Doctrine of the Angelic Conflict, part 52 – The essence of God – Truth. 2Pe 3:8; Gal 5:19; Mar 4:22; Joh 2:11; Rom 16:26.

Title: Doctrine of the Angelic Conflict, part 52 – The essence of God – Truth. 2Pe 3:8; Gal 5:19; Mar 4:22; Joh 2:11; Rom 16:26.

6. The essence of God part 2: Attributes that constitute God and are commuted to beings.

I: Veracity – Being self-existent and eternal God is the only source of absolute truth. God can never be in error.

Our first insight, which is the actually meaning of truth, into truth is through the Greek word used in the NT.

“truth” is the translation of avlh,qeia[aletheia – noun] and avlhqh,j[alethes – adjective] = unconcealed, unhidden, true, truth, truthful, dependable, genuine, that which will bear scrutiny and investigation, that which is open to the light of day.

The words are a compound made up of lanthano which means "to escape notice, to be unknown, unseen, hidden, concealed," and the Greek letter Alpha prefixed. When a Greek wants to make a word mean the opposite to what it originally meant, he prefixes the Greek letter Alpha. For instance, dikaios means "righteous," adikaios, "unrighteous."

These are compounds made up of the negative a[Alpha] and lanqa,nw [lanthano] = to lie hidden, to escape notice, to be unknown, unseen, or concealed.

Thus, lanthano means "hidden, concealed," and alanthano means "unhidden, unconcealed." The Greek idea of truth is therefore that which is unconcealed, unhidden, that which will bear scrutiny and investigation, that which is open to the light of day.

Let’s look at where lanthano is used:

2Pe 3:1 This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,

2Pe 3:2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

2Pe 3:3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,

2Pe 3:4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."

2Pe 3:5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water,

“escapes their notice” – present active indicative of lanqa,nw[lanthano] = it is unseen by them or unknown to them.

2Pe 3:6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.

2Pe 3:7 But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

2Pe 3:8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

“not … escape your notice” – negative particle mh.[me] plus the present active imperative of lanqa,nw [lanthano] = don’t let this remain unseen or unknown to you.

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

2Pe 3:11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

2Pe 3:12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

2Pe 3:13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

That is truth that the world has concealed or hidden.

The elegance of the Koine Greek language adds richness to these words for truth. 2 + 2 = 4 is a mathematical truth, but that is not the truth that is in view here since it is obvious to man. These words refer to the truth that only God can reveal to man so that divine truth becomes revelation of mystery. The student of truth becomes an Indiana Jones of the mysteries of God.

As omniscience refers to the knowledge of all things aletheia refers to that attribute of God that reveals the hidden things to His creatures.

Gal 5:19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident,

“evident” – fanero,j[phaneros - adjective] = open to sight, visible, manifest.

This is why the NT doesn’t spend much time on individual personal sins that everybody knows. All its pages are spent revealing things that are not obvious to the unbeliever or carnal believer. A preacher shouldn’t spend a great amount of time teaching what is obvious to all. His job is to teach what only God has made evident. For those passages we have to go to the verb phaneroo with God or messangers of God as the subject.

Rom 2:28

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly [phaneros]; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.

In the ancient world it was easy to spot a Jew due to their dress, lifestyle, practices, mannerisms and so forth, but who could see if they were born-again and saved Jews, what Paul referred to as true Israel in Rom 9:6?

Phaneros in the verb form with God as the subject – what man cannot see and only God can disclose. God manifesting truth (aletheia).

The same word in the verb form with God as the subject refers to that which is not evident to man alone, but can only be made manifest or disclosed by God and so that would fall under the category of truth or aletheia.

Mar 4:22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it should come to light.

“to be revealed” – fanero,w[phaneroo; aorist passive subjunctive] = to manifest, to show, reveal, or disclose.

What God must reveal man cannot find out on his own. Eccl 3:11

He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set the desire for eternal things in their heart [produces the grope], yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

Joh 2:6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.

Joh 2:7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim.

These are friends of Jesus and their wedding feast has run out of wine. This is an embarrassment to them socially. A wedding feast generally went on until the wine ran out. Usually they were to last about 7 days as guests arrived at different times. Jesus saves the wedding as well as His friend’s reputation by making between 120 – 180 gallons of extremely fine wine. This wedding will be talked about for years. Jesus takes care of His own.

Joh 2:8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the headwaiter." And they took it to him.

Joh 2:9 And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom,

Joh 2:10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when men have drunk freely [methuo = to become intoxicated], then that which is poorer [they can’t tell the difference anymore because their palates are burnt out]; you have kept the good wine until now."

