First Timothy 3:15 says that the church is the pillar and base of the truth. The pillar and base of the truth is the entire church, including all the saints, not only the elders and leading ones. In ancient times buildings were supported by pillars or columns, each of which rested on a base. Paul referred to this architectural feature to illustrate that the church is the pillar and base to bear the truth. Most of the saints probably do not have a deep sensation that they are responsible to bear the truth. I hope that the Lord’s speaking in this chapter will impress us that all the believers together are the pillar and base to bear the truth.
To understand what it means to bear the truth, we may consider the example of Paul in Galatians 2:11-14. Peter’s shrinking back from eating with the Gentiles was contrary to the truth of the gospel, and Paul saw this. We need to remember that when Peter was the leading apostle, Paul was a young persecutor of the church. Compared to Peter, Paul was a young apostle. However, Paul saw that Peter did something contrary to the truth. Perhaps if we had been in Paul’s place, we would not have rebuked Peter. We might have instead said to ourselves, “I know that Peter is wrong, but he is older, more experienced, and more qualified than me. I dare not do or say anything.” Paul, however, wrote, “When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned” (v. 11). Paul rebuked Peter, for although Peter was older and more experienced, at that instant Peter was doing something that was not according to the truth. Paul was thus bearing the truth; he was a pillar and base of the truth.
Paul was an apostle, but the Bible does not say that the apostles are the pillar and base of the truth. Rather, the Bible reveals that the church, which includes every believer, must bear the truth. If every saint does not bear the truth, the church will not be strong but will merely be a group of people who do not know and practice the truth but leave everything to the elders. This is a poor church. The United States is a strong nation because all the citizens bear the responsibility of upholding the Constitution. Even the president cannot violate the Constitution. If he does, he will be removed from office. In many other countries no one can touch the leader. The churches in the Lord’s recovery need to be like the United States in that all the saints need to bear the responsibility of upholding the truth. The people of the United States should respect the presidency and the president, but if the president violates the Constitution, the people need to exercise their right to uphold the Constitution. Likewise, the saints in the churches need to respect the eldership and the leading ones, but if the leading ones do something contrary to the truth, the saints should be responsible to uphold the truth.
The church, which is the pillar and base of the truth, includes all the brothers and sisters. The sisters should not excuse themselves from knowing the truth simply because they are sisters. We should not come to the meetings only to shout and sing to have a good time. Merely to have a good time is not profitable. We need to practice to know the truth. If a student attends a university only to have a good time, after four years the student will go home with nothing. The best universities give the students a difficult time, not a good time. The church life is not for us to have a good time. The church is not a nightclub; it is the kingdom of God and the house of God. There is the need of some discipline. To be a citizen of a country or even a member of a family, one must learn and be disciplined. We need to practice to know the truth. When we come to the meetings, it is wonderful to have some pleasant singing and praising if the Lord leads. However, we should not go to the meetings mainly to have a good time but to receive some discipline and be instructed and edified.