9th of the 6th month 2016/2017
Shalom all,
Eph’siyim/Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, having put off the false, speak truth, each one with his neighbour, for we are members of one another.”
These words of Sha’ul are vital for us to hear and make sure that we are speaking truth to each other at all times! In a time where somebody’s word cannot be fully trusted we recognise how the tongue of falsehood and lies seems to be the norm of society, which is a very frightening thing indeed and one that should cause the true remnant Bride of Messiah to be on guard against as we make sure that the words that flow from our lips are words of Truth. Words of Truth that is faithfully and trustworthily followed up by the proper actions of righteousness in adherence to that which flows from our lips!
In a message called, “PUT OF THE FALSE AND SPEAK TRUTH!” I would like to address the urgency of hearing this clear call and doing it, as the damage that falsehood does in breaking down is not healthy for a Bride that ought to be making herself ready for our Master’s return and herein lies the call to be about building one another up in the Truth.
After having made clear that we are to guard the unity of the Spirit and be built up in the Master as a body that is knit together and no longer walks as the nations do, he calls believers to put off the old man of corruption and put on the renewed man in righteousness and set-apartness of the truth and having said that he begins this statement in verse 25 with a ‘therefore’, which is the Greek word διό dio – Strong’s G1352 which is a conjunction that means, ‘therefore, for this reason, on which account, wherefore, so then’ and is used as a relatively emphatic marker of a result of that which has been spoken before as this conjunction brings together a complex sentence in logic if and only if each of its components is true! In others words this conjunction highlights that if what has preceded these words is in fact true and that the believers are walking in unity and have put off the old and put on the new then the call to speak truth should be an obvious result, Recognising that we are indeed members of one another.
While this may make sense ‘in word’, what we must ask is if the action of this truth is being done ‘in works’ too, or has lips of truth been overshadowed and replaced by falsehood, slander, gossip and lies?
This ‘therefore’ serves to coordinate what follows with what precedes and herein lays the beckoning question that if truth is not being spoken then does that mean that falsehood has not been properly put off? If this is the case then this would simply reveal that believers who are not speaking truth are not being properly built up in unity and maturity; perhaps due to their refusal to submit to the appointed order that our Master gave for the perfecting of the set-apart ones until all come to maturity.
As I consider these words of Sha’ul I am greatly concerned about the state of the body of Messiah, as there is much falsehood that has not been put off, which leaves the body, as a whole, in a crippling state where truth is not being properly spoken, or rather that while ‘words of truth’ may be seen to be uttered from many lips, the corresponding actions that do not live up to words that are spoken reveal the sad truth that many hearts are far from Elohim, despite much lip service that in being rendered in vain.
The Greek word that is translated as ‘put off’ comes from the verb ἀποτίθημι apotithēmi – Strong’s G659 which means, ‘lay aside, put off, lay down, cast off’. In Ya’aqoḇ this word is translated as ‘put away’:
Ya’aqoḇ/James 1:21-22 “Therefore put away all filthiness and overflow of evil, and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your lives. 22 And become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
What is abundantly clear in Scripture is that in order to be proper hearers and doers of the Word, and be on guard against deception, is that we have to first put off the former corruption of the sinful flesh, so that we can receive the implanted Word and allow it to bring forth the proper fruit of set-apartness!
The proper putting off and putting on is a clear instruction we see being given to us in Scripture, and in order to properly put on the armour of light we must put off all darkness:
Romiyim/Romans 12:11-13 “The night is far advanced, the day has come near. So let us put off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk becomingly, as in the day, not in wild parties and drunkenness, not in living together and indecencies, not in fighting and envy, 14 but put on the Master יהושע Messiah, and make no provision for the lusts of the flesh.”
Sha’ul was not simply content to explain a Truth and leave it, he always applied it to practical living and here in this letter he makes mention of the very things that we are to put off and why!
