The Biblical definition of truth is God’s reliable nature, unwavering plan, and perfect will, revealed through both His written and living Word.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 4)

---

If it’s information you want, there’s never been a better time to be alive. In March of 2019, it was estimated that the internet contained some 5.5 billion pages. Happy reading!

However, it it’s truth you want, there’s never been a trickier time to be alive. All those stats and stories, tweets and articles that come magically to our smartphones each day prompt the question: what of all this is true?

Each time we click or swipe, we encounter scholars and celebrities, politicians and religious leaders, reporters and marketers making claims and counterclaims. We know that data can be misinterpreted, or worse, manipulated. We know that stories can be fabricated. Thus, the rise of curious phrases like “alternative facts,” “competing narratives”, “fake news”, and “your truth and my truth.”

In 2 and 3 John, the two shortest “books” in the Bible, John used the word truth eleven times. Second John is essentially about “deceivers” spreading bogus spiritual ideas. The apostle wants his friends who are “walking in the truth” to “continue in the teaching of Christ”. Third John commends one leader who was living according to God’s revealed truth, and calls out another who was not.

When we examine all of John’s writings, it’s clear that truth isn’t merely a set of principles or precepts. Truth is a Person! God himself is truth (John 3:33; 17:3; 1 John 5:20). And God’s Son is the embodiment of divine truth (John 1:14, 17; 14:6). Thus Jesus can claim to be the true light o God, the true bread from God, and the true vine who shares with believers the life that is in God.

For believers, living by the truth means living in a way that’s consistent with Christ’s life and teachings.

In our relativistic culture, you can have civil discussions about truth, IF you stick to the phrase “my truth”. However, if you dare to speak of “the truth” as in Jesus, the conversation is likely to go south quickly.

Two writers are worth listening to on this point. Flannery O’Connor correctly noted, “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” And G.K. Chesterton observed that an open mind, in itself, is worthless. We open our minds, he argued, for the same reason we open our mouths, to shut them on something solid.

John’s ancient readers didn’t have “the cloud” or smartphones. Even so, they were inundated by false teachers! How much more careful do we need to be? Ask God to fill you with the Spirit of truth. He alone can give us the power to live according to the truth and be witnesses of the truth in a culture that’s adrift in a sea of mendacity.

Question to Ponder

1. How is a person supposed to know what’s true in a culture with all sorts of competing truth claims?