Truth
Scripture Reading: 3 John
3rd John is an epistle of brevity, yet the Church Fathers believed it important enough to include it within the Canon of Scripture. “Truth” is one of the keywords in this little letter. It contains phrases like:
Testified to your truth…
Walking in the truth…
Workers for the truth…
From the truth itself…
Our testimony is true…
So, considering that the letter only contains 15 verses, you can see that truth is an important idea in this epistle. Of all the references to “truth” in the New Testament, over half of them are found in the writings of John. What does he mean when he uses that word?
I just finished brushing up and that. The Dictionary of New Testament Theology has about 30 pages about that word. You don’t want me to try and reproduce that here. Suffice it to say John’s writing has several shades of meaning when he uses the word “truth.”
What I want to point out in the context of 3rd John is that “truth,” as John uses the word here, is more than just a catalog of correct information. There is truth as opposed to a lie. There is truth as opposed to falsehood. What John is also interested in is truth in the life of the professed follower of Christ. That is, he is interested in harmony between what one says he believes and how he lives. He calls this, “walking in the truth.”
As indispensable as it is, it is not enough to believe that which is true. One must walk in that truth. It must be the consistent way in which life is lived.