We are to put off all lying and speak truth to one another for we are all members of each other. This is a very important things he is teachings us here, for lying will only corrupt the garments of the Bride and darken out the light that we are to shine!
Therefore having put off the false…! Before we take a closer look at what speaking truth to one another entails the question that each one should ask themselves, as they look intently into the mirror of the Word, is whether they have truly put off the false or not!
The Greek word that is translated here as ‘false’ is the noun ψεῦδος pseudos – Strong’s G5579 which means, ‘falsehood, lies, untruth’, and comes from the verb ψεύδομαι pseudomai – Strong’s G5574 which means, ‘to lie, speak deliberate falsehoods’. This noun – ψεῦδος pseudos – Strong’s G5579 – can also be understood as a conscious and intentional falsehood and be crafty in presenting whatever is not what it seems to be! In other words when falsehood has not been properly and obediently put off and cast aside then it may appear as something that it is not and have an appearance of truth yet cannot be followed up by proper actions.
Why I am highlighting this is to emphasis a great concern that we see among many who are a part of the body of Messiah yet find themselves so easily reverting to ways of falsehood that may offer lips that say all the right kind of words yet their actions do not match up, rendering their words no longer as the truth that they may have appeared to be but rather are exposed as falsehood, which highlights the immaturity that the body, as a whole, is in and teaches us the urgency for the true perfecting of set-apartness that needs to happen before our Master returns!
Sha’ul goes on to say the following:
Eph’siyim/Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupt word come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for the use of building up, so as to impart what is pleasant to the hearers.”
We are to have put off all falsehood and speak truth, making sure that no corrupt word comes out of our mouths!
The Greek word that is translated as ‘corrupt’ in verse 29 is σαπρός sapros – Strong’s G4550 which means, ‘rotten, worthless, bad, unwholesome’, and is used to describe a ‘rotten’ tree, in:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 7:17-19 “So every good tree yields good fruit, but a rotten tree yields wicked fruit. 18 “A good tree is unable to yield wicked fruit, and a rotten tree to yield good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Luqas/Luke 6:44-45 “For each tree is known by its own fruit. For they do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 “The good man brings forth what is good out of the good treasure of his heart, and the wicked man brings forth what is wicked out of the wicked treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Our words reveal a lot and will clearly reveal if the old man has been put off or not!
When our speech is not corrupt then all bitterness, wrath, displeasure and uproar and slander will be put away!
Have you found yourself saying things that you should not have said when in anger? Sha’ul teaches us not to sin when we area wroth! How often have you allowed displeasure to cause you to have speech that is corrupt and you end up slandering another? This can be a sign that the old grave clothes are still on or are in the closet, so to speak, and are conveniently put on when one is driven by the deceit of the flesh!
Ya’aqoḇ warns us about how dangerous the tongue can be, and how out of the same mouth can proceed blessings and cursings and this should not be so!
We are to guard our lips and when we put off the corruption of the flesh and walk according to the Spirit our speech will be wholesome and true as our speech is seasoned with salt!
In his letter to the believers in Rome, he writes:
Romiyim/Romans 15:2 “Let each one of us please his neighbour for his good, to build him up.”
This goes perfectly in sync with the instruction in his letter to the believers of Ephesos, where he calls for true believers to speak truth, each one with his neighbour as we are to speak truth to one another in order to build up, for the good of each individual as well as the body that is knitted together in the Master.
The Greek word that is used for ‘build up’ is οἰκοδομή oikodomē – Strong’s G3619 which means, ‘building a building, edifying, strengthening’, which comes from the words: 1) οἶκος oikos – Strong’s G3624 which means, ‘a house, dwelling, descendants, family’ and 2) δῶμα dōma – Strong’s G1430 which means, ‘house, dwelling’. This makes perfect sense as we understand that we (plural) are the House (singular) of Elohim:
Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are a Dwelling Place of Elohim and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you?”
