The Relevance of Truth
When it comes to the question “What is truth?” we must keep in mind that without the perception of intelligent beings’ truth is of little consequence. The universe would exist for no one and whatever happened would merely affect matter. We would be inclined to say that the very notion of the existence of inanimate matter would be irrelevant without intelligent existence. King David expressed this thought: “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?” Psalm 30: 9
And again, in Psalm 88: 10-12: Wilt thou show wonders to the dead; shall the dead arise and praise thee? Shall thy loving kindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
But we find that not only does man exist as an intelligent being, but the Bible (if it speaks truth) speaks of angelic or spirit beings, none of which came into existence of their own accord. The Bible states: “Let us make man in our image,” as if to imply that God had already created other intelligent beings with mental and moral intelligence.
It is to mental and moral intelligence that the very concept of truth appeals. It is truth, or deviations from it, that affects the lives of intelligent beings. It is this intelligence that gives meaning and purpose to the existence of universal matter, which of itself provides the material context for intelligent beings to exist.
The life sustaining qualities of the material universe are in and of themselves the body of physical truths that are required to uphold the structures of life in general and intelligent life in particular. But an important question emerges: viz., In the realm of intelligent thought how can one know if the conclusions he makes in certain matters are correct or true? It is a question of bringing our intelligent capacities into line and harmony with what the truth actually is on any subject. Or, to state it even more positively – It is to bring our mental and moral capacities into line and harmony with the Creator and Sustainer of all things, if in fact (or truth) God exists. And once again we warn, it is not our own or someone else’s imaginings and fabrications concerning the Creator that we are to maintain, but the realities of these things. All truth is sustained by law, even as we read in Malachi 2: 6: “The law of truth was in his mouth…”
Is it True That God Exists?
Sometimes in our quest for truth we are confronted with a question with monumental ramifications. Is God a reality? Either God is or God isn’t. We venture to say that if we possess any degree of common sense, it is in our best interests to conclude that God is a reality. In the face of largely incomprehensible realities (such as time, space, the microcosmic and macrocosmic qualities of matter, energy, and light, as well as the nature of existence itself), to conclude that there is no God is utterly illogical. Common sense will carefully consider the statement that the invisible things of God’s being and power are apprehended by the material world and universe. (Romans 1:20) It seemed clear to the Apostle Paul that this consideration was an indisputable axiom, and not merely a conviction.
Jesus Bore Witness to the Truth
Let us examine two statements – one made by Jesus and the other made by Pontius Pilate as a reply to what Jesus said. We find these statements in John 18: 37 and 38. Jesus said:
“To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth hears my voice.” Pilate said unto him, “What is truth?”
We find Pilate’s reply, “What is truth?” extremely curious. Why did he say this? What was behind this utterance? Pilate did not seem to ask this question with a sincere desire to know the answer – it seems to have been almost a cynical question. Reality, as Pilate observed it, appeared to have no special truth, only humanly constructed ideologies and practical necessities; right and wrong, truth and justice existed only within the relativistic sociological, political, and legal arenas that man had constructed.
Pilate’s response appears to be one that might not be much different from what we might hear today: In a world of relativism, “what is truth?” In a world dominated by pragmatic necessities, ideological loyalties, political manipulation, and religious pluralism what, indeed, is truth?” Pilate asks the question cynically, rhetorically – seemingly not truly seeking an answer – and he receives from Jesus only silence.
Jesus’ silence in response to Pilate’s question “What is truth?” is indicative of the vast gulf that stretches between someone like Jesus and someone like Pontius Pilate – a sign of the chasm between two modes of understanding. Pilate was rooted in mundane and worldly human expedients; Jesus was rooted in deeper realities. Pilate could not see the world as Jesus saw it; and he could not see past the immediate as Jesus could – as only a permitted phase passing across the pages of time.
Christ – The Way, The Truth, and The Life
But for us, who believe that Jesus was and is “the way, the truth, and the life”, what is our conception of truth, and is it in harmony with that to which Jesus declared he came to bear witness? In Galatians 2: 14 and Colossians 1: 5
the Apostle Paul speaks of “the truth of the gospel.” In Ephesians 1: 13 he speaks of “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” Remembering that Jesus said to Pilate that he came to bear witness unto the truth, we find that it was not unto all truth, physical, scientific, and otherwise that Jesus came to bear witness, although we are led to understand that he, as the Logos (John 1:1-3), was instrumental in expressing the laws and truths of God in the processes of creation.
