Yeshua said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6

We know that Yeshua is the Messiah and that He is the only Way to the Father. We also know that He is the only One that gives us eternal Life. But what does He mean when He says that He is the Truth?

First let’s define Truth from a Biblical perspective. What does the Bible say about Truth?

The sum of your Word is Truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever. Psalms 119:160

Your righteousness is righteous forever, and Your law is True. Psalms 119:142

The rules of the LORD are True, and righteous altogether. Psalms 19:9

Make me to know Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your Truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long. Psalms 25:4-5

Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your Truth; unite my heart to fear Your Name. Psalms 86:11

And take not the Word of Truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in Your rules. Psalms 119:43

Every Word of God proves True; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Proverbs 30:5

As we can see from the above verses, the Word of God, the Ways of God, the Law of God and the Rules of the LORD are all defined as Truth. Yeshua prayed to His Father in John 17:17 to set His people apart in the Truth, and called His Father’s Word the Truth. Yeshua also said in Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4 that we are to live by EVERY Word that comes from the mouth of God – a direct quote from Deuteronomy 8:3. What is the Father’s Word or the Word of God? The Word of God is God’s ways, laws, statues, commands and rules that He gave to His people in the Old Testament – His instructions, or the Torah.

Sanctify them in the Truth; Your Word is Truth. John 17:17

But He answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4

Paul confirms this in Romans 2 when he calls the Torah the embodiment of knowledge and Truth. He tells the Romans that the wrath of God is revealed to those who, by their unrighteousness (lawlessness) suppress the Truth. He asked the Galatians 5:7 “Who hindered you from obeying the Truth?”

…an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and Truth… Romans 2:20

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the Truth. Romans 1:18

You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the Truth? Galatians 5:7

From Scripture, we can conclude that the Torah, God’s instructions, is the Truth. John tells us in John 1:14 that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us… as Yeshua. He was full of favor and Truth. Yeshua is the Word and He is Truth. He is the physical embodiment of the Torah in action. It was manifested in everything that He did. He came to bear witness to the Truth and those of the Truth listen to His voice.

Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth listens to My voice.” John 18:37

When we put our faith in Yeshua, He send us His Spirit, also called the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit is to guide us into all Truth. Since the Torah is Truth, then we are to let the Spirit guide us into obedience to the Torah.

When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the Truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine; therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:13

Peter said that obedience to the Truth purifies our souls through the living and abiding Word of God. The writer of Hebrews also says that the Word of God is living and active. The Word of God is Yeshua! The Word of God is the Torah! And both are alive today!

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the Truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding Word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the Word of the LORD remains forever.” 1 Peter 1:22-24

For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Hebrew 4:12-13

In perfect obedience to His Father, Yeshua showed us how to live a set-apart or holy life. He lived and taught the Torah perfectly. He is the “prophet like Moses” described in Deuteronomy 18:15-22 that the people are to hear and obey. Moses taught people the Torah. His goal was to lead them to obedience. Yeshua came to do the same. He did not do away with His Father’s Torah (Matthew 5:17-20), as many believe. His teachings actually gave a fuller and deeper understanding of the Torah. In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua took the Torah to the next level. He actually made it harder. He taught us how to not just obey the letter of the law, but how to obey the spirit of the law or it’s full intent – from the HEART – with LOVE!

In Matthew 5, in the Sermon on the Mount, He says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” So not only are we not to murder, but He says if we are angry with our brother, which is a heart issue, we have already killed him in our heart. That’s a lot harder than just not murdering someone!

Concerning adultery He says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” He took the Torah rule of adultery and said that if we even think adulterous thoughts with our hearts, that we have already committed it. He took the letter of the law and showed us how to be obedient to it with love, because whatever is in our hearts, will manifest itself in our actions.

The above two examples are from the Ten Commandments. Most of us agree that those are still valid for our lives today. But if we continue to read His sermon, we see that He also addresses Torah commands that are NOT part of the Ten Commandments. In Matthew 5:31-32, He addresses divorce – a Torah command found in Deuteronomy 24. In verses 33-36, He addresses oaths – a Torah command found in Leviticus 19. In verses 38-42, He addresses retaliation – a Torah command found in Exodus 21. In verses 43-48, He addresses loving your enemies – a Torah command found in Leviticus 19.

