Getting Centered in Truth
Series: CREED: Truths that Unite
Brad Bailey - January 10, 2021
Intro
Good morning Westside Vineyard family and friends.
If you are watching this from afar... perhaps at a later time... I am so glad you are joining.
And to those connected or connecting to the Westside Vineyard in this time and place... I am so glad that we can have this time together. I am excited to start this new year with you.
At the end of this past year... I had hoped to plan a couple days away with my family...or at least with as many of our kids were available. I just wanted to have any sort of change from being at home... to enjoy the perspective that some place outside the familiar can be. While I saw some people were in Hawaii...some out in other ocean settings... with just a couple days...we decided to go out to the desert. That may not sound like the most exciting place to go...but the desert has a quietness of it’s own...and it it really beautiful in it’s own way. I loved the night skies... and the unique tranquility.
But I was also reminded why the desert is so commonly the scene in which people become disoriented.
The desert can be so vast... and in some places... there is nothing on the horizon...nothing that defines a sense of location. One could find themselves surrounded by so much that looks the same... perhaps some small rocks... some small plants...but nothing that is really defining of where one is... of one’s direction. Without any reference points... we lose any sense of orientation. When we lose our sense of reference points... we can begin to lose our sense of orientation.
And the truth is that inwardly....throughout life...there may be times in which changes come...or we’ve wandered and then wondered where we really are.
Maybe we lose a significant connection with our family. Maybe we lose a significant role in life. Maybe we face a loss in our strength of character... perhaps having failed in some way we never deemed possible. There are times we just find that our reference points seem to be gone. Maybe they changed...maybe they just weren’t what they seemed to be.
There we are... like one in a desert...and nothing stands out that defines where we are and who we are like it once did.
And I believe that is particularly relevant as we enter this new year.
I sense that this past year may have left many of us a bit disoriented. When I think about this past year...I see the effects of having everything changing around us. Due to this pandemic we have been living through some of the most fundamental changes to life ...along with the swirl of political and social change. This past year we have had the combination of so much change around us... while losing many of our common patterns and points of reference.
When your world is not the same...and your work is not the same...and your worship are not the same... we can lose our sense of orientation... our sense of who we are... can be affected.
And so we are going to begin this year focused on getting centered in the really big truths that can serve as reference points for life. Before we are done...I am going to introduce us to the Apostles Creed... a set of unchanging truths that can center us...and that can unite us.
What we are going to launch over the next ten weeks... is a process of becoming centered in the unchanging truths that can serve as reference points for our lives.
But first I want us to consider what Jesus teaches us about truth itself.
I want us to consider again that vast desert...when all the small rocks and plants all look the same. When we realize we have lost our sense of where we are going... what we need is a compass that is rooted in what is outside of what we see... and we need some large points of reference to orient us.
With that in mind...I want us to hear some words of Jesus afresh. During the Christmas season many of us heard what was spoken long ago through the prophet Isaiah.... when God said...“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light” ... this is what was to come when a distinct child was born into this world... a child which would bear God’s nature... a child which was actually born and given the name Jesus. [1]
And it’s into the state of disoriented life that Jesus speaks. We read in the Gospel of John, chapter 8. [2]
John 8:12, 23, 31-32
Jesus ... said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
23 "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
31 "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Jesus is speaking into all who live in darkness. Darkness is another way of losing all reference points and being disoriented. If you have ever been in utter darkness...you know that feeling... you can quickly lose your sense of direction. He is saying that we really don’t have any sense about where we are and who we are. And he says that he has come to bring light... to bring understanding.
He is bringing that which can make sense of this world. And he explains in verse 23, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” He is from outside this realm. He is that compass that is rooted in what is outside of what we see. He is rooted in a larger reality that can orient our sense of location and direction. And he provides the truths that serve as the larger points of reference to orient us.
Just as we were reminded at Christmas... he is the eternal entering the temporal... he has come from the infinite to the finite.
His point is this. This realm cannot understand itself... it has no reference point but itself.
He is the reference point. He is the compass. As he explained so clearly, when he said “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6).
And now in these words, there are three things he tells us about truth...that I believe can be so helpful to take in ...especially in this season.
The first point is that...
1. Truth is outside us.
This is really significant. The questions surrounding truth have been pondered and perplexing.
What many refer to as the modern era...came with hopes that humankind could figure everything out. As we discovered more...we thought there was no end to what we could know. The modern era tried to dispel the sense of mystery. The presumption was that only that which could be measured could be referred to a truth. Naturally... that proved to be limited...because so much is beyond our realm of space and time. This idea about truth simply cut us off from any real sense of the larger meaning of our existence.
