Attributes of God - The Truth of God (Genesis 2 & 3) (Sermon 10)

When Jesus Stood Trial, Pilate asked Jesus one of the most vital questions in history:

"Pilate summoned Jesus and asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?'"

After Jesus replied that His Kingdom was not of this world, Pilate persisted with his question:

It is important to understand the wording of Pilate's question:

• Notice that he doesn't ask the question, 'What is the truth?'

Asking that question would have indicated a desire to Know the Truth about the Kingdom.

Asking that question would have implied a willingness to Accept the Truth and Act on it.

Pilate actually asked a very different question: 'What is Truth?'

• Rather than asking Jesus about the Meaning of the Truth concerning his Kingdom,

Pilate was expressing scepticism about the whole subject of truth.

• Pilate doubted that people can know the truth, or even whether or not truth exists.
• Jesus said he was a King, whilst the Scribes & Pharisees claimed he was a fraud & a traitor.
• Pilate was a cynic - he doubted that the truth could be known, or that it really mattered.

This Same Question is still the most Vital Question in our own day & age - What is Truth?

• Many intellectual people in our own day deny the possibility of Knowing Absolute Truth.
• They proclaim the False Philosophy of Relativism, saying that Truth is Relative.
• They say: "What is true for one person may not be true for another;"

What may have been true in the past is not necessarily true today.

• They argue that it all depends on the way you see things; It doesn't matter what you believe.

• They say that Nobody has Any Ultimate Answers; There is no such thing as Absolute Truth.

The situation is even worse when Evangelical Christians take on board Relative Philosophy David Wells recently wrote a book with the title:

Michael Horton says:

"The majority of evangelical college students believe that 'the Bible is the inspired

Word of God, not mistaken in its teachings, but is not always to be taken literally

in its statements concerning matters of science, historical reporting, etc.' Furthermore,

• In other words, it doesn't matter whether or not you believe in the Historical Jesus.
• It doesn't matter whether or not you accept the Biblical Account of Creation;
• It doesn't matter whether or not you accept Adam & Eve & the Patriarchs as

real Historical People or if you say they are merely mythical figures from antiquity.

Faced with the devastating effect of Relative Principles on the Church of Christ,

it is time for All True Evangelical Christians to nail their colours to the mast.

Way above the voice of the Scepticism from Pilate comes the Authoritative Voice of Jesus:

"You are right in saying I am a King. In fact, for this reason I was born …

to Testify to the Truth. Everyone on the side of Truth listens to me" (John 18:37).

The Voice of Authority from the Son of the Living God cries out, saying:

"I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.

No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Above the voice of Relativism, the Psalmist proclaims this Glorious Attribute of God:

David refers to the Lord God as "The God of Truth" (Ps 31:5).

• He proclaims with Power & Authority that the Lord God is the God of Absolute Truth.
• Truth resides in The God of Truth, & emanates from The God of Truth.

Jim Packer defines the word Truth, in his book Knowing God:

"Truth in the Bible is a quality of persons primarily, and of propositions only secondarily:

it means stability, reliability, firmness, trustworthiness, the quality of a person who is

self-consistent, sincere, realistic, & undeceived. God is such a person: truth in this sense,

is His Nature, and He has not got it in Him to be anything else. That is why he cannot lie."

We need to ask ourselves the Same Question as Pilate - What is Truth?

Is Truth Relative or Absolute? Is the Lord a God of Truth or a God of Confusion?

1. From the Beginning, God declared himself to be the God of Truth

Firstly, God teaches us this lesson through the Genesis Account of Creation

• In the First Chapter of Genesis there is an expression that is repeated time & again:

"And God said … And it was so."

"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light … And God said, 'Let the water

under the sky be gathered to one place, & let dry land appear.' And it was so" (Gen 1:3-9).

There is No Confusion whatsoever in these Statements of Absolute Factual Truth!

• The God of Truth spoke, saying "Let there be light." - Then Immediately, "There was light";
• God's Creative Word of Truth was spoken with Power & Authority, saying 'Let there be …'

Then, step by step things sprang into being & order.

Day & night (v5), sky & sea (v6), sea & land (v9), fish & fowl (v20), insects & animals (v24),

& finally man himself (v26), were Created through the Spoken Word of the God of Truth.

