The Pillar of Truth

 1 Timothy 3:15 “...but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

The House Of The God Of Truth

God is the God of truth. He loves the truth and He hates lies. He's opposed to anything that would pervert or distort the truth. Deuteronomy 32:4 calls Him "a God of truth". Psalm 31:5 takes it even further and names Him El Emmett - which means the “THE God of truth." If you're ever wondering what side God takes on an issue, know this: God always sides with what is true!

This is why Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." This is also why God's Word is THE truth, because He cannot lie. We see that in Psalm 119:60 ("...the entirety of Your Word is truth") and in John 17:17 ("Your Word is truth.") To the extent that something agrees with God's Word, it is true. To the extent that it disagrees with His Word, it is false.

Now, let's remember what we just learned in the last post: The local assembly of believers (Biblically called "a church") is the House of God. Since local churches are the house of "El Emmett", is it any wonder that they're also called "the pillar and ground of the truth"?

"Pillar" is the Greek word stylos - It describes a supporting column or an elevating pedestal. This is what the local church should do for the truth. It should be displaying the truth up for all the world to see. There should be no hint of hiding the truth, or compromising the truth, or distorting the truth. No congregation can rightly call themselves a church if they are ashamed of any truth in God's Word!

"Ground" is the Greek word hedraioma - It describes a prop or a stabilizing support designed to reduce swaying. This is another role for the local church. We should always work against the lies of this world, and keep our people stable...secure and surefooted.

So from this one verse, we see two unique benefits when a Christian faithfully attends the House of God. #1 - Those believers will see the full truth of God's word on open display. Everything from the fellowship, to the music, to the messages will exalt the truth and make it plain. Nothing in the Bible will be hidden. #2 - Those believers will also see specific truths brought out from God's word that will stabilize and support them against the lies of the world.

A Place of Safety

Dr. Mark Barclay once said this: "No one has ever left God without first leaving the church." Knowing how the church works to keep the believer from being swayed by lies, is it any wonder that the enemy is working to separate Christians from their churches?

(Side note: IF you find yourself in a congregation that isn't exalting God's Word, or that is embarrassed by something the Bible says, or that tries to explain why the Bible isn't true anymore...then that congregation is not a church! Follow God's leading, leave that place, and go where His Word is exalted!)

In John 8:44, Jesus calls Satan the "Father of lies". That is the devil's only weapon to use against a believer. Jesus has stripped him of all power over us - and there is nothing he can do to a Christian that is rooted and grounded in truth! Why? Because John 8:31-32 says that the truth (that we know and remain in) will make us free!

So Christians have consistently been attacked following this pattern:

1 - A lie is introduced to a believer's mind by some situation or person in this World. ("Faith comes by hearing" - Romans 10:17)

2 - This lie is repeated over and over again, until it begins to sink down into their heart. ("Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life." - Proverbs 4:23)

3 - Eventually, that lie is believed and spoken out of the Believer's own mouth. ("I believed, and therefore I spoke..." - Psalm 116:10)

4 - Once the lie is spoken by the believer, the enemy becomes authorized to act in their life. ("Death and life is in the power of the tongue..." - Proverbs 18:21)

Now imagine this scenario: an evil spirit has followed this exact pattern to attack a Christian. He has carefully introduced a lie into their mind, a well-constructed seed of destruction. Over a few days, that spirit has made sure that this lie has been repeated by several different voices in the Christian's life - sometimes by his coworkers, sometimes by social media, and again in a movie that he watched. This lie has begun to work it's way down into that Christian's heart - and the evil spirit is sure it'll burst out of his mouth very soon.

And then...Sunday comes. That Christian decides to go to church. While he's there, God's Word is elevated! The sway of that lie is suddenly stabilized by the delivery of truth! All of a sudden, everything that enemy tried to do in the Christian's life has been stopped, and he leaves the church service speaking out God's Word. The devil's plans have failed because that Christian went to the Pillar of Truth!

I'm convinced that this scenario has played out over and over again for 2,000 years! Lies are destroyed in the House of God!

The Parable Of The Zebra

I'm also convinced that this is the reason why there is such a push in "modern Christianity" to separate believers from the house of God. Satan knows that he has lost millions of these battles because of church attendance - and he's working overtime to keep that from happening!

Satan is called "a roaring lion" in 1 Peter 5. There's a reason he's called that...

When zebras form a herd, their black and white stripes all blend together. To a hungry pride of lions, a tightly-packed herd of zebras almost looks like a single animal. Now, lions aren't dumb. They know that it's a herd of individual (and tasty) animals. But because of their coloration, they can't tell where one animal ends and another begins.

But lions have a way to break up the herd. All of the smaller lionesses stealthily creep around to one side of the herd...out of view of the zebras. Once they're in place, the big male lion walks out in full view of the zebras. Sometimes the sight of the lion is enough for the zebras to scatter, other times he'll let out a roar to start a panic. His goal is to get the herd to spook and run away. Once the herd starts running toward the lionesses in waiting, the other cats will work to spread them out. Soon, one zebra is isolated and the pride works together to bring it down.

In a herd, the zebra is safe...which is why the lions work so hard to separate them. Your enemy is no different. As part of the House of God, you're relatively safe from his lies - because the truth will strengthen you. But if you can be isolated, it won't be long before you're taken down.

Christian, don't let that be you! Stay connected to the House of God - keep going to church! If you're ever tempted to stay home, or if you're ever confronted with the doctrine that "I don't have to go to church" - ask yourself this: Who's telling me this? Who benefits the most if I don't go to the house of truth?