And then comes what is commonly referred to as our current post-modern ear...in which even the nature of human observation is considered flawed. The post-modern era raised the question of whether anything can be considered true because we are by nature subjective creatures ...that is...we can never observe anything without it being affected by the limitation of our own biases. In many respects ... it’s a valuable point. It’s important to recognize that we are never perfectly objective...we always have previous ideas that shape what we see...and preferred desires that shape how we interpret what we see. But when the only source of truth is deemed to be your subjective idea...or mine... then neither can really claim to be true for the other. You can have your idea about truth...and I can have mine...but any actual or ultimate truth has to be dismissed...because there is nothing more than our individual perspectives.
In this sense... this current view simply leaves us lost. If the more ultimate truth about our existence is outside our space and time...and we cannot presume to determine what is true about ourselves... then we are living in darkness. We have no reference point from beyond ourselves.
And Jesus speaks into that very reality. He is the light that has come into such darkness. He is the one who comes from outside this realm.
Jesus comes to light up our world with the truth that is outside of ourselves...that is beyond us. And as one who has come into this disoriented world...he knows that we are separated from our source... our whole sense of existence is disconnected from the source...and there are powers that seek to control us. There are powers which will get us to serve their own rule by telling us what we should value and worship. [3]
This world will try to make everything bigger than it really is.... more important than it really is.
If we go back to the analogy of being in a desert... where one can lose there sense of perspective ... it is like the infamous mirages that one sees...in which the sunlight begins to play tricks and one sees water and gives nearly all the energy they have left to reach it...only to find it’s not really there.
Jesus understand that is how human life plays out... we will chase what is never ultimately there.
But the great news is that ultimate truth has come... is comes from outside of us.
And when we realize that there is a dimension of truth that exists outside of us... it means that we are dependent on a relationship with that source. This is why Jesus said: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples... Then you will know the truth.” Many translations use the word “abide”...if you abide in me... if you continue in relationship with me... and live according to this reality... you will become one who knows the truth.
So our relationship to this dimension of truth is a relationship to the one who bears that truth. Our existence is rooted in God. The larger truth of who we are is not something that simply exists within us. The great truths about the larger reality we are a part of may resonate within us... something in us may bear witness... but such truth does not begin in us nor could it be contained in us. It is much bigger than us.
We are finite creatures who were created to live in relationship to the infinite. That can be something we fight... there’s an aspect of our human pride that likes to declare it’s independence... that doesn’t want anyone to tell us who we are. When someone emerges into adulthood there is often a desire to declare proudly “I’m my own person.” We can appreciate the sentiment... the sense of not being defined and controlled by others. But if we dare to get beneath the statement... it only reveals what is not known. What does it really mean to be our own person? If we dare to ask... “So who are you?”... we struggle to find any real answer. We can start to realize that this expression “I’m my own person” that wants to express freedom becomes a reflection not of a life of freedom...but a life that is floating... floating in a world without any reference point.
And that is why Jesus speaks of how we cannot find ourselves in ourselves...we find true life when we understand that we exist in relationship to an infinite reality... a relationship that is possible through him.
So the first point is that there is a dimension of truth that is outside of us.
A second point that Jesus makes is that ...
2. Truth is knowable
Jesus said that we can know the truth. That is itself a truth that we need to take in...and take in deeply.
We can know the truth. He is not speaking simply about the dimension of truth reflected in our capacity to know ways to measure and manage the temporal material world... which can certainly be remarkable.... but can’t provide any ultimate truth. He is speaking about the larger reality that we exist in relationship to. That is what Jesus is speaking of.
These are the great truths that God has revealed. And Jesus is very clear that he is the source of these truths. Through knowing him...we CAN actually begin to know the larger truth that surrounds us. We are going to conclude in a bit by introducing the oldest Christian creed...the central truths that God reveals to us. These are the great truths that Jesus helped make known.
And it’s helpful to consider what Jesus is saying about the nature of knowing such truth.
He doesn’t say that such truth is rooted in what you feel. He didn’t say you will “feel the truth”... he said you will KNOW the truth. That may sound like an obvious difference... but in our current culture we tend to define what is true by what we feel... or by what we like. If you ask someone what they believe... what you will often hear...is what they feel...what they prefer... what they like. Jesus knows that the truth is good...but he doesn’t presume that we are initially able to understand and appreciate that good or not. It isn’t dependent on what we feel.
When we speak of such truth...it is more like speaking about gravity. It doesn’t matter how you feel about gravity... gravity exists. That is true about the great truth which Jesus wants us to know... these truths are eternal and unchanging. They can transform our feelings in profound ways...but they are not dependent on our feelings.
