Focusing on Christ: He is Truth

Jesus said to him,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
– John 14:6 –

As we heard earlier, Jesus came to testify to the truth (see John 18:37). Jesus told His first disciples that they would “know the truth and the truth will set you free” (see John 8:32). While praying for His first disciples, He asked the Father to “sanctify them in truth” and then said that His Father’s Word is Truth (see John 17:17).

This is all good and acceptable. We tend to think of truth in the abstract – language, thought, words, ideas, etc. But then Jesus says something startling.

In the John 14:6 passage above Jesus claims not just to testify to the truth or to teach the truth but to be the Truth. This is repeated in different ways in the rest of the New Testament:

… you have heard about Him (Jesus) and were taught in Him,
as the truth is in Jesus,

Ephesians 4:21 (ESV)

In what has been revealed to us in Christ and in the Scriptures, Jesus Himself is the origin and focus of TRUTH. And the implication is, if you don’t know Jesus, you don’t know the TRUTH. We will have a lot more to say about this.

A large part of developing a Bible based, Christ focused worldview involves trusting Jesus to be all He claims to be. He is Truth. And as such, He is the source of all other knowledge based treasures:

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person. I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery—Christ.
All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him.

Colossians 2:1–3

Jesus is Truth. In order for us to be shaped by Truth, we must know Him.
And trust Him.

Looking Further:

Paul writes the Letters to the Ephesians and to the Colossians toward the end of his life and ministry. Ephesians is his highest and best presentation of the revelation about the Church in the New Testament. Colossians is his highest and best presentation of the revelation about Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Take some time to sit down in a quite place and read through all of Colossians and ponder what it teaches you about the person and reality of Jesus.