The Psalmist declares this message concerning the God of Truth:

"For the Word of the Lord is right & true; He is faithful (or true) in all he does … By the

Word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He

gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses … For he spoke,

and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm" (Ps 33:4-9).

The message is clear: "The Word of the Lord is right & true … He spoke, and it came to be."

• The Whole of Creation declares that the Lord God is The God of Truth who keeps his Word.

From the Beginning, God declared himself to be the God of Truth.

Firstly, All Creation declares that the Lord God is the God of Truth who keeps his Word.

Secondly, the Account of the Fall of Man declares that the Lord God is the God of Truth.

• The Foundational Issue in the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden was the Issue of Truth.
• The Fundamental Question is this: Who was telling the Truth, God or Satan?
• Whose Word was to be Obeyed; The Word of God or the word of Satan?

Look at the two fundamental statements in Genesis chapter 2 & 3:

"The Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil, for when you eat of it

you will surely die' … The serpent said to the woman, 'You will surely NOT die. For

God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, & you will be like God,

knowing good & evil" (Gen 2:15-17 & 3:4-5)

• The God of Truth gave a Word of Command & a Word of Warning:

"Do not eat of this tree OR else you will die"

• Satan then questioned the Command of the God of Truth. He distorted the command,

and implied that God was withholding a Knowledge of the Truth about Good & Evil.

• He deceived Eve into thinking that the fruit of the tree was good for food, that it was pleasing to the eye, and that it was also desirable for gaining wisdom (Gen 3:6).

Finally, Satan virtually calls God a liar, saying: 'You will surely NOT die.'

Eve had to choose who to believe - God or Satan:

- Sadly, Eve made the wrong choice; She believed Satan's deception instead of God's Truth

By making this wrong choice, both Adam & Eve Learned an Important Lesson.

God is the Source of All Truth, whilst Satan is the Source of All Lies & Deception.

"The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised that they were naked"

• Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed Satan, saying: "The serpent deceived me" (3:8-13).

The God of Truth declared his Judgement upon the Arch Deceiver & upon Adam & Eve:

"God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all the

livestock & all the wild animals … To the woman he said, 'I will greatly increase your

pains in childbearing' … To Adam he said, 'Cursed is the ground because of you; through

painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life" (Gen 3:14-17).

• The Lord God is the God of Truth, and he Always Speaks the Truth.
• On the other hand, Satan is the Father of Lies, who Always Tells Lies.

Down through the ages, the principles taught in Genesis ch 2&3 have never changed:

• The Lord is still the God of Truth. He still teaches his people the Truth through his Word.
• Satan is still the Father of Lies & Deception, always seeking to turn us away from the Truth.

• The God of Truth brings the Blessing of Life, but Satan brings the Curse of Death.

We are asking the Same Question as Pilate - What is Truth?

Is Truth Relative or Absolute? Is the Lord God a God of Truth or a God of Confusion?

1. From the Beginning, in Creation & the Fall, God revealed himself as the God of Truth.
2. God revealed himself as the God of Truth when he gave the Law to Moses:

• The Law was revealed to Moses as God's Truth; the Word of the Living God to Sinful Man.
• From the Beginning, the God of Truth revealed to His People His Absolute Standards.

- Nowhere does the Living God speak about the Philosophy of Relativism.

Man's Response to this Truth was declared to be a matter of Life & Death:

"I set before you today Life & Prosperity, Death & Destruction … This day I call Heaven

& Earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you Life & Death, Blessings &

Curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the

Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him" (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).

• Man is given the Law of the God of Truth and given the choice of Life or Death.

When the Lord God revealed his Glory to Moses,

He also revealed himself to be the Abundant Source of All Truth:

"Then the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful

& gracious, longsuffering, & abundant in goodness & truth'" (Exodus 34:6).

• There is no doubt whatsoever that there really is such a thing as Absolute Truth,

and it resides in a Person who is called 'The God of Truth'.

• This is the Lord God, who revealed the Truth of his Holy Law, and declared himself to be

the One who is Abundant in Goodness & Truth.

Throughout the ages, godly Jews have viewed the Law as the Revealed Truth of God:

The Psalmist declared:

"Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true … You are near, O Lord, and

all your commands are true … All your words are true; all your righteous laws are

eternal" (Psalm 119:142, 151, 160).