Jesus also didn’t say that knowing such truth is dependent on our full understanding. We are finite creatures who should never expect to fully understand the infinite. When Jesus speaks of knowing the truth, he means we will know what we need to know as finite creatures. So as we engage the great truths that Jesus makes known... we can embrace that knowing such truth... is about accepting our limited nature as finite creatures. For example, when we are told about eternal life... there is an aspect of understanding what we need to know...but we cannot fully understand something that has no end. It is simply beyond our minds to comprehend.
As the Bible says... for now we know in part...
“Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” - 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)
So what does it mean for us to say we know the truth? What does it mean when we say we profess to believe the particular truths we will be exploring this season?
When we say we believe... or have faith... it means that we give ourselves to a combination of truth and trust. It means that I have come to a level of understanding to embrace such truth.,.. and I trust what I can’t understand based on what I can understand and my trust in the one from whom I receive it.
It means that sometimes what I believe will easily align with what I experience and feel...and sometimes my feelings are simply out of sync ....and I have to trust God.
That is what is meant when we say we believe... when we have faith. When I say “I believe”...I am declaring both truth and trust. It is saying what I believe and in whom I believe.
And finally... Jesus teaches us that ...
3. Truth brings freedom
Jesus declares that if we stay united with him...we will know the truth AND such truth will set us free.
It’s fascinating that we can find this statement “The truth will set you free” on the face of many academic buildings at the universities throughout the western world. And so many look at those words as simply as affirmation of academic freedom and the power of learning. But they did not derive from academic study... they are quoting the words of Jesus who was actually speaking of a far deeper freedom than merely the freedom to expand our limited knowledge. He is speaking of freedom from what controls us.
He has come to reclaim us from the powers that actually have controlled this world... including our false sense of identity and pursuits that control us. He goes on to speak of how we have become slaves to the ways of this world. [4] And the truth of reality is actually able to bring freedom.
This all leads us to our focus this season. We are launching a new series entitled: Creed: Truths that Unite.
I am going to conclude introducing you to this series... which is framed by the what is called the Apostles Creed. So what is this creed...and how does it serve us?
The History of this Creed
The word “creed” comes from the Latin word credo, which means, “I believe.” It flows as brief affirmations of the most central truths. It is a declaration of what we might think of as the big truths... the major truths. [5]
It’s the oldest known and most widely accepted Christian creed.
Scholars believe that its earliest form can be traced back to A.D. 120. It was not written by the Apostles. It is called the Apostles’ Creed because it reflects what the apostles taught. It summarizes the central truths of the Scriptures which the apostles affirmed.
Some may be familiar with it...particularly those from various traditions which have read this creed communally as a part of their corporate worship.... some even weekly. Many Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal, and Catholic churches recite this Creed together every Sunday as part of their worship.
It is the common heritage of the Christian church. It is recognized by all branches of Christian tradition —Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox. It has provided a powerful center to the Christian faith around which lives can unite.
During the recent funeral of the late President George H. W. Bush, all the former presidents and their wives stood and recited this creed. It was powerful to hear ...as these truths declared that which was so much greater than the differences that had often divided these lives.
And it’s brevity allows it to be shared and learned... as a central frame of belief... that could be memorized...something I encourage us to do over the next 10 weeks. There have been slightly different variations in language throughout the years. We are going to follow an adaptation of the ecumenical version. [6] In the weeks to come we will begin reading it together...but today I will simply read the creed which you can join if you’d like.
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
These are the truths that we will engage over the next ten weeks. Let me quickly conclude with identifying three of the many values that these coming weeks of focus on these truths will these truth will bring to our lives.
The Value of this Creed
The first value is that...
These Truths Center Us
As I described at the start of our time... when you are in the desert... all the small rocks and small plants don’t provide the type of major points of reference we need. So this creed is centered in the major truths. That is it’s intent. We believe far more... but no less.
It’s the essential framework around which our faith can be built upon.
So many have been referring to our nation’s constitution lately... and in a sense ...one could consider these truths to be statements that are foundational to being united as God’s people. It provides the unchanging foundation of truth around which we can center our lives.
These truths center us....and I believe that many of are in a season in which we need to take hold of the unchanging center amidst so much change.
Secondly,
These Truths Form Us
It’s vital to grasp that these truths are not mere academics knowledge. They are defining the reality around which we can form our way of living.
Since the day you were born, your whole life is operating according to what was conveyed to you about reality.
We are told about how Jesus grew throughout his formative years. In Luke 2:52 it says
Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. - Luke 2:52
He grew. He grew in his understanding of who he was... of who his father in heaven was...and what his Father was doing. [7]
His understanding about the greater truths shaped how he lived. He became wiser ...clearer ...and stronger. And the same can be true with us. As we center and shape our lives in relationship to the truths about the way things actually are... we grow more mature... more aligned with reality...and stronger. [8]
So over the next ten weeks...we have the opportunity to grow... to become stronger.
