Is the church the pillar and ground of the truth?  Many would say yes, and point to 1 Timothy 3:15 as proof for such.  The verse reads, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”  A cursory reading of this verse would seem to support the idea that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth.  However, this position needs to be questioned.  After all, this has been the position of the Catholic Church for years.  They allege that the church upholds the truth, which means that the church existed before the truth.  Their charge that the church gave the Bible to the world could not be questioned if this position were true.  However, we as members of the Lord’s church have denied this claim of the Catholic Church over and over again.
     The fact is that the truth upholds the church, not vice versa.  The bedrock upon which the church is founded is the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Mt.16:18).  As members of the Lord’s church, we turn to the truth of God’s word as our guide in faith and practice (Col.3:17).  We seek the backing of truth to uphold what we do in matters religious.  This being the case, what is the pillar and ground of the truth?  For the answer to this question, we need to examine 1 Timothy 3:15 and 16.  These two verses taken together read, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:  God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”  Paul was not writing that the church was the pillar and ground of the truth.  Rather, he was writing that the pillar and ground of the truth is that Jesus was manifest in the flesh.
     This being said, let us read these verses differently: “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God.  The pillar and ground of the truth (and without controversy great) is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
     Now, the church is to support the truth by following it, defending it, and teaching it to others.  However, this is a far cry from saying that the church is the very foundation upon which the truth rests.
     The pillar and ground of the truth is the fact that Jesus came in the flesh, that he was the incarnate Son of God who walked upon the earth and died for our sins.  This fact is that which upholds the entirety of the truth of God’s word.  It is the very foundation upon which the church is built, and upon which she continues to stand.  Praise be to God for revealing this mystery unto the world!