K Neill Foster

Welcome to Classic Christianity

First published by Christian Publications, Inc., 3825 Hartzdale Drive,Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17011 Republished by www.kneillfoster.com in 2005. K. Neill Foster, Publisher. Paul L. King, Editor. A.W. Tozer, 1897-1963, Editorial Voice.


WELCOME TO:
#23 CLASSIC-CHRISTIANITY/THE E-ZINE


CLASSIC-CHRISTIANITY/THE INDEX
THEME: JESUS THE ULTIMATE TRUTH


1) THE PUBLISHER ON "Discovering the Truth"

2) THE EDITOR ON "WORSHIPING THE TRUSTWORTHY ONE"

3) A.W. TOZER ON "JESUS AS MORE THAN THE FOUNTAIN OF TRUTH"

4) CATHERINE OF SIENA ON "PRAYING TO THE FIRST TRUTH, THE ETERNAL TRUTH"

5) WILLIAM LAW ON "JESUS, THE DISCERNER OF TRUTH"

6) RECOMMENDED READING

7) JOSEPH BENSON ON "CHRIST AS THE SUBSTANCE OF ALL TRUTH"

8) ROBERT MURRAY MCCHEYNE ON "CHRIST AS THE KEYSTONE OF TRUTH"

9) ALBERT BARNES ON "THE ORIGIN OF TRUTH"

10) ANDREW MURRAY ON "THE SPIRIT REVEALING CHRIST THE SUBSTANCE OF TRUTH"

11) JAMES HASTINGS ON "THE UTMOST BOUND OF HUMAN THOUGHT"

12) RECOMMENDED READING

13) OSWALD CHAMBERS ON "TRUTH INCARNATE"

14) G. CAMPBELL MORGAN ON "JESUS AS THE ULTIMATE INTERPRETATION OF EVERYTHING"

15) INVITATION TO SUBSCRIBE


1) THE PUBLISHER ON "Discovering the Truth"

Galileo once said, "All truths are easy to understand once they arediscovered; the point is to discover them." Jesus was making the samebasic point when He asked His disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" (Matthew 16:13). That Jesus Christ is the embodiment of Truth is the key revelation throughout past and future millennia. How a person responds to this revelation will determine his eternal destiny. It is an exclusive message that must be urgently shared with all peoples, "and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14).


2) THE EDITOR ON "WORSHIPING THE TRUSTWORTHY ONE"

As we approach Advent season, we focus on the Person and Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Jesus came as the embodiment of God in the flesh, or, as we confess, "true God and true man." It is an axiom of apologetics that Jesus is either all He claimed to be--the way, the truth and the life--and even God Himself--or He was a farce, a liar and a deluded fanatic. If He was not all He claimed to be, He was not genuine and not trustworthy. But we believe without a shadow of a doubt He was fully God and fully man and we can stake our life on Him. Come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord, the True and Trustworthy One.


3) A.W. TOZER (1897-1963) ON "JESUS AS MORE THAN THE FOUNTAIN OF TRUTH"

To seek God apart from His own self-disclosure in the inspired Scriptures is not only futile but dangerous. There must be also a knowledge of and complete trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Redeemer. Christ is not one of many ways to approach God, nor is He the best of several ways; He is the only way (John 14:6). To believe otherwise is to be something less than a Christian. (1)

He is the fountain of all truth, but He is more--He is truth itself. He is the source and strength of all beauty, but He is more--He is beauty itself. He is the fountain of all wisdom, but He is more--He is wisdom itself. In Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden away! (2)

Into this world the sound of Jesus' words comes wonderful and strange, a visitation from above. It is well that He spoke, for no one else could have done it as well; and it is good that we listen, for His words are the essence of truth. Jesus does not offer an opinion for He never uttered opinions. He never guessed; He knew, and He knows! His words are not as Solomon's were, the sum of sound wisdom or the results of keen observation. He spoke out of the fullness of His Godhead, and His words are very Truth itself. . . . Best of all, His words were supported by deeds mightier than any performed on this earth by another man. It is wisdom for us to listen! (3)

(1) A.W. Tozer, THAT INCREDIBLE CHRISTIAN (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1964), 136.

(2) A.W. Tozer, THE TOZER PULPIT (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1994), Vol. 1, Book 4, 43, 44.

(3) A.W. Tozer, RENEWED DAY BY DAY (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1980), Vol. 1, March 29.


