with our perception. When life isn’t so good, when it knocks our feet out from under us with some diagnosis, loss of a job, rejection from a loved one, or any number of other possibilities, our perception finds it very hard to believe that He is actually working anything together for good and we have great difficulty singing His praise and joining in worship. Then not only do we begin doubting these scriptures, we begin doubting the very foundation of scripture, that God loves us, died for us, and has forgiven us. Then we spiral down into despair because there is no hope anymore. We may even spiral so far that we deny God and walk away from Him.

Now, let’s look at God’s Word as being truth! It is universal and unchanging.

Cuando la vida es buena, tenemos la misma reacción que cuando creemos que Su Palabra es verdadera. Pero la gran diferencia ocurre cuando la vida es difícil.

Cuando la vida es difícil, ¡tenemos esperanza! Podemos seguir proclamando estas escrituras. Podemos seguir confiando en que Él hace todas las cosas para nuestro bien. Podemos seguir cantando Sus alabanzas y uniéndonos en adoración. Puede ser más difícil de hacer porque tenemos que poner nuestros ojos en Él y no en el desafío que estamos enfrentando en ese momento, pero sabemos que podemos confiar en Él. Podemos aguantar. Sabemos que somos amados. Sabemos que Él murió por nosotros y nos ha perdonado. Podemos estar seguros en Él y no perder la esperanza o alejarnos de Él.

Benefit of Holding God’s Word and Truth

When we believe God’s Word to be truth, we can personalize Psalm 13:5-6 and stand in hope, no matter the circumstances in our lives. It would then read as follows: “I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His Word do I hope! I hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem me from all my iniquities.”

Ephesians 4:14 describes another benefit to believing God’s Word to be truth. It tells us that we mature and become stable in Christ, finding ourselves to be secure in doctrine and in all things. We cease being susceptible to doctrinal arguments, craftiness and deceit. And we are mature enough to speak all truth in love as we look to Christ.

¿La Palabra de Dios que Tiene en Su Mano es Verdadera o es la Verdad?

When you hold God’s Word in your hands yet feel yourself struggling in your walk with God, and find yourself questioning life or Him because you cannot see Him working in your life, then you need to consider whether you truly accept God’s Word as being truth or whether you only accept it as true.

You can tell whether you have accepted God’s Word as being truth by your attitude toward applying it in your life, especially when listening to someone teaching or preaching God’s Word. Do you listen with skepticism, trying to find ways to show to yourself that what is being taught or preached does not apply to you? Or do you receive the word with all readiness of mind, searching the scriptures daily to confirm it is so like the Bereans did in Acts 17:11?

The Psalmist declared in Psalm 119:160 that the totality of God’s Word is truth. It is universal and unchanging.

Jesús proclamó en Juan 8:31-32 que cuando continuamos en Su Palabra, somos Sus discípulos, y conoceremos la verdad. También declaró que la verdad nos hará libres.

When we accept God’s Word as being truth, we will find our freedom from the struggles of this world and walk a more stable path with Him because of our universal and unchanging hope in Him. We can have confidence in God’s Word when we accept it as being truth.