Let's take our Bibles and look to John chapter 1 and verse 14. And in this message, we're gonna consider Christ the truth. That's the title as we go through alphabetically. Christ the truth, the tease. Here in John chapter 1 and verse 14, it says, and the word was made 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." In a world that is filled with error and confusion and deception, self-serving sinners outside of Christ, There is one in whom truth abides in its fullness, and that's none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. If I were to ask you, what is truth? I'd ask the question. Truth is a person. Truth is a God who has purposed to glorify His Son by bringing Him into this world and earning and establishing a righteousness for a people that He has chosen. and paid their sin debt and whereby they're saved." That's the truth. When people are looking around and trying to figure it out, looking to philosophy or education, all these things to define truth, it's not there. It's in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here He's described as the eternal word made flesh. as unbelievable as that may sound, that God would condescend to come to this earth and take on human flesh. This is why the Jews turned their thumbs down on him, because they couldn't conceive that God would take on flesh. They considered all flesh to be evil. Well, that's what flesh is except for the way that God purposed that his son should take on flesh and it would be sinless. from the conception, he wasn't born of a man, but a woman. And he did that, that he might be made under the law and fulfill that law, that he might redeem those that were under the law, that he might be a just God and Savior and how he justifies those sinners he's chosen. That's the truth. You can't deviate from it. People can hear him haul and say, well, what about this? Nope, it's the truth. So here the apostle John writing again, by the inspiration of the spirit, let's remember that this is not John's word. This is the inspired word. Why is it that we believe this word? Well, it's because the spirit of Christ has testified to our spirit that these things are so. And it not only declares the incarnation of the son of God, but also the glorious revelation of truth in his person and work. That's why it says there that he's revealed the only begotten of the father. It says full of grace and truth. Full, you can't add any more to it, take anything from it. The Lord Jesus is not merely a messenger of truth or a teacher of truth. There's some that get that close. He is the truth. And again, probably you're already thinking about John 14 and verse six, when the disciples asked to see the father and Christ chided them in a way when he said, In verse five, Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know that not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? A little earlier, he said that, oh, it's a little later in here, that he said, Lord, show us the father in verse eight, and it suffices nothing. Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? We don't know everything there is to know about Christ. I'm still learning every time I open this word. But he that has seen me, Christ said, has seen the father. And how sayest thou then show us the father. But up there in verse six, he lays it all out, doesn't he? He doesn't say, I came to show the way. He said, I am the way. And there it is again, the I am of Jehovah God. I am the truth. I am the life, no man. cometh unto me, unto the Father, but by me." By his determining, by his drawing, by his authority. So that's what it is for him to be the truth. And in him, the truth of God, everything there is to know about God is in this one person, the Lord Jesus Christ. And certainly with regard to our redemption or salvation, it's perfectly manifested in Him. So in this message here, I want to give you three key aspects of truth from this particular text. First is the incarnation of the truth. Christ was full of grace and truth even before He came here, but it was manifest in His coming in the flesh. truth was born in this world, manifest in the flesh. And secondly, is the revelation of the truth. And then thirdly, is the salvation by the truth. God never has saved a sinner by error. There's nobody that following error right now can say, well, in the end, it'll all work out. Unless God's pleased to reveal Christ in them and His finished work and what He accomplished so that that sinner is brought to bow to the truth, then they'll perish as they've lived. They can't, they might know a lot of things they think about Christ and even cite some facts, but even the devil knows many things, which still he's condemned. So let's look at this first, the incarnation of the truth. What does it say in your word, the Bible? The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Just pause and think about that for a minute, the mystery of that, that the word mentioned back in John chapter one and verse one in the beginning was the word. However far back you want to go for the beginning, the word was with God and the word was God. In other words, he had no beginning. So here we behold a divine mystery and that is the eternal word who was with God and