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10 Biblical Truths About God, Life, and You

In times of chaos and confusion, it’s wise to look for biblical truths to hang onto. Maybe, for you, life is just really, really busy and you feel like you’re speeding through the calendar at speeds that should get you pulled over. Or maybe life is really stressful. Or maybe painful: maybe you or your family has been wounded somehow, and it’s hard to understand why life isn’t turning out as it should.

When life is chaotic, you need biblical truths—truths about God, life, and yourself that can ground you in a swirl of confusion. Truths serve as points of reference, especially in disorienting seasons.

Truths like these are the handlebars you grab onto during a roller coaster. They’re the grab bars on the merry-go-round. They’re the GPS voice on an unfamiliar route.

Can we even know these truths?

Before we dive into these ten truths, it’s worth asking a deep-end-of-the-pool question that some people have about God. And that is, can we even know truth about God in the first place? If God is so infinite and “other,” then is it even possible to know what God is like—in his nature, his essence?

Yet, if you think about it, saying that “God is unknowable” or “I can’t know any truth about God” is actually a statement that makes no sense. It’s a statement that, if it’s true, would make itself untrue. It’s like saying, “I don’t know any words in English,” or “There aren’t any sentences in the English language which end with a period.”

To say “God is unknowable” is really saying, “I know something really important about God; it’s that God is unknowable.” To say “I can’t know any truth about God” is to say that I know a pretty major truth about God, namely, that we can’t know any truth about him.


“To say ‘God is unknowable’ is really saying, ‘I know something really important about God; it’s that God is unknowable.'”


You could only say, “I can’t know anything about God,” if you have some knowledge about God, namely, that God exists, and that he’s unknowable. And if you ask, “Why do you think God is unknowable?” you’ll get more answers. Like, well, God is unknowable because God is so transcendent and so ultimate and so boundless, and that’s why we can’t know anything about him. Well then, it turns out that we would know at least five things about this completely unknowable God: God exists, he’s transcendent, he’s ultimate, he’s boundless, as well as being completely unknowable. You get the picture: it’s a contradiction to say we can’t know anything about God.

The truth is, if there’s a God, then there is absolutely no reason that we couldn’t know truth about him, especially if God revealed himself to us, which is precisely what God did at creation.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20, NIV)

We find all 10 of these point-of-reference truths about God in the first 18 verses of the Gospel of John. Again, these are 10 truths that can keep you hanging onto reality when life feels like a jumble of confusion.

Truth #1 – The Creator wasn’t lonely.

It’s a common sentiment to assume that God created humans because he was lonely. But let’s look at the first two verses of John 2 and see if, “in the beginning” (which takes us back to Genesis 1:1), God was lonely:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1-2, NIV)

God wasn’t alone. The “Word” was with God. In fact, the Word was God. Who is the “Word”? To find the answer, we jump down to vs. 14:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NIV)


Biblical truths: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”


So, John 1:1-2 is really saying that in the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. In other words, Jesus didn’t begin in Nazareth or Bethlehem in the first century A.D. According to an ancient, Old Testament prophecy,

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2, NIV)

Another Old Testament prophecy predicts the coming of someone who would be both human and God:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6, NIV)

The Creator wasn’t lonely. Why? Because God isn’t just one person. The Father is God. His Son Jesus is God. We learn from other verses in the Bible that the Holy Spirit is God. As the song “Holy, Holy, Holy” puts it, “God in 3 Persons: Blessed Trinity.” This is why Jesus tells us,

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19, NIV)

God didn’t create us because he was lonely as if he was feeling empty. No, he created us out of his fullness. God created us out of joy, out of love. God is love (1 John 4:8). He is from all eternity a relationship of love.


Biblical truths: “God is love. He is from all eternity a relationship of love.”


So, Jesus comes to the earth, and the Father says to us, “Look, there’s my Son, I’m well pleased in him.” And then the Son tells us, “I’m going to die, and I’m going to rise, and then I’m going to leave, but that’s okay. Because then I’m going to send someone to you who’s going to be even better, called the Holy Spirit.” So, the Holy Spirit comes, and he is constantly reminding us that our Father in heaven loves us and sees us as his beloved children. All three persons in the Godhead continually point us to the importance and value of each other. In God there is love, and it was out of that love that God created us—to join in their joy.

Truth #2 – The Word wasn’t created.

Since he is God, Jesus wasn’t created. Instead, Jesus is the one who created us:

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3, NIV)

This is contrary to what the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach. One of the main reasons that we can’t see the Jehovah’s Witnesses as just another denomination of Christianity—but why we see it as outside the umbrella of Christianity—is what the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach about Jesus. They believe Jesus was a creation of the Father’s, in fact, that Jesus is really an angel. But the teaching of the New Testament is that Jesus is in fact God. That Jesus was in fact Creator, not a creation.

Truth #3 – Good and evil aren’t equals.

Good and evil aren’t equals. They’re not equally powerful. No, one of them is way more powerful than the other. It’s just a matter of time, and in the end, one of them wins. Good and evil do not end in a stalemate.