• The Psalmist says that The Law is True - A.V. The Law is The Truth (Ps 119:142).

The Psalmist is saying that the Law is the Very Essence of Truth.

• The Law is Truth Applied to Ethics; It reveals the Absolute Standards of the God of Truth.
• It reveals to us the Eternal & Unchanging Truth of God.

Note how the Psalmist says:

'All your Commands are True' - A.V. All Thy Commandments are Truth (Ps 119:151).

Why are the commandments described in this way:

Firstly, because they have stability & permanence.

• They set forth what God wants to see in Human Lives in Every Age.

• They give us God's Absolute Standards for every generation.

Secondly, because they tell us the unchanging truth about our own nature.

• The Law gives us a working definition of True Humanity.
• It teaches us that man was created in the Image of God, who requires Holiness

In our own day, sceptics think that Truth is Relative, & ask the Question: 'What is Truth?'

- The Law of God leaves us in no doubt that the God of Truth reveals His Absolute Standards.

• The Sceptic says that the Scriptures merely contain the truth;

• But, the True People of God proclaim that the Scriptures are the Absolute Truth!

God never commands us to believe in a lie, His commands are Always True & Absolute.

• God's commands are right & true, nowhere does God command us to do wrong.
• The fact that God is the God of Truth guarantees that he will always reveal the Truth to us.

Time and again, the Scriptures remind us:

The writer to the Hebrews (6:18) reminds us that "It is impossible for God to lie."

• The God of Truth will Never Deceive Us; He will never reveal to us Error or Falsehood.
• Because God Cannot Lie, he must, of absolute necessity, Speak the Truth.

The Apostle Paul compares God to Men:

"Let God be true, and every man a liar" (Romans 3:4).

• Paul is saying that All People Lie. But, in complete contrast, God Always Speaks the Truth.

Remember the message of Jesus in his High Priestly Prayer:

"Sanctify them in the Truth, Thy Word is Truth" (John 17:17).

• If God's Word is Truth, then it is necessarily without error - because God cannot lie.
• Truth & Error are two opposites - they are mutually exclusive.
• If something is True, then it cannot be in Error;
• Conversely, if something is in Error, then it cannot be True.

Despite the overwhelming Evidence that the Word of God is the Absolute Truth,

some Christians still say that it isn't necessary to believe in the Doctrine of Inerrancy.

• They say that the Bible is the Word of God.
• Then they contradict themselves by saying that it contains historical & scientific mistakes.
• Once we weaken the Biblical Doctrine of Inerrancy,

we set ourselves adrift on the sea of Human Speculation.

• Once we water down Biblical Truth we rob the Christian Message of its Authority & Power.

The Problem with a Relative View of Scripture is quite obvious:

The problem is, once we water down Biblical Inerrancy we are on a Slippery Slope to Apostacy.

• If we believe that the Bible is not True in its Historical Facts,

then we cannot be sure it is True when it speaks of Eternal Salvation.

• Some Christians have already rejected God's Absolute Standards, by adopting the World's Relative Values in matters such as Homosexuality, Abortion & Divorce & Re-marriage.

If we are to preach the Gospel of the God of Truth, then we must Speak with Authority:

• We can only speak with authority if we believe in the Absolute Standards of God.
• We can only speak with authority if we firmly belief that God is the God of Truth.
• We can only speak with authority if we firmly belief in a God who cannot lie in any way.

We are asking the Same Question as Pilate - What is Truth?

Is Truth Relative or Absolute? Is the Lord God a God of Truth or a God of Confusion?

1. From the Beginning, in Creation & the Fall, God revealed himself as the God of Truth
2. God revealed himself as the God of Truth when he gave the Law to Moses:

• God revealed himself as the Abundant Source of All Truth.

1. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Truth of God Incarnate:

When the Law was given to Moses, the God of Truth promised his people a Great Prophet:

"The Lord said to Moses; 'I will raise up for them a Prophet like you among their brothers; I will put

My Words in his mouth, and he will tell you everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to

my words that the Prophet speaks in My Name, I myself will call him to account" (Deut18:17-19).

• This prophecy is speaking of the Messiah, the One who is the Divine Prophet, Priest & King.
• He will come to be the Mediator between the God of Truth & Man;

• He will come to testify to the God of Truth, who said: 'I will put my words in his mouth.'

