"As I write this letter to you, I hope to come and see you soon. But if I delay, this letter will let you know how we should conduct ourselves in God’s Household, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1 Timothy 3:14-15

Here the Apostle reminds the young Evangelist that the Church of God must stand upright in truth and must have truth as its foundation. The ground is the foundation upon which Christ built His Church and the pillar of truth upholds the entire structure.

 Someone may argue, -"wait a minute, the foundation of the Church is Jesus!" Yes, but let us not forget that Jesus said, -"I am the Truth." Jesus is the Truth, the Word and the Life and said the Word of God is Truth. The Church must be built upon the Word of Truth and always uphold the Word of God as the Truth. A Church built on anything less is not the Church Jesus built.

The context in which our text was written concerns false teachers. Chapter 4 continues, -"But the Spirit says expressly, that in the later times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own consciences as with a hot iron."

Those who leave the truth of God for doctrines of demons have fallen away from the true faith. Paul is warning young Timothy to set a guard against men such as these and to guard and defend the Word of truth.

Where truth is exalted and proclaimed there is light. God’s truth is the light which pierces the darkness and exposes the works of the devil. "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Jesus called His followers to be lights in a dark, deceived world. Jesus said that the truth is the key which sets the captives free -"You will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

Another aspect of Paul’s teaching here concerns how the saints should conduct themselves in the Church, which is God’s Household. Only the truth can instruct us in how we are to behave. Many follow their consciences, but a conscience must be properly educated by the Word of God.

 There is always a reason why a person’s conscience may bother them and sometimes it has nothing to do with the truth. Often, our consciences reflect how we were raised and what we were taught as being right and wrong. But many of the things we were taught may not accurately represent what God says is right or wrong. As the Household of God our conscience must reflect God’s conscience.