An Introduction to Present Day Truth
The more we grow in our relationship to Christ, the more we realize how much we don't know. The Bible is clear that God has hidden many things until the Father's set time for revealing them. An obvious example is the book of Daniel where God told him it was to be sealed up until the time of the end. No matter what anyone got out of reading that book, there is a hidden understanding in it for a future time.Dan 12:9 And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
It would be the height of arrogance for us to think that we know all there is to know about the things of God. There are many more things that He has held in reserve for us to understand today and as He reveals them to us, we call them Present Day Truth.
Paul understood this as he explained in his writings:
1Corinthinans 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
“This word "mystery" doesn’t mean mysterious or difficult to understand, but it denotes a truth hidden in God’s mind until He chooses to disclose it. God had the plan of redemption in mind before the creation of the world. It would have remained unknown had it not been revealed through the cross.” (Jack Hayford from The Spirit Filled Life Bible.)
1Corinthinans 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
What Do You Believe and Why Do You Believe It?
From the time that we are babies, there are people in our lives whose job it is to build a foundation of understanding in our lives - parents, teachers, pastors, etc. In addition to them, we formulate opinions based on things we read or see, things that happen to us (good or bad) and even people we meet.
All of this combines to form the mindset we walk into adulthood with. Over time, we realize that we have outgrown some of the facts we received and our thoughts have to change to reflect our new understanding.
The same is true of our walk with God. Many of us started out in a denomination that built a foundation of understanding in us. Later on we went somewhere else and learned that some of what we believed had to change as we learned more about God. Maybe you started in a church with a strict, formal method of worship and later went to a spirit-filled church that hardly resembled the first one. As you did, you had to reevaluate what you believed worship looked like.
God's Truth will always change you,
or you have missed His Truth!
God is constantly revealing Himself to us, so our core belief of who He is has to keep changing as well. If you want to grow in God, it's not enough to believe something just because someone taught it to you in the past. You have to dig into the Word of God for yourself and allow His Spirit to lead you into all truth so that you have a firm foundation of understanding to stand on.
NOTE: All of God's Truth will always correlate with His Word but often you have to dig down to the original language to find it. Today there are many good reference books available to help us do so. Please see our recommended resources for more information.