Drunkenness is clearly a sin in the Bible, but I want to reveal a truth that the legalistic thinking hides and that is that Jesus made wine and not unfermented grape product. Drinking alcohol is not a sin whereas drinking enough to get drunk clearly is. The truth is that God wants you to enjoy your life. Alcohol in moderation is enjoyable; drunkenness is not enjoyable to you or anyone around you and certainly not the next day. 180 gallons? Wasn’t Jesus promoting drunkenness? Not at all. He provided for a wonderful and long lasting wedding feast.

Legalism is designed by satan to rob the believer of joy while at the same time getting them to believe that they are glorifying God in the process. It also promotes abstaining from all kinds of things that God has given graciously to be enjoyed.

1Ti 4:3

men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.

What the KOD tries to hide in their cosmos system the Truth from the Scripture discloses. The one thing they try to hide the most and with the greatest effort is the glory of Jesus Christ.

Joh 2:11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

Christ revealed this to those at the wedding through the miracle of turning water into wine. The OT scriptures revealed Christ, the Father revealed Christ, and the HS revealed Christ.

Luk 3:21 Now it came about when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,

Luk 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased."

This is what truth is. Truth is not what is obvious to man on his own, but what is unhidden by God to man. Christ was such an example, Isa 53:2.

Isa 53:2

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

And like a root out of parched ground;

He has no stately form or majesty

That we should look upon Him,

Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

The truth behind Christ, God, the Bible, Israel, the Church, religion, marriage, friendships, the details of life, time, history, the future is never what is concluded by man without God.

There are 49 uses of phaneroo in the NT and they all refer to the revelation of God’s truth to man, which man could never find out on his own.

I give one last one:

Rom 16:25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past,

Rom 16:26 but now is manifested [phaneroo], and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;

Rom 16:27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.

Man has been given senses by God by which we can explore the world around us and come to conclusions concerning the truth of things. We come to know through reason and experience what is true to a certain extent. Men mapped the stars and accurately predicted seasons, phases of the moon, and motions of the planets. Men determined the force of gravity, the conservation of mass and energy, the electron, proton, neutron, nucleus, chemical bonding, and by such produced synthetic molecules as plastics, stronger alloys of steel, and medicines such as penicillin and vaccines. Gasoline, automobiles, banking, more efficient war machines, computers, the internet, cell phones, satellites, space exploration, etc. all are results of man’s senses and mind working to make more products out of the reality of matter around us. Notice that the Bible doesn’t give us instruction on these things; nor how to build a house or fix a leak or what to do if I get the flu.

I find it funny to think of all the Renaissance as well as modern philosophers to claim that all matter is just an illusion and that it is only an impression of the mind, when they acknowledge that they have a mind and will look both ways before crossing a busy street. If the car is just an illusion, then what does it matter?

In fact the Gnostics who believed just that and who were among the first to attack the doctrines of the NT held that Christ was not a physical man, thus denying the real incarnation and also concluding that all matter was evil and so they misused a passage that is a cornerstone to this doctrine.

1Co 2:9 but just as it is written,

"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered the heart of man,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him."

1Co 2:10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

The Quran does the same as the Gnostics and Docetists before them:

And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger — they slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain. But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was ever Mighty, Wise. [Sura 4:157-158] [all religions are the same?

False doctrines become areas of deceit so that the truth goes unseen or concealed in the mind of man. Satan is the cause.

In direct refutation to this false doctrine that attempted to hide the real, physical incarnation, John wrote:

1Jo 1:1

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life

Yet with all his achievements man can only go so far. Hence, just as God has given man the ability to love and then painfully discover that human relationships don’t fill his eternal desire and so he gropes for God so also:

Man’s reasoning and experimenting abilities take him only so far and so he gropes for more truth, Act 17:26-27.

Act 17:26 and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation,

Act 17:27 that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

We say rightly that no man searches for God and that God calls to him, but we fail to distinguish between searching for the possibility of God from searching for the true God. No one can come to the knowledge of the existence of the true God through rationality or empiricism, but one can come to a God consciousness through these same gifts that God gave when He made man in His image.

“they might grope” – aorist active optative of yhlafa,w[pselaphao] = to feel or grope about with the hands in the hope of finding something.

The optative, rare, shows there is a wish or hope to find what one is looking for, but the word reveals that it’s a blind groping. I liken this to God consciousness or the age of accountability as well as the times in every person’s life when that eternal hole in their heart is aching to be filled. When they grope God the HS is at the ready with the Gospel.