To say that truth is absolute is to say that there is one version of truth that is universally applicable to all people throughout all of time — regardless of individual circumstances. Today, we live in a world that increasingly rejects this idea. Many prefer to create alternative versions of truth that feel more relative to their circumstances. And yet, the Bible reveals that God is both absolutely truthful and that his words are universally applicable to all people throughout time. In fact, the Bible testifies to the truthful nature of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
The Truthfulness of God the Father
The truthfulness of God the Father is attested throughout the Bible by the prophet Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Christ, Paul, the Apostle John, and at least one of the angels of heaven.
In Jeremiah 10:10, the prophet asserts, “...the LORD is the true God...”
John the Baptist also testified to the truthfulness of God the Father. He asserted that those who accepted his testimony regarding Christ necessarily testified that “God is true” (John 3:33).
Jesus proclaimed the same truth. In his address to the unbelieving Jews at the temple, the Lord stated, “he that sent me is true” (John 7:28). Christ later described the Father as “the only true God” (John 17:3).
Paul adds that “...God is true...” ( 2 Corinthians 1:18).
John writes that Christ came so that we may know “him that is true” (1 John 5:20). That same verse concludes with Christ’s description of the Father as “the true God.”
The writer of Hebrews asserts that it is “impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18).
In the book of Revelation, John records that both the tribulation martyrs and an angel of heaven ascribe truthfulness to the Father. There, the tribulation martyrs address the Lord as “holy and true” (Revelation 6:10). In Revelation 15:10, they proclaim, “ Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways.” In the following chapter, an angel gloriously proclaims, “ Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments” (Revelation 16:7).
The nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon summarized the truth of God by writing, “... God is true. He is true in his very nature. There is no deceit, falsehood, or error in the essential nature of God” (Spurgeon, 1875, sermon 1265).
The Truthfulness of God the Son
The truthfulness of Christ — God the Son — is attested by Christ himself, Paul, and John. Christ describes himself as “the truth” (John 14:6) and “the true vine” (John 15:1). The Lord also attests to his absolute truthfulness through his use of the phrase “verily, verily.”
In his gospel, John records twenty-five instances of our Lord’s use of this phrase. In each case, “verily” is transliterated from the familiar Greek word “amen,” which is a transliteration of the Hebrew אָמֵן (amen). “Verily” is used to characterize a statement as sure, firm and trustworthy. Our Lord’s double-use of “verily” serves to emphasize the absolute truthfulness of his statements.
Christ applied the phrase “Verily, verily” to his statements regarding both his eternality and his omniscience. In John 8:28, the Lord asserts the truthfulness of his eternality by declaring, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” This wonderful expression of externality alludes to the similar statement that the LORD made to Moses, in which he described himself as the eternal “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14).
Christ also employed “verily, verily” to signify the absolute truthfulness of his omniscience. In John 1:51, Jesus replied to Nathanael’s astonishment at the Lord’s knowledge by stating, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
Later, in John 13:21, Jesus demonstrated the truthfulness of his omniscience when he proclaimed to his disciples, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.”
Finally, the Lord asserted the truthfulness of his prophecy regarding his crucifixion by poetically revealing, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24).
Christ similarly employs the use of “verily, verily” to ascribe absolute truthfulness to his statements regarding his sonship. When confronted by the unbelieving Jews who decried his claim of sonship, Jesus offered, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19).
Jesus taught his disciples “Verily, verily ... The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him (John 13:16). There, the Lord added, “Verily, verily, … he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.”
Christ also utilizes the phrase “verily, verily” to ascribe truthfulness to his statements regarding both sin and salvation. In John 8:34, Jesus addressed the Jews who had wrongly placed their confidence in their Abrahamic lineage. There, he states, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” One wrter observes:
The man who sins is a slave to sin and this whether he realizes it or not. This means also that he cannot break away from sin. For that he needs a power greater than his own. (Morris, 1971, p. 458).
Thankfully, the power to be liberated from the consequences of sin is available to all men in the form of the true gospel. In at least eight verses, Jesus utilized the phrase “verily, verily” to signify the absolute truthfulness of various aspects of the gospel.
In John 3:3, Jesus explained to Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In John 3:5, the Lord states, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Jesus later proclaimed, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (John 5:24-25).
In John 6:32, Jesus preached, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.” In the same message, Jesus proclaimed, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). Jesus added metaphorically, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you” (John 6:53).
Later, when addressing a group of Jews who had placed their confidence in Abraham, Jesus taught, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death” (John 8:51).
Finally, when the Lord taught his disciples regarding prayer, he encouraged them with a promise: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you (John 16:23).
Both Paul and John also testified to the truthfulness of Christ. Paul taught the church members at Ephesus that “the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21).
In his gospel, John describes Christ as both the “true Light” (1:9) and “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In the same passage, John asserts that “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
In Revelation, John records the statements of Christ to the several churches. In his statement to the Philadelphia church, Christ describes himself as “he that is true” (Revelation 3:7). Similarly, in the Lord’s address to the Laodiceans, he describes himself as “the Amen, the faithful and true witness” (Revelation 3:14). Later, in John’s vision of the return of Christ at the conclusion of the Tribulation, John describes Christ as the one who is called “Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11).
The Truthfulness of God the Holy Spirit
The truthfulness of the Holy Spirit is also thoroughly attested by Scripture.
Christ testifies to the truthfulness of the Spirit three times in John’s gospel (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). In each instance, Christ refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of Truth.”
In Acts 5:32, Peter also asserted that the Holy Spirit testified to the truth of Christ and the gospel. John also avers that “the Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6).
At least five times through the New Testament, Scripture also describes the truthful testimony of the Holy Spirit to saved individuals regarding their personal salvation. Writing to the Romans, Paul states, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).
Paul similarly encouraged the churches throughout the region of Galatia. In Galatians 4:6, he writes, “because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
Finally, in 1 John, the apostle also wrote three times regarding the truthful testimony of the Spirit regarding our salvation (1 John 3:24; 4:13; 5:6). Writing of truth and the Holy Spirit, one writer concludes, “The Holy Spirit is marked by, gives it, defends it” (Robertson, 1930).
Responding to these truths
Praise the LORD for the absolute truthfullness of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Praise him for defining truth, revealing truth, and acting in a manner that is consistently faithful to the truth of his words.
Pray, LORD help me to accept your truth as applicable to me. Help me to live according to the absolute truth of your words — the Bible.
Copyright (c) 2020. Robert W. Hammond
