What is Truth?
This was the question that Pontius Pilate asked Jesus after Jesus had affirmed that He was a king (John 18:33-38). Jesus stated that He had come to bear witness to the truth and that everyone who is of the truth would hear His voice (v37). We can safely conclude that Pilate himself did not hear the voice of Jesus (though he realized that Jesus had done nothing worthy of death) and did not come to a knowledge of the truth though truth was standing right before him.
Many people throughout history and in our own day and age search for truth. They spend tremendous amounts of money, time, and energy in a quest for truth, knowledge, enlightenment, and wisdom. Sadly, the majority of people never find the truth (though they deceive themselves and others into believing that they have) and end their lives no closer to the truth than when they began. Like Pilate, though they may ask the same question, they do not come any closer to a knowledge of the truth.
How is it that someone who seems to be interested in knowing the truth can never come to a knowledge of it? Maybe it is because they really didn’t want to know it in the first place. They merely wanted to give the impression that they did. In doing so, they deceive people into thinking that they are open to knowledge and wisdom when in reality their hearts are cold and closed to the truth. Maybe they wanted to see if there was some knowledge that would help to advance their own selfish ambitions and desires but when they realize that there is no worldly gain with it they reject the truth. Whatever the reasons, it is very clear that many people do not know the truth and many do not even want to know.
To know truth we must answer three questions: What is it? Where is found? And, how do we come to a genuine knowledge of it?
Truth is a Person
What is truth? Truth is a Person – Jesus Christ. Consider Jesus’ words in John 14:6
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”
In making this statement He was in essence declaring Himself to be God. He is proclaiming that He was the great “I am” and as such He was truth. Jesus’ entire earthly life testifies to the reality that He is truth. All of the Old Testament Laws are fulfilled in Him (Matt. 5:17); He is the substance (the reality) of all the shadows and images of the Old Testament customs and practices (Colossians 2:17); all the prophecies written of Him were fulfilled (Luke24:44). Through the miracle of His virgin birth, His sinless life, His death, burial, and resurrection, we see that He was no mere man. He is divine truth, living truth, the truth incarnate. Though many today want to pass Jesus off as a good man, a great teacher, or a wise prophet, the truth is He was all these and much more because He was fully God and fully man. No mere man could have done all that Jesus did – and no man ever has or will. It took the Truth to do it – Jesus Christ Himself.
Where is Truth Found?
Truth cannot be known apart from Jesus Christ because as we have seen Jesus is the truth. Jesus said that everyone who is of the truth hears His voice (John 18:37). Jesus’ voice, His words, have been faithfully given and preserved for us in the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, the written word of God. When I say His words, I mean the entire Bible, not just the words of Jesus printed in red. When Jesus prayed to the Father on our behalf, He asked the Father to sanctify us in the truth and in doing so He clearly tells us that God’s Word was the truth. Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth (John 17:17). This is why the Scriptures alone are the Christians sole authority for faith and practice. This is why we must look to the Scriptures for the truth about God, Christ, man, and life. This is why the Scriptures are sufficient to build us up and makes us into the people that God wants us to be (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
If we want to find out the truth about Jesus Christ we must go to where the truth is written about Him. Many people today who say that they know Jesus do not know the Jesus of the Bible. They know a “Jesus” of their own desires and imaginations but not the Jesus who is revealed to us throughout the pages of Scripture. If we want to come to a right knowledge of Jesus, the Living Truth, we must go to God’s Word, the written truth. We must read it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it. Jesus told us that if we abide in His word, then we are truly disciples of His and we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free. (John 8:31, 32).
How can we come to a genuine knowledge of the truth?
First of all, to come to a genuine knowledge of the truth, we must realize that it is more than just having an intellectual assent to a set of statements or facts. To come to a genuine knowledge of the truth is to have a true life-changing experience. To know the truth is to be freed from the bonds of sin. This comes about through what is known as regeneration. This happens when the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been manifested to us by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 17), in such a way that we turn (repent) from a life of sin and rebellion against God and acknowledge and surrender to His Lordship over our lives. Notably, one of the responsibilities of a pastor-teacher is to handle the word of truth accurately and to teach and correct those who are in opposition to the truth so that God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will (2Tim. 2:25, 26).
Secondly, to come to a genuine knowledge of the truth is to be in Christ. To be in Christ is what it means to be a Christian – we become a new creation because of what Christ has done (2 Cor. 5:17). When God reveals the truth of Jesus Christ to us and makes us new creatures He illumines us with His Spirit and creates in us holy and pure desires, allegiances, loyalties, and loves – simply put we will truly love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength by the power which God alone supplies. We will be diligent to work out our salvation with fear and trembling knowing that it is God who is at work in us causing us to desire and to work for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:12, 13). We will find ourselves constantly crying out with the psalmist,
Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; For Thee I wait all the day. (Psalm 25:5)
O send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Thy holy hill, and to Thy dwelling places. (Psalm 43:3)
What is truth? Truth is the One who gave up His place in heaven to become a man, to live a perfect and sinless life, to fulfill the law, and to take the sins of His people upon Himself. Truth is the One who has rescued His people from the just wrath of a Holy God. Truth is the One who has risen from the dead to give newness of life to those who were dead in their trespasses and sin. Truth is the One whom we, as the bride of Christ, His church, are to give our allegiance, devotion, and life to. Truth is the One who wants us to follow Him and have a growing and vital relationship with Him, through His Word and prayer. Truth is the One who has commissioned us to proclaim His gospel to the nations and to make disciples until He returns. Truth is the One who will return to take His people home. Truth is a person, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Lords of lords, and the King of kings.
Why do many people not come to a knowledge of the truth? For many it is because to do so means that they must acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Truth and this means that they must then surrender their life to Him. Pride, ambition, selfish desires are many of the things that hold people back. But at the root of them all is unbelief. They refuse to believe the Word of God which clearly states that Jesus is the Truth and as a result they fail to submit their lives to Him.
Jesus Clearly states that He is the way, and the truth, and the life and that no one can come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). If you want to know truth, to be assured of eternal life, to be at peace with God, then you need Jesus (John 17:3).
Do you know the Truth? One realization of the good news is that the Truth can be known. It is my fervent prayer that the Truth would be in you and that you would continually hear His voice and walk in His ways.
By God's Grace ~ Through God's Word ~ For God's Glory!
Chuck Long
©God’sGWG
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