Love Rejoices in the Truth

1 Corinthians 13:6

“Love…rejoices in the truth…”

The remaining verses show us the positive acts of love, and that starts with this act. Love rejoices in the truth. We saw in our previous article what love does not rejoice in which was sin. The other end of the spectrum is truth so it makes sense that this is what a truly loving person would rejoice in.

Truth is something that stands firm. It does not waiver based on what is socially accepted or politically accurate but remains immovable. Most believers would immediately identify the Bible as truth, both because of course it is truth and does not adapt to what anyone else believes, and because of verses like Psalm 119:160 which states, “The entirety of Your Word is truth, and everyone one of your righteous judgments endures forever.”

Jesus is also truth. He was the One person that actually had all the answers. In John 14:6 He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (emphasis mine). Jesus never faltered in speaking truths, even when it was difficult. In fact, we see that in the gospels countless times when He stood up to the Pharisees, the spiritual leaders of that day.

The Pharisees knew the law, but they did not know or speak truth. Jesus did. Matthew 23:1-31 is a perfect example of how Jesus stood up to the Pharisees and scribes. These were men that were supposed to strengthen and encourage the faith of others around them, but who instead “shut up the kingdom of heaven against men” (verse 13). Jesus Himself states that the people should obey what the scribes teach, but they should not obey their acts because they are hypocrites (verse 3). They seek to look holy in front others (verse 5) but Jesus look straight to the heart and see their hypocrisy.

Jesus spoke what was true, not what was popular. When you speak against the popular opinion of the day the odds that you are speaking truth is far higher. Anyone can be loud about what is popular, but it takes courage to speak out against it. Jesus had both courage and truth on His side.

Ultimately this is what led to the Pharisees desire to crucify Jesus. They knew that Jesus spoke truth, but they did not accept Him. They rejected Him and, eventually, under the sovereign hand of God, crucified Him. But the truth Jesus spoke remains true, and we still benefit from this truth today.

We need to be willing to speak truth, even when it is hard. Courage is mandatory today because the world has fallen so far short of what is true. But we need not only practice courage and truth when facing the world, but also within our Christian circles. We need to seek out the truths for ourselves, just like the Bereans did in Acts 17:10-12. Our pastors and deacons do not get a free pass just because they are the spiritual leaders, just as the Pharisees did not get a free pass. In the end, they are still human. It is our duty to seek out the truth for ourselves and abide in it.

I am blessed to be a part of a church and to hear preaching that is accurate to Scripture. I have a group of pastors who speak the Word of God. But I have experienced plenty of preaching which included little Bible and a lot of man’s opinion. Read your bible, learn the truth for yourself, and do not rely on man alone to teach you scripture. Seek out the Scriptures for yourself, be willing to question what the preacher says and find the truth. If what he speaks is accurate to the Word of God, rejoice! If not, do not allow the teaching of man to surpass the teaching of God in your life. A godly preacher will rejoice if his congregation dives into the Word and searches it out for himself.

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