Everyone who is of the Truth hears my voice..
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 18:37–38
Hearing the voice of the Lord is not only a matter of spiritual sensitivity, it is heard by those who act according to Truth. Although Truth is a quality of the spiritual-angelic environment, and also an attribute of Jehovah God, in one of the Psalms of David we discover that Truth is a teachable spiritual knowledge,
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Psalm 25:5
Truth definitely has nothing to do with ‘speaking’ according to verifiable facts and/or with information held to be valid by two or more witnesses; if David demands the intervention of Jehovah-God, and asks Him to lead him into His Truth, it is because Truth then enjoys the very essence of Jehovah-God’s nature, He does not teach about matters inferior to His divinity.
The Truth is then not only a characteristic of life built on integrity, but above all, the necessary requirement to approach the Lord, and hear His Voice. He who does not walk in Truth does not have ‘fellowship’ with the Lord.[1] With all that is written above we can realize the importance of knowing about the subject.
In terms of the righteousness of the Kingdom of Heaven, what is Truth? How is it defined? How is it obtained?
The Truth, אֶמֶת (e-meth) in Hebrew, and αληθεια (alithia) in Greek, is the consciousness that is awakened in a person about the existence of a knowledge-law that regulates the development of the natural order of things initiated by man’s intervention. The Truth does not exist outside of man, the Truth is spiritual support of validation to make the activity of man transcendent.
The best example to illustrate this process is found in the story of when the apostle Peter was sent by the Lord to the house of Cornelius,[2] a Roman centurion, a Gentile for the purposes of the Bible, and therefore a man unpleasant to the Jews; Peter admitted during the meeting with them, from the knowledge which Jehovah-God had communicated to him the day before, that God is no respecter of persons, a truth which to Peter was hitherto unknown; the admission of such knowledge-law opened the door for the Gentiles to become partakers of the Grace of Salvation.
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: Acts 10:34
This conception is not a section attached to the Gospel as it may seem, there are evidences that the biblical writers had this knowledge, one of those cases is the one referred by the apostle Paul when in his epistle to the community of faith in Rome he discovers how those people who do not have access to the Law of Moses are evaluated by Jehovah-God,
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16 in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Romans 2:14–16
Thus, we verify, that Truth is the recognition in the conscience of man that there is a natural order that regulates the development of all actions; each action has its own disposition, the observation of them leads the person to build a life of straightness and justice. By virtue of this, Truth is the ‘power’ of optimal functioning; actions performed with Truth are prospered,
hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God. Ezekiel 18:9
Therefore the law is slacked,
and judgment doth never go forth:
for the wicked doth compass about the righteous;
therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. Habakkuk 1:4
Truth establishes a natural order of priority over all things that man/woman does under the sun,
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11
The Words of Jesus before Pilate, …To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth, are the key to understanding how to walk in the Truth; the first thing we must understand is that Truth is pre-existent to the material Creation, that is, Truth is not a part of this world, it is a quality of the spiritual-angelical environment introduced into this world to give support and validity to all human activity; and the second thing, Truth has life in itself, and gives life to him who walks in it.[3]
Let’s go to the Words of Jesus again. Note well, if Jesus came to ‘bear witness’ to it, that is, to validate the transcendence of Truth, it is because it has the very nature of the essence of Jehovah-God; otherwise, why should there be so much effort if its value were inconsequential and/or less than the very nature of Jesus? How can one ‘bear witness’ to Truth if it is an abstract concept? Can one claim something that does not exist?
Truth is not only the attribute of the Sovereignty and Omnipotence of Jehovah-God, it is above all, the very essence of the environment in which He moves. Jehovah-God is Truth,[4] and all that He does, He does with Truth, so Truth is the establishment of wisdom upon which the universe was built,
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. 4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; Job 38:1–6
Operationally speaking, Truth is introduced and established in this world by/with the Word with which Jehovah-God certified that His work is true: the expression, “and God saw that it was good”,[5] the expression with which He concluded the work of each of the first six days of Creation, means not only that His work is Perfect and Adequate in itself, but above all, that it established the Truth of the reality of things for which He had created it, that is, that each of the elements of Creation would have a definite purpose and action, to break that purpose and that action would provoke an environment of lie.
