What is Truth in These Troubling Times?
Truth can be defined as “that which conforms with fact or reality.” Truth can also be seen as “genuineness, veracity, or actuality. In a word, truth is reality. It is how things actually are. Theologically, truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God. Truth is the self-disclosure of God Himself. It is what it is because God declares it so and made it so. All truth must be defined in terms of God, whose very nature is truth,” wrote Dr. Steven J. Lawson, professor of preaching at the Master’s Seminary.
In Scripture, we see:
God is the God of truth (Ps. 31:5: Isa. 65:16)
Grace and truth-filled Jesus (John 1:14)
Jesus is the truth (John 14:6)
The Spirit of truth is the Holy Spirit (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13)
A further look shows us that:
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“Truth is divine.” Since God is the God of truth, Jesus is the truth, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, the truth comes from the divine source of all life: God.
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“Truth is absolute.” Despite the movement of the last two hundred years to declare that truth does not exist, it will never go away. Truth is final and absolute because the Creator of all things declared it to be so.
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“Truth is singular.” Jesus declared He is the truth. Therefore, anything that appears outside of Him and His known character is not the truth.
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“Truth is objective.” Truth can’t be found by feelings, by emotions, or in the sayings of others who are not grounded in the truth—Jesus Christ. Truth isn’t malleable; it is not dependent on us. It flows from the heart of Father God and is real, tangible, and alive in the living presence of Jesus Christ.
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“Truth is immutable.” Truth can’t change. God doesn’t lie, and He doesn’t change. Since truth comes from Him and is embodied in Christ, it will never change.
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“Truth is authoritative,” Jesus said that the truth will make us free as we come to know Him—the truth (John 8:32). He is the source of the authority that truth carries. And because He is the Word of God (John 1:1–2), it is His life as the Word of God that will cleanse us from deception and sin (John 17:17). Nothing can ultimately stand in the light of His truth
As we pray and ponder the prophetic words, stories, ideas, dreams, and visions being promoted in Christendom regarding the future of President Donald Trump, America, and the world, we must remember these things above. We also need to lean into the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, who enters our lives and guides us into all truth. John 16:13 (NKJV) says, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
The Holy Spirit wants to tell us what will happen, but it will always be according to the truth, for that is the only reality there is in this life. He helps us discover the truth—or reality—by leading us to Jesus (John 16:13), by initiating direct, divine encounters that alter how we see the Word and God (Acts 9), by calling us to walk with Him each day (Gal. 5), and by helping us see all the connections in Scripture, as Jesus did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus and Philip did with the eunuch (Luke 24:13–35; Acts 8:26–40).
Additionally, we can pray the apostle Paul’s prayer over our lives each day, trusting the Holy Spirit will enlighten us with His knowledge:
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. —Ephesians 1:17–18
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