TRUTH
“Truth” (Heb. “mit”) is that which is in accordance with reality and,
therefore, certain, reliable, trustworthy, faithful (The New International Dictionary of N.T. Theology, pp. 1975-78;
Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, p. 602).
“Truth” (Gk. “aletheia”) can mean “all of reality”, “actual”, “real” (Expository Dictionary of Bible Words,
pp. 602, 603; An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, pp. 1170,
1171); “factual” (The Compact
Dictionary of Doctrinal Words, p. 211; Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary,
p. 1246; An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, p. 1170).
It
can subjectively mean “sincerity and integrity of character” (An Expository Dictionary of Biblical
Words, p. 1171; Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, p. 1246).
The
phrase “in truth” means “on the basis of truth” (An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, p. 1171).
Psa. 119:142, 151, 160 What
is truth (i.e., reliable, faithful,
worthy of confidence)?
Are
you confident in and recognize the trustworthiness of the entirety of the
Bible, God’s Word? Why?
Jn.
What
was Jesus the truth (i.e., the final
reality) of (Col. 2:16, 17; Heb.
Are
you aware of the fact that Jesus Christ is the final reality of both the
believer’s high priest and sacrificial lamb, who takes away your sins because
He paid for them with His blood, which was pictured/symbolized by the OT Jewish
priests and the sacrificial lambs?
How
does knowing this make you feel, and why?
Jn. 4:23, 24 How must God be worshipped?
Are you worshipping (Gk. “proskuneo” – giving homage, that is, showing/acknowledging one’s supreme
loyalty, servanthood/service, and reverence/respect to – Vine’s An
Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, p. 1247) God in spirit (i.e., inner most being; inward attitude;
spiritual consciousness) and truth (i.e.,
doctrinal soundness; properly/correctly, in accordance with fact, with what the
Bible teaches)? How?
Do you worship God the way He wants
to be worshipped (in truth) rather
than the way you want to or feel like worshipping Him but in a manner that He
doesn’t want to be worshipped?
[The way He wants to be worshipped is by:
praising/thanking Him for who He is and what He does (e.g., Heb. 13:15; Acts
4:24), doing good and sharing (Heb. 13:16; Prov. 19:17; Matt. 25:35-40), and
serving Him with your whole life in what He wants/commands (e.g., Rom. 12:1)
with the right attitude/motives (e.g., Phil. 3:3; Prov. 16:2), such as in
evangelizing the spiritually lost (e.g., Rom. 1:9) and building up/ministering
to the saints/Christians (Heb. 6:10).].
Jn.
And what was this truth (i.e., dependable reality), as seen in
Are
you regularly bearing witness to this truth by evangelizing? Why?
Jn. 8:31, 32 If these
Jews abided in (remained in; truly
believed) Jesus’ words, as found in 8:23, 24 (that He is the “I am” of Ex. 3:14, that He is God the Son and Messiah,
1:34; 7:27, 41, 42), then they would truly be disciples of His, and what
would they know in their own experience (acknowledge
as their own by appropriation, by taking possession of it – Dr. Hendriksen, NTC
– The Gospel of John, pp. 74, 80)?
Not
only would they know the truth (i.e., the
reality of salvation in Him, Jesus), but this truth would set them free (from enslavement/bondage to sin, vss.
34-36). Have you been set free from bondage to sin because you’re abiding
in (truly believing in) Jesus’ words,
as found in
Jn. 14:6 Who is truth (i.e., all divine reality and, therefore, the dependable source of
redemptive revelation)?
Who
or what are you depending on/in to get you to God, heaven, or eternal life? Why?
Jn.
Do we find that the
Holy Spirit did guide the apostles into all the truth (e.g., the facts about Jesus and His redemptive ministry and future
things), especially as they recorded the NT books of the Bible?
How
do you know, besides the fact that Peter demonstrates this in Acts
Jn. 17:17-20 Jesus prays
to His Father that His disciples be sanctified (i.e., set apart for special use for God) in what?
And what is truth?
What
aspect of God’s word did Jesus especially have in mind (e.g., 6:40, 47; 10:9, 11; 14:6; 15:16 with 4:35, 36; Eph. 1:13; Col.
1:5)?
How
do we know that it’s the gospel that Jesus is especially referring to (vss. 18, 20; Lk.
[Jesus was sanctifying Himself (setting Himself apart
for God to preach the gospel) for the sake of His disciples, that they could
both hear the gospel as well as see how He spread it, so that they would go and
do likewise (“sanctify themselves in the truth”), vs. 19.].
Who
else did Jesus pray for to be sanctified in the truth (i.e., set apart for God to preach the gospel, vs. 20)?
Does
this sound like Matt. 28:19, 20, where it shows that it’s every disciple’s (convert’s/believer’s)
responsibility to go and make disciples (converts/believers)
through preaching the gospel?
Are you?
Jn.
And
what was this truth (i.e., reality),
as seen in
And
who hears Jesus’ voice (see also
Are
you of the truth (i.e., Jesus Christ and
the reality of salvation through faith in Him as Savior; one of His sheep or
chose ones)?
Gal. 5:1, 6, 7 What were these Galatian Christians hindered
from?
