How to know the truth
John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
Ever learning:
Paul writes about certain philosophers in 2 Tim 3:7 saying that they were unable to come to the knowledge of the truth. In the next verse, Paul tells us why they cannot – even though they are highly intelligent or well educated – they resist the truth. Resist means to oppose, set against, to withstand. They could not learn the truth because they were not willing to believe it or obey it when they learned it. An example of that today is the controversy among Christians about the Genesis account of creation. The written text says six days and there are those who say that it means six literal twenty-four hour days and others who say it means thousands, even billions of years. Often the unbelief or unwillingness to believe the plain reading of Scripture comes because of man’s contrary teaching and supposed evidences opposing what the Bible says.
The difficulties in this as well as in other doctrinal difficulties are a basic unwillingness to believe the Bible when they conflict doctrines based on human reasoning. When Jesus spoke the words in the text, He was addressing arrogant religionists who considered Him just an itinerant, uneducated preacher and rejected His teachings even though they knew what He said was Biblical. What Jesus said is a timeless criterion for recognizing God’s truth and knowing His will. A heart that does not try to twist God’s word to accommodate a human philosophy or one’s own personal will by persuading himself that it is God’s will shall come to the knowledge of truth and God’s will. God’s will is always consistent with His word which is written to be easily understood by anyone willing to believe.
Logical Milk – 1 Peter 2:2
Peter instructs young Christians to “lay aside all malice, guile and hypocrisies and partake of the sincere milk of the word. (The word for lay aside means to lay aside once and for all). The word for sincere means without guile (no craft deceit or rebellion), so, they must build all future progress of understanding truth on guilelessness – no craft, deceit or rebellion.
The phrase “of the word” is an interesting word. The Greek is logikos from which we get our word, logic or logical. It is used only one other time in the New Testament – Rom 12:1 where it is translated “reasonable” in regard to serving God.
Peter is talking about partaking of spiritual milk that is logical and without guile. This can be nothing else than the incorruptible, eternal, regenerating word of God – both written and incarnate. Jesus is logical for He is The Truth. Peter, further in his epistle, declares that Jesus was without guile (1 Pet. 2:22). These attributes must also be true of God’s written word in the Scriptures. While there are some things that are hard to be understood (2 Pet 3:16), they are not full of secret meanings that only specially trained interpreters can fathom. They are sincere, meaning what they say. They are not unscientific, but fully logical and correct in everything they say. Therefore, they are genuine spiritual nourishment t for babes in Christ and will enable them to grow spiritually.
Sound doctrine 2 Timothy 1:13
When Paul write to Timothy and Titus, he stressed the importance of maintaining sound doctrine in the churches (1 Tim 6:3; 4:3; Tit 1:9; 2:1). If Paul was concerned about doctrinal integrity in the church in the first century, he would be even more so today. These are times when false doctrines are rampant and when sound (wholesome, healthy) doctrines are often compromised or ignored in the church.
Paul’s command to “hold fast the form” of sound words is not just for the “spirit” of the texts but for the very words themselves. Such guarding of doctrine is vital for the spiritual health of the church. Such doctrinal integrity does not lead to cold orthodoxy, as some say, but is centered in “faith and love” which is in Christ (Tit 2:2). It is the doctrine of Christ Himself Who is not only The Truth but also The Way and The Life.