Discover

Focus: Truth is a Person, Christ, who is the reality of all positive things in the universe.

I. Read John 8:32, 36. According to these verses, what is the truth?
A. Truth in Greek is alétheia, meaning reality, genuineness, sincerity. This word does not refer to truth merely as doctrine but to truth as the opposite of vanity, the reality of the divine things. Can you explain to one another how truth/reality and vanity are opposites?
B. In John 14:6 and 1:17 the word truth can also be translated reality. Read these verses. What do you find similar about these verses and John 8:32, 36?
C. How important should truth/reality be to us? Read 1 Timothy 2:3-4 and 2 Thessalonians 2:10.

II. Read Colossians 2:16-17
A. Although these verses do not use the terms reality or truth, can you see how they still convey the idea that Christ is the reality of all positive things? As part of your answer, consider what a shadow is and how a shadow is made.
B. In these verses, Christ is the body that casts the shadow. What are the “shadows” mentioned in verse 16? Use the points below to identify the significance of Christ as the reality of each shadow to us. How do the verses listed for each point support that statement?
1. __________ and ___________, which signify Christ as our real food and drink, i.e. our daily satisfaction and strengthening (John 6:35; 7:37).
2. __________, referring to an annual event in the Old Testament, which signifies Christ as our joy and enjoyment (Psalm 16:11).
3. _____  ________, signifying Christ as our monthly new beginning with light in darkness (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 1:5).
4. ___________, the seventh day, the day of rest, signifying Christ as our weekly completion and rest (Matthew 11:28).
5. How do the above items go together and show us various levels of our experience of the Lord as the truth, the reality?
6. Can you recite the items above and their significances without looking? Which one of these items did you enjoy the most and why?

Apply

I. Christ is not only the reality of the items mentioned in Col. 2:16-17, He is also the reality of every positive thing in the universe! Can you think of other “shadows” in the universe that show how Christ wants to be experienced by us? 

II. Take some time to pray and thank the Lord for being the reality of _______ to you this week. As you go through your upcoming week, try to thank the Lord for being the reality of one “shadow” each day!

III. If you have time, look at some of the following verses and see more examples of Christ as the reality of all the shadows, i.e. all positive things: Luke 1:76-79; Psalm 23:1-3; John 1:29; Psalm 90:1; 72:6-7; 18:2. Which of these resonate with you the most?

Verses

John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

John 8:36 If therefore the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth/reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth/reality came through Jesus Christ.

1 Tim 2:3-4 This is good and acceptable in the sight of our Savior God, Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth.

2 Thes. 2:10 And in all deceit of unrighteousness among those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.

Col. 2:16-17 Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath, 17 Which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ.

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger, and he who believes into Me shall by no means ever thirst.

John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.

Matt. 11:28 Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

2 Cor. 5:17 So then if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, they have become new.

1 John 1:5 And this is the message which we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

Psa. 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life; / In Your presence is fullness of joy; / At Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Luke 1:76-79  And you also, little child, shall be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the forgiveness of their sins, 78 Because of the merciful compassions of our God, in which the rising sun will visit us from on high, 79 To shine upon those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Psa. 23:1-3 Jehovah is my Shepherd; I will lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; / He leads me beside waters of rest. 3 He restores my soul; / He guides me on the paths of righteousness / For His name’s sake.

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Psa. 90:1 O Lord, You have been our dwelling place / In all generations.

Psa. 72:6-7 He will drop like rain upon mown grass, / Like abundant showers dripping on the earth. 7 In His days the righteous will flourish, / And there will be an abundance of peace / Until the moon is no more.

Psa. 18:2 Jehovah is my crag and my fortress and my Deliverer; / My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; / My shield and the horn of my salvation, my high retreat.