“Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.
Matthew 22:16
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John 3:21
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31–32
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
John 14:16–17
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body.
Ephesians 4:22–25
Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
Ephesians 5:8–11
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 4
Jesus spoke out with passion against hypocrisy. He loved truth, and described the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth”. The Pharisees perceived him as a man who would never dress up the facts or put a spin on reality to make a good impression – a man of integrity who could be relied on to speak the truth.
Our passages from Ephesians bring in a further dimension – not only speaking but embodying truth. Our dealings should be transparent, and our lives characterized by holiness, as part of our commitment to truth. We are to be true as an arrow flies true, deflected by nothing, going straight to the target – “what pleases the Lord”.
In our passage from Ephesians 4, we are encouraged to “put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires”. A desire is not something we are used to thinking of in terms of dishonesty, and yet the things that catch our eye and take our fancy can often play us false, leading us into lifestyles or purchases that will do us no good and not lead to lasting happiness. Instead, we are urged “to be made new in the attitude of your minds”, as the letter to the Romans (12:2) puts it: “Do not conform … to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
O God, you came to us in Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Give us the grace to choose his living Way, and to become the friends and constant companions of Jesus the Truth, so that we catch the habit and learn the discipline of his absolute integrity, in the very detail of our lives; for we ask it in his holy name; Amen.
