The serpent’s question in Genesis 3:1—“Did God really say?”—was the first assault on doctrine. By casting doubt on God’s Word, Satan deceived Eve and brought ruin. John Calvin noted that Satan’s method is always to “make us doubt the Word of God.” Sound doctrine is God’s answer to this ancient lie. To guard the church, we must stand firm on the authority, clarity, and sufficiency of Scripture.

The church is called “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). Her role is not to create truth but to uphold it. Like a pillar lifting a roof, the church lifts God’s Word before the world. When she abandons doctrine, she collapses; when she clings to truth, she shines as Christ’s witness. As Bavinck reminds us, the church is “the dwelling place of truth,” tasked with guarding and proclaiming it.

Doctrine sanctifies because it is truth from God’s Word. Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Holiness comes not by human effort, but by God’s truth working in us. As Berkhof wrote, “Doctrine and life are inseparably connected.” A church that drifts from sound doctrine will drift from holiness, but one rooted in truth will be shaped into Christ’s image.

Series: God the Father: Knowing the First Person of the Trinity Fatherhood Rooted in the Trinity What makes God Father? Is it His...

God is eternally the Father, deriving His divine title neither from creation nor from the Sonship of Christ. This post explores the unchanging identity of God as Father from all eternity past, and why this truth is essential to understanding both the Trinity and the Gospel.