The ‘you are’ that is highlighted here is the Greek word ἐστέ este – Strong’s G2075 and is the second person plural of the word of εἰμί eimi – Strong’s G1510 which means, ‘I exist, I am, stay, remain’, while the Greek word for ‘Dwelling Place’ is ναός naos – Strong’s G3485 which means, ‘to inhabit, a temple, sanctuary’ and is written in the noun singular nominative tense. Why I am mentioning this is to highlight how we are all to be built up together as one body and this emphasises the importance of there being unity with no falsehood that can rob the need for truth to be spoken to each other so that the body can be built up in unity and not broken down by rebellious division caused through falsehood!
What causes truth to be withheld from being spoken as it should is clear, as it is due to a result of falsehood that is not being properly put off that leaves the assumed truth being spoken to be revealed as a twisted lie that hurts and breaks down as opposed to encouraging and building up. What is worth taking note of is that both Sha’ul and Kěpha warned about false teachers that would tickle the ears, twist the truth and deny the Master! Sadly many follow the falsehood of these false teachers and false prophets and refuse to cast off or put off the false teachings that tickle their ears and in the process end up with lips that may honour our Master and Elohim yet have hearts that are far from Him!
Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 2:1-3 “But there also came to be false prophets among the people, as also among you there shall be false teachers, who shall secretly bring in destructive heresies, and deny the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 And many shall follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of, 3 and in greed, with fabricated words, they shall use you for gain. From of old their judgment does not linger, and their destruction does not slumber.”
Timotiyos Bět /2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For there shall be a time when they shall not bear sound teaching, but according to their own desires, they shall heap up for themselves teachers tickling the ear, 4 and they shall indeed turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to myths.”
Heaping up teachers that tickle the ear is a clear reference to false teachers that cause people to turn their ears from the truth as they bring in destructive heresies that cause division in the body. Today we see how some are being led astray through false teachings that ‘sound nice’ and ‘feel right’ yet do not line up with the clear plumb line of the Truth and as a result of not testing the validity of the ear tickling teachings of falsehood that has twisted the Truth we find many who have truly not ‘put off the false’. In the process they cling to falsehood due to a lack of knowledge and a proper understanding of the Word and when confronted with the Truth they stubbornly refuse to put off that which brings destruction and end up slandering and gossiping and causing division and rebellion within the body, which יהוה hates!!!
The instruction that Sha’ul gave Timotiyos before telling him that there will be a time when many will not bear sound teaching was clear, as we see in:
Timotiyos Bět /2 Timothy 4:2 “Proclaim the Word! Be urgent in season, out of season. Reprove, warn, appeal, with all patience and teaching.”
Timotiyos is clearly instructed to be urgent in his teaching that will often come with the need to appeal, warn and even reprove the hearer, which may not always be very ear tickling to the one who has not put of the false! In other words, we also realise that speaking the Truth may not necessarily be something that tickles and soothes the ear, especially if being reproved for being found to have falsehood still being present in one’s life!
As I was considering the danger of not putting of the false and having vain lip service that is not backed up with proper obedience and unity, I was reminded of what many said about the prophet Yeḥezqěl, in:
Yeḥezqěl/Ezekiel 33:30-32 “As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses. And they speak to each other, each saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from יהוה.’ 31 “And they come to you as people do, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them. For with their mouth they show much love – their hearts pursue their greedy gain. 32 “And see, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and playing well on an instrument. And they hear your words, but they do not do them.”
What you will notice here in this passage is that people were ‘speaking to each other’ the Truth regarding the fact that the word that Yeḥezqěl was speaking was the Word of יהוה, yet due to falsehood not being put off we see that while they flattered with their mouth they refused to do what was being instructed! We have seen this similar attitude by some in these last days as they will often speak flattering words of one who teaches the Torah and even tell others to hear the one who speaks the Word of יהוה yet none of them actually do what is being taught in Truth, which highlights the reality that falsehood has not been properly put off! This can be seen by their actions of disobedience or refusal to submit to the authority of the Word that is being taught, which renders the ‘assumed truth’ being spoken to their neighbours as nothing more than a twisted lie.
