Progression of Truth against the Flow of a Fallen World

By Stephen T. McClard - Complete Article List

How are ideas brought into circulation in society?  How can we find truth from these ideas under the rubble of counterfeit intentions and misguided wisdom?

My last article focused on the weakness of the heart and mind for discerning truth.  I pointed in the direction of God’s Spirit as the only source of meaningful enlightenment.  This article will mainly focus on the importance of realizing truth at its source.  Please keep in mind that my view of reality, as presented here, may not reflect your view.  My aim is not to change your perspective, but only present an alternative view for your consideration.

The Source of Truth

The world contains many creeds and faiths, but one central truth should not be overlooked:  The flow of all we know is made up of many branches from the same stream, a great river divided many times over.  The raging torrent of this river may be blocked by disbelief, but the main body of the flow emanating from the source will never be confined in one place for long.  Realizing the initial first cause that governs the universe is the preliminary step for navigating the stream.  All scholarship throughout history is a struggle against this flowing current as it meanders its way back to the original spring of creation.

As we each make our way through this stream of education for the soul, the direction of current we follow, and the choice of branches we take, will determine our progress as we drift through our brief lives.  The three teachers of choice, chance and the actions of others uniquely influence the journey of each soul.  Although we do not always have control over choice, we can clearly see that chance is motivated by providence—the guiding hand of God.  Providence ultimately defines all outcomes in an effort to influences choice in the direction of truth.  If providence can be seen as shaping our choices by spiritual influence, then recognizing the purpose of these influences should be our primary concern in life.  Purpose will be unique to each member of the human family.

In John chapter 3, Jesus is speaking with a Pharisee (Jewish ruler) named Nicodemus when He reveals to him that a man must be reborn with water and spirit.  This was a clear reference to Ezekiel 36:25-27, where it states, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” 

The Bible speaks in many places about idols, which represent anything that distracts us from holiness in life, separating the soul from a proper relationship with the spirit of God.  Certain objects, beliefs and pursuits from the physical and spiritual world are either ‘untied’ (permitted-“mutar”) or ‘tied down’ (forbidden – “asur”) by God.  Hebrew tradition refers to these forbidden objects and ideas as “impure shells” (kelipot ha-temei’ot) – fundamentally evil urges or desires.  Idols do not elevate the soul, but rather, separate it from God.  When we turn to God’s Spirit instead, we cleanse ourselves from these desires, allowing God to draw us closer to truth and righteousness.  The main idol of selfish pride is removed when we lean on God instead of our own wisdom.

Hebrew tradition helps us further understand this process.  According to Hebrew rabbinical commentaries, God opens a spiritual void in every soul so as to bestow His light into our hearts.  This void can be filled in many ways from worldly pursuits, but these pursuits can never satisfy for long.  We come to realize that only God’s Spirit can permanently satisfy the emptiness and provide meaningful direction to our pursuits and ambitions.  As the Spirit indwells the soul, this space enlarges, making room for even more enlightenment and growth over time.  Freedom from the toils of this world can only come by filling this void with spiritual truth in a right relationship with God.  Letting go of the world according to our wishes then allows God to open it back up to us according to His will, revealing our purpose in life.

As I can only speak for myself, I will say that I consider biblical wisdom—the workings of the Spirit of God—to be an accurate foundation for pointing the intellect to the source of this living water that is provided through salvation.  I cannot prove anything that I say, but what I can demonstrate is a common thread of truth that is understood by the heart and mind equally, quenching the thirst of the soul.  If you recognize this within yourself, then you can begin to identify it for what it is—God’s hand at work in your life.

The following passage from Romans 8 may help you see clearly:

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.  So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

One Truth Standing Above the Caverns of Evil Beneath Society

By Stephen T. McClard - Complete Article List


Recognizing the difference between real truth and the counterfeit version is a daily battle.  None of us possesses immunity from the infection of delusion by way of false information.  A veritable smorgasbord of perspectives are always there waiting to prey on our hearts and minds.  Consumerism, false religion, humanism, transhumanism, rationalism, mysticism, new age occultism, and so many other varied isms and beliefs saturate and influence society.  Although we can sometimes recognize the questionable intentions of the various ideologies, religions and philosophies that permeate the world, we lack the necessary guidance for proper declination of the heart and mind.  The noise produced in our minds from these various schools of thought should educate our hearts to one important fact:  Truth is not so much where you look, but how you perceive.


Perception really boils down to one reality that has been recognized by every culture, philosophy and ideology throughout the centuries.  Deep down, we all realize that we possess a higher inner self and a lower outer self.  Plato saw this dualism as the divine soul imprisoned in the moral body.  The biblical version of dualism recognizes the ultimate struggle between the flesh and the spirit; good and evil.  Modern rationalism sees all substance as matter and the mind as consciousness arising entirely from evolutionary chance.  No matter what you personally believe, the view you choose about mind and body ultimately results from your perspective of this inward and outward struggle.


From my perspective, there is one view that stands above the rest; one view that remains constant against the changing times, ever rising above the rest as the ultimate source for accurately defining truth.  I mentioned in an earlier article that truth would both speak to the heart and to the mind’s eye equally.  After spending the past twenty years of my life searching the various wisdom traditions and religions of the world for truth, the Bible remains the ultimate source to my mind’s eye.  Biblical revelation accurately and flawlessly represents the equilibrium required by my mind and heart.


If this last statement rings as true or false from your own perspective, you have just revealed the next important key to understanding counterfeit truth.  The bible states very clearly that God’s wisdom will appear as foolishness to the wisdom of the world.  Depending on your view of God, you will either recognize divine wisdom as truth or as foolishness.  This one single element of divine revelation will define your ability to focus reality clearly in a dimly lit world.  Paul reveals this idea to us in 1 Corinthians 2:14


The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.


With these words, Paul gives us the next key to understanding counterfeit truth.  The original source of truth is God as revealed by his Spirit.  Listening to your Heart alone will not be sufficient.


Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.”


Additionally, leaning only on your mind and intellect will also be deceptive.


1 Corinthians 1:20 says, “Where is the wise man?  Where is the scholar?  Where is the philosopher of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?


The question then becomes this:  Which spirit are you following to guide your heart and intellect?  According to biblical wisdom, there are two sprits at work in the world, and each of these spirits speaks to us through the inward domain of our soul.  One spirit is of truth and one spirit is the copy wrapped in counterfeit form.  We again find the correct answer in the Bible:


1 Corinthians 2:10-16
10 The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?  In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.  13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.  14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:   16 ”For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”  But we have the mind of Christ.


What appears as truth to me may not be truth to you.  I cannot speak to your personal perspective and I am not writing this article to judge anyone for their beliefs.  My idea in covering this topic is merely to give you the answer to this problem of counterfeit truth according to my perspective and life experience.


The point is this:  Knowledge of the world is helpful to anyone who wishes to live life with skill.  Wisdom can guide your actions in a profitable manner.  Only truth can lead you beyond the empty void left in the wake of the mortal coil we call reality.  Listening to the correct spiritual truth is the answer to the deception of the counterfeit copy we find around us daily.  Beneath the empty caverns of evil in our world, only one lasting truth stands sure and faithful.


1 Corinthians 2:1-5
1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.  4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.


Salvation from the Noise
If you are searching for a simple way to find the Spirit of God within your soul, there is only one way.  Receiving the Holy Spirit comes by calling on the name of Jesus Christ as Savior and lord or your life.  His sacrifice was for you.  Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).


First Corinthians 12:13 reveals, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
Romans 8:9 tells us, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.  And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”


Ephesians 1:13-14 reveals the Holy Spirit as the seal of salvation for all those who believe: “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”