In fact we read in Colossian 2: 3 that in Christ are “hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Mankind has been allowed a glimpse into certain physical truths throughout history, as God permitted. But the Biblical scriptures suggest that greater access to all truth will only be in and through the Christ in God’s own time and way. So ultimately, through Christ, access will be gained into vast treasures of eternal truths when mankind is in a position to receive them in righteousness. For Jesus, the truth he spoke of to Pilate, – the truth to which he came to bear witness, was in a sense a limited feature of all truth. It was the truth of the Gospel (good news) of man’s salvation from sin and death! – A truth more important to man than all other truths, for as long as man is dying, knowledge loses much of its significance, for what does it really matter if for a few short years we learn some infinitesimally small part of all there is to know and then die never to live again. Without the prospect of continued life all, in the last analysis, is vanity. This is expressed in Ecclesiastes 5:16 where it says that … this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he [man] came so doth he go away, and what profit hath he, in having laboured for the wind?
The truth to which Jesus came to bear witness is that which would begin to place mankind in a position of readiness to receive fullness of life as well as a knowledge of other grand and universal realities yet mostly unknown to us.
Pilate could have no adequate conception of who Jesus was. Pilate was playing his unwitting part in the drama of history and prophecy and was merely allowed the blessing of coming into contact with the Redeemer, – the foretold Saviour of man.
Pilate could not possibly see how Jesus was indeed the way, the truth, and the life, and that even he, Pilate, would one day be given the opportunity to come to God through him; that eventually Pilate would have the answer to his question, “what is truth?” and that ultimately the general vault of truth would be more fully open for mankind because of the truth of the Gospel and its way to life.
What is Truth?
In one sense the answer to the question “What is truth?” may be simpler than we might have at first expected, for, from the proper point of view of any intelligent being, truth finds its origin, development, and results in the exercise of righteousness which is the foundation of the operation of God . “Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne.” Psalm 97:2
In a general sense, truth is discerned whenever the results of righteousness are observed. This is expressed in by Paul in Romans 12: 2 where he said: “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you mighty discern the good and acceptable, perfect will of God.”
By contrast, mental perversity, in its varying degrees and forms, leads to, and is in turn aggravated by, moral degradation. Weakness and error in the intellect affect the exercise of the will and results in error and suffering in life.
Man’s Need to Be Restored to a Truthful Condition
All that pertains to man at the present time is impaired. The mind of man is the mainspring of thought and action. If the mind or mainspring is not in tune with the regulator of the universe it cannot be aligned or true. Man has lost his fundamental stability through sin. He has lost his psychological footing. Also, man’s social and psychological environment has become so tainted and confused, that even with the exercise of reason it is almost impossible to set a course that is not fraught with perplexity at every turn.
However, the legal and mental restoration of man’s footing is the provision of God for mankind through Christ. Mental, moral, and physical restoration processes, which will eradicate weakness, confusion, and sin will be built upon this provision.
Legally Cleansing and Aligning the Conscience
In Hebrews 9:9 the Apostle Paul states that Old Testament gifts and sacrifices could not ultimately restore the conscience to perfection, but that these practices merely showed that such a restoration was necessary as well as forthcoming. In Hebrews 9: 13, 14 we are shown that the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctified merely to the purifying of the flesh, in other words typically, as a lesson of the need for a legal and permanent rectification of the human life. We are further shown that the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, in fact has the actual legal power to purge or cleanse the conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Those who exercise this faith are assured that God honors the legality inherent in what this faith is based on, viz., Jesus’ death (substitution) in place of Adam and his human family. It is important to know that those who exercise this faith and who gain this renewed (legally provided) standing will love righteousness and strive to regulate their lives by it. The daily maintenance and alignment of this purged conscience will have as its foundation the blood of Christ and the constant recognition of its value for us in the sight of God.
Comprehensive Truth is Held in Abeyance
For the human race in general, the knowledge of these facts, and the manner in which these legal factors will be applied to their restitution, will be fundamental to man’s reintegration into God’s broader plan for the universe.
As far as mankind is concerned, his knowledge of more comprehensive truth is no doubt held in abeyance until he is in a fit state or condition to be entrusted with it. Man’s restoration to wholeness and eternal life will be fundamental to his entry into the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. For approximately the last century mankind has been crossing the frontier of increased knowledge as a day of preparation of what is soon to follow. Daniel 12: 4
Christ is the Keystone of Present Truth for Man
Jesus said that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that only through him could man come unto the Father. (John 14: 6) This is the basis and keystone of the Truth to which Jesus came to bear witness. This fact effectively vetoes the claims of other ideologies to be approaches to God and life. Only Christ, who was raised from the dead as the empowered deliverer, can recover mankind and bring him back into harmony with the Law of God and the law of life. It was to regain this condition that Jesus found himself in the presence of Pontius Pilate, declaring that he had come to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who will find the truth of life as it was intended will eventually understand and receive the benefits of these facts. John 18: 37
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