4) CATHERINE OF SIENA (1347-1380) ON "PRAYING TO THE FIRST TRUTH, THE ETERNAL TRUTH"

Holy Trinity is the "la prima dolce Verita," "the gentle first Truth." (1)

Oh, Eternal Truth, fragrance above all fragrance, generosity about all generosity, goodness above all goodness, justice above all justice. . . . Oh Truth, Truth, who am I, that Thou givest me Thy truth? I am she who is not. It is Thy truth, then, that knows and speaks and works all things, for I am not. Oh Deity, Deity, who art love, what can I say then about Thy truth! Thou Truth, speak truth, for I cannot speak truth. (2)

(1) Catherine of Siena, cited in Peter Toon, SPIRITUAL COMPANIONS: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CHRISTIAN CLASSICS (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1990), 64.

(2) Catherine of Siena, in Johannes Jorgensen, ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA, trans., Ingeborg Lund (London, New York, Toronto: Longmans, Green and Co., 1938), 349-350.


5) WILLIAM LAW (1686-1761) ON "JESUS, THE DISCERNER OF TRUTH"

The truth, as it is in Jesus, is nothing else but Christ come in the Spirit, and his coming in the Spirit is nothing else but the first life of God, which had been lost, awakened and revealed again in the soul. . . .

Remember, the one work of the Spirit of God is to distinguish the good and evil that are within you. . . .

For Christ must first come as a discoverer and reprover of sin. It is the infallible proof of his holy presence within you.

William Law, YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997), 171, 173, 181.


6) RECOMMENDED READING

A.B. Simpson, The Word Made Flesh

ISBN 0875095771

This exposition of John traces the unfolding of the Person and the glory of Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. The book emphasizes the experience and blessing of knowing and believing in Jesus.

Order from Christian Publications by calling 1-800-233-4443 (in North America) or fax 1-717-761-7273 or web: www.christianpublications.com.


7) JOSEPH BENSON (1749-1821) ON "CHRIST AS THE SUBSTANCE OF ALL TRUTH"

He is the truth, first, as truth is opposed to figure and emblem. He is the substance of all the Old Testament types and shadows, which are therefore said to be the figures of the true things. He is the true manna, the true tabernacle. Second, as truth is opposed to falsehood and error, the doctrine of Christ is infallibly true doctrine, the truth as it is in Jesus. Third, as truth is opposed to fallacy and deceit, He is true and faithful to all who trust in Him, and will assuredly make good all his declarations and promises.

Joseph Benson, BENSON'S COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT (New York, NY: Carlton and Lanahan, n.d.), 1:628.


8) ROBERT MURRAY MCCHEYNE (1813-1843) ON "CHRIST AS THE KEYSTONE OF TRUTH"

The whole Bible, and the whole of experience, bear witness that by nature we are ignorant of THE TRUTH. No doubt there are many truths which an unconverted man does know. He may know the truths of mathematics and arithmetic--he may know many of the common every-day truths; but still it cannot be said that an unconverted man knows THE TRUTH, for Christ is the truth. Christ may be called the keystone of the arch of truth. Take away the keystone of an arch, and the whole becomes a heap of rubbish. The very same stones may be there; but they are all fallen, smothered and confused--without coherence, without order, without end. Just so take Christ away, and the whole arch of truth becomes a heap of rubbish. Christ may be called the sun of the system of truth. Take away the sun out of our system, and every planet would rush into confusion. The very same planets would be there; but their conflicting forces would draw them hither and thither, orb dashing against orb in endless perplexity. Just so take Christ away, and the whole system of truth rushes into confusion. The same truths may be in the mind, but all conflicting and jarring in inexplicable mazes. . . . But let Christ be revealed to an unconverted soul . . . and there is revealed, not a truth, but THE TRUTH. . . . All truth becomes orderly and serviceable in that mind.

Robert Murray McCheyne, "Christ the Way, the Truth and the Life," 20 CENTURIES OF GREAT PREACHING (Waco, TX: Word, 1971), 4:285-286.


9) ALBERT BARNES (1798-1870) ON "THE ORIGIN OF TRUTH"

Jesus is the source of truth, or He who originates truth for the salvation of men. Truth is a representation of things as they are. The life, the purity and the teaching of Jesus Christ was the most complete and perfect representation of the things of the eternal world that has been or can be presented to man. . . . It is implied in this, also, that Jesus was the fountain of all truth, that by His inspiration the prophets spoke and that by Him all truth is communicated to men.

