Theological Term of the Week: Truthfulness (of God)

truthfulness (of God)
That perfection of [God’s] being by virtue of which He fully answers to the idea of the Godhead1, is perfectly reliable in His revelation, and sees things as they really are”2; also called veracity.

From scripture:

God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
(Numbers 23:19 ESV)

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:17-18 ESV)

From The Body of Divinity by Thomas Watson:

The truth of God is a great pillar for our faith. Were he not a God of truth—we could not believe him—our faith would be an empty dream. But he is truth itself, and not a word which he has spoken shall fall to the ground. 

The truth of God is the object of trust. The truth of God is an immovable rock, on which we may venture our salvation. Isa 59:15, “Truth fails,” that is—truth on earth fails—but not truth in heaven. God can as well cease to be God, as cease to be true. Has God said, he “will do good to the soul who seeks him,” and he will “give rest to the weary.” Here is a safe anchor-hold, he will not alter the thing which has gone out of his lips. The truth of the God of heaven is engaged for believers. Can we have better security? The whole earth hangs upon the word of God’s power—and shall not our faith hang upon the word of God’s truth? Where can we rest our faith, but upon God’s faithfulness? There is nothing else we can securely believe in, but the truth of God. To trust in ourselves is to build upon quick sands; but the truth of God is a golden pillar for faith to rest upon. God cannot deny himself. “If we believe not—yet he abides faithful; he cannot deny himself.” Not to believe God’s veracity, is to affront God. “He who believes not, has made God a liar.” A person of honor cannot be more affronted or provoked, than when he is not believed, and called a liar. He who denies God’s truth, says that God’s promise is no better than a forged deed. Can there be a greater affront offered to God?

From Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof:

Scripture uses several words to express the veracity of God: in the Old Testament ’emeth, ’amunah, and ’amen, and in the New Testament alethes (alethia), alethinos, and pistis. This already points to the fact that it includes several ideas, such as truth, truthfulness, and faithfulness. When God is called the truth, this is to be understood in its most comprehensive sense. He is the truth first of all in a metaphysical sense, that is, in Him the idea of the Godhead is perfectly realized; He is all that He as God should be, and as such is distinguished from all so-called gods, which are called vanity and lies, Ps. 96:5; 97:7; 115:4-8; Isa. 44:9,10. He is also the truth in an ethical sense, and as such reveals Himself as He really is, so that His revelation is absolutely reliable, Num. 23:19; Rom. 3:4; Heb. 6:18. Finally, He is also the truth in a logical sense, and in virtue of this He knows things as they really are, and has so constituted the mind of man that the latter can know, not merely the appearance, but also the reality, of things. Thus the truth of God is the foundation of all knowledge. It should be borne in mind, moreover, that these three are but different aspects of the truth, which is one in God. In view of the preceding we may define the veracity or truth of God as that perfection of His Being by virtue of which He fully answers to the idea of the Godhead, is perfectly reliable in His revelation, and sees things as they really are. It is because of this perfection that He is the source of all truth, not only in the sphere of morals and religion, but also in every field of scientific endeavor. Scripture is very emphatic in its references to God as the truth, Ex. 34:6; Num. 23:19; Deut. 32:4; Ps. 25:10; 31:6; Isa. 65:16; Jer. 10:8, 10, 11; John 14:6; 17:3; Tit. 1:2; Heb. 6:18; I John 5:20, 21. There is still another aspect of this divine perfection, and one that is always regarded as of the greatest importance. It is generally called His faithfulness, in virtue of which He is ever mindful of His covenant and fulfils all the promises which He has made to His people. This faithfulness of God is of the utmost practical significance to the people of God. It is the ground of their confidence, the foundation of their hope, and the cause of their rejoicing. It saves them from the despair to which their own unfaithfulness might easily lead, gives them courage to carry on in spite of their failures, and fills their hearts with joyful anticipations, even when they are deeply conscious of the fact that they have forfeited all the blessings of God. Num. 23:19; Deut. 7:9; Ps. 89:33; Isa. 49:7; I Cor. 1:9; II Tim. 2:13; Heb. 6:17, 18; 10:23.

Learn more:

1. Theopedia: Wisdom of God
2. Richard L. Strauss: Let God Be True!
3. James M Renihan: On the Veracity and Faithfulness of God
4. From my attributes of God posts: God’s Truthfulness

Related terms:

• communicable attributes
• omniscience
• righteousness (of God)

1 In other words, he is all that he should be as God. 

2From Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof.

Filed under God’s Nature and His Works

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Sunday's Hymn: Saviour Like a Shepherd Lead Us

Saviour, like a Shepherd lead us,
Much we need thy tend’rest care;
In thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use thy folds prepare:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, thine we are.

We are thine; do thou befriend us,
Be the Guardian of our way;
Keep thy flock, from sin defend us,
Seek us when we go astray:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Hear the children when they pray.