What is the point of listening to the Truth and not doing it? So many are simply ‘putting on a religious show’ as they refuse to ‘put off the false’ and are therefore unable to truly speak truth to the building up of the body and this is the sad reality of a vain lip service that is being rendered by so many today.
We are to speak Truth and in order to do that properly we must make sure that all falsehood is properly cast off and lay aside in order that the Good deposit of the Truth of the Word can grow and cause a true taught one to bear much fruit that lasts and be a encouragement to others who in turn can be equipped in the Truth and blossom in true set-apartness that befits the House of Elohim! In the days of Yirmeyahu we also take note of how wicked the state of Yisra’ĕl was as people twisted their words and did not keep their word that had been spoken to others!
Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 9:3-6 “And they bend their tongue like a bow. Falsehood, and not truth, prevails on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they have not known Me,” declares יהוה. 4 “Let everyone beware of his neighbour and not trust any brother. For every brother catches by the heel, and every neighbour walks with slanderers. 5 “And everyone deceives his neighbour, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak falsehood, and have wearied themselves to crook. 6 “You live in the midst of deceit; through deceit they have refused to know Me,” declares יהוה.”
Falsehood prevails on the earth! This could be a clear description of the wicked and deceitful generation that we live in the midst of today! Just as Yirmeyahu lived in the midst of deceit so we recognise how similar the days are that we are living in now.
The Hebrew root word translated as ‘falsehood’ is שֶׁקֶר sheqer – Strong’s H8267 which means, ‘deception, disappointment, falsehood, lies’, and comes from the root verb שָׁקַר shaqar – Strong’s H8266 which means, ‘to do or deal falsely, lie’.
Ěḵah/Lamentations 2:14 “Your prophets have seen falsehood and folly for you, and have not shown you your crookedness, to turn back your captivity. But their visions for you are false and misleading messages.”
Through the false and misleading messages we see how so many have actually begun to teach themselves to speak falsehood; a falsehood that has been so ingrained in them as we are able to see through the mirror of the example given to us in Yirmeyahu being a clear reflection of the state of falsehood that prevails on the earth today!
The caution was given here in Yirmeyahu to beware of one’s neighbour as everyone deceived and walked with slanderers!
The Hebrew root word translated here as ‘slanderer’ is רָכִיל raḵil – Strong’s H7400 which means, ‘slander, slanderer, talebearer, informer, carry tales’, and comes from the root verb רָכַל raḵal – Strong’s H7402 which means, ‘to go about (meaning dubious), trader, merchant, trafficker’.
A ‘slanderer’ is a person who goes about spreading information, whether true of false, with the motive of diminishing another, and goes about telling everyone matters that should not be revealed but rather kept a secret.
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 11:13 “A slanderer is a revealer of secrets, but one with a trustworthy spirit conceals a matter.”
We are clearly instructed in the Torah to not go slandering:
Wayyiqra/Leviticus 19:16 “Do not go slandering among your people. Do not stand against the blood of your neighbour. I am יהוה.”
To stand against the blood of your neighbour is understood as bearing false witness and speaking against the life of another!
Ya’aqoḇ/James 4:11 “Brothers, do not speak against one another. He that speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against Torah and judges Torah. And if you judge Torah, you are not a doer of Torah but a judge.”
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 20:19 “He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with him who speaks smoothly with his lips.”
Shelomoh makes it clear here that a slanderer is simply a talebearer that goes and speaks things about others that should not be spoken.
While many may refuse to recognise this as being the clear state of the majority of the earth we do not have to look too far to see how so many people today speak with a ‘fork tongue’, so to speak, as their words cannot be fully trusted, especially when slandering others. While this may be a reflection of what the world that we live in is like, it should not be the state of the Body of Messiah and herein we all need to hear the clear call to put off the false and get back to building one another up in the Truth.