Albert Barnes, NOTES ON THE NEW TESTAMENT: THE GOSPELS (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, [1884-1885], 1985), 10:326-327.


10) ANDREW MURRAY (1828-1917) ON "THE SPIRIT REVEALING CHRIST THE SUBSTANCE OF TRUTH"

There is a truth of the understanding and feeling which is only the human image, the shadow, of divine truth. There is a truth which is substance and reality, communicating the life of the things of which others only think and speak. The truth in shadow, in form, and in thought was all the Jewish law could give. The truth of substance, the truth as a divine life, was what Jesus brought as the only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth. He himself is "the truth." . . .

Not from without but from within, not in word but in power, in life and truth, the Spirit reveals Christ and all He has for us. Christ, who has only been a Savior outside and above us, becomes truth within us. . . . The work of the Spirit of truth is to reveal and impart the fullness of grace and truth that is in Christ Jesus.

Andrew Murray, THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1984), 102-104.


11) JAMES HASTINGS (1852-1922) ON "THE UTMOST BOUND OF HUMAN THOUGHT"

Nothing is more remarkable about our Lord than the calmness and assurance with which He utters the most astounding statements. The ablest and most enlightened men have their hesitations, then periods of agonizing doubt, their suspense of judgment, their labored inquiries, their mental conflicts. With Jesus there is none of this. From first to last He sees with perfect clearness to utmost bound of human thought, knows with absolute certainty whatever is essential for us to know. . . . It is plainly the assurance of one who stands in the full noon of truth and speaks what He knows. For every question which our most anxious and trying experiences dictate He has the ready and sufficient answer. . . . He says not merely "I speak the truth," but "I am the truth."

James Hastings, ed., THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE: ST JOHN 13-21 (New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1912), 119.


12) RECOMMENDED READING

A.W. Tozer, Jesus Is Victor

Gerald B. Smith, complier

ISBN 087509418X

Instead of trying to interpret the events of Revelation, Tozer looks at the underlying spiritual lessons such as the basic truth that Jesus is Victor and that the central message of prophecy is repentance.

Order from Christian Publications by calling 1-800-233-4443 (in North America) or fax 1-717-761-7273 or web: www.christianpublications.com.


13) OSWALD CHAMBERS (1872-1917) ON "TRUTH INCARNATE"

The Personality of Truth is the great revelation of Christianity--"I am . . . the Truth." Our Lord did not say He was "all truth" so that we could go to His statements as to a textbook and verify things; there are domains, such as science and art and history, which are distinctly man's domains and the boundaries of our knowledge must continually alter and be enlarged; God never encourages laziness. The question to be asked is not, "Does the Bible agree with the findings of modern science?" but, "Do the findings of modern science help us to a better understanding of the things revealed in the Bible?" . . . .

"And the Word became flesh"--that means not only the expression of the Mind of God, but the expression of the Mind of God Incarnate. God gave His final revelation in Jesus Christ; then He set processes at work for the re-organization of the whole of humanity. Jesus Christ is the Truth, an Incarnate Ideal; to be "in Christ" means that through regeneration and sanctification that Ideal can become a reality, so that in my mortal flesh there is manifested that which is easily discerned to be "the life also of Jesus." We are to be incorporated into the truth. The ideal is not a vague end into which we evolve more or less blindly, we "grow up in all things into Him."

Oswald Chambers, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF OSWALD CHAMBERS: GOD'S WORKMANSHIP (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 2000), 425.


14) G. CAMPBELL MORGAN (1863-1945) ON "JESUS AS THE ULTIMATE INTERPRETATION OF EVERYTHING"

In answer to Thomas' honest expression of disagreement with Jesus came that great claim, "I am the way, and the truth and the life." . . . I am the truth about the Father, and therefore ultimately about all creation, all the universe, all being. . . . I am, moreover, the truth, the ultimate interpretation of everything. . . . Put these words into the lips of any other than Jesus. It is unthinkable and impossible. . . . Follow Me and you have direction anywhere in God's universe. Follow Me, and you have, ultimately, the interpretation of all secrets, the ultimate in truth. Follow Me, and you will know the fellowship of the ages.

G. Campbell Morgan, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, n.d.), 245-246.

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15) INVITATION TO SUBSCRIBE

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VOL. IV, ISSUE 6, December 1, 2002. Published every other month 2/1;
4/1; 6/1; 8/1; 10/1; 12/1. Archives on www.kneillfoster.com.

Republished by www.kneillfoster.com 2005.