Faithful and True

After the roar and shouts of multitudes praising God, John saw "heaven standing open and there before him was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True" (Revelation 19:11). Faithful and True. This rider is also referred to as, "the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation" (Revelation 3:14). Faithful and True. And this person is none other than Jesus himself (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:16). He is somewhat mysterious, this Judge and Warrior, because "he has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself" (Revelation 19:12). We are also told that "his name is the Word of God" (Revelation 19:13, see also John 1:1-14). Faithful and True.

The very essence of Jesus' name - Faithful and True - is something that we who are living within the confines of a sin-stained world can only begin to understand. We have never experienced the quality of unadulterated faithfulness in any one person, because all of us humans are fragile, prone to breaking down under duress or temptation. And not one of us can claim to know someone who is absolutely honorable. We all fall prey to the tendency to twist the facts just a bit to make ourselves appear better than we actually are. Even as godly, maturing Christians, we know that our framework of truth can never be the same as the absolute, pure truth of Jesus. Only His perspective is consistent with all of the facts; only He can perceive and interpret reality from every possible vantage point. Faithful and True.

The Bible assures us over and over again that we can trust God to keep His word. And this is much more than a character trait passed down from Father to San. Because God the Father and Jesus Christ are one (John 17:11, 22), the Rider on the white horse can safely be followed through every circumstance - all the way to eternity. Faithful and True. We often use phrases like "As sure as I'm standing here" to convey the reliability of what we are about to state. In my work, every meausre used must be proven reliable before it can be used - and even then, it's hardly completely trusted. Paul simply relied on who God is, using God's faithfulness as a reference when he made the claim that his own words would be absolutely true: "As surely as God is faithful," he assured his readers (2 Corinthians 1:18). Faithful and True. (ps...can you imagine if in a research talk - I said 'As surely as God is faithful, the SFQS is reliable' - which would be a lie...)

As we hear and believe the gospel message, we come to know that it is altogether true; as we experience it's dynamic power we come to see that all of God's truth comes to one majestic affirmation in Jesus Christ, in whom all of God's promises are "yes". Our God does not waver in carrying out His word. He follows through with every detail of what He promises us, because He is and will always be faithful (Philippians 1:6, 2 Thessalonians 3:3). Faithful and True.

It really makes no difference whether or not we believe this to be true. Paul addressed this issue through a rhetorical question followed by a resounding affirmation: "Will our lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar!" (Romans 3:3-4). Faithful and True.