[Seeking truth]

The Ultimate

Question

Pilate asked; Jesus answered.

Brought before Pontius Pilate, Jesus spoke of His spiritual kingdom and bore witness to the truth (John 18:28-37).

"What is truth?" Pilate scoffed (v. 38).

This question sounds a note of deep skepticism. That note is echoed by the "wise men" of our day who conclude that no such thing as absolute truth exists — all persons have a right to their own truth.

Jesus, on the other hand, was full of truth, a word that fell often from His lips as recorded in John's Gospel. According to Jesus, truth is connected to God the Father, to Christ the Son, to the Holy Spirit, and to the written Word in the closest possible way.

What is truth, according to Jesus in John?

• I AM. "I am the ... truth ..." (14:6). By this we understand that truth is not mere statements of reality, not just provable facts nor accurate principles, although it encompasses these. All the above have been embodied in the Son of God — truth personified! No human brain or super-computer comprehends a tenth of all God knows. But heaven's truth and way to eternal life become clear to those who trust and obey ... simply Jesus. Truth is incarnate and personal!

• The Spirit. The Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth" (14:17; 15:26; 16:13). From His dwelling place within God's people, the Helper-Comforter reminds us of the truth taught by Christ, glorifies the Son by giving us what belongs to Christ, and guides us onward into all the truth of Christ. Though its applications are down-to-earth, truth revealed by the Spirit of truth is heavenly and spiritual indeed.

• Your word. Jesus said to the Father, "Your word is truth"(17:17). This statement may refer directly to the words He spoke to the Twelve (vv. 8, 14), but

its wider implication is to every word that proceeds from God's mouth. Truth has been revealed and is now recorded in Scripture for our learning.

• Father God. Just as the Devil is the father of lies (8:44), so God in heaven is the Father of truth. Scripture introduces us to the God who reveals Himself as true Father in heaven, as Son who spoke truly and declared Himself to be the truth on earth, and as the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth.

Comparing other verses in John, truth is what Jesus said and told, which, when known and done (practiced), brings people to the light, sanctifies them, and sets them free in Christ (3:21; 8:32, 36, 45, 46; 16:7; 17:1 7, 19; 18:37). Nowhere is the gospel truth about Jesus codified and enumerated like Old Testament law; it lives in creative tension with the law and the prophets (5:45-47; 6:32-34; 8:6-8, 11; 8:56-58; 15:10).

An earnest attempt to paraphrase what the Gospel of John says about truth is compressed in the five paragraphs just above. The sure way to get at this truth is to come to Jesus for ourselves — He who was full of truth and the truth personified. Love Him, learn from Him, and continue in His light!

Or we can return to Pilate's doubtful "What is truth?" and stumble on in darkness.

From "The Bible Advocate" - Jan/Feb - 2015, a publication of the Church of God, Seventh Day, Denver, CO. USA.

……….

AS  JESUS  CLEARLY  TOLD  US  [John 17:17]  GOD'S  WORD  IS  TRUTH;  THAT  WORD  HAS  BEEN  PRESERVED  FOR  US  IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  HOLY  BIBLE.  YES  THE  SPIRIT  WILL,  AS  JESUS  SAID,  LEAD  US  INTO  ALL  TRUTH.  BUT  WE  HAVE  OUR  PART  TO  DO:  WE  MUST  SEEK  FOR  RIGHTEOUSNESS -  HUNGER  AND  THIRST  FOR  IT [MAT. 5:6];  WE  MUST  LOVE  THE  TRUTH [2 THES. 2:10-12]; WE  MUST  BE  HUMBLE  AND  RESPECTFULLY  FEARING  GOD [ISA. 66:2]; WE  MUST  HAVE  THE  ATTITUDE  OF  DAVID  AS  IN  PSALM  51;  WE  MUST  BE  WILLING  TO  BE  CORRECTED [JER. 10:23, 24]; WE  MUST  BE  WILLING  TO  SEARCH  THE  SCRIPTURES,  SPENDING  TIME,  GOING  BACK  AND  FORTH,  FINDING  ALL  VERSES  ON  ANY  PARTICULAR  SUBJECT,  PUTTING  IT  ALL  TOGETHER  LIKE  A  JIG-SAW  PUZZLE [2 TIM. 2:15].

YES,  IT  TAKES  EFFORT  AND  TIME  AND  MEDITATION  TO  COME  TO  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE  TRUTHS  OF  GOD.

ANOTHER  IMPORTANT  ATTRIBUTE  FOR  THE  PEOPLE  OF  GOD,  IS  TO  BE  AS  JESUS  SAID, UNLESS  YOU  BECOME  AS  LITTLE  CHILDREN,  YOU  SHALL  NOT  ENTER  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD [LUKE 18: 16-17].

A  CHILD  READS  THE  SIMPLE  CLEAR  WORDS  OF  THE  BIBLE  AND  BELIEVES  THEM.  I  WILL  GIVE  YOU  MYSELF  AS  AN  EXAMPLE.  AS  A  YOUNG  LAD  MY  LOCAL  CHURCH  I  ATTENDED  DID  NOT  TEACH  THE  LITERAL  SECOND  COMING  OF  CHRIST.  I  WAS  ABOUT  10  YEARS  OLD  AND  READ  ACTS  1: 9-11.  IT  WAS  SIMPLE  TO  READ;  IT  SAID  WHAT  IT  MEANT  AND  MEANT  WHAT  IT  SAID.  I  BELIEVED  IT.  I  ONCE  SAID  TO  MY  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  TEACHER,  "JESUS  WILL  LITERALLY  COME  AGAIN,  IT  SAYS  SO  IN  THE  BOOK  OF  ACTS,  CHAPTER  ONE."  I  WELL  REMEMBER  HIS  ASTONISHED  LOOK  ON  HIS  FACE,  THAT  I  WOULD  BELIEVE  SUCH  A  THING.

UNLESS  YOU  BECOME  AS  A  CHILD  IN  SIMPLE  FAITH  BELIEF  YOU  SHALL  NOT  ENTER  GOD'S  KINGDOM,  SO  SAID  JESUS.

IT  TAKES  ALL  OF  THE  ABOVE  TO  COME  TO  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE  TRUTHS  OF  GOD;  AND  THAT  KNOWLEDGE  GOD  DOES  NOT  GIVE  IN  ALL  ONE  SWOOP.  GOD  WILL  FIRST  GIVE  THE  BASICS  OF  THE  TRUTHS  OF  SALVATION,  WHICH  CAN  TAKE  DAYS  OR  WEEKS  OR  MONTHS  TO  ATTAIN,  DEPENDING  ON  YOUR  ATTITUDE  OF  MIND.  THEN  FROM  THERE  IT  IS  AS  PETER  WAS  INSPIRED  TO  SAY,  "GROW  IN  GRACE  AND  KNOWLEDGE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST"  -  WE  SHOULD  BE  EVER,  TILL  THE  DAY  WE  DIE,  LEARNING  THE  DEEPER  THINGS  OF  GOD,  THAT  WHICH  HE  HAS  REVEALED  TO  US  IN  HIS  WORD;  KNOWING  SOME  THINGS  WE  LOOK  THROUGH  A  GLASS  DARKLY,  AS  PAUL  SAID,  BUT  ONE  DAY  WE  SHALL  KNOW  EVEN  AS  WE  ARE  KNOWN.  

Keith Hunt