Truth
Frank Himmel

Jesus had much to say about truth. Consider these references from the gospel of John.

Truth originates with God. “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God” (John 8:40a). God’s righteousness, omniscience, and timelessness give Him a perspective and insight far beyond ours.

God’s word is truth. “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). While truth begins in God’s nature, it finds expression in His word, His communication to us of His nature. Apart from that communication, we cannot know His will.

Jesus testified to the truth.  He told Pilate, “For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth” (John 19:37b). Earlier He said, “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. . . Therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me” (12:49-50).

We can know the truth.  Logic says if Jesus testified to the truth, we can know the truth by listening to His testimony. Jesus concurred: “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth . . .” (John 8:31-32). Notice in these references that Jesus referred to the truth — not your truth, my truth, and other such expressions popular in our relativistic culture. There is a fixed body of truth and we can know it!

Truth makes us free.  That is the rest of the Lord’s statement: “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32).  Sin results from following error. Knowing God’s will helps us avoid sin. The truth also reveals God’s plan for our salvation from sin’s consequences.

Jesus is the truth. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus did not merely speak the truth, He lived it. More to the point, He is it: God’s plan for all of us comes together in Him. As Paul put it, “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19-20a).

The Spirit completed the revelation of truth.  The night before His crucifixion, Jesus told the apostles, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:12-13a). The Spirit completed the work Jesus began. Like Jesus, He spoke only the Father’s message (v. 13b). That means when the apostles preached or wrote by inspiration, by the Spirit’s guidance, what they said is just as much truth, just as authoritative, as what Jesus said personally.

God must be worshiped in truth.  “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Truth governs everything: every relationship and every action among men, and everything about our relationship with God. That includes our worship in the formal sense, the context of this verse. Our personal preferences do not determine what constitutes acceptable worship: truth does.

Some people want the truth.  After telling Pilate that He came into the world to testify to the truth, Jesus observed, “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 19:37c).

Some people do not want the truth.  They prefer their own thoughts and actions. Jesus accused some in His generation of being like the devil, whose existence is based on falsehood, not truth (John 8:44). He then made the application: “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me” (v. 45).  Just after the wonderful gospel summary that is John 3:16, the Lord added:

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God” (John 3:19-21).

Do you prefer light or darkness? Are you content with suppositions and guesswork, or do you want the truth? Have you accepted the truth—all the truth—Jesus revealed? If not, reflect on His question: “If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?” (John 8:46b).

Learning From Jesus
Wayne Goff

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

How can we “learn” from Jesus? Primarily, the word means “to learn, be taught” by Jesus. So you must enroll in His class, become His disciple, and study His Word.

Secondarily, you “learn” by “practice or experience” as you “acquire a custom or habit.” For example, Paul learned by experience how to live frugally or abundantly, based upon his outward circumstances, Philippians 4:11. We learn by experience how to be patient, longsuffering, enduring, etc. Jesus’ teaching is not just theory but practice.

Thirdly, one can learn by ascertaining information, becoming informed. One of the best ways to learn from Jesus is to ask questions. Often as a young preacher I would be confronted with a question or a situation that I could not answer or deal with. That led me to ask how to answer that question or how to deal with that situation. Bible study, learning the answer, and recalling it for the next time I needed it was invaluable. That kind of learning sticks with you.

So What? {The Application}

The “so what?” of all of this is simple. When you sit in on a sermon or a Bible class, come prepared to learn. Proper hearing involves learning. Sermon-hearing is not a spectator sport! When the teacher or preacher is teaching from the Bible, then God is speaking to you at that moment (provided the teacher is speaking the truth). When you read the Bible, that is God speaking to you. Take Jesus’ yoke upon you and learn from Him! It will give you rest from a troubled soul, and from a sin-burdened heart.