What is the end of all of this death and dying, being buried and resurrected, as concerning our soul? It is that we may be brought to live in the truth; for Jesus said, “ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” However, what truth is God working to bring us to see? First, the truth about ourselves—how hopeless, helpless, and sin defiled we are. How utterly inadequate we are to obtain our own salvation, or even to help God in saving us. We must be brought to know that we are a sinner; and that everything we have done, or still do outside of Christ, is sin. We must know that, in our flesh, we hate God. If we cannot see that we ourselves would have crucified Christ, we have not seen the truth about the depth of our sin.

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Secondly, the truth about God—what He is like, what He demands, and what He has done to save us. Jesus said that to truly “know” the God of Truth was “life eternal.” All false images must be destroyed, and the God of the Bible must be seen. God is the Creator, Sovereign Lord, and the Judge of all the earth. He is the One before whom all of His creatures must give an account. He is infinitely holy, wise, and powerful. He is infinitely perfect in all His Being, and in all His ways. He makes no mistakes and never changes—for God to change would indicate that what He was or what He did is less perfect than what He has now become or is now doing. His law demands perfect obedience, and all sin must receive a just recompense. He will not look away, forget, dismiss, accept excuses, or try in His own mind to reason away our sins. Yet despite His absolute sense of justice, He is also loving, compassionate, kind, merciful, and forgiving to those who are brought to apprehend His salvation in Christ.

John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Jam 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Eze 18:4Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Exo 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

The salvation God has supplied is perfect and complete, without any added works by man. It was designed in eternity by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Those that the Father chose to be saved were predestinated to come to Christ. Jesus finished the work of redemption, which the Father gave Him to do, by offering Himself as our substitute and sacrifice for sin. He bore the full measure of God’s wrath against us, and completely satisfied the just demands of God’s broken law. On the cross Jesus said, “it is finished”; He did not say, ‘I have done my part, now man must do his part’; nor did He say, ‘There is one thing left that man must do.’  Jesus Christ did it all, once for all, for all time and eternity. His suffering and death completely secured the salvation of all those that the Father had given Him to save. The Holy Spirit now seeks out those whom the Father has ordained to eternal life; He gives them faith to believe and receive the truth concerning Jesus Christ, and what He has done on our behalf.

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

From beginning to end, salvation has been God’s work and His alone. Man has no basis on which to boast of anything; he cannot say, ‘I did this or I did that to be saved’—for “salvation is of the Lord.” We were dead, and only God can raise the dead. Dead men can do nothing, they can only respond to the Power that can resurrect them. God’s salvation is complete in all of its facets—He has re-born our spirit from the dead; He is transforming our soul from dead works and the life of the old man to our new life in Christ; and finally, He will resurrect our dead bodies from the grave, changing them into a new heavenly body like unto that of His Son.

Rom 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Ex 20:24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

Jon 2:9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.

The truth also shows us how we are to walk in Christ instead of walking after the flesh. Paul declared in Galatians, “reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” To reckon is an old English accounting term meaning to look at the figures on a balance sheet, to add them up, and to come to the right answer. For us it means to look at what God has said, and account, or come to the conclusion about what is the truth; for when we walk in the truth, we will walk in Christ. When we agree with God, we come to the right answer—we have reckoned, or figured correctly.

Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Holy Spirit always acts upon the Word of God, and causes it to be manifested. Just as God spoke the Word to create the world, and the Holy Spirit made it so—“He moved upon the face of the waters.” God has spoken, that those who are in Christ, are dead to sin, but are now alive unto God. When we receive that Word of truth, then the Holy Spirit manifests it in our lives. We walk in the Christian life the same way we became a Christian, by receiving the truth, by believing the gospel—that the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ did all that was necessary to cancel our sin debt, destroy the old man of sin, and give us a new life in Him.

Gen2:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

2 Cor 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

2 Cor 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

1 Cor 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

As Moses lifted up the serpent upon the pole in the wilderness to provide healing to Israel, so we who look upon Christ on the cross are healed. As God’s children we continue to walk by faith, still looking unto Jesus; not by the natural sight of walking in this world, but by “seeing Him who is invisible.” Having begun our Christian life “in the Spirit,” we are not made perfect “by the flesh”—by doing our own works which are after the flesh. We continue to look to Jesus for our life and strength, believing the promises of God that we now have in Him.

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

2 Cor 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

2 Cor 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

The Christian walk is as simple to understand and apprehend as Salvation is. The path is so plain that anyone, “though fools, shall not err therein.” However, we must become as a little child whose life is not complicated by all the false ideas that most adults hold. Little children are not bound by human pride. In their childlike way they only trust their Mom and Dad to take care of them, and believe everything that they say. In the same way we look to our Heavenly Father to provide our needs through Christ, and believe all that He has said.

