A STUDY OF TRUTH AS IT RELATES TO JESUS AS THE WAY, LIFE, WORD AND LIGHT

BACKGROUND

As we continue our study of the wisdom of God we will next go back to a study that I did and taught in about the year 2000. This is a study of truth. First we will present a definition of the truth of God. Truth: a body of knowledge of the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ coming through divine instruction. Our source of divine instruction comes from the Word, the Bible. The Greek word for “word” is logos, which means logic, wisdom, thought, reasoning, divine expression. Thus we see that truth, the only real truth, emanates from the wisdom of God. We obtain this wisdom from understanding that we gain from logical thought and reasoning as we conduct serious study of the divine expression found only in the Holy Bible.

You might notice that we have used the words wisdom, understanding and knowledge in our initial discussion of truth. In our just completed study we found that these are three of the six attributes that the Holy Spirit commutes to those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit within us guides us to the truth as we earnestly seek it. We have made the connection between wisdom and truth. This is reflected in Prov 23:23.

Prov 23:23 Buy the truth and do not sell it – wisdom, instruction and insight as well.

In this study of truth we will be looking at several names that Jesus used to refer to himself. These names are very revealing concerning the nature and characteristics of Jesus. The names that we will be studying are the Truth, the Way, the Life, the Word and the Light. We will especially concentrate on Jesus being the Truth and what that meant. The definitions that we will use for these words are from Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament words.

JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE, THE WORD, THE LIGHT

The word “way” in Greek as it relates to Jesus means he is the means of access to the Father, the means of obtaining eternal life with him, his Spirit and the Father.

The word “life” in Greek as it relates to Jesus means Jesus is (1) the bestower of resurrected life, and (2) the giver and maintainer of life (the author of life) for the believer. See John 5:26, 1 John 1:2, John 3:15, Acts 3:15, Col 3:4, John 6:35, 63

The Greek word for “word” is logos. It means logic, wisdom, thought, reasoning, divine expression. Thus Jesus represented the logic of God, the wisdom of God, the divine expression of God.

The Greek word for “light” as it relates to Jesus means that Jesus was the means for providing spiritual illumination that we might see and understand the things of God. Jesus allows us to see God. Without Jesus we are in darkness and cannot possibly see God. Jesus provides the light or illumination that allows us to see God in the darkness that is all around us. We see God because he is God and he represents God.

The word “truth” in Greek as it relates to Jesus may mean (1) manifest; as the total fullness and scope of God being manifested in Jesus, (2) real or genuine; as Jesus is the real or genuine God as opposed to all other gods being false gods, and (3) Jesus is the perfect expression of truth regarding sincerity and integrity of character. In other words, to say that Jesus is truth is to say that Jesus is God, the only real, true God.

Jesus was the ultimate truth, the perfect expression of the truth.

When Jesus spoke, he spoke the “universal truth,” the only transcendent truth that exists in the universe. He spoke the universe into being. His word holds the universe together. His word sustains everything (John 1:1-5, Col 1:15-18, Heb 1:3, John 14:6). He will one day speak the universe into total destruction as we know it (Isa 11:4, Rev 19:13-15).

Jesus was the Word, the Word was God, Jesus was God (John 1:1-5). Jesus is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20). The whole book, the word, is about Jesus (Heb 10:5-7). Jesus’ gospel is the word of truth (Col 1:5-6, Rom 5:18). Jesus word is truth; we are sanctified by that truth (John 17:17).

The whole logical sense behind the creation of the universe; the real truth as to why the universe was created; and the wisdom of God’s creation are all brought into focus in the person of Jesus Christ. The universe was created by Jesus and for Jesus, Col 1:16. Life, and in particular mankind, was created by Jesus and for Jesus. He was the author of life, Acts 3:15. In him was life, and that life was the light of men, John 1:4. The true light that shines on every man came into the world as a man, John 1:9, 8:12 The light of Jesus shines even on those living in evil, but they do not understand him or accept him, John 1:5. Mankind was created so that some might see his light, understand and accept the truth represented by that light, and thus find the one and only way to heaven. To those who choose to become believers in him, who choose to become true followers of him, he gives the right to become children of God, to have eternal life in heaven with him, John 1:12, 3:16. Thus we see that “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and nobody comes to the Father except through him,” John 14:6.