All People must choose whether or not they will accept Jesus as the God of Truth Incarnate:

Moses said: "The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet … You must listen to him" (Deut 18:15).

God said: "If anyone does not listen to my words that the Prophet speaks in My Name,

I Myself will call him to account" (Deut 18:19).

This was message that Jesus proclaimed to Pilate, when Pilate asked the question What is Truth:

"For this reason I was born, to Testify to the Truth.

Everyone on the side of Truth listens to me" (John 18:37).

Remember how the Apostle John proclaims Jesus to be the Word of God Incarnate:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God from the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him

nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it … The Word

The Apostle John describes Jesus as The Word of God (John 1:1).

• He is the Divine Word who existed together with God the Father from eternity.

A Word serves two distinct purposes:

Firstly, it gives expression to the inner thought, to the soul of the man.

We use words to communicate our will & our innermost feelings.

Secondly, it reveals this thought, & the soul of the speaker, to others.

We use words to issue commands. Words are our medium of communication with others.

Christ is the Word of God in both respects:

Firstly, He expresses the Mind of God, the One who is called the God of Truth.

Secondly, He also reveals the Truth of God to man.

• He is called The Word because he is The Truth of God Personified.
• He is called The Word because he is the Speaker & Interpreter of God's Will.

The Apostle John says:

• The is means that God the Son has Fully Revealed the Nature & the Word of God the Father
• No One can Know the Father except those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him (Mtt12:28)

Because Jesus is the Truth of God Personified he is called:

"The Way, the Truth, and the Life" (Jn 14:6).

• He is called The Truth because the Root of All Knowledge is to Know Christ as Saviour.
• He is called The Truth because all the Ceremonies & Sacrifices of the Old Testament

find their Fulfillment in Him.

- He is called The Truth because he embodies the Fullest Revelation of God's Character.

John tells us that Jesus gives us the Spirit of Truth, who will Teach us All Things(Jn 14:26)

• He gives us the Spirit of Truth, who will Guide us into All Truth (Jn 16:13).
• Without the help of the Son & the Spirit we cannot attain a True & Full Knowledge of God.

Notice also how John describes Jesus as "the Light of Men" (John 1:4-5):

• Jesus is called The Light because Light is a Symbol of Truth.

• Light is contrasted with Darkness, just as Truth is contrasted with Falsehood.

• The Light of God's Truth is revealed to those who are in the Darkness of Falsehood.
• But those in Darkness do not naturally understand the Light of Truth.
• John says that Jesus came as a witness to testify to the Light, or to the Truth,

so that through him all men might believe (John 1:7).

The Apostle Paul also Equates Light with the Truth, saying (2 Cor 4:6):

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to

give us the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

John says that Sinners love darkness:

• They love falsehood, because they think it conceals their sin.

• But Jesus came to reveal the Truth as the Light of the World.
• He came to reveal the fact that the Lord God of Heaven & Earth is the Only True God.
• He came to reveal the Truth concerning God's Plan of Salvation.
• Those who receive the Light of Truth will be given the right to become children of God (v12).
• We possess the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Notice how John describes Jesus as the one & only Son, who is Full of Grace & Truth (v14)

• Jesus is Full of Grace, because he is the One through whom we can receive the Grace of God
• He is the only One who has the Power to reveal the Grace of God to Sinners.

• Jesus is also Full of Truth; He is One who has a Full Knowledge of the God of Truth.
• He declares the Truth to men, women & children.
• Despite the greatest efforts of the Pharisees, No Falsehood was found in the Son of God.

The message is clear: There is only one way to come to a Knowledge of the Truth:

• The only way we can come to a Knowledge of Truth of God is through the One who is called 'The Word of God ... The Way, the Truth & the Life"

• As Jesus himself said: "No one comes to the Father except through me"

We are asking the Same Question as Pilate - What is Truth?

Is Truth Relative or Absolute? Is the Lord God a God of Truth or a God of Confusion?

1. From the Beginning, in Creation & the Fall, God revealed himself as the God of Truth.
2. God revealed himself as the God of Truth when he gave the Law to Moses.
3. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Truth of God Incarnate:

• He is the Only Way we can come to a Knowledge of God, who is the God of Truth.

• He is called The Word because he is The Truth of God Personified.

