John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Yesterday I said the truth was more complicated. It is complicated because so many have an opinion about what is true. Some will say there is no absolute truth and if you are of that opinion then the truth eludes you.

What Jesus said is true. We cannot know truth without the Father revealing it to us. Jesus is the truth. To know Him is to know truth, all else is just opinion.

John 17:17

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

We study the Word and the Word brings us truth and it sanctifies us, setting us apart from the lies we once believed. As individuals we were bound by different lies and as individuals we hear what is needed to set us free. Our experiences are different, our needs are different and as we know that truth it differs because we are different. We do not see the whole truth, only that which we have been shown.

It is my opinion that I only know what I know because God revealed that to me out of my need  and how that can be used to serve Him. I do not need to know everything to serve God.

2 Corinthians 4:2

But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

Paul said that but not all men have renounced underhanded ways of tampering with God’s word. They favor their own opinions rather than patiently waiting on God to reveal the truth that is needed.

John 21:25

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

We do love a good mystery don’t we! Seeking the unknown is not seeking the truth, Jesus.

Matthew 16:13-17 English Standard Version

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

Jesus asks for an opinion. He gets several and we can read the scriptures to hear some other opinions hurled at Him as accusations. What He wanted to hear from His disciples was what the people were saying about Him behind His back. Another word for that is gossip.

Read the opening passages again carefully and note that Jesus does not say that Peter’s answer is true, only that the Father had revealed that to him. Peter only repeats the Father. We have to believe certain aspects about the character and personality of God the Father in order to state with any certainty that the answer given is the truth. God does not lie.

Did Peter know the answer He gave was a revelation at the time he heard it, or did he come to believe it was true because Jesus validated his answer? I do not know, it is not for me to say, I was not in Peter’s head at the time. Nor has God the Father blessed me with a revelation of what Peter knew at the time. My assertions about those possibilities are nothing more than opinions and speculation. That is not doctrine.

Recently I said I received a Word from the Lord. I entitled a devotional with that word. Did that Word come to me by revelation or was it a matter of self-talk? Everyone is free to have their own opinion. What matters is the subsequent studies and sharing. If God is in it, only the reader can say if God is speaking to them by revelation. I cannot say who will or will not be touched by God in what I share. I can only obey by faith what I believe He asks of me. Opinions are formed as a matter of intellect, education and understanding.

I can only answer for myself what I believe. I do not hold the opinion of others. This is not teaching. Devotionals are subject to validation by reading the scriptures and hearing by faith at the will of the Father to bring revelation from Him, not me.

I read the scriptures and share my opinion, revelation has to come from God the Father.

The truth is always more complicated.