Isa 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

Luke 18:16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Much of what is written in the Scriptures is there because God must deal with the systems of thought, and all the complicated schemes that man has derived as ways to come to God and to walk with God. God not only has to reveal His truth, but He first has to unravel all the mixed up twine of thoughts and emotions that we have built into our lives. That is why, the older we get, the longer and harder it is for the Holy Spirit to bring us to Christ—He must first undo all the tangled webs we have weaved. Most people are saved by God at a young age for a reason; and children as young as four or five are easier to bring to Christ than older more knowledgeable adults. Even after adults are brought to Christ, as they attempt to live their lives as a child of God, they invariably try to complicate the Christian life, and add man-made philosophies and human works, until Christ is no longer seen, or is relevant to them. Christ comes to the door of His church, His people, and knocks to come in and have fellowship; but in the clatter of our worldliness and humanism we do not even hear Him, much less desire to have Him come in.

Isa 59:5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

The truth also sets us free from our feelings and emotions, the beasts that rage within us, that are often contrary to God. When we walk after the flesh our hearts are set upon the things of the world, and when we don’t get all that we want, we murmur, complain, and feel that God doesn’t really love us. Instead of the love that we should feel toward our fellow brethren, we have feelings of envy, jealousy, and often have a judgmental attitude. When we are in the flesh, the difficulties and trials of life produce feelings of self-pity, anger, and bitterness. Like Job, we begin to blame God and feel like God is unfairly against us. We begin to feel that God really doesn’t love us or care about us, but He is only doing things to make us unhappy. Like Cain, we become angry with God, because we are bringing the wrong sacrifices to God; we are presenting to God our own human works, or our own fruits as it were, and not the sacrifice He has decreed and supplied.

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

James 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Matt 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

James 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

1 Cor 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

Job 7:11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

Job 16:11 God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.
13 His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.
14 He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.

Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

The truth frees us from these sinful emotions by showing us our complete deadness to God in the flesh, and how we are now alive in the One with whom God is well-pleased. When trials come we can say, ‘This is not God working against me, but for me’; because God is always for Christ, His blessings are upon Him, and we are in Him. Instead of the fallen emotions of the flesh, we now have the inner fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, and goodness.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Because the truth is so vital, especially to a Christian, it is no wonder the great battle that Satan wages against it. As the lie of Satan deceived Eve, and led the whole human race into the slavery of sin, so it is the truth that sets us free from this bondage. Satan is the father of lies, who led us into darkness and death; God is the source of all truth, and His truth leads us to life. Truth is the light of the soul; for God to lead us out of darkness we must be shown the truth, believe the truth, and live in the truth.

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

Our enemies—the world, the flesh, and the Devil—are doing everything in their power to hide the truth, change the truth, compromise the truth, or give us half-truths. Satan and other fallen spirits disguise themselves as angels of light; and his preachers and teachers appear as ministers of light; but all for the purpose of deceiving, distorting, watering down, and making the truth of none effect. The lost sinners of this world believe Satan’s lies, and are living in the darkness of false religions, with their human-works salvation. Sadly, many a true child of God is entangled in Satan’s lies, and live in the shadows of that darkness. They are saved, but they never experience all that God has for them. From the beginning of their salvation, well-meaning, but misguided pastors and teachers point them down the road of fleshly works to please God, and most of them will never return.

2 Cor 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

1 John 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

As children of God we must “earnestly contend” for the truth, not only for our own sake, but for our families, for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and for the lost sheep that have not yet come to know Jesus. God is employing His children in this fight for truth; we are soldiers in His army against the forces of Satan; and He has given us spiritual weaponry to fight this war.

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Tim 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

2 Tim 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

2 Cor 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Therefore, if truth is so important, how do we define what it is, and where do we find it in its pure unadulterated state? In answering the first question we must look to the One who came to show us the truth. Pilate, in his questioning of Jesus, asked Him, “What is truth?” Philosophers have been debating that question from the beginning of time. For the Christian, there is only one true answer to this question; and most would say either God, God’s Word, the Bible, or Jesus; and all of these answers are correct because they are all the same answer. Because the issue is so important, Jesus made a point of making sure His disciples knew, without a doubt, the correct answer. In His last meeting with them, before His crucifixion, He defined what truth is in two statements. In the first He said, “I am…the truth.” In the second He said, “Thy word is truth.”

John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Now, three things are important to see about these statements given by Jesus. The first is, Jesus and the Word are both the truth because they are one and the same. Jesus is the Word made flesh; He is the Incarnate Word who existed as God, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, throughout all eternity. He is the manifestation of the Godhead, the expression of the Godhead; He is everything that God says or does in expressing Himself.  To make sure His disciples got the absolute meaning of what He was saying, He used the most revealing name for God in the Bible, “I AM THAT I AM,” when He said of Himself, “I am…the truth.” The power and authority of that name was revealed when He used it again at His capture in the garden— “As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.”

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Ex 3:13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

John 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

The second thing to see is that everything God is, says, or does is “the truth.” There is not even a shade of darkness or untruth in anything He is, says, or does. God is the epitome of truth, just as Satan is the epitome of lies. Whereas Satan can speak no truth because “there is no truth in him,” “God … cannot lie” because it is “impossible for God to lie.” Just as all of Satan’s work is built upon lies, all of God’s “works are done in truth.”

