How to Know Truth

If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. (John 7:17)

People who really want to do what God wants will know that my teaching comes from God. They will know that this teaching is not my own. (ERV)

I have pondered the meaning of this verse for as long as I can remember. The issue of knowing the right version of truth, what is the real will of God, has been at the center of debate in circles I grew up in and around in my culture. People became very worked up about knowing the will of God and unfortunately often tried to impose their ideas of truth on many around them by various means.

Jesus in this passage gives a clear statement about how a person can know the truth. He is telling us the reliable method that we can use to discern between what is true and what is counterfeit. But even though Jesus laid it out this plainly, it still remains a confused issue and a topic of debate. Why is that?

What I have experienced in recent years is a growing awareness of the dramatic difference between relating to God with the mind and allowing a real heart connection to dominate my relationship with Him. Because a heart-based relationship is so out of the realm of control by the left brain logical mindset, many have great fear of giving the heart permission to let go of their resistance and allow the Spirit of God to introduce things that may at first feel very frightening. When the heart gets involved in a meaningful relationship the emotions begin to show up, but many of us have been taught to be suspicious at best of our emotions.

On the other hand, because of the abuse of others who rely more on their emotions than on the objective guide of the Word of God to govern their lives, many in the conservative camp end up throwing out or at least marginalizing the emotional part of their lives instead of allowing God to integrate them and bring them into close fellowship with His heart. Jesus addressed this issue directly with the woman at the well in Samaria.

An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. (John 4:23)

But what does Jesus mean here when He talks about a willingness to do the will of God? I have observed that everyone tends to have their own spin on this verse to justify their preferences and their comfort zone. But if I know Jesus right, He is not the kind of person that likely will encourage staying in our comfort zone. If a person is unbalanced on the intellectual side and afraid of emotion, they will likely be confronted with their need to surrender their resistance and stubbornness and allow God to access the deep, painful places they have been hiding from Him deep inside. If they are used to defining their religion primarily by excitement and feelings while ignoring disturbing truths from the Word of God, they may find themselves confronted by the Spirit to be more attentive to their conscience and allow their intellect to be more involved and resist their natural impulses.

I looked through a number of versions to see how they rendered this text. I suspected that the typical translations might not make it as plain as it would be in the original, and my suspicions were confirmed. However, I did not find any versions that really gave good expression to what I found in the definition of the words from the Greek. I believe that this verse could be translated much more clearly and strongly than most have chosen to do. The reason I say this is because this is such a vital point and one upon which much hinges in our perception of how to know what is true. If we miss the underlying principle Jesus is conveying in these words we are in danger of prolonging and complicating our religious pursuit of truth to a great degree or worse yet, missing it altogether.

In the Greek, there are much stronger nuances that I find compelling that most of the translations I have looked at on this verse do not convey. The word translated will, as in the will on our part in this verse, is the Greek word thelo. This word conveys a lot more than what we normally attach to the word will in English. In the Greek this word is intentionally stronger than the typical concept of will as we think of it. It includes the ideas of preference, to wish, to be inclined to, to be disposed toward, pleased, love, delight in.

Jesus is clearly saying here that it takes more than the typical kind of intellectual belief we often think about in order to have the necessary confidence that what Jesus says in His teachings is really what is truth. In our minds we too often improperly disconnect what we call intellectual truth from a heart engagement with a Person. We have come to think of truth more along the lines of the validity of certain facts, the ability to win arguments or the scientific proving of a theory. If we can't line up enough hard evidence for some idea, then we view it with great suspicion until it can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.

However, that approach to acceptance of something as truth will become the insurmountable barrier that will prevent us from ever really experiencing the kind of truth that God has for us. For the kind of truth that Jesus is talking about here has far more involved in it than simply the accuracy of facts or the authenticity of theories and claims. While the facts about God may be important for strengthening our grasp of truth, without a choice rooted in our hearts to give preference to knowing Jesus personally, we will remain with debilitating doubts that will prevent us from the kind of assurance that our souls so deeply crave.

What is needed is for us to enter into a solid relationship of dependence and assurance that Jesus is the only valid source of all truth for us personally. We must be willing to come into a delighting kind of relationship with Him. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalms 37:4) What are the real desires of my heart? What my heart is created to crave more than anything else is that experience of joy, a relationship of being loved, cherished, valued and wanted by another who is genuinely glad to be with me.

According to this verse in parallel with the words of Jesus, my part is to allow my heart to delight myself in God, to respond in my growing awareness of His love for me by letting my heart connect to Him. As I do this I will find myself able to experience the kind of confidence in truth that I yearn to have, confidence that the instructions and insights from Jesus have that ring of truth because they resonate with the spirit inside of me that is synchronized by the Spirit sent by Jesus.

This interconnection with the mind and heart of God provided through the ministry of the Spirit empowers all who enter into this kind of relationship with Him to have the discernment necessary to detect falsehood and deceptive counterfeits that so closely imitate truth that they are very compelling and attractive. Only the Spirit of God can protect us from being deceived by the counterfeits of the enemy, for human wisdom is so far inferior to the minds of supernatural beings that we cannot trust our own mental equipment to protect us from deception. Only as we enter into delightful, interactive intimacy with God can we enjoy protection from error and knowledge of truth He has waiting for us.

Father, fill me with the joy of knowing Your truth which is the same as knowing Jesus. Joy always involves fellowship at the deepest level and that is what my own heart yearns for deeply. You have shown me today that this joy relationship is part of what is necessary for me to have assurance of truth and the deep peace that comes from increasing freedom from deceptions and lies. Cleanse my mind and heart of lies about You, about myself and about reality as You deepen my conviction and understanding of the truth of Your words. Speak Your words to me directly and continue to draw out more and more of my heart's affections to attach to You. Thank-you for Your word here for me today, and make me a cleaner channel of Your truth and love to others, for Your reputation's sake, Amen.