was God, He became flesh. You say, why was that necessary that He became flesh? Because God cannot die. And because God's just, in order to save that people that He had chosen, it was necessary that He Himself come in the flesh and that that flesh be sacrificed, His life be given in that flesh. God didn't die on the cross that day, but The man Christ Jesus did because it says he commended his soul to his father, just like in any death, there's a separation of body and soul. And so it was a real death. He didn't just swoon. And when he came, he didn't become a phantom or just some symbol of life. No, He truly became man. And yet, here's the mystery, without ceasing to be God. So this is the incarnation of truth. God manifests in the flesh. Look how Paul wrote about it to Timothy over in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 16. This is an easy one to remember. If you know John 3, 16, this is 1 Timothy 3, 16. And he says, without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. What's a mystery? It's hidden until it's revealed. And then it says, God was manifest in the flesh. Make sure your translation says that. There are other perversions that they just changed the word God, put he, because they don't want to identify Christ as God. No, God was manifest in the flesh. justified in the Spirit, that has to do with His resurrection. He declared Himself to be the Son of God and that when He would lay down His life of Himself that it would be raised again the third day and it is by the Spirit of God that He was raised, that very life flowing through that dead body that caused Him to arise and come out of the grave. He was seen of angels. We know that was the case from his birth all the way to the cross, even in the garden. He was so weakened in his trial, the weight already of the justice of God being upon him as a man that when he had finished, it says that God sent an angel to minister unto him, strengthen him. That's what God does with the heirs of salvation. Here was the heir of salvation, Christ. And that's a mystery in of itself that here were these angels that He had created and yet now as a man, they were coming to minister unto Him. And then in His ascension into glory, there on the mound as they stood gazing into heaven, as Christ ascended, the angels appeared again, say, why stand ye here gazing? This same man that you've seen go shall come again in like manner. But then preach," Notice. "...unto the Gentiles." The Jews turned thumbs down on it. There was a divide in God's purpose of redemption there at the cross where the Jews left to themselves, crucified and slew this Son of God. and even said, his blood be upon us and our children. What did God do? He had his elect throughout the world, so preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, even though most did not believe on him in the nation that he came, he came unto his own, his own received him not, but he was believed on in the world and that's a point of contention even for Jews today, that somehow God would be merciful to Gentile dogs and pass them by and then received up into glory. Oh, that's a mystery. That's the incarnation of the truth. God manifests in the flesh. And again, why did the truth, that's a synonym for Christ, take on human nature? Well again, it's because the elect, that God had chosen even before the fall, yet in the fall were fallen in Adam. I get this question often, people say, were the elect ever under condemnation? Yes. not as vessels of wrath, but under the condemnation, first of all, their sin in Adam, but secondly, their own disobedience. They proved that they were sinners by their own disobedience, we did. And because of the fall, could not come to the truth by their own reason or righteousness. That's just how bad it is the fall, there's none righteous no not one. There are many just think that we were wounded in Adam and you'll hear some say there's still a little bit of light in there to just fan it like a fire you can get it going again, nope. The trial was over when Adam fell and so left to ourselves even as the elect of God This is a point that I can't make plain enough, election is not salvation, it is unto salvation. And those that God elected, it was unto this salvation that Christ should come and fulfill on their behalf. Left to themselves, none of us would have discovered Christ or come to Christ. That's why later on in John, he says, can come to Christ except to be given them of the Father. But this revelation, it's not that God just gives enough information to people that they can now work it out. It's like these safe rooms, you're looking for hints, keep trying to work it out and figure out what the solution is to be able to get out. You might be able to do that in a safe room, but you won't do it with regard to coming to Christ. because this revelation is found in Christ alone. And as I said, it's in the truth concerning Christ. There's a lot of false thinking with regard to Christ. People make up an idea or a notion of how he is and who he is much like themselves. And what God must do then is completely destroy that and reveal Christ. as the one who came to fulfill all righteousness." You can't cooperate with God in this and