Rejoicing in Truth! 1 Corinthians 13:6

To rejoice in the truth is, first of all, to rejoice in honesty. The commandment says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16) God’s people love and appreciate honesty in themselves and in others. As Christians, we deal honestly with the subjects of life in an open but sensitive way. We do not deceive ourselves and pretend like we are perfect and never have a problem. We understand that we are all learning through life and that an honest self-assessment of our strengths and weaknesses is an important quality. We rejoice in the truth.

To rejoice in the truth is to hate lying. Proverbs 19:22 teaches us that a poor man is better than a liar. In other words, it is better to have less of what the world has to offer than to become dishonest people. A liar has to develop a double mind because he has two versions of the same subject to remember: the truth and the lie. The book of James warns against a double mind: let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:7-8). This scripture shows that as we rejoice in the truth and commit to honesty, 1. Our prayers are answered and, 2. Our lives are stable.

Truth is Jesus Christ
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).

The world today offers many variations on the ‘truth’ and we are bombarded with hundreds of different messages offering supposedly true things. Consider the following supposed truths:

• A TV, radio, newspaper or internet commercial advertisement tells us that we will find happiness if we buy their brand of hamburger, car or computer. The next brand tells us to buy its own brand instead. Which one is true?


• Political candidates and commentators promote various ideas of truth, yet their ideologies, strategies, personalities and visions for the future seem directly opposed to each other. Which is true?


• Religious and secular leaders are all sure that they have the truth yet there are thousands of variations of religions, denominations and philosophies. Which one is true?


• Miracle drugs, miracle cures, miracle diets and fads produce a jumble of confusing data in every conceivable area of human knowledge and offer many variations of truth. How can one possibly know?


• Wars are fought; couples divorce and people bitterly argue and fill court rooms with those claiming to represent the side of truth. What is truth?6. Church offers one truth and the school classroom offers another. What is this truth that we are to rejoice in?

Why is Jesus the most important of all truth?
Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:68

Jesus is the most important truth because, as Peter understood, Jesus offers the greatest reward: eternal life. And furthermore, He proved His ability to give people eternal life by coming back after being dead. Many people falsely claim that Christians cannot show proof of this truth but it is actually the most provable historical fact in human history. Many brilliant volumes have been written to validate Jesus return from death including ‘Evidence That Demands a Verdict’ by Josh McDowell and ‘The Case for Christ’ by Lee Strobel, which are two of the most popular.

All of the most powerful religious, scientific, political and philosophical leaders in human history along with all of the greatest artists, musicians, thinkers and poets have all died in their time and are still permanently in that condition. Only Jesus has defied death. That is why He is the only truth that matters. If I teach flying lessons but have never flown an airplane, you have no proof that I am competent. If I have flown for 20 years however, I have earned your trust. Jesus Christ is the only experienced authority on the subject of eternal life. He has flown into death, flown back out and flown into heaven in front of 500 witnesses. That is why we trust Him and rejoice in His truth!

Jesus is God’s Honesty
Jesus Christ is the truth that love rejoices in because He is God’s absolute expression of honesty.
Jesus reveals:

1. Honesty about God. Jesus Christ reveals God’s love for humans in that He gave His own son as a sacrifice for our sins. (John 3:16)


2. Honesty about sin. Sin is such an awful thing that God had to send a cure from heaven. No human being can cure himself.


3. Honesty about man. All humans are sick with sin and cannot know God without taking the anti-sin medicine. The anti-sin medicine is the broken body and spilled blood of Jesus Christ on the cross and the way we take it is by faith.


4. Honesty about how to live forever. Jesus instructed His disciples to knock the dust off of their feet as a testimony against those who did not believe the Gospel. This is to say that, without faith in Jesus Christ, when you die, you will not have the Heaven that only Jesus promises.


5. Honesty about salvation. …if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13).


6. Honesty about Heaven. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev 22:1-5, KJV)


7. Honesty about what God requires of us. The scripture says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 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 1:17-18) There is no variation or shadow of turning in God’s gifts or His requirements. The Bible must always be our guide as it reveals God’s requirements which will never change. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." (Matthew 24:35)


8. Honesty about our authority. "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you (Luke 10:19). So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:22-24).

Our confession:

• Love rejoices in the truth.


• We rejoice in truth.


• We rejoice in honesty.


• We rejoice in Jesus Christ.


• We feel joyful that we are part of God’s family.


• We are delighted when people are honest and open and pure hearted.


• We feel glad when we are truthful on the inside and our conscience is clear.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11 (NKJV)