The Holy Spirit will lead into all truth. But truth is greater than human constructs of doctrine. Every denomination, church, pastor, and even individual believer has an interpretation and understanding. And each firmly believes that they are right and all others are wrong. Even among Apostolic brethren there are different nuances of doctrine. So who is right? I used to arrogantly believe my church, my pastor, and my understanding was absolutely right. Then, I began to see errors and misunderstandings in my church...then my pastor... and *gulp*...even myself.
In agony of spirit I begged God to give me the right combination, the absolutely right teaching...and He showed me more error in and around me and said, "I Am Truth. What you think regarding Me is not truth, it is only your limited understanding regarding Me and My Word. I Am Truth. If you have Me, you have all Truth, for no truth exists outside of Me.. Now learn of Me, and partake in the hidden manna! Behold, I AM!."
Truth is Christ. Our ideas and interpretations are our own thoughts and "educated" conclusions. Realizing this, and abiding in Him, is to embrace the actual truth. Formulating a conclusion predicated on our own conclusions and limited understanding and declaring it a truth above all other ideas is taking our thoughts, decking them with gold and precious stones, and bowing down to them.
To walk in "truth" is to embrace the mystery, and admit that you don't have God all figured out. Now, that's a truth that can only humble you. Paul wrote:
1 Timothy 3:16 King James Version (KJV)
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
I know that Jesus was God. How that is, the details, are honestly beyond me, and any honest theologian will admit that their conclusions are only their best human summations of what they believe the Scriptures teach. And, that's the... truth. Can you embrace the mystery and walk in that truth? If not, then you're only walking in human conclusions. Yes, some are more clearly more biblical than others, but every position has its flaws. These theologies are human innovations. If taken to an idolatrous level, these human constructs divide, breed hatred, persecution, and have even caused wars.
To abide in the truth is to abide in the authenticity of this reality.
I believe that God sees our theologies and movements as being human attempts to understand the unfathomable. I also believe that God is pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh, every sincerely repentant heart that calls on Christ. I believe that the divide over what words to use in baptism is the result of a restoration of Apostolic truth after the Catholic error, which was sadly perpetuated by the Protestants. And, I must own that conclusion, which is based on my studies, and let it be. Other churches fall within a spectrum ranging from being closest to Apostolic truth (including some Charismatic churches) to being farthest from that truth (Catholicism). I pray that I see others in Heaven. I imagine some of them might make it in spite of their error. They might be rather surprised that they were wrong on some things, as will we all. God judges the heart of a man. What we profess to know doesn't impress Him. I therefore try not to judge the salvation of other Christians, although I'll gladly evaluate their theology in light of my understanding of the Scriptures. What I do hold to is this - One must:
1.) Repent
2.) Be water baptized (in the name of Jesus being most biblical)
3.) Be filled with the Spirit (speaking in tongues being the normative biblical evidence)
I pray that God sees the faith and sincerity of those Spirit filled believers who were baptized in titles. Because they, like me, are limited by their limited human understanding.
So, I believe that if you want to make your calling and election sure, embrace Jesus as God in flesh (opinions of how this is so might differ). Repent of sin, and then be baptized in the name of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit. Don't fear it, let the ecstasy of the tongues flow. Then live your life focused upon loving God, and demonstrate your love for God by loving others through Christ's own love, for He abides in you. A life lived in divine love towards God and our fellow man is the core of true holiness.
The Truth transcends our human constructs of doctrine. For Truth is a person, and to abide in truth is to abide in the unfathomable mystery of that person's reality. Regardless of what we think of Him, all truth is...JESUS.
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