We all think we know what truth means. But what does biblical truth mean? This devotion looks at how Jesus is the Truth.
Nuggets
- Jesus is unchangeable.
- Jesus’ character is truth and is in accordance with God.
- As we cut out that sin and obey God’s laws and commandments, we begin to imitate Him.
- God’s redemption is available to all — regardless of race, ethnicity — any qualifier this world uses to separate us.
Devotions in the What Is Truth? series
John 14: 6 says, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (Jn. 14: 6 NIV). But what is biblical truth?
Let's Put It into Context
The Holman Bible Dictionary explained that “the essential idea of truth in the Bible is not conformity to some external standard but faithfulness or reliability. … God is the standard. God’s truth (faithfulness or reliability) is the truth that is basic for all other truth, (Deuteronomy 7:9-10).”
Resource
Lawson gave us a little more insight. He wrote, “By the truth is meant the true, pure and most certain doctrine of the gospel concerning Christ already come, faith and salvation. This is called truth because it is true, and most eminently and infallibly true, which is noways in anything false and erroneous, as being at first immediately revealed from God, the God of truth.”
Resource
The word I kept running into in my research was immutability. Immutability means unchangeable.
Let’s look at some of the doctrine that are truth. Martin gave us the purple headings.
Resource
Jesus Is Eternal
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13: 8 ESV)
Sometimes, it hard hard to fathom that Jesus did live on the earth. But then throw in that Jesus was around before creation Will will be around for eternity, it can get mind boggling.
Let’s look at some other verses that give us some insight on this.
- “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am’” (Jn. 8: 58 ESV).
- “But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever” (Heb. 7: 24 NLT).
What does all of this mean?
It means Jesus is unchangeable. His character never changes. His teachings will never falter.
Jesus’ authority is unchangeable. “Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth’” (Mt. 28: 18 NLT).
But think of it this way, too. His power is unchanging. It is under His power that we have shelter.
Jesus’ attitude toward us doesn’t change. He is always our companion (Eastwood). We can have to same relationship that Jesus had with His disciples.
Resource
It means Jesus is immovable. What is a sin in the Old Testament was a sin in the New Testament — and still is a sin.
Jesus was, is, and will always be the only Savior to save us from that sin. Before the creation of the universe, Jesus was tapped to be our Savior. He became our Savior when He accomplished the Plan of Salvation. He is still in the business of calling the spiritually dead to repentance.
It means Jesus is immortal. Bersier wrote that the passage “… speaks to you of a truth believed under every sky by the Church’s children, that Christ is living, and that He reigns for ever.”
Resource
I love how Adams described yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Preordination occurred yesterday; incarnation appeared today; and application occurs tomorrow.
Resource
We have trouble, though, with the term forever. We have no frame of reference on which to base understanding. We just have to take it on faith at — once Jesus judges us — God’s wonderful forever can and will take place.
Jesus Is in Harmony with Truth
“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness” (Ti. 1: 1 CSB)
It took me a little bit to figure this out. Martin wrote, “The truth in Jesus is also in harmony with all truth, and with the whole nature of Him who created all things, and by whom all things consist — it is in accordance with the one Infinite Mind that is expressed.”
Resource
Okay, so, what does that mean?
Jesus’ character is truth. His character is in accordance with the Infinite Mind — God.
If the Holman Bible Dictionary said that God’s truth is faithfulness or reliability, that faithfulness leads to godliness.
We’ve talked about godliness several times. Godliness, equated with the Old Testament term fear of the Lord, is an attitude of reverence that is promoted by walking in His Spirit.
Glossary
South agreed with this. He wrote, “One, the end of all philosophical inquiries, which is truth; the other, the design of all religious institutions, which is godliness; both united, and as it were blended together in the constitution of Christianity.”
Resource
To support this, South brought up three nuggets.
1. As we dig deeper into the principles of the gospel, whatever we dig up will also be true. Evil is not going to produce good, and good is not going to produce evil.
2. Truth doesn’t just roost in our minds. It is meant to be used.
3. The gospel prepares us for heaven and eternity.
Okay, let’s try to come at it this way.
When we are seeking God, we are reading His Word and hearing it preached. But we take it a step further. We study it and meditate on it. This meditation includes us evaluating ourselves to identify sin in our lives.
As we cut out that sin and obey God’s laws and commandments, we begin to imitate Him. That changes our hearts so that our character is like His.
That is what godliness is about. But it is also cyclical.