1. The God of Truth demands Truth from His People

• Knowing that our God is the God of Truth has implications for the Lives of God's People.

We must speak out against the Relativism of our generation:

• We must Proclaim the Absolute Truth and Absolute Standards of the God of All Truth.
• We must believe and uphold the Doctrine of the Inerrancy of the Word of God.

We must also Bear Witness to the Truth by Obeying God's Absolute Standards:

Jesus taught his disciples that he is the Way, the Truth and the Life - then he said:

"If you love me, you will obey what I command … Whoever has my commands and obeys them,

he is the one who loves me" (John 14:15 & 21).

Saying that we believe in the Truth of God's Word is not enough to convince a lost world.

• People want to see that the Truth we Preach actually Works in Everyday Living.
• People will only listen to the Gospel we Preach if we demonstrate God's Truth by

living a life of Honesty, Integrity, & Absolute Truthfulness.

The question to ask yourself is this:

• Can your unbelieving workmates & non-Christian friends see that you always tell the truth?
• Do they see you as someone who can be trusted?
• When they see the Truth at work in your Life,

they may begin to take notice of what we say about the God of Truth.

King David learned this lesson after a major crisis in his life:

• Remember how he had committed the sin of adultery with Bathsheba.
• He compounded this sin by trying to cover it up with dishonesty & deceit.
• David had repented and began to reflect on the lesson to be learned from this incident,
• We have an account of his thoughts in Psalm 51.

David tell us how he had learned a particular lesson about the God of All Truth:

• David realised that God demands that the Truth must permeate his innermost being.
• The Lord sees right through any attempts at pretence regarding purity.
• The Lord looks at the Mind, the Heart and the Soul & demands Truth in the Inner Parts.

• The God of Truth judges his people by their inner nature, not only by their outward profession
• God looks at our motives as well as our actions.
• He looks beyond what we say we believe to what we actually prove that we believe.

If we desire truth in our innermost being, the Truth of God will become a part of our inner person; Then we will be able to Speak Truthfully & Act Truthfully toward others.

David realised that his actions & thoughts affected how other people viewed him:

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me …

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you (Ps 51:10-13)

• When people see evidence of the reality of the God of All Truth in our lives, they will be prepared to turn to him for salvation

• David had a desire to teach the People of God the Truth.
• He learned that the greatest motivation for teaching others is to have first been taught the lesson experimentally by the God of Truth.

David is praying: "May my fall & restoration lead to the restoration of others who have fallen."

• David realised that his people would follow his example, by repenting & turning back to God.

The Apostle Paul applies this same truth to the believer's relationship with neighbours:

"Therefore each of you must put off falsehood & speak truthfully to his neighbour" (Eph 4:25)

This exhortation has practical implications for our everyday witness among those we come into contact.

• A Christian businessman should uphold Christian standards of integrity.

• When a Christian employee is honest about his working hours, and does a fair days work for his pay,

then unbelieving colleagues and bosses will notice the difference.

• When a Christian family is truthful about scratching a neighbour's car or when children accidentally

damage their property playing ball games, then the neighbour may listen to their testimony about the

God of Truth who has the Power to Change People's Lives.

SUMMARY

We have been asking the Same Question as Pilate - What is Truth?

Is Truth Relative or Absolute? Is the Lord God a God of Truth or a God of Confusion?

1) From the Beginning, God declared himself to be the God of Truth.

• The Whole of Creation declares that the Lord God is the God of Truth who keeps his Word.

• The Fall of Man teaches us that God is the God of Truth, but Satan is the Father of Lies

2) God declared himself to be the God of Truth when he gave the Law to Moses:

• God revealed himself as the Abundant Source of All Truth.

3) The Lord Jesus Christ is the Truth of God Incarnate:

• He is the Only Way we can come to a Knowledge of the God of Truth.

• He is called The Word because he is The Truth of God Personified.
• He is called The Truth because he embodies the Fullest Revelation of God's Character.

• He is called The Truth because he gives us the Spirit of Truth,

who will Guide us into All Truth.

1. The God of Truth demands Truth from His People

• Knowing that our God is the God of Truth has implications for the Lives of God's People.

• Jesus says: "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

• God demands that the Truth must permeate the innermost being of every believer.

• God demands that we always bear witness to him by telling the truth in all aspects of life.