The Greeks often repeated the same thing three times, in three different ways for emphasis. John did this repeatedly in 1 John. If we look at John 14:6 in this light we can see that Jesus was essentially repeating the same thing in three different ways. Each showed that he is the only way to God, but from different perspectives. First, we can only access God through him (he is the Way), second, he is God and when we get to God we get to him (he is the Truth), and third he is the one who originally gave us life and he is the one who will one day resurrect us to eternal life with God (he is the Life). Each has to do with us one day getting to heaven and spending eternal life with him, his Spirit, and the Father. Again, three ways to express one God. Any religious system that does not recognize Jesus as God presents no hope for its adherent’s ever obtaining eternal life in heaven, for Jesus is God and he is the only way to God.

JESUS IS THE TRUTH!!

 Let’s next focus our attention to some of the scriptures that use the word truth, and those that present Jesus as the truth and try to get a better understanding of the real scope of just what that means. We will begin by noticing that Jesus often emphasized what he was saying with the phrase “I tell you the truth.” As we read some of those scriptures let’s analyze them and see if we can see some common thread that runs through these scriptures in which Jesus says “I tell you the truth.”

JESUS SPOKE THE TRUTH

Jesus often repeated the phrase “I tell you the truth.”

Luke 9:27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."

Luke 12:44 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Luke 21:3 "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others.

John 3:3-5 3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

John 5:25 I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.

John 6:26 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

John 6:53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

John 8:34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

John 10:1 "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.

John 13:20 I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me."

John 16:7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

John 16:20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

Do you see any common threads? First we notice that John is the one who really picked up on Jesus’ repetitive use of this phrase. Luke also quotes Jesus using this phrase but not nearly to the extent that John does. It fits so beautifully into John’s theme of Jesus being the Truth.

Second, we notice that these passages generally reveal something about the true God and the way to get to eternal life with him. Several mention the kingdom of God. With what we have learned about the meaning of the word “truth,” we might make a substitution and imagine Jesus saying the following, “I am revealing something about the true God to you, and about the way to eternal life in heaven with him.” Jesus message in using the phrase “I tell you the truth,” was essentially “Listen to this, it is very important if you want to get to heaven.”

In an earlier section of this study on wisdom we discovered that Jesus is the “wisdom of God” and that as such he was the author of Proverbs. The “I” in Proverbs is Jesus speaking from the perspective of him as he represented the wisdom of God. In Prov 8:6-14 we see truth presented in concert with all of the seven characteristics that describe the way that the Holy Spirit relates to humans on earth. We will next look at that scripture.

Prov 8:6-14 6 Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. 7 My mouth speaks what is TRUE, for my lips detest wickedness. 8 All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. 9 To the discerning (UNDERSTANDING) all of them are right; they are upright to those who have found KNOWLEDGE. 10 Choose my instruction instead of silver, KNOWLEDGE rather than choice gold, 11 for WISDOM is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. 12 “I, WISDOM, dwell together with prudence; I possess KNOWLEDGE and discretion. 13 To FEAR THE LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. 14 COUNSEL and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power (MIGHT).

It is so interesting that Jesus is also presented in the Old Testament as being the truth, as always speaking the truth. It is equally interesting that in these scriptures Jesus is being associated with the characteristics of the Seven Spirits of God, the Holy Spirit. We would expect nothing less in light of the fact that God is “One.”

WE MUST WORSHIP IN TRUTH

We must honor Jesus as God in the innermost part of our being.

John 4:23-24 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

Gal 2:14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

WE MUST KNOW THE TRUTH; IT SETS US FREE

We must know Jesus as the only true God; that set us free from a life without hope.

John 8:31-32 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

WE MUST LOVE IN TRUTH

We must love as Jesus loved, so much that we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for others, i.e. we get our priorities “right.”

I Jn 3:16-24 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

Eph 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

THE TRUTH OF JESUS IS IN BELIEVERS

We believe the gospel so much that we actually live it, it becomes a part of us, who we are.

2 Cor 11:10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

Gal 2:5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

WE MUST BELIEVE THE TRUTH TO BE SAVED

We must believe that Jesus is God and believe his gospel to the extent that we try to live it in order to be saved.

