But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ. Ephesians 4:15
Not content with the obscure but raucus accusations of the Jewish leaders, the surly Roman governor decides to question the accused himself. He begins his questioning about the accusation that this Man has been talking about His kingdom. But Pilate loses control of the interrogation, because the conversation becomes transferred from the topic of insurrection to the truth. In response to the question about whether He is a king, the Prisoner responds, ‘To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth My voice’ (John 18:37). What can Pilate say to that? Not realizing that he is looking at the very personification of truth, Pilate responds with his own question, ‘What is truth?’ Whether he asked in mockery or in a feeble attempt to be philosophical, Pilate asked a critical question. Is there an absolute standard for truth? And why does our text insist that truth must be accompanied by love?
Our text is part of Paul’s admonition for the Christians in Ephesus to grow up, to develop in their maturity, in their knowledge of God, in their wisdom, in their behaviour, in their approach to life. Speaking the truth in love was certainly not typical of us before we were saved. We were all liars, like our father the devil. And any love we had was selfish and often wrongly motivated. But when the Lord came in and saved us, those things changed. The truth became important to us because of the One Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And the love of God that was shown to us caused us to be both willing and able to pass on that love to others. Now, Paul says, let’s put those two things together, truth and love. And that will be a proof of our spiritual maturity.
Truth without love is frightening, because it is cold and unfeeling. It leads toward harsh and cruel treatment of others. The Lord Jesus always spoke the truth, but He always did so in love. And people accepted the truth from Him, in fact, they flocked to hear the truth from Him. Love without truth leads to confusion and compromise. All around us are people who will tell us that we should all love each other and get along with each other. But their approach requires that the truth be given short shrift. It means mingling with those who have little regard for the things that are precious to God. It means setting aside what God wants of us in favour of loving and accommodating everybody else, regardless of how far they are from the truth. There is no known exception to the rule that compromise in the things of God is always wrong.
When it comes to obeying and serving our Lord, truth and love must always go together. -Jim MacIntosh