Check out these facts! There are 845 quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament:

• In Matthew – 96
• In Mark – 34
• In Luke – 58
• In John’s writings – 295 (including Revelations)
• In Acts – 57
• In Paul’s writings – 173
• In Hebrews – 86
• In James – 16
• In Peter’s writings – 30

Yeshua’s top four quoted books are Psalms, Deuteronomy, Isaiah and Exodus! Two of them are part of the Torah. Psalms was written by a man after God’s own heart and is full of love for the Torah (See Psalms 119). Isaiah prophesies to Israel to return to the Torah.

Many believers today think that the Old Testament isn’t relevant to our lives anymore. Paul, however, tells us otherwise in 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17. He says the Old Testament was written down as an example for us so that we do not fall into the same kind of sin (lawlessness) the Israelites did! How can we know what sins they committed if we don’t study their story? How can we know what sin is without knowing the Torah? It is the Torah that defines sin! In Ezekiel 22 we are told that the priesthood of Israel had become corrupt and had done violence to the law. They profaned Yahweh’s name in doing so. The people’s disobedience and disrespect of God’s Word was what ultimately led to their destruction. This is just one of the many examples we are to learn from.

Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD God,’ when the LORD has not spoken. Ezekiel 22:26-28

I’ve said this before, but it’s really important so I am going to say it again. If we don’t know the Old Testament writings, we won’t correctly understand the New Testament writings. Trying to understand the New Testament on its own is like trying to read a book by starting in the middle. You miss half of the story! Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

To prove my point further, the writers of the New Testament often refer to the “Scriptures” in their writings. Did you know that the only “Scripture” they had at that time was the Torah and the Prophets? The New Testament letters weren’t canonized until 367 years after Yeshua was born and the only “Scripture” that Paul had to refer to in his letters were the Old Testament writings. The New Testaments books hadn’t been written during Paul’s life either. The entire New Testament is built on the foundation of the Old Testament Torah and Prophets. Yeshua said He didn’t come to abolish the Law and Prophets. He came to fulfill them! He came to bring the fullness of understanding and love to the Torah – which the people of that time lacked.

The Scriptures warn us about those to come who will distort and profane the Truth – the Truth about Yeshua and the Truth about the Torah. Peter warns us that the Way of Truth will be blasphemed – which the Torah has been for the last 1,700 years. Paul tells Timothy to preach the Word, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the Truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3) How ironic that there is a doctrine going around that teaches if we obey the laws of God, then we negate what Yeshua did for us on the cross.

Wait! what? Let’s think about that for a minute. Disobeying God’s Torah, as defined by the Bible, is called sin (1 John 3:4). Sin is lawlessness. When we are disobedient to God’s laws, by God’s righteous judgement we deserve to die – because the wages of lawlessness is death, right? Yeshua died because of our lawlessness. Continuing in the same lawlessness that He died for, instead of repenting and being obedient to His Torah, is what makes His death is meaningless! Being obedient to the same Father He was obedient to doesn’t make His death meaningless. Continuing in our lawlessness makes His death and life meaningless. It’s like telling Him… “I don’t care that you lived and died for me, I am going to continue in my lawlessness anyway.”

Here’s an modern example: Let’s say you were speeding and you got a speeding ticket for breaking the speeding laws. You couldn’t afford to pay your ticket so I paid it for you. Does me paying your ticket take away the speeding laws – allowing you to speed whenever you feel like it? No. It was only your penalty that was paid for you. Would you continue breaking the speeding laws because I paid your penalty for you? Hopefully you would be grateful that I paid the penalty that you could not pay and do your best not to speed again. See my point? Yeshua paid our ticket. He didn’t take away the laws that we broke.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the Way of Truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. 2 Peter 2:1-3

The coming antichrist will be a man of lawlessness and will have the power of Satan. God sent a strong delusion so that people would believe what is false, in order to condemn those who did not believe the Truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (sin). Paul tells Timothy that God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of Truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will! What is the devil’s will? Lawlessness! The devil wants us to be lawless!

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the Truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the Truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:22

God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the Truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:25

Daniel in Daniel 7:25 prophesied that the antichrist would think to change the appointed times and the law. John tells us that many antichrists or lawless ones have already come. (1 John 2:18) Is it possible that the spirit of the antichrist that is already in the world convinced people to change the biblical Sabbath and “do away with” the Law of God?