He confirmed the knowledge that He Himself knew beforehand to be good, and He did so in every one of the days of His Creation until its conclusion, thereby showing that Truth is established upon the foundation that what Jehovah-God does is good, His work is not harmful to man, even though in human eyes it may be an inconvenience.
21 and said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Job 1:21–22
The expression, “and God saw that it was good”, shows that everything that is not of the Truth is opposed to the principle of Creation established by the Lord. The work of darkness establishes ‘rebellion’ to what Jehovah-God does. Truth is absolute.
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. Romans 8:28
Truth is associated with counsel, wisdom, intelligence, and the fear of the Lord.
He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. Job 12:20
Truth is discovered when a person moves according to the recommendation of Jehovah-God’s Word, Truth has life (Ζῶν) in itself, and it energizes (ἐνεργὴς) all that where it is established;
For the word of God is quick (Ζῶν: zon), and powerful (ἐνεργὴς: energis), and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
Faith is founded on the basis of Truth, hence for faith to prosper, it is not enough just to believe,[6] it is necessary for the person to move in Truth,
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. James 2:17 (20; 26)
Truth belongs to Jehovah-God, however, today’s civilizations are civilizations in crisis, in their quest to be progressive societies they have ‘manufactured’ fictional truths that far from turning them into societies of Truth, have led them to be pagan societies that simply feed the ego, greed, and covetousness; is the condition also of many Christian communities, the doctrinal deficiency of what the Truth of the Gospel means,[7] has led many to build a philosophical and scientific faith, where the value of the life of faith consists in what God can, and should, do for the believer, and not in what God demands from the believer to establish his faith as a bond of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven; at first glance the problem is not really serious and does not risk anyone’s salvation, however, when we review the doctrine of the Gospel and compare it with what is preached as the Gospel, we will see that in reality it is about winds of apostasy that have already swept many communities of faith. So, the main task of anyone who is interested in knowing about the Truth of the Righteousness of the Kingdom of Heaven is to remove the obstacles that stand in its way.
The first stumbling block we must overcome is the stumbling block of philosophical definition; Truth is not an abstract concept, it is not a relative concept, much less, a concept subordinated to the circumstances and/or situations of the events, all of them attributes that have usually served to impact its definition, at least in the West.
The second stumbling block we must overcome is the stumbling block of moral definition; Truth is not synonymous with good, nor is lie synonymous with evil; Truth does not depend even on the intentions/motivations of people’s hearts; Truth is not a moral concept, does not originate from any of its basic postulates, nor does it receive any input from them.
As for the doctrine of the Gospel, how does one learn to know the Truth?
Truth is the essence of nature that constitutes a person: God is true, man is a liar
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. Romans 3:4
Truth is the essence of the nature of Jehovah- God. Surely we have read how the apostle John defines Jehovah-God: “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love”;[8] in his definition, John recognizes that the ‘essence’ of the nature of God is love; in the same way, when Jesus expressed: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me”,[9] He was affirming that the ‘essence’ of his nature is Truth; man was also formed with the attribution of being true, but disobedience to the Word of the Lord degraded him and made him a ‘lying’ being. The presence of Jesus on earth is so that man/woman may find the way to constitute themselves again in truth, and cease to live by the lie,
For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Luke 6:43 (see also Matthew 7:16)
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. Matthew 12:33
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:25
Hence, when Jesus stated, “and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”,[10] His purpose was to show that Truth does not consist only in knowledge which is learned, but in Revelation of purpose so that by it we acquire the transformation of nature by faith in Jesus.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:3–6
The only way to acquire the Truth is by faith in Jesus, there is no other way; it is obtained by the transformation that the Spirit of Truth operates in the person when he or she submits to the Lordship of Jesus established in/by the teachings of the Gospel.