say, well, he does his part and I do my part. Here in John chapter one and verse 18, John says, no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten son, which is in the bosom of the father, he hath declared him. Even when Christ was on earth, He was still in the bosom of the Father, there wasn't any separation between the Father and the Son. That's why three times the voice came from heaven, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. But He has declared Him, He came from the bosom of the Father, He lived His life on this earth in the bosom of the Father in full fellowship He had no sin that would cause any separation, even when he was on the cross. The sin of the people that he bore didn't cause him in any way to be separated from the father. I know people take Psalm 22 one and say, well, there was a separation in the Godhead between the father and the son. No, there wasn't. When he said, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Why has thou left me in this state that others were looking upon and marveling and mocking? And then he says, because thou art holy. He had to go through everything that was done to him on that cross as the sin bearer. If you want a picture of the wrath of God, don't look at the flood of Noah, although that is a manifestation. Don't look at Sodom and Gomorrah. Don't look at other nations that God has destroyed. Look what he did to his son. If you want a picture of the wrath of God, how sinful am I that it would require nothing less than the death of the Lord Jesus Christ in my place to pay my sin debt. That's what he says here that it's the only begotten son, which is in the bosom of the father that has declared him. So in God's sovereign grace, he sent his son, not to improve the flesh, didn't come to pick us up, pat us on the rear end and say, okay, come on, get along, but rather to condemn sin in the flesh. You see how it's put over here in Romans chapter eight, that's how serious this matter was, we couldn't do it. But here it says, for what the law could not do, all the law can do is condemn. And that it was weak through the flesh, our flesh. God sending His own Son, notice it says, in the likeness of sinful flesh. He didn't come in sinful flesh, but He came in the likeness of those that are sinful flesh, yet He Himself without sin and for sin, That word for is substitution. What does it say? Condemned sin in the flesh. That means when God laid on him the sin, he became sin for us. When God laid on him the sin of every one of those that he had chosen and condemned his son to death, he was condemning that sin in the flesh of his son. In other words, he bore that sin. in order that he might bring us to God. You see the vitalness then of the incarnation as a sovereign gracious act of God to save those that the father had given him even before the foundation of the world. This wasn't for everybody. You realize if people say, well, I think he died forever, but then there's no more condemnation. Quit talking about hell. and don't worry about going out and preaching the gospel, everybody's saved anyway. The reason why God has sent us into the world to preach this gospel is that he might buy that gospel, call out, draw out to himself, everyone for whom Christ paid the debt. And those that remain in blindness and never abroad, it's because God purposed to leave them to themselves. Over in John chapter 17, that's a key chapter. When people want to argue with it, just don't go read some scripture, because they're just arguing according to as they've been taught, as we all did for a while. It's like the man, the preacher asked him, well, you know, what is it you believe exactly? He said, well, I believe like my preacher. And he said, well, what does the preacher believe? He said, oh, he believes like I do. Circular reason. That's not why we believe here in John 17. He's thanking the father. The hour was come notice the hour from all eternity down to this hour. It was for Dane to glorify his son, how through his death and that the son also may glorify thee through that death. as thou has given him power over all flesh. Yes, he has power over all flesh, but it says that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. No one is saved but those that the father gave the son and the ones for whom the son paid the debt. And he says, this is life eternal, that they might know the only what true God God always works according to the truth. Quit talking to me about your profession back there in false religion. Say, well, I think I actually, I, you know, I was a Christian at that time. No, you weren't. You didn't become a Christian until God opened your heart and taught you of Christ and his death. And it wasn't something you earned or merited. It was, it was Christ's word from beginning to end. That's what it says here, that they might know thee the only true God and or even Jesus Christ whom thou has sent. So that's the incarnation of the truth. We could spend an entire time on that. But secondly, we have here the revelation of the truth coming back to John 1 and verse 14. We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. behold Christ, I'm talking about now with physical eyes, I've never seen him physically and I don't