Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

John 14:6

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
…
…if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:31-32, 36

“The truth will make you free.” This statement is relevant to our lives on many levels, both physical and spiritual.

The Value of Truth in Everyday Life

I’ve written lately about the importance of having an accurate picture of both God and ourselves. As I continue to think about it, I keep seeing how truth and accuracy are critical throughout all of life. Our physical, mental, financial, political and moral health are all compromised if we are deceived (or deceitful!), misled or un-informed about the true realities around us.

In our physical health, a hypochondriac imagining serious illnesses that they don’t actually have lowers their quality of life unnecessarily. Of course, not recognizing illness that we DO have definitely lowers quality of life! It is important to accurately assess our condition so that proper treatment steps can be taken.

The same can be said for our mental health, or for conditions that bridge between physical and mental issues. The addict who won’t admit to their addiction can’t start on the road to healing. The depressed or anxious who don’t recognize the physiological components will blame themselves undeservedly; those who blame everything on physiology or on external conditions will be less willing to do what they can to help themselves.

Financially, a lack of truthful budgeting and accounting causes individuals and corporations (and governments!) to mis-manage their funds. They over-extend and spend more than they have available; they hoard and miss valid investment opportunities; or they spend on the wrong priorities while neglecting more important ones.

The politicians from different parties often say diametrically opposite things. It is possible for both to be wrong (or lying), or it may be that the truth is somewhere in the middle. But it is NOT possible for both to be completely honest and telling the entire truth when their statements are in direct conflict. Listening to only one side or the other results in voting decisions that are not fully informed. And that can result in elected officials who implement policies that are more harmful than helpful.

When making moral choices, any kind of deceitfulness ends with the deceiver being the one entrapped. One lie leads to another, building a house of cards that is vulnerable to the slightest breeze of truth. Satan, the most vile of deceivers, specializes in the deception that there is no absolute morality: Everything is situational, and what is true for one person may not be true for another. That lie has caused more heartache than we can ever know.

Some Word Study

All of these variations on the idea of truth being the foundation of freedom are valid. However, in our focal verses above, Jesus is going many levels beyond these everyday examples. He says that He is the Truth, and that He is the One who can make us truly, completely free. How?

Let’s start by digging into a few of the main words. There are a couple of them to especially notice in these verses.

One, the way to know the truth and be made free is conditional. It depends on “if you continue in My word“. The Greek word menō used for “continue” is also translated as “abide” ¹, “remain”, “dwell”, and “endure”. It is not a static word; it describes on-going action.

Two, the word ginōskō used for “know” is also an active word. It doesn’t mean simply to be aware of a fact; the word for that would have been oida or the related eidō. Ginōskō means to know via personal experience, to have a relationship that grows in knowledge ².

So, it is continuing to regularly live by Jesus’ word — His logos, not just His textual words but His complete expression of reasoning, doctrine, and instruction — that allows us to experience more and more of His reality. Then, knowing more and more of Him is what results in freedom (eleutheroō, liberty and deliverance).

The Value of Jesus-the-Truth in DAILY Life

We think of “truth” as a concept, as an ideal or a standard. In these verses, though, Jesus is saying that Truth is more than just a concept; it is a Person. He is absolute, objective Reality — Greek alētheia — the One who created, sustains, and is the basis for every other reality in our world. Any opposing false “truth” that wants to be part of the show collides with Him, and loses.

It follows that the more fully we know Him, the more accurate our view of everything else becomes. How we see other people, how we interpret any event, and how we order our priorities becomes more in line with what is actually real and lasting.

That leads to freedom from the illusions that threaten to derail our lives. Being able to see beyond the surface clutter and down to bedrock reality frees us to make better, more informed, choices each day. That enables us to make decisions that lead to ultimate success, defined as alignment with God’s plan for our lives. We can avoid paths that lead to failure to live the abundant life He intends for us.

But this is still not the entire story.

The Value of Jesus-the-Truth in ETERNAL Life

The deepest and highest level of meaning in Jesus’ words is the one that mystified and infuriated His listeners at the time. They questioned “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” (John 8:33) He answered “…everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” (John 8:34)

He went on to explain that being Abraham’s physical descendants was meaningless without also having Abraham’s faith. He charged that their disbelief in Him marked them as the lineage of Satan rather than Abraham (something they did not appreciate at all!) When He followed that by directly stating His divinity, “Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58), they proceeded to try to stone Him to death for blasphemy. They could not recognize the Truth.

Jesus was asserting that knowing Him as Who He truly is — the eternal Son, come to us to be the human face of God, our Savior and Redeemer — and then internalizing that Truth at the center of our life frees us from the power of sin. Without that Truth, the deception of sin is that we are in charge of our lives and in control of our own destinies. Believing that lie enslaves us to Satan, instead. As the Apostle Paul expressed this to his protégée Timothy:

…perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:25-26

Anything other than Jesus will ultimately come up short, leaving us still alienated and separated from God. Only He is “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”. Only He can provide reconciliation, victory, and the freedom to become what we are intended to be: Children of God!

Note: Similar articles on this site discussing Truth, Freedom, and Victory over sin include “Single Source of Truth“, “Live Free“, and “Victory in Jesus“.

1. See article “Abide in Jesus” for more discussion of this concept.
2. It can be sometimes so intimate that it becomes a metaphor for marital relations, as in “Joseph … did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him [Mary]his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” (Matthew 1:24-25 KJV, emphasis added)