The Truth of God — Jeff Noblit

The Truth of God and the Humbling of Man

It's my joy to be here tonight and share with you on the attribute of God called the truth of God. I don't think I've ever had a more formidable task. And I just ask you to pray that God would give us insights and wisdom that would humble us and glorify him.

May he be more wonderful and more glorious and majestic in our eyes and understanding after looking at this together. Romans chapter 3 verse 4 is where I want to kick off with. In covering this attribute of God, there's not really a text that I could land on and just do an exposition.

So we're going to cover a lot of territory, look at a lot of things. But I want this truth of Romans 3, 4 to sort of stick with our hearts and minds and carry it through with us and look at it again as we finish at the end of this hour.

Romans chapter 3 verse 4 has the phrase, Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar. Now the Baptist scholar A .T. Robertson says you can say it this way, Let God continue to be true, though every man be found a liar.

Now, just because the Jews, who were the guardians of Revelation, missed it, that is, they missed the Christ, does not nullify the truth and faithfulness of God in sending Christ. What it does, it reveals the error and the fallenness of man.

The lie that abides in the heart of man. This is the glaring contrast between the human and the divine relationship, or non-relationship. God is true, man is a liar. Man is a lie-loving, lie-telling, lost soul.

Lying, of course, is not merely what he does. Lying or being a liar is what he is. It's his core nature. It's his very being. Now, in contrast, God is truth, the scripture says. Now, listen carefully to what Bancroft says in his theology here.

Not merely in the sense that truth is an attribute of his nature. That's true. Truth is an attribute of his nature. And not only in the sense that he is the being that truly knows. I mean, God truly knows all things.

He's omniscient. But more than that, it's also the sense that he is the truth that is known. If there is truth that can be known, it's God. He's not just the medium of truth, the conduit of truth, though he is.

He's also the object or the source of all truth. Truth is essential to him and it emanates from him. Now, Hodge, in his theology, talks about the Greek and Hebrew word. And he builds everything off of that.

And that's going to sort of be a basis, and I think a very excellent basis, if we can get our minds in gear and think this through, of what we mean by truth. The Greek word for truth is a word that has the idea of openness or what is not concealed.

It's unveiled and it's reality. It's truth. The Hebrew word, I love this about God, it's that which sustains and that which does not fail or disappoint in expectation. He's truth and he's true. Now, Hodge amplifies that by saying this.

Truth is that which is real opposed to that which is fictitious or imaginary, like the idols that man can make. They're not truth. Truth has to be real and God is reality. He's real. Truth is that which completely comes up to its idea.

That is what it purports to be. For example, a true man is a man in whom the idea of manhood is fully realized. The true God is he in whom is found all that the Godhead imports or all that is in the idea of God.

And there's only one who does that, and that's Jehovah. There's only one who is that. That's the God revealed in the Scriptures. So God really is what he declares to be. Everyone else is a liar but him.

But he really is what he declares to be. Now listen, he really is what he commands us to believe him to be. When he commands us, this is who I am. Trust in it. Place faith in it. He's truly all of that.

All other idols that our fallen flesh lusts after are false and they're lies. But he's the truth. The truth is that which can be depended upon. That which does not fail or change or disappoint. Therefore, God is true.

Now, because of this, he's both immutable. He didn't change. He's faithful. His promise cannot fail. His word never disappoints. Even if heaven and earth pass away, his word remains and stands. He can be counted on.

Truth as the Foundation of Knowledge

Now, side note here about faith. The truth of God is the foundation of all religion. And it's no less the foundation of all knowledge. All knowledge is founded on truth. That is, a belief in God, faith in God is essential for any true knowledge if he's truth.

And therefore, the foundation of knowledge. And as we pursue knowledge in all areas of the natural sciences or the social sciences or the humanities, we discover more and more about the nature of reality.

And we discover more of the truth that comes from God. And of course, that he already knows. Francis Schaeffer, in one of his books, talks about the difference between modern science and modern, modern science.

Dr. Schaeffer says, originally, there was modern science that began from a faith presupposition that there is a God of truth. And this God has infinite intelligence. And this God has given us some intelligence.

Therefore, we, with some intelligence, can discover something of what the great intelligent one has done in making the universe. That's modern science. Then he says there came along a new presupposition that he calls modern, modern science.

Where they threw out God and made man the center of everything. And atheistic evolution, their pseudoscientific premise upon which to build their thoughts. And therefore, they are continuing a process of non-knowledge.

Because all knowledge is in God. And to believe in God or have faith in God is the basis of finding that knowledge or truth. So one of the ways to say that is all truth is God's truth. All truth is God, are you, to me, and God's growing me in this area.