Thou hast promised to receive us,
Poor and sinful though we be;
Thou hast mercy to relieve us,
Grace to cleanse, and pow’r to free:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Let us early turn to thee.

Early let us seek thy favor;
Early let us do thy will;
Blessed Lord and only Saviour,
With thy love our bosoms fill
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still.

—Dor­o­thy A. Thrupp

 Other hymns, worship songs, or quotes for this Sunday:

• Nothing Between My Soul and My Savior at The Happy Wonderer
• Three Choice Blessings at Tried With Fire
• Five Solas in One Hymn at The Outspoken Tulip 

The Throne of Grace

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV)

I’ve crossed the Canadian/US border once or twice a year for most of my adult life. One time the vehicle I was in was searched, and my luggage was rummaged through a couple of times, but I’ve never been held up in customs. 

Still, I am nervous every time I approach a customs window. The officer holds all the power, and I have none. He or she could deny me entry into the US for a trivial reason, or for no reason at all. No wonder I’m a little apprehensive at the border!

Come On In. The Door Is Open.

But a believer shouldn’t be nervous when they come before God. No, the author of Hebrews encourages us to approach him with confidence, even though God has more authority over us than a customs agent, and we have all personally sinned against him in ways that are not trivial, but serious. God’s throne is not a throne of wrath for us, but a throne of grace. It is a place where we will be granted mercy for our offenses against him. It is not a place where we will be denied good things, but where we will always find help when we need it.

How can this be? It’s because of the work our high priest, Jesus, has done and is doing for us. The Old Testament high priests, if you remember, passed through the veil and entered the earthly sanctuary—the holy of holies—just once a year. But in his work as our priest, Jesus atoned for sins permanently. He turned away God’s wrath against us (Hebrews 2:17) once for all time. Afterward, he “passed through the heavens” and entered the very presence of God, where he sits forever, giving us permanent access to God. We are always welcome in God’s inner sanctuary (Hebrews 10:19) through Jesus, our high priest.

Help When We Need It

What’s more, because Jesus is human, he knows our human weaknesses from experience. He understands how hard life is for us. And Jesus experienced all the kinds of temptations we face—without succumbing to them, of course. As Tom Schreiner puts it, “The delights and joys offered by sin were no stranger to Jesus.” [1] He understands from experience that it is often difficult for us to say no to temptation. He is truly sympathetic to our plight. 

And he has the power to help us. God’s gracious help is always available to believers because of Jesus’s work and his permanent presence in heaven. If we are in any kind of trouble or trial, we can ask God for help and he will not refuse us. If we have sinned, he will forgive us. When we are weak, he will help us endure. As believers in Jesus, we will surely “receive mercy and find grace” whenever we need it.

Only Jesus

We should cling to Jesus, then, or as the writer puts it, we should “hold fast our confession.” We should continue to embrace the gospel of forgiveness through his priestly work. 

The original readers of Hebrews were tempted to turn back from Jesus to return to the Old Testament sacrificial system, which simply foreshadowed the true forgiveness that came through the sacrifice of Jesus. It could not bring them real forgiveness. There is no access to God through the old system, but only through the work of Jesus. There is no open door, no throne of grace, no real forgiveness, and no timely help except through him. So the writer encourages them to not turn back, but to keep on confessing the truth of gospel of Jesus.

The warning to hold fast to our confession might seem less applicable to us than it was to the first readers of Hebrews. I’ve never been under the Old Testament sacrificial system, so I’m not tempted to return to it. You probably aren’t either. We may never be tempted to go back to Judaism, but I do think we could be tempted to move on from the faith we professed and seek God in less culturally offensive ways than through the message of cross of Jesus. For instance, I know someone who calls himself a Christian but who no longer believes there is only one path into God’s presence. Trusting in Jesus, he says, may be one way, but there are other valid paths to God. He has left his his first confession—that salvation comes exclusively through faith in Jesus—and embraced a more inclusive view that fits better with what everyone around him believes. The Old Testament sacrificial system might not tempt us, but we are always vulnerable to influence from our current culture. We, too, need the warning to hold fast to our confession. 

We must cling to Jesus alone because there isn’t any other way to God. There is only one person who can go directly into the presence of the transcendent God, and who can also sympathize with our weakness and intercede for us. There is only one Son of God who became like human beings in every way “yet without sin.” It is only through his work that we can have confidence to approach God’s throne, where we will find constantly available mercy when we need to be forgiven, and constantly available help when we are enduring trials and temptations. 

There is no open door, no throne of grace, no help when we need it through anyone else. There is no hope except in the gospel of Jesus—not for the first readers of Hebrews and not for us, either. There is one else who can give us access to God. 

[1] Commentary on Hebrews by Thomas R. Schreiner, page 153.