Notice the metaphor that John uses for good: It’s metaphor of light. When light and darkness meet, which one wins? Open a closet, shine in a flashlight, and light chases away the darkness.

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5, NIV)

In the end, good wins over evil. Light wins over darkness.


Biblical truths: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”


Truth #4 – The gospel isn’t newfangled.

John 1:6 is going to bring in one of the many prophets that God sent to prepare the way for Jesus. At this point, God has been predicting the coming of the Messiah since the Garden of Eden (see the prophecy in Genesis 3:15). God sends prophet after prophet who remind the people that the Messiah is coming, so they shouldn’t stop believing. And the latest prophet, the one right before Jesus came, was Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist.

“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” (John 1:6-8, NIV)

This is a reminder that the gospel isn’t newfangled; God had been preparing for Jesus’ coming all along.

Truth #5 – Faith isn’t irresistible.

We learn from the next verses that faith isn’t irresistible. We can resist it. We can put up our guard and resist God.

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:9-11, NIV)

Jesus came to his own creation, and most rejected him. In fact, he came to his very own chosen people, the Jews, and most rejected Jesus. Faith isn’t irresistible.


Biblical truths: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”


Truth #6 – Salvation isn’t ethnic.

Salvation isn’t a matter of being born into a particular people group. Back then, many assumed that, well, if you’re Jewish, then you’re in (and if you’re Gentile, you’re basically out). Nowadays, some people assume that, well, if you’re an American, then you’re pretty much a Christian, and you’re in. But none of this is true. Salvation isn’t a matter of one’s ethnicity. So, what is salvation a matter of?

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13, NIV)

Salvation isn’t a matter of ethnicity; it’s a matter of faith in Jesus. And that’s something anyone in any country and of any race is invited into. Everyone needs Jesus, and everyone needs the chance to hear about Jesus. That’s why global missionaries are so needed.

Truth #7 – God isn’t one-dimensional.

A lot of people have a one-dimensional view of God. Some people, when they think of God, think, Oh, God’s just angry, always just fed up with me because of my sin. He’s just judge, judge, judge all the time. That’s their view of God, and it’s one-dimensional. Other people, when they think of God, figure, Oh, God? No, God would never get angry. God would never get after me for sin. No, God’s a God of love, love, love. He just loves, he’s always nice, and he’s always just wanting to bless, bless, bless. That’s their view of God, and again it’s one-dimensional.

But God isn’t one-dimensional. Check out vs. 14 and catch what God is full of:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NIV)

God is full of grace and truth. He loves you, but he has standards according to which he hates sin and opposes lies. He wants to show you grace, but he has to punish your sin. That’s where the cross comes in. At the cross, God shows you grace and punishes your sin, by punishing Jesus instead. He adopts you into his family (that’s grace), and he grows you up into the family likeness (that’s truth). God is full of grace and truth, and good churches are too.


Biblical truths: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”


Truth #8 – Rules aren’t enough.

Here’s the logic that some people, sometimes parents, can have: Oh, they’re having trouble following the rules. What they must need is more rules. Rules on top of rules—that’ll fix the problem.

But rules don’t change hearts. Now, rules can help give us order, and rules can help contain the evil. But to actually change hearts, something more is needed than just rules. We need grace:

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17, NIV)

We needed more than just rules. We needed grace. In fact, we need God’s grace every day.

Truth #9 – God isn’t unknowable.

No one’s ever seen God, right? So how could we ever know what God is like? Who he is? What he wants? How could we possible know someone we can’t see?

Ah, but we have seen Him, haven’t we?

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (John 1:18, NIV)

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15, NIV)

Jesus is God in human flesh. He’s God that we can see and touch and relate to.


Biblical truths: “The one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”


Truth #10 – You aren’t alone.

This is a truth we learn from all 18 verses, and it answers one of the deepest questions we often wonder about. God himself “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (vs. 14). Jesus has made God known to us (vs. 18). Jesus has given us the right “to become children of God” (vs. 12). When you lie on your back looking up at the stars and wonder if anything is out there, remember that you aren’t alone. When you make big mistakes and people reject you, you still aren’t alone. When you are on life support in an ICU room, you still aren’t alone.

So, when life is a jumble of confusion, what can you grab onto? What are the handlebars you grab onto during a roller coaster? The grab bars on the merry-go-round?

    1. The Creator wasn’t lonely.
    2. The Word wasn’t created.
    3. Good and evil aren’t equals.
    4. The Gospel isn’t newfangled.
    5. Faith isn’t irresistible.
    6. Salvation isn’t ethnic.
    7. God isn’t one-dimensional.
    8. Rules aren’t enough.
    9. God isn’t unknowable.
    10. You aren’t alone.
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Want fresh teachings and disciple making content? Sign up to receive a weekly newsletters highlighting our resources and new content to help equip you in your disciple making journey. We’ll also send you emails with other equipping resources from time to time.

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