II Th 2:10-12 10 They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

1 Tim 2:3-4 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

WE MUST BE CLOTHED IN TRUTH

We must wear the “belt of truth,” knowledge that Jesus is the only way to eternal life, in order to be able to stand up to evil.

Eph 6:13-17 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

WE MUST CONTINUE IN THE TRUTH

 We must continue to believe that Jesus is God and follow his gospel until the end of our earthly lives to be saved.

Heb 10:26-27 26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL GUIDE US TO THE TRUTH OF JESUS

Once we become believers the Holy Spirit will lead us to more complete understanding of Jesus and his gospel.

John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS IS THE TRUTH

The gospel is the very word, the logic, the wisdom and divine expression of Jesus; it expresses the grace that God extends to us.

Col 1:5-6 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

JESUS IS THE TRUTH

Jesus is the only true God and the only way to eternal life.

John 14:5-7 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

John 1:9-17 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'" 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [Jesus and the truth of his gospel]

I Jn 5:20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true-- even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

Eph 4:20-25 20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. [The truth of the gospel of Jesus]

CONCLUSION:

What was the common theme in all of these scriptures about “truth?” They were all emphasizing “The truth of the gospel of Jesus” in some way. We see Jesus being presented throughout the New Testament as “The way, the truth and the life.” We see that following him and the truth of his gospel is the only way to eternal life in heaven!! We can only access God through him (he is the Way), he is God and when we get to God we get to him (he is the Truth), and he is the one who originally gave us life and he is the one who will one day resurrect us to eternal life with God (he is the Life). Anyone who does not recognize Jesus as God, worship Jesus as God, accept the truth of his gospel and try to follow it will not get to heaven. The bottom line!!

And that is the TRUTH!!

In summary, we see that:

JESUS SPOKE THE TRUTH [Jesus often repeated the phrase “I tell you the truth”]

WE MUST WORSHIP IN TRUTH [We must honor Jesus as God in the innermost part of our being]

WE MUST KNOW THE TRUTH; IT SETS US FREE [We must know Jesus as the only true God; that sets us free from a life without hope]

WE MUST LOVE IN TRUTH [We must love as Jesus loved, so much that we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for others, i.e. we get our priorities “right”]

THE TRUTH OF JESUS IS IN BELIEVERS [We believe the gospel so much that we actually live it, it becomes a part of us, a part of who we are]

WE MUST BELIEVE THE TRUTH TO BE SAVED [We must believe that Jesus is God and believe his gospel to the extent that we try to live it in order to be saved]

WE MUST BE CLOTHED IN TRUTH [We must wear the “belt of truth,” knowledge that Jesus is the only way to eternal life, in order to be able to stand up to evil]

WE MUST CONTINUE IN THE TRUTH [We must continue to believe that Jesus is God and follow his gospel until the end of our earthly lives to be saved]

THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL GUIDE US TO THE TRUTH OF JESUS [Once we become believers the Holy Spirit will lead us to more complete understanding of Jesus and his gospel]

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS IS THE TRUTH [The gospel is the very word, the logic, the wisdom and divine expression of Jesus; it expresses the grace that God extends to us]

JESUS IS THE TRUTH [Jesus is the only true God and the only way to eternal life]

IS THE BIBLE THE ONLY RELIABLE TRUTH AVAILABLE TO US?

IS IT MORE RELIABLE THAN SCIENTIFIC FACTS?

INTRODUCTION

What is truth and where can we find it? Proverbs 23:23 tells us, “Buy the truth and do not sell it – wisdom, instruction and insight as well.” This says that truth is something that we should earnestly seek and when we find it we should hold on to it. Proverbs associates truth with wisdom, instruction and insight. Where do we get these qualities? Jesus said in John 14:6 that he was the Truth. Jesus often said “I tell you the truth,” before he made a statement about the true God and how to get to eternal life with him. We find that today we have conflicting truths available to us. We have the wisdom and truth of God and the wisdom and truth of the world. They often conflict with each other. Which wisdom and truth is the most reliable? Let us first look at the truth of the Bible.