Is
anyone (like the Judaizers in Galatia,
2:4, 12; Acts 15:1, who taught that believers had to keep the Law to be saved)
hindering you from obeying (living out)
the truth (of the gospel, that salvation
is by faith alone in Christ as Savior – Gal. 1:6; 2:4, 14, 16; 3:24-26 – and
not by keeping the OT Law, such as getting circumcised, Acts 15:1, 5, 7, 9, 11;
Gal. 5:11) by living a life of faith through loving service to others (Gal. 5:6, 13) and, thereby, showing
your gratitude to God for a salvation that’s been freely given?
[We are saved to live for Jesus, 2 Cor. 5:15, rather
than for ourselves or for just merely going to heaven.].
Eph.
Do
you speak truth (i.e., what’s factual)
with your fellow Christians, or do you exaggerate and/or lie so as to not hurt
people’s feelings, even though they need to hear the truth for their best
welfare, and why?
1 Cor. 13:6 What rejoices with the truth (i.e., what’s factual, correct, biblical)?
Why
would love rejoice with the truth?
Do
you rejoice with the truth because you love others, and love seeks other’s best
interests, and truth is what’s best for everyone?
Phil. 4:8 What
should our minds do with that which is true (i.e.,
actual, factual, conforming to reality as opposed to falsehood or fable)?
Do you let your mind dwell on
lies, vain imaginations, or fantasies (e.g.,
evolution, that we’re just a higher animal; you’re worthless; you deserve
anything you want; your race is superior to others; etc.)?
Why would it be detrimental to do so (Prov. 23:7)?
2 Thes. 2:10-13 Why are
some people going to perish (vs. 10)?
Have you accepted or rejected God’s love as expressed
in the reality/fact/truth of the gospel (Jn.
Eph. 6:13, 14 Like the Roman soldier, the
Christian is to gird/surround/fasten his loin/waist with what?
Are
you prepared for spiritual warfare by having truth (i.e., integrity of character, sincerity of mind, a good conscience)
surround your life?
[Satan won’t be able to cause you to spiritually fall
in spiritual battle, trip you up, with guilt if you have a clear conscience and
an honest life.].
2 Tim.
Are
you handling accurately (teaching and
interpreting correctly) the word of truth (God’s Word, the Bible; the facts of the Bible)? How do you know?
2 Tim. 3:6-8 What aren’t these
hypocritical, religious leaders able to come to?
And what do they oppose?
Do
you know of religious people who can neither understand nor accept the truth of
the gospel?
Why
do you think this is (see 1 Cor.
2 Tim. 4:3, 4 What will people turn their ears
from and turn to instead?
Have
you met many people, even church-goers, who turn their ears from the truth (sound/biblical doctrine) and prefer to
hear teachers who promote nice falsities that make these people feel good about
themselves?
2 Tim.
2:24-26 What may correction with
gentleness, to those who are in opposition to the truth (vs. 18), lead to if God grants them repentance (i.e., a change of thinking/mind)?
Have
you known of any Christians who were deceived into believing false doctrine (like the Galatians in 1:6, 7; 3:1; 6:7 and
the Corinthians in 15:33, 34; 2 Cor. 11:3, 4), but who later came to the
knowledge (i.e., full knowledge) of
the truth (of some biblical teaching)
and to their senses?
Titus 1:1 Besides being a servant and an apostle
of God for the purpose of reaching those chosen of God (for salvation), what else was Paul concerned with?
Is
one of your concerns and purposes in life to give/teach believers the knowledge
of the truth (i.e., biblical doctrines)
aimed at their spiritual growth to godliness/sanctification? Why (Rom.
Jas.
Have you ever
boasted about or become arrogant over such attitudes and so lied against
(denied) the truth (of the transforming
power of the gospel, 2 Cor.
Jas. 5:19,
20 If
anyone turns a Christian who’s in sin back from straying from the truth (of the gospel or Christian orthodoxy),
what will it result in?
Have
you ever turned a sinning Christian back from straying from the truth (like those in 2 Tim.
1 Jn. 1:6 When do
we lie and not practice/state the truth (i.e.,
reality; what’s factual)?
Have
you ever told other Christians that you were in fellowship (i.e., a right/harmonious relationship) with God, but were actually
walking (living) in darkness (unconfessed, unrepentant sin)? Why?
1 Jn.
Do
you love people in deed (by your actions)
and truth (i.e., in actuality/in sincerity),
and not just verbally?
When
we truly love people by our actions and with genuine motive (i.e., out of love), what will we know
by this?
Do you know that you are of
the truth (i.e., of Christ) because
you truly love people?
[Only those who are Christ’s, who have the Holy
Spirit, can truly love (Gal.
2 Jn. 1:1, 2 What was the elder’s (the
apostle John’s), attitude toward the chosen lady (probably a personification for a particular church) and her
children (probably another
personification for the members of this church)?
And
who else loved them in truth (i.e., actuality
or sincerely)?
Do
all who know the truth (of the gospel; or
Christ) really/sincerely love you?
How
do you know?
For
the sake of (because of) the truth (i.e., the Holy Spirit, 1 Jn. 5:7; Jn.
2 Jn. 1:3, 4 From whom would grace, mercy, and peace be with these Christians in an atmosphere (a context/realm) of truth (i.e., ultimate reality) and love?
And
what was the elder glad to find?
Are
you glad when you find out that Christians you know, but who live a distance
away, are living in the truth (i.e., in
conformity with God’s Word or the Gospel truth)? Why?
1 Pet.
Has your conversion/purified life
led you to sincerely love your fellow Christians? If so, how?