Is it not shocking and overwhelming how un-God-centered we are? As a church, as a people, as a culture. As I read even secular writings of 150 or 200 years ago from Western civilization, even the non-believers had a God-centeredness.

And we've lost all of that. And so when I speak the way I'm speaking from the old theologians, it makes me have to work to think from that perspective. Because I naturally think from a man-centered perspective.

God's Moral Impossibility of Lying

Another thought, as I'm giving you this introduction, is God is truth and He cannot lie. Pendleton, in his little manual of theology, says it this way. This impossibility that is God cannot lie is moral, not natural.

Here's what he says. That is, God has the natural ability to say that which is not true. However, the infinite excellence of His character, which includes His veracity or truth, makes it morally impossible for Him to lie.

Being omnipotent, I would assume God can lie, but His moral excellence makes it impossible for Him to lie. Let me summarize all that I'm saying in this introduction this way. All that God speaks is truth.

But more than that, He is truth. All the revelations and manifestations of Himself, now listen, are in perfect agreement with His mind and character. Everything He does, everything He says, all of His actions are true because they're in perfect harmony with who He is, and He's truth.

The consistency, the faithfulness of God, the content of His words and ways is in harmony with the truth of His person or His being. Now, let's think again about Romans chapter 3, verse 4. Let God be found true.

Robertson says you can say, let God continually to be shown forth as the true one and let every man be a liar or be found a liar. Now, in this context, Romans chapter 3, verse 4, man is a liar because the Jews concluded that Christ is not the promised Messiah.

So what did they do? They held to what is false. Man, you see, is of falsehood. His nature is contaminated by the lie and permeated by the lie. Man is weak and limited morally and spiritually. God manifests Himself to man, but only partially, not completely.

General Revelation and the Error of Unbelief

Romans chapter 1 tells us that God's revealed something of Hisself through creation, but that's not a full revelation of God. I saw a couple of years ago where one of the seminary professors in one of our large seminaries was saying that we can no longer use scriptures just on the gospel or just on the fact of sin or just on the atonement of Christ, that men need more than that today.

And he was talking about leading people to Christ through the scriptures that show that God created everything. But you'll never get a man to heaven by showing them that God is just the creator. That's a partial revelation to God.

When God revealed Himself to Moses, He only partially revealed Himself to Moses. Moses could not handle the full revelation of God. But God's manifestations to His creatures are limited, as seems best in His sight, because man is so weak and man is so frail.

Our knowledge is limited because of our weakness. And our knowledge is also in error, often due to our misuse of the revelation of God He's made to us. If you want to turn there, a good verse there is Romans chapter 1, verses 21 and 25.

In Romans chapter 1, verses 21 and 25, Paul says it this way to the church at Rome. For even though they knew God, and these unbelievers, they knew something of God, all men do. Not fully, they know something.

They did not honor Him as God or give thanks. But they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. The lie. And worship and serve the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever.

Amen. Now Ahab in the Old Testament is an example of this. Ahab desired, rather, a false prophecy, and he had prophets who gladly obliged him. My goodness, what a testimony of the church today. What is it the Old Testament prophet says?

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority, and my people love it so. But what will you do in the end of it? So Ahab rejected the word of God in his unbelief. He rejected the prophet of God, Elijah.

And therefore, he didn't know God, nor truth, nor true knowledge. Now, we can have no knowledge of God, that is, truth, except by the manifestations he makes of himself. You will not find God through your microscope or through your telescope.

He manifests himself. And when we receive these revelations of himself, these revelations which express his very mind and his very character, then we're exercising faith in God. When we reject these revelations of God or truth, we're guilty of the great sin of unbelief, which rejects the testimony of God and in effect calls God a liar.

But in effect, we are rejecting truth and the true God and irrefutably exposing ourselves as liars. But we've rejected the God of truth. When we reject the God of truth, we agree with a lie, that is, the lie of all lies, and that is that God is not truth.

When you reject God in his revelations, you believe the lie of all lies, and that is that God is not true. Enthrone ourselves as potentate and Lord of Lords, in effect. I want to look at Romans chapter 3 right quick, and I know this is a familiar text.

The Universal Sinfulness of Humanity

In verses 9 through 18, I just felt led that we need to understand afresh and anew the condition of man to grasp and glory and wonder and be in awe of the great and glorious attribute of God's truth. Notice what he says here in Romans 3, 9.

What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands.

There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they've become useless. There is no one who does good. There's not even one. Their throat is an open grave. With their tongues they keep deceiving.

The poison of asp is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known.

And there's no fear of God before their eyes. A man in his fallen state cannot see truth, does not seek truth, nor in any way desires or treasures truth, truth being totally foreign to him and contradictory to his nature.

