Bible Verses About Truth

In this world, everyone is searching for truth. Yet no matter how hard you search, genuine truth can only be found in the Word of God and the person of Jesus Christ. Let’s look at some verses about truth and what God has to say about it.

Bible Verses About Truth Being Revealed

By His plan, God chose to reveal the truth in the person of Christ and He chooses to continue to reveal it through us today. These verses help us to see how exactly He has done that and does do that in us.

1. “We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” – 1 John 4:6 (NKJV)

The spirit of truth is revealed in others by the way they respond to God and His people. When we boldly proclaim the truth, we can see whether people have a spirit of truth or a spirit of error based on the way they respond. As the verse says, if they know God, they will hear us and have understanding. If they don’t, they will do the opposite and find themselves confused. This reveals the truth preserved in them.

2. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)

God’s people are meant to be people who are not ashamed of the gospel as Romans 1:16 says, and who are able to correctly study and teach the word of truth to others. This is what it means to ‘rightly divide’ the word of truth. We should be able to rightly study and reveal the truth that God has put into His scriptures to those around us. As we study the Word of wisdom and instruction, let us be prepared to share it with others in goodness and righteousness.

3. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14 (NKJV)

Jesus was quite literally the embodiment of God’s character, being full of grace, mercy, and truth. When we search for truth, we simply have to look to Christ to find it. God ultimately revealed His truth, which He decided to send from heaven when He revealed Jesus to the world. In Him, we have seen that one of God’s core attributes is truth, meaning that we can have a relationship with that truth by cultivating a relationship with God Himself through Christ, who is full of truth.

4. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” – John 1:17 (NKJV)

When the law was given to Moses, it revealed how sinful and devoid of righteousness and peace humanity truly is. We are truly evil people who delight in evil. Yet when Jesus Christ was put on this earth, He revealed true grace and truth by showing that God’s love is more powerful than our own unrighteousness and wickedness. God revealed the truth about us through Christ by having Him die for us, impressing upon us how truly evil and opposed to God we really are. Through Christ, God brought justice and godliness before our very eyes.

5. “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’ And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ‘I find no fault in Him at all.’” – John 18:37-38 (NKJV)

Pilate’s question is one that we all ask at one point or another: “What is truth?” Although we don’t have a recorded answer from Jesus here in John, we see Him previously say that everyone who has truth hears His voice. This implies, along with other scripture, that Jesus Himself is truth. If we want to know what truth is, we simply must look at Christ and we will find it within His person, on both heaven and earth.

Bible Verses About Truth and Lies

Throughout scripture, we consistently see a sort of battle between truth and lies. Jesus is the manifestation of truth, while Satan is called the father of lies or deceit. These verses shed light on that contrast and what it means for us today.

1. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” – 1 John 1:8 (NKJV)

Even though we all know that we are sinners, it can be easy to get to a place where we feel like we’ve hit our peak or that we’ve put out all the fires of sin in our lives. Yet, we are reminded here that if we think we have reached the point of no sin, we are deceiving ourselves or lying to ourselves and we are not abiding in truth. We cause inner confusion and speak lies within ourselves. We must always remember that only Christ is sinless.

2. “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” – James 1:18 (NKJV)

This verse is interesting because it says that God brought us forth by the word of truth. This seems to reflect Genesis where God created us initially and everything around us by His Word. In a similar manner, He brings about our second birth or our new creation by His word, the word of truth. God’s Word truly has more power than we can even imagine and is constantly in battle with the lies of this world.

3. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:24 (NKJV)

Jesus’ statement here should shape the way we worship. If we desire to truly worship God, how can we worship in spirit and truth? The way we can worship in truth is by worshipping Him according to what His truth says. For example, we should be careful to abide by His Word and the way we worship should conform to what scripture prescribes for worship. Otherwise, we are worshiping by our own standards, which is a lie compared to the truth. If you want to know more about that, check out Romans 12. Let us strive to be true worshipers of Him who is worthy of praise.

4. “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” – John 17:17 (NKJV)

Interestingly enough, Jesus here asks God to sanctify His followers by God’s truth. Being sanctified by truth is an odd concept, yet is it not the Word itself that sanctifies us? As it says in Hebrews 4:12, it is the Word that digs deep into our hearts, judges us, and in reality, sanctifies us and makes us righteous. Rather than the lies of this world, we should always abide in the faith and truth that He has laid out for us in scripture and allow it to sanctify our souls as we are walking in truth.

5. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (NKJV)

In Paul’s famous chapter about love, He adds that steadfast love rejoices in the truth. What does this look like? If you think about it, the quickest way to destroy any relationship of love is to begin to lie to the other person and begin to bring deceit into the relationship. Love does not flourish in lies, it flourishes and rejoices in the truth.

Bible Verses About Telling the Truth

Although we would all agree that telling the truth is something that God wants us to do, let’s take some time now to look in detail at what Scripture specifically says about telling the truth.