(Ask for examples of each)

 am a retired scientist in the fields of mathematics, physics and engineering. One of my avocations is studying the Bible. I have a web site which contains many of my studies, www.proofthruprophecy.com. I have spent well over 20.000 hours studying, analyzing and presenting the Bible and have not found one provable discrepancy in the original language Bible. Certainly every translation contains largely unintended inconsistencies and errors caused in part by the conventions that are followed in conducting the translation and our incomplete understanding of the original languages. In spite of this our best modern translations are quite consistent and the problems are not apparent except to the very serious in-depth student. The original language Bible is consistent and unchanging. The books contained in the original language Bibles are available to us today and research shows that except for slight grammatical copying errors they are the same as those available in the first and second centuries. The Old Testament books were translated into Greek almost 300 years before Jesus. This translation was called the Septuagint and was used by the first century apostles who wrote the New Testament. We know this because their quotes are from this translation. That translation is still available to us today. Argue as you may, but the truth of the Bible has not changed. The facts as presented have not changed. Heb 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He is the same, his Word is the same and his requirements of us are the same. They have not been and will not be changed.

What about the truth of modern science? How reliable is it? Does it change from year to year, from one generation to the next? The complete next section is a quote from an article on epigenetics written by Marc Hodges and contained in the March 2013 edition of Personal Update, published by Koinonia House. It presents the truth about scientific facts.

MANY FACTS ARE NOT FACTS AT ALL

Mathematician and network scientist Samuel Arbesman lays out the latest in scientometrics in his new book: The Half-Life of Facts.1 He discusses the work of French investigators who compared conclusions from hundreds of scientific articles on hepatitis and cirrhosis published over the past 50 years to what is known today. They found a clear pattern of decay of facts: as new findings emerge, old conclusions are overturned or become obsolete at a predictable rate. As each year went by, a slightly greater number of the remaining facts were shown to be false or obsolete. It took about 45 years for half of the accepted facts to become no longer fully factual. After 50 years, only 25% of scientific articles from 50 years prior were still considered fully factual.

Arbesman reports similar patterns in the decay of facts in all major scientific disciplines. Facts from some disciplines are overturned faster than those from others, and the rate also varies with the techniques used to measure it. However, the overall implication is clear: much of what scientists say is true today will be replaced by new facts in the future. But why?

 (What facts have changed since you were in school?)

It’s partly because people and science are flawed. In his recent and widely cited (and controversial) article, Why Most Published Research Findings Are False,2 Tufts University researcher John Iaonnidis identifies major sources of error in the scientific process itself. These include the complexity of the subject being studied, study design, and interference by the scientists’ own desires and biases.

Is all science unreliable then? Based on common experience, no. Much of the natural world is actually knowable. And as technology and ideas improve, science is supposed to produce a long series of rejected facts strewn by the wayside as it seeks this truth. The process yields a refinement of knowledge about the natural world. We rely on this knowledge on a daily basis. Although this knowledge is very limited compared to what can and will be known one day, it is useful now and it generally works.

WHICH TRUTH THEN SHOULD WE PUT OUR TRUST IN?

Educators, scientists, the media and others tell us that we should put our trust in the truth of science. They tell us that the Bible is largely fictional, allegorical, undependable and should be ignored. Given that the factual truth presented in the Bible has never changed, and the half-life of most factual scientific truth is less than one generation, which truth would you choose if your life depended on it?

In late March, 2013 I was presented with a good example of what the media tells us about the truth of the Bible. I heard O’Reilly on his Fox program, The O’Reilly Factor, say that much of the Bible should not be taken literally and specifically that the reporting of the incidents surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus in the four gospels was full of contradictions. I am certain that this is not the case. In 2004 our church was studying the material presented in the movie, The Passion of the Christ. I wrote and presented several studies of the material presented in the Bible surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus, including the events taking place in the days after the resurrection. I combed through all four of the gospel accounts of these events and grouped the material together event by event. My goal was to show that there were not any provable contradictions or errors in any of the gospel accounts. This was a rather extensive task but we were rewarded with success. What we found in many of the events was that different authors would give different details about the events but they were not contradictory. There is no way that the differences could be proven to be contradictory. There were two events that did prove to be a challenge. These were the events immediately surrounding the finding of the open tomb and the events surrounding Peter’s three denials. The way I approached this was to see if I could conceive of a scenario in which all of the possible contradictory situations would fit together is an easily believable series of events. Again I was successful. This shows that no one can prove that there are any contradictions in any of the accounts of the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus.

I know which truth that I put my trust in and it is not the “truth” of this world.