God Is True in Himself

Now, let me give you three main points as I've thrown all those thoughts at you as an introduction to try to get in your minds the aspect or something of a definition of the truth of God. And to be honest, Gil's theology, body of divinity was just absolutely excellent.

I'm going to draw heavily from his writings there. Number one, I want to say this. God is true in and of himself. That is that he truly and really exists. Nobody supports him, helps him, enables him, started him in any way, shape or fashion.

Now, for us Southern Baptists, that's really shocking because we love to help God, we love to help God out. But he just truly and really exists on his own. His creatures, all of us, are shadows in comparison to him.

The Bible says man's existence is a vain show. We're appearance more than reality. For example, Psalm 39, verse 6,. Surely every man walks about as a phantom, a vapor, another text says. Surely they make an uproar for nothing.

He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. But in contrast to that, the existence of God is true and real and substantial. He's truth. God's name is I am that I am. Speaks of the eternality of God, the immutability of God, the truth of his existence.

Now, Paul said, I am that I am by the grace of God. And all men can say that if they're being truthful. But God doesn't say that. He just says, I am. I am. Let me give you some sub points here under God is true in and of himself.

The first one is he's the true and living God, as opposed to fictitious deities. Those of the ancient world that they literally carved out of stone and marble and. Clay or wood and those that we are able to create in our hearts.

More fast or with greater rapidity than we can even think thoughts. Was it Luther said our our hearts are an idle factory. But he's the true and living God, as opposed to fictitious deity. The fictitious deities are the idols of this world are our deities only in name, but not in nature.

And this so helped me as I studied this, I don't know why I was assigned this difficult attribute other than the fact that I needed to study it. I mean, I mean, there's an awesomeness to that. That he's the true and living God and all the others have name, but no nature.

He's God, he's true. They have a name. Nothing else. Psalm 96, verse five says, all the gods of the people are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Second sub point here, the truth and reality of all of his perfections.

The point is, he not only is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, eternal, spiritual, etc., etc. He is truly so. He doesn't just talk about it. He isn't the things that are falsely claimed by others is reality in him.

He's not only good and holy and just, but he's truly so. What others only appear to be, he really is. Number three, truth is essential to him. It's his very nature and essence. Psalm 31, verse five, into thy hands I commit my spirit.

Thou has ransomed me, O God of truth. It's the very essence of his being. John 14, six, Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No man comes to the father, but through me. You see, he cannot be false.

He cannot be insincere, and he's never mistaken. Truth is essential to him. Number four, he's truth is our God rather is true in and of himself, because truth is most pure. In him, in him is light, and in him there's no darkness at all.

In him is righteousness, and in him there is no unrighteousness in him. He is holy, which I believe to understand holiness. It's it's something of the composite glory and wonder of all of that attributes.

And in him is no unholiness. He is good and in him is no evil in him is wisdom. And in him is no folly. He is truth and knows no falsehood, not the least mixture nor appearance. In him, truth is most pure.

The next sub point truth is original to him. It's original to him. He's not just one of the big guy. I wanted the many guys who are marketing this product. It's just his it's original to him. Satan, the Bible says, is the father of all liars.

Satan has that which is not substantial. Satan purports and has a show or the image of that which is not true. He's the lie. He's the false God. For example, in John 8, 44, here's what Satan said to Jesus.

I'm sorry, here's what here's what Jesus said to the Pharisees. You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murder from the beginning and does not standing the truth because there's no truth in him.

Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature. God's truth. When he tells the truth, he speaks from his own nature. It's original to him. Lying is original Satan, for he's a liar and the father of all lies.

So all truth is of God and all truth is originally from him. Do you feel a little bit like you're getting a drink out of a fire hydrant? You have been studying the 12 to 15 theologies. I've been studying and realizing they all say it differently.

It's an amazing thing. But one of the things I'll conclude with all how wonderfully humbling it is and reassuring it is to study on the glory of these attributes. The next sub point under God is true in and of himself.

Truth is eternal being in God. You see, listen, what is truth now was always the truth with him and his eternal mind. Even if he hadn't made it yet and he hadn't didn't have maybe what we would call physical substance, it was always already there in his great eternal mind.

Truth is eternal. It didn't start. It's just there with him. Now, listen, I love the way Gil puts this. With God, everything is all everything. Everything is always in view. And let that rattle around in your finite mind a little while.

Everything is always in view. I have to wait to see things, discover things, experience things. But he has all the knowledge of all the universe always before him. Wow. You see what's true to us today might not have seemed so true yesterday.

