Truth
by Tatiana Overduin
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But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth (John 16:13a).
What a loaded word: ‘struth!’
Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Quid est veritas?’ We can ask the same words today: ‘What is truth?’ Today, in our contemporary world, it would appear that truth can be whatever you want it to be. Whatever is truth for me is my truth. But does this actually make it the truth? To understand this better, we can look at the definition of the word and learn that the meaning points to that which is ‘factual and to that which is real’. In our modern world of technological advancement and artificial intelligence, it’s only getting more difficult to differentiate what is fabricated and what is true.
What about telling the truth? Do we always tell the truth? Not possible, is it, unless we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to ‘speak the truth in love’ (see Ephesians 4:15). In today’s reading, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as ‘the Spirit of truth’ and that when we receive the Holy Spirit from Jesus, he will make the truth known to us (verse 15b). Therefore, we can establish from the Scriptures that ‘the truth’ is given by God alone.
Happy birthday, Christian church! The gift of the Holy Spirit was given to us at Pentecost. Today, we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Christian church: the day Christians commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit to the apostles and other followers of Jesus. You can read about it in the Book of Acts, chapter 2, verses 1–31. And, just like any birthday celebration, those named by God can enjoy this special day – a gift for us to live ‘truthfully’ in a world riddled with all sorts of teachings about the concept of truth.
We can stand together in solidarity, believing only the Holy Spirit does ‘prove the world to be in the wrong, about sin and righteousness and judgement’ (verse 8). In verse 11 of our reading, Jesus says, ‘… the prince of this world now stands condemned’. We who believe in Jesus do not need to concur with the falsities that the teaching of this world implies, those that ultimately divide and deceive us, sometimes even within the church. We stand in the truth: in God’s holy truth! Accordingly, we may now celebrate this day with the assurance that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).
Lord, thank you for gifting us with your truth. Your word is truth. Amen.
Tatiana is married to Jim, and they live at Largs North, a seaside location in Adelaide. They have two adult children and six grandchildren who are a wonderful blessing to them both. Tatiana teaches full-time as an English, History and Religion teacher; she gained a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Australian Lutheran College in 1996 and, in her spare time, she enjoys knitting, gardening, singing for church, writing and swimming. Her home congregation is Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide.
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