WHAT IS TRUTH?

Mike Johnson

What is truth?  This question is critical.  Pilate asked it at Jesus’ trial in connection with the accusation made that Jesus was a king in a civil sense and thus a rival.  It seems he asked it with scorn rather than with a quest for knowledge. Regardless, this question is critical.

Consider what the Bible has to say about truth.  In John 17, just before His death, Jesus prayed to God and for His disciples and all others who would believe that they would have unity. In the course of this prayer (17), he said, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”  In Psalm 110:151, the Psalmist says, “You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are truth.”  In Psalm 25:10, the writer says, “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.”

Truth is in God’s Word, which is the Bible. Before Jesus’ death, He told His disciples that when He left, the Holy Spirit would guide them unto “all truth” (Jn. 16:13-14).  They, inspired by God, took this “truth” and wrote it down so we can read and understand it (Eph. 3:3-4).  Today, we have a complete revelation, the Scriptures, which guides us unto all truth (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The ISBE defines truth in this way.  “In the Bible, the known will of God is final for man as a standard of truth….”

What is truth?  The teaching in the Scriptures is absolutely truth.  We can depend on God’s Word to reveal truth, and this is important as it is only truth that can “set us free” (Jn. 8:32).  Jesus points out He is “…the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn. 14:6).