Man cannot change by himself, woman cannot change by herself; everyone is born in a state of sin and his/her nature is a lie, man/woman lies by nature, not by habit or manners; in order for there to be transformation man/woman has to subject his/her attitude, intention, motivation, thought and decision to the doctrine of the Gospel; transformation is achieved when the person disposes not to be double-hearted, nor to take personal advantage of situations,
for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. Proverbs 23:7
But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7
The different situations to which both men and women are exposed daily are intended to bring out the essence of their nature;
21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Matthew 5:21–22
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Matthew 5:27–28
It is not a matter of ethics, as presented by religious philosophy, but of understanding that man is a liar by nature, and that the only way to be true is to allow the Spirit of Truth to transform his nature.
Truth is not a matter of verification of facts: a person is true not because he ‘speaks’ Truth, but because he ‘acts’ Truth
A situation is not Truth just because the references fit the reality of how the events unfolded, Truth is the ability to stand in the original line of the Lord’s work. The teaching is established by the case when Samuel goes up to Bethlehem to anoint David as the chosen one of Jehovah-God to substitute Saul; Samuel says that he went up to “offer sacrifice”, which was not necessarily true, he went up to anoint David as Saul’s successor,
4 And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 1 Samuel 16:4–5
Verse one of the same chapter clearly states that Samuel’s purpose was to anoint David;
And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 1 Samuel 16:1
The teaching here states that a person is true not because he speaks Truth but because he acts Truth; to act Truth means to stand in continuity with the original work of Jehovah-God according to the operation that the Spirit has initiated in a place, and/or with a person. Samuel saw Saul grow and develop as a king, and it grieved him deeply when Jehovah-God repented of making him king, and he cast him off, yet his appreciation of Saul did not prevent him from continuing with the work which the Lord had entrusted to him of anointing David as Saul’s successor. Truth is established not with/by words, but by actions consistent with the line toward which the Lord’s work is conducted.
Another example that illustrates this is the case of the apostle Peter when he expresses that Jesus is the Christ.[11] Notice how Jesus recognizes that Peter has received from the Father the Revelation that He is the Christ, however, a few verses later in the same story we find Jesus rebuking Peter’s behavior, and treating him as Satan, Why? Peter lost continuity of the Spirit’s operation; Peter was not true to his relationship with Jesus, his duality leading him to deny Him on three consecutive occasions the night he was taken prisoner in Gethsemane. A person exposes the ‘lie’ in which he lives when he acts in double-minded behavior and is inconstant in the actions he initiates.
A person is true not because his words conform to the truthfulness of the information, or of the facts, but because he stands firm acting according to the disposition of Jehovah-God has determined for that fact.
and thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. Deuteronomy 28:14
Truth is the understanding that Jehovah-God continues to operate even above the ‘falls’ of man;
In David’s experience when he fled from Saul, David expresses a fact that is not true, yet his words do not detract from the work that Jehovah-God was establishing upon him.
Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? 2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. 1 Samuel 21:1–2
The other case of David that runs parallel with this one, is the case when David incurs in the act of giving orders over Uriah the Hittite, to expose him to death; his act according to the Mosaic Law is considered a sin of death,[12] however, David’s sin was remitted without the mediation of a lamb sacrifice,[13] and eventually, from the union with Bethzabé, Solomon was born,[14] and Nathan,[15] the latter, from whom the genealogy of Jesus comes.[16]
The knowledge of Truth makes us understand how Jehovah-God judges all things, and how He establishes His Truth among the peoples.
Truth is not measured by how societies define it, it is measured by the Righteousness of the Kingdom of Heaven; the Righteousness of the Kingdom is established by the ‘spirit’ of the Law,
A person may have eliminated lying from his/her vocabulary, however this is not necessarily evidence that the person is true; Truth is measured according to the ‘spirit’ of the Law that promotes the Righteousness of the Kingdom of Heaven. Joseph’s decision not to infame Mary when he knew she was pregnant is a case that contradicts the way Jewish society had established as correct; although this traditional way of acting was based on the Law of Moses, the biblical text in reference says that Joseph was ‘just man’, how can a man who acts contrary to the Law of Moses continue to be ‘just man’?
