"THE PILLAR AND GROUND OF TRUTH" (Pastor Tom Henry) ~ 7/6/26

“These things write I unto thee…that thou mayest know how thou oughest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (I Timothy 3:14, 15)

Paul’s assertion here may seem somewhat counterintuitive considering that the Church is built upon the truth. The Church’s Founder, Who is “full of grace and truth,” and is Himself the truth, stated that His purpose for coming into this world was to “bear witness unto the truth.” Not only so, but to be a part of the Church one must “come unto the knowledge of the truth.” It is the truth that sets us free from sin; and that sanctifies US, and that edifies us. (John 8:32; 17:17; Eph. 4:15) We cannot truly worship God apart from truth. (John 4:23) To be sure, the Church cannot exist without the truth that precedes it and has brought it into existence, and that sustains it. We might therefore have expected the Apostle to say, “The truth is the pillar and ground of the church,” yet he said the opposite: “the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

Paul wants Timothy to understand that while the church is not the foundation of the truth, it is indeed its pillar and its ground - its preserver and its promoter. The Church is to uphold the truth of God in this world. We need not wonder what the support that Paul envisions looks like. He is here speaking about behavior and doctrine. In the next chapter he exhorts his young protégé to take heed to himself and to the doctrine. (Ch. 4:16) To my mind the two means of support correspond with these two duties. The holy life should be the outward manifestation of sound doctrine. Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy word is truth.”

Notice how the “pillar” speaks of that which is seen, while the “ground” speaks of the underlying support. A pillar (Greek stulos) is a “post of support.” It is visible, as it holds up the upper part of a structure. Ground (Greek hedraloma) is an immovable (perhaps invisible) base of support. The Church is the repository of truth. It is responsible for its preservation and propagation.

Paul emphasizes godly living and right doctrine. These are what he exhorts Timothy to “command and teach” to others, while also practicing them himself. As holy living and pure doctrine enable the Church to be the pillar and ground of the truth, there is simply no true Church without the faithful preaching of the Word of God. If a Church is not preaching the truth, how could it ever be a pillar and ground of truth?

This is only half of our calling, however. For what good is faithful preaching if we undermine it with unfaithful living? Paul urges us to replace our former way of life with one that matches the new man created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and true holiness. (Eph. 4:20-24) We can easily obscure the truth we preach by inconsistent conduct in our daily lives. The “pillar” must publicize to the world the truth that the Church is charged to support. The Church is to “adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour.” (Titus 2:10) May the holy doctrines that we hold in our hearts, and state in our confession, be manifest in our holy living.