What's true to us tomorrow may not be what we thought it was going to be when tomorrow comes, but not so with God. He's never surprised in his eternal mind. All things stand in view. God doesn't learn.

Hebrews 13, 8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. The next sub point under God is true in and of himself. Truth is consistent. Didn't have to grow up or mature or anything. It's just there and it's always consistent.

Just as he himself is immutable, invariable, therefore consistent. You see, to men, truth does not always appear in the same light. At first, it's obscure. And God, by his grace, develops us in the sanctification process.

And we do see more light and we do grasp more truth. It becomes more clear. 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18. But we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the spirit.

There's a progression there of our sanctification and our grasp of truth. But in God, it's always the same. He's not obtaining any more truth. He's not understanding any more truth. He is perfectly and fully truth.

It's consistent. Malachi 3, 6. 6 For I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore, you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Is that not good news? Wow. Well, Roman numeral 2. Not only is God truth in and of himself, but I want to look at it this way.

God Is True in His Words

God is true in his words. And then we'll end with God is true in his works. But this is God is true in his words. His words. John 17, 17. The Bible says, Thy word is truth. Now, a lot of the theologians, especially the older theologians, use the word veracity.

Veracity is one of his moral attributes. It's touched more with a person. And they would say the word truth ought to be applied more to a thing. In Mark 13, 31, the Bible says heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Whatever he says of the past, the present or the future is true. His truth endures to all generations. He's eternal. So all he says is eternally relevant. Now, men make promises, but sometimes the circumstances change.

We're not omniscient. We did not know what was going to happen. We're not omnipotent. We can't make what we want to happen always happen. So man can't keep some of his word because he does not know the future events, but not so with God.

What he says is always true because he's the true God who has the omniscience to know the future now and the omnipotence to make whatever happened. He wants to happen. He's so faithful that way. His word cannot.

Titus 1, 2 says he cannot lie. He just can't. Grudem in his theology translates Titus 1, 2 as he's the unlying God because all the rest of them are liars. Satan's a liar. All the idols, they're liars.

Everything you and I set up in our heart as God is a lie. He's the unlying God because he's the God of truth. His words are true, not because they conform to some standard outside of himself. Like we're going to create a committee together and we're going to find out what truth is and measure everything by it.

God didn't work that way. His words are not true because they conform to something outside of himself. His words are truth because his words consistently conform to him. He's the measure. He's the final standard.

He's the only measure of truth. Now, God is true in his words. That's what we're talking about. Let me give you a sub point here, and that's he's true in his written word. He's true in his written word.

Daniel 10, 21, the scriptures are called the writings of truth. Psalm 12, 6, the words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. Second Timothy 3, 16, God's word is it's got the scriptures with our God breathed, inspired by God, God breathed by him, breathed by the very God who is true.

Therefore, they should be received as the word of truth, not the words of men. First Thessalonians chapter two, verse 13, Paul commends the Thessalonians. He says, for this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you receive from us the word of God's message, you accepted it, not as the word of men, but for what it really is the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.

Now the law part of the written word is true. Psalm 19, nine, the fear of the Lord is clean and doing forever. The judgments referring to the law part of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether.

The gospel part of the written word is true. Ephesians 1, 13, in him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed you were sealed in him with the Holy spirit of promise.

The truth of God appears in his word through the fulfillment of his word. When he gives predictions or promises or threatenings, just some reference verses here. First Kings eight 56, blessed be the Lord.

Who's given rest to his people, Israel, according to all he promised. Not one word has failed of all of his good promise, which he promised through his servant Moses. So his truthfulness about his written word appears in the fulfillment of all the promises of his written word.

Second Corinthians one 20, for as many as may be the promises of God in him. They are yes. Wherefore, also by him is our amen to the glory of God through us. But the truth of God appears also in the fulfillment of his word in his threatenings.

Psalm 96, 13 says before the Lord, he is coming. For he's coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in faithfulness, faithfulness and the truthfulness of God go hand in hand.

Romans two two. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. So he is true in his written word. His word should be loved and trusted. We should have confidence in it because it is a perfect expression of his very being.

It is true. Now, secondly, he's true in his written word, but he's true in his son, which I like the phrase his essential word, his son. Hebrews one one says of the son, he's the exact representation of his nature.

Not a shadow of his being, not somewhat like him, but the exact representation of his nature. John one one says the word was with God. That means he had a true and real existence with the father. The word was God.

Some theologians say he Jesus is God of very God. He's really and truly God. He took on himself a body and a soul. He's truly virgin born. This isn't some mythological story that warms our hearts and encourages our souls.

