Who was Jesus (5): Jesus Claimed to be the Absolute Truth

I will again apologise as I am deviating from my initial plan of writing on the resurrection of Jesus. Rather, I want to continue what I started in the previous article by delving deeper into the notion of absolute truth. If you missed the last article here is a link (Part 4).

Post modernists purport that one cannot possess absolute truth because it does not exist. A person or people group may hold to a truth but this truth does not nullify another people groups truth. Take for example, ones beliefs. To say that one particular belief is the only correct belief would be incorrect and ignorant, according to the post modernist. This obviously causes some major problems with those who hold their belief system to be the absolute truth. Therefore, in the post modernist’s eyes, absolute truth does not exist.

What do you think about these claims? Can or does absolute truth exist? I want to point out here that to say that absolute truth does not exist in itself is an absolute truth claim. To say that all beliefs are true is an absolute truth claim, which post modernist do (see more at Religion vs Gospel Part 2)! How ironic don’t you think? This is a brief explanation to a huge topic, which I will leave for later. For now, I want to continue exploring the notion of truth and where we can find this truth.

Finding meaning and truth

We all in some way or another are searching for the meaning and purpose of our lives. People have dedicated their life to studying literature and science to extrapolate this meaning. The conclusions to these ventures often come up with empty explanations that leave us depressed and hopeless.

The meaning of my life four years ago was to drink and eat up, play as much cricket as I could and use and abuse as many girls as possible! Sounds terrible I know so praise Jesus for saving a wretch like me! Obviously not everyone has these goals- some seek meaning in work, others in sport and so on, so I’ll let you fill in the blank.

The bible, which I hold to be word of God, claims that the meaning of life is found in the truth. This brings us back to our first problem, so what is the truth? Jesus, in John’s gospel explains:

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)

Jesus declares that by knowing him and following him, or better put, living in light of his teachings will enable us to know the truth and the meaning of life. At this point, you are probably even more confused about the truth then before!

Why don’t we know the truth?

We were all created to live in relationship with God. We have a natural disposition to worship God, which because of sin, the object of our worship has been altered (see Christians Believe Part 2). The bible puts it this way:

Because they [us] exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen (Romans 1:25)

Rather than worshipping God, we worship created things, like sport, food, work etc. This is consistent with what I explained earlier, which is that we find meaning in different things, which is a result of our brokenness and rebellion from God. We are programmed to worship God, and if this does not take place the implications are destructive. For example, when people worship work rather than God, you see marriage break ups, health issues, depression etc. You can do the same with sport, people, money and so on.

The answer – the truth

Jesus, who obviously isn’t a post-modern, claims that the truth and the meaning of our life is found in him:

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6) and,

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him (John 4:23)

Our meaning is found only in God, which comes through Jesus, the God man. The meaning of life is that we worship our God, who is Jesus, the creator of the world. Sadly, we worship other things which enslave us (John 8:34), so to absorb the punishment for this rebellion and free us from this slavery (John 8:32), Jesus gave his life on the cross. Truth, well the absolute truth is Jesus. Anyone who claims to have or know truth that is contrary to the real Jesus (which is solely found in the bible) is a liar.

Please don’t settle for something that is less than your sole design, which is to worship your creator and saviour, Jesus Christ. Don’t waste your time in vague spirituality or religion but find completion in Jesus. Don’t dedicate your life to the pursuit of happiness, which is fleeting anyway as you will one day leave this world, but rather find fulfilling joy in Jesus. Only in Jesus and him only will your life find meaning and purpose. You will experience the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in your life! Let Jesus into your life today!