We are clear told in Wayyiqra/Leviticus to not deceive one another:
Wayyiqra/Leviticus 19:23 “Do not steal, do not lie, do not deceive one another.”
The Hebrew word that is used here for ‘deceive’ is the verb שָׁקַר shaqar – Strong’s H8266 which means, ‘to do or deal falsely, lie’
Look at the warning of deceit and lies:
Tehillah/Psalm 101:7 “He who practises deceit does not dwell in my house; He who speaks lies does not stand in my presence.”
The Hebrew word translated here for ‘deceit’ is רְמִיָּה remiyyah – Strong’s H7423 which means, ‘deceit, treachery, slothful, slack, idle’, which comes from the root verb רָמָה ramah – Strong’s H7411 which means, ‘to beguile, betray, deal treacherously with’.
Practising deceit and speaking lies and falsehood will keep you out of the House of Elohim!!!
Qolasim/Colossians 3:9 “Do not lie to each other, since you have put off the old man with his practices”
Here in Qolasim/Colossians the Greek word for ‘lie’ is ψεύδομαι pseudomai – Strong’s G5574 which means, ‘to lie, speak deliberate falsehoods’.
The Greek word that is used here for in Eph’siyim/Ephesians 4:25 for ‘truth’ is the word ἀλήθεια alētheia – Strong’s G225 which means, ‘truth, truly, according to truth’.
The Master יהושע Messiah tells us clearly in Yoḥanan/John 14:6 that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life – and to walk in the Truth is to walk in Him: in Him in whom there is not spot or blemish or any deceit of falsehood! To walk in Him is to walk according to the Truth and in purity of the Truth, as we hear, guard and do His commands; and in turn be equipped to speak Truth each one to his neighbour!
Speaking truth to each other entails that we are a true ambassador of our Master and Elohim and that our speech is continually seasoned with salt!
Qolasim/Colossians 3:6 “Let your word always be with favour, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you ought to answer each one.”
Being seasoned with salt is a clear metaphor for staying in Covenant as we are to be a daily living sacrifice and take note that according to the Torah, every offering must be brought with salt!
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 2:13 “And season with salt every offering of your grain offering, and do not allow the salt of the covenant of your Elohim to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you bring salt.”
Salt preserves, so it is a picture of eternity and the perpetuity of the covenant. Salt is also a cleansing and healing agent; it renders the slaughtered animal unsusceptible to outside influences, reminding us that the absolute Covenant of יהוה is not to be altered. It can be ground up finer and finer, yet is still always salt. In fact, the Hebrew word for salt מֶלַח melaḥ – Strong’s H4417 comes from the word that means ‘to rub together, pulverise’. Salt cannot be destroyed by heat or water, but can be destroyed by another chemical agent. There is no safety net if salt loses its savour; there is nothing we can add to salt to make it salty again.
Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt becomes tasteless, how shall it be seasoned? For it is no longer of any use but to be thrown out and to be trodden down by men.”
What יהושע was saying here was that if you mix in a chemical substance, such as false teachings and traditions of men to the pure Covenant of יהוה, then you can become tasteless and be thrown out and trodden down!!!
Living sacrifices, offered with salt – this is total dedication – excuses are a sign that there is no salt in you!!! Trying to excuse away pure dedication and devotion to following the unadulterated Word of יהוה shows that salt, His salt, is not in or being produced in you and one’s speech will be a clear reflection of whether you are a salty set-apart believer or not!
Salt or no salt! Words of truth versus twisted words of falsehood and deceit that is often disguised as truth! Do your words build up, encourage, heal and bring unity or do they break down, slander and cause division!
When we consider how powerful our words can be we recognise the truth of the parable that Shelomoh gives us in:
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those loving it eat its fruit.”
We also take note of
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to יהוה, but those who deal truly are His delight.”