1 John 2:21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

Psa 33:4 For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.

Lastly, God, Jesus, or the Word, is the one and only truth. He is “the truth,” and outside of Him there is no other truth because there is no other god or source of truth but Him. Everything apart from Him and what He reveals is a lie, and comes from the father of lies. Just as there is no other “way” to God but Christ, and there is no other “life” but Christ, so no other “truth” exists but Him. Jesus is the complete embodiment of all wisdom and knowledge—He is the “alpha and omega.” There is no true concept, idea, word, or thought that exists, but which is to be found in Him. Nothing that is of the truth has ever, or ever will be, be brought forth by any “god”, angel, or creature.

Isa 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Isa 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

“What is truth?” God is the absolute meaning to our question, and the only meaning that can make any sense for a child of God. Now, we already know the arguments of other philosophies, who would say that there are many ways to God other than Jesus, and there are other kinds of life beside the Christian life, and there are other ways to look at truth than from the Christian perspective. By faith however, we trust what Jesus has said; and everything else that is contrary to what He has said is a lie. Christians may be called narrow-minded, bigoted, and pig-headed; but just as Eve, we must all decide for ourselves who we will believe in our search for truth.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If we are an honest seeker of “the truth,” and we acknowledge that God is “the truth,” where, or how do we discover it for ourselves upon this earth? Jesus our Lord and Saviour, who is the Embodiment of truth, has gone back to Heaven, and alas we have not His presence here on earth from which to hear the truth. Therefore, if the truth is so important, where else are we to find it in its pure unadulterated condition. It has been said that rat poison is ninety-seven percent good food or the rats wouldn’t eat it. However, it is that three percent of poison that kills them.  So we do not want truth that is even ninety-nine percent pure, for even the one percent of untruth can lead us away from God, or cannot be said to be “the truth.” Some of what Satan said to Eve was truth, but it wasn’t the whole truth, and it was truth that had been perverted to promote his own deception. However, it was enough truth to cause Eve to believe what he said, and enough error to bring about the fall of the human race.

1 Tim 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1 Tim 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

So, where is the pure truth of God to be found on this earth?  Do we find the truth in churches, from the mouths of preachers, pastors, priests, evangelists, and all the other so-called ministers of God and truth? Do we look to angels or spirits, to visions or dreams, or maybe occultism, astrology, or fortune tellers to tell us the truth? Scientists and humanistic professors and teachers in universities and schools all claim to be telling us the truth—even though many deny the Creator God, and teach evolution in His place. Do we find truth in religious books, even in this book, that can be said to be the pure light of God’s truth? The great quest of mankind is said to be that of finding the truth, but has God made that search an exercise in futility?

Isa 3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

Jer 5:30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

Jer 23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

Jer 23:16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.

1 Tim 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

Isa 8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Isa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

There is only one source of truth that God has given for us to depend upon, and that is His Word, His written Word, the Scriptures containing the Old and New Testament—or as we know it, the Holy Bible. In the book of Daniel it is called “the scripture of truth.” Paul, in his letter to Timothy, called it “the holy scriptures.” In the same letter he wrote “All scripture is given by inspiration of God”—attesting to its Divine source. Our Lord Jesus Himself testified to the validity of the written Word of God. He quoted it in His warfare with Satan; He used it as the basis of everything He taught; and He gave it unmistakable credence when He said “Thy Word is Truth.”

Dan 10:21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

2 Tim 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

1 Thess 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Matt 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

For those of us as believers—“upon whom the ends of the world are come,” and for whom the accounts in the Bible were written for our example and admonition—can we say that there are possibly other sources of Divine truth outside of the Bible? We know that the Bible itself contains some sixty-six books, written by as many as forty different authors, over a period of some fifteen hundred years. Maybe God was not finished revealing His truth as some would say, but continues to speak and write through other men and women. What about the Book of Mormon, or the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Scientists, or those of Charles Russell, the founder of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Edicts of the Roman Church, and many other of the so-called inspired writings and prophetic utterances by those who claim divine inspiration? Was God completely finished with revealing His truth to His children through His Word? We say emphatically that He was, because the Bible itself teaches that He was finished.

1 Cor 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

2 Pet 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

Paul, when writing to the Corinthian Church about the proper use of spiritual gifts, taught them that the day would come when these sign gifts would no longer be necessary, or even given by the Holy Spirit. That time would be when, “that which is perfect is come.” Paul was not referring to Christ, who had already come, and who, and not “that,” will come again—Christ is a person, not an object. Nor was he referring to the Holy Spirit, who and not “that,” had already come to dwell in believers—the Holy Spirit is also a person, not an object. The only thing “perfect” that Paul said the early church was still waiting upon in that day, was the completed written Word of God. The writings of the Apostles had not yet been completed as of that time. However, when John (the last surviving Apostle), wrote in the Book of Revelation (the last Book in the Bible), in the last chapter, in the last verses of that chapter, “ For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book”; then the inspired written Word of God was “perfect,” or complete.

1 Cor 13: 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Deut 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Prov 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.