The Truthfulness and Faithfulness of God

Truthfulness

Definition: “God’s truthfulness means that he is the true God, and all his knowledge and words are both true and the final standard of truth.”

God is the only true God

Jeremiah 10:10–11 ESV

But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

John 17:3 ESV

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

1 John 5:20 ESV

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

God’s knowledge and understanding is true and the standard of truth.

Job 37:16 ESV

Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge,

-God never has wrong ideas. He is never ignorant or misinformed. No one ever has to correct him.

God’s words are always true

John 17:17 ESV

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

God loves truth and hates falsehood

(Proverbs 12:22

Proverbs 12:22 ESV

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

Revelation 21:8 ESV

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

God is the God of truth

Isaiah 65:16 ESV

so that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Faithfulness:

Definition: “God will always do what he has said and fulfill what he has promised.”

God’s words are always reliable or trustworthy.

Deuteronomy 32:4 ESV

“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

1 Corinthians 1:9 ESV

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 ESV

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Hebrews 10:23 ESV

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Revelation 21:5 ESV

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

God always keeps his promises

Numbers 11:23 ESV

And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

Joshua 21:43–45 ESV

Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

Psalm 18:30 ESV

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

Proverbs 30:5 ESV

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

God cannot lie or be unfaithful

Titus 1:2 ESV

in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

Hebrews 6:18 ESV

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.

Application:

This is a communicable attribute of God—a character quality that we ought to seek to imitate.

Truth ought to be very important to us—both knowledge of truth and communication of truth; we must love truth and hate falsehood

Psalm 15:2 ESV

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;

Proverbs 13:5 ESV

The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace.

Zechariah 8:17 ESV

do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

We must avoid all lying and dishonesty

Colossians 3:9–10 ESV

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Ephesians 4:25 ESV

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

In our witness to others, we must only speak what is true

2 Corinthians 4:2 ESV

But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

We must keep our promises even when it hurts or is inconvenient

Psalm 15:4 ESV

in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;