Our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah, tell us clearly in:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:33-37 “Again, you heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to יהוה.’ 34 “But I say to you, do not swear vainly at all, neither by the heaven, because it is Elohim’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Yerushalayim, for it is the city of the great Sovereign; 36 nor swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 “But let your word ‘Yea’ be ‘Yea,’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ And what goes beyond these is from the wicked one.”
The reason that the ISR Scriptures 2009 edition has correctly inserted the word ‘vainly’ in verse 34, is that we find that in the Shem Tob Hebrew text of Mattithyahu/Matthew has ‘vainly’ and could be literally rendered into English as, “do not swear, to lie”, in other words do not swear through deceit, let you yes be yes and your no be no – do not do so deceivingly at all!
Our Master was not saying that we cannot swear or make an oath – He was saying that we should not do it falsely!!! Do not give your word and then break it!
What we must recognise here by the words of our Master, in terms of the topic of putting off the false and speaking truth, is that our words must line up with the correct corresponding actions lest we be found to be letting our ‘yes’ become ‘no’ or vice versa and be classed as doing evil and wickedness.
How often have you found yourself saying yes yet never let that which you said yes to actually materialise and even forgot about doing what you said yes to, which rendered your yes to becoming a no?
As we consider the urgency of making sure that we keep our word and by that I mean that our actions and words correspond correctly according to the truth we also must recognise how accountable we are to be to one another in the body that is to be built up in unity! We have seen people ‘give their word’ in commitment to walking in unity and building the body of Messiah together with like-minded people, only to find that they quickly go back on their verbal commitments when a topic or issue arises that addresses areas in their life that may not be in harmony with the Truth due to their neglect to put off the false traditions or teachings of falsehood that they hold so stubbornly fast to, revealing their immaturity in being able to allow the Word of Truth to reprove and correct them.
Tehillah/Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing before You, O יהוה, my rock and my redeemer.”
If our words of our mouth and meditation of our hearts are to be pleasing before יהוה, our Rock and Redeemer, then we need to make sure that His Torah that he writes upon our hearts is guarded as we recognise the treasure of Truth that we have in this earthen vessel!
We are called to speak truth to one another and make sure that there is no evil plotting going on in our hearts!
Zeḵaryah/Zechariah 8:16-17 “These are the words you should do: speak the truth to one another, judge with truth and right-ruling for peace in your gates. 17 ‘And do not plot evil in your heart against another, and do not love a false oath. For all these I hate,’ declares יהוה.”
I think these words in Zeḵaryah certainly summarises all that this message that I am sharing entails!
In Hebrew the word for ‘truth’ is אֱמֶת emeth – Strong’s H571 which means, ‘truth, firmness, faithfulness’, and this word carries an underlying sense of certainty and dependability – and we know that The Word of יהוה is truth:
Tehillah/Psalm 119:142 “Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and Your Torah is truth.”
Tehillah/Psalm 119:151 “You are near, O יהוה, and all Your commands are truth.”
Tehillah/Psalm 119:160 “The sum of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous right-rulings are forever.”
Anyone who claims to serve יהוה without walking in and giving heed to follow His Torah, commands and instructions are not serving in Truth, and those who claim that the Torah/Law of Elohim has been done away with are sadly riddled with the leaven of the hypocrisy of man’s theologies and dogmas that seeks only to serve self rather than the Giver of Life, while claiming the opposite!
In the ancient pictographic symbols of this word, we are given a greater insight in understanding how יהושע Messiah is THE TRUTH! This word – אֱמֶת emeth in the ancient script look like this:
Aleph – אֱ
The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘the head of an ox’, and represents ‘strength’, meaning ‘muscle’ as the ox is the strongest of the livestock animals. This also carries the meaning of ‘yoke’, as an ox is placed in a yoke in order to plough or pull a heavy load in the right direction. This can also picture for us the ‘red heifer’ sacrifice that יהושע Messiah fulfilled!
