20111009
In Ephesians 4:14-25, the Apostle Paul looks at integrity, our relationship with the truth from 3 aspects: our problem with the truth, the solution and its implications. He predicts the current problem of the postmodern view of truth. In our current world, truth is relative to the individual, and this is because there is a fear that every claim of absolute truth is a claim to power, to dominate and exclude. He shows us in verse 14, where some of the Ephesians are still children due to doctrine taught by “human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes.”
However, Paul knows a better truth, a truth that does not dominate, but empowers, that liberates and enables. He shows this solution in verse 15, where he uses an awkward expression: ―truthing in love‖. This means more than speaking the truth in love. It means we have to live our lives truthfully in love and the way we do this is by maturing ―in Christ‖. We move from knowing about Christ, to knowing Christ. We experience Christ and build our relationship with him.
How do we do this? The clue is in verse 21 – understand “the truth that is in Jesus”. Here Paul refers to our Lord as Jesus, rather than as the Christ (Messiah). What he is alluding to here is that in order to build our relationship with Christ, we have to believe, internalize and live the historical story of Jesus, i.e. that God out of sheer love and grace, became man, lived amongst us, healed us and died for us. In all great stories the heroes are brought into a different world, faced with great challenges, and there is always a great sacrifice. At the end of it all, the heroes, when brought back to real life, are transformed, they remember the sacrifice, become better people, new people. So it is with Christians, once we live the story of Jesus as transformed people.
When we live this story, we will understand the love and grace He had to die for us and to give us His salvation. We will be affirmed and humbled at the same time and this will liberate us. We will be able to live our lives with integrity and be the same person the rest of the week as we are on Sunday. This is the truth that we Christians believe in and this is the truth that sets us free (ref. Jn. 8:32).