And finally,
These Truths Unite Us
These truths were brought together to form the common foundation that could unite lives in life with God. It was central to forming community...which means common unity. And nothing has ever existed on earth that has formed a common unity across time and space like these truths.
These truths have created a historic and global community.
And each of us can be a part of this historic community... a community that now exists across the furthest reaches of this planet.
People all over the earth are connecting in local communities because they believe this. They'll be shaped by it, and many will recite this together.
I believe that in this season in which we are focused on so much that can divide us... this is a timely call to embrace these truths as more central and certain that what are often smaller and secondary issues.
I want to challenge us. What are we giving centrality and certainty to in our lives? What would other people around us say we are giving centrality and certainty to in our lives? I want to invite us to spend the coming ten weeks... becoming more centered and certain in these core truths.
And just as the earliest church found unity in these truths...so can we.
Closing:
If you are in the process of exploring the truth of Jesus... these next ten weeks will be a great opportunity to hear the reality that Jesus represents.
If these truths have been a part of your reality... during the next ten weeks... this will be a great opportunity to let them become more central. Amidst all the change we have been in the midst of... these next ten weeks will be an opportunity to regain the unchanging center that your life can be rooted in.
I want to invite us to face the first step that comes with embracing such truths. It goes back to how Jesus described that such truth exists outside of us. It doesn’t mean it is not related to us. But we are not the center of all truth.
This creed does not believe that life is all about you. It doesn’t believe that you will find yourself in yourself. It locates us in relationship to God.
So lets begin by opening ourselves to that which is beyond us. Lets take a mment in prayer. I invite us to close our eyes... to simply allow our spirits to come before God.
PRAYER
Notes:
1. Initially spoken in Isaiah 9:2 and later referred to as being fulfilled in Christ in the Gospel accounts. (Matthew 4:16)
2. A similar understanding of Jesus is reflected in John’s earlier introduction, where he writes,
In him was life, and that life was the light of men. John 1:4 (NIV)
and
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NIV)
3. One may recall that Jesus actually faced this enemy at the start of his ministry... when he spent 40 days in the wilderness.
4. Jesus speaks of such freedom just after these words...
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. - John 8:34-36 (NIV)
5. Notably, the other major creed is the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed was adopted at the Council of Nicea in AD 325 and expanded at the Council of Constantinople in AD 381. It is generally believed that some form of the Apostles Creed was drawn upon in the formation of the Nicene Creed.
These creeds are by nature defining only the major framework on which far more is hung. They say nothing about Satan, angels, demons, predestination, baptism, church government, or the details of the Second Coming.
The Apostles’ Creed is a variant of an ancient baptismal confession known as the Old Roman Creed (also, Roman Creed or Old Roman Symbol). The Old Roman Creed is believed to have been created in accordance with Jesus’s command in Matthew 28:19: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
More about the two major creeds can be explored at: The Nicene and Apostles' Creeds: A close look at these two creeds helps define what Christians believe by JoHannah Reardon - https://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/articles/churchhomeleadership/nicene-apostles-creeds.html
6. This version is from the International Consultation on English Texts. The ICET was a first inter-church ecumenical group that undertook the writing of texts for use by English-speaking Christians in common, published Prayers We Have in Common (Fortress Press, 1970,1971,1975). Its version of the Apostles' Creed was adopted by several churches.
Note: This version does changes the more controversial “[Jesus] descended into hell” to “he descended to the dead” (following “was crucified, died, and was buried”). The basis for the line is 1 Peter 3:19, which states that Jesus “went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.” As R. C. Sproul said, “People are making a lot of assumptions when they consider that this is a reference to hell and that Jesus went there between his death and his resurrection.” And as John Piper notes, “there is no textual basis in the New Testament for claiming that between Good Friday and Easter Christ was preaching to souls imprisoned in hell or Hades.
We have also made a common change from referring to “the holy catholic Church” to “the holy Christian Church” as many have done. While we can simply explain this as meaning the universal church…we made the change because when reading it weekly… most weeks there will be no opportunity to explain the less familiar meaning of “catholic” and it would create potential confusion and controversy.
7. Jesus as the incarnation of God, lived as a material being...and this shaped his relationship to the material world. He lived as a sexual being...and this shaped how he lived in relationship to his sexual desires. He lived as a political being...and this shaped how he related as a fellow political being.
8. Jesus said that he saw humanity as that which is tossed about by the waves and winds of life. Without being rooted... every idea and influence will blow us around.
And this includes our need to root our understanding in the Scriptures. When Jesus engaged two particular lives on the road to Emmaus...they had a personal encounter... that needed more understanding of Scripture...not less.