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. Matthew 1:19
The Law of Moses required that the bridegroom with her denounce her and stone her,
20 But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: 21 then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you. Deuteronomy 22:20–21
How to understand this situation? The ‘spirit’ of the Law stated that the purpose of the Law was not only to punish the offender, but to remove the evil from their midst.[17]
Let’s look at another case. The Bible itself establishes the support of Jehovah God over the civil laws of the peoples, even exhorting to observe and respect them;[18] yet the apostle Paul denounces that it is not right to bring the cause of the saints before the unbelievers;[19] thus establishing that human laws cannot be imposed upon the Truth of the Gospel, nor upon any operation that the Holy Spirit Has initiated within the Kingdom. In another section of his writings, Paul states that if a brother has an ‘unbelieving wife’ and she consents to dwell with him, he should not put her away;[20] ‘put her away’ here is synonymous with divorce; the apostle Paul establishes with this instruction that divorce is permitted in the Gospel because one of them is not compatible with faith in Christ Jesus, yet no civil law has it considered as a permissible ground for divorce.
The laws of men, nor their customs, cannot impose actions upon the decisions of the Kingdom, nor impose upon any man of faith labels of offender just because he does not act according to them; everything that the man of faith does in obedience to civil laws, but which contradicts the guidance of the Spirit, is considered a ‘lie’, and the man of faith is a ‘liar’.
He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Luke 11:23
Truth is a subject of Revelation, only he who lives by it is a man/woman of Truth. The lie consists in living by the discretion dictated by religious formation.
Falsehood should not be tolerated because it establishes a lie. If you realize that something is not right, that is to say, that something is not walking in accordance with the stipulation, and you do nothing to correct it, then you constitute yourself as tolerant of falsehood, and thereby establish falsehood. He who establishes falsehood, or gets used to tolerating it, is a liar.
Why so much falsehood? Why so many lies? There are many people who live in an environment of lies, and they allow it, and in doing so they themselves are turned into lies. To each one comes just what he sowed, or what he tolerated.
who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Romans 1:25
Truth is a daily exercise, only he or she who exercises himself or herself in his or her deeds can reach it; remember, it is not true who ‘speaks’ Truth, but he or she who ‘acts’ Truth. Each of us writes a new lesson of Truth every day, as we discover within ourselves the nature of lie in which we have lived, and eradicate it.
that which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more. Job 34:32
Truth does not rely on the feelings or emotions a person may feel about something, or even the thoughts he may have; in fact, the best way to identify the ‘degree’ of Truth a person has attained is to evaluate the levels of ‘reaction’ to attacks on him; the liar takes things personally, and reacts with vengeance; the true one does not react at all.
All biblical quotations are taken from the King James Version.
Pastor Pedro Montoya
[1] Deuteronomy 13:4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. Deuteronomy 15:5 only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day. Psalm 85:8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. Jeremiah 6:17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Ezekiel 2:5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. Amos 5:23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
[2] Acts 10:19–20
[3] 1st. John 5:20: And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
[4] Deuteronomy 32:4: He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. Compare this with the words of Jesus in 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.
[5] Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31
[6] James 2:19: Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
[7] Galatians 2:5; 14; Ephesians 1:13; Colossians 1:5
[8] 1st. John 4:8, 16
[9] John 14:6
[10] Ditto 8:32
[11] Ditto 16:17
[12] Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 21:22; 1st. John 5:16
[13] 2 Samuel 12:13: And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
[14] Ditto 12:24: And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.
[15] Ditto 5:14: And these be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,
[16] Luke 3:31: which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,
[17] Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7; 21:21; 22:21–24
[18] Romans 13:1–7
[19] 1st. Corinthians 6:1–6
[20] Ditto 7:12–14
