Matthew 23:8 reads: “for One is your Teacher and you are all brothers.” By drawing nearer to Him and His word, I have experienced His drawing nearer to me (see James 4:8a), and in the process I have become convinced that the Bible does contain the spiritual words that represent the spiritual thoughts that emanate from the mind of the very One before whom we will all one day stand (see 1 Cor. 2:13b, 16b; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:5–11; Heb. 9:27).
There is nothing of greater importance to the world than the proper understanding of God’s consummate communication to His creation. The rightness and hope of everything we believe and, thus, everything we do in this life is dependent upon a proper understanding of that gospel communication. Apart from that proper understanding, human nakedness—as first revealed in the Garden of Eden—still remains. You’ll recall that Adam and Eve’s first recognition of their nakedness (lack of covering) was right after they had eaten of the apple. Under the influence of the knowledge of evil for the first time, their immediate response was to cover themselves (see Gen. 3:7, 10–11).
This reference to their nakedness is metaphorically a reference to their lack of knowledge. It was their lack of knowledge that actually led to their fall in the first place (more on that in book, chapter 12). It is that remaining human nakedness (lack of knowledge) that mankind has been trying to cover since that first moment in the garden. Unfortunately, as was noted by Isaiah, apart from the knowledge of Christ, the best that anyone can do is to cover him or herself with a filthy garment (see Isa. 64:6), a garment made according to the thought of man.
The psalmist wrote, “Give me understanding according to Thy word” (Ps. 119:169).The
Lord Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31b–32). The truth has been revealed. And it was revealed the moment Jesus rose from the dead. Read what He tells us:
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this…Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see (Rev. 3:14b, 17–18).
He is telling us to put Him on (see also Rom. 13:14). He is the only garment that can cover our nakedness and we can know for certain that such nakedness (lack of understanding) as regards the true knowledge of God is not a virtue. Nevertheless, in this life each of us is free to thread our needles and stitch our garments with whatever we choose to identify as truth. However, what must be equally understood is that the choices we make, particularly as regards truth, have significant consequences. A garment can and, according to Jesus, must be stitched.
