Building up believers and the New Testament church

Walking in Truth

The Word Made Flesh

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). "The Word became flesh." What does that mean to us? When John looked upon Jesus. he saw the Word of God embodied in human flesh. Christ was God revealed in the flesh. It was not just the words that He spoke (although certainly it included those) but the nature and character of God perfectly proclaimed in the life He lived. Every action and every word was a manifestation of God Himself. Jesus was "the Word of God." When men saw Jesus, they saw God. "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power" (Colossians 2:9-10).

What God did in Christ Jesus, He has also purposed to do in us. The word of God must also be made flesh in us so that we become a living declaration of who God is. This happens as we walk in truth. Obedience establishes the character and nature of God in these human vessels. We are not called just to speak the word of God, but to declare the word of God in our lives as Jesus did. Our lives and actions open the door for others to hear the words we speak. We are called to be witnesses unto God by our whole manner of life.

One of the primary differences between what God did in Christ and what He is doing through us is that today we together are the body of Christ. "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually" (1 Corinthians 12:27). When He walked the dusty roads of Israel 2000 years ago in a physical body, He declared the nature of God in every deed, in an individual body. But when He ascended to heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father, He continued that declaration in a different body. This body is made up of you and me, as we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and walk in obedience to Christ our head. Individually we are members of that body, and together we make up the whole body. Christ is the head of His body, and as each member "holds fast to the Head" in faith and submission to His authority, God will declare who He is for all to see.

This collective expression of God in the church is the way God has chosen to establish and express truth in this hour. "…I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). To be a part of what God is doing, I must be alive to God by the Spirit and under the authority of Christ. This gives me the ability to function as a member of His body. As I walk in truth as an individual member, I will be prepared to walk in truth with other members. As we allow God to build us together, and as we move together, we form an expression of the body of Christ in our locality. As we walk in truth together, that truth will be established and declared for all to see. In the words of Jesus, we will be "the light of the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden."

Although there are a great many things about this body or "house of God" that we do not have space here to speak about, the important thing to see in relation to our discussion is that truth will be seen in this body. It is not just individual members scattered around the world who are walking in truth, but a collective gathering under the authority of Christ that is walking in truth. When this is taking place, those who are looking on will see an expression of Christ who is truth. There will be no "disconnect." In other words, we will be able to say with Paul, "Look at our example and follow Christ." God will use the expression of truth not only in our own lives but also in the lives of others.