He truly is God in human flesh, virgin born. The exact representation of the nature of his father. He's true in the offices that he bears. He's the true prophet sent from God. He's the true light which illumines all men in every our men rather in every sense.

He's the true priest, not in the order of Aaron, but in the order of Melchizedek. The unique one from God, he's the true mediator between God and man, not not a type like Moses. Moses was a mediator and a type of Christ.

He's the truth. He's the real thing. He's the true and only potentate king of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 1916 and on his robe and on his thigh. He is a name written king of kings and Lord of lords.

God Is True in His Works

Well, we said God is true in and of himself. We've said God is true in his words. Lastly, Roman number three. God is true in his works. He's true in his works. All of his works are true works. That is, they conform to and are consistent with his being.

If in any way his works did not conform to and maintain consistent with who he is, they would not be true works. But his works are all true works. His works of creation, his works of providence, that is his maintenance of all that he's made and created.

His works of grace, they're all true and they are real. The truth of God appears both in making these things and maintaining them or continuing them. Let's talk just for a minute about creation. And notice the contrast here.

Matthew chapter four, verses eight and nine. Here's Satan tempting Jesus. Here's what Satan does. Again, the devil took him to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

And he said to him, all these things I will give you if you'll fall down and worship me. I've never looked at it in this light, but that was a sham. That was a lie. That wasn't the truth. Because there's no way he could show Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.

Satan is not omniscient nor omnipresent. It was a lie. As verses God, when he created, it's the truth. Satan can only give a sham. God is the only one who can give the truth. Satan fully showed Christ the kingdoms of the world, but all in a sham, a counterfeit, if you will, a mirage.

But God actually, that is truly created all the world. It is really, truly his. And it really, truly exists. Genesis one, one says, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Exodus nine, 29, the earth is the Lord's.

Exodus 19, five, he says, all the earth is mine. Psalm 24, one, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof and the world and all that dwell in them. His work of creation is a true work. Secondly, his work of providence is a true work.

Both the ordinary and extraordinary works of God in providence. These are all the true works of God. They are actual things. They are real works. For example, the everyday things, you might want these under common grace.

The hamburger you ate and the breath you breathe and the car you drive and the gasoline you put in your car. The providence of God. That's a real work of God. And then the extraordinary providence of God.

The hand of Moses that parts the Red Sea. The miracles and wonders wrought by our Lord during his earthly ministry are the miracles and signs and wonders done by the apostles in the first century. These are extraordinary, but true works of God all to the ends of his wise and true purposes in the world.

Now, these are not like the lying wonders of the Egyptian magicians and not like the false wonders of the coming Antichrist. Those are all lies, but his works are true works. The Gil said it this way.

The wonderful works of God are true and without deceit. Now, I have purposely ended with this last part of his works and that is his work of grace is a true work. The acts of grace that God performs both in eternity and time are true works.

The Reality of Salvation and Grace

That is, they really exist. Number one, his choice of persons to eternal life is true, firm, and real because it's from the true God. Ephesians 1, 3 through 5, Blessed be God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love.

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself according to the kind intention of his will. His choice of son to eternal life is a true work of grace. The covenant of grace he's made with us in Christ is true and real.

The blessings and the promises in this covenant of grace, they are true and they are real. Salvation planned in eternity is true and it's real. Salvation faithfully performed in time is true and real.

Christ really came into the world. He really became flesh. He really dwelt among men. And the work he performed to secure for himself a people that would bring him glory in time and in all eternity is a real work.

John 1, 1st John 1, 1. John says, what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, we have beheld with our hands, we have handled concerning the word of life. It's real.

He's, he's real. Justification by his righteousness is really imputed to his children. Not in a partial sense. You're not just kinda righteous. You're not just sorta. Got some of it. Not in an imaginary sense.

Not as a type. Not, not in a symbolic sense. But truly, actually, really, we stand justified in Christ Jesus. Cause he's God of truth. You see, it all goes back to his person. Every bit of it. And that's why, brother Paul, this is a great study.

His person holds it all. Everything about what he does and performs and we enjoy through his works of grace is based on the person of God. The pardon by his blood is a true work. It's not merely a typical pardon.

A type, a shadow like the animals brought in the Old Testament were a type of Christ. No, but it's really and truly his blood that really and truly was shed. And really and truly our sins are pardoned.

Atonement by the sacrifice of himself. He was our guilt offering. Truly and really offered to God. I don't have time. Hebrews chapter 9 shows us. It starts explaining and describing how the priest would come to the temple and he would come into that tabernacle and he would bring the sacrifices.

But then he said, our Lord Jesus Christ went up into the heavens and presenting himself, not in a tabernacle made with human hands, but the true one and made atonement for the sins of his people. It's truly been done.