Mem – מֶ
The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘water’, and also carries the meaning of ‘chaos’ (from the storms of the sea) and can also picture that which is mighty or massive as well as the unknown. We are also able to understand this letter as representing the nations, for the nations are often likened to the seas in Scripture.
Taw – ת
The ancient script has this letter as which is pictured as two crossed sticks, and can represent for us ‘seal, covenant, mark or sign’; as this once again points to the complete work of Messiah in the renewal of the Covenant in His Blood that brings the two Houses of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah together in Him, as One, for He is not only the ‘aleph’, but is also the ‘taw’ – the beginning and the end of all creation!
As we consider these letters in describing Messiah as being the TRUTH we are able to clearly see that it is by His strength and might that He has passed through the waters in order to secure for us His Covenants of Promise! Messiah is the Aleph and the Taw – the first and the last, who came from above (passing through the waters of the heavens and the earth) in order to redeem us according to His Word!
He is the Truth and His Word does not return empty! His Word is Truth and His Word leads us in His Truth. His Word lights our WAY and as we walk in Him by walking in His Word we are assured that our feet are on His solid path!
In a time where those who walk according to the flesh are increasing in falsehood and deceit let us be on guard to not be affected or influenced by the depravity of the lawless as we walk according to the Spirit and make sure that we put of the false and speak truth to each other as we labour together in the Master to ensure that His body, which we are, is being built up in unity unto maturity and perfection of set-apartness as we maintain the truth in love, growing up in all respects into Him who is the head, Messiah יהושע. In closing I would like you to read Eph’siyim/Ephesians 4 as we are to be reminded of the unity we are to have with one another in our Master and Elohim, giving no place for wickedness, deceit, slander, gossip or any other attributes of the old man and its wicked practices, but rather do our utmost to make sure that we have put on the renewed man, which was created according to Elohim, in righteousness and set-apartness of the Truth and as verse 32 states: Be kind towards one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as Elohim also forgave you in Messiah!
Eph’siyim/Ephesians 4:1-32 “I call upon you therefore, I the prisoner of the Master, to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all humility and meekness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 being eager to guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace – 4 one body and one Spirit, as you also were called in one expectation of your calling, 5 one Master, one belief, one immersion, 6 one Elohim and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But to each one of us favour was given according to the measure of the gift of Messiah. 8 That is why it says, “When He went up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” 9 But what does “He went up” mean, except that He also first went down into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who went down is also the One who went up far above all the heavens, to fill all. 11 And He Himself gave some as emissaries, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as shepherds and teachers 12 for the perfecting of the set-apart ones, to the work of service to a building up of the body of the Messiah, 13 until we all come to the unity of the belief and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the completeness of Messiah, 14 so that we should no longer be children, tossed and borne about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of men, in cleverness, unto the craftiness of leading astray, 15 but, maintaining the truth in love, we grow up in all respects into Him who is the head, Messiah, 16 from whom the entire body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the working by which each part does its share, causes growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. 17 So this I say, and witness in the Master, that you should no longer walk as the gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having been darkened in their understanding, having been estranged from the life of Elohim, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart, 19 who, having become callous, have given themselves up to indecency, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Messiah, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and were taught by Him, as truth is in יהושע: 22 that you put off – with regard to your former way of life – the old man, being corrupted according to the desires of the deceit, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the renewed man which was created according to Elohim, in righteousness and set-apartness of the truth. 25 Therefore, having put off the false, speak truth, each one with his neighbour, for we are members of one another. 26 “Be wroth, but do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down on your rage, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no more, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, so that he has somewhat to share with those in need. 29 Let no corrupt word come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for the use of building up, so as to impart what is pleasant to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Set-apart Spirit of Elohim, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and displeasure, and uproar, and slander be put away from you, along with all evil. 32 And be kind towards one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as Elohim also forgave you in Messiah.”
PUT OF THE FALSE AND SPEAK TRUTH!
יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show favour to you; יהוה lift up His face to you and give you shalom!