put any confidence in these pictures that people draw, but to behold Christ by the Spirit opening the heart is to behold the glory of God. Wherever in scripture you read the glory of God, put Christ. He is the glory of God. but His glory is not one that the world esteems because they can't see Him. That's why you see all these religious places that have icons and images and all these things, it's because they're natural minded. They have to have something that they can look at and bow down to, that's what is idolatry. I look around here, I'm thankful it's just bare walls. How are we going to know Christ right here in this word? that we're reading, that's what the Spirit takes and opens. And His is a glory that is hidden, that's why it's a mystery, in the veil of His humanity and also in His humility and His sorrow and suffering. That's why the Jews turned away from Him. They couldn't understand how He could be the Messiah and yet suffer as He did. Well, read Isaiah 53 and you'll find out why. Because as a substitute, he had to take the place in death for everyone that the father had given him. And so when the Lord gives us eyes to behold his glory, that's what John's talking about there in verse 14. There wasn't anything about Christ physically that indicated that he was the son of God. He wasn't walking around with a halo over his head. Oh, there goes the son of God. He was, this was veiled in the flesh. And so how is it that John can say we beheld his glory, the glories of the only begotten of the father, that is by spiritual eyes. It's a glory that was hidden and veiled in his humility and sorrow and suffering. And when John says that Christ was full of grace and truth, those are attributes that pertain to God alone. He means that in Him is the full revelation of God's gracious purpose and truth as revealed in Christ. You say, what's the truth of God? Well, there's the truth of God's justice, that being holy, sin had to be punished. People want to just talk about God is love, as if He looks over the sin. No, He's a just God, so there's the truth of God's justice. And yes, there is the truth of God's love. We don't take that from Him, but that love is not some general love. It's a specific love that loves everyone that He has chosen, and He is purposed to save from their sins through the work of Christ. But then there's also the truth of His grace, that not only is He a chosen of people in Christ, but in that He has redeemed them, that's His grace. There's electing grace, there's redeeming grace, and there's regenerating grace. The Spirit calls out from blindness and darkness everyone for whom Christ paid the debt. All of that's the revelation of the truth. If you took a piece of paper and put a big circle that represents God and truth and Christ, you could put all of this inside of it. There's nothing left out here for man. And it's all revealed in Christ. He's the truth of every type and shadow. The Lord ever shows you that, you'll spend all your time in the Old Testament. I know we've had a visitor here that got upset because every time she came, we were in the Old Testament. That's the foundation. But there's also the truth of Christ, not only in type and shadow and prophecy, but promise. You'll hear me repeat that often, type, picture, promise, prophecy. When we read the scriptures, that's what we look for. And that's really what John's saying over here in John 1 17, the law was given by Moses. That's speaking of the old Testament and the word. Now here you'll notice, but is in italic. So it's not contrasting the law to Christ. He had to fulfill the law, but just read it without the, but in there for the law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. what the law could not do, Christ did. The law was given as a tutor until Christ should come. And so even there, we see the revelation of the truth throughout the whole of Scripture. Moses represented the law, but Christ the fulfillment of the law on behalf of His people. The law wasn't given as a means of salvation. Paul said in Romans it was given that sin might abound. It's like the light when you go in the doctor's office and he wants to get a closer look, he reaches up and turns on that light and gets down there. That's like the law, it can't heal, that light's not gonna make you better. But in the hands of the physician, the sinner that's in the hands of the physician, that light shines and exposes all that is wrong with us but everything that is right with Him. So this is what it is, the revelation of the truth. It's to be given eyes to see Him, behold Him as He is in truth, as the Redeemer, as the Justifier, and as the Savior. There is no truth outside of Him. I don't care how people argue. And I know they'll get upset. You mean to tell me that of all the billions of people in the world that have never heard of Christ, they're perishing? Yes. If you don't believe that, go ahead and burn your Bible, because that's what it's all about. That God has justly passed by billions and sent them to their just dessert. And that would be you and me, were it not that God had purposed beforehand to pull us out as a brand out of the fire. and to reveal Christ in us for whom Christ came. And a third final