What Is The Truth That Transforms?

Published on May 1, 2017 10:37:27 AM - Modified on February 6, 2018 3:06:08 PM - Written by Robert Chambers

The truth that transforms is a Divine Truth revealed by the almighty Creator of the universe. Having designed the heavens, the earth, and everything in them, He alone is the source of knowledge governing all aspects of our existence. As a loving father cares for his children, so God wants only the best for humanity. That is why He has revealed the Truth about who we are, how we should live, and what the futures holds. For those who submit to His will, the end result is a personal transformation that not only leads to a better quality of life on earth but also an eternal home in Heaven.

What Is Truth?

To appreciate how truth can transform a life, first we must have some notion of what constitutes truth. Most people associate the concept of truth with facts based on physical reality. This is a “Human Truth” deduced from observations and life experiences accumulated over time. While this definition sounds reasonable, it restricts truth to human discovery in the physical realm and produces a set of relative principles subject to change based on new findings and better understanding. In this limited worldview, absolute truth is unattainable because it requires absolute knowledge, and no human being can meet that standard.  

The truth that transforms is a “Divine Truth”. It does not originate in the minds of humans nor does it come from findings in the physical world. Its source resides with God, a spirit from another realm, who purposefully designed and created the physical universe and everything in it. Divine Truth stems from absolute knowledge and encompasses not only the principles governing our physical realm but also the more important spiritual realities unattainable by human discovery.

God alone is the source of all truth.

Being the source of all substance and life, God alone commands absolute knowledge providing the gateway to absolute truth. Truth is one of many traits attributed to the character of God. The Scriptures declare Him to be the God of Truth (Psalm 31:5; Isa. 65:16) abounding in truth (Exod. 34:6) with a truth that is everlasting (Psalm 117:2). Likewise, Jesus asserted His claim to truth as the Son of God saying: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). As the Spirit who designed and created the universe (Exod. 20:11), God knows the truth by who He is and what He did.

Humanity acquires divine truth through God's revelation.

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world” (Heb. 1:1-2). Over the ages, God has communicated the truth to humankind in words (2 Sam. 7:28; Psalm 119:160), commandments (Psalm 119:51), and law (Psalm 119:142) given through the prophets, but for us today God has revealed Himself through His Son. In praying to the Heavenly Father, Jesus said: “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). That word was the message Jesus delivered to humanity (John 14:24). 

God’s revelation was preserved for us in the Bible.

Before leaving the earth, Jesus promised to send the Spirit of Truth to guide His apostles into all the truth (John 16:13). That included teaching them all things they needed to know and bringing to remembrance all that Jesus had said to them (John 14:26). Through God's inspired prophets the message of truth was preached to humanity (1 Thess. 2:13) and written down for posterity (2 Thess. 2:13-15). Those writings have been collectively saved in the Bible where “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

There are those who seek to corrupt the Truth

Aside from God, there is another spiritual influence in the world. It belongs to the father of lies we know as the devil. Jesus said: “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). We must always be alert. The devil is an enemy seeking someone to deceive and thereby devour (1 Pet. 5:8). Jesus warned us saying: “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). Because there are so many false prophets in the world, we are encouraged to test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1). Jesus said: “You will know them by their fruits” (Matt 7:16). In the words of the apostle Paul, false teachers are “full of deceit and fraud” as an “enemy of all righteousness” who “make crooked the straight ways of the Lord” (Acts 13:10). We are certain to possess the truth if we align with the teachings of the Bible. Our attitude must resemble the Bereans who were said to be “more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).