He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. Daniel 7:25

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 1 John 2:18

If we believe that the Law of God was done away with, we are denying the Father and His ways. We are denying Yeshua and the Truth. We are doing the will of the antichrist. The antichrist is the man of lawlessness. If Yeshua did away with His Father’s Torah, Yeshua would be the antichrist. Thankfully Yeshua upheld the law and taught others to do the same. We are to walk in His ways and have His same mind. He was obedient to the point of death. We are to have that same desire for obedience. He did what was pleasing to the Father and did everything for the glory of His Father. What has been pleasing to the Father since the beginning of time? What did He require of Abraham, Noah, Moses, Israel? Obedience! If we are followers of Messiah, then we should strive to walk as He walked – holy and righteous. We are to put off our old lawless selves and put on our new obedient selves, created in the image of God.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5

By this we may know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked. 1 John 2:6

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ! – assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the Truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:17-24

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints… Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Ephesians 5:1-3, 9-10

Be imitators of me (Paul), as I am of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own authority, but speak just as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” John 8:28-29

I know your probably thinking that changing your life to be obedient to the Father’s rules will be too hard. But Yeshua says that His yoke is easy and His burden in light. Yoke in Hebrew is zugos and means law or obligation. God tells us in Deuteronomy 30:11 that His commandments are not too hard for us and John says they are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3) (See my 613 Commandments article)

Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:29

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.” Deuteronomy 30:11

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. I John 5:3

On the contrary, they are light and life to all who obey them. Read this verse carefully, remembering that sin is lawlessness as defined by the Bible. This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness (sin) at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness (sin), we lie and do not practice the Truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (lawlessness). If we say we have no sin (lawlessness), we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (lawlessness). If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. 1 John 1:5-10

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life. Proverbs 6:23

Let your heart hold fast my words; keep My commandments and live. Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. My son, be attentive to My words; incline your ear to My sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Proverbs 4:4, 13, 18, 20-22

Clearly, the Truth of the Scriptures has been suppressed for the last 1,700 years. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not the Truth anymore. People lived the Way of Truth for thousands of years before it was perverted by the Romans in 300 AD. Just like King Josiah in 2 Kings 23 who found the Torah, repented of his ways and turned Israel back to obedience, seekers all over the world are having their eyes opened to the Truth of the Torah – which was always meant to last forever.

The sum of Your Word is Truth and every one of Your righteous rules lasts forever. Psalms 119:160

Yeshua is the Truth and the Word. The Torah is the Truth and the Word. Are we living and walking in the Truth or are we still darkened in our understanding because of the stubbornness of our hearts? As Christians, we love Yeshua and believe in Him as our Messiah. But do we believe with just our thoughts? Or do we love Him enough to be obedient to the Truth?

Since this article is about Truth, let me be brutally honest with you. There is nothing about our existence on this earth that has anything to do with us. We were created for the sole purpose of serving the Father. We exist only because He wants us to exist. He formed us in our mother’s womb. He breathed life into us. He gave us a soul. He gave us intelligence. All for the purpose of testing us to see if would keep His commandments or not (Deuteronomy 8:2) and to see if we are worthy of living with Him for eternity. If we are not obedient to Him, then we are disappointing and displeasing to Him. We are breaking His heart because we are not doing what He created us to do – just as the Israelites did over and over because of their disobedience. To please the Father and make our life worthy of eternity with the Him, we have to obey His instructions. Not just the ones that we like, not just the top ten, but all of them that we are able to today, including keeping the seventh day Sabbath, eating only clean foods, keeping His appointed feast days and wearing tzitzits/tassels. These are HIS rules. His rules are NOT the Sunday Sabbath, NOT eat whatever we want, NOT celebrate Christmas and Easter. Those are the world’s rules and traditions – created by man. He says DO NOT worship Me that way. When we rebel against obedience to God’s Torah, we rebel against our Messiah. Who will you serve? God or man? His Truth or your traditions?

I am going to leave you with one more verse to ponder. This one hits hard, so be ready.

And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. Whoever says “I know Him” but does not keep His commandments is a LIAR, and the Truth is not in him, but whoever keeps His Word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked (sinless). Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the Word that you have heard. 1 John 2:3-7

Is the God’s Truth in you?

Video: A Stone of Stumbling – Triumph in Truth