Editorial October 26, 2015 Issue

Know the truth—a Christian duty

Barbara Vining

To know what is true on any given subject enables one to be free from deception and manipulation by lies. So, it is exceedingly important to know what’s true.

The most important truth anyone can know is the true nature of God and His creation. This is the truth Christ Jesus taught. It frees humanity from the shackles of sin, disease, and death. Jesus demonstrated its freeing power, and he promised that others could do so also, saying, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” But Jesus preceded that promise by saying, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31, 32), thus showing that in order to know the truth that makes free, we need to be continually learning from his teachings and putting them into practice.

The truth underlying Jesus’ teaching was entirely spiritual and can be perceived and understood only through the spiritual senses, not by the material senses. But that is good news, because we all have spiritual sense—the ability to grasp spiritual concepts such as purity, innocence, justice, mercy, and so on. Through spiritual sense we can grasp the truth that God is Spirit, and that His creation is wholly spiritual. This is divine truth, God’s truth. It cannot be perceived through the material senses because they present man and the universe as material, mortal, limited, and discordant—totally unlike God, the only creator.

Send a comment to the editors

This is the end of the issue. Ready to explore further?

Online features Audio