Untitled Sermon (2)
Truth. The Bible does not provide a systematic account of the nature of truth in either its theological or philosophical dimensions. Nevertheless great prominence is given to the idea of truth in Scripture because God is the God of truth (Pss 31:5; 108:4; 146:6) who speaks and judges truly (Pss 57:3; 96:13). God is the God of all truth because he is the Creator, and it is impossible for him to lie (Heb 6:18).
All things exist because of his will (Eph 1:11). His will is the ultimate truth of every proposition or fact. Because of God’s will the stars continue in their orbits (Ps 147:4) and Paul and his fellow voyagers arrive safely (Acts 27:24), even though God could have willed otherwise.
Whether God’s creative power also extends to the truths of logic and mathematics has been the subject of controversy in Christian theology, some (e.g., Descartes and possibly Luther) claiming that two and two equals four only because God wills it, while the mainstream of Christian theology maintains that such a view is either speculative or incoherent.
While a general account of truth may be inferred from biblical data, the focus of Scripture is upon soteriology, the revealed truth in the gospel of God’s redeeming grace through Christ. This is the truth which Christ and the apostles proclaimed (Jn 8:44–46; 18:37; Rom 9:1; 2 Cor 4:2), which was foreshadowed in the OT (1 Pt 1:10–12), and witnessed to by the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:13). God’s revelation in Christ may be true in contrast to the OT teaching, not because the OT teaching is false, but because it is shadowy and incomplete in comparison with the NT. So Christ brings the truth (Jn 1:17) and the Holy Spirit leads into all truth (Jn 16:13).
The Christian gospel does not have a spiritual truth of its own, but contains truth-conditions familiar from other areas of human interest and inquiry, and embraces not only historical matters of fact, but metaphysical (Jn 1:14) and moral (Mk 1:15; Lk 13:3) truths. To restrict the scope of biblical truth or to contrast moral or spiritual truth with scientific or historical truth is a mistake. All truth is God’s truth, and a moral truth (e.g., adultery is wrong) stands in the same objective sense as the historical fact that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate. The popular idea that there is a characteristically Hebraic mode of truth, expressed particularly in the OT, which is contrasted with Greek ideas in Christian theology, should also be resisted. The difference between Hebrew and Greek thought forms lies not in the idea of truth but in the conflicting ideas of God, of human need, and of the way of salvation found in the two cultures. When Paul’s hearers at Athens heard him say that what one of their poets had said was true (Acts 17:28), they were using the same idea of truth, even though they may not have fully understood the implications.
If there is a contrast at all between Hebrew and Greek thought, it is one of emphasis. Hebrew and biblical thought emphasize the personal source of truth (God and faithful men), while Greek thought emphasizes the truth of what is assented to or uttered. But even this difference must not be pressed too far, since the NT frequently employs Greek words for truth without any modification.
While the truth of God, backed by his authority, calls for a response (Rom 9:1) and is utterly trustworthy, defining truth in terms of reliability is a mistake. God’s Word is true, therefore it is trustworthy.
By extension from these basic ideas about scriptural truth, Christ spoke of himself as the truth. Scripture elsewhere calls upon people to “do the truth” (Jn 14:6; Gal 3:1). Christ is the truth because, being God, his words carry divine authority. They are truth and life (Jn 6:63). In addition the life of Christ epitomized truthfulness and utter reliability. When people live in obedience to the truth, they are true and reliable.