What Is Truth and How Can We Know It?
When Pilate Asked “What Is Truth?” — and the Answer Is Still Standing
“What is truth?”
It’s a question that echoes across time — from Pilate’s courtroom in Jerusalem (John 18:38) to today’s college classrooms, comment sections, and coffee-shop conversations. In a world flooded with opinions, platforms, and personal truths, it can feel like real truth is out of reach — or worse, doesn’t even exist.
But for Christians, truth isn’t a riddle or a moving target.
Truth is a Person.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” — John 14:6
When Jesus said this, He didn’t just claim to teach truth. He claimed to be truth. In the Christian worldview, truth is not relative or invented. It flows from the very character of God — eternal, unchanging, holy — and it has walked among us in human form.
What Scripture Says About Truth
John 17:17
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” Scripture is not just true — it is truth itself. The gold standard against which all claims are measured.
John 8:32
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Truth isn’t just informative — it’s transformative. It frees from sin, shame, and spiritual blindness.
John 1:14
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us… full of grace and truth.” Jesus is the ultimate expression of divine truth embodied in a human life.
The Nature of Truth — Three Convictions
Conviction One
🔓 Truth Is Objective — Not Subjective
Truth doesn’t bend to feelings, cultural preferences, or majority votes. Christians believe that truth exists outside of us — it is not something we create or construct, but something we discover in God’s Word and God’s world.
If truth is merely subjective — if it’s different for each person — then nothing is actually true, nothing is actually wrong, and all moral claims dissolve into preference. That isn’t liberation. It’s chaos dressed up as freedom.
Conviction Two
🔍 Truth Is Knowable
God is not hiding. He has gone to enormous lengths to make Himself and His truth known — through the natural world, through the conscience, through Scripture, and most fully through Jesus Christ. He wants to be known, and He has made it possible.
This doesn’t mean truth is easy — it often requires humility, patience, and willingness to be corrected. But it is genuinely accessible to anyone who seeks it honestly.
Conviction Three
🕊️ Truth Is Revealed Spiritually
The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to God’s truth in a way that intellectual effort alone cannot accomplish. Without Him, we can accumulate biblical facts and still miss what they actually mean.
This is why prayer and the Spirit’s illumination are as essential to understanding Scripture as scholarship and careful reading. Truth is not only discovered — it is revealed.
Christianity vs. Modern Views of Truth
| Modern Culture Says… | Christianity Says… |
|---|---|
| Truth is personal — your truth, my truth | Truth is revealed by God — the same for everyone |
| Truth is relative to culture and context | Truth is absolute — grounded in God’s unchanging character |
| Truth evolves as society progresses | Truth is eternal — “the same yesterday, today, and forever” |
| Truth is unknowable — too complex, too biased | Truth is revealed in Christ and His Word — genuinely accessible |
| “Live your truth” | “Walk in God’s truth” — the only kind that sets you free |
Four Sources Through Which Truth Comes
Scripture — The Final Authority
The Bible is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and entirely trustworthy. It is the written Word that tests and confirms everything else. The Christian’s primary question is always: what does Scripture say?
Jesus Christ — The Living Word
Jesus is the full and final revelation of God (Hebrews 1:1–3). Knowing Him is knowing the heart of God and the truth about ourselves, our world, and our destiny. Every other source of truth is evaluated in His light.
The Holy Spirit — The Inner Teacher
The Spirit illuminates Scripture, convicts when we stray, and guides in discernment. He connects the written Word with the living Lord in the believer’s inner life. Truth is received, not just studied.
Creation and Conscience — General Revelation
Even those who have never read the Bible have access to general truth through the created world and the moral awareness God has written on every human heart (Romans 2:15). Nature and conscience are not the final word, but they point toward the One who is.
Why Truth Matters Today
Living in Truth — Four Practical Commitments
When Pilate asked “What is truth?” — he was standing in front of the answer. He didn’t recognize it. He walked away. Many people do the same today — ask the question, then leave before the answer comes.
But for those who linger, who seek, who are willing to look at the Person standing in front of them — truth speaks. And truth has a name.
His name is Jesus Christ. And He is still speaking.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” — John 14:6
Key Scriptures: John 14:6; 17:17; 8:32, 44; 16:13; 1:14; 3:36; 18:38 · Psalm 19:1 · Romans 1:19; 2:15 · 2 Timothy 3:16 · Hebrews 1:1–3 · Acts 17:11 · Ephesians 6:14
Want to Go Deeper?
This post is part of MVM’s series on Christian worldview. These companion posts and resources address the broader questions truth raises:
- Which Morality Is Right? / Is There Absolute Law? — the companion post applying absolute truth to moral and legal questions
- How Can You Believe in Something Unprovable? — addressing the intellectual objections to Christian truth claims
- The Nicene Creed — how the early Church defined the core truth claims about Jesus with precision and historical grounding
- Mere Christianity — C.S. Lewis; the clearest rational case for objective moral truth and its implications
- He Is There and He Is Not Silent — Francis Schaeffer; on God as the only sufficient foundation for truth, morality, and meaning
- Subscribe to get new posts delivered straight to your inbox — gospel-rooted, plain-spoken truth for the week ahead.
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:32
