How to Find Truth

Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh...." (John 8:14-15)

It seems to me that there is a significant clue here to one of the principles of true reality. There is much discussion about what is truth and a lot of that discussion revolves around what are provable, factual concepts. But in the heavenly reality which is generally foreign to all except those who are being initiated and transformed into that reality through salvation, truth is defined in very different terms. And what I see in these verses is along that line.

I have noticed that many things Jesus said while here on earth seemed to be from a very different frame of reference. Jesus seemed so aware of that other reality and appeared to live so thoroughly in that reality while almost only visiting the reality we perceive that much of what He said to us used language more from that reality than ours. This has led us to make many presumptions about things He said that can be very confusing because we often do not take into account or are even aware of the context of the reality from which He was speaking. Indeed, Paul said that spiritual things can only be spiritually discerned by people who have received the Spirit of God in their hearts. Jesus made it plain to Nicodemus that it would be impossible for him to even understand what Jesus was talking about regarding the kingdom of heaven until he was born again.

What I noticed in this verse was the link between Jesus' statement that His testimony was true and His perspective of His own mission and connection with heaven. He seemed to imply rather strongly here that truth has to be viewed in the context of being aware of who and what Jesus Himself was all about, it is not about knowing a set of rules or doctrines or provable facts. Additionally, Jesus was not defining truth as each of us knowing who we are or where we came from and are going to, but truth is always relative to knowing where Jesus came from and where He is headed.

The last phrase in this quote seems to me to be a rather explicit statement about the two views of reality. Jesus states that people here in what we think is reality tend to judge or evaluate things based on what Jesus calls the flesh. Paul expands this a great deal more and contrasts living in the flesh verses living in the Spirit. This theme is particularly flushed out throughout the New Testament and in my understanding these are labels for the two very different realities in which each of us can choose to live.

Typical religion is an attempt to live out the results of living in the Spirit while failing to actually allow God's Spirit to dwell inside of us to produce those results. We try to focus on all the descriptions we find in the Bible of what a Christian should look like and then set about to shape our lives to conform to those descriptions. But truly following Jesus is not about imitating Him externally but coming into a totally dependent, trusting, mutually loving relationship with God just as Jesus demonstrated while He lived here on this earth. To do that we must have the same Spirit dwelling inside of us just as Jesus had that same Spirit dwelling in Him while living in total dependence and submission to His Father each moment.

Just because we may be expert in religious topics or seem to be getting our act together quite nicely and have developed a good reputation with those around us as being a good person, does not in any way make us a person who is filled with truth. Jesus stated quite plainly that He Himself was the truth. To think that knowing facts or holding a certain set of religious beliefs aligns us with the truth is one of the greatest deceptions we can come under. And trying to figure out where we have come from or where we are going instead of knowing those things deep in our heart about Jesus is also a diversion from entering into real truth. Truth is not so much about having an accurate knowledge of facts or belief systems but is living in harmony with the persons who make up the godhead and who provides all things for everyone, even existence itself.

When I allow God's Spirit to have its way in me to align me properly with that other reality which is only dimly perceived by me at this point, I begin to experience truth in a whole new dimension and begin to feel the life of God changing me from the inside out. It seems that the more I learn about this other reality, these principles of real truth and how perfectly they all fit together, I find myself in much more sympathy with David when he kept talking about wanting to know more of God's precepts and how much he loved them. I used to be very baffled when I read those things in the Psalms, but now I find myself saying the same things spontaneously to God as the Spirit brings new insights to my attention throughout the day.

Jesus, help me to better know You, to know where You really came from and where You are are going so that I can enjoy living in the truth as You want me to.