What Is Truth?

“What is truth?” So asked Pontius Pilate to the man who had just declared that He came into the world “to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37–38). Far from a serious philosophical inquiry, Pilate’s rhetorical question reflected cynicism toward the very idea of truth. Nevertheless, the question itself is an important one that deserves careful reflection.

One thing is clear: the Bible places a high premium on truth. In both the Old and New Testaments, God’s people are enjoined to speak the truth (Ps. 15:2; Prov. 12:17; Zech. 8:16; Eph. 4:15, 25). The ninth commandment (Ex. 20:16) is expressly concerned with truthfulness, primarily in the context of a law court (Deut. 19:15–21) but also by extension in every sphere of life. As the rest of Scripture testifies, truth-telling is a moral duty, and honesty is a moral virtue. The pursuit of justice depends crucially on truthfulness, and thus the righteous are those who “love truth” (Zech. 8:16–19; see Amos 5:10). A sincere concern for truth should permeate our very thoughts (Phil. 4:8).

The primary words for “truth” in the Bible are emeth (Hebrew) and alētheia (Greek). Both can connote the accurate representation of facts (as in “tell the truth”) as well as the broader concepts of veracity, trustworthiness, sincerity, and authenticity. In more general terms, it can be helpful to distinguish between propositional and non-propositional senses of what it means for something to be “true.” The former applies to things such as beliefs and statements: a belief or statement is “true” if and only if it depicts things accurately or authentically. This propositional sense is particularly in view when it comes to testimony, whether human or divine (John 5:31–32; 21:24; Acts 10:42; 18:5; 20:23, 26; 26:25; 1 John 4:14; 5:6–12). In the non-propositional sense, things are “true” if they are genuine, trustworthy, or substantial (see Luke 16:11; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 9:24). The Apostle John is particularly fond of this usage, regularly using terms such as “true light,” “true worshipers,” “true bread,” “true food,” “true drink,” “true vine,” and “true God” in his writings. In this latter sense, “true” is often used to point beyond the transient physical realm to deeper spiritual realities (John 6:32, 55; Heb. 8:2).

For the Christian, truth is far more than a philosophical concept. It is deeply theological because it is intimately tied to the nature of God and His self-revelation. The Lord is both “the true God” (Jer. 10:10; John 17:3; 1 Thess. 1:9; 1 John 5:20) and “the God of truth” (Ps. 31:5; Isa. 65:16) who cannot speak falsely (Num. 23:19; Titus 1:2). Jesus Christ is “the only Son from the Father,” and thus He is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14)—indeed, He declares Himself to be the truth (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit, whom the Son sends as He returns to the Father, is “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6). Satan, in sharp contrast, is “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44–45).

Since God’s self-revelation necessarily reflects His character, the Word of God is entirely true. Indeed, it is not merely true (adjective) but truth (noun)—the implication being that God’s Word bears the very nature of truth (John 17:17; cf. Ps. 119:160; 2 Tim. 2:15; James 1:18). The essential truthfulness of God’s Word is bound up with its perfection and trustworthiness (2 Sam. 22:31; Ps. 12:6; 18:30; Prov. 30:5; Rev. 21:5; 22:6).

But what exactly is truth? Philosophers have debated whether truth should be understood as some kind of relationship to reality. According to realism, the commonsense view, a belief or statement is true if it accurately depicts or represents the world as it really is. Realism predominated until the turn of the twentieth century, when varieties of anti-realism arose, often in pursuit of a more consistent outworking of atheism. Anti-realism is closely associated with postmodernist movements, according to which “truth” is a human social construction to be created rather than discovered. It is safe to say that the Bible assumes a realist view of truth, and the great creeds and confessions of the church were forged by Christians who would have been baffled by any other stance.

Besides the debate over realism, various theories of truth have been proposed. Correspondence theories maintain that truth is a relationship between beliefs and facts: a belief is true if it “matches up” with the way things actually are. Coherence theories hold that truth is more like an internal feature of a belief system: a belief is true if it meshes consistently with one’s other beliefs or ideas. Pragmatic theories propose that truth is a function of the consequences of beliefs: a belief is true if holding that belief “makes a difference” in some useful or desirable way.

Christians understandably gravitate toward a correspondence theory of truth, yet the other two approaches contain some important insights. Following the lead of Augustine, some Christian thinkers have suggested that truths are ultimately divine thoughts. It is not merely that whatever God believes is true; rather, truth simply is whatever God believes. If this is correct, then we can understand how truth will manifest not only correspondence with reality, but also internal coherence (because of the orderliness of God’s mind) and pragmatic usefulness (because God’s thoughts are always wise and effective). On this view, when we apprehend truth, we are “thinking God’s thoughts after him” in the deepest sense—a truly awe-inspiring thought.