We use that godliness to make our decisions. As we continue to make the right decisions, we grow closer to God.
Thomas cautioned us that we have to be careful. God’s truth isn’t just the opposite of being a falsehood.
Resource
God’s truth is a redemptive truth. It is to free us from spiritual bondage.
To read a related devotion, click on the appropriate button below.
God’s Truth Is Universal
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16 ESV)
God’s redemption is available to all — regardless of race, ethnicity — any qualifier this world uses to separate us. It is only when we accept His salvation we become the elect.
Because disciples described as the elect, we should not only believe it, but we should also apply it to our lives. It isn’t a just-come-forward-and-you’re-done deal. Salvation is a life-changing experience. It will take all of our Ives to make that change.
Why is God’s truth universal? “For God so loved the world …” (Jn. 3: 16 ESV).
Don’t take this wrong. Jesus didn’t just come for the ones He knew would accept Him. He died for everyone. God “… wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (I Tim. 2: 4 NIV).
No, that doesn’t mean every person gets a free pass into Heaven. We still have to ABCD. We have to submit our lives to God. “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith” (Gal. 3: 26 ESV).
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Glossary
God’s Truth Is Almighty
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him” (Col. 1: 16 ESV)
Okay. Dangling pronoun. Let’s clear this up first.
The him referred to in Colossians 1: 16 is Jesus. “He [God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1: 13-14 ESV).
Hmmm. This said Jesus created Heaven and earth. Spurgeon addressed this.
- “It was created for Jesus, and for the people whom He will bring there to be one for ever with Himself.”
- “Prepared by Jesus. He is the designer of it.”
- “Praises Jesus. He is the King of it.”
Resource
Since Jesus and God are One, Jesus is Creator. Not only that, Jesus is the reason everything was created. It all revolves around Him.
First Corinthians 8: 6 confirms this. “But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live” (I Cor. 8: 6 NLT).
Ooo, baby. Don’t we try to limit Jesus?
“Oh, He just gave His life on the cross. If Adam and Eve hadn’t sinned, there would be no Jesus.” Wrong!
Adeney addressed this. He wrote, “If there had been no sin, Christ would have visited the world in some way of Divine goodness. He came in the creation before the birth of sin.”
Resource
Remember, we have talked about that before. Even before the creation of the universe, God went to Jesus and said, “These humans are going to mess up. I am going to send You in to fix that.”
Glossary
We have to remember that this world was created to glorify God. Our purpose is to worship Him.
Making the Connections
Let’s roost a minute on stable and unchanging. Sometimes the older we get, we get accused of being stuck in our ways. The young whippersnappers tell us that we don’t want to change — we don’t want to modernize.
But God wants us to be stable. Mackennal wrote that unchanging should be our goal — unchanging in God’s ways.
Resource
On the other hand, we must first be changed by our relationship with God. The whole purpose of salvation is to reconcile us to Him — change us to be like Hm.
God wants to use this stability we find in Him to grow closer to Him, increasing growth in godliness. He wants us to obey Him and serve Him.
We won’t do that if we don’t ABCD. We have to submit to His Will.
Spurgeon wrote that only God is unchangeable. Satan thrives in chaos.
Resource
Pastor John was preaching in Philippians Sunday. He talked about all believers having shared experiences in encouragement in Christ, consultation of love, fellowship of Spirit, and sharing common ground.
Resource
We will also be judged using the same criteria. Yes, we are a diverse world. We are all mankind and have sinned against His laws and commandments. We will be judged according to those standards.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
It is all about growth. We have to discipline ourselves to grow.
How Do We Apply This?
Jesus is unchanging. That means His Word is unchanging.
That means the way of salvation is unchanging. It will always be through the narrow gate.
Glossary
Even after we become believers, the way is unchanging. We grow our relationships with Him by seeking Him.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
Yes, that means we have to read our Bibles. We have to pray. We have to attend church services.
That isn’t going to change.
The opposite of that is the worldview. Young wrote, “Nothing more vividly illustrates the unchangeableness of Divine truth than the ever changing phases of unbelief, and the ever varying tactics of its opponents.”
Resource
We need to choose God and strive to imitate Him. We need to grow in the stableness that He provides. That grows our faith, which leads to godliness.
Father. Your Truth is all about being faithful and godly. Help us to grow in our faith of You. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.
Pingback: Good versus Evil – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: Who Can Learn God’s Truth? – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: Living in God’s Truth – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: Faith of the Unseen – Seeking God with Elaine