What does it mean to say that God is truth?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

When Scripture says that God is truth, it means more than that He tells the truth. It means that He defines it. Truth is not external to God. Rather, He Himself is its origin, so He is the standard for truth. God never lies and never deceives, misleads, or contradicts Himself. What He says is always trustworthy and always right. He is faithful to His promises, consistent in His character, and unwavering in His purposes. Because God is truth, His Word is truth. The Scriptures reflect His nature and are without error. When God reveals something, we can trust it completely—even if it challenges us or cultural wisdom. Because God is unchanging, His truth also does not change. It is the same yesterday, today, and forever because that is who God is (Hebrews 13:8). Being truth also means that God stands against anything that is false because it is directly against Him. God will bring every hidden thing to light, judging in perfect truthfulness (Ecclesiastes 12:14; 1 Corinthians 4:5).

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The eternal God created everything that is (Genesis 1:1). “In the beginning” refers to the beginning of time, space, and matter. Before then, all that existed was God. Truth is not separate from God. God is truth. When He created, He created from who He is. Specifically, He created a universe and set what is true based on who He is.
• Speaking about the LORD, Moses proclaimed, “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” ” (Deuteronomy 32:4). “Just and upright is He” is another way of saying that God is truth. God’s works are true because they flow from Him who is truth.
• David called the Lord the “God of truth” (Psalm 31:5 NASB 1995). David was confident that he could trust God, not merely because He was powerful, but because He was reliable. He knew the LORD would never betray or abandon him.
• In 1 Kings 17:24, after seeing Elijah’s prayers answered, the widow recognized that God had to be the one working through Elijah. Because He represented the true God (“a man of God”), she understood that everything Elijah said was also true because it came from the Source of truth.
• Because God defines truth, anyone who claims to speak for God but lies is a false prophet. The Israelites were prone to listen to these liars. Isaiah denounced those who rejected God’s word that is, rejected what is true, and instead put their trust in “oppression and guile” (Isaiah 30:12). Rejecting what God says is true is to believe lies. God defines truth, and anything against what He says is false.
• The LORD told Israel, “These are the things which you shall do: speak the truth to one another … Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury for all these are what I hate” (Zechariah 8:16a, 17a). God hates liars. To commit perjury (lying under oath) or to plan evil against someone else through guile (saying one thing, planning another), is to be an enemy of truth and, thus, God’s enemy since He is truth.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Jesus, being fully God, was the perfect image of the Father (Colossians 1:15; John 14:9). He declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Like the Father, Jesus did not merely teach truth—He is truth.
• To deny Jesus is to deny truth. John would later teach, “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? …. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father” (1 John 2:22a, 2:23a). Notice that denying Jesus is equal to denying God. Anything contrary to what Jesus teaches is a lie.
• In His prayer to the Father, Jesus said, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Sanctifying truth is not abstract but is grounded in God’s revelation, the Bible. Because the Bible is the very words of God, breathed out by Him (2 Timothy 3:15), it does not just contain truth—it is truth.
• Romans 3:4 affirms, “Let God be found true, though every person be found a liar.” Human error never undermines divine truth. Even when the world rejects God’s word, He remains faithful and unchanging.
• Titus 1:2 speaks of “God, who cannot lie.” This doesn’t just state what God does; it states what He is. Lying is impossible for Him because He is truth. He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13), meaning He can’t do something that is contrary to His nature.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

To say God is truth is to make a larger statement than simply, “He never lies.” Rather, it’s to say that He defines truth because He is truth. That makes Him an anchor for believers living in a culture that says that truth is relative. That simply is not true. Everything was created by God. He is truth and, therefore, all of His works flow out from that truth (Deuteronomy 32:4). We must reject anything that is contrary to God. It is difficult and painful to go against popular opinion, but we don’t want to be like the Israelites, listening to false words (Jeremiah 7:8), inviting the punishment of God (Jeremiah 7:20).

In a world flooded with misinformation, manipulation, and deceit, God remains a refuge of certainty. His Word cuts through the confusion, and His character provides stability. We don’t have to guess what is right or real. We can look to Him.

As believers, we are called to reflect His truth. Jesus was the perfect example (John 14:6; Colossians 1:15). Though He spoke truth in love, He did it without compromise, proclaiming it without shame. As His church, we must follow Him and be a pillar and support of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), bearing witness to a world that desperately needs light in the darkness.

In the end, trusting God means trusting that His truth is better than our opinions, stronger than our emotions, and more enduring than the latest ideas. He is true. His Word is true. And those who walk in His truth will never be put to shame.

UNDERSTAND

• God is the ultimate and unchanging source of all truth.
• God’s truth is fully revealed in Scripture and Jesus.
• Believers must reject lies and live by God’s truth.

REFLECT

• How does understanding that God is the ultimate source of truth challenge the way you evaluate information and beliefs in your daily life?
• How are you reflecting God’s truth in your words and actions, especially when it feels unpopular or difficult?
• How do you respond when God’s truth challenges your personal opinions or cultural ideas you’ve accepted?

ENGAGE

• How can we as believers better support one another in living out God’s unchanging truth in a world that often embraces relativism?
• What are some practical ways to discern and reject falsehoods while upholding God’s truth in conversations with others?
• How does Jesus being “the way, the truth, and the life” shape our mission as believers to witness in a society skeptical of absolute truth?