Then, around 10 years ago, Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God taught me that Truth is a Person, that Jesus himself is Truth. This started a revolution in my thinking. I went from trying to follow or imitate Jesus to embracing what he has done in me when he made me new. His very nature of Truth has been written into the DNA of the new creation he has made me. Formerly, as a fallen, sin-bound child of wrath I did not have truth written in my inward parts. I had, rather, the deception and deceit that is the nature of my former father, Satan. This sin nature of deceit is why I could always spot flaws in others but always excuse them in myself.
But now that I have his nature of Truth written upon my new heart, I am aware of both my inherent sinfulness and of his complete redemption of me from the power of sin. Even while I learn to walk in the power of his Spirit, bringing him glory by doing what he shows me to do by his power, I am increasingly aware of my natural, fleshly proclivity to deceit and sin. I have his power now to resist putting others down while excusing myself, but the temptation to do so will be with me until I receive a new, incorruptible body in Glory. So, the very Spirit of Truth that lives within me and makes me able to live in his supernatural power is also a mirror that reveals to me who I am apart from my Redeemer. This is very humbling. I am not even tempted to take any credit for anything good done through me, for all that is good is of him! When I choose sinful disobedience, I can sin really well, but that is certainly nothing to be proud of! I am so thankful that even when I temporarily revert to the old, familiar, deceitful ways, he patiently and kindly brings me back around to abiding in him, as a parent does their child. He is Truth, and He is mine and I am his.
He is so much more as well. I think of all his names given in his Word. He is my Way, my Life, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Righteousness, etc. in the same way he is my Truth. However, it took another Henry, Henry Morris, to help me realize that Christ himself resides in his Wisdom.
I ask God for wisdom all the time. Debi Pearl clued me in on this in her book, Created to Be His Help Meet. She taught me that if I want to be a help meet in God's image, I'll need constant infusions of his wisdom. He says I can pray for wisdom and he will give it liberally. (Note: apart from Christ, we are all very foolish. A fool thinks, in his deceived mind, that there is no God, that he can act apart from God to do what he thinks is right.) However, once again, I was praying for wisdom like I used to think of Truth, seeing it as principles. I was thinking, "He will show me what to do in this situation." While he always does show me what to wisely do in the same way he shows me what is true, I discovered there is so much more!
I was reading the first seven chapters of Proverbs, which is about seeking wisdom, in the Defender's Study Bible, with notes by Henry Morris. His note on Proverbs 3:19: 'The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.', reads: 'Since Christ was the one by whom God founded the earth (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16), this verse makes it clear that in Proverbs, "wisdom" is actually personified and identified with Christ.'
I realized that when I am praying for wisdom, I am asking for Wisdom, who is Jesus! He replaces my natural folly with himself, who is Wisdom, just as he replaces my natural deceit with himself, who is Truth. Talk about a personal relationship! I'm beginning to understand what Paul means when he says, "My life is hid in Christ."
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