point here is that salvation then is by the truth. Incarnation of the truth, the revelation of the truth and then salvation by the truth. Salvation is not merely learning the truth intellectually but it's being united to the truth, grafted in by the Spirit of God to Christ over in John chapter eight and verse 32. If you look there with me, we read and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. You know what that word know is? It's an intimate knowledge of Christ, the truth. And that is how he makes you free in the sense of free from all error or false way. But this isn't a head knowledge. Everybody talks about salvation as something you did, a profession you made, what you did. No, this is a heart union by God's sovereign grace to Christ who is the truth. And again, who are those that know the truth? Well, you're not gonna know Christ is the truth apart from the Father having chosen you. and the spirit quickening you, bringing you to life and having been redeemed by the son who came. That's the triune God at work. Christ, the truth over here in John 10 and verse 11 says, I laid down my life for, for who? For the sheep. He didn't lay it down for everybody. If you believe that you don't, you still don't know the truth that somehow he died for every single person. Now it's up to you to make it effectual? No. We know that Christ the truth laid down His life for His sheep and at the cross, that's where we behold the truth of God's justice and mercy kissing each other. Back here in Psalm 85 and verse 10, that's what we read that mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed one another." That's where the wrath of God was poured out on Christ, the substitute. And the grace of God then has flowed freely to all for whom he died. Everyone for whom he died is saved, not shall be saved, is saved. if he didn't die for you, you're going to die just as you were born this world in your sin, without a ransom. So just as Christ did not merely show us the way to truth, here we see how he came and accomplished the salvation that truth demands. Everything about the work of salvation is according to the truth. The law demanded perfect obedience and satisfaction. We couldn't offer that, couldn't even begin. But Christ gave both on behalf of his elect. Therefore the truth of God, it's not something that you have to seek to enter into. It's already been accomplished. It's in Christ and now Christ reveals it in the heart of those for whom he died. If you know Christ today, it's because this was already done when he died. Purpose even before the foundation of the world. And that's how His purpose that is elect, be united to Him who is the truth. That's why we value the truth. We're not going to let anybody come in here and mealy mouth and fill us with thoughts and words that are contrary to the truth. It's by the truth that Christ has revealed and it's by His power that we're kept through faith. over in John 17, 17, again, Christ said, I sanctify myself. That's how we're sanctified, it's by the truth. John 17, 17, sanctify them through thy truth. It's another way of saying through Christ the truth, thy word, that's Christ is truth. Everyone knows Christ, Christ, Christ. Therefore, the truth of God is what gives us our standing before Him, all the work of God. And that's why we have that hope of when we die, being raised again with Him, be absent from the bodies, be present with the Lord. That's the truth. So in a world full of lies and shifting opinions, truth never changes. But in the world, when you hear them meeting together in these conferences and trying to keep up with the times and change their bylaws and things of how they run their organizations, it's because there's no truth. The truth is not one of shifting opinions or false gospels. Paul said, if a man come and preach any other message than what they had received, let them be what? Anathema. So we rest our souls in this one. Like man said to me one time, it sounds to me like you're putting all your eggs in one basket. Well, salvation isn't a basket of eggs. It's a sure foundation. So I don't have to worry about dropping the eggs and break it. But to be laid on that foundation, which is Christ, the one who is full of grace and truth. You can't find grace apart from Him. You can't have truth apart from Him. He's not a partial Savior where He partially gives you grace so that now you're enabled to do the rest, no. And He's not even the means to salvation. He is salvation. He is the truth of God revealed from heaven, the truth that has satisfied God's justice and the truth that truly sets captives free. I can speak to you as a free man. right now, not for anything I did, but because of the work of Christ. That's why we don't trust any other gospel. People call you narrow. That's awful narrow. Yep. Just as narrow as Christ himself, just as narrow as his cross. No other righteousness, no other message, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. as those are sanctified by the truth so we worship God in spirit and in truth because he's worthy." That's worthy, that's why Paul said to the Colossians, he are but complete in him which is the head of all principality and power. I'm thankful it's so, aren't you?