“The Grace And Truth Of Our God”

May 2013 – Grace & Truth Magazine

The Grace And Truth Of Our God

“Grace and truth” are three little words in a phrase that is only mentioned twice in the whole Bible ?– but they are of infinite value as they refer to the person of God manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in John 1:14 ( NASB ): “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” And three verses later (v.17) we read: “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”

All three words are of great importance. “And” holds the two subjects of “grace” and “truth” together much like a yoke in farming. We know from the Bible that two animals of great strength are required for a yoke to produce useful results. A yoke is useless for one animal. And you may have seen, or at least you can imagine, what happens when there are two animals that don’t work well together – the result is not good and it is of little value to the farmer.

We see in the Lord Jesus, who is “full of grace and truth,” the perfect working together of these powerful qualities. As there is nothing lacking of either quality in Him, Jesus Christ perfectly manifests grace and truth in all His words and ways. We can find one example after another as we read the Gospels.

Now a question that we, who are believers, might ask is: “Are these qualities seen in me?” If Christ is in us, shouldn’t He show forth through our lives or in our gatherings? Both aspects must be present and seen, for like the animals of the yoke, one without the other is worthless in God’s eyes.

As people, we tend to quantify things so that they will be equal. Contrary to Scripture, we often hear a husband or wife claim that they are doing their half in a marriage. Sometimes we are like that about grace and truth, measuring out portions just so that they are equal. God’s standards aren’t that way, however. If we are going to show forth Christ, we need to do so with all the grace and truth we have grasped – as well as we are able, through the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit. It is a very big challenge, indeed!

We hope that the Lord will use the articles this month to reveal to you more of His greatness, to draw you closer to Him in your personal relationship and to encourage you in His service. Of course, the Feature articles focus on grace and truth, but you will find the subject in the other articles as you read through the magazine from cover to cover.

By Paul Alberts