1. “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” – 1 John 3:18 (NKJV)

We may not think about it like this sometimes, but telling someone the truth is, in fact, an act of love. Someone who loves is someone who speaks truth. Of course, there are correct and incorrect ways to tell the truth, but overall, truth is a thing associated with love and faithfulness. You wouldn’t tell someone who is deathly sick that they are okay because you love them, right? Rather, God calls us to love in deed and in truth by proclaiming His kindness and truth and telling the truth in the right fashion.

2. “But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ” – Ephesians 4:15 (NKJV)

When we talk about the right way to tell the truth, Paul makes it clear to us here. We are to speak the truth in love. When we tell the truth, we shouldn’t be harsh or accusatory, or sarcastic, we should tell it in love. It’s all about the motive behind the truth and judgment that you are telling. When we look in the Gospels, we see that Christ speaks the truth, but in love, with the right motives. When we speak the truth in love, we become more like Christ who showed a great compassion for those to who He spoke the truth.

3. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” – Exodus 20:16 (NKJV)

This is probably the most common verse that we’ve all heard about lying. This is part of the 10 commandments, which were the commands or laws that were given to Moses by God on the top of Mt. Sinai. What’s interesting about this command is that it is counterintuitive to Jesus’ later command to love your neighbor as yourself. Lying to someone is not loving them or in this case, lying about them is not loving them either. Again, truth is closely linked with love and a pure heart throughout Scripture.

4. “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” – Proverbs 12:22 (NKJV)

If any verse makes it clear, it’s this one. God does not like a lying tongue or deceitfulness. He wants His people to be people who deal truthfully and justly. Since God is truth and light, He wants His people to also be people of truth and light. We should keep this in mind because we often lie here and there, even if they are just small instances, but regardless, lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. Let us honor Him especially with the things that we say.

5. “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.” – Ephesians 4:25 (NKJV)

This verse in Ephesians from Paul takes the command found in the 10 commandments a bit further, giving us the perspective of our neighbor now being one with ourselves in the body of Christ. Especially now that we are all united with one another within Christ’s body, we should most definitely not speak lies and rather firmly uphold truth with one another. Otherwise, we are damaging the body of Christ and truthfully, we are damaging ourselves in the process.

Bible Verses About Seeking Truth

Finally, amidst the universal search for truth, the Bible talks a lot about how we can seek truth and how we can find it. Spoiler alert: all roads to truth start with God Himself.

1. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” – John 8:32 (NKJV)

When we truly seek truth with our hearts, scripture says that we will find it and know it, and that it will set us free. How can this happen? God is truth and God sets us free from ourselves and our sinful nature by His salvation. By the truth of what Christ did on the cross, we can be set free as we begin to know Him. This is why having a relationship with God is so important. By having a relationship with the truth, we can be set free from the sin that so easily entangles us on a daily basis.

2. “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” – John 16:13 (NKJV)

This verse in John 16 casts an interesting perspective on God being truth as it centers the focus on the Holy Spirit, calling Him the Spirit of truth. This makes sense as all three persons of God are truth, but it is also an encouragement to us as the Holy Spirit lives in us once we become born again. This means that truth itself lives inside of each of us who has the Holy Spirit and that we can always have access to the truth who will guide us into more truth as we walk with Him.

3. “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” – Psalms 25:5 (NKJV)

Truth is found in the wake of God. As we follow Him down the paths of righteousness, we not only find hope of eternal life, we find truth as He leads us. This only emphasizes the importance of a true and close relationship with Him. The closer we are to God, the better we can hear His voice as we try to follow it. The better we can hear His voice, the closer we are to truth as we seek it in relationship with Him.

4. “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” – Psalms 145:18 (NKJV)

Simply put, God is only as close to us as we are close to Him. As it says in James, we must draw near to God, and He will draw near to us. When we call upon Him diligently, He will be near to us when we call upon Him in truth. This means that we need to call upon Him in the right fashion and for the right reasons. We need to align our desires with His desires that are laid out for us in His Word. When we do this, we get closer to Him and He draws near to us in truth.

5. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” – John 14:6 (NKJV)

Finally, Jesus Himself says that He is the truth. As we mentioned, if God is truth, then each of His three persons are also the embodiment of truth. Jesus here quite plainly claims to be the truth which is interesting as Scripture also reveals to us that He is the Word. You can see how all of this comes together and we always arrive at the conclusion that if we want to seek truth, we must seek God. Truth and God cannot be separated and therefore, we always know where to find truth when we seek it out.

Conclusion

If there’s one thing that is clear from all of these verses that surround the subject of truth, it is that despite what the world tells us, the only place we can find truth is in God. If we want to find truth, that’s where we need to go. In fact, He lays it out for us right there in His Scriptures! Let us always recognize and remember that God gifts us with everything that we need to not only survive but to thrive. Find truth in Him and be revived by His refreshing nature.