Commentaries:
Our God is a God of truth. He is the Rock, the immovable Foundation of this way of life. The Hebrew word for "Rock" indicates firmness, stability, and faithfulness. What would it be like to worship a God whose "truth" changed from time to time? Could such a God be trusted? The Greek word for "True" in Revelation 19:11 means much the same thing, but it carries the additional sense of "real" or "genuine." There is nothing—absolutely nothing—false, deceitful, evasive, or variable in His character, His Word, or His example.
What does this mean practically? Who are the most important people in a community, state, or nation? Not the doctors, lawyers, teachers, entertainers, military personnel, or businessmen. Considering how much God's Word concentrates on the preachers and kings, God indicates these two win in a landslide.
It might be difficult to say which of these two is more important, but a slight edge seems to go to the ministry. Christ came first as a rabbi and Savior, teaching and living the values that form the foundation of God's way. At His return, He will come to administer them. This is why God devotes so much space to these two in the Bible. The preacher must teach and live the values, and the king must live and administer them.
Without true values, civilization will not continue long but descend into revolution and anarchy. God's Word, His doctrine, is true and faithful just as He is. It is a reflection of His nature and character. Any society or family built on it will prosper and become great in godly terms. Jesus' first coming left mankind without excuse regarding the eternal question, "What is truth?"
Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Many can say, "I have told you the truth," but Jesus not only told it, He embodied it. He put truth into a visible, concrete form so all who want to see it can.
What credibility that gives to one's teaching! A person can teach us a mathematical, grammatical, spelling, geographical, or historical truth, and what his character is like matters little. But if a person teaches moral truth, his example, character, conduct, and attitudes are all-important. Who wants to be lectured on purity by an adulterer or on honesty by a liar and thief?
Jesus lived what He taught with total purity and never a shadow of turning. He was absolutely stable, firm, and reliable, the real, genuine representative of eternal life, the way of life that He will establish on earth at His return.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Ninth Commandment (1997)
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Matthew 7:24
Luke 6:48
Library resources that contain this verse:
E-mail this page
