Last night I had coffee with some of the greatest friends in the world. Our conversation has precipitated this post and I hope that it will be a blessing to you.
Is it necessary to define truth? A better question may be, "Is it necessary to define anything?" Without proper definition, a fruit fly is no different than a mouse; A heart is no different than a pancreas; Absolute truth is no different than relative truth, etc. But this is not consistent with the world around us. We live in a world that is orderly and defined. It is not orderly because it is defined...but it is definable because of its ordered nature. Definition, therefore, allows us to associate with, and make use of the order that we find.
R. C. Sproul rightly defines truth as, "That which corresponds to reality, as perceived by God." Why do you suppose that he included that dependent clause? I believe that it is because God's view of reality is the only one without distortion. It is the only view that has not been influenced by muddled perceptions and false ideas. God, the eternal creator, has the purest understanding of the way things are. It is then our highest pursuit to see reality as God does.
"How is it that we can be privy to God's perception of reality?" Although it is not an easy question to answer, allow me to make a simple effort that could be expounded into chapters and volumes.
God is always moving us from generals to specifics. General grace to specific grace. General love to specific love. General truth to specific truth. General revelation to specific revelation. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known," (1 Cor 13:12). When God makes himself known to man in a specific revelation, it is through the following order: The Scripture, the person of Christ, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The order is necessary because without a proper understanding of the scripture, we will not have a proper understanding of Christ, nor the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Understanding specifics about God has been the undertaking of every real Church in history, regardless of denominational ties. If you and I are to pursue God, reality, or even truth, then we need the perspective of the purest persuasion.
Finally, the latter word of the title is just as necessary...influence. Seminary has taught us to avoid reading meaning "into" the scripture, called isogesis. Instead, we are to lay aside our prejudice, our experience, our knowledge, and our limited understanding to approach the meaning found in the scriptures, called exegesis. Which hermeneutical principle you practice is a matter of influence. Who, or what, is being influenced as we pursue knowing God? Are we attempting to influence the scripture by reading into the text? Are we so tied to denominational doctrine that we lack freedom to be influenced by the purest interpretation of the scripture? I am not suggesting that we leave our churches, not by any means (more on the importance of the church at another time). I am simply saying that if we are to enjoy knowing God's truth, or his perception of reality, then we are to do so with purity, laying aside our own thinking, and preparing to be influenced, not in a general way, but specifically. When it happens to you, as it has so many others, you cannot help but define it as the greeks did, rhema.
Is it necessary to define truth? A better question may be, "Is it necessary to define anything?" Without proper definition, a fruit fly is no different than a mouse; A heart is no different than a pancreas; Absolute truth is no different than relative truth, etc. But this is not consistent with the world around us. We live in a world that is orderly and defined. It is not orderly because it is defined...but it is definable because of its ordered nature. Definition, therefore, allows us to associate with, and make use of the order that we find.
R. C. Sproul rightly defines truth as, "That which corresponds to reality, as perceived by God." Why do you suppose that he included that dependent clause? I believe that it is because God's view of reality is the only one without distortion. It is the only view that has not been influenced by muddled perceptions and false ideas. God, the eternal creator, has the purest understanding of the way things are. It is then our highest pursuit to see reality as God does.
"How is it that we can be privy to God's perception of reality?" Although it is not an easy question to answer, allow me to make a simple effort that could be expounded into chapters and volumes.
God is always moving us from generals to specifics. General grace to specific grace. General love to specific love. General truth to specific truth. General revelation to specific revelation. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known," (1 Cor 13:12). When God makes himself known to man in a specific revelation, it is through the following order: The Scripture, the person of Christ, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The order is necessary because without a proper understanding of the scripture, we will not have a proper understanding of Christ, nor the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Understanding specifics about God has been the undertaking of every real Church in history, regardless of denominational ties. If you and I are to pursue God, reality, or even truth, then we need the perspective of the purest persuasion.
Finally, the latter word of the title is just as necessary...influence. Seminary has taught us to avoid reading meaning "into" the scripture, called isogesis. Instead, we are to lay aside our prejudice, our experience, our knowledge, and our limited understanding to approach the meaning found in the scriptures, called exegesis. Which hermeneutical principle you practice is a matter of influence. Who, or what, is being influenced as we pursue knowing God? Are we attempting to influence the scripture by reading into the text? Are we so tied to denominational doctrine that we lack freedom to be influenced by the purest interpretation of the scripture? I am not suggesting that we leave our churches, not by any means (more on the importance of the church at another time). I am simply saying that if we are to enjoy knowing God's truth, or his perception of reality, then we are to do so with purity, laying aside our own thinking, and preparing to be influenced, not in a general way, but specifically. When it happens to you, as